I remember the first time my family moved homes and while we were house hunting, I became obsessed with the different floorplans, features, and how big it was. I got into drawing home blueprints, designing homes that I would love to live in, homes for my childhood family and my own family in the future. To this day, my favorite hobby is drawing blueprints of homes, and I have a pretty good idea of what my own Barbie dream house would look like. I would want to live in Cashe Valley Utah, where the flat land of the valley is surrounded by rolling hills and mountain ranges and is beautiful in every season. In addition, there is a big home building boom, and unlike most areas to live, building a home can be cheaper than buying one of the same size. My dream home would be a sizable, two story single family home with a fully finished basement. I would have a n oversized 3 car garage for my family, so that all vehicles big and small would fit comfortably. I would also have a covered front porch that would give way into the home with window siding and a tall skylight over the front door. The outside of the home would also have thick vinyl and stone siding that would stretch up to the second floor. Once inside, the two story foyer gives way to a large staircase going to the second floor. To the right of the front door, a cozy sitting room, and to the left, a large office. Further into the foyer lies the formal dining room on the left in front of the office where the two story ceilings give way to the 11' ft tall ceilings on the main level. The large dining room would connect to the kitchen through a Butler's pantry and a walk-in pantry. A large U shaped kitchen with overhead cabinets 4 feet tall, a huge island in the middle to seat at least 6 people, double ovens, two microwaves, a six burner stove and range good, two dishwashers, an oversized refrigerator, a farmhouse sink overlooking the back yard, and a utility sink in the kitchen island. The many appliances such as double dishwashers and microwaves would be suitable for my family, as I want several children. The family room right off of the kitchen, with a 6 foot wide stone fireplace going to the ceiling. The master bedroom would also be on the main floor, with a dream size of 24' by 18' feet. A tray ceiling, a luxury master bathroom with a huge Jacuzzi and two person shower, and of course, you can't forget Barbie's closet. The main floor would also have a mudroom with lockers and extra cabinet space, a secondary full bathroom, and two sets of staircases for the second floor and basement for emergency access. The second floor would include 4 large bedrooms with walk-in closets for the kids, two full bathrooms, a big loft, and a sizable laundry room with two washers and dryers. The basement would be fully finished with an additional 4 bedrooms for children or guests and two full bathrooms. A second laundry room with a stackable washer and dryer, and plenty of storage space would be present. The main recreational room would have a fireplace and living room space, along with a game room. Then there would be an exercise room, one for the equipment, machines, and weights, and then there would be a gym room for the kids, with a playground setup; LEDs, moneybars, swings, and a rockclimbing wall.

From the time I was in preschool, I always remembered being so excited when the teacher would come out with the arts and crafts or markers. I would spend all day coloring, drawing, and making cool sculptures out of clay if they let me. As I got older, my skills evolved and I found my passion for painting, ceramics, creating 3D sculptures and pieces as well as everyday usable functional items. I loved attending art and painting classes, and I went to a "Summer Youth College" camp for pre teens and had a blast in ceramic classes and painting classes. Pleased with the techniques I had learned, art was my favorite thing to do, and even today in all of the business of life, I love to relax and unwind painting or drawing. For the longest time, I was not sure what I wanted to do when I grew up. My friends and family and cousins and even most people I ran into seemed to have it figured out. It gave me so much anxiety thinking about my lifelong career and diving deep into what would best suite me as an adult. I felt like I was interested in everything but not sure about anything. As I got older and the business of school overwhelmed me, I took to drawing and painting at every moment I had a sneak of spare time. Interested in the world and living spaces around me, I took to architecture and often drew up plans of homes and mansions that I would dream of living in. Painting was my other go to form of relaxation. I thoroughly enjoyed to try new techniques such as splatterpainting, blending, patterns, tape and peel painting, and trying paint calligraphy. When covid 19 hit, my life fell apart with nothing to do, no socialization, and no going out. I turned to artwork and I started to have a lot more fun being stuck in my house all day! As everything went back to normal, I finished highschool, and I have had to make a decision for my college major, I thought it through and decided to take a major in arts and architecture. I love doing these things on a daily basis, and it only makes sense to pick a major that will lead to a career I love. In addition, the school I am attending in the fall is an arts and science school, and it offers bundles of opportunities to advance and grow in all areas of fine arts, performing arts, design, and anything to do with art! It is a wonderful University, and I am so excited to go there! I knew funding would be hard because of my low income status, and the high prices of college and books and dormitories, so I decided to apply to some scholarships and see if anything could help me financially. I have made a goal to be financially smart and try not to take out loans if I can help it. With this comes lots of working and applying, and I was so happy to see this particular scholarship on my list. I hope it works out, and want to thank everyone who donated.

