I am a theatre kid. I always have been and I always will. I am creative, imaginative, and determined to achieve my goals. At the same time, I try my best to be kind and respectful to everyone I meet while being true to myself. I work hard at tasks but also make time in my life to have fun and enjoy the moment. All of these attributes come in handy for my career choice. It surprises most people when I say that I want to be an actress. Coming from a state where nobody remembers where it is located on the map, it is hard to think that a great actress could come from Delaware. I was born and raised there on the East Coast which surrounded me with all kinds of art. Many small shops have fantastic paintings and sculptures, and the city of Wilmington had tons of wall artwork and graffiti murals. Each town also had its own theater or art museum that locals loved. Growing up in such a small but beautiful state helped me find my passion. I started acting around the age of seven. My first play was "Annie Jr". I fell in love with becoming a character and having a different personality. Being on the stage allowed me to explore different parts of myself that I didn't know existed. I continued to do plays throughout my childhood such as "Frozen" and "The Lion King", in which I got the role of Scar. I was also in a church play that was seen by more than 500 people. The plays "Our Town" and "Clue" were my most recent and best performances. I discovered that this type of art can bring emotion and relief from daily life to the audience and actors. My best memories are from the plays I did and meeting the amazing actors who starred in them. This scholarship will mean so much to me if I win. My family struggles with money considering I have two other siblings that are soon heading off to college. Money can be hard to save and spread around. Five thousand dollars will give me the confidence to become an actor and finish my degree in the arts. Though I love acting, I doubt if this dream is even possible; this scholarship money would be appreciated. It would give some relief to my mom knowing that a portion of my tuition is covered. I can imagine the look on her face. Full joy and pride.

"God please help me!", were the words I screamed in my head as I tossed and turned in my bed. The stress and images were overwhelming my thoughts. I was convinced that evil things were out to get me, even though there was nothing there. Nothing harmed me. God was there right beside me that night and He has been beside me ever since. He was with me before then too. Ever since I asked Jesus to be in my heart at the age of five, He has guided me and provided everything I could ever need. He especially helped me when my parents got a divorce. That morning before my mother told me her decision, I had mentioned something that started a fight between my parents. The car ride with my mother and brothers and me that morning was like no other. For years I had blamed myself for my parent's divorce, but God helped me to forgive myself and helped me to realize that it was not my fault. God has helped me be at peace when bad things happen and I do not understand why they happen. I accepted the fact that my parents were getting divorced, but moving to a new house was too much for me. I loved my childhood home and I was not ready to leave it. God is still helping me deal with circumstances out of my control and helping me to let go of the past. A few years after I moved, my life at school was getting worse. My dad happened to be my teacher at the time, and it was hard for me and my older brother. We received public emotional and verbal abuse and embarrassment from our dad, which caused us to leave the school entirely. Three big changes throughout a couple of years were a lot for me and it made me struggle with my mental health. In times of stress, I pray to God for guidesness and it has helped me to move on. I had come to hate myself as an early teen, but now I am learning to love myself with God's help. He has provided me with friends to lift me in times of need. He has never left my side. I now have the courage to put the past behind me. Courage has come in handy in the past years, and it will be useful in the ones to come. I hope to become an actress in Hollywood and tv, which takes a lot of courage. I know that I will need to be strong in my faith in this career path, but I know God will be with me every step of the way. Even though my earthly father failed me, my heavenly Father won't. My faith will strengthen me to tell others about God through my career. God has helped me so much, and I am grateful.

I've heard the song a billion times, but on that prom night, it summed up my entire junior year of high school. The song had been played at every dance since I came to the school, so I thought the whole school and I would have been tired of hearing it. We weren't. Once the first three notes played, everyone who was sitting down rushed to the dance floor. I mean, who doesn't love Taylor Swift! Taylor's song "Shake It Off" is a classic. I practicly grew up listening to the song. It is one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs of all time. It has a beat that makes you want to dance and a message that is uplifting. It encourages me to let go of all the little problems in life and focus on the good. It is a reminder that what people say about you doesn't matter. All of this is sung by one of the best American artists who has impacted millions by her songs. When she sings, "That's what people say", she sings with an attitude of not caring. It reminds me that not every opionion is true and that what people say about you doesn't matter. That night I was dancing at the prom and I heard the words, "It's like I got this music in my mind saying it's gonna be alright". I believe this the best lyric of the song because if you have a positive attitude in your mind it helps you to know everything is going to be okay. I had a rough year previous to that night, and that one lyric reminded me that it was all going to be fine as long as had this song in my head. The chorus supports this mindset be saying that there will always going to be mean people in the world, but if you shake off the bad thoughts it doesn't matter what they say. That year I had my fair share of players, haters, heartbreakers, and fakers. The part that goes, "I'm dancing on my own, I make the moves up as I go" resonates with me because I always thought that I was bad at dancing and I was the only one of my friend group that loved to dance. I literally made moves up as the song went along, but I was confident because I did not care what others thought. Everyone in the whole school knew the bridge, and they chanted it! Why think about the stuff that gets you down when you could dance to a sick beat! It brought a feeling of togetherness and unity hearing everyone in the school sing. By the time the song was over I was tired, but free of all the things that were wearing me down that year. I was sad by the time it was over, but I was so much more confident than before.

