Don’t tie a ship to a single anchor, nor life to a single hope. I watched my dad go to the gas station every day and buy a 2-liter bottle of grape or orange Crush, 1 pack of Altoids or Winterfresh gum, 2 newspapers, a lottery ticket, and a candy car. His real goal though was to win the lottery, which is a hope he is still holding on to. When it came to asking him about helping me pay for college though, the response I got was, “Sorry, I don’t have it.” If you add up the average cost of those items a day, it comes out to be about $8.00. If you add up that value for a year, it is $2,920. If you do that for 18 years, it comes out to be $52,560. He could have had more than enough to help me pay, but without proper planning, I was left to fend for myself. The major lesson I learned from him is that it is easy to save. You just have to have self discipline and allocate your income wisely. In addition to that, Just by leaving that money as it is, I could have gone to college and grad school for free, but if it was properly invested, he could have had enough to pay all of that for my brother and I. Calculating that amount made me realize how important each of our daily decisions are. Using that logic also made me realize how business owners easily make $100,000. If you get 1,000 people to pay $100 for a product, you could easily make $100,000. Those figures and my dad made me realize the importance of simply putting your money in the right places.

We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited. Most times, the highest rung of what’s possible for you is far beyond the world you can see. The thing is, no one showed me what was possible. I simply had to navigate that unknown territory myself. My goal for this project is to show the children in what I call my home community the possibilities that are out there for them. I want to show them that they truly can do anything they set their mind to. I want to show them that they don’t have to relive their parent’s lives and that they can be different, unique, and revolutionary. For most kids in that area, they don’t have a real-life example that they can look up to, so I want to be that example for them. My life goal is to build a Youth Center in my old neighborhood in Chicago similar to the one I grew up in; it had a computer lab, a homework help center, activities in the kitchen promoting health, a martial arts studio, roller skating nights, field trips around the city, and much more. The building had been torn down due to flooding and poor infrastructure, but being there showed me that there was much more to life than what I had seen in my immediate surroundings. My goal now is to give back to my community by showing them that they don’t have to go into athletics or into STEM in order to be successful. My goal is to recreate that center while also integrating a ceramics studio, which is a new found passion of mine.

Don’t tie a ship to a single anchor, nor life to a single hope. I watched my dad go to the gas station every day and buy a 2-liter bottle of grape or orange Crush, 1 pack of Altoids or Winterfresh gum, 2 newspapers, a lottery ticket, and a candy car. His real goal though was to win the lottery, which is a hope he is still holding on to. When it came to asking him about helping me pay for college though, the response I got was, “Sorry, I don’t have it.” If you add up the average cost of those items a day, it comes out to be about $8.00. If you add up that value for a year, it is $2,920. If you do that for 18 years, it comes out to be $52,560. He could have had more than enough to help me pay, but without proper planning, I was left to fend for myself. The major lesson I learned from him is that it is easy to save. You just have to have self discipline and allocate your income wisely. In addition to that, Just by leaving that money as it is, I could have gone to college and grad school for free, but if it was properly invested, he could have had enough to pay all of that for my brother and I. Calculating that amount made me realize how important each of our daily decisions are. Using that logic also made me realize how business owners easily make $100,000. If you get 1,000 people to pay $100 for a product, you could easily make $100,000. Those figures and my dad made me realize the importance of simply putting your money in the right places.

Martin Luther King Jr. stated it best, “Darkness can not drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” That’s our biggest problem today. We forgot how to love. Love is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you, but it could be defined by loving someone enough to realize that maybe the reason they treat you poorly is because that’s the only way they’ve been treated in life. Loving others means to love them in their pain and to help them make a way out. Many people today have convinced themselves that there is no fulfilment in love because that’s easier to believe than to accept the fact that real love is out there, but it’s just absent from their lives. Lying about their distaste for love is a way for them to articulate ongoing rage at the failure of love’s promise. Martin Luther King Jr. inspires me because he had a unique vision; a vision of the future. Before many could fathom a different life, he envisioned a future filled with love. Before many came to the realization, he realized that you ultimately destroy your enemy when they become your friend. Currently, our society is diseased with a lack of love, but I want our future choices and goals to reflect our hopes, not our fears. Having a common, positive goal is the ultimate goal. That’s the only way we’ll change the world. That’s the only way we’ll live in harmony, see justice come to fruition, and to live in peace. In the end, we need to realize that we’re not enemies. We never were. If we learn to love ourselves and others just a little more every day, we could change everything.

We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited. Most times, the highest rung of what’s possible for you is far beyond the world you can see. The thing is, no one showed me what was possible. I simply had to navigate that unknown territory myself. It wasn’t until I went to a private university with a plethora of resources that I truly realized the disparities in education when it comes to different socioeconomic backgrounds. Sadly, I wouldn’t have even known what that highest rung of what’s possible for me had I not taken a chance on applying to this school and receiving the financial aid that I did. The thing is, it shouldn’t take for a girl like me to go to a private school to have access to a successful future. A student shouldn’t have to take out thousands of dollars in loans to receive a solid education either. The ability to have a bright future should start much earlier. Everyone doesn’t have to take the same path when it comes to obtaining an education, but everyone should have the opportunity available to pursue any path their heart desires. We should all take a stand for educational equity by not letting our schooling get in the way of our education. When we do so, we not only have a smarter nation, we have a stronger nation.

