Staying sober is a personal journey that I have taken after experiencing so many hardships due to alcoholism. I had uncles that often indulge in alcohol to a point of violence. They were the only male figures I had in my life since my father passed away at a young age. It was a scary sight and I told myself after witnessing an incident, in which they physically abused people, that I would never become like them. When I got to college, I was peer pressured into having a drink. I realized that I was not violent like my uncles but the alcohol did not like taste great at all. It was evident that I did not have the enzymes to break it down so that was a blessing. There are several ways that I have found to be useful in keeping sober and one is to build a strong support system. Surround yourself with people who understand and support your decision to stay sober. This can include friends, family, support groups, or even a sponsor if you're part of a recovery program. Having a network of people who are there for you during challenging times makes a big difference. Another technique is to develop healthy coping mechanisms. Find alternative ways to deal with stress, anxiety, or any emotions that may trigger the desire to drink. This can include engaging in hobbies or activities you enjoy, practicing mindfulness or meditation, exercising, or even journaling. Discovering healthy outlets for your emotions can help you navigate through difficult moments without turning to alcohol. It's also important to identify and avoid triggers. Recognize situations, places, or people that may tempt you to drink and take proactive steps to avoid or minimize exposure to them. This could mean avoiding certain social events or gatherings where alcohol is prevalent, finding new hobbies or interests that don't involve drinking, or even making changes to your social circle if necessary. By being aware of your triggers and taking steps to avoid them, you can protect your sobriety. Practicing self-care is crucial in maintaining sobriety. Take care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Prioritize getting enough sleep, eating nutritious meals, and engaging in activities that bring you joy and relaxation. Seek professional help if needed, such as therapy or counseling, to address any underlying issues that may have contributed to your alcohol use. Lastly, celebrate your milestones and achievements along the way. Sobriety is a significant accomplishment, and it's important to acknowledge and reward yourself for your progress. Set small goals and celebrate each one, whether it's a week, a month, or a year of sobriety. Treat yourself to something special or do something you enjoy to mark these milestones and remind yourself of how far you've come. Remember, staying sober is a journey that requires commitment. The accounting field I’m going into is known for stressful days. Accountants are not really known to express their feelings so I would just bring awareness to people by talking about it. In our patriarchal society, men are often discouraged from openly sharing their feelings for fear of being not able to fit the masculine role portrayed by society. By breaking this toxic masculinity trait, we can better ourselves as a society.

Animal companions play a crucial role in our everyday life. To a person without one, they are simply pets. To me, Percy is more than just a dog. He's my buddy that keeps me grounded. Asking if I currently or have ever owned a dog is a tough question. They have owned my heart and allow me to experience their journey through life with them. The unconditional love that these beings have for their humans have won me over. After a hard or long day at work, I can always get home and Percy is excited to see me. This in turn makes me forget about everything else and we just focus on our friendship. I quickly get dressed and he takes me wherever he wants to go. He'd sniff, pee here and there, until he spots another fur pal and starts running towards them. I remind him that he's got to be nice if the furry friend is younger than a year as we both know that Percy is a grumpy 10 year old pup. We walk some more and time flies. An hour later, and we're back home. I still remember before Percy came into my life, I told my friends that I would never have a dog sleep in my bed with me. Now, I maneuver my sleep around him on my bed. It's hard to imagine life without him and I'm afraid to. Every now and then, a grim thought comes into my mind that he'll be gone someday and I would be alone, without my best friend.

Mental health affects the way we think, act and feel. It is very important especially during the pandemic that we prioritize our mental just as much as our physical health. Being cooped up has taken a toll on me during 2020 and the one thing that's kept me sane is my buddy/dog Percy. March 1, 2022 was actually his 10th birthday! He's helped me develop a routine and it involves going outside to walk him. He's such a smart guy. I consider him more of a buddy than a pet because we hang out a lot and just do most things together. Having a furry companion really has made me keep my sanity through all this since I am single.

I employ empathy in my everyday life. A part of what’s helped me become more in tuned with how others are feeling is having to go through a very tough childhood in a single mother household. My mother had Parkinson’s disease and that allowed my sense of intuition and responsibility to quickly mature. Our world is full of violence and we don't need anymore of that. If we treat each other with kindness and take the time to wear their shoes, the world would be a much better and productive place. Everyone has their own story and we do not always know their story.

I love to play volleyball and when at home, I sew. This scholarship can help me purchase a new machine since my last Singer sewing machine no longer functions properly due to wear and its age. Sewing is an underrated talent in today's times. People forget that it's not always about making your own clothes but also being able to adjust them or save some money buy buying a size that is a lot larger and hemming or adjusting its size to fit your size. I learned by watching a lot of YouTube tutorials and practicing with my friend's machine. Thank you for considering my application and taking the time to read it. Tim Sung Woo

With this $1,000 scholarship, I would decrease my student debt by the same amount. The burden of student loans has plagued our society in recent times and is now almost considered a rite of passage. It is a costly rite of passage and the only way to avoid it is by coming from a wealthy background or in my case, as a first generation college student, applying for scholarships. I plan on receiving my degree in accounting and eventually become a Controller or work in the financial industry. Thank you for your consideration. Tim Sung Woo

