Everyday I wake up craving a purpose. Feeling super destined for greatness but not physically seeing the fruits of the talent, creativity and compassion I've always knew deep down I possess. I was raised without my mother or father in my life. I was adopted into my dad's side of the family but I always felt something missing. Constantly chasing a love I would never know. The closest thing that felt like pure genetics is the love I found in art. I got lost in cassette tapes and then CDs and then the radio and then MTV and VH1 and I connected to the people I could feel but not touch. The youngest of 5 and not quite like the other boys in my tough neighborhood...I started to attach myself to labels and found myself trying to fight yet fit into these boxes others seemed to place me in. I grew and headed off to college. I left home with very little sense of who I was outside of my sexuality and my ability to dance and create. I dropped out of college and then started to become stuck in the cycle of working in cubicle after cubicle. Chasing a clock became bible for me. I'd get a "great" entry level position, become great at the job but never ever making it beyond a year because I didn't truly care about the job I was doing. A paycheck and picture perfect Instagram pics became my primary drive. Trauma was one I knew well but I always seemed to share trauma with my family...like losing our brother and losing our home to a massive fire. But in 2019..life hit me with a direct blow and it sent me spiraling. Sex and drugs became my way to numb my pain and after a while it seemed to be working until I was homeless, hopeless and filled with a bitterness towards self for just not being the person I always envisioned myself to be by this age. The good thing about the trauma I experienced is that I found inner strength. I realized I lacked accountability for my own actions and I was stuck in this victim mentality..waiting for mommy and daddy to come save me. But this year..I realized the only person that could save me and make my life worthwhile is me. I realized I could switch out pain's role in my life for power. I made the choice to pursue something completely different...nail technology. I always noticed peoples nails since I could remember. My sisters' would use nail polish remover and the smell always intoxicated and intrigued me. At any rate I applied to The Salon Professional Academy of Buffalo and by October 2024 I was officially a student again. I am currently still homeless and I often feel so ready to run and not finish what I've set out to accomplish. I am submitting this scholarship so I can invest in myself. Thank you so much for this opportunity!