My childhood wasn't an easy one. My father was a drug addict who would regularly beat my mother in front of me. The earliest thing I can remember is sitting on my living room floor, screaming and crying while watching my parents fistfought in the kitchen. I also remember how our electricity would get turned off because my mother would give my father the bill money, but he used it for his drugs. We never could afford anything nice because of his drug problem. There was not much food in the house, only food necessary for meals. Because of this situation, it took my mother nine years to graduate college. But once she did, she left my father. But, even though she was a single mother, my mom made life better for us. She bought her own house and worked two jobs while getting a master's degree. She eventually remarried but now has a healthy relationship. She taught my sister and me the importance of education. She pushed us to make straight A's and to do our best. Now, because of her example, I'm graduating high school early with a year of college credit under my belt. I could have let my situation be an excuse to be lazy, but my mother didn't. Instead, I did what she did; I used the past as an example of how I never want my life to be again. I want to be someone who encourages others and makes the world a better place. I want to be a friend to those who lived in difficult situations and tell them life gets better. I know that if I work hard enough, just like my mother, I can turn my life around from any situation and become what I dream.

"Change is inevitable, but personal growth is a choice" -Bob Proctor. In life, we are constantly faced with change. As we grow up and grow older, we combat the challenges life throws at us. People close to us die, we lose friends, and we give up the comfort of childhood to become an adult in a world that no longer coddles us. In my life, there have been many hardships. When I had to come to terms with the fact that I would never have a "traditional" family where my parents were together, or even a family with my father in the picture at all, it was difficult for me. I had to learn that my father was a danger to me and those around me. I could've acted like a child about it and made everyone feel bad for me and my situation, but I chose to use it as a way for me to grow. I could've become just like him, but I chose and am choosing a life that is different from him every day. We can never control what happens to us. What we can control is how we grow and learn from the experience.

My favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh. He was a man that struggled with mental problems; Van Gogh ate paint when he was depressed, cut off his ear, and succumbed to suicide. But, he made beautiful art that inspires others to this day. We still look to him as a perfect example of an artist through his abstract forms.

My life started in a hard place. Since before I was born, my father was an abusive drug addict. When I was two months old, he left me at home alone to go out and get high. My mother came home to a screaming baby with no one around to take care of me. As I got older, conditions only worsened. When I was four years old, my mother became pregnant with another child. One day, when she was nine months pregnant, my father beat her so bad that he broke her collar bone. Although I was only four, the image of my mother's body on the ground with my father standing over her is in my brain. Throughout my entire childhood, my father and mother would scream at each other every single day. I watched as our dishes smashed as they flew across the room. As a small child, I learned that makeup wasn't just for looking pretty; it was for covering the bruises on my mother's face. I came to understand that when the lights turned off, we couldn't pay the bills. I also learned that the reason we couldn't pay the bills was my father's drug spending. My mother, my sister, and I lived in a world of fear. We believed life would never get any better. But one day, it did. While we lived with my father, my mother went to school on and off for nine years to get her bachelor's degree. The reason it took so long was that my father hated the idea of my mother's education. After she got her degree, she left him. When my family left, my mother had to support her two children by herself. We had to push away the images of horrors and learn to live our new life. It was scary, and there were times when we didn't know if we were able to eat that month or pay the bills. There were many meals when my mother chose not to eat so that her children would. But, through it all, we made it. My mother's degree allowed her to get a good enough job to take care of us. Plus, she went back to school and obtained a master's degree. Now, we're happy and safe. My mother inspired me to never give up on education. She inspires me to pursue my degree and have my career. I've always wanted to be in the medical field. But, the idea of having someone's life in my hands is not an idea that I like. So, I am determined to be a dentist. Going to college and getting scholarships will allow me to accomplish this.

My favorite piece of art is Van Gogh's starry night. The first reason it's my favorite piece when I first saw it, I was inspired to start painting. I looked at it and said, "I want to be able to do that; I want to be able to create something that beautiful." And that's how I developed a love of painting that's carried on through the years: by looking at one man's work. Another reason it's my favorite piece is because of the abstract forms. You can look at this painting and not only see, but you can also feel. Stars don't look like how he painted them; stars feel like how he painted them. Van Gogh gave us his innermost feelings on a canvas and gave us a life-lasting connection to the feelings inside of ourselves. When I look at this piece, I feel calm. I feel like everything is going to be alright. Lastly, the reason I love this piece is because of the artist himself. Van Gogh was mentally ill; he went through warfare in his mind, he was suicidal and struggled every day. But, he still managed to give us beauty. As someone who struggles with depression, I can look at the starry night and think, "even though today is hard, I can make something beautiful out of it."