Caregiving requires a nature of love and selflessness; it is to put your needs after another, so that they may be clean, safe, and happy. I am a Mental Health Technician at a crisis center called Aurora Pavilion. I care for several groups of people within the community in Aiken through my position. I care for children and adolescents who are experiencing a crisis as one part of my job, as well as adults, older adults, and people with substance abuse disorders. It is a big job, and I am responsible for ensuring patients do not hurt themselves or other people. Primarily, the people who go are suicidal. Ensuring that the people in the hospital are comfortable and that their plan of care is being followed is imperative to my position. Sometimes, my position includes diapering and helping with showering. Othertimes, I will need to de-escalate situations, or I will have to help restrain. When dealing with people with mental illnesses, and people who are typically at their worst, it requires a vast amount of empathy. I am bound by confidentiality, so I am unable to share specific stories. I respect the people as well. By taking care of people, I have found who I am on a deeper level. For as long as I can remember, I have been a carer; I took care of animals, provided comfort for my mother, who suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder, and frequently sought out a community to care for and nourish it. In my professional life as a Mental Health Technician, I have found a love for working with people while they are at their lowest mentally. It brings me joy to know that people get to return to their families after being stabilized. As an employee at a crisis center, I find that it has shaped how I want to serve in therapy. I know that I want to continue working in a hospital setting, but one day, as a mental health counselor. After getting my master's degree, I will need supervision, and I hope to get my supervision hours through a hospital. If not, I may need to take a break from the hospital setting. However, once I do get the title of an LPC, I will return to the hospital setting, because I love to care for people at their worst, and so the patients can lead better lives. Finally, this scholarship matters because all caregivers should be appreciated and have their dreams elevated. Oftentimes, caregivers are busy caring for others and forget to care for themselves. Conversely, getting this scholarship will help me with my education substantially. Getting an education is expensive, especially when considering my income level, which is well below the poverty line. Society needs more caregivers, and elevating me will not go unnoticed. I promise to pay it forward. .

Life has many ways of teaching lessons, some of which we are not yet ready to learn. I have had a difficult time navigating a world that is not understanding to individuals with disabilities. I am a nineteen-year-old woman with Autism and Borderline Personality Disorder, which has, on its own, made me have to learn new ways to be successful and influence the way I navigate society. As a person with a disability, I find that my disability has influenced my beliefs, relationships, and career aspirations. Part of being a person with Borderline Personality Disorder includes an unstable sense of self. I often find myself thinking in "black and white" methodology. This means I see the world around me as either "all good" or "all bad", usually. I have had to spend a lot of time in therapy to learn cognitive dissonance and be able to work around my disability. It is hard, but I am determined to make the best out of my situation. Additionally, Borderline Personality Disorder has substantially influenced how I interact with loved ones. As a child, my father abandoned my family. The trauma and heartbreak from not having my dad while growing up have led me to fear that my fiancé will do the same thing to me, perhaps, even if I have his children. I have to do therapy and take Escitalopram. Luckily, I have found therapy to be of assistance to me and my struggles. Finally, since I have both Borderline Personality Disorder and Autism, deciding on a career has been a hard journey. However, I find that all parts of me love to counsel and advise people. I want a career where I can do that. Mentorship is a cornerstone of the human experience, and that is a belief that I hold that is unwavering. As a college student, I am currently working with EQPD as a High School Academic Mentor, where I am finding joy in making a difference. In addition, I am also an advocate for people with disabilities. I work with other people with disabilities directly, through a program called USCA LIFE. I aspire to become a LIFE Resident Advisor and continue to make an impact on them. I also work with a young lady who would like to become a teacher. She has mobility limitations and has had a hard time getting acclimated to the campus and utilizing it to the best of her ability. I advocate for her, acting as a voice for her. Finally, my message to anyone with a disability, be it sickle cell disease, ADHD, or physical limiting inflictions, is to stand up and not be afraid to make a splash and take up space. We too, are human and deserve kindness and empathy. Keep going.

While many love to view concerts, I particularly love performing in them. As a seasoned singer, I have participated in many concerts. As a music education major, I adore music of all kinds- particularly choral and chamber music. The beauty of music and teamwork to create beauty is admirable. Firstly, my first concert performance was when I was a young child. I was a third-grade choral performer, alongside so many other chittering children. Since I was so young, I don't recall many details. Instead, sharing my first audience experience is more fitting. Sitting in the audience while my siblings perform is a prized memory. My sister, a flutist, and my brother, a trombonist, did well. It was a truly enthralling experience. Listening to the music's beauty and seeing the musicians' focus is inspiring. The sound is most enticing. The intricacy, the beauty, and the harmonies are moving. Finally, my favorite concert memory is my chorus's last concert during sophomore year. Titled "Music Around the World", we did a deep dive into musical selections around the world. My favorite part of the concert was gathering together one last time before we went our separate ways. You see, the seniors were graduating; I was moving to South Carolina. It was a beautiful tale- a last moment for our companions to gather and sing and truly excite and captivate our audience members. After we finished singing "Baba Yetu", an African piece, we received a standing ovation, which is any performer's dream! I felt so proud of my group. It was then that I decided that I absolutely needed to keep music in my life- a promise I have since kept. I am excited to be a part of the University of South Carolina's Aiken campus because the music program is small and humble but still with a great faculty of excellent musicians. I recommend the shy performer to attend this school. This scholarship is one of the most intriguing that I have encountered throughout applying to over 100. Musicians need to unite to support each other, be it financially, by sharing knowledge, or by attending performances by others and lifting every voice and instrumentalist up. Today, I am thrilled to say that concerts are an experience that everyone can learn from and enjoy. Memories of comradeship, struggle, crying, laughing, and so many other emotions build the passion for concerts. I am sure my application is very different from my peers, but I hope it is seen as inspiring and moving for all.

Living in Allendale County presents its challenges and tribulations, but it is a tight-knit community. Like Sophie, I love my small town and its quiet warmth. At Allendale County Schools, excellence is celebrated. Thanks to Allendale-Fairfax High School, I am a part of the National Honor Society and the Beta Club. Our organization is based on leadership, character, and the ability to reach for the stars despite any obstacles that may occur. Part of being a member of these esteemed groups is participating in community activities and service projects. As a member of the National Honor Society and Beta Club, I fondly recall the time that my team and I made care packages for the elderly at our nursing home. This is my favorite memory. Allendale youth cares deeply for our community- myself especially. I was enthusiastically packaging and bringing in supplies. The people at the nursing home had their days brightened. I call attention to this because I believe Allendale County should focus more on the needy. Allendale County is impoverished and many of our beloved brothers and sisters go without. I urge my community to think outside the box and come together to help children go to college so that they may advance themselves and their community. I am very thankful to the generous people who told me about this opportunity while I was at work at Hardee's in Allendale. Now I have a nice shot of helping myself find success. However, more needs to be done for the older members of our community. As a cashier working at the most popular area to eat in Allendale, I speak from experience when I say our people cannot afford food. Unfortunately, I have had to deal with sorrowful customers who apologize for "wasting" my time because they did not have the money to afford their meals to feed themselves and their families. As a solution, I believe our community should run food drives. Not only will this encourage community involvement and enrichment, but it will also garner the attention of our comrades and get them involved in the mission of betterment. Furthermore, I would like to return to my point about supporting our youth. To support our youth and future generations, we need to uplift our youth and encourage them to go to college, tech school, or get a trade. The best way to do this is by having community events. If we put our money together, we can make funds and distribute it utilizing scholarships or by need base. The people of Allendale can do it, it only takes one voice to get others involved. It is only a matter of that one voice being brave enough to raise its voice and be an advocate of change for our community for ourselves and for our coming generations.

Greetings! My name is Savannah Speight and I am a seventeen-year-old senior at Allendale-Fairfax High School. I enjoy listening to music, singing, teaching music, researching topics that intrigue me, and spending time with people I care about. As an ambivert, I enjoy my solitude and comfort as well as having fun and conversing with my circle of people. In my opinion, high school is a ride, and a wild one at that. Students are thrust into a social food web, expected to maintain a 3.0 or above, join extracurricular activities, dual enroll, and take AP courses as well as honors all while finding their sense of self and their career choice. In 2023, it is a very challenging feat. I found this to be very difficult myself. I decided that I am best suited to major in psychology. Upon successful completion of my undergraduate degree, I will then pursue a graduate degree in mental health counseling. My goal is to help as many people as possible and attempt to lower the suicide rate by providing therapeutic services. Furthermore, I believe I deserve the scholarship because I worked very hard my entire academic career. Whether it was my earlier days in third grade trying my hardest to learn multiplication times tables or in eighth grade when I struggled to learn pre-algebra and studied with my mother or freshman year when I adjusted to a semester of online learning (and made straight A's that same semester) or junior year when I spent half of my Saturdays at Saturday school and now senior year, diligently continuing to apply for scholarships and apply myself in school, I have proved myself to be a very hard-working student. I think this alone is a good reason as to why I deserve the scholarship but another point is at the time of writing, I have the highest amount of bold points in the state of South Carolina high schoolers. The leaderboard does not provide me with the information for the college students so I am not sure about my ranking for the entire site. Nonetheless, this proves my hard work and commitment to advancing myself, my family, and my community. In addition, the scholarship will greatly help me and my mission to lower the suicide rate. My degree will come with astronomical costs and funding outside of loans will greatly help me accomplish my goals. Plus, helping me is helping an entire community of needy people. Finally, I decided to become a mental health counselor because I have gone through personal hardships. Understanding how hard it can be to suffer from mental illness, I believe I am an empathetic person who can see best through the eyes of the clients. Who would know more about feelings of anxiousness than an anxious person herself? Essentially, I decided on the mental health field because I believe I can make the most impact as a mental health professional. Having a career is not all about money. It is also about what a person can do for the greater good of society.

