For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. The quote “Dum spiro, spero,” translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my life that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to be others' hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and I have spent so much time searching for my purpose and passion in life, and through this past year, I took a passion to painting and art. I found that my purpose is creative, so I decided to take a fashion design class this past year, and I have discovered my love for fashion, and my desire to be a fashion designer. I am very new to fashion design and I no longer have access to the materials I need to create the clothes I design, so this scholarship will really help me further my passion.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. During this time I used books and reading as an escape from reality, where I found this famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. Struggle once again came through the pandemic, but my time away from the real world allowed me to have time to reflect on myself. I used this time to work on my body and self-confidence as well as learning to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and while I don't necessarily know how my life will develop and what it may be, I have hope that it will be something amazing. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal of one day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. During this time I used books and reading as an escape from reality, where I found this famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and I have spent so much time searching for my purpose and passion in life, and through this past year, I took a passion to painting and art. I found that my purpose has to be creative, so I decided to take a fashion design class this past year, and I have discovered my love for fashion, and my desire to be a fashion designer. I am very new to fashion design and I no longer have access to the materials I need to create the clothes I design, so this scholarship will really help me further my passion. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal of one day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. I aim to get this degree to better help me understand how to launch my own business and my designs. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with my work and help make others feel confident in the clothes they are wearing.

I have always been taught to protect myself and to constantly be on the defense when going out in public, always keep your eyes up, keys between your knuckles, pepper spray on hand, etc. As women we have to be diligent in protecting ourselves, this is not the world we should have to live in, but unfortunately for the time being this is the world we have. I want to create self-defense products for women and girls that don't involve hand-to-hand combat. In order to use many self-defense products, one must risk their life by fighting close to their attacker where one can be easily overpowered. I want to create a product that can be used as a scare tactic to ward off the attacker but can also defend the user from a distance. I surveyed students in my class and 75% of the takers said they were afraid to be in public alone, while the other 25% said they were not afraid. The big reason I am sharing this is that the 75% that were afraid were all women, while the other 25% were all men. This shows that we live in a community where women are either taught or have enough experiences where it is "normal" for them to be afraid. Through my self-defense product, I want to push the idea that women don't have to be afraid to go out in public alone because they can protect themselves. I think it is vital for the world to see my creation to show that women will not back down and we will take control of our lives and situation and we will not continue to live in a world we are scared of. I want to combine the technology of my product with my goal of one-day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. Through this degree, I believe it will help me expand the outreach of my product. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

I have always been taught to protect myself and to constantly be on the defense when going out in public, always keep your eyes up, keys between your knuckles, pepper spray on hand, etc. As women we have to be diligent in protecting ourselves, this is not the world we should have to live in, but unfortunately for the time being this is the world we have. I want to create self-defense products for women and girls that don't involve hand-to-hand combat. In order to use many self-defense products, one must risk their life by fighting close to their attacker where one can be easily overpowered. I want to create a product that can be used as a scare tactic to ward off the attacker but can also defend the user from a distance. I surveyed students in my class and 75% of the takers said they were afraid to be in public alone, while the other 25% said they were not afraid. The big reason I am sharing this is that the 75% that were afraid were all women, while the other 25% were all men. This shows that we live in a community where women are either taught or have enough experiences where it is "normal" for them to be afraid. Through my self-defense product, I want to push the idea that women don't have to be afraid to go out in public alone because they can protect themselves. I think it is vital for the world to see my creation to show that women will not back down and we will take control of our lives and situation and we will not continue to live in a world we are scared of. I want to combine the technology of my product with my goal of one day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. Through this degree, I believe it will help me expand the outreach of my product. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

I have always been taught to protect myself and to constantly be on the defense when going out in public, always keep your eyes up, keys between your knuckles, pepper spray on hand, etc. As women we have to be diligent in protecting ourselves, this is not the world we should have to live in, but unfortunately for the time being this is the world we have. I want to create self-defense products for women and girls that don't involve hand-to-hand combat. In order to use many self-defense products, one must risk their life by fighting close to their attacker where one can be easily overpowered. I want to create a product that can be used as a scare tactic to ward off the attacker but can also defend the user from a distance. I surveyed students in my class and 75% of the takers said they were afraid to be in public alone, while the other 25% said they were not afraid. The big reason I am sharing this is that the 75% that were afraid were all women, while the other 25% were all men. This shows that we live in a community where women are either taught or have enough experiences where it is "normal" for them to be afraid. Through my self-defense product, I want to push the idea that women don't have to be afraid to go out in public alone because they can protect themselves. I think it is vital for the world to see my creation to show that women will not back down and we will take control of our lives and situation and we will not continue to live in a world we are scared of. I want to combine the technology of my product with my goal of one day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. Through this degree, I believe it will help me expand the outreach of my product. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. During this time I used books and reading as an escape from reality, where I found this famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and I have spent so much time searching for my purpose and passion in life, and through this past year, I took a passion to painting and art. I found that my purpose has to be creative, so I decided to take a fashion design class this past year, and I have discovered my love for fashion, and my desire to be a fashion designer. I am very new to fashion design and I no longer have access to the materials I need to create the clothes I design, so this scholarship will really help me further my passion. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal of one day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. I aim to get this degree to better help me understand how to launch my own business and my designs. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with my work and help make others feel confident in the clothes they are wearing.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. During this time I used books and reading as an escape from reality, where I found this famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and I have spent so much time searching for my purpose and passion in life, and through this past year, I took a passion to painting and art. I found that my purpose has to be creative, so I decided to take a fashion design class this past year, and I have discovered my love for fashion, and my desire to be a fashion designer. I am very new to fashion design and I no longer have access to the materials I need to create the clothes I design, so this scholarship will really help me further my passion. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal of one day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. I aim to get this degree to better help me understand how to launch my own business and my designs. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with my work and help make others feel confident in the clothes they are wearing.

