Why I Receive My Scholarship

There are a plethora of reasons why I qualify to receive this scholarship. All of the things that have occurred in my life up until this point have helped prepare/ make me the person I am today. The battles that I have faced got me to where I am today and have made me qualified for this scholarship. School, family and my community have all taught me valuable lessons. I am mature, have a realistic outlook on life and know what I want to do with my life.

Throughout my high school career, I tried to do my best academically. My last two years of high school, I didn't accept anything less than the best. Whenever I was faced with a difficult subject or assignment and did whatever I had to do to understand it or to get it done. My high school courses

My mother had me when she was fresh out of high school. Neither of my parents have a college degree. As the offspring of two young parents I was mostly raised by my grandparents when I was a young child. Looking back at my childhood, I can see now that one of my grandmother's, who is an alcoholic, was psychologically abusive to me. The environment that I encountered while in her care, wasn't an environment that young children should have been in. While in her care, I can remember witnessing her get into verbal and sometimes physical arguments with her fiance. Thinking back on it, I can remember how scared I was whenever they would fight and how emotionally stressful it was for me. She would think it was funny to turn out all the lights and put on horror movies whenever it was time to go to bed. On those nights I would often cry myself to sleep in a fit of fear. Today, I still talk to my grandma and I don't blame her for the trauma and anxiety she put me through as a child. I have realized over time that drugs and alcohol make people do things they wouldn't normally do sober. My experiences with my grandmother have taught me not to think about the bad things that have happened to me but, to learn from them and move on. I will never get anywhere in life if I just pity myself and my dysfunctional childhood. My childhood taught me how to move on and focus on what is beneficial

I am hardworking, dedicated, have a passion for helping the community, know how to manage my time, how to overcome my fears, and have faced more adversity in my short life than most people my age have had to deal with. I want to be the person that breaks the path my family is set on. I want to be the one that doesn't fall victim to drugs or alcohol. I don't want to struggle to provide for my family. I want to make something of myself. Going to college is the first step for me to break this trend and any money I receive will be a major benefit to me due, to the fact that I am paying for the mass majority of this by