Hello. My name is Savannah Speight and I am 17. I am a high school senior planning to attend Winthrop University. I am also a member of my school's National Honor Society as well as the Beta Club. In addition, I volunteer with the Do Re Mi Project where I provide music lessons in singing and music theory lessons for free. Outside of school and volunteering, I enjoy researching topics that interest me such as different colleges. I can navigate most South Carolina college websites with ease. I also love drawing and painting. Art is beauty and beauty is art. I love creating something out of nothing. My favorite drawing is a picture I drew of Booey, my 17-year-old Flame Point Siamese. I drew it after he succumbed to kidney failure on August 5th, 2023. On the paper, it reads "May 14th, 2006-August 5th 2023, loved our entire lives and missed for the rest of my days". Booey has been in my life since I was 5 months old; I don't remember being without him. I love how I can express my feelings through art. Career-wise, I intend to go to school as a psychology major. Mastering the concepts, I plan to go to graduate school to become a therapist. Too many people are losing their lives by their own hands. This is a tragedy that needs to be stopped. According to the CDC, suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 20-34 in 2021. Suicide is happening at younger ages. This to me is a problem that needs to be stopped. To stop it, I want to be a therapist who teaches people that they have hope in life; the end is not the answer. Sometimes all it takes is one person to listen and understand to change the life or end of life for one individual. Furthermore, the CDC also says that 1 death happens by one's own hand every 11 minutes. 12.3 million people have considered suicide seriously 3.5 million people made a plan, and 1.7 million people attempted suicide. Keep in mind that there will be cases that are not reported to the CDC. There are more than likely way more people who are not added to the statistics. In my opinion, more young people need to become mental health professionals and experts. This will also curb the rate. Furthermore, I will advocate using my status as an expert that the education department requires middle and high schoolers to take a mental health and wellness credit. Mental health needs to be accessible to everyone. Everybody deserves help.

"Girls do not play video games!" is one of the biggest myths. I am a girl and I adore video games. I grew up playing them. As a 17-year-old, I had the pleasure of playing on the Nintendo DS, the 3DS, the Wii, the WiiU, and the Switch. One game I loved was Super Princess Peach because it was a girl power game. I also liked playing Nintendo Dogs because I enjoyed taking care of virtual pets. My favorite game by far, however, is Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS. On download play, my brother and I would play the game for hours. It was one thing I looked forward to doing with my brother. I remember one time in particular I found joy in playing Mario Kart 7 with my brother. After finishing our many chores for my mom's boyfriend, my brother and I went inside excited and got on our 3DS systems. My brother decided that we would do a race. Since I went on download play, I had to be stuck as a shy guy. Since my car was not very fast, I knew it would take strategic thinking and critical analysis. As I drifted, pulling up to my brother's car, I crossed the finish line just a hair before him. It was so much fun! My brother was older so he was "salty" that I won. In conclusion, Nintendo games were a cornerstone of my childhood. Many happy memories have been made with my family and me as we played. I love Nintendo and I am a true fan of the game, thus the most deserving applicant for your scholarship.

Being a person living with mental health issues is certainly a minority as there is a lack of understanding in society and a taboo that does not want to fade in society. As I navigate a life with mental illness and poor understanding, I find myself feeling alone and like my needs are not valid nor should anyone care. Freshman year I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and my therapist tried to get me screened for Autism but my family could not afford the screening and treatment so my Autism has not been properly treated. Additionally, living with mental illness and seeing family suffer from their own is hard to see. I know what it is like to struggle. Due to my background as a first-generation college student and my mental health struggles, my goal is to break the barriers and graduate from college and make a meaningful contribution to society by becoming a mental health counselor with the mission of lowering the suicide rate. Too many people feel pointless to the extreme that they take their own life. Though I am one person, I can still change the world for an individual one session at a time. It will be a challenging feat but I am unstoppable.

Zendaya is a talented singer. As a singer myself, I most admire her beautiful voice. Furthermore, I am a music teacher on a volunteer basis. As I criticize her singing, I most admire her timbre. Timbre is the quality of her voice. Most people can only dream of having such a crisp voice- one that is free of raspiness. Though there are other popular artists, she is unique. Only the best musicians can master a tone such as Zendaya's. In addition, Zendaya's commitment to art is truly admirable. I enjoy seeing someone who is passionate about the same craft I am, however, she is much more popular than I am. It is no wonder that the "Fireflies" and "Rewrite The Stars" singer is famous though. She is versatile. As well as singing, she is also an amazing actress. My favorite movie that she acted in is "The Greatest Showman". Her singing in it proved the strength that her voice possesses. Due to her commitment and beautiful voice, I find her to be an inspiration for musicianship and commitment to becoming the best singer possible. In conclusion, Zendaya's a remarkable singer and musician. An inspiration for many, she continues to delight her fans every day. She is truly admirable.

Hello, my name is Savannah Speight. Thank you so much for deciding to read my essay, and most importantly, thank you for choosing to be so generous as to provide high school seniors like myself a better life. A quality I greatly admire is generosity. With this being said, I do participate in school activities. I am a member of the National Honor Society and Beta Club. Both clubs are for students who have displayed academic and moral excellence. Being a part of these organizations has taught me the importance of service. Additionally, I am a part of a non-profit organization called The Do Re Mi Project. I meet online and teach children singing and music theory lessons. I have been an active part of this group for nearly a year and I am truly passionate about our mission: making music education more accessible. Furthermore, as seniors, we start applying to colleges. I have been accepted to every college I have applied to, including Winthrop University, the University of South Carolina- Aiken, Lander University, Georiga Southern University, Columbia College, Newberry College, and many more. Upon weighing my options, my plan now is to attend Winthrop University and get my undergraduate degree in Psychology. Upon successful completion of my bachelor's degree, I plan to apply to Winthrop's graduate school for mental health counseling. This is a tall and expensive order but I am determined to be a trailblazer for my family and community. Mental health is an important pillar of living a good life. Too many people are too scared to ask for help and in my opinion, this is a tragedy given the suicide rate. Sometimes, all it takes is one person to listen and understand. Finally, if I was to start a charity organization, it would be an animal shelter. I love animals and I feel like they need to be advocated for. Too many animals are abused, misplaced, and homeless. Does it make you sad to see a dirty, homeless cat or a dog with visible rib cages? My mission would be to get homeless and in danger animals out of peril and into loving homes where they will never again feel unloved and unwanted. I would serve the misplaced animals and the people with hearts open to adopting a needy animal. My volunteers will provide animal care such as cleaning kennels, walking dogs, feeding, and providing clean water to animals, brushing and bathing animals, petting them, and providing comfort and fun to their lives. Furthermore, they will advocate for community knowledge on the problem of animal homelessness and abuse. I believe this shelter will make a difference in people's and animal lives as well as advance a community. Kindness is free. Helping animals, especially cats, hits close to home as my life-long Flame Point Siamese, Booey, passed on August 5th, 2023. I am only a couple of months older than him and losing him made me realize that I love animals more than I thought. I would name the shelter "Booey's Purr" in his honor.

Being educated is a goal that everyone should aspire to, after all, knowledge is power. My reasoning for attending college is to be able to provide for my family and become an educated and well-rounded young woman. My motivation, simply put, is to be knowledgeable, and useful, as well as able to support my family while working in a career field that stimulates me and one that can have an influential impact on those I work with. My first step is applying and I have been accepted into several colleges such as Winthrop University, Newberry College, the University of South Carolina Aiken, Columbia College, and Converse University. Though there are several more, those are my top choices as far as picking a college. I want to go to Winthrop in particular but I am currently weighing my options. They all have fine Psychology programs. Furthermore, I decided on psychology because it is the most intriguing of the sciences. What is more fascinating than figuring out how the brain works and how it processes things? Not much of anything, if you ask me. Sure, there are covalent bonds in chemistry and interesting prokaryotes in biology, but psychology is personable. It is how we work. It is how we think. Psychology is what makes us "us", essentially. In my opinion, the most intriguing aspect of psychology is the attachment theory. The attachment theory is how children bond with their caregivers- particularly the mothers of infants. Attachment starts very young but impacts the way adults have relationships, be it platonic, romantic, or sexual. If a person has an "anxious" attachment style, they will most likely find it hard to depend on anyone. They often have negative self-perceptions too and this usually does not make for happy relationships down the road. Even though this sounds dismal in some ways, it is still fascinating how everybody perceives certain stimuli and experiences differently than the next person. What excites me most is how unique the science is behind it. In addition, psychology is a very broad and intricate science. For example, biology and chemistry also play parts in psychology. Biology does because the brain is a biological matter. The neurons are cells. Cells are studied intensively in biology. Chemistry also influences psychology because the brain and body in raging with chemicals, hormones, and several fluids. They chemically interact with each other. In conclusion, I desire a higher education so that I may work in an intellectually stimulating field while also providing for my family. I also want to become well-rounded. That will enable me to be knowledgeable and more useful in my field. In addition, I am deeply fascinated by psychology because it is very abstract and there is a lot to discover and learn. I cannot wait to begin college and advance myself as well as my community.

