“Life will break you down, but you don’t get to stay broken.” My grandmother has repeated those words to me my entire life, and they have become my personal mantra as a single mother working toward a better future. Those words are not just advice they are the very way my grandmother has lived her life, and her strength is the reason I am pursuing nursing today. My grandmother, Lottie Fortner, is the definition of resilience. She adopted me and my siblings when my mother was unable to raise us, putting her own life on hold to give us stability and love. She was still grieving the loss of her husband in 2009 when she had to bury her only son in 2013, and then her sister and brother-in-law in 2016. Each tragedy could have broken her, but instead she chose to keep going for us. Even today, at 79 years old, she is still working and still caring for her family. She is now helping my biological mother battle the addiction that has been a part of my life since childhood. But her strength has been tested in unimaginable ways. A few years ago, my brother set fire to my grandmother’s home the very house she had worked so hard to build and then stole her insurance money. Instead of being able to rebuild, my grandmother spent three long years fighting with dishonest contractors who took her money and left the job undone. Our family was forced into the spotlight, with our story making local news for nearly two years. As if that weren’t enough, her home was shot into twice, and men came to her door demanding that she pay off debts that weren’t hers, but my brother’s. Through it all, my grandmother never gave up. She has been my greatest example of perseverance, teaching me that hardship is not the end—it is the fuel to keep pushing forward. I carry that lesson with me every single day as I raise my own two children as a single mother. Each month I face the fear of eviction and the impossible task of stretching a small income to cover food, bills, and everything my children need. There are days when I feel overwhelmed, but then I hear my grandmother’s voice: “You don’t get to stay broken.” That voice is what drives me to nursing. For me, nursing is not just a career it is a lifeline. It represents stability for my children, independence for myself, and the chance to honor my grandmother’s sacrifices by creating the life she always wanted for me. Nursing is also a way for me to serve others with the same compassion and determination that has carried me this far. I want my children to see that no matter how heavy life feels, you can rise above it with faith, perseverance, and hard work. This scholarship would mean more than just financial help. It would be an opportunity to break the cycle of struggle and finally create a new story for my family. My grandmother has held us together through unimaginable loss, sacrifice, and heartbreak. Now, I want to be the one who holds her up, to give back even a fraction of the love and strength she has given me. Most importantly, I want my children to grow up knowing that we are not defined by our hardships we are defined by how we rise from them.