All About Love by Bell Hooks is the book that changed my life forever. In the early stages of the pandemic, I was in the greatest relationship of my life. After the breakup, I went into a deep depression. I’d been through breakups before, but for some reason I couldn’t shake this one. I kept thinking, “ What is it about him?” I started to think that maybe I needed to see a therapist because it got to the point where I was unmotivated to do homework, eat, sleep, or shower. I’d constantly just drown my ears with sad love songs. It got to the point where I truly felt like it was a problem. I didn’t love the food I used to love anymore. Things that used to be funny to me simply made me feel numb. All I felt during this period was emptiness. As a college student with 3 jobs, 18 credit hours, and a family to cook and clean for, I knew trying to afford a therapist was out of the picture, so I did what I always knew to do when I had problems that needed fixing: I went to Google and read thousands of reviews. I found this gem and never looked back. This book made me realize that it wasn’t him per se, but it was him triggering my unresolved issues that I had buried from the past. Before reading this book, I spent my whole life catering to others, but in the process I didn’t realize that I was actually neglecting myself. When others didn’t act or give in the same way I did, I felt used and unappreciated. Ultimately, her book showed me how to truly love myself, how to communicate my needs, and taught me that my voice mattered too.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s 5th principle of nonviolence inspires me every single day. While there are many injustices in society today related to incarceration, disparities in accessibility to opportunity, racially motivated violence, and manipulation of power, there is only one way to stop evil and injustice from occurring. That is to lead with love and to focus on finding solutions instead of problems. Martin Luther King Jr. stated it best, “Darkness can not drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Violent people have convinced themselves that there is no fulfilment in love because that’s easier to believe than to accept the fact that real love is out there, but it’s just absent from their lives. Lying about their distaste for love is a way for them to articulate ongoing rage at the failure of love’s promise. Some see nonviolence as being inactive, but restraint is powerful. If words control you, then everyone who speaks can control you. Believers of nonviolence don’t simply endure injustice until someone changes their mind; love is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you, but it could be defined by loving someone enough to realize that maybe the reason they treat you poorly is because that’s the only way they’ve been treated in life. Loving others means to love them in their pain and to help them make a way out. Martin Luther King Jr. inspires me the most because he had a unique vision; a vision of the future. Before many could fathom a different life, he envisioned a future filled with love. Before many came to the realization, he realized that you ultimately destroy your enemy when they become your friend.

I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T do you know what that means? Hearing that song for the first time as a seven year old, I had a completely different understanding of what it meant to be independent. Back then I really thought it meant that a woman needed to have her own house, her own car, and her own income. I’ve come to learn that that’s not exactly the case. Growing up as a military dependent I was forced to be independent. I always had to navigate new landscapes alone and quickly learn new course content without assistance. Being independent as a child groomed me to have the confidence to know that wherever I am placed in the world, I will succeed. I’ve also learned through this journey that I know more than I think I do; learning that over time has helped me to build trust within myself and has influenced me to take more risks. Without risk, there is no reward. By not having a huge support group or great amount of support growing up, I’ve learned to be the jack-of-all-trades and learned time that it’s okay not to have help because all help isn’t good help. As an adult, I have a different interpretation of what it means to be independent; being independent means going down the road less traveled, having no assistance, and having the courage to tackle challenges yourself. By being alone, you are also forced to become original,unique, and self-sufficient. People think there is strength in numbers, but depending on others to constantly affirm or help you is not strength at all. Ultimately, being independent means to fully believe in yourself to accomplish anything your heart desires and having the confidence to do so alone.

Abandoned Expectations 1. Sooner or Later by N.E.R.D. 2. Brain Stew by Green Day 3. ROS (Rain or Shine) by Mac Miller 4. Anyway by Phil Beaudreau 5. Contradiction’s Maze by Oddisee ft. Maimouna Youssef 6. No Such Thing by John Mayer 7. Through Heaven's Eyes by Brian Stokes Mitchell Artist name: Lady in Black

One moment his hand is in mine. His cheek is against my cheek. The sun is shining against our beautifully bronzed skin. Your smile is brightening my life. The next moment, I am sitting in my apartment, alone, longing for the warmth of his fingertips. I cried for the next 106 days and nights. If I had the chance, I would make more time to spend with you. If we had the chance to gaze at the stars once more, I promise I won’t complain about the mosquitoes. Instead, I stand still, heart cracking. So many good memories... but the only one to replay in my head is that of the little curls on the back of your head bouncing as you step out of my life, forever. If I had the chance to start again with you, I would hold in my heart this prayer by Caroline Myss, “This day in my life will never come again. I will never see the people I am looking at again. I will never see the sunrise again, and I will never see that sunset. I will never see the person having breakfast with me again. Nothing in my life like this will ever come again.” I have come to learn now that there are no mistakes, only lessons. If I had the chance, I would take the risk to give you my all. I would enjoy the time. I would enjoy your love.

Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We called our meetings Black Fem Healing Circles. Being a military dependent, I had to learn to be alone, resilient, and adapt to new environments quite a bit. Being here with them though finally gave me a sense of security of a place to call home. I found my true family. I found peace. I found the perfect representation of love. I hope to help others to find it too.

My childhood consisted of broken promises, insults, and being told statements like, “Stay inside. Don’t get too dark,” and “Um… are you going to go outside with your hair looking like that?” Don’t forget, “How are you black with no butt? and “How can you be so dark and talk so white?” “Dude…it was just a joke. Don’t get angry. Y’all are always so angry.” Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. I see myself now as being beloved, beautifully bronzed and blackened. My hair defies the weight of the world. The elements can not break me or hold me down, so when the sun hits my skin, I rebel blacker. In life, I began to rebel blacker. Being abandoned and neglected by my father, my lovers, and by the American system itself, I simply learned to embrace the fact that the black woman has no allies. She has to make a way for herself on her own. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We called our meetings Black Fem Healing Circles. Being a military dependent, I had to learn to be alone, resilient, and adapt to new environments quite a bit. Being here with them though finally gave me a sense of security of a place to call home. I found my true family. I found peace. I found the perfect representation of love. With my psychology degree, I plan to share my testimony with others about how to not lose hope when they feel as if there is no end. I hope to make them feel loved and to let them know that their voices deserve to be heard. By coming from where they did, I hope to go to underrepresented communities and be a living representation of what it’s like to be more and do more. I want to show them that with resilience, perseverance, and determination, they truly can do anything and be anyone they want to be. Right now, I am on track to graduate a year early with minimal debt and having this scholarship would bring me one step closer to making my dreams of being a debt-free college graduate into a reality.

One second I was looking at the sky from the back seat of my mother's green Acura MDX. The next second I was screaming for my life. This was the day that my family and I got smashed by an 18-wheeler. This was the day I lost the woman I love most. Ten seconds of terror. Ten seconds of spins and turnovers from one huge crash. This was the one and only day of my life that I shrieked out, "MOMMY!" The car stopped. I looked to my side and saw that my baby sister, who was an infant, had slept through it all. My mother and brother were silent. A few seconds later, she asked if we were okay. We were, but sat in silence from the shock. The car was still partially on the road and cars were coming and going, but no one stopped. I looked back and saw a massive truck behind us. I couldn’t see behind us before; I took a double take. Whoever hit us had completely obliterated the trailer attached to our truck from our military move. After my mom called the police I looked down and searched for the gift my crush had given before the day of our departure. It was gone. All I had now was an empty bucket and shards of candy spread over my lap. We spent about thirty minutes in almost complete darkness searching for everything we could in the middle of nowhere and the car battery was dying because we used the lights to see, so we simply sat in the darkness amongst coyotes waiting for the police to come. The next day, they filed a report of our injuries and we got checked out. The problem with that is that they don't look at the long term. If you don't show signs of injury that very day, it's as if nothing happened. Even though we did not come out on the other end of the accident with any visible injuries, something happened to my mom that still incurs trauma to her to this very day. No longer could we go on long road trips together, laugh and groove to the latest hit songs, or even just enjoy the ride. We still don't speak about that event to this day, but one thing is for sure. It only takes one second. Any lack of attention and the people you know and love can be gone in an instant. Not only were we struggling financially to recover from such an unexpected occurrence, but my mother no longer drove with confidence. Physically she was fine, but mentally she was gone. She hit the brakes at every inconsistency in the road, constantly being reminded of someone else almost taking the life of everyone she loved. My goal now is to not only show people how important being attentive when driving is, but I also want to advocate better laws for truck drivers. Many times, they have to drive for hours on end with no break or rest stop in sight. I also wanted to advocate for trauma centers for veterans when the aftereffects of an event don’t show up instantly after the event occurred because all trauma matters and trauma knows no timeline.

My childhood consisted of broken promises, insults, and being told statements like, “Stay inside. Don’t get too dark,” and “Um… are you going to go outside with your hair looking like that?” Don’t forget, “How are you black with no butt? and “How can you be so dark and talk so white?” “Dude…it was just a joke. Don’t get angry. Y’all are always so angry.” Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. I see myself now as being beloved, beautifully bronzed and blackened. My hair defies the weight of the world. The elements can not break me or hold me down, so when the sun hits my skin, I rebel blacker. In life, I began to rebel blacker. Being abandoned and neglected by my father, my lovers, and by the American system itself, I simply learned to embrace the fact that the black woman has no allies. She has to make a way for herself on her own. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We called our meetings Black Fem Healing Circles. Being a military dependent, I had to learn to be alone, resilient, and adapt to new environments quite a bit. Being here with them though finally gave me a sense of security of a place to call home. I found my true family. I found peace. I found the perfect representation of love. With my psychology degree, I plan to share my testimony with others about how to not lose hope when they feel as if there is no end. I hope to make them feel loved and to let them know that their voices deserve to be heard. By coming from where they did, I hope to go to underrepresented communities and be a living representation of what it’s like to be more and do more. I want to show them that with resilience, perseverance, and determination, they truly can do anything and be anyone they want to be. Right now, I am on track to graduate a year early with minimal debt and having this scholarship would bring me one step closer to making my dreams of being a debt-free college graduate into a reality.

