The best part about giving back to my community is seeing the looks on people’s faces. I love smiles. My smile, others’ smiles— all. It’s one of the main reasons I’m pursuing a dental career. While growing up, my cutesy little nickname was “Smiley”. I was always known as the girl who was always smiling. It was an instinct for me. Although, I never quite understood why because I was very insecure about my teeth. As a child, pictures were my worst nightmare. Having flared teeth, a chipped tooth and a gap made me very self-conscious. Up until I got braces in sixth grade, I had an overbearing conscience in the back of my mind. After having braces, my confidence was higher than ever before. Not only did the braces aid me physically, but emotionally I felt better about myself, and mentally I became happier than before. A weight lifted from my shoulders that no one should carry. I felt like a whole person, yet I was still ''Smiley''. After realizing that I was not the only one in the world with teeth insecurity, it set off an urge. An urge to help lift the same burden in other kids. I desire to become a pediatric dentist to help kids become more comfortable with their smiles. My favorite occasion where I’ve given back to my community was being a volunteer counselor for a summer camp at my local elementary school. As a counselor, being in the position to mentor kids while ensuring they had a safe, fun summer was the highlight of my community service hours. From teaching them how to swim to giving lessons about Christianity (with parents' consent) and teaching them the importance of self-love, I can't pinpoint a dull moment with the kids. Having an older mentor allows pupils to experience having a "life teacher" without the overbearing feeling of being inferior or an imbalance in authority. Through mentoring, I've helped shaped younger kids into respectable students. This affects my community as a whole because kids are the future prospects of society. Realizing the importance of kids' happiness also influences my desire for pediatrics dentistry. Not being the typical dentist, I want to make kids truly feel beautiful, inside and out. My time as a counselor showed me that the world is a much better place when kids are satisfied. The world we live in can be hectic, but as long as we don't let it bring us down, we win. A smile itself can change the world. As the saying goes, "Let your smile change the world, but don't let the world change your smile". I will uphold that phrase in my future dental office.

Last year, in my AP English class, I read many books I never thought I’d find interesting. However, this particular detail in one of the books stays in my mind. “Warriors Don’t Cry” by Melba Pattillo Beals is an inspiring documentation of black history. The whole plot is centered around her fighting for school integration. What stands out to me is that from the moment she was born, she experienced discrimination, specifically from her doctor. She almost died from being neglected because of her race. Her nurses and doctors didn’t care for her correctly due to her being a black baby. I’ve heard many theories of inequality in healthcare for black women. Some state that black women aren’t safe in healthcare, the system fails us the most, our race/ethnicity plus gender is a double disadvantage, and the list continues. I agree with the double disadvantage theory because we women are already seen as inferior, so imagine being a minority too. In today’s society, there’s still little acknowledgment of disparities in healthcare due to race/ethnicity. There should be more awareness of this. Most people limit discrimination to police officers and job employers, but that is not where it stops. This book set off an urge for me to play a role in this. I know I can’t single-handedly save us all, but I believe just having at least one more one of us in the field is one more soldier fighting this battle. I’ve always been torn between becoming an attorney and a healthcare professional but being a young black girl knowing that black women sometimes don’t receive proper care is disheartening. This simple fact helped me choose my future path. Black women shouldn’t have to fear hospitals or feel uncomfortable with our own healthcare heroes. Seeing more black female faces in this field will give more sense of comfort to black women to feel safe in the system. I admit that I don’t have all the details on this issue, which is why majoring in Health Sciences is a sturdy foundation for me to expand my knowledge on this subject while also working on entering the field. I'm already one step closer to my goal. The thought of that makes me so happy. I've earned my license as a patient care technician at the age of 17. I've learned so much about the healthcare field, so I'm excited to continue. Unfortunately, most hospitals around me only hire 18+, therefore I'm unable to start until January. I can't wait to get this experience to take to college with me. While in college, I can use my previous knowledge and experience to thrive in not only undergrad, but grad school as well. In the meantime, I just hope and pray everything goes as planned and I get accepted into a school with a great medical program. I will become a great healthcare profession soon, ensuring all my patients are well taken care of. I want black women especially to feel more safe because there is a lack of that. However, this doesn't mean I will neglect others, or have favorites. I will always treat them all equally, but minorities need special assurance in healthcare. I want to be able to give that to them. I feel like it's long overdue. That's the difference I want to make.