Kidneys are very important to having a healthy body. Tragically, many are not blessed with healthy kidneys. For example, I lost my best friend, a childhood pet, and a beacon of sunlight to kidney failure. My Flame Point Siamese, Booey was almost as old as I am; we are both seventeen. However, I was born a couple of months before he was. Suffice it to say, he has been here my entire life- that is until he passed August 5th, 2023. Born May 14th, 2006, Booey was the biggest kitten in the litter. His fur was all white and his eyes were a beautiful, crisp shade of blue. They looked like a painting of eyes. Together, Booey and I grew up. From infant to all-white kitten to child and orange and white young adult cat, to young woman and senior, we watched each other's transformation. Though I do not remember him being white, I know we grew up together. We were inseparable. Every day, we spent cuddled up. I fondly look back at his gentle nuzzles. Booey was also a very social cat. Most Flame Point Siamese cats are but he took it to a different level. Booey also loved my older brother. Before my brother went off to college he and Booey were also close. I remember the two cuddling on my bed last year when he visited. Unbeknownst to all of us, that would be the last time He and Booey would get the pleasures of that. My brother, Thomas, is thriving as a college sophomore but he recalls when I gave him the news that Booey was dead as he just stared at the wall for an hour. My mother's husband decided to move us to South Carolina but he still lives in Florida. My brother has been lonely down there. Booey's death saddened him as well. Everyone loved Booey and he loved everyone. For that, I am grateful to have seen what it is like to be such a peaceful and loving being. Sadly, we noticed a decline in Booey's health. He was not eating all his food. At first, I passed it off as him getting tired of his food so we changed his food. When the behavior continued and worsened, it was concerning. For example, Booey was not meowing to be fed. Booey always meowed. Booey loved food and eating a bit too much. The family joked that he was so fat that he probably crushed me when he would lay on me. Furthermore, Booey was extremely lethargic. He was also drinking a lot more and using the litter box more. Sometimes, when Booey would use the litter box, he was just sitting in there, not using it to relieve himself. It was then I urged Booey to be taken to the veterinarian's office. Unfortunately, the news was not in sweet Booey's favor. His kidneys were failing and his veterinarian recommended euthanasia- a needle that would end his life. His death was inevitable. While the procedure was going on, I stayed by his side. Petting, singing his special "You Are My Sunshine" and talking to him, I wanted the last thing he felt to be the hands that stroked his fur and the last thing he saw to be me. Losing Booey has made me distraught. Every day, I wake up missing him and blaming myself for his passing. I spent my entire life loving him so now I will spend the rest of it missing him. Rest in peace, Bowtie Bobba "Booey" Chicken Speight. May 14th, 2006- August 5th, 2023 I love you.

Struggling with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depression is a challenge as some days, I do not want to get out of bed. I suffer from suicidal ideation as well. I find it hard to push but pushing through is the only option. I choose to end life using a semicolon rather than a period. For this, I believe I am a strong person. My junior year was not normal. I moved states. This made me very lonely as my old friends and I were not close in contact. Junior year is notorious for being academically challenging and it was. I had an extra layer of stress. Then, my senior year started rough. My childhood cat, Booey, died from a Kidney Failure disease. We spent our entire life together. To lose him was a blow from life that I could not fathom. Booey died on August 5th, 2023. School started on August 1st. To say that I struggled would be a huge understatement. Some days are better than others but fortunately, I am overall doing better. I miss my sweet friend so much. I also survived bullying. For example, almost every day in middle school, I was told I should kill myself and that nobody would miss me. I was also race-shamed. It made me wish I was born of another ethnicity. I was body shamed because I was really thin with puberty not blessing me. Being a late bloomer is hard on middle school kids because everyone is starting to look more womanly but the late bloomer still looks like a child. The middle school bullies reminded me that I was flat and my teeth were crooked every day. They also made fake social profiles of me using my pictures and they also made memes mocking my appearance comparing me to an albino beaver. The albino beaver was to bully me for being white and having messed up teeth. By 8th grade, I was broken. I wanted to end it all and developed an eating disorder. Luckily, I am here to tell the story. I survived bullying. I have been blessed to still be here. Finally, I was sexually assaulted by another girl 7th grade year. Sparing the details, she damaged my mental health and my body. I wish I could take the pain away forever but I know this is not possible. I can only hope to heal. She made me feel disgusting in my own body. I believe she was partially a catalyst for my eating disorder. In conclusion, going through so much abuse and loss as a young person has impacted me in more ways than people know. I hope that I find peace one day. I decided to work in the mental health field to help others find the light I crave for myself. As "Get Up" by Shinedown says, "Get up, get a move on...", it is important to push yourself to get up and become better. I firmly believe in this quote and that is why Shinedown is one of my favorite bands. They sing uplifting, beautiful songs.

Developing an understanding of myself and learning more about maintaining a healthy mental state is not an easy feat for a high school senior who is navigating the life changes and important decisions that come with early adulthood. On top of this, mourning a loved one's death makes it an even harder journey to navigate. After many hardships I faced, I decided that the best path for me was to help others in bad situations. Living with mental illness is crippling and unfortunately, it is a stigmatized issue. If we do not stigmatize cancer then why do we do it to mental illness? My mission as someone who struggles with the long-term effects of mental illness is to lower the stigma towards seeking help and support and to serve the community to lower the suicide rate. Being mentally ill also changes the way I navigate my interpersonal relationships. I have a Generalized Anxiety Disorder diagnosis. The anxiety can sometimes make me emotionally unavailable. Though I love the people around me, sometimes, it is hard for me to express love when I am constantly in a state of at least mild anxiety, if not severe or depression. Finally, I see the world as cruel. There is no mercy for the weak and it does not care for strife. Life is always punching; it will knock you down. There is hope but I see life through a somewhat dismal lease.

Five days into my senior year, my gorgeous Flame Point Siamese died. Booey, who spent 17 years by my side as I grew up, died. He was always there for me. He was a beacon of happiness and he did whatever he could to make me feel better on a bad day. On a good day, I would go to bed with his smiling face and soft purrs awaiting me. He was my best friend. I loved him. Instead of leaving him alone to be euthanized, I stayed by his side talking to him, petting him, and singing our special song. It was a traumatic experience for me. Seeing my once vibrant loved one's eyes drain and become clouded was hard to see. I have no regrets because it was comforting to him and he was always there for me at my lowest. It was his turn. I spent my entire life loving him so now, I will spend the rest of it missing him. The aftermath of losing Booey has been excruciatingly painful. Every morning I wake up to his ashes beside me and it's the same for nights. It feels like when the doctor looked up and said "He's gone". I know that it's him but it feels cold and empty. Does that mean he is mad at me? Does he hate me for what I allowed to happen to him? I signed his euthanasia papers to end his suffering. Did he want that? In addition, junior year, the year before he died, I moved states. When I was completely alone, I still had him. Dealing with my loneliness, regret, and mourning was a pain I could not fathom. My grades slipped junior year and my GPA fell by .1 point which may not look bad but it still hurts to know that I slipped up badly as an upperclassman. As a senior, I am dealing with stress such as scholarships, and making major life choices, all while dealing with my depression and anxiety. On a personal scale, I have been causing stress to my loved ones. They do not want me to be depressed and wallow in sadness. I feel sad that I am finding it so hard to tough it out. For their sake at least, I need to get better. I understand that it is my responsibility to heal. However, it is good to lean on them for support when I need it. Understanding that it is my responsibility to get better, I take steps to help myself get better. I exercise regularly. My favorite activity is running. I took Physical Education this year and facts back up that exercise helps with mental health. I feel that I have more energy. When my boyfriend and I work out together, it feels even better because we're spending the time together both having physical and mental health benefits due to a shared experience. I also journal. Instead of venting to others and making them feel my pain, I choose to write it out in the form of poetry and writing. It feels relaxing to see the pen strokes as I write out my feelings. I also journal the happy moments. For example, for our 7-month anniversary, my boyfriend gave me an hour of massaging in a candle-lit room. It made me feel so loved. Identifying the people in life that care for me and love me has helped me feel less alone. Though it is a gradual process, I have found healing since August 5th, 2023 when Booey passed. Thank you for letting me share our story.