Mrs.Wex changed my life. Coming into her class as a sixth grader, I had no idea what to expect. She had such a different approach to teaching that I loved being there everyday. When we learned about hunter-gatherers and Homosapiens, she actually came to class one day dressed as a cavewoman and acted as such for the first 20 minutes of class. In teams, we’d take turns as groups correcting grammar worksheets; the winners of the round would earn stickies, which could later be used in a prize auction. This type of environment made me appreciate collaboration; before this, group work to me simply meant that I was doing all of the work. Her approach to teaching by using positive reinforcement in a warm environment changed my entire way of thinking and made me value my education and collaborative work much more. Having her hold us to such a high academic standard pushed me to do my best and motivated me to love history and english. Before her class, I never saw the importance of either of those subjects. After taking her class, I realized that in order to be successful in any field, you need to know the history of it in order to get a sense of why the present is the way it is, and to get a better sense of what visions to implement for the future. Mrs. Wex also taught me the importance of written and verbal communication. The smartest person in the world won’t be recognized if they don’t present their ideas to other people in an effective manner. She also made us look up quotes every week and one that always stuck with me is that “There are no mistakes in life, only lessons.” People that accomplish the greatest tasks in life don’t see obstacles or mistakes as setbacks; instead, they see obstacles as ways to use their skills and abilities to overcome any challenge thrown at them. Having that mindset changed my life and my view of life itself. After graduating from high school, I knew that there was so much about the world that I still didn’t know and I felt like I needed to explore more. I was mainly motivated to go to college because of that realization and because of my mom. She grew up with four siblings and Black parents that were at a disadvantage in the education system and in their work environments. Growing up, I saw the inequality of the distribution of opportunities and resources that some people were able to acquire simply by being in different environments. My mother’s goal was always to be an officer in the military, but because of a lack of knowledge and because of discrimination in the workplace, that dream will never come to fruition even after her serving for over 30 years. It was also eye-opening to know that just by having a college degree, I could go into the military as an officer. That right there showed me the value of an education. Just by having a college degree, I’d be able to surpass the hard work of my mother who has been serving for decades. In the end, I learned that if you want more doors to open, then you need a good degree in your desired field and as little debt as possible. Ultimately, my goal is to ultimately graduate a year early with no loans and having this scholarship would bring me one step closer to turning my dream into reality.

Instead of coming into this school year with new clothes, shoes, or school supplies, I simply came in with a new mindset. My entire life had been focused on striving to be perfect in everything I pursued. Being isolated during the Covid-19 pandemic taught me so much about myself, my family, my friends, and it allowed me to truly embrace every aspect of life. It made me reflect on my aspirations and whose goals I was actually trying to accomplish. I realized soon enough that goals I was reaching for were never mine to begin with, so today I decided to set a new goal for myself. This goal is simply to step out of my comfort zone and be unapologetically bold. The video attached is simply me being myself. This is me embracing my state of loneliness. This is me embracing my imperfections. This is me finally mastering my fear and having the courage to share it publicly. This is me. Real. Raw. Unedited.

My childhood consisted of broken promises, insults, and being told statements like, “Stay inside. Don’t get too dark,” and “Um… are you going to go outside with your hair looking like that?” Don’t forget, “How are you black with no butt and... how can you be so dark and talk so white?” “Dude…it was just a joke. Don’t get angry. Y’all are always so angry.” I’m tired of acting like my pain doesn’t hurt. What I see as strength, they see as an opening to treat me any type of way because I can endure anything. In reality, I’m fragile. Treat me delicately. I will break. I did break. Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. I see myself now as being beloved, beautifully bronzed and blackened. My hair defies the weight of the world. The elements can not break me or hold me down, so when the sun hits my skin, I rebel blacker. In life, I began to rebel blacker. I soon learned that love is not about being a ride-or-die. In the end, you will die anyway. It is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you. Even blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t thicker than peace. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We called our meetings Black Fem Healing Circles. Being a military dependent, I had to learn to be alone and adapt to new environments quite a bit. Being here with them though finally gave me a sense of security of a place to call home. I found my true family. I found peace. I found love. My vision is to ultimately change the words we were made to view ourselves in society and to replace them with positive speech and thought. When we change our vocabulary, we not only change our outlook, we change our world. And when we change our worldview keeping in mind to hold ourselves in the highest regard, the world will have no choice but to follow suit.