My all-time favorite film is Mulan. I love this movie because it teaches girls from a young age that they are powerful warriors and to stand up against oppression and sexism. Every time I watch this movie I am reminded that I am here on Earth to do something important and to never let others deter me from my goals. Mulan embodies the fighting spirit that inspires change and equality. I aspire to live my life with the lessons that this movie taught, to never back down when trying to do the right thing, that women can do anything, and to never give up when trying to reach a goal. While Mulan is a classic Disney movie, I think it is underrated and the messages need to be talked about more. I love this movie so much and it is amazing for teaching feminism to young girls.

I have always been taught to protect myself and to constantly be on the defense when going out in public, always keep your eyes up, keys between your knuckles, pepper spray on hand, etc. As women we have to be diligent in protecting ourselves, this is not the world we should have to live in, but unfortunately for the time being this is the world we have. I want to create self-defense products for women and girls that don't involve hand-to-hand combat. In order to use many self-defense products, one must risk their life by fighting close to their attacker where one can be easily overpowered. I want to create a product that can be used as a scare tactic to ward off the attacker but can also defend the user from a distance. I surveyed students in my class and 75% of the takers said they were afraid to be in public alone, while the other 25% said they were not afraid. The big reason I am sharing this is that the 75% that were afraid were all women, while the other 25% were all men. This shows that we live in a community where women are either taught or have enough experiences where it is "normal" for them to be afraid. Through my self-defense product, I want to push the idea that women don't have to be afraid to go out in public alone because they can protect themselves. I think it is vital for the world to see my creation to show that women will not back down and we will take control of our lives and situation and we will not continue to live in a world we are scared of. I want to combine the technology of my product with my goal of one-day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. Through this degree, I believe it will help me expand the outreach of my product. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. During this time I used books and reading as an escape from reality, where I found this famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and while I don't necessarily know how my life will develop and what it may be, I have hope that it will be something amazing. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal of one-day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. During this time I used books and reading as an escape from reality, where I found this famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and while I don't necessarily know how my life will develop and what it may be, I have hope that it will be something amazing. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal of one-day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. During this time I used books and reading as an escape from reality, where I found this famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and while I don't necessarily know how my life will develop and what it may be, I have hope that it will be something amazing. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal of one-day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant, and then eventually go to law school to get my law degree as well. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe law and accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. During this time I used books and reading as an escape from reality, where I found this famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and while I don't necessarily know how my life will develop and what it may be, I have hope that it will be something amazing. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal of one-day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

I want to create self-defense products for women and girls that don't involve hand-to-hand combat. In order to use many self-defense products, one must risk their life by fighting close to their attacker where one can be easily overpowered. I want to create a product that can be used as a scare tactic to ward off the attacker but can also defend the user from a distance. I surveyed students in my class and 75% of the takers said they were afraid to be in public alone, while the other 25% said they were not afraid. The big reason I am sharing this is that the 75% that were afraid were all women, while the other 25% were all men. This shows that we live in a community where women are either taught or have enough experiences where it is "normal" for them to be afraid. Through my self-defense product, I want to push the idea that women don't have to be afraid to go out in public alone because they can protect themselves. I think it is vital for the world to see my creation to show that women will not back down and we will take control of our lives and situation and we will not continue to live in a world we are scared of.

College is an amazing place to learn and grow, but it is also very expensive as well, I am a twin, and both my sister and I plan to go to UNT, which means double the cost. My mom went through a very long and expensive divorce with my biological father, who took the money that was saved for our college fund, leaving us with debt and our lives turned upside down. For a few years, my mother was a single mom raising two daughters, while also trying to recover financially from the divorce. This award would be an incredible way to lessen some of the financial burdens on my family. This will help me be able to afford more opportunities to join different organizations, like Greek Life, for example, which will help me build connections later in life. This will help me in the long road because I can later focus on starting my business instead of paying back years of debt. This award would overall be such a gift and help me succeed in ways I can't even imagine at this point in my life. I plan to study business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community. I've seen this first hand with my parent's businesses. They are both chiropractors, so they help people every day, and one of the reasons they are able to is because of their accountant. Their accountants help them with the financial aspect of their office, so they can focus on treating and healing their patients. I aim to help businesses and potentially be able to start my own. I also want to have freedom with my future, and I don't have to be tied down to one specific place in order to succeed as an accountant, if the economy is up or down I will always have a job, which will bring stability to my future as well. I think being an accountant would help me drastically in all of these goals. I am so truly excited to start my journey to becoming an accountant.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. During this time I used books and reading as an escape from reality, where I found this famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and while I don't necessarily know how my life will develop and what it may be, I have hope that it will be something amazing. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal of one day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