My mom is my hero and the person I most respect in my life. She has been with me my whole life, holding my hand and then letting go when it was time for me to be on my own. She always told me to put my academics first, and I always did. She has pushed me to work hard even from kindergarten! I was only four going into it, but she knew I was smart enough to make it through. She would always make sure I studied for every test. She helped me learn my timetables and even my spelling words. Later on in middle school, I thrived in my education. I became one of the smartest people in my class. My mom was always proud of me. Whether I was the smartest or not, she was proud, especially when I won an award or got a perfect score. Whenever I did get a bad grade, my mom would always ask the same question, "Did you do your best?". I would always reply yes to that question. I now realize, that my mom was teaching me the difference between doing my best and trying my best. By high school, I was independent in my studying. I didn't my mom to remind me, but I still needed her support. She will always wish me good luck before a test or quiz. She will ask me and my brothers if we have quizzes or tests that day so that she could pray that we will do well. I wanted to do well in my academics for myself and my mom because her being proud of me was the best feeling in the world. In reality, my mom was always proud of me, no matter what. My mom put me and my brothers first before herself. I only live with my mom, so she was the one helping us study while making dinner at the same time. She is a determined lady, and being a single mother with three kids is not an easy job. She drove us to school, packed our lunches, and made sure we were on top of our homework. She also supported me outside of school. She would drive me to drama practices and would always show up for my volleyball games, my brother's hockey games, and our little league games even though we were terrible at the sport. She always cheered us on. She would even give me flowers after a play performance. She also put a lot of her money into our education. Whether it be buying school supplies, tools for a school project, or field trip money, she was always ready to sacrifice a few bucks even when she didn't have a lot. My mom is my number one supporter. She is my cheerleader and my coach. She is everything to me. I hope one day I can give back to her the way she has given me and my brothers. She wants to get her doctorate one day, and I want to support her in that whether it be financially or emotionally, just like how she supported me.

Ever since I was a little girl, I was addicted to Disney. It was the only thing I would want to watch on tv, the only word that would get me to stop screaming, and the only word that would cause me to spiral into a world of make believe. Whenever someone asks me what my favorite movie is I take a long pause. I mean how could anyone choose between the classics like "Peter Pan" and "Cinderella" or the biggest films like "Frozen" and "Inside Out". Looking back on my life, I realize how much Disney movies and characters impacted me in such positive ways! By the age of five my whole personality was Tinkerbell, and so was my bedroom. When asked to write a four page paper in high school about absolutely anything in American history, my mind directly went to Disney. I learned a lot through my research and it even made me more passionate about something I already loved. It is hard to choose what my favorite thing is about Disney. It could be the classic and hilarious characters that catch the audiences' eyes or even the stories that move people's hearts. It could be the art in the movies whether it be the animation or a beautiful movie set and costumes. It could be the amusement parks that bring families joy and become the dreams of every kid and adult in the nation. It could even be the history of Disney itself, considering the blood, sweat, and tears people have put into this company and organization. Though I have considered all of these things to be my favorite thing about Disney, the best thing about Disney to me is how much it inspires people. There is a reason why movie theaters across the world have lines of people wrapped around city blocks waiting to see the newest Disney movie. There is definitely a reason why kids dream about going to Disney Land just to get a photo with Mickey Mouse. There is a reason why people dress up as fictional characters even when it is nowhere close to being Halloween! The reason is that Disney has inspired people. It inspires people to have fun and live free with their irresistible amusement parks. Disney inspires people to find new versions of themselves and to try new things. It inspires people to use their creativity. It inspires people to dream new dreams and explore new possibilities. Disney has personally inspired me to become an actress. Seeing those great actors on the screen in big movies with thrilling stories made me realize that I wanted to be just like them. I want to be in Disney movies that inspire people in new ways. Disney has also been a big inspiration to my imagination. The way Disney tells a story is like no other, and it inspired me to create my own stories. My hope is to one day get these stories on paper or a movie screen so I could share the same inspiration. Not only would I love to be an actress in a Disney movie, but I would also love to help write Disney movies. My hope is that I will be able to inspire people the same way that Disney has inspired me. It has had such a big impact on my life and I would not be the person I am today without it. I believe though that Disney has impacted millions of people just like me across the globe and will keep inspiring people for generations to come.

It was just after the curtain call; the crowd cheered, the other actors and I bowed, and the Clue play was over. As a was talking with my family in my dark, sultry, cold Miss White outfit, a little girl no taller than the chairs stood in front of me. Her sweet mother beside her explained that her daughter did not want to leave until she got a picture with Miss White. I was ecstatic. Her mother then said, "Tell her why Miss White is your favorite character.". The shy little girl quietly said, "Because she is funny.". "Funny?", I thought. The word funny is not the first word that comes to my head when thinking of the dark, evil, and cold character. Why then did this little girl want a picture with me? I realized then that it was because I had inspired her. My serious and evil one-liners were funny to her. It made her laugh and feel emotion. I realized that day that the arts were meant to inspire and bring emotion. That is what art is and what art is for! The world needs the arts, whether visual or auditory, because it inspires people. It even inspired me. Ever since I was little, I loved movies. Seeing actors play different characters inspired me to find different aspects of myself that I did not know existed. That is how I got into theatre. Being in plays such as Annie, Frozen, The Lion King, Our Town, and Clue only strengthened my passion. Though some may argue that theatre and acting are not art, they inspire people the same way a painting or a symphony of music would. Theatre makes a positive impact on the world because it makes people feel all kinds of emotions. Actors can make people laugh, cry, be angry, fearful, jealous, understanding, curious, and feel all other kinds of emotions. This is why I wanted to become an actor. I want to bring joy to the world by playing characters in uplifting stories. I want to move people to question their thinking and explore different parts of themselves. If I can make a positve impact to a little girl through one school play, imagine what impact I can make in the future.