My childhood consisted of broken promises, insults, and being told statements like, “Stay inside. Don’t get too dark,” and “Um… are you going to go outside with your hair looking like that?” Don’t forget, “How are you black with no butt and... how can you be so dark and talk so white?” “Dude…it was just a joke. Don’t get angry. Y’all are always so angry.” I’m tired of acting like my pain doesn’t hurt. What I see as strength, they see as an opening to treat me any type of way because I can endure anything. In reality, I’m fragile. Treat me delicately. I will break. I did break. Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can, and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. I see myself now as being beloved, beautifully bronzed and blackened. My hair defies the weight of the world. The elements can not break me or hold me down, so when the sun hits my skin, I rebel blacker. In life, I began to rebel blacker. I soon learned that love is not about being a ride-or-die. In the end, you will die anyway. It is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you. Even blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t thicker than peace. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We called our meetings Black Fem Healing Circles. Being a military dependent, I had to learn to be alone and adapt to new environments quite a bit. Being here with them though finally gave me a sense of security of a place to call home. I found my true family. I found peace. I found love.

My childhood consisted of broken promises, insults, and being told statements like, “Stay inside. Don’t get too dark,” and “Um… are you going to go outside with your hair looking like that?” Don’t forget, “How are you black with no butt and... how can you be so dark and talk so white?” “Dude…it was just a joke. Don’t get angry. Y’all are always so angry.” I’m tired of acting like my pain doesn’t hurt. What I see as strength, they see as an opening to treat me any type of way because I can endure anything. In reality, I’m fragile. Treat me delicately. I will break. I did break. Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. I see myself now as being beloved, beautifully bronzed and blackened. My hair defies the weight of the world. The elements can not break me or hold me down, so when the sun hits my skin, I rebel blacker. In life, I began to rebel blacker. I soon learned that love is not about being a ride-or-die. In the end, you will die anyway. It is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you. Even blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t thicker than peace. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We knew that if we wanted help as black women and LGBTQ men, we would have to help ourselves; that is shown by history and the present.

What do you do when the love of your life leaves and you now have the responsibility of caring for a child? What do you do when it happens a second time? How about a third? Let me tell you she did. She put her life on hold. Her dreams, hopes, and aspirations were put on the backburner in exchange for our dreams, hopes, and aspirations to come to life. She’s always been our biggest fan, our biggest supporter, our number one. By being in the military, she couldn’t depend on family members or friends to help because she was always moving. Instead, she and my older brother then took on the role as my new parents. It really does take a village to raise a child, even if it is a tiny one. Being stationed in California especially during the government shutdowns were especially hard times for us. Those were the times where we would simply have to rely on her savings to sustain us. I remember her giving me $1.50 most days to get food. In California I couldn’t even buy a drink with that. Instead, I’d simply buy one tiny package of Welch’s gummies for $0.50 and pocket the dollars for a full lunch on Fridays since full meals there cost close to $7.00. During my senior year, we struggled even more. This is when my dad completely stopped paying the $150 he was paying in child support every month. In addition to that, my mom had also made the sacrifice to pay more and move to a school district that provided more opportunities for me. She would drive back and forth an hour everyday to work. Some days she even had to do that and then drive another hour just to come see my track meets. Daily care is expensive enough, but this is also the time when those extra fees arose: shoes for track, prom and homecoming attire, clothes for award ceremonies, gas to travel to games and meets, supplies for school and projects, money for conferences I was invited to, SAT and ACT testing costs, and college application fees. Because of that, I spent months looking for a free, but beautiful prom dress. I went without the senior jacket and senior ring. I even took culinary class at school and learned to cook just so that when she came home, she would be able to have a break. In order for her not to pay for SAT or ACT prep courses or for multiple tests, I made sure to study any and every prep book I could find in the library. I also applied to over 50 scholarships and ended up getting enough scholarships to cover ⅔ of my tuition and fees. Now that I am in college, I work two jobs and still actively apply for scholarships. Knowing that my mom has to financially support three human beings other than herself always puts me on edge. I always think about her health. I think about her riding to work and about what would happen if she didn’t make it back. I am grateful though that she is in the military. I couldn’t imagine how things would have been otherwise. My little sister was born prematurely and had to have prenatal care for a month. No one tells you about what could go wrong. She was a million dollar baby and without the military, those costs would have made life a nightmare. Because of her, I think of parenthood as the most important, serious, and honorable part of life. When girls my age see babies, most of them think that they are cute and say they want one. When I see babies, I think of the $40 formula cans, the diaper changes, the rashes and ointment, the drooling, and even the cost of having a baby without insurance, which in Texas where we reside now is close to $18,000. I think of having to take the stroller out every time you go somewhere, all of the spilled food and cleaning, struggling to stuff those close-toed shoes on feet that push against you, and all the late night crying. I remember visiting one of my church members back in 2019 in the summer. I left for a year for college, came back, went to see her, and she was over 100 pounds heavier. She had had a baby, went through postpartum shedding, and postpartum depression. Her husband stood by her side through it all. I remember thinking, “Wow. There are so many things people don’t tell you about when it comes to not only being a mother, but life after the birth of a child.” Mostly, when I think about my future after seeing my mom, I think of my future partner. I think about how much my mom had to endure without one. I think about my fears of being alone. Some say parenthood is the end of your life, but I think that when you plan properly for a child and truly wait for the right time mentally and financially to do it, it doesn’t have to be. Because of my experiences, my goal is to keep people together in life through strong relationships. If not for themselves, for the people they brought into the world. I see myself in the future counseling people on how to live and lead better lives when it comes to friendships and family. Right now, I have a support group for black females and LGBTQ+ on my campus called Black Fem Healing Circles. We meet every week and talk about our challenges and successes, our families, and futures. We have created a supportive village on our own, for our own. Getting this scholarship would mean that I can continue to focus on supporting my mom with easing her stress about some of my finances for school. I want to support her in the same way that she has always supported me.