At a very young age, and looking back now from an adult point of view, I was exposed to a lot of experiences that a lot of children probably shouldn't have been exposed to. One of them was religion and though I may not be religious now, there are values that it taught me to be the person I am today. I believe that it instilled moral values and influenced me. I grew up in the projects called Holly Park back in the 90s with my mom who had Parkinson's. She didn't have much to offer in the way of material things. I didn't get Christmas gifts and Christmas was a holiday that I hated for the longest time. Every kid would whine about the fact that they got a gift they did not want and sometimes even multiple gifts. There I was too embarrassed to not admit I didn't get anything. These experiences combined made me an empathic person and that is the quality/characteristic that I value the most about myself. Empathy, as defined by Oxford dictionary, is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. I value this because I am able to put myself into the shoes of another person and see things from there perspective with ease. We are often given half of a story, empathy allows me to know that there is always two sides and there are people who have it a lot worse. Empathy has allowed me the opportunity to become a compassionate person. We have all grown up in different environments and coming from almost nothing allowed me to enjoy and cherish any and everything that is gifted to me. When someone calls in at work, I don't really get angry. I do not know the shoes they wear or where they've worn it to. Perhaps, they're on their period and are in great pain and cannot work. My male mentality may never have experienced a period but I've been around enough cousins and friends who have experienced it and spoke with me in person that I can feel the pain they were going through. A lot of guys think that period is disgusting and there's a lot of shame that they have instill upon our female counterparts. Why should they be ashamed of it? It's something they cannot really control without poisoning their bodies with drugs. It's part of every day life and I secretly wish sometimes men will get it as well. Overall, empathy has given me the opportunity to stay humble and be kind. Your one act of kindness can make someone's day or even life. The world is cruel enough and full of greed.

Hello, I am a half Korean and half Samoan, LGBTQI+ (alphabet mafia as some would call us), first generation college student from a single parent low income household. Mom and I came here in 1993 from American Samoa and it's been a great experience so far. I do not miss the humidity, typhoons nor tsunamis. I like that there's a lot more options here and opportunities to become whatever you want to be. I am clinically diagnosed with ADHD and do take medication for it. So yea, life is definitely not that of your average Joe for me. I chose to study Accounting because I'm good with numbers and figured I might as well perpetuate the stereotype of one of my ethnicities. Joking aside, I've just always seen many successful people in the Finance industry and Accounting was pretty close to that. I've always wanted to be successful because it's what my mom would have wanted as well and I'd like to do it for her since there aren't a lot of successful professional Samoans compared to other ethnicities. I also plan on majoring in Instructional Design/Education and maybe one day, my path may lead me to teaching Finance. Schools need to teach basic adult skills like finance and home economics. We took a lot of classes we don't really use in our every day life. I hope one day we can influence the school curriculum to include Finance and Home Economics to become required classes rather than optional classes just to fill a credit type quota. A lot of adults tend leave home and do not even know how to balance a check book let alone cook for themselves. This creates a lot of problem especially when one goes to apply for credit. Let's face it, ethnic people tend have a lower credit rating than those of our Caucasian counterparts. Majority of us do not come from a background of wealth and are systematically oppressed. We do not have a the proper financial education to be able to compete on the same level as our Caucasian counterparts. Perhaps in a few decades, things might become better. I hope to become one of the reasons it does though teaching and creating financial literacy in high school. When I am successful, I plan on also creating a scholarship foundation in honor of my mom that passed away in 2018 due to Parkinson's disease. Thank you for your time.

Hello, I am a half Korean and half Samoan, LGBTQI+ (alphabet mafia as some would call us), first generation college student from a single parent low income household. Mom and I came here in 1993 from American Samoa and it's been a great experience so far. I do not miss the humidity, typhoons nor tsunamis. I like that there's a lot more options here and opportunities to become whatever you want to be. I am clinically diagnosed with ADHD and do take medication for it. So yea, life is definitely not that of your average Joe for me. I chose to study Accounting because I'm good with numbers and figured I might as well perpetuate the stereotype of one of my ethnicities. Joking aside, I've just always seen many successful people in the Finance industry and Accounting was pretty close to that. I've always wanted to be successful because it's what my mom would have wanted as well and I'd like to do it for her since there aren't a lot of successful professional Samoans compared to other ethnicities. I also plan on majoring in Instructional Design/Education and maybe one day, my path may lead me to teaching Finance. Schools need to teach basic adult skills like finance and home economics. We took a lot of classes we don't really use in our every day life. I hope one day we can influence the school curriculum to include Finance and Home Economics to become required classes rather than optional classes just to fill a credit type quota. A lot of adults tend leave home and do not even know how to balance a check book let alone cook for themselves. This creates a lot of problem especially when one goes to apply for credit. Let's face it, ethnic people tend have a lower credit rating than those of our Caucasian counterparts. Majority of us do not come from a background of wealth and are systematically oppressed. We do not have a the proper financial education to be able to compete on the same level as our Caucasian counterparts. Perhaps in a few decades, things might become better. I hope to become one of the reasons it does though teaching and creating financial literacy in high school. When I am successful, I plan on also creating a scholarship foundation in honor of my mom that passed away in 2018 due to Parkinson's disease. I think this will help give back to the community as well. Thank you for your time.

College helps prepare you for a lot of what you'll face in real life and in a job. I've learned to appreciate what my mom (single parent household) did for me and to understand why she urged me to go to college. You'll also learn better studying and research habits that best suit your learning style. You'll be exposed to a diverse group of people that will challenge you intellectually. Everyone has a different way of thinking and when they bring that with them, you'll be able to see things from a different perspective. You might not need a college degree to get a job but in order to move up in a company, most senior level positions require at least a bachelor's degree. Going to college keeps your mind active and challenged. I've learned the true meaning of success, failure, and that trying your hardest really does help. I've had a physics class that was so hard I thought I failed when I saw my score was a 45%. The teacher then posted the average as 36% and I rejoiced that I actually did a lot better than I thought. The mean pretty much said that the test was also hard for everyone and that the grades were curved so a 2.8 is 36%. College has taught me to prioritize what's important first and to not fret about the small things that don't mean as much. It's been a great life experience and I hope you get to experience it too.