Mental illness is a growing crisis. In a person's life, it will affect several aspects of their life. For example, several factors have played into my mental health. Particularly, my earliest memories of mental issues becoming bothersome were when I was bullied throughout my academic career. In elementary school, I would fake being sick to avoid bullying. Being scared of getting hurt is a telltale sign of early anxiety. Unfortunately, my anxiety only got worse; freshman year I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. To begin with, my undergraduate degree is a BA in Psychology. Understanding the struggle, I want to work with teens and families to ease them into a healthier life. Furthermore, I will advocate for suicide prevention- an epidemic that has shaken my life to a core. My mother, overwhelmed by my father leaving his family, tried to end her life. If she felt less alone and more supported, she would have never tried to end her life. Through therapeutic services in the future and making myself emotionally available for those around me as well as educating myself on mental illness, I advocate for mental health on a small scale as of now. However, supporting me is supporting the cause: helping to end our mental health crisis. In addition, therapy is something that I regularly recommend to friends who may be struggling. Thanks to those who dedicate their lives to helping others and being a teacher of mental health, we have people finding hope. Recommending that others seek professional help is great. It is a good way to ensure the people around you are getting the healthcare they need. Perhaps, therapy and mental health should be prioritized in schools as well. Teenagers commonly die from killing themselves. It's a silent death because mental health and illness are so taboo in society. Tragically so, the silence does not help. Ending the stigmatization of mental illness is the best way to advocate for mental illness. Male mental health issues are even more stigmatized because society preaches that "men must be strong" and "men do not cry". While I agree, that men should be strong, teaching men to ignore their emotions and letting our sons, fathers, and brothers mill themselves is tragic. We as a society need to do better for our men by ending the stigma and encouraging them to go to therapy. Therapy and help is for everyone.

Life is a journey. Unfortunately, it is also a lottery. A person is given a life at random and will need to make choices and pave their way. My life has been challenging. Instead of ending it with a period, I choose to end it with a semicolon. To begin with, many factors have harmed my mental health. Being sexually assaulted, growing up without my father, moving states halfway through high school, and losing my cat that I grew up with are just a few obstacles that I have dealt with. Though I hold strong, on the inside I am anxious and depressed. It weighs me down heavily. Some days I barely have the momentum to get out of bed in the morning. It is a daily struggle. I understand how hard life is- especially for the mentally ill. Due to my wars within myself, I want to become a therapist. Helping others with their mental health and guiding the way to a better life is a noble feat. I admire my therapists for all that they do. In addition, I believe that we need to learn more as a society about mental health. For example, a classmate in last year's US History class thought Anorexia was a form of retardation. Anorexia is a sensitive nerve for me as I struggle with disordered eating myself. How as a society can we progress if high school juniors aren't educated enough on mental health issues? There should be a mandatory class where students learn the fundamentals of psychology, and personal mental health, as well as support others with mental health issues. One day, I will advocate for this. I believe this will substantially lower the suicide rates. Furthermore, mental health struggles affect my relationship with my family, friends, and my boyfriend. Sometimes, my mother is impatient with me. She does not understand that I am too exhausted to fold my laundry as soon as I come home on Fridays. She does not understand how much it takes for me to get up and get ready for school. We often argue because she does not like how "lazy" I am sometimes. I am not being lazy. It is just depression and anxiety. My friends also don't understand me. They say things like "Savannah is on her depression vibes again!" as a joke. I feel like my friends are not good a support system. My boyfriend gets exhausted sometimes emotionally. He does his best to support me but I can tell he is drained by it. It makes me feel guilty because I love everyone but I do not think I am an easy person to love. In conclusion, mental health impacts every part of my life. I am doing my best to get better. I hope to one day help others accomplish their mental health goals as well. Grit is an important thing to remember as I battle myself.

"When life gives you lemon, you make lemonade" is such a popular phrase. Life gives lemons often but your job is to make the best of it. Despite living a hard life, I chose to end mine with a semicolon, not a period. To make lemonade, you take the challenges of life and embrace them. Doing otherwise is not a choice. My mental health and issues are the lemons. My choices and aspirations are the lemonade. To begin with, losing my Flame Point Siamese, Booey, was devastating. Booey was born 5 months after me and together, we grew up. From infant and kitten to child and young adult and young woman to elderly cat, we were inseparable. Booey was there for me at some of my lowest points. For example, in junior year, he was my silver lining when I moved to South Carolina. I lost everything. I had no friends and I was surrounded by rude people who hated outsiders. Every day I woke up with a purpose and it was to take care of my sweet Booey. Without him, I would have been purposeless. Booey was also there for me when I had a bad day. His sweet purrs and cuddles always gently reminded me that on the darkest of days, I always had my Booey to go back to. Booey was a beacon of joy as well. He always had a smile on his face. While I cried over my difficult Chemistry work, he was there. While I researched college admissions standards, he was there. When I had my first semester in high school online due to the pandemic, he was there. Our bond was truly a gift from God. Then Booey got sick. First, it was him not eating all his food which I did not think much of because cats can be finicky about their food. When he stopped meowing for food and seemed fatigued, we took Booey to the vet and he was given the diagnosis that truly shook me to my core; his kidneys were failing. Booey, my best friend, my ray of sunshine, my world, was going to die and there was nothing I could do to help him. I hated myself for this. He did everything for me and I was useless to do anything for him. He was set to be euthanized the next day. The entire night, I cuddled with him, talked to him, petted him, and sang him his special song. For as long as I can remember, I always sang "You Are My Sunshine" to him. It was a song that comforted him to sleep. The next day, my mother and I took Booey to the vet. I petted him and continued to sing to him and talk to him. Once we were called, the vet let us have some more time with him. Booey was so sick. Nothing prepared me for having to sign his euthanasia papers and watch the process. Though I don't regret being there to comfort him as he died, seeing my vibrant, brilliant-eyed friend dead on a table and seeing his eyes completely lifeless has changed me as a person. Booey died on August 5th, 2023. The aftermath of Booey's death has been extremely detrimental to all aspects of my life. I stopped caring for school for a bit. Once I got my desire back, I found myself getting depressed in class. My mind hasn't been on academics which is awful because this is my last year of school. My relationship with my boyfriend is great but he is often overwhelmed by my grief. My relationship with my family isn't as good because I am often in a bad mood. I believe now that the hardest part of love is grief. I loved Booey with everything I had and now I feel broken. For a while, I wanted to distance myself from those I love to avoid getting hurt when they died. Instead, I chose to love them more. Tomorrow is not guaranteed so it is best to focus on what is in front of you. Experiencing such a devastating loss has hurt me. Other factors hurt too. My pain has been excruciating. I hope to become a mental health counselor someday. Booey would want me to live his legacy of being a beacon of sunshine. He is not dead, for I live in his legacy with a mission to honor him. Rest in peace, Bowtie Bobba Booey Chicken Speight. You may be gone but you'll never be forgotten. I love you so much. It will always be us against the world. I spent my entire life loving you and I will spend the rest of it missing and loving you. One day, I hope to see you in Heaven. I am sorry I couldn't do more. I love you more than you will ever know. May 14th, 2006-August 5th, 2023

Friendship, amity, and competition are just a few words that come to mind when I think about Minecraft. To many, it is even a learning opportunity. For example, my brother met a person from a different country who used Technoblade's videos as a way to learn English. The Minecraft community is also a wholesome one. There is minimal arguing and disagreement. Instead, you will find people happily playing this game. I think my favorite part of the game is the servers, especially Hypixel. To begin with, Minecraft was introduced to me by my older brother by my boyfriend when we were kids. My boyfriend and my brother played Minecraft on a console while my sister and I hung out with my boyfriend's older half-sister. When we got home, my brother could not stop telling stories of the game. At this moment, my brother and I weren't close. I credit Minecraft for bringing us together. I smile at the countless rounds of Hypixel "Bed Wars" we played together. Laughing side by side and telling stories, we bonded over playing this game together. My brother and I learned more about each other and now we spend time together outside of the game. At 19 and 17, we are inseparable. In conclusion, Minecraft is a great game that brings people together. Thanks to Hypixel Minecraft, I have a relationship with my brother. Minecraft is more than "just a game". It is a community of people that come together to have fun together and destress.

Anybody who loves a challenge loves math. I love to be challenged and perplexed; as someone who struggles in math, I find it to be the most gratifying subject to pass. For example, I took a test in my Pre-Calculus class and I passed! Knowing that it was my hard work that led me to my passing score fills me with pride. To begin with, for as long as long as I can remember, I have found math to be such a difficult subject. From remedial math to honors math, my determination in math has led me to success. That drive and ambition continue to burn within me as I take Pre-Calculus. Last semester, I managed to pass Algebra II Honors with a B average. Continuing the drive throughout Pre-Calculus takes energy. It is a very difficult course. Regardless, I am determined that I will pass and overcome the hardest topics. In addition, I have been accepted into several colleges. This includes Newberry College, Winthrop University, and the University of South Carolina-Aiken. I committed to Columbia College. As a psychology major, I will find statistics to be essential. I love this because I will never be bored thanks to the mathematical aspect of the subject. It will be a challenge and I am up for it. In conclusion, math is a challenge and a puzzle. I am an analytical person who enjoys this. It provides me with a sense of pride when I master the concept.

