https://instagram.com/adefemi_04?igshid=1bo7z8ioej8ta I am proud to be a woman because Women are fearless, resilient and hardworking. Being a woman is tough in society but we still accomplish our goals. Women have come a long way and I love being a woman. I have many role models to look up to, to show me what it means to be a woman and I hope to be a role model to for young impressionable girls some day.

When I look into my future I see myself as a successful business woman. Well esteemed and and looked up to by others. I plan on taking a double major and studying psychology and economics. The combination of these courses leave a wides spread of opportunities for myself. It will also aid me in my plans of starting a business. Studying this will allow me to be able to understand my customer’s mind to make rational decisions with my capital which will a rich contribution to the success of my business. Apart from the advantages my courses will bring to my business I will also be highly marketable it the labour market and have higher chances of getting higher paying jobs. To be successful is not only about the money to me its about the difference I can make in the community. I believe that with the courses I am going to study I will able to positively impact as many business especially small ones owned by minorities. By helping a lot of business owners become more financially literate and explaining the major concepts of business and costumer interactions to those who are not aware of it. I am happy and proud to know that I will study this courses and it will make my future brighter and make my dreams of success come true.

I am a FEMINIST. This is my passion I plan to have an impact on women's lives. People might think on this day and age there is no segregation against women but there still so much prejudice that we have to fight against as women. I plan on opening as many charities as possible to help single mothers and teenage girls fending for themselves. There are so many women around the world not just in the US that need other women to fight for them. In countries like Saudi Arabia women are facing systematic oppression, they are being controlled by men and have little places to turn to for help. I know what I do as one woman will never be enough to completely fight oppression based on gender but I can make a difference, I try my best to spread awareness about all kinds of systematic oppression, Even the U.S. that claims to be well in the times can do better for the women of this country. I want to fight the gender-based stereotypes that still lives in the minds of men today. I want to make something of myself more than the average man will make of himself, I want to fight against the abuse that more women are facing than is being reported, mentally, physically, and emotionally. I know that I can make a difference and so can you.

A few years ago I had a terrible experience in the ocean. I was playing and almost drowned. I stayed away from pools and oceans for years after that. After a lot of persuasion from my family I decided to learn how to swim. Even after learning to swim it still took a while before I was ready to face the ocean but last year I decided to do it. I went to the beach and had fun and played. That experience taught me that i have to be bold enough to face my fears.

I grew up in Nigeria and Nigerian music isn't exactly the comforting type. It's usually upbeat with a fast rhythm. I also didn't have access to the technology to listen to any other kind of music apart from what my elder brothers played or what I heard from the neighbors. It was a tough time for me because my parents were fighting and I experienced most of their fights, my elder brothers were already in boarding school and my younger sister was too young to know what was really going on. She cried a lot at the time because she was confused and I had to comfort her but who would comfort me? I ended coping, without any help, in my own way. It really affected my mental health and I had a lot of issues because of it. Later on, when I was around 12 years, my mum finally gave me my own phone, I didn't discover how music could help me cope, I wasn't even a music person. Until later when my friends were talking about how they do their chores while playing music. I did the same thing once I had the opportunity and I discovered so many songs that helped me deal and cope. It was around this time as well that my mum started paying for cable tv and I started watching Disney Channel. I loved the songs they sang but this particular song really hit me. 'Who said' by Miley Cyrus on Hannah Montana. I would listen to that song on repeat for so long it made me believe in myself and made me realize I could be whoever I wanted to be no matter what anybody said. Now I listen to music all of the time to help me when I'm down or when im doing chores or taking a walk. Some of my favourite arists to listen to are Taylor Swift, Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran and sometimes Justin Beiber.