My childhood consisted of broken promises, insults, and being told statements like, “Stay inside. Don’t get too dark,” and “Um… are you going to go outside with your hair looking like that?” Don’t forget, “How are you black with no butt and... how can you be so dark and talk so white?” “Dude…it was just a joke. Don’t get angry. Y’all are always so angry.” I’m tired of acting like my pain doesn’t hurt. What I see as strength, they see as an opening to treat me any type of way because I can endure anything. In reality, I’m fragile. Treat me delicately. I will break. I did break. Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. I see myself now as being beloved, beautifully bronzed and blackened. My hair defies the weight of the world. The elements can not break me or hold me down, so when the sun hits my skin, I rebel blacker. In life, I began to rebel blacker. I soon learned that love is not about being a ride-or-die. In the end, you will die anyway. It is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you. Even blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t thicker than peace. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We knew that if we wanted help as black women and LGBTQ+ men, we would have to help ourselves; that is shown by history and the present. We chose to call our meetings Black Fem Healing Circles. Being a military dependent, I had to learn to be alone and adapt to new environments quite a bit, but being here with them finally gave me a sense of security of a place to call home. I found my true family. I found peace. I found love.

My goal as a psychologist is to show everyone that comes into my office that their life is meaningful. I lost my friend, Andrew Giesken, from sophomore year of high school during my junior year simply because we stopped talking once we didn’t have any classes together. I passed him one day and he didn’t wave back at me. I didn’t think twice about it. I just assumed he was having a bad day or that he felt that he didn’t need me anymore due to a different group of friends. On the intercom at school the next week, I heard that he had committed suicide. My heart broke and I began to cry remembering all of the projects we did together like sewing little monsters for our human services class and making pancakes. We even played lots of games together. Our favorite one was Exploding Kitten because the phrases on the cards were wild and our friend Mark would have the funniest things to say. Andrew’s smile pops into my brain randomly. What also pops into my brain is how he opened up to me one day telling me about his abusive mom at home. I can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if I said something, but instead I figured that was his business and kept my mouth shut. Even still, when I think back about my inaction, it still warms my heart that he thought enough of me to confide in me in a time of need. From then on, I knew I should delve into my passion for psychology. There are too many people being told by STEM majors, parents, or other adults that any other field won’t make them enough money to live the life they want. They never stopped to think that everyone will not be called to be an engineer, doctor, or lawyer. We need more psychologists to have 4.0’s. We need teachers with 4.0’s. We need servicemembers to have 4.0’s. Intelligence needs to be spread out throughout all occupations to have a well-functioning society. I had a 4.0 for almost all of my life and after talking to, and shadowing people of those occupations, I realized that following my one and only passion of psychology could help people in all of those areas. I could help people improve their communication skills with one another so maybe we won’t have to see so many suicides attempts in the hospitals, we won’t have so many couples in divorce court or have so many people breaking the law. People’s decisions in life start with their thoughts, so if I can help change theirs for the better, I would have completed my life’s mission. My mission is to give those the opportunity to speak their truth and to give them the change to confide in at least one person. I want to give people a chance at life, a life of happiness. My goal is to reach people through words and guide them to resources that will help them fulfill their passion or purpose in life. Growing up in Chicago taught me about how important it is to be where resources are and how important seeing what the world has to offer is. I moved quite a bit after that, engaged with people who have a wide array of personalities and struggles in life, and that changed my view of the world in the process. It was through those amazing people and the vast range of books that I’ve read throughout the years that helped me shape my unique mindset. To the underprivileged individual, the world in their eyes is simply the environment around them. In order to help change that mindset, I hope to fund programs in low-income communities 10 years from now so that children and adolescents can be in a year-round program for times after school and during the summer to give them a glimpse of what life has to offer. There would be engaging workshops for those who want to go into art, woodwork, business, mechanics, engineering, dancing, the culinary arts, and martial arts. Through those workshops and group activities with their counselors, I would hope to spark passion in those that attended. Also, due to gun violence and other harmful outside influences, I would be able to provide a safe space for them. We’ll have study centers where there would be free SAT books, ACT books, and a multitude of study materials for other subjects along with paid student tutors to open up job opportunities; I of course would be the psychologist to offer emotional support. There would be meetings to inform attendees about the value of having a solid education and to teach them about making connections with others. When you think about it, school isn’t only for education. People go for the experience, education, and the connections to people who will get them on the path they desire. My education now with learning about personalities, temperaments, and hands-on experience with building relationships with a variety of individuals will help me down the road simply because that is what I plan to continue doing for those younger than I am. This is my purpose and my passion. In order to truly flourish there needs to be passion and education in the individual for the field they decide to go into. Having this program would open their eyes and options and let them see what they do and don’t like before stepping out in the world. Ultimately, I want to carry on the legacy of inspiring others to attain any goal they have in life by encouraging them every day to simply love life. Before the dream job, the abs, the car, and the mansion, I want them to know that in the end, they matter without all of that. They matter by just being.