Some family members are human, some are animals. When I was 6 months old, the house cat had a litter of kittens. One of the kittens was my Booey. Booey was born as a pure white cat with blue eyes. Side by side, Booey and I grew up together. His full name was Bowtie Bobba Booey Chicken Speight. His colors came in as a Flame Point Siamese. To begin with, from baby and kitten to child and young adult to young woman to elderly cat, we spent our entire lives loving each other. I fondly recall during the winter he would nudge my arms apart so he could get in them and cuddle. It was so sweet. We needed each other's warmth. I remember the sweet sound of his purrs. He did this year-round but especially during the winter. I also remember being asleep and hearing my cat meow. It sounded more like a parrot squawking. As I slowly opened my eyes, I was greeted by his cute face. His mouth was open and his eyes slightly shut. He was the sweetest little cat. I miss him so much... I began noticing unusual behavior with Booey. For instance, Booey loved to eat. When he stopped meowing, I was confused. I figured I was just feeding him before he got hungry. I then realized that Booey was not eating. It was gradual. Booey was eating a little bit but even that ceased. He wasn't eating anything to my absolute horror. Booey was also a vibrant cat who perked up at my presence and even that wasn't as happy. Instead of jumping from my bed to rub on me, I got twitches when I would sit beside him and greet him. I was horrified. I told my mom that he seemed very ill. Booey was taken to the animal hospital and they ran lab tests on him. They found that his kidney had failed and because it was so bad, it ulcerated his stomach. When he was taken to the hospital, I was at school and I called Mom as soon as I could. I asked her what was wrong and she delivered the message to me. I broke down then and there. Booey was like a brother to me. How? Why? When I got home, I saw Booey. There on my bed lay my sick brother. I lay beside him and cuddled him. I broke down again. The next day, per the recommendation of the hospital staff, I signed the papers to have him euthanized. Booey always took care of me at my lowest so it was my turn. I held him, pet him, and sang his special "You Are My Sunshine".Watching the process was one of the hardest things but family supports family. Booey was an immediate family member. He was far from "just a cat". The aftermath of his death has been excruciating. Every day I wake up without him, I come home from school without him, and every night I go to bed without him. I love you Booey and I miss you more than anything. You were more than "just a cat". Rest In Peace Bowtie Bobba Booey Chicken Speight, though gone, never forgotten. May 14th, 2006- August 5th, 2023

My name is Savannah Speight and I am a high school senior. I am an animal lover. I had a cat named Booey who died on August 5th, 2023 at 17 years old. We spent our lives together attached at the hip. Cats are very special to me. I also enjoy singing, especially Classical and Baroque music. As a volunteer, I teach singing lessons as well as music theory lessons. I find it fun, influential, and rewarding. In addition, I have been accepted into several colleges such as Newberry College and Winthrop University. I committed to Columbia College as a Psychology major. I am so excited to start my journey! I love to learn. To begin with, mental illness is a growing epidemic and suicide rates are increasing. As someone who struggles with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, the statistics hit close to home. My loved ones also suffer from mental disorders. As a therapist, my goal is to lower the suicide rates. Though I'm only one person, I still hope that I can help guide people to happiness as a therapist. I want to work with children and families in particular. In my opinion, stronger family units will help. Communication is vital, especially for sufferers of mental illness. In addition, I hope to create a mental health practice. By hiring other mental health professionals, I plan to foster a team environment where we all work together. Patient confidentiality will be respected but we will have meetings as to how to be the best professionals possible. Warm work environments make for better results. I realize I have a lot to learn but I have ideas for how it can be run. Furthermore, I want to teach Psychology at the collegiate level to assist in creating more professionals. I want to be an adjunct professor so that I can mainly focus on being a therapist. Adjunct professors teach part-time. As a professor, I will make engaging lessons and discussions based on relevant psychological information. If my students apply themselves, they will be prepared in whatever field they may be interested in. In conclusion, I am a well-rounded student who plans to make a difference in our world. By owning my practice and by being a therapist, I hope to lower the suicide rates substantially in my community. Furthermore, by teaching psychology, I will be preparing the next generation of leaders to become what they were destined to accomplish.

Empathy, understanding, and kindness are a couple of my favorite qualities that friends use to describe me. Life has not been an easy journey for me but I am still pushing. Luckily, my mother and I have been reunited after I was in foster care. Regardless, it impacted me and all that has happened to me in life pushed me to become a therapist. It is also my empathy, understanding personality, and kindness that makes me believe I'll be a suitable therapist. To begin with, I believe empathy is a dying trait. Often, I see people that only think for themselves. People are becoming incapable of seeing how others may feel or how their actions can impact another. I believe that my empathy will serve my clients well. They will feel seen, heard, and validated. I will also give them the best lessons I can to help people understand themselves. Empathy goes a long way in helping others, especially in the mental health field. In addition, to be understanding is also unique. A lot of humanity seems to be out of touch. People fail to see the humanity and play the Devil's Advocate. Why does retaliation always make someone the bad guy? After all, as humans, we have an innate instinct to defend ourselves. As a Christian therapist, I also know not to be judgemental; to judge is to sin. Furthermore, kindness is something that is a cornerstone in therapeutic practice. I am often described to be kind. Being kind will allow my clients to be open with me and tell me what their issues and feelings are. I truly believe that once I graduate from graduate school, I will be an influential therapist because of my traits. I also took a psychology class online and I passed it with an A average. An A demonstrates to me that I have what it takes to succeed in a psychology class on the collegiate level. Psychology is very abstract- I did well learning the material. To become a therapist, one must have a good understanding of how our minds work. I believe I do and that understanding will only grow as I begin my studies at Columbia College. In conclusion, my background will make for an excellent therapist. Though I'm not a perfect person, who is? I try my best and I have a good heart. I'm also driven by success and by helping others.

Hello, my name is Savannah Speight. I am a 17-year-old living with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and suspected Autism Spectrum Disorder. I have many passions and interests. For example, I am a cat lover and I love music. I am also fascinated by the human mind. The human mind is a perplexing set of ideas and theories. Every day, we learn more about the mind. It fascinates me. This aided in my decision to become a psychology major. In my free time, I volunteer to teach music every other Monday and Friday. I keep myself occupied so that I don't get in my head. After the sexual assaults I faced in middle school, my anxiety came to a head. Feeling disgusting and disregarded, I began to abuse myself in 8th grade freshman year. I viewed myself as fat at first. I forced myself not to eat and when I did, I purged. I believe that it permanently stopped me from developing fully. My mother eventually caught on to my behavior so she enrolled me in therapy and kept a closer eye on my food consumption. My anxiety became more generalized and luckily, I am a survivor of an eating disorder. I'm grateful that I have it under control now. It feels better to be properly nourished. Anxiety isn't easier per se. The panic attacks that I have are embarrassing. I had two at my job and the second one nearly cost me my job. The anxiety is overwhelming but I know that I have no choice but to keep fighting. I am currently ranked 9 in my class and I hold membership in the National Honor Society and Beta Club. I am also a survivor of a suicide attempt. After a breakdown, I was in my head and I could not escape. I wanted to end it all. If I had succeeded, my lifespan would have been from December 31st, 2005-October 12th, 2023. Fortunately, my plan failed and I am still here to tell the story. I have no choice but to keep pushing. That is the only option. Finally, my mental illness has contributed to my career aspirations. I want to become a therapist. Therapists are life savers. Though I cannot change the world, I can change the world for one person. That will fulfill my purpose. To serve others and lead them to a brighter life is a blessing for a special kind of person. I also have my Christian faith to look for. Life is a blessing, no matter how dark it may be sometimes.

Greetings, thank you for reviewing my application. Charity and generosity are essential in our shared religion. I admire the spirit of generosity within you. I aspire to be just as charitable as you. To begin with, I am a 17-year-old senior. I enjoy singing and working with children. In my free time, I spend a lot of it singing or volunteering to teach it. I also love animals. I especially love cats. I had a Flame Point Siamese named Bowtie Bobba Booey Chicken Speight (We called him Booey or Chicken for short) for 17 years. Unfortunately, Booey died due to kidney failure on August 5th, 2023. I know God is taking care of him now but I truly miss my sweet little friend. Due to my love for caring for others, I decided to become a therapist. Mental illness is an epidemic. Staying true to my religion, I have committed to Columbia College. There I will take classes with religious themes to better my relationship with Him. My major is Psychology and I am excited to start the journey God picked for me. I will do my best to show Christian character and be a non-judgmental therapist and I will try to make the community better with my knowledge of mental health and psychology. Even though I'm only one woman and I cannot change the world on my own, I hope to change the world for one person and guide them to a better life and future. In addition, reading has shown me a lot about psychology. For example, "The Lunar Chronicles" has a demented queen. Forced to burn herself at a young age, she grew resentful and learned to utilize her lunar glamour. Her abusive sister, Queen Channary died leaving an heir to the throne. Princess Levana wanted to become queen more than anything so she killed her niece. Levana was demented and abused. She shows hallmark symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder such as excessive vanity and overconfidence. She is controlling and arrogant. Her thinking fascinates me. It made me want to study psychology to get a deeper understanding of the mind and what it can take before snapping. In conclusion, Christian faith and fascination with the mind will lead me to my goal of becoming a therapist. Therapists can lead people to a better life and change the world for one individual. One person can make a difference in the world on a small scale. I thank God for all that I am. He guides me to the path of excellence. His wisdom and love for me show everyday and I'm grateful to such a generous creator. I love our God.

