My favorite athlete to cheer on for Team USA is WNBA star and Las Vegas Aces point guard, Kelsey Plum. I have been a fan of her ever since I started watching the WNBA two years ago when the Aces and her won the WNBA championship in 2022. Ever since that moment, I had started watching more of women's basketball including Plum. I saw we had similar features as female basketball players: we are both point guards, we are both shorter in height but most similar, we both loved the game of basketball. I recently went with my high school basketball team to go see a LA Sparks vs. Aces game and of course I cheered for the Aces. I was able to go court side and see hr face to face. I was in so much shock I was watching my favorite WNBA star warm up in front of my eyes that all I did was just sit and stare and watch her craft. Even in those 20 minutes that I was on the court, I studied her form, her warm ups, her handles, everything she does before a game in hope to learn at least something from her skills and how I could apply it to my high school and AAU teams. Overall, the impact that I felt from relating to a woman who I viewed similar to me helped me grow my passion and craft in the sport of basketball. Playing the sport for almost 7 years now along with 3 seasons of AAU, being able to look up to someone really helped me study, learn and, apply aspects of emotional and physical abilities for when I am on the court. So this year, I will be cheering on Kelsey Plum and Team USA for women's basketball and hope they bring back their 10th straight gold medal.

Growing up in a single-parent household has been a challenging experience, but it has also been rewarding in its way. For around nine years, I was subjected to abuse from my father and his family, which hurt my mental health and relationships with others. It also affected my education and my aspirations for the future. Despite being mandated by the courts to visit my dad every other weekend, the mental and verbal abuse I endured from him and my step-mom began to affect my performance in school and athletics. I still get random thoughts and replays of the times when I was yelled at for things that were out of my control. I was always blamed for everything, even when it wasn't my fault. I was told that it was my fault that my parents went to court and that I had to fix everything, not my dad. I was manipulated into thinking that nobody cared about me, not even my mom. I was made to believe that everybody was against me, that nobody liked me, and that I was the one who was messed up in the head. All of these "big talks" that my dad and his wife had with me constantly replay in my head. My mind brings up these memories at random times, during school, before or after my basketball practices, and even within my own house. All of these moments have had a significant impact on my drive to achieve my personal goals, both mentally and physically. I have goals of going to college and earning my bachelor's in Law Enforcement. I have goals of playing basketball in college, and with these two goals, I hope to take them into the NIL program at the WWE. I cannot find the words for what earning this scholarship would mean to me. The goals and dreams I have have such a personal meaning to me. Wrestling and basketball were the two things I was able to turn to during those difficult times when I felt like I had nothing. Earning this scholarship would accomplish my life long dream of doing what I love as I have watched those do what they love for me to be happy. Earning this scholarship would also help my mom. She has been a single parent for more than 10 years taking care of me and my little sister. We have started a dog-sitting business to help bring in extra money so we can live a comfortable life while she also works in law enforcement as her main job. Earning this scholarship would not only help me but take the stress and worry off of my mom, the hardest-working person I know. Without my mom and her resilience to pick herself up again, starting over from scratch, and being an independent single mom, I don't think I would be deserving of this scholarship. Earning this scholarship would help her in more ways than it could ever help me.

As a dependent of a single mom who is also an Air Force veteran, some things can be challenging for us and our family, yet also rewarding. Out of all the tough trials and periods of my life that I have had to experience without being able to have any control of these situations, having my mom there by my side has always made it better. However, a situation I am currently going through is self doubt. I have been playing basketball for around 7 years now and the older I have gotten, the more mentally challenging the sport has become. I have begun to start comparing myself to others. I have started doubting myself and giving myself negative talk because of the comparisons I am making. Social media has also impacted me when I am scrolling and see tons of girls with so many college offers. It always makes me think that I will never be able to accomplish this goal of mine. So, I joined an AAU travel ball team. This made me feel better emotionally, and allow me to fully show my skills to coaches who were able to get me exposed to college coaches. While I am currently still in travel, this mental adversity of mine has come back. Now that I have surrounded myself with girls who are either my level or better, I am still stuck comparing myself to others. So one night, I prayed, I prayed to God to have him show me if this is something I need to continue to still work hard for or if I need to quit because I just felt like I was getting no where in the sport. The love for the sport was slowly going away because I was stuck in this pit of negativity and not giving myself slack or room to grow because I was so focused on how others looked. Two days after the night I prayed, I received a letter. A letter from Ottawa Arizona University inviting me to a basketball camp down in Garden Grove. This immediately boosted my confidence, knowing I have what it takes to possibly make it to play basketball in college. And no too long after, I got another letter inviting me to the same camp by another college, New Mexico University. I will attend this camp next week on the 14th of April in front of multiple division 3 colleges. With me attending this camp, it has already motivated my drive for accomplishing my dream goals. Throughout this whole experience, it has taught me to have tremendous patience. That good things take time and hard work. But with the drive, ambition and impact from people, it will boost your confidence into working even harder, and pushing yourself as hard as you can. Ultimately, creating more drive for passion into pursuing life long dreams.