Until High School, I never realized the profound impact volunteering had on an individual helping the community. I understood that several people working together to achieve a goal or help a part of the community supported the common good in a moral way. I also understood that I had to complete volunteer hours for high school not only because they were required, but because I was morally obliged to do the work set in front of me. In middle school, I got involved in the church, and I made good friends there. The church I attended was growing fast, and serving opportunities were opening up everywhere. I decided to join the youth student leadership program at the youth group every week, and I helped out with the children's ministry on Sundays for Sunday school. By the time I was in my Freshman year of high school, my groundwork was laid out for me. I was going to use these opportunities to serve and earn my volunteer hours. What I didn't expect, however, was that I felt serving and volunteering had a way bigger impact on my mindset. It was as if volunteering in the church, serving other people wasn't just for the common good anymore. It was a way to feel good about helping people, through acts big and small. I knew that it would take thousands of people to dig up a mountain with our bare hands or clean the entire ocean and rid the environment of pollution. But the simple everyday acts of kindness for the community shaped my way of thinking and it helped me grow into a person that I am proud of today. A smile, a hug, a shout of encouragement for the young children, a hello to the elderly, it makes peoples' day. And through that, it helped make mine. Volunteering isn't just something that I feel morally obligated to do anymore, it is a mindset and a want to help others and give. It isn't for the "general common good", it's for the everyday acts of positivity that shape individuals and the community into a life that is worth living. Volunteering is not just volunteering, it's a beautiful way of life. This scholarship would help me financially in a huge way. This scholarship would help me hold an education that is volunteer and serving-focused, at a wonderful University dedicated to helping others in a Christian environment, a school with some of the nicest people I, personally, have ever met. My joy is at this school, and receiving an education in an environment where I can thrive, and serve others to bring the community together is a dream that would mean everything. To help pay for this education, I thank everyone who has contributed, to not only this scholarship but to all of the others distributed.

The Two-Edged Sword by Grace Rydell Fear is like a sharp sword It penetrates me And it stops me in my tracks My heart pounds Adrenaline runs through my veins The heavy scent of fear Growing as my face turns pale. The fear is real And so is the thrill But thrilling fear is far less terrifying then the fear that shocks you like a stab of electricity. The demons are on the prowl The devil is like a hungry lion Only a two-edged sword can stop them The Heavens fighting spiritual battles. We the people stand brave As brothers and sisters and children of One We hold a two-edged sword And when we are pierced by overwhelming fear, We pierce back With a power far greater than our own. We stand together We pray together We are pierced Yet we praise The One who saves us from dark gloom Is the One who saves us from dark doom. We must stand strong, And when the thrill is gone And when the real fear hits us like A bat hits a baseball We stand We fight We pray. We are weaker than the demons But God is not So stand firm And remember to hold on To the double-edged sword.

Growing up, I have always held a passion for writing. I loved to create funny stories that would make my younger brother and I laugh until our stomachs hurt. I also loved to write about families, ones that I would like to have one day. I would love to be a mother with many children, and I was always inspired by other families to write a story about them. As I got older, my writing became stronger, and I did well in school and often got compliments from my teachers on my essays and writing assignments. It was in the 8th grade that I decided I wanted to become an author. To do this, I would most certainly need a college degree. I knew that writing a book didn't always require a degree, but I also knew that there was so much to learn about writing and publishing my books, that I had to get one. I have always had a very creative mindset, and constantly used my imagination to create big, fun ideas, not just for writing, but for artwork, crafts, and even for decorating our house for Christmas. And I always dreamed of what the future would look like, what I wanted to do for a career, and how many children would I get to have. This got me even more determined to go to college and make the best life I could. As I got into high school, I continued to dream about the different stories I could write. I even started writing poems and short stories in my free time between studying. When Covid-19 hit and the whole world was on lockdown, I wrote about different ideas I wanted to make books about. I even wrote several short stories that filled up a cluttered binder. As I moved into sophomore year, and then Junior year, I started to think about the colleges I wanted to go to, just as much as I thought about all of the books I wanted to write. I discovered Palm Beach Atlantic University, and I was super excited when I received my acceptance letter months later. But I knew I would need some financial help to go to college. At the beginning of my Senior year, I was getting excited, there were so many fun things ahead. In addition to the excitement for prom and graduation, I also had fewer classes this year, because I had finished so many credits and college-level classes. I started to watch some T.V. shows, Stranger things, and I even watched all of the Harry Potter Movies after reading the books. These were fantastic works, and I begin to dream of creating a science fiction fantasy or a realistic fiction series that I could write. I came up with hundreds of different characters and plots, and as my imagination spun, I knew I had to get the degree I wanted to become a successful author and publisher. While researching financial aid, I struggled to find support for college, but I stayed determined. I knew what I wanted to do, and I would find a way to get there. This scholarship would help me pay for the college that I dream of going to, and help me be able to become the author that I would like to be. I can't wait for what lies ahead!

