My favorite movie of all time is The Haunted Mansion by Disney. Other people would usually pick famous and popular movies like Titanic or the Fast & Furious movie franchise because they're action-packed and full of romance or they're a stunning classic. For me, romance, action, and being a classic don't mean much. When I was younger, about three years old, my parents allowed me to watch The Haunted Mansion. Most three-year-old children would have been terrified or traumatized from the movie since it has its scary moments, but three-year-old me was infatuated by the film. For two to three years straight, I would watch that movie almost every single day. I don't understand why I was so in love with it; it could have been Eddie Murphy's comedic timing or even the fact that the daughter's name in the movie was also Megan. Either way, I couldn't stop watching it. My most distinct memory from my days of relentless watching was the one afternoon my cousins came over to our house. Of course, I made them and my older brother watch the movie with me. After we finished watching the film we decided to play with the special features on the DVD which included a "tour" of the mansion. We all pretended that we were riding with the ghosts on the carriage ride, swaying side to side on the bed; seeing all the neat parts of the mansion. My parents still make fun of us for that to this day. Although I haven't watched this movie in a few years, it still holds a special place in my heart. I have always loved Disney and I hope to one day work there as well. This movie taught me a wonderful lesson, never trust old, creepy butlers.

One of the boldest moments of my life is when my group and I placed first in the performance category at our state National History Day competition. At the awards ceremony, they started announcing honorable mentions and then 3rd and 2nd place for our category. At that point when we weren’t called, we figured we didn’t place like everyone else with our school. Then, they announced 1st place and we had won with our project based on the tragic murder of Emmett Till. We were dumbfounded and almost crying. After hours of work, dedication, and time it finally paid off.

My family and I have quite the pack of gremlins roaming about our home. In order of the pictures we have Odie, Velma, Maui, Casper, and Cocoa. Each of these pets have had a profound impact on my life and I love them all. I have watched every single pet grow up from baby to where they are now (except for Casper, he is a recent rescue). Our dogs have wonderful bonds with each other and love keeping each other company 24/7 and our cats tend to keep to themselves, especially Maui. My Instagram is @clark.megann

For most people, self-love comes naturally. They can wake up and appreciate themselves and how beautiful and wonderful they are, but for me, my journey has not been the same. It has taken me a long time to love myself, and I’m not quite there yet. I’ve spent countless years trying to figure out what I was doing wrong; why I wasn’t as happy or as beautiful as every other girl in my grade or why I seemed so different from them. Looking back now, the answer was simple; I’m different and that’s okay, but twelve year old me couldn’t understand why all the girls had it so easy and I felt like I was so far back and stuck in the mud, screaming for help and nobody was listening. I felt this for years. Every day I would wake up and plead to whatever god was out there to make life easier for me. I would plead and hope that maybe I would get an answer and I never did. The first thing about me that made waves was me coming out and saying I was an atheist. Growing up in the Bible Belt, I was never exposed to church like everyone at school. I suppose my lack of exposure and a lack of some answers from whatever was out there impacted my faith. People constantly tried to convert me to Christianity at school and my mother even threatened to make me switch schools. Luckily, she never went through with the idea. The ridicule at school didn’t stop me from trying to be my true, authentic self. When I hit seventh grade, it felt like my life fell apart. I started questioning my sexual orientation and gender and people started to talk and ask questions. I didn’t want the attention, I wanted to be me and I wanted everyone to be fine with that and everyone was not fine with that. I fell into a dark hole for a long time. I started to neglect myself to please others and I tried to seek the validation of people online but was only met with strict punishment from my parents for speaking to people I didn’t know through social media. After that, I felt like life wasn’t worth living. My almost suicide attempts woke me up. I realized that it doesn’t matter what other people think about me and that it only matters what I think about me. I’m slowly starting to come out to people now, and I’m fully proud of my bisexuality. I’ve surrounded myself with people who are like me and we all have a common goal of becoming better people. I aspire to become a voice for those who don’t have one. For a while, I was one of those people, but now I plan to fight for a better tomorrow and I will fight for those who are suffering now just as I did.

Ever since I was young, the arts have been one of the most influential points in my life. Art has been an outlet for me since I was in kindergarten and was making finger paintings on construction paper. Although I’m not making finger paintings anymore, those days sitting at the small easel have allowed me to venture out and find my true self. I used many different outlets of the arts to express how I felt or used it as a coping mechanism. I always knew I was different than the other kids in my classes and up until my junior year of high school it killed me. I’ve never been happy with myself because I’ve always had this secret of who I was. I’ve struggled for years coming to terms with my sexual orientation and gender identity. Art was my savior; it saved me many times from hurting myself or anyone else. Fortunately, I’ve made it through my struggle, and art was the sole reason why. I ultimately want to improve and make a mark on the beauty industry. I have discovered my love for hair and makeup recently through my involvement with theatre and it’s left a lasting impression on me. All I think about now is coming up with a new hair design for an actor or what this actress’s makeup is going to be for a show. It has completely enveloped my life and all I can do going forward is make a difference. I want to give people the same happiness I felt when I got my first life-changing haircut this past October, or make people feel the same way I felt when I successfully did my makeup for the first time and finally felt pretty. I want to change people’s lives and make people feel happy and good about themselves. Often I see people who do this job because they did not know what else to do; for them, it was an easy way out. They lack the passion to bring life back into people and make them feel unique and special. I want to pursue a career in cosmetology because I genuinely care for everyone out there. This is my passion, my dream, not just the “easy way out”. I want to inspire people much like each cosmetologist who has made me feel like a brand new person. My ultimate goal is to one day work at Disney World. I want to contribute to the magic for so many small children out there the same way I was. I remember walking into the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at the ripe age of three and feeling magical after the makeover I was given by the cast members there. I will never forget the pure happiness I felt that day as I walked around the Magic Kingdom in my Belle dress with my brand new makeover. That same feeling I had at three is the same feeling I want to give other little girls and boys who visit. If I can one day inspire and change the lives of those children, it will be all I ever ask. I was truly changed by the cast members on that day fifteen years ago, and I suppose it’s the reason art resonates with me. If I were to be awarded this scholarship, it would help my family tremendously. We aren’t necessarily poor, but we all work extremely hard to get by. My parents have been supportive of me throughout my journey in the arts and are supportive of my ambition and future career of becoming a cosmetologist. By doing this, and hopefully being awarded this scholarship, I can help take some of the load off of their backs so they won’t have to worry about me as I travel away from home to pursue my future. Taking away that extra burden, my parents will be able to care for my two grandmothers, one who is, unfortunately, going through chemotherapy, and my youngest brother much easier and won’t have to worry about budgeting nearly as much. I always do whatever I can for my parents and I’ve come out of my pocket many times to make sure things were stable at home. Overall, I hope to one day change the lives of people and inspire like those before me. I hope to be the answer to someone’s prayers or the light in someone’s dark alley. My way of changing the beauty industry is through passion and inspiration, even if that means starting at the little easel in kindergarten.