What's worse than writing an essay? Writing one but not getting a grade or even recognition from it! Well, at least at first. But then you start to see the bright side of it too. Throughout the process of applying for many scholarships, I've learned various things, both mentally and "physically." Mentally, I've learned how to accept my losses, but still clap for others. I learned that envy is a negative trait, you won't receive you own blessing if you keep dwelling on someone else's just because you wanted it. Be happy for that person and move on to the next. Also, remember the saying "Momma always said 'You can't win them all'"! Another thing that I've learned is that you shouldn't focus on the competition's skills, but on how well yours are. If you worry too much about what other scholars are submitting, then you're taking away attention from your own craft (or submission). Worrying about others means you're not confident within yourself, saying that deep down you don't feel like you deserve to win. So ask yourself, why should I win, when I don't even believe in myself? It's nearly impossible to convince someone to give you something you don't think even deserve. Never have self-doubt. It's noticeable and unappealing. When I first started applying, I always stressed of ways I could make my essay better than the others. It would take me days to come up with things to write in my essay because I wanted to be different from others. I worried so much that I threw random ideas in that didn't flow with my essay and sometimes even the whole topic/question. Eventually, I developed the mindset that I am the best at everything I do, regardless of what the others have. With that being said, everything I write flows easily to me now, which is where the physically lesson comes in at. I've improved my writing skills so much that it's effortless for me to write an essay with ease. I know the basic do's and don'ts of writing a good essay. It makes me feels much more educated and confident about myself. These writing skills won't just help with scholarship applications, but for life in general. The more you do something, the better you become. So therefore, the more essays you write, the better you become at English. I guarantee if you compare the most recent to the first, you'll see a difference. Overall, I am grateful for every scholarship I've applied for, because it's helped me in many ways, excluding financially. I don't regret any of them. Labeling them as "waste of time" would be something someone would a closed mind would say. I hope that anyone who thinks like that can eventually open up to realize the benefits regardless of winning or not.

Is it just me or does online shopping feel unreal? Being that I'm a teenager, I have had the urges to spend more money than I could afford in the past. The biggest thing for me was online shopping because I couldn't quite feel the money leaving my bank account. My realization that I needed better money management came upon on me in September 2021. Being a dual enrollment student, my community college gave out a relief grant to all students with over 6 credit hours. The grant relief was a total of 1,400 dollars. I was so excited for the money, and at the time I didn't have a bank account. To open up one, I had to start off with 500 dollars. When I received my paper check, I went to the local bank to cash it. I then opened up my account and deposited 600 dollars. I kept the rest of the cash. Once my account was getting low, I slowly started depositing little by little the other 800 dollars. Truth be told, everything after that is a blur. My money was blown by mid-November. I can't quite remember any big purchases I made. However, I had to realize all those small transactions add up over time. Ordering clothes, purses, jewelry starts to build up when you don't stop and actually count. After that, I was struggling to put together things for my 17th birthday that was coming up. I didn't have much money to buy an outfit, get my hair done, etc. Luckily, I was able to borrow from my grandma. I paid her back once I received my birthday money from my dad. I was never taught much about financing, at home or school. Consequently, I didn't quite know that prices for certain things I was buying were definitely out of my financial class range. I still don't quite understand credit but I know it's important to keep up to par for the sake of your future. Overall, I learned that spending money is like an addiction. I understand now that 1,400 dollars will not take me far if I don't use it wisely. However, I am very grateful for any money that is given to me, even if it's just a dollar! I plan to use this learning experience forever as I grow up. In the future, I hope to make wiser choices by using my money binder to separate different dollar bills for various things such as bills, leisure time, emergencies, etc. Maybe even getting into investing in a business or even stocks will benefit my financial status. I know that the way I've used my money in the past, I would not survive in college at that rate. I knew it was time for a change. I plan to use money managing tips to ensure a smooth, successful college experience for myself.