A very personal story of mine that I don't typically share with others is my parents' divorce. They got divorced when I was 5 and my sister was only a few months old. This season in my life was a very difficult and traumatizing time for me that I just recently got out of a little more than a year ago. I had to endure almost 9 years of mental and verbal abuse along with manipulation and the gaining of depression and anxiety. I was not allowed to be myself when I would go visit my dad and his family. I would have put on a fake face, keep to myself, and do my best to help protect my sister as she was going through the exact same issues as me, the abandonment from my father, constant yelling and being forced to do things we didn't want to do or be apart of because we knew if we said no we would get yelled at more. I never was able to feel the love and presence a dad should give to his kids. To him, it was always about the money, and "family" trips, which yes were fun, but I needed a connection. He allowed my step-mom to change him and in return change how he talked and interacted with me, leaving me feeling empty and worthless to him. To the point where when he did try to spend time with me, it felt awkward and uncomfterable because it didn't feel real. This soon translated to how I operated in my every day life. Every other weekend when I would get dropped back off with my mom, it was extremely hard for me to not to show my emotions during time at school, in basketball, and with family. I didn't want anyone knowing what was going on in my life, that I didn't have a present dad. When my friends would talk about their dads and the things they did together, I almost felt left out because I didn't know what it was like. When my family would ask "how is your dad doing?" I would panic, not knowing what to say or how to respond. They would always ask me but never ask my dad, leaving me confused and frustrated. I would always think, "Why would you ask your grandchild about your own son?" "Why do I have to constantly be reminded of a place and people that do me wrong and treat me unfairly and all I get is abuse?" When my dad would text me it would send huge amounts of anxiety into my body like a jolt of non stop electricity that wouldn't leave my body. I would be on the verge of tears just from a simple text of him saying "Hello!" or "Hey Trinity," just because of all the thoughts that would come into my head of all the things he could say or talk about. He wouldn't text me much but when he did, it took a mental toll on my body and mental health that I felt I could never get away from. Yet through all of this, my mom was my biggest support system. Without her, I don't even know how I would be where I am right now as I am typing this. Even though she wasn't physically with me through the moments of crying by myself or being screamed at by both my dad and step mom, she was always there in the end to take it all away from me. Through the past 9 years, through all the abuse and mental health issues, she was my support system that helped me keep going. That kept me strong in times where I felt like I had nothing or when I felt like I meant nothing. I navigated through this negative period in my life not only with the help of my mom, but with the help of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Praying and reading my bible helped me get through times when my mom wasn't able to be there. And overall, this journey in my life helped me grow my relationship in Christ and get me to that next level to pursue my relationship with me. Including helping me mature and see things others don't see in people in which I hope to use to help protect myself and others in the future. As of right now, 16 turning 17 years old, I can say I am the strongest person I know. Without this experience, my mental health would be at a very low point. I wouldn't be able to notice the things I am able to notice in people. I wouldn't even be able to write this essay because I would break down crying, replaying the scenes of the trauma I experienced. I learned what is good for me and what is bad for me mentally and personally. I learned that it is ok to say no to protect myself. And overall I can say, I gained resilience and bravery to talk about these topics to others. Through all of this, the main thing I wish to do is be able to spread and preach about my story those, mainly kids who are my age or younger. I want to spread the message that whatever they are going through, that it does end. That there is a finish line and that at the end of the tunnel, they will be stronger mentally, they will be stronger in standing up for themselves, and that they will be able to look out for themselves better than if they didn't go through their tough situation.