College is an amazing place to learn and grow, but it is also very expensive as well, I am a twin, and both my sister and I plan to go to UNT, which means double the cost. My mom went through a very long and expensive divorce with my biological father, who took the money that was saved for our college fund, leaving us with debt and our lives turned upside down. For a few years, my mother was a single mom raising two daughters, while also trying to recover financially from the divorce. This award would be an incredible way to lessen some of the financial burdens on my family. This will help me be able to afford more opportunities to join different organizations, like Greek Life, for example, which will help me build connections for later in life. This will help me in the long road because I can later focus on starting my business instead of paying back years of debt. This award would overall be such a gift and help me succeed in ways I can't even imagine at this point in my life. I plan to study business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community. I've seen this first hand with my parent's businesses. They are both chiropractors, so they help people every day, and one of the reasons they are able to is because of their accountant. Their accountants help them with the financial aspect of their office, so they can focus on treating and healing their patients. I aim to help businesses and potentially be able to start my own. I also want to have freedom with my future, and I don't have to be tied down to one specific place in order to succeed as an accountant, if the economy is up or down I will always have a job, which will bring stability to my future as well. I think being an accountant would help me drastically in all of these goals. I am so truly excited to start my journey to becoming an accountant.

There is a famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope.

What sets me apart from others is the fact that everything I do, I enjoy. I am in a variety of different clubs and organizations ranging from the National Honor Society to the local baking club at my school. Throughout my high school experience, I was able to figure out a very important lesson of life, you will only succeed in the things you enjoy, while this ideal is not unique, many people cast it aside, forcing themselves to do jobs, activities, and tasks that they don’t like, in hopes that it will help them succeed. There have been many things that I must do that I don’t necessarily enjoy at first, but I work to find ways that will bring pleasure to the task, and every time I am successful at bringing joy to my work, I am in turn successful in the work itself. I plan to study business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community. I've seen this first hand with my parent's businesses. They are both chiropractors, so they help people every day, and one of the reasons they are able to is because of their accountant. Their accountants help them with the financial aspect of their office, so they can focus on treating and healing their patients. I aim to help businesses and potentially be able to start my own. I also want to have freedom with my future, and I don't have to be tied down to one specific place in order to succeed as an accountant, if the economy is up or down I will always have a job, which will bring stability to my future as well. I think being an accountant would help me drastically in all of these goals. I am so truly excited to start my journey to becoming an accountant. This award would overall be such a gift and help me succeed in ways I can't even imagine at this point in my life.

My favorite artist is Bob Ross because he was able to view the world in such an amazing way. There are no bad accidents, it is all based on your point of view.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. There have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and while I don't necessarily know how my life will develop and what it may be, I have hope that it will be something amazing. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal. One of the main ways that helped me cope was music. Music is my art and it has helped me far more than just singing. For me it is more than just the music, it is about the community and the people. I am extremely involved in choir, I was the social chair my junior year, and this year I am the President. Last year really helped me understand what leadership meant and what was expected, at times it was really difficult because I was trying to create an environment where everyone would feel comfortable and have fun. Through a rocky beginning, I was able to begin to see what worked and what didn't, and I am proud to say that a lot of the socials that I helped plan were a really big success, and it made others more involved. This year I brought that knowledge to my position of president, being the first-ever president of the Rock Hill Choir has been a little difficult, trying to determine what new traditions we want to create, and what old traditions we would like to keep, but the fantastic officers have helped drastically, showing that teamwork is vital in leadership. I am also the Vice-president of the Interact Club, the high school branch of the National Rotary Club, this year, helping plan volunteer projects and creating a team of students willing to spend their time helping the community. I have been so proud and happy to have these leadership positions throughout these past two years and it has really helped me develop myself and figure out what I am good at and what I like.

I am extremely involved in choir, I was the social chair my junior year, and this year I am the President. Last year really helped me understand what leadership meant and what was expected, at times it was really difficult because I was trying to create an environment where everyone would feel comfortable and have fun. Through a rocky beginning, I was able to begin to see what worked and what didn't, and I am proud to say that a lot of the socials that I helped plan were a really big success, and it made others more involved. This year I brought that knowledge to my position of president, being the first-ever president of the Rock Hill Choir has been a little difficult, trying to determine what new traditions we want to create, and what old traditions we would like to keep, but the fantastic officers have helped drastically, showing that teamwork is vital in leadership. I am also the Vice-president of the Interact Club, the high school branch of the National Rotary Club, this year, helping plan volunteer projects and creating a team of students willing to spend their time helping the community. I have been so proud and happy to have these leadership positions throughout these past two years and it has really helped me develop myself and figure out what I am good at and what I like.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. During this time I used books and reading as an escape from reality, where I found this famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and while I don't necessarily know how my life will develop and what it may be, I have hope that it will be something amazing. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal of one day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