Hello, generous reader. Thank you for taking the time to review my scholarship application. I greatly appreciate it. May God bless you for your charity and generosity. To start, my name is Savannah Speight and I am a high school senior. I have many passions and interests. For example, I love to sing and teach. That is why I decided to start volunteering with the Do Re Mi Project. I also love volunteering because charity and generosity are essential to my faith as a Christian. I also like studying the mind and helping others. As someone who grew up surrounded by mental illness, I want to do something to alleviate the stress and pain mental illness causes people by becoming a therapist. To become a therapist, I will need help financially by generous people such as yourself. It is best to highlight the path I must take to accomplish my goals and to make my community a better place. First, I will complete my BA in Psychology, studying under Columbia College's fine program. To support myself and my family, I will also need to work full-time. I must ensure my success so I am going to be an online student. Upon successful completion of my degree, I will either go to the University of South Carolina or Clemson University to get my master's to become a therapist. It will take a lot of work and patience but I am determined to succeed. My only concern is the financial burden this will have on my family and the damage it can cause to my credit card. Finally, this scholarship will help me tremendously. Perhaps, I can even get my first semester in college handled for no cost. I would be able to focus on paying rent instead of tuition. This will alleviate my anxiety and stress and I would be grateful. Also, God has a purpose for me and I want to accomplish said purpose at a Christian-affiliated college. This is not a cheap endeavor. The money will certainly help. Please consider awarding me the scholarship. In conclusion, rewarding me is to reward a young woman devoted to Christ and service. That is a commendable gesture and your choice to award me the scholarship will not go unnoticed. I will have to support myself and my family in college so please help me to help myself, my family, and my community as I continue to reach for the stars and defeat all odds.

Service: a cornerstone in our society that people often disregard as "free labor". Volunteering not only benefits the community but also will help the volunteer by teaching them charity and it also fosters a better sense of self. Volunteering taught me to think more about the feelings of others as well as their needs. For example, I have been a volunteer for the Do Re Mi Project for ten months. Our mission is to make music education more accessible. I am a voice and music theory teacher within our online community. I have been teaching for ten months now. To begin with, I enjoy working with children. This made me discover that whatever I decided to go to school for, I would work with children. I want to be a full-time counselor for children. My students have taught me that I have what it takes to work with kids, particularly elementary-aged children. I am curious about how children think and how they learn. I would not have seen this side of myself without volunteering with the Do Re Mi Project. Furthermore, I believe that volunteering taught me to help others even if I can expect nothing but growth and gratitude in return. Over these ten months, I have seen a shy little girl develop into a confident and skilled singer. She has taken my expectations and she has blown me away. Now, she can sing confidently with a significantly improved technique. In the winter, I will host a holiday recital for her and I am confident that everybody who listens to her will be impressed. Even though she will not pay me or give me an object, seeing the growth that I facilitated is more than rewarding for me. I could not be any more proud of her. Finally, I would like to continue volunteering. Upon graduating high school, I will move to Fort Lawn, South Carolina and join the church there. I want to volunteer to serve God via church choir and assist where possible. Serving God has its benefits and He will improve. It will also make the church experience more entertaining and more inviting. In a Biblical sense, He rejoices in the service that His people take the time to do. Being Christian is important to my identity and it is also why I picked Columbia College. Columbia College is a religious campus where I will take a class in religion as well. In conclusion, volunteering has many benefits. Not only is the volunteer learning more, they are also helping the community. Being a volunteer is a win-win. I love volunteering and it is a passion that as a Christian, I will always hold dear to my heart.

The ability to take ownership, initiative, empathy, kindness, intelligence, and humility are just a few ideas that come to mind when I think of attributes that make a leader a good one. Today, there are a lot of following and unoriginal ideas. Leadership is a set of qualities that are beginning to die out. In my opinion, leadership is a set of qualities rather than the misconception that it is its quality, and it is important to keep communities running effectively. To begin with, leaders can take ownership of a situation. To be a leader, one must not sit on the sidelines waiting for someone- the leader will take accountability. The leader will go beyond what is expected. Rather than mediocre work, the leader will provide the best work that they can produce. Furthermore, a leader can feel for others and their struggles. A true leader will not be so callous as to disregard and dismiss others. Instead, a good leader will try to help those who suffer continue to strive and become better. Being stagnant would not be tolerated; they will get help to be at their best. Being kind is also important. A good leader will not abuse any power or try to hurt others. It is imperative that a leader is kind and shows respect for those they lead. In addition, intelligence is a trait leaders require. An intelligent leader understands how to think critically and help lead people out of any predicaments. Finally, a leader must be humble. While they may lead well, nobody knows the answers always and that is an important reality to acknowledge. Seeking guidance from others does not make you a weaker leader. If anything it shows bravery. A leader does not act arrogantly. In addition, leaders are essential to keeping communities running. Could you imagine a fourth-grade class without their teacher? The class would be in a perpetual state of discord. What about the United States without our president? How would we run without our head of state? Nothing would get accomplished. In essence, leaders keep everything running smoothly. Without leaders, everything would be confusing and nobody would understand what we should do. All the people would wait for someone else to step up. Without leaders, nobody will and our world would be a dangerous anarchy. Leaders are necessary and we have known that since humanity started. That is why we have rules and guidelines written into law by our leaders. To conclude, leadership is a set of qualities rather than a single trait. Leaders keep communities running effectively and we need them to keep everybody safe and happy.

Everyone has aspirations, goals, and a life story behind them. I am not an exception as a first-generation student. As the child of a father who abandoned his family and only received a high school diploma and a mother who went to a technical college for one year, my going to graduate school is an unheard-of phenomenon within my family. I plan to become a therapist and become an adjunct professor. Since I am graduating in December, I had to rush the process of picking colleges compared to the other members of the class of 2024. I have committed to Columbia College as a Psychology major. To keep my grades up, I will commit to a study pattern as well as work full-time to support my family. After I graduate from Columbia College, my next step is to attend the University of South Carolina-Columbia. I want to get my masters in Clinical Mental Health, and a graduate certificate in Play Therapy, and then enroll in their master's/doctorate program in Psychology. This will make me beyond qualified to become a professor and allow me to be a well-rounded therapist. As outlined in my response, this plan will be extremely costly and I will no doubt need help to help others. Though my undergraduate degree is discounted due to my being an online student, it will still be expensive. My mother also remarried and he makes a good sum of money. However, he doesn't help me in life at all. Even though he is retired, he refuses to give me rides to work making me unable to work. He even makes me take the bus on my ride back to the house despite being home. FAFSA will not work in my favor even though he doesn't plan to contribute anything to my classes and education. He has even expressed that he doesn't believe I have the aptitude for college despite my success as a high schooler. Having someone who puts me down and refuses to help despite being able to in my life makes going to college and funding my education much more difficult. Awarding me much-needed scholarship support will help tremendously. Any bit of money helps. I wasn't able to work much because I didn't have a ride and I live in a dangerous and rural area. When I attend Columbia, I will be moving in with my loved ones. They will help me but they cannot support my financially. Any help would be gratefully taken and helping me will one day change someone's life.

As a high school sophomore, a student is accustomed to the rules, building, people, and teachers if it is their second year at the school. That was my experience as a student. Ninth grade year I spent the first half doing school from home due to COVID-19, but I still went in for extracurriculars such as Band and Chorus. Since I had a head start socially, I was able to make friends, especially with a lot of the Chorus upperclassmen. I learned a lot from them. They essentially became my biggest support system and for that, I will always be grateful. More than anything, I was comfortable and happy; being comfortable and happy in school was a feeling I lost after moving. To begin with, I grew up in Lake Worth, Florida, and moved to Allendale, South Carolina. The two places could not be any different. For example, Lake Worth is a large city and Allendale is a small, dying town. That alone was a shock to me. Because of the limited options for me to make money, gain experience, and learn more, I was stuck at a standstill. Throughout my junior and senior years, I lost track of what I wanted to do with life. My aspirations have changed a lot but now I am secure with my decision to major in Psychology. Part of my reasoning as to why I want to pursue this is so I can help teenagers like me who struggle with mental health. This change in life also caused me to resent my mother and her husband. I feel that they put very little care into my feelings. Even though we have insurance, they never put me back into therapy to cope with all the emotional turmoil. In addition, my friendships have also been affected. I had a great support system of girls that I could count on for anything without judgment. Being the new kid completely uprooted me from my support system. Instead, I go to a school that has a toxic and uncaring culture. I have no support system here. My friends back at home are in loose communication. We still all care for each other very much and we are always willing to give advice when needed. However, things just don't feel the same anymore. At times, I feel very lonely. I crave a group hug. I desire us to gather around the piano as Erin plays and we sing. I really wish I had in-person friends. In a nutshell, moving states and schools completely turned my life upside down. It changed my life, affected my friendships, and completely changed my outlook on how the future will go. Being the "new kid" is more than just "I have no friends", it changes every aspect of life. I believe this is especially true when a student moves to a different state as well. From my experience, since moving here junior year, I haven't seen any of my friends since. It is a sad reality but I will make sure to do the best I can given the circumstances that I was put into.

I hope to become an esthetician and have better control of my Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and to become a mother.