Don’t tie a ship to a single anchor, nor life to a single hope. I watched my dad go to the gas station every day and buy a 2-liter bottle of grape or orange Crush, 1 pack of Altoids or Winterfresh gum, 2 newspapers, a lottery ticket, and a candy car. His real goal though was to win the lottery, which is a hope he is still holding on to. When it came to asking him about helping me pay for college though, the response I got was, “Sorry, I don’t have it.” If you add up the average cost of those items a day, it comes out to be about $8.00. If you add up that value for a year, it is $2,920. If you do that for 18 years, it comes out to be $52,560. He could have had more than enough to help me pay, but without proper planning, I was left to fend for myself. The major lesson I learned from him is that it is easy to save. You just have to have self discipline and allocate your income wisely. In addition to that, Just by leaving that money as it is, I could have gone to college and grad school for free, but if it was properly invested, he could have had enough to pay all of that for my brother and I. By seeing my mother work tirelessly for years at someone else’s beck and call, I learned through her that when you control your income, you control your life. She set her whole life on one goal of becoming an officer in the military, but ultimately that rank is dependent on the people in each chain of command, so you should never set your salary goals where your success depends on someone else’s choice. Ultimately, If you don’t prioritize your life, your plans, and your money, someone else will. Because of them I learned not to tie life to a single hope whether it's one house, one car, or even one vision. Take calculated risks and always have a backup plan. In the end, you either have to risk something or sit forever with your dreams, but if those risks aren’t calculated, you’ll sit forever with your regrets. When it comes down to it, your plan is the pathway to your future. No plan, no future. One plan. One future. If that one plan fails, your future is over. Instead, if you measure your success by the opportunities you’re presented with and by how many opportunities you make for yourself and others, you’ll never have to tie a single anchor to a ship or life to a single hope. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship.

My childhood consisted of broken promises, insults, and being told statements like, “Stay inside. Don’t get too dark,” and “Um… are you going to go outside with your hair looking like that?” Don’t forget, “How are you black with no butt and... how can you be so dark and talk so white?” “Dude…it was just a joke. Don’t get angry. Y’all are always so angry.” I’m tired of acting like my pain doesn’t hurt. What I see as strength, they see as an opening to treat me any type of way because I can endure anything. In reality, I’m fragile. Treat me delicately. I will break. I did break. Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. I see myself now as being beloved, beautifully bronzed and blackened. My hair defies the weight of the world. The elements can not break me or hold me down, so when the sun hits my skin, I rebel blacker. In life, I began to rebel blacker. I soon learned that love is not about being a ride-or-die. In the end, you will die anyway. It is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you. Even blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t thicker than peace. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We called our meetings Black Fem Healing Circles. Being a military dependent, I had to learn to be alone and adapt to new environments quite a bit. Being here with them though finally gave me a sense of security of a place to call home. I found my true family. I found peace. I found love. My vision is to ultimately change the words we were made to view ourselves in society and to replace them with positive speech and thought. When we change our vocabulary, we not only change our outlook, we change our world. And when we change our worldview keeping in mind to hold ourselves in the highest regard, the world will have no choice but to follow suit.

I read All About Love by Bell Hooks and it completely changed my life and by starting at rock bottom, I had the most room to grow. Her book showed me that I needed to rethink my concept of love. I learned that love is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you. Even blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t thicker than peace. Being a military dependent, I grew up having to adjust to others and their environments. I never really took the time to figure out where I felt like I belonged or if I even liked where I was. Over time, and especially during my breakup in the pandemic, I went into complete solitude. I found nothing in myself to love. Over time though, people over the years that I had met just started calling out of the blue and asked about my day and my well being. Having that unexpected support group during those tough times finally gave me a sense of belonging, a sense of having stability from a caring community. I found my true family. I found peace. I found love.