I am extremely involved in choir, I was the social chair my junior year, and this year I am the President. Last year really helped me understand what leadership meant and what was expected, at times it was really difficult because I was trying to create an environment where everyone would feel comfortable and have fun. Through a rocky beginning, I was able to begin to see what worked and what didn't, and I am proud to say that a lot of the socials that I helped plan were a really big success, and it made others more involved. This year I brought that knowledge to my position of president, being the first-ever president of the Rock Hill Choir has been a little difficult, trying to determine what new traditions we want to create, and what old traditions we would like to keep, but the fantastic officers have helped drastically, showing that teamwork is vital in leadership. I am also the Vice-president of the Interact Club, the high school branch of the National Rotary Club, this year, helping plan volunteer projects and creating a team of students willing to spend their time helping the community. I have been so proud and happy to have these leadership positions throughout these past two years and it has really helped me develop myself and figure out what I am good at and what I like. I plan to study business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community. I've seen this first hand with my parent's businesses. They are both chiropractors, so they help people every day, and one of the reasons they are able to is because of their accountant. Their accountants help them with the financial aspect of their office, so they can focus on treating and healing their patients. I aim to help businesses and potentially be able to start my own. I also want to have freedom with my future, and I don't have to be tied down to one specific place in order to succeed as an accountant, if the economy is up or down I will always have a job, which will bring stability to my future as well. I think being an accountant would help me drastically in all of these goals. I am so truly excited to start my journey to becoming an accountant. I am currently most passionate about spending the time I have left in high school positively and surrounded by my close friends. I want to appreciate this time, and build myself into the person I want to be for college.

College is an amazing place to learn and grow, but it is also very expensive as well, I am a twin, and both my sister and I plan to go to UNT, which means double the cost. My mom went through a very long and expensive divorce with my biological father, who took the money that was saved for our college fund, leaving us with debt and our lives turned upside down. For a few years, my mother was a single mom raising two daughters, while also trying to recover financially from the divorce. This award would be an incredible way to lessen some of the financial burdens on my family. This will help me be able to afford more opportunities to join different organizations, like Greek Life, for example, which will help me build connections for later in life. This will help me in the long road because I can later focus on starting my business instead of paying back years of debt. This award would overall be such a gift and help me succeed in ways I can't even imagine at this point in my life. I plan to study business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community. I've seen this first hand with my parent's businesses. They are both chiropractors, so they help people every day, and one of the reasons they are able to is because of their accountant. Their accountants help them with the financial aspect of their office, so they can focus on treating and healing their patients. I aim to help businesses and potentially be able to start my own. I also want to have freedom with my future, and I don't have to be tied down to one specific place in order to succeed as an accountant, if the economy is up or down I will always have a job, which will bring stability to my future as well. I think being an accountant would help me drastically in all of these goals. I am so truly excited to start my journey to becoming an accountant.

I am extremely involved in choir, I was the social chair my junior year, and this year I am the President. Last year really helped me understand what leadership meant and what was expected, at times it was really difficult because I was trying to create an environment where everyone would feel comfortable and have fun. Through a rocky beginning, I was able to begin to see what worked and what didn't, and I am proud to say that a lot of the socials that I helped plan were a really big success, and it made others more involved. I chose to come to Rock Hill because I wanted to start a new legacy and find ways to make other students' high school experiences even better than mine. I am so glad to say that coming to Rock Hill has definitely changed me for the better. I have become more confident and more social, taking on more leadership roles, as well as taking time to figure out what I would like to do in life. The way Rock Hill is designed, allowing more natural light, outside sitting, etc, I have found lowers stress associated with school, and I am now always excited to go to school, instead of anxious. I love going to Rock Hill and I'm so proud that I can be in the first graduating class.

I think schools will quit pushing for online school, due to students' mental health and lack of motivation. I also think many people will either will be super opposed to living life by the restrictions that have been put in place, or people will be scared and continue to live by the restrictions. I think transportation will not change by much, maybe fewer people on subways. I don't expect life to be much different once this whole thing is over. I think people will be different and everyone will be a little crazier but overall I don't think life will be super different.

I am proud to be a woman because we have fought to be known as powerful forces to be reckoned with.

I think it is so important for people to be involved in their community because we must protect the world we live in and help the people around us. I have been very active in community service during my years in high school, I am involved with the interact club, National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, and choir. I joined the interact club, which is a branch of the national rotary club, and I have served the community through different service projects, like donation drives, card writing, and caroling at the retirement home, street clean-ups, etc. Through my four years in this club, and now as the Vice-president, I have acquired over 50 hours at least. I was super involved with the National English Honor society my freshman and sophomore year and through book drives and other projects, I gained over 40 hours. In my junior and my senior year, I have been involved with the National Honor Society, but due to Covid, I was only able to gain about 10 hours through this organization so far. Lastly, I have been extremely involved with choir, I was the social chair (aka the event planner), and this year I am the president. I have worked to create a unified and safe place among the program. I have also used my position to help advertise for service projects, like caroling at nursing homes. Overall, I am so grateful for all of the opportunities that have been given to me through my high school career, I aim to carry my efforts to college and into the rest of my life. I plan to study business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community. I've seen this first hand with my parent's businesses. They are both chiropractors, so they help people every day, and one of the reasons they are able to is because of their accountant. Their accountants help them with the financial aspect of their office, so they can focus on treating and healing their patients. I aim to help businesses and potentially be able to start my own. I also want to have freedom with my future, and I don't have to be tied down to one specific place in order to succeed as an accountant, if the economy is up or down I will always have a job, which will bring stability to my future as well. I think being an accountant would help me drastically in all of these goals. I am so truly excited to start my journey to becoming an accountant.