Imagine this: you are 13, staying after school for pep rally practice with your middle school chorus when you're all placed on a code red. What is happening? Is it my turn to be a victim? Will I live to see my mother and cat? Why me? What did I do? I ended up living to tell this tale. There was a shooting next to my school- not on campus. Regardless, in society, that anxiety is intense. I am glad to be a high school senior—one more year to endure that threat and fear of losing my life in the place I meant to feel safest. Hopefully, as a technical college student, I will be safer. I will use my business plan to teach kids how to behave to bring awareness during code reds. I want to have a cat cafe. I can make a summer camp where children get to spend time with cats while being educated on safety and having fun. It will also contribute to running my business and keeping it afloat. I was admittedly a bit more involved with extracurriculars in my first high school down in Lake Worth, Florida. I held various leadership positions as a sophomore in the chorus: Trojan Pride Chorus. I did various functions such as assisting with uniform inspections, keeping the chorus room tidy, neat, and orderly, as well as running our Instagram profile. I loved chorus. I loved the singing. The community chorus fosters isn't like any other. Moving truly turned my life around. After moving as an upperclassman (junior), I now participate in the National Honor Society, and the Beta Club, and I am a volunteer with the Do Re Mi Project. Since our programs are small, we do the same things as members of each club. We do positive activities for our community such as reading books to children, donating food to food drives, raising money for cancer research, and trash clean-ups. It is an honor to be a part of a group dedicated to raising our Allendale community. As a Do Re Mi volunteer, I continue to foster the spirit and love for music within myself by sharing the gift with others. My responsibility is to teach singing and music theory to children in elementary and middle school. I love this opportunity! It allows me to give back to the music community- one that is positive and wholesome for the most part. Thank you for taking the time to review my writing. Please consider me for your scholarship and support my dreams to become a business owner and prominent community member and advocate.

Volunteering is influential to me as a person and as a vocalist. I am a Do Re Mi Project volunteer and the mission is to set high schoolers up with middle and elementary school at the most affordable price: free! We the volunteers give free music lessons and there is a variety of instruments to choose from. I am a voice tutor. While I have volunteered my time with multiple organizations, the Do Re Mi Project is the topic I will speak of because it goes excellently with my major, Music Education. To begin with, one thing I learned about myself through volunteering with the Do Re Mi Project is my love for teaching. I derive so much pleasure from watching students grow as students, people as well as musicians. This experience confirmed to me that I love music and I love teaching just as much. I learned that this career will be fulfilling and rewarding and will fill my life with joy and serenity. I will provide an example of this using a fake name to refer to my first student. Melody has already learned so much. For example, she has learned so much about music theory. Melody has a lovely voice but she came as a complete beginner as far as reading music. Now, she is much more confident in her understanding and she will only continue to thrive. It fills me with so much joy to see her become this phenomenal musician. Seeing as I already love teaching at such a young age, I thank my services for teaching me that I am pursuing the correct path for myself. In addition, volunteer service is leading me to be able to be around horses more often and I adore horses. Due to my love for music and teaching it, I have confirmed my desire to go to college and attend the University of South Carolina-Aiken. Aiken is an equine area and horses are everywhere. While I work on my major, I will also get to be around all kinds of horses and I will get to learn more about them. Finally, throughout my services, I learned that I am a more competent musician than I once thought. I have always struggled with performance anxiety and I still do, however, as a teacher, if I can uplift younger people with their musical abilities then I must be better than I thought. I believe that I am unstoppable in the music world. In conclusion, I learned through volunteering with the Do Re Mi Project that I love to teach and sing, I love horses and I also am better than I once believed as I struggled with my mental health and anxiety issues. Volunteering has taught me so much and I am immensely grateful for the amazing opportunities to help my community.

Most people find math to be highly challenging, myself included. This is precisely why I love math. There is nothing more enthralling than solving a problem correctly and then receiving praise for doing such a good job. To begin with, I have always struggled to do any math. Rather than the close-minded thought "Math is too hard", I choose to think of it as a challenge to overcome. I am currently enrolled in Algebra II Honors. All throughout middle and high school, I was enrolled in regular math classes. Being an honors math student has pushed me to my limits, however, I love it. I love the challenge and the sense of satisfaction I get when I overcome it. In addition, I love learning math because it is important to what I plan to study. I will be a Music Education major and I feel strongly that math is important to music. For example, rhythm requires basic counting as well as number sense and keeping the tempo. If a vocalist is not counting the score correctly, or consistently speeding up and slowing down, it is not performed correctly. I myself love to give my audience the best performance I can. Math always helps with having a phenomenal performance. Finally, I like to make sense of things and find an easier way to understand information. For example, last semester I took Geometry I and geometry definitely is a great course to learn real-world applications. Tan, cosine, and sine are trigonometric concepts, and using the formulas will help you to find missing values. In the real world, that may be the case because the figure is too large or too small. The same also applies to the use of scientific notation. As well as Algebra II Honors, I am also enrolled in Chemistry I. In Chemistry, we learned the usage of scientific notation. Scientific notation is important because it makes very large numbers look smaller and easier to read. It makes very small numbers easier to read. In conclusion, I love learning math because it challenges me to think and work hard, and it gives me a chance to feel I overcame something. It also goes hand in hand with my passion which is music and singing. I am also a logical person who likes to make sense of things that without math, wouldn't be understandable. I love learning math.

I am a seventeen-year-old girl who lives in Allendale, South Carolina. I was raised in Lake Worth, Florida. I moved to Allendale in the summer of my junior year of high school. Prior to moving, I discovered my passion, my love, and what I want to do for the rest of my life: sing and be a music teacher. I believe that music can save people. Not only can music bring you closer to our Savior but it can also bring you mental peace. It also gives youth and the people it touches a release. It provides a positive way to vent out anger, depression, and anxiety without touching drugs or alcohol. Especially since moving, I have seen the young ladies around me pregnant at young ages, and worst of all, the youth have addictions and self-abusive cycles. To begin with, as an aspiring choral music teacher, I believe tackling Substance Use Disorder before it starts is a great place to begin. Most of the time, people turn to drugs due to depression or other mental health disorders. Music is a community. While I never used drugs myself, I had severe anxiety and social anxiety as well as depression during freshman year. It was so bad I hid in closets during the morning to avoid socializing with my peers. When I met my chorus community, I was brought out of my shell and accepted into a group of strong and supportive young women. If these people had access to a positive community at a young age, I believe the issue would be a lot less severe. Having our youth involved with positive behavior will curb the problem when the youth is no longer youthful. Music saved me from my anxieties and depression and I feel that it can help everyone. In addition, educating myself on substance abuse is something that I am passionate about. I never used drugs in my life. However, my family has and so have my friends who were not involved in positive activity. I attended a gang awareness workshop and it was very insightful. Gang members often felt trapped in their criminal circles and their drug circles. Negative community and activity do not help to stop the cycle of abusing substances. Furthermore, I would like to attend more workshops as well as awareness programs for drugs to further educate myself. I also listen to stories about substance use online as I feel that it will help me to understand the nuances of this issue. I also want the education to benefit me when I am teaching so that I can ensure that I would be a competent guide and a safe way out of the abusive cycle. Finally, music has healing abilities. As a music teacher, part of the required curriculum is vocal health and taking care of your body. Drugs, especially smoking drugs, are horrible for the vocal cords. Not only is this required, but it is something that I am passionate about. As a young singer and composer, I believe that in order to perform well, I have to be in good health. Even outside of music, it is important to be at your best. In conclusion, I am a seventeen-year-old young woman who strives to keep the music community alive as well helping the fight to end substance abuse and get people the help they need.

Literature can be many things. For some, it can be an opportunity to learn, enjoy an escape, or get an A in your English class. Reading has no limits. As a book lover, I feel that Regina Bunch's book, "Sick of Shame" could make a difference in the world and a safer place for young girls and women seeing as it touches the very sensitive subject of sexual assault and rape in a very expertly and meticulously crafted manner. Because of this, I wish I could have the whole world read "Sick Of Shame" by Regina Bunch. To begin with, "Sick of Shame" shines a light on being a "victim" and being a "survivor". Being a victim is to not stand up, whereas a survivor thrives. The survivor speaks up about the injustices and speaks up so other women and girls will not have a need to. Regina Bunch advocated this in her book. I believe this is a reason everyone should read it. All over the world, women are being raped, assaulted, not listened to, or just completely dismissed. Listening to an intelligent woman's perspective and the story could empower women to not be fearful. Women do not even want to leave their houses alone due to the fear of rape, kidnapping, or even worse. Furthermore, I believe that one woman sharing her story will allow other people to rise up and speak up. Men can also be survivors of abuse. For example, Johnny Depp, while not abused sexually, was still abused brutally. He was petrified to share his story because his abuser, Amber Heard told him that nobody would believe him. She silenced him. One person telling their story can shine a light on other people's stories. In conclusion, I believe that everyone should read Regina Bunch's "Sick of Shame." As a book enthusiast, I love reading to learn, understand, and enjoy a great story. However, as a feminist, I enjoy reading women's stories and seeing the strong women of society stand up, allowing young girls or abused men to speak up. It takes one voice and the rest will stand up. I want everyone to read Regina Bunch's powerful autobiography, "Sick of Shame". If everyone reads "Sick of Shame", our society will take a big step in the right direction and help to end the unfathomable cruelties that happen behind closed doors.