When life’s topic comes down to childhood, I have a very unique story to share. The person I am today was shaped by that childhood, starting at age seven. I developed an autoimmune condition, PANDAS, or in simpler terms, inflammation of the brain. This was a change that occurred overnight, where that sudden shift in my immune system caused that inflammation to spark issues neurologically, from sensory impairments to severe OCD and anxiety. My world changed, and I lost friends and suffered socially. I felt different than everyone else, and the only people around me were the ones who enforced intensive therapy and medications. I grew up throughout these trials, through remission and relapse, and I had to find my identity in a new light. My experiences are the powerful subjects that got me through, my realization of all that God had done to get me and my family through, and knowing that He had great plans for me, sculpted me into the person I am today. My personality was shaped drastically. Not in a good way because of the autoimmune encephalitis, but in an amazing way by the hardships that forced me out of my innocence and gave me a realization and a hope that all things happen for a reason. While life was not all sunshine and rainbows, I had a great year in the fourth grade. In a temporary remission for eight months, I had the most amazing teacher and was able to connect with other kids in the classroom a little more. I had the opportunity to excel in the classroom, becoming a two million-word reader, in addition to developing my writing through creative writing at home. The teacher I had that year was a great inspiration, with a huge heart, and who always looked out for me. This person would later become my biggest role model. When I relapsed the summer after, my severe OCD and anxiety came back, I was much older, this time in fifth grade. The impact was difficult, because all of the friends that I had known in my previous elementary career were distant. I learned to cope without a best friend or a friend group and settled for acquaintances and older peers who understood me better. Though I may not have been socially updated on the new “tea” or Instagram news, I was advancing and maturing by interacting with older students and learning to engage in conversation with adults. I also became very observant of my surroundings, and I could tell when others were getting left out or going through something difficult. This enabled me to reach out to them and befriend them, especially more shy individuals because I would try to engage them in conversation when I didn’t have anyone else to talk to. After a while, this became natural. This new skill of empathy and awareness of how others are feeling has helped me to connect with people and create positive relationships. My background is quite a story to tell, but it has shaped me and influenced me in every way good and bad. I would not be the same person today if I didn’t go through those difficulties and trials. My faith was tested and found, my personality and my talents were shaped and improved throughout my childhood by the way of these difficulties, and I have joy, hope, peace, and optimism for the future ahead of me. My background is the twisted mess that is slowly getting straightened out piece by piece, and it’s starting to look beautiful.

There is only one thing keeping me motivated to stay active for the good of the community and myself. This is Jesus Christ. Through the Church and the wonderful people around me who have inspired me and helped me, it is my passion to give back and serve the community just as Jesus served. I love helping other people, and once I came to know Christ, that passion grew immensely. From handing out water bottles to roadside workers to helping in the children's ministry in church on Sundays, serving is something that has become a big part of my life. My favorite way to influence the people around me is through communication. I have a passion for writing, writing books, poems, creative, realistic fiction and so much more. Through the works of many essays and creative topics, I have built a record for reaching out to people through writing. My grandmother loves writing, and she writes pages of letters to each of her friends every week to ask how they are doing. Though she is writing to primarily friends, she is still making an impact on the community by reaching out and making sure people are doing okay. I also believe that speaking is a powerful way to reach out to others. Sometimes, the best way to reach out to people is to just say hello, smile, and ask them, "how are you doing?" This can go a long way in helping people be seen. Another important aspect of speech that can help people is reaching out to them and comforting them. letting them know that you are here for them and that they can reach out to you anytime they need help. Listening is another important factor. Some people just need someone to listen to them and let them feel heard. Most people find that just being listened to helps things so much. People need to be heard. They can't be ignored. And communication is an amazing way to help get involved in the community. It can start with just one person. It can even grow into speaking to large groups and audiences, positive messages, and even preaching the Gospel. This is my favorite way because I was able to bring my best friend to Christ through the words that I shared with her. I was going through a difficult time at home, and I was telling her everything, the difficulties as well as how Jesus was helping me. She became inspired and gave her life to Christ during the middle of the trials that I was going through. I believe Jesus put me in this position to help her out. I love how communication helps so many. Through Jesus Christ, I am motivated to serve in the community through communicating to others not just the gospel and how much Christ has helped me, but also through little things, such as reaching out to friends, and saying "hello" to strangers when they pass by. This is my motivation to become involved in the community and serve. People need each other, and they need the love of Christ moving through individuals and creating a force of unity.

In a world where life is focused on being happy from the physical things such as clothes and wealth, having joy has allowed myself to jump start into life without stopping to focus on what I don't have. To have joy doesn't mean just being happy. To have joy is to be content with what one has and the love that one has given another. In my case, Jesus is my definition of Joy. He has given His life to pay for our sins because He loves us more than we could know. When I think of my Savior, I feel an incredible sense of joy, and a wonderful peace that you don't get from other things. To me, He is joy. And He is the source of joy. I can focus on Him and I feel joy wherever I go, no matter the circumstances. I come from a very poor family, with only one parent in work. We haven't gone on a vacation since 2019. But I choose to have joy anyways. I may not be happy about not getting to go on vacation, but I still have joy, despite my family's struggles. I know that it won't be like this forever, and I trust in the Lord, no matter the circumstance. He has taken care of my family and I. We can't afford to pay our bills, and my dad has been let go multiple times, yet we still have a roof over our heads. Joy is focusing on the love around you, and the things that you have. Joy doesn't mean happiness, but it greatly increases one's quality of life, and should be enjoyed by everyone.