My childhood consisted of broken promises, insults, and being told statements like, “Stay inside. Don’t get too dark,” and “Um… are you going to go outside with your hair looking like that?” Don’t forget, “How are you black with no butt and... how can you be so dark and talk so white?” “Dude…it was just a joke. Don’t get angry. Y’all are always so angry.” I’m tired of acting like my pain doesn’t hurt. What I see as strength, they see as an opening to treat me any type of way because I can endure anything. In reality, I’m fragile. Treat me delicately. I will break. I did break. Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. I see myself now as being beloved, beautifully bronzed and blackened. My hair defies the weight of the world. The elements can not break me or hold me down, so when the sun hits my skin, I rebel blacker. In life, I began to rebel blacker. I soon learned that love is not about being a ride-or-die. In the end, you will die anyway. It is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you. Even blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t thicker than peace. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We called our meetings Black Fem Healing Circles. Being a military dependent, I had to learn to be alone and adapt to new environments quite a bit. Being here with them though finally gave me a sense of security of a place to call home. I found my true family. I found peace. I found love.

My childhood consisted of broken promises, insults, and being told statements like, “Stay inside. Don’t get too dark,” and “Um… are you going to go outside with your hair looking like that?” Don’t forget, “How are you black with no butt and... how can you be so dark and talk so white?” “Dude…it was just a joke. Don’t get angry. Y’all are always so angry.” I’m tired of acting like my pain doesn’t hurt. What I see as strength, they see as an opening to treat me any type of way because I can endure anything. In reality, I’m fragile. Treat me delicately. I will break. I did break. Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. I see myself now as being beloved, beautifully bronzed and blackened. My hair defies the weight of the world. The elements can not break me or hold me down, so when the sun hits my skin, I rebel blacker. In life, I began to rebel blacker. I soon learned that love is not about being a ride-or-die. In the end, you will die anyway. It is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you. Even blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t thicker than peace. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We called our meetings Black Fem Healing Circles. Being a military dependent, I had to learn to be alone and adapt to new environments quite a bit. Being here with them though finally gave me a sense of security of a place to call home. I found my true family. I found peace. I found love.

My childhood consisted of broken promises, insults, and being told statements like, “Stay inside. Don’t get too dark,” and “Um… are you going to go outside with your hair looking like that?” Don’t forget, “How are you black with no butt and... how can you be so dark and talk so white?” “Dude…it was just a joke. Don’t get angry. Y’all are always so angry.” I’m tired of acting like my pain doesn’t hurt. What I see as strength, they see as an opening to treat me any type of way because I can endure anything. In reality, I’m fragile. Treat me delicately. I will break. I did break. Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. I see myself now as being beloved, beautifully bronzed and blackened. My hair defies the weight of the world. The elements can not break me or hold me down, so when the sun hits my skin, I rebel blacker. In life, I began to rebel blacker. I soon learned that love is not about being a ride-or-die. In the end, you will die anyway. It is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you. Even blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t thicker than peace. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We called our meetings Black Fem Healing Circles. Being a military dependent, I had to learn to be alone and adapt to new environments quite a bit. Being here with them though finally gave me a sense of security of a place to call home. I found my true family. I found peace. I found love. I found my everything.

My childhood consisted of broken promises, insults, and being told statements like, “Stay inside. Don’t get too dark,” and “Um… are you going to go outside with your hair looking like that?” Don’t forget, “How are you black with no butt and... how can you be so dark and talk so white?” “Dude…it was just a joke. Don’t get angry. Y’all are always so angry.” I’m tired of acting like my pain doesn’t hurt. What I see as strength, they see as an opening to treat me any type of way because I can endure anything. In reality, I’m fragile. Treat me delicately. I will break. I did break. Take for example the terms used in English for hair. Descriptive terms for European hair are virtually all positive: silky, straight, wavy, flowy, fine, and easy to manage. Conversely, nearly all of the terminology used for African hair is negative: coarse, kinky, nappy, peasy, rough, and frizzy. If the terms you use to describe your very existence are negative, can you really still be powerful enough to be an agent of change? Yes. You can and I did. I learned from then on to use my words for the advancement of life; the mouth is the origin of all disaster, but it is also the origin of all advancement. When I spoke negatively to myself, I thought it was modesty when really it was self-destruction. Words have the power of recreating the past and summoning up a hallucination. I didn’t ignore the pain from the old hallucinations, I simply reinvented their meaning. I see myself now as being beloved, beautifully bronzed and blackened. My hair defies the weight of the world. The elements can not break me or hold me down, so when the sun hits my skin, I rebel blacker. In life, I began to rebel blacker. I soon learned that love is not about being a ride-or-die. In the end, you will die anyway. It is not defined by staying by someone’s side no matter how poorly they treat you. Even blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t thicker than peace. From then on, I made it my mission to use my words to not only empower myself, but to empower every beautifully bronzed black girl with the opportunity to do the same. In the midst of the pandemic, I began to meet with the black females on my campus (it’s mainly a white and small campus). We called our meetings Black Fem Healing Circles. Being a military dependent, I had to learn to be alone and adapt to new environments quite a bit. Being here with them though finally gave me a sense of security of a place to call home. I found my true family. I found peace. I found love.