As a young woman, I feel that education is imperative to our youth and I plan to mentor the pupils that I will have when I accomplish my dream: that is to graduate with my Music Education degree. I aspire to get my doctorate to follow in the footsteps of an extraordinary music educator that I had the honor and privilege of studying under freshman year. To begin with, participating in extracurricular activities has allowed me many phenomenal chances to make friends and be inspired by many great mentors. For example, in freshman year, my chorus had a student teacher come from Palm Beach Atlantic University come and intern. She went above and beyond for all of us, not just me. She helped me develop as a singer. Once a week, she would meet with me and have me sing for her and then she'd teach me and tell me what I needed to improve on. Her passion and genuine interest in me and my craft truly did change me and the direction I want to take in life. She also understood my troubles with anxiety, social anxiety, as well as performance anxiety. Her care with my musical education journey as well as her understanding of my mental health challenges inspired me to become an educator and mentor to the young people I will teach after high school. Throughout elementary and middle school, I was bullied mercilessly for not looking like the other children. I was short, pale-skinned, had crooked teeth, and was very thin. This contributed to the anxieties that I had with socialization and performing but also in general. I did not feel worthy of love. However, she truly made a difference and it is unfathomable to anybody besides us how much she changed me. Mentoring is important to our youth because it not only aids in the social and emotional development of children but also their academics and passions. Furthermore, education is essential to our youth. In many locations throughout our world, people are denied the right to education. This especially impacts young women like myself, people from impoverished countries, and people who just cannot afford education and must support their families. Children need to be educated. Children are the future of our society, and culture and will be tomorrow's leaders. As a future teacher, I am ecstatic to mentor and lead children to a better future where they can aspire more than any other generation has. Finally, to be an educator or mentor is work done by the heart. Children need older role models in their lives so they have someone to look up to and somebody wise to aspire to. I feel that humans as a race are highly social animals. We live in such advanced societies, more than we can say about any other animal race. This is to say that educators and mentors are needed. In the early stages, it is indeed crucial. The compassion, care, and interaction with a caring adult or older person can truly make a difference. As a future choral music educator and someone who has had the privilege of seeing a fine education and receiving mentoring, I can attest to this. In conclusion, I feel that education and mentoring are vital to our youth. Education allows children to be world-class citizens, productive members, and intelligent leaders in our society. Mentoring is a gift to the heart as well as furthering and enriching the children’s education. It is very important to children and I cannot wait to give back to society what I received after I graduate from university.

My life started off with my mom, my dad, and my older brother and sister. Unfortunately, my father decided to turn his back on my family, and then all three of us children were left with my unemployed mom. My stepfather later joined my family as my mom's boyfriend, later marrying her. However, my stepfather and I are not close. I want my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and so forth not to worry about college. I will go to college and graduate by any means possible. I won't receive much help from my mom seeing as she does not make too much money as an LPN nurse. My stepfather will not help me with college seeing as we have a strained relationship. Instead, I will apply for as many scholarships as possible and work jobs. My dream is to become a music educator and performer. I will create generational wealth. My jobs and lack of debt will allow my children to attend school and live comfortably. I will encourage them to follow their dreams; I will encourage them to look at pay as well. I will make about $40,000 dollars a year teaching vocal music education. I will also perform in bigger works to pull in more money to make sure I live comfortably, show passion, and make sure my children are not worried about money and college or trade school if that is their dream. I dream to make money and make sure my children and their prosperity are comfortable.

Mental health impacts so many aspects of us as people, including myself. My mental health has shaped me as person. To begin with, mental health influenced my beliefs by making me overthink. I am a current high school junior but senior year I only have four classes to take. I have the choice to graduate early or take advantage of dual enrollment. My anxiety is making me go back and forth. On the one hand, I am a new girl and I did not grow up with these people so walking during graduation isn't as important. However, I have made some new friendships and feel as though I am robbing the experience from my mom. I owe it to her to walk during graduation. Free college is also something highly beneficial because I won't have as much debt. This kind of anxiety back and forth has me believing that I do not know what is best for me. In addition, my mental health has influenced my relationships as well. For example, since I have trust issues, it can be hard for me to trust people. To trust people, the person has to be a part of my life for a while. I have two best friends who I love very much. They've done everything to show me that they're here for me unconditionally. Finally, my mental health definitely impacted my career aspirations. I want to be a music educator with emphasis in vocals. My mental health was drastically better thanks to the love and care I received from my high school choir. Sadly, I moved away but there is a community choir that I will be joining. I want to create a choir program that fosters the same love and acceptance as my old school's choir. Music can connect each other and influence mental health more than any endeavors. In a nutshell, mental health influences so much of my life. While it hasn't always been easy, I know one day I will make someone else's better.

I am a choir girl! I have been singing since 2nd grade and this is now my junior year. The song that has the most important message to me is Stephen Paulus's song "The Road Home". The arrangement I sang in my choir freshman year was an SATB arrangement. I sang the Soprano solo for the song as well. This song holds a special spot in my heart. The song starts with "Oooooo". It helps to set the tone and musicality of the song. Once the "Ooooos" are over, some of the lyrics are, "Tell me where is the road, I can call my own. That I left, that I lost, so long ago. All the years, I have wandered oh when will I know there's a way, there's a road, that will lead me home." To me, the message of this song is finding a place where you truly belong; a place where you can be yourself, and settle in happily, with no worries. Freshman year was a time where I truly felt I had nobody. Singing that song while settling into my choir that accepted me with such a beautiful and powerful message was life changing. This song is one of the reasons why I am majoring in Music Education with vocal emphasis: to teach choirs songs that they can connect to.

Music education can nourish the social-emotional and intellectual needs of gifted children. My dream career and goal is to become a vocal music educator. To begin with, my music programs will be split into levels. There will be a beginner mixed choir, (3-parts or SAB; SAB means Soprano, Alto, Baritone) a women's choir (SSAA and SSA; SSAA means Soprano I, Soprano II, Alto I, Alto II and SSA means Soprano I, Soprano II, Alto) and an advanced mixed choir. (SATB means Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) My choirs will have a place for everyone. The advanced choir and women's choir will allow the intellectual and musically gifted students to be challenged with a more rigorous curriculum and more advanced studies in music theory and more challenging songs. There will also be a lower-level choir so that it can build up lower leveled children. Secondly, a choir is a family. I was privileged enough to have experienced that firsthand. In my choirs, we will discuss music and the emotions behind it. For example, Z. Randall Stroope's "Inscription of Hope" words were taken from a cellar in which Jewish people were hiding from the Nazi German terrorists. The song shares how the writer feels God is silent in these tough times but nonetheless is there, protecting and hearing his people's heart cry. He prays for time to get better. The final words in the song go as followed. "May there someday be sunshine. May there someday be happiness? May there someday... be love. May there someday be peace" We sang this song 8th-grade year. This is a very touchy topic to discuss with children. The Holocaust was a scary and very emotional time in history. However, gifted children would be able to grasp the weight of the situation with proper guidance and learn from it as an example through conversation and understanding their feelings as well as the feelings of other people. Another way my dream choirs will help gifted children with their social-emotional needs is how will encourage everyone to be themselves! My choirs will be accepting everyone! Gifted children may feel out of place. They are ahead of everyone else. However, this will be celebrated! They will feel like they can help the children who are not as gifted. This benefits the children in my class regardless of their levels. In conclusion, my dream and goal are to teach Music Education (vocally). This will allow gifted children to truly flourish as a member of my choirs! My dreams will allow me to live a fulfilled life as well as inspire the gifted youth that I teach.

When someone shares a gift to you that touches your soul you will feel it for life. The gift of music education is my soul-touching gift. Higher education is important to me because I want to teach vocal music to young people. I also want to inspire children and teach empathy to children through the field of music education. To begin with, higher education is important to me because I want to give back what I received. I was a student at Lake Worth High School for two years. That is my freshman and sophomore year. My time singing among Trojan Pride Chorus was the happiest years of my life. The music was beautiful and often relatable to me in some way or another. It is important that I give this back to my students. I was blessed and I believe in giving back to the world. Even if I have struggles, I will never give up on my passion and desire to give back to the world. Secondly, I was inspired by my music educators and my chorus president. They taught me something that I will never forget: it is important to believe in yourself and to always work hard. Before high school, I was insecure and I suffered from anxiety. I remember my freshman (9th grade) teacher pulling me aside and telling me he believed in me. We were preparing for our surprise concert where I had a solo. (The song that I sang with the solo was "The Road Home".) I wasn't accustomed such care and empathy towards my anxiety. Also, as Historian of the choir, I was expected to be a role model. I also had to prove my fortitude when it came to my music as well as my academic fortitude. I had to learn my choral music at an accelerated pace as well as maintain a 3.0 GPA. I did that and more, ending sophomore year with a solid 3.5. In conclusion, higher education is important to me because I want to give to the world what I received. I received something worthy of putting on my resume, inspiration to aspire to be something amazing, confidence, diligence, and increased confidence. I want to spread this to my students. However, it starts with graduating high school. After that, I can go to college and accomplish my dreams. Higher education is something that I've been passionate about since freshman year.