Having healthy eating habits creates the best and healthiest version of ourselves. If we fuel our bodies with the correct nutrients it needs, humans can perform at their very best. A well-balanced diet of whole foods provides many benefits, including protecting vital organs, boosting mood, and building a strong as well as efficient body. Heart disease and obesity are becoming an epidemic in the United States alone, becoming the number one killer in America and worldwide. Displaying 23 percent of all deaths, that is approximately 635,260 people annually in just the United States. Once I realized that having healthy eating habits may help me live longer and boost my immune system, I cut out drinking soda when I was 16 years old. I began eating clean, only white meat and fish, fitting in fibrous foods, whole grains, and greens. Such a simple adjustment changed my entire life. I began not only looking but feeling so much better. I lost body fat and gained muscle. The healthiest I had ever been in my entire life was due to a clean diet and frequent exercise. I was able to achieve a healthy weight by actually gaining mass and not being underweight like I had been for the first 16 years of my life. Simply by eating foods rich in nutrients instead of garbage, I was able to transform myself. I noticed that it became easier to sleep and I finally had the energy to complete tasks I had previously been neglecting. My wrestling career improved exponentially once I started consuming the proper amount of foods, high in protein and healthy fats. I began feeling confident again, and surprisingly, why grades began to improve as well. I went from an average student to making the honor roll my entire senior year in high school, with AP classes. Once my family began to notice my healthy eating habits, they were inspired to do the same. I was able to help my mom lose 20 pounds in just a few months by helping her by simply switching to eating whole, nutrient-dense foods and drinking only water. As I continue to live a healthy life style, I feel healthier with each passing day. It's galvanizing how making simple changes to our diets can improve our lives so much. Eating healthy is the key to living longer and happier lives, which is why I believe eating healthy has already changed my life.

When I was a freshman in high school, I made a decision that changed my life forever. I was always interested in sports from an early age, however, I wasn't nearly as fast as the other kids. I wasn't strong or big, so any hits in the sports I tried to play such as lacrosse or soccer ended up completely taking me to the sidelines. When my history teacher (and future coach) introduced me to the sport of wrestling, I fell in love instantly. Standing at a whopping 101 pounds, and fourteen years old, I began training every day after school. I never thought the day I would start would come so soon, but when the 113-pounder was withdrawn from the program, it was time for my debut. Surprisingly, I won my first match, and it was anything but pretty, but that one five-minute match sparked a fire in me that has yet to die out, to this day. My excitement could hardly be contained in the following weeks, but weeks turned into months and that one win was the only success I had in my first year. Eventually losing got old to me and I decided to make my life easier and quit the sport upon completion of the season. The following year, I gained weight as well as height and decided to compete in competitive swimming for the first time. My dad grew disappointed in me and even doubted my success due to my failure to stick with wrestling, a sport I was naturally talented at. But I eventually proved him wrong and then I wrestled for the last two years of my high school career after moving schools. It was all I had, wrestling was my life, yet I still couldn't get the results I wanted. No matter what, everyone seemed so much stronger on the mat and the sport continued to be frustrating, but for some reason, I stook with it. With one year to go, I knew I had to do something to turn my losing records around for my senior year, and that is the very moment I fell in love with fitness. Every day after school and throughout the summer, I went to a previous state champion's garage and trained harder than I ever had in my entire life. I was sick of everyone being stronger and more athletic than me, it was time for me to turn my life around. Every day, with minimal rest I ran over 100 miles in the summer, became familiar with weight training and proper nutrition, and as expected, the hard work paid off. I qualified for regionals and placed in my senior year and my only regret was that I didn't start my fitness journey sooner. I fell in love with the process and seeing the gains I made in the gym and on the track made me train all day, every day. I was able to cut my mile time down by two minutes in one summer and bench over my body weight in the same amount of time. As a college wrestler, I continue the same habits by not partying and doing what the majority of college students do, but rather living a lifestyle I enjoy and I know will benefit my future. Health has become the main aspect of my life. Every decision I have made has been centered around my physical as well as mental health, which I believe are the most important factors in a person's life. My passion for fitness has made me who I am today and tomorrow.

From an early age, I was always looking for my next adventure. As I've aged over the last eighteen years, I've realized that this untapped curiosity was just me trying to push myself into fulfilling my maximum potential; physically, mentally, and emotionally. I remember very vividly watching a YouTube video of something I never thought was possible, Alex Honnold becoming the first climber to free solo El Captain in Yosemite, in 2017. I, like many others, became fascinated by the brute strength and courage it took to even attempt such a feat, and then I began imagining myself doing the same, and then more. I began to think to myself, "What if?" What if I could one-day free solo a mountain?" And then my fear of heights didn't seem so bad anymore, instead, my anxiety became triumphed over my passion. Within that same year, I joined a local rock climbing gym and began my journey. For once in my life, I enjoyed and was thriving at a sport. The hobby turned into a lifestyle and climbing became an everyday part of my life, like a friend that never left my side. I eventually transitioned into wrestling as I aged and the technique as well as gripping strength I developed translated directly into my high school wrestling experience. Now that I am a freshman in college, I would like to pick up where I left off and finally reach my maximum potential after all these years. The help of such a generous scholarship could make not only that dream come true but many others. Upon completion of my freshman wrestling season, I have become aware of the fact that I am very fortunate to have even been allowed to do what I love, and that is to wrestle while in college. I learned to embrace the hard practices, the weight cutting, and the homesickness to get the opportunity to step on the mat and represent God and my family. My dream is becoming compromised due to the high amount my parents are paying to put me through school. But I'm not going to give up on my dream, I will be a national champion one day in wrestling, no matter what it takes. With your help, I can create history and attempt to live in the image of Sean Allen. By pursuing what I love, by all means possible, with an unbreakable mindset and determination, I will one day not only conquer the mat, but also the tallest mountains and feats that get in my way in life. Thank you very much for giving me and many others the opportunity to pursue climbing and receiving higher education, I wish to become an international businessman, which is why I am majoring in International Business and enjoy learning other languages.