If money was not an issue I would definitely start an interior design company. I've always enjoyed organizing and arranging and many times I've thought about if I could start an Interior design company but I've always known it wouldn't be easy especially because of the capital it requires to start a business. I would spend my time designing people's living spaces to their taste. I think it would be a nice way to spend my time. It is important for people to enjoy what they do with their time and this is something I would enjoy I would also start a publishing house aside from organizing and arranging I also love to read. Owning a publishing house would give me a lot of time to read different manuscripts and turn them into books. Seeing people's dreams come true when they are chosen to be printed would also be a plus for me. It would be a dream come true for me as well to spend my time doing what I love doing. To continue on to state the number of things I have dreamed of doing would make this essay way too long. In simpler terms, there are a lot of things I would do if money wasn't an issue.

Self love was something that came very hard to me especially since I grew up with people I felt so much more prettier than me. I didn't learn to love myself and accept myself for a really long time. I didn't like my body because I was more than the average size and I didn't think I had any talents. I thought I had no purpose in life because I wasn't necessarily good at anything. I tried losing weight and it was very hard to do because I wanted quick results and lacked dedication. Fifteen years into my life and I was still a self loathing person. Until I had a very long and deep talk with a friend who I thought was perfect. She told me how insecure she was about her body and how she wished she was curvier like me. When she said this I was extremely shocked. Even though I might not admit it to her face, this was the day I started looking in the mirror and smiling. At first I just thought she only said it because she was my friend but later on I came to realize I was pretty and beautiful the way I was thanks to a lot of body positivity books she recommended for me to read. A few years ago I took up sewing to have a sense of purpose. Initially I hated it because it required a lot of patience and dedication, all of which I lacked. Later on after I actually learnt I began to enjoy it more than I would have admitted at the time. I spent hours at the studio where I was learning till it got dark and I had to go home. I even had my mom buy me a machine later on. I used my new found talent to sew nice fitting skirts for myself for school. When I wore those skirts to school a lot of people wanted one so I made some for them. This gave me the sense of purpose I so dearly wanted and it felt good. I've grown to love myself more and it has changed the way I see people all together. I used to think bigger people were unhealthy or ugly but now I know beauty comes in different ways. It also helped me feel more comfortable with my friend and made us closer. I can now make clothes for people with all types of beauty and I aspire to help people realize how pretty they are by encouraging body positivity in the little ways that I can.

My mother, the most caring, loving, encouraging, sweet, successful, inspiring, wonderful and so many other words that even begin to describe how great this woman is. Yes, she is a single mother of four and she has done a brilliant job with all four of us. Being a child of a single mother is such an amazing gift, Others might not think of it as such but I do. My mum is the most influential person in my life without her guidance and direction in my life. I don't even want to think of the person I would have become. Although my mother and I didn't have a great relationship from the start because of the amount of work she needed to do to fend for herself and her four children which made her busy but now that I am older I understand the sacrifices she had to make for our sake and I know how much she loves us. My relationship with her has become so much better since she has more time because my elder siblings are now off to college and she has a better job. I don't know how I would have turned out if she had stayed with my dad but I know I would be nowhere near being the young woman I am so proud of being now. The toxic relationship she endured at first for our sake is amazing and shows how strong she is. She only recently told me the breakdown of what had happened between her and my dad and it made me even more proud of her than I already was. Even with all that happened to her she was able to come back up, take control of her life and become successful while bringing up even more successful children. She inspires me, watching her do what she does lets me know that as women we are capable of anything. She always told me "the sky is not your limit it is only your starting point". Growing up with an independent woman as the head of the house makes me proud to be a woman. It makes me know my future has limitless boundaries and everyday I think about all that she has achieved. I know I can achieve more in this prejudiced world. My dreams, if anyone was to ask me what i wanted for myself I would tell them I want to be successful just like my mother. I plan on studying Psychology because psychology is broad and with psychology I can work in a whole number of fields such as clinical Psychology, cognitive Psychology, counseling Psychology, developmental Psychology, educational Psychology, experimental Psychology forensic Psychology, health Psychology and much more. I plan on using my psychology degree to help those in positions my mother was in when she first left my dad. It's all about the small ways we contribute to try and change the world, This is my little way of making an impact. Right now i am starting small, talking to my friends and peers who have similar experiences as mine and educating those who think little of single mothers or their children. Winning this scholarship will help me pay for college and help reach wider audiences in my journey to help others who need it.