Up until a few years ago, I guess you could describe my life as a movie… sort of like the popular movie “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” A few months before I turned eleven my parents separated and started the long and painful process of their divorce. Through many years, my life seemed to be a never-ending cycle of… well... unfortunate events. The divorce forced my sister and me to grow up a lot faster than other kids, we were constantly being shipped from house to house, never really being given the chance to breathe and understand how our lives were changed so quickly due to someone else’s choices. As time went on the relationship we held with our biological father became toxic and we became nothing more than a bargaining chip for him. Somewhere along the way, he put his greed above his children, and we later learned that along with many other things he had stolen our college fund. We began to distance ourselves from him and decided that we would no longer tolerate living in that type of environment. While it hurt, the release of stress and anxiety was astronomical and we knew we had made the right decision. During this journey our mom started to date this amazing man named Mike Wojnicki, he accepted us with all of our flaws and baggage. He helped us during the painful process of cutting off ties with our biological father, he reminded us that we were important and that we were not the ones at fault. Finally, our biological father signed away his rights during our freshman year of high school, and what others would view as a sad day, was one of the best days of my life, because I knew that I was no longer bound to the toxic and unhappy life that felt so unescapable. As the year continued a few things became explicitly clear, while Mike Wojnicki was not bound to us by blood, he was our true father. It is a very unique and incredible feeling to find a father who is not defined by the genetic similarities but by the spiritual connection, the deep unexplainable feeling that this is who God intended to be our father. We were made to be his daughters, just as he was made to be our father. This is one of the many reasons why we refer to this incredible man as our dad and started our journey to become adopted, to be publicly and lawfully acknowledged as the daughters of a selfless, generous, and dependable man. While the road to adoption was full of ups and downs, eventually the day came where we were able to shed the names and relationships of the past and become the daughters and people we knew we were meant to be. I no longer hated who my name linked me to and what it represented. I am Brittney Graham Wojnicki and I am proud to say it. Not only did we gain a father but we gained so much more. We gained a whole other family who was so quick to love and accept us. Just as our lives were changed so negatively and so quickly due to someone else’s choices, the choices of our true father allowed so much joy and greatness to flood in and turn our world around for the better. For that, I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that we were given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of our past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be. I was right. Through these trials, I discovered that I plan to study business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community. I've seen this first hand with my parent's businesses. They are both chiropractors, so they help people every day, and one of the reasons they are able to is because of their accountant. Their accountants help them with the financial aspect of their office, so they can focus on treating and healing their patients. I aim to help businesses and potentially be able to start my own. I also want to have freedom with my future, and I don't have to be tied down to one specific place in order to succeed as an accountant, if the economy is up or down I will always have a job, which will bring stability to my future as well. I think being an accountant would help me drastically in all of these goals. I am so truly excited to start my journey to becoming an accountant.

College is an amazing place to learn and grow, but it is also very expensive as well, I am a twin, and both my sister and I plan to go to UNT, which means double the cost. My mom went through a very long and expensive divorce with my biological father, who took the money that was saved for our college fund, leaving us with debt and our lives turned upside down. For a few years, my mother was a single mom raising two daughters, while also trying to recover financially from the divorce. This award would be an incredible way to lessen some of the financial burdens on my family. This will help me be able to afford more opportunities to join different organizations, like Greek Life, for example, which will help me build connections for later in life. This will help me in the long road because I can later focus on starting my business instead of paying back years of debt. This award would overall be such a gift and help me succeed in ways I can't even imagine at this point in my life. I plan to study business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community. I've seen this first hand with my parent's businesses. They are both chiropractors, so they help people every day, and one of the reasons they are able to is because of their accountant. Their accountants help them with the financial aspect of their office, so they can focus on treating and healing their patients. I aim to help businesses and potentially be able to start my own. I also want to have freedom with my future, and I don't have to be tied down to one specific place in order to succeed as an accountant, if the economy is up or down I will always have a job, which will bring stability to my future as well. I think being an accountant would help me drastically in all of these goals. I am so truly excited to start my journey to becoming an accountant.

My all-time favorite film is the original Disney movie, Mulan. I love this movie because it teaches girls from a young age that they are powerful warriors and to stand up against oppression and sexism. I have seen this movie so many times I have lost count, everytime I watch it I am reminded that I am here on Earth to do something important and to never let others deter me from my goals. Mulan embodies the fighting spirit that inspires change and equality. I aspire to live my life with the lessons that this movie taught, to never back down when trying to do the right thing, that women can do anything, and to never give up when trying to reach a goal. While Mulan is a classic Disney movie, I think it is underrated and the messages need to be talked about more. I love this movie so much and it is amazing for teaching feminism to young girls.

For many years I struggled with depression and severe anxiety, my life was turned upside down. During this time I used books and reading as an escape from reality, where I found this famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and while I don't necessarily know how my life will develop and what it may be, I have hope that it will be something amazing. I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that I was given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of my past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be and I was right. While I still deal with anxiety, I have found ways to cope with it and strive towards my goal of one-day studying business and eventually get my CPA to become an accountant. My whole goal in life is to help others, because I believe that the more people I help the better the world becomes, due to the chain effect of my actions. I want to spread positivity with those I work with, so they, in turn, spread it with others. I believe accounting is my way of doing this because I will be able to help so many people with their businesses, which helps the economy and benefits the people of the community.

