The summer of 2023 is when I had the best concert memories. I attended the Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa performance at the PNC Bank Arts Center, my local venue in Holmdel, New Jersey. It was a lot of fun going with my family friends. We were standing within the pit. The fact that I was familiar with practically every song and its lyrics was my favorite part of the show. Snoop Dogg had great props and had a car on stage! I love how the artists made a tribute to rappers and singers who have passed away. My family friends and I are always up for a good time. There, we also met some incredible people in the pit. We couldn't stop singing and bouncing. I attempted to purchase a t-shirt from a random person as I was leaving the Arena. I seem to recall telling the man I only had $10, and he let me to purchase the T-shirt. It originally cost twenty dollars. Regretfully, I took out a $20 and a $10, hiding the $20 as quickly as possible. When he saw my $20 bill, he became enraged and began chasing me. I informed him that I had decided not to purchase the T-shirt. Then, for $10, I located another guy who would sell me an almost identical t-shirt. I found it hilarious that I attempted to haggle for a T-shirt and nearly got in trouble for it. That will be a memorable evening for me. I went to my first concert when I was in the fifth grade. My best friend gave it to me as a birthday present. We traveled to Madison Square Garden to see P!NK live. That is something I will always remember. Pink is not just a wonderful artist but also a fantastic performer. I still recall P!NK singing and flipping around the arena like they were flying. I recall arriving at Penn Station on my local train. After getting there, we went online. I still recall how happy my best friend and I were. My best friend's mother was snapping a lot of pictures of us when we were with her. We even got t-shirts from her. We arrived early, so I recall grabbing food and beverages. My best friend and I had a terrific time leaping around and dancing. The most vivid memory I have is of getting a rude awakening after unintentionally bumping into someone. Because I yelled back at them, it was really amusing. My best buddy thought it was hilarious that a tiny girl was yelling at an adult woman because I was only ten or eleven years old. For her mother, it was not as humorous. At such a young age, I was grateful to have the opportunity to watch one of my favorite singers live with my closest friend. I'm incredibly grateful for it.

Sophomore year of high school, my childhood friend had committed suicide. My mental state was affected considerably as a result. I started to struggle academically and mentally, and my grades began to drop. In an instant, a person I had known my entire life was gone. I was feeling so depressed. The guidance counselors at my high school assisted students who were impacted by our friend's death and provided support. Since it was difficult for me to talk to total strangers, I frequently sought support from our school counselors. Many students found it difficult to gradually recover over the devastating loss of our classmate. Eventually, when we thought back on and shared memories of our friend, we were able to laugh and smile again rather than cry. When my senior year started, a guidance counselor who many students had formed an amazing relationship following the death of our friend, had also taken her own life. I was simply angry and depressed. All of the students who knew her adored her, and when our friend passed away, she gave us amazing support. All I felt was sadness and rage. How could someone who provided us with so much support at our friend's death do the same thing? Why? How could a person who was so beloved by her students and a strong supporter of mental health commit suicide? Returning to school was discouraging once again. My school did offer assistance this time around, but it didn't seem the same as it did before. Who was I meant to turn to for help at this point? I was not interested in discussing with strangers the deaths of people I knew. I was so puzzled that it took me a very long time to recover from this. As a student, I think mental health is crucial since you never know what someone else may be going through. I thought my friend was the happiest and funniest guy I had ever met. My counselor helped students get through tough times and promoted mental health. I could never have imagined either of these people doing something like this. Students, including myself, found it difficult to recover from and struggle academically as a result of these awful situations. I'm a supporter of BE THE DIFFERENCE Middletown, a local suicide prevention organization. It is a fundraiser and walk where people can make donations to support mental health awareness. This was created by a fellow classmate of mine after the passing of our friend and guidance councilor. I strongly believe that the world can be a kinder place. I will continue to support mental health awareness and hope to help anyone who struggles.

Can money buy happiness? I believe so. My battle with mental health started when my parents first divorced. I was only six years old. It continued to worsen as things in my life where not ideal. Both of my parents lived in apartments when they divorced. When I reached middle school, my mother had to pull me out of the private school I attended to enroll in the public school system because she could not afford to send me there anymore. I was devastated. Then, I got severely depressed when I found out she could not afford to live in my home state, New Jersey. She had to move back to her childhood home in New York. This meant I would live full time with my father in New Jersey and be at a new school. I was terrified and deeply sad. I did not begin to see how fortunate my friends where until high school. All my friends had nice houses and nice things. I never let anyone come to my dads apartment because of how embarrassed I was. Sophomore year I struggled greatly. A childhood friend of mine, Michael, had took his own life. I was speechless. I was depressed over losing someone I had known my whole life. Someone who I had chemistry class with. My school offered counselors to talk to, but I did not want to talk, I just wanted to cry. The following year, my freshman guidance counselor has took her own life as well. This time I was not as sad, but angry. How could someone who helped so many students when Michael committed suicide do the same!? Again my school offered people to talk to, but we did not want to talk to anyone, we wanted something to change! Months later, a girl from our rival school, Joycelyn, had took her own life. At this point, I was so confused and scared. Why had so many people I knew take their own lives? I was very sad thinking about the multiple suicides of people I knew. I had gotten a job I love. things started seeming better. I was working and getting out of the depressing apartment I live in. I thought my mental health would get so much better after being accepted to my dream school, the University of Tampa. This was such an achievement for me as I worked so hard for this. Unfortunately, my parents can not afford to send me there because of the tuition price. This absolutely broke me. I am currently enrolled at a community college and still struggle at times with my mental health. I am so jealous of my friends who get the opportunity to go away to college. I believe that money can buy happiness. I feel as though I would not be depressed at times if I had the same opportunities as others. The number one leading cause of depression is stressful life events. I believe that if I was fortunate enough to gain addition money, I could use it towards the tuition of college. I feel that mental health has had me have an understanding that in this world you need to have money in order to live a happy. This is unfortunately sad but true.

Obtaining a master's degree in education excites me. My goal is to support kids and learners in the educational setting. My goal is to assist young students in realizing their full potential and to encourage them to pursue their ambitions. For many people, attending college is an expensive and challenging endeavor. I hope that receiving scholarships will make it easier for me to continue my education and attend college. My parents' divorce had a huge effect on our financial situation. My parents couldn't afford the tuition for me to stay at the private school after the fifth grade, so I had to move to a public school. When I was in seventh grade, my mother was planning to go back to the state where she was born since she could no longer afford to live alone. The decision of which parent to live with full-time, when my mother returned to her childhood home, was a very tough one. I had to decide what I felt was the best course of action. I decided to move in full-time with my father. Besides my parents being divorced, they live in different states in separate homes. I live with my father full-time, and he pays the rent on our apartment as well as other bills and other expenses such as his car insurance and other medical bills. Since my grandmother passed away, my mother has lived with my 90-year-old grandfather, who serves as his primary caregiver. Her primary purpose for the money she earns from her part-time job is to support my grandfather. My parents' income does not allow for much flexibility, therefore it would be difficult for me to attend college in this situation. Getting scholarships would be greatly appreciated and would open up a world of opportunities for me. I hope to get my masters degree in education to be able to help students who are in tough situations like myself.I wish to encourage them to put out the greatest possible effort. I want to encourage individuals to never give up on their aspirations and to persevere through difficult times in life. I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason, and I wish to encourage others who are stuck in unfavorable circumstances or environments by spreading positivity. Receiving a scholarship of any kind would allow me to fulfill my aspirations of becoming a teacher and a support system for children facing difficult circumstances similar to my own.