There is a famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I felt like I was lost, and I blamed myself for many things that were not my fault. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope. I learned to love myself and realize that things in my life will go wrong but sometimes they are out of my control. I aspire to bring love and joy to other peoples' lives and help be their hope. I believe we all are here for a purpose and while I don't necessarily know how my life will develop and what it may be, I have hope that it will be something amazing.

Up until a few years ago, I guess you could describe my life as a movie… sort of like the popular movie “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” A few months before I turned eleven my parents separated and started the long and painful process of their divorce. Through many years, my life seemed to be a never-ending cycle of… well... unfortunate events. The divorce forced my sister and me to grow up a lot faster than other kids, we were constantly being shipped from house to house, never really being given the chance to breathe and understand how our lives were changed so quickly due to someone else’s choices. As time went on the relationship we held with our biological father became toxic and we became nothing more than a bargaining chip for him. Somewhere along the way, he put his greed above his children, and we later learned that along with many other things he had stolen our college fund. We began to distance ourselves from him and decided that we would no longer tolerate living in that type of environment. While it hurt, the release of stress and anxiety was astronomical and we knew we had made the right decision. During this journey our mom started to date this amazing man named Mike Wojnicki, he accepted us with all of our flaws and baggage. He helped us during the painful process of cutting off ties with our biological father, he reminded us that we were important and that we were not the ones at fault. Finally, our biological father signed away his rights during our freshman year of high school, and what others would view as a sad day, was one of the best days of my life, because I knew that I was no longer bound to the toxic and unhappy life that felt so unescapable. As the year continued a few things became explicitly clear, while Mike Wojnicki was not bound to us by blood, he was our true father. It is a very unique and incredible feeling to find a father who is not defined by the genetic similarities but by the spiritual connection, the deep unexplainable feeling that this is who God intended to be our father. We were made to be his daughters, just as he was made to be our father. This is one of the many reasons why we refer to this incredible man as our dad and started our journey to become adopted, to be publicly and lawfully acknowledged as the daughters of a selfless, generous, and dependable man. While the road to adoption was full of ups and downs, eventually the day came where we were able to shed the names and relationships of the past and become the daughters and people we knew we were meant to be. I no longer hated who my name linked me to and what it represented. I am Brittney Graham Wojnicki and I am proud to say it. Not only did we gain a father but we gained so much more. We gained a whole other family who was so quick to love and accept us. Just as our lives were changed so negatively and so quickly due to someone else’s choices, the choices of our true father allowed so much joy and greatness to flood in and turn our world around for the better. For that, I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that we were given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of our past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be. I was right. I will always strive to bring the type of happiness that Mike Wojnicki brought into my life, to others' lives.

Today I am writing about my sister, we are identical twins. I admire her so much because we help prove that just because someone looks a certain way doesn't mean we have to act the same. While we look identical our personalities are complete polar opposites. I admire her because she is always outgoing and bold, easily making friends and walking with her head held high. She is never afraid to right a wrong, standing up for what she believes in. She has definitely made me a more confident person, and grow to be a stronger version of myself. She has always supported me and encouraged me to follow my dreams. I will carry her life lessons into my career, by always standing up for what I believe in and support others, while being confident and bold at the same time. I hope to continue the lessons she has taught me and teach these strong qualities to others, helping them become more confident and more successful. I am so grateful that I was brought into the world with my best friend already at my side, she was the best gift in life and the best person I have ever known.

I am very passionate about STEM because I aim to create products in the future that will greatly improve many people's way of life. I hope STEM studies will help prepare me as a future inventor. I want to create self-defense products for women and girls that don't involve hand-to-hand combat. In order to use many self-defense products, one must risk their life by fighting close to their attacker where one can be easily overpowered. I want to create a product that can be used as a scare tactic to ward off the attacker but can also defend the user from a distance. I surveyed students in my class and 75% of the takers said they were afraid to be in public alone, while the other 25% said they were not afraid. The big reason I am sharing this is that the 75% that were afraid were all women, while the other 25% were all men. This shows that we live in a community where women are either taught or have enough experiences where it is "normal" for them to be afraid. Through my self-defense product, I want to push the idea that women don't have to be afraid to go out in public alone because they can protect themselves. I think it is vital for the world to see my creation to show that women will not back down and we will take control of our lives and situation and we will not continue to live in a world we are scared of.

My name is Brittney Wojnicki, I am a senior at Rock Hill High School, in Frisco, Tx. The biggest influence in my life is my sister, we are identical twins. I admire her so much because we help prove that just because someone looks a certain way doesn't mean we have to act the same. While we look identical our personalities are polar opposites. I admire her because she is always outgoing and bold, easily making friends and walking with her head held high. She is never afraid to right a wrong, standing up for what she believes in. She has definitely made me a more confident person, and grow to be a stronger version of myself. She has always supported me and encouraged me to follow my dreams. I will carry her life lessons into my career, by always standing up for what I believe in and support others, while being confident and bold at the same time. I hope to someday take her messages and while using my knowledge in STEM, I want to create self-defense products for women and girls that don't involve hand-to-hand combat. In order to use many self-defense products, one must risk their life by fighting close to their attacker where one can be easily overpowered. I want to create a product that can be used as a scare tactic to ward off the attacker but can also defend the user from a distance. I surveyed students in my class and 75% of the takers said they were afraid to be in public alone, while the other 25% said they were not afraid. The big reason I am sharing this is that the 75% that were afraid were all women, while the other 25% were all men. This shows that we live in a community where women are either taught or have enough experiences where it is "normal" for them to be afraid. Through my self-defense product, I want to push the idea that women don't have to be afraid to go out in public alone because they can protect themselves. I think it is vital for the world to see my creation to show that women will not back down and we will take control of our lives and situation and we will not continue to live in a world we are scared of. I hope to one day change the world for women.

Today I am writing to my sister, we are identical twins. I admire her so much because we help prove that just because someone looks a certain way doesn't mean we have to act the same. While we look identical our personalities are polar opposites. I admire her because she is always outgoing and bold, easily making friends and walking with her head held high. She is never afraid to right a wrong, standing up for what she believes in. She has definitely made me a more confident person, and grow to be a stronger version of myself. She has always supported me and encouraged me to follow my dreams. I will carry her life lessons into my career, by always standing up for what I believe in and support others, while being confident and bold at the same time.

I want to some day use my knowledge of technology and business to help women. I want to create self-defense products for women and girls that don't involve hand-to-hand combat. In order to use many self-defense products, one must risk their life by fighting close to their attacker where one can be easily overpowered. I want to create a product that can be used as a scare tactic to ward off the attacker but can also defend the user from a distance. I surveyed students in my class and 75% of the takers said they were afraid to be in public alone, while the other 25% said they were not afraid. The big reason I am sharing this is that the 75% that were afraid were all women, while the other 25% were all men. This shows that we live in a community where women are either taught or have enough experiences where it is "normal" for them to be afraid. Through my self-defense product, I want to push the idea that women don't have to be afraid to go out in public alone because they can protect themselves. I think it is vital for the world to see my creation to show that women will not back down and we will take control of our lives and situation and we will not continue to live in a world we are scared of.

I want to create self-defense products for women and girls that don't involve hand-to-hand combat. In order to use many self-defense products, one must risk their life by fighting close to their attacker where one can be easily overpowered. I want to create a product that can be used as a scare tactic to ward off the attacker but can also defend the user from a distance. I surveyed students in my class and 75% of the takers said they were afraid to be in public alone, while the other 25% said they were not afraid. The big reason I am sharing this is that the 75% that were afraid were all women, while the other 25% were all men. This shows that we live in a community where women are either taught or have enough experiences where it is "normal" for them to be afraid. Through my self-defense product, I want to push the idea that women don't have to be afraid to go out in public alone because they can protect themselves. I think it is vital for the world to see my creation to show that women will not back down and we will take control of our lives and situation and we will not continue to live in a world we are scared of.

There is a famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. I was eleven when my parents started the process of their long and painful divorce. I constantly questioned why my family was being torn apart. Eventually, after a few years, and my biological father signing away his rights, my question was answered. All of the suffering and heartache was guiding me to the life I was meant to lead. In the later years, I had gained an amazing step-dad, who I view as my real dad and through his guidance, I was able to learn a few priceless lessons. Through his gracious leadership, I learned that greed and malice will get you nowhere in life, and the only way to truly succeed is through kindness and allowing grace to yourself and others. I would never change what happened because without the pain I would have never learned happiness. Hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. Though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope.

I want to see unity within my community. I have been working for a few years to accomplish this within my school. My favorite and most valuable leadership experience was being one of the Prosper Choir’s social chairs. In this position, I planned all of the Choir program's student parties and helped create a fun and inclusive environment for all of the choir members. I was able to grow my leadership skills, from designing the shirt, worn by the whole choir program, to running all of the student activities. I was able to learn the enjoyments of leadership, as well as the problem-solving that must be partnered along with it. I was constantly faced with the challenge of creating fun activities that all of the choir members would enjoy and could participate in. While it had its challenges, being a social chair was one of the best leadership experiences I have ever had, and I aspire to carry my knowledge into future positions and grow further as a leader. I was so happy and proud that I could help bring students together.

When my sister and I were ten, my parents divorced, it was and probably always will be one of the hardest things I have ever gone through. A few years later my biological father had signed away his rights and my mom was remarried, and we knew, her husband, Mike Wojnicki was the man who was meant to be our dad. It is a very unique and incredible feeling to find a father who is not defined by the genetic similarities but by the spiritual connection, the deep unexplainable feeling that this is who God intended to be our father. We were made to be his daughters, just as he was made to be our father. I know that everything that happened was meant to bring us together, as well as bring us closer to Jesus.

I want to study business because I strive to own my own business. I want to create something that helps others, whether creating more jobs, selling a needed product, or something else. I also want to always be in control of my future and have power over my financial success. Creativity is a big part of my life, so if I am able to create my own legacy with an idea, I would love to leave that as one of my lasting impacts. One of the perks of being a business owner as well is that I can help those in need, I can send a portion of profits to charities or if I work in the food industry I can help feed those in need, by being a business owner the possibilities are endless.

Up until a few years ago, I guess you could describe my life as a movie… sort of like the popular movie “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” A few months before I turned eleven my parents separated and started the long and painful process of their divorce. Through many years, my life seemed to be a never-ending cycle of… well... unfortunate events. The divorce forced my sister and me to grow up a lot faster than other kids, we were constantly being shipped from house to house, never really being given the chance to breathe and understand how our lives were changed so quickly due to someone else’s choices. As time went on the relationship we held with our biological father became toxic and we became nothing more than a bargaining chip for him. Somewhere along the way, he put his greed above his children, and we later learned that along with many other things he had stolen our college fund. We began to distance ourselves from him and decided that we would no longer tolerate living in that type of environment. While it hurt, the release of stress and anxiety was astronomical and we knew we had made the right decision. During this journey our mom started to date this amazing man named Mike Wojnicki, he accepted us with all of our flaws and baggage. He helped us during the painful process of cutting off ties with our biological father, he reminded us that we were important and that we were not the ones at fault. Finally, our biological father signed away his rights during our freshman year of high school, and what others would view as a sad day, was one of the best days of my life, because I knew that I was no longer bound to the toxic and unhappy life that felt so unescapable. As the year continued a few things became explicitly clear, while Mike Wojnicki was not bound to us by blood, he was our true father. It is a very unique and incredible feeling to find a father who is not defined by the genetic similarities but by the spiritual connection, the deep unexplainable feeling that this is who God intended to be our father. We were made to be his daughters, just as he was made to be our father. This is one of the many reasons why we refer to this incredible man as our dad and started our journey to become adopted, to be publicly and lawfully acknowledged as the daughters of a selfless, generous, and dependable man. While the road to adoption was full of ups and downs, eventually the day came where we were able to shed the names and relationships of the past and become the daughters and people we knew we were meant to be. I no longer hated who my name linked me to and what it represented. I am Brittney Graham Wojnicki and I am proud to say it. Not only did we gain a father but we gained so much more. We gained a whole other family who was so quick to love and accept us. Just as our lives were changed so negatively and so quickly due to someone else’s choices, the choices of our true father allowed so much joy and greatness to flood in and turn our world around for the better. For that, I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that we were given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of our past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be. I was right. I strive to take my experiences and use them to help others and bring joy to other peoples' lives.

There is a famous Latin quote, “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to, “While I breathe, I hope.” This quote is one of my driving motivations to succeed in life, there have been many times throughout my seventeen years that hope seemed to evade me, specifically throughout my parent’s divorce, hope was a stranger. Eventually, things got worse before they got better, but hope started to shine through the darkness that seemed to be my life. My mom started dating an amazing guy, who I now know as my father, though we may not be bound by blood, we are bound through the soul. This is when I finally realized that while life may seem impossible at times, there is happiness and love right around the corner. This is one of the many reasons that while I breathe, I hope.

Up until a few years ago, I guess you could describe my life as a movie… sort of like the popular movie “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” A few months before I turned eleven my parents separated and started the long and painful process of their divorce. Through many years, my life seemed to be a never-ending cycle of… well... unfortunate events. The divorce forced my sister and me to grow up a lot faster than other kids, we were constantly being shipped from house to house, never really being given the chance to breathe and understand how our lives were changed so quickly due to someone else’s choices. As time went on the relationship we held with our biological father became toxic and we became nothing more than a bargaining chip for him. Somewhere along the way, he put his greed above his children, and we later learned that along with many other things he had stolen our college fund. We began to distance ourselves from him and decided that we would no longer tolerate living in that type of environment. While it hurt, the release of stress and anxiety was astronomical and we knew we had made the right decision. During this journey our mom started to date this amazing man named Mike Wojnicki, he accepted us with all of our flaws and baggage. He helped us during the painful process of cutting off ties with our biological father, he reminded us that we were important and that we were not the ones at fault. Finally, our biological father signed away his rights during our freshman year of high school, and what others would view as a sad day, was one of the best days of my life, because I knew that I was no longer bound to the toxic and unhappy life that felt so unescapable. As the year continued a few things became explicitly clear, while Mike Wojnicki was not bound to us by blood, he was our true father. It is a very unique and incredible feeling to find a father who is not defined by the genetic similarities but by the spiritual connection, the deep unexplainable feeling that this is who God intended to be our father. We were made to be his daughters, just as he was made to be our father. This is one of the many reasons why we refer to this incredible man as our dad and started our journey to become adopted, to be publicly and lawfully acknowledged as the daughters of a selfless, generous, and dependable man. While the road to adoption was full of ups and downs, eventually the day came where we were able to shed the names and relationships of the past and become the daughters and people we knew we were meant to be. I no longer hated who my name linked me to and what it represented. I am Brittney Graham Wojnicki and I am proud to say it. Not only did we gain a father but we gained so much more. We gained a whole other family who was so quick to love and accept us. Just as our lives were changed so negatively and so quickly due to someone else’s choices, the choices of our true father allowed so much joy and greatness to flood in and turn our world around for the better. For that, I will be eternally grateful and so thankful that we were given the chance to grow and become more than the pain of our past. Through my journey to this happiness, there were times I felt I couldn’t continue, times I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I kept going and never gave up hope for a better tomorrow then eventually I would get to where I was meant to be, and what a fantastic world it would be. I was right.

This is Joy and she lives up to her name with her photogenic smile!

This was the day that my sister and I got adopted. This bold decision changed our lives, and I am proud to say for the better, we were blessed with new names that we could wear with pride. This will forever be one of the best days of my life.