Going to college means more than just earning a degree for me. It represents the opportunity to transform my creative passions into something tangible and impactful. College gives me the opportunity to sharpen my skills, overcome challenges, and prepare myself for a future where I can make meaningful contributions to both the gaming industry and the people who will enjoy it. From a very young age, I have had a deep passion for storytelling and for creating characters. What started as a simple curiosity has grown into an elaborate world filled with narratives, personalities, and concepts that reflect not just my imagination but also my personal growth. College gives the essential tools for me to take this passion to the next level. By pursuing a degree in computer science, I am gaining the technical expertise that is needed to bring these stories to life through video games. It’s not just about writing code, it’s also about learning how to merge the storytelling, design, and technology into immersive experiences that reach people on a personal level. College also allows me to explore different aspects of storytelling more deeply. With each character I have created, I include parts of myself, incorporating my thoughts, emotions, and experiences into their personalities and arcs. The connections I have built between characters and the world they inhabit are reflections of my development, which makes the stories feel more personal and meaningful to me. Through courses in game design, writing, and coding, I am constantly learning new ways to refine these narratives and make them resonate with a wider audience. The collaborative environment of college has also helped me develop my ideas further by interacting with peers who share similar passions, which sparks my creativity and enhances my storytelling in more unexpected ways. Ultimately, attending college is a stepping stone towards achieving my goal of creating video games that bring joy, inspiration, and a sense of connection to others. It is where I can gain the knowledge and skills necessary to craft engaging and immersive experiences that resonate with people on an emotional level. College gives me the perfect environment to refine my storytelling techniques, experiment with new ideas, and grow as both a creator and a person. By taking advantage of these opportunities, I can begin to make meaningful contributions to the gaming community. For me college is about opening doors not only for my own personal growth and success but also for the people who will one day experience and enjoy the stories I’ve worked so hard to tell, in ways that will hopefully leave a lasting, positive impact on their lives.

Mental health is one of the most important aspects of well-being, and I believe it serves as the foundation for everything else in life. Without taking care of your mental health first, everything else begins to fall apart. You won’t have the clarity, energy, or focus to accomplish your goals or be able to handle the challenges that come your way. In my life, I have learned how important it is to prioritize my mental wellbeing, and I constantly take steps in order to maintain it. One way I manage my mental health is by writing in my journal weekly. This allows me to reflect on the week I’ve had, along with my thoughts and feelings throughout it all. Journaling has become a safe space for me to process the emotions I’m feeling and to gain insight into the patterns of how I think and behaviors that might be affecting my mental health. By putting my thoughts on paper, I can better understand myself and release any worries that may be building up inside of me. By being able to reflect on both the positive and negative moments, it helps me move forward with a clearer mind. Another thing that I do besides journaling, is that I go outside and take a long walk for two hours each day. This time outdoors gives me time to step back from the pressures of everyday life. Walking allows me to break away from the worries that often consume my thoughts and instead focus on the beauty and calmness of nature. This simple action of breathing in the fresh air and getting away from the distractions helps me reset my mind and makes me feel more grounded. It’s during these walks that I can gain perspective on myself and letting go of the unnecessary stress I have. I also say positive affirmations to myself as a part of my mental wellness routine. Saying affirmations to myself helps me shift my mindset, especially on days when I feel overwhelmed. Simple statements like “I am capable” or “I can handle today’s challenges” make a vast difference to me. By reaffirming my strength and worth, it gives me the confidence to face the difficulties with a more positive outlook. Whenever stress builds, I turn to breathing exercises to calm myself down. By focusing on my breath it helps me bring my mind back to the present and reduces the feelings of anxiety of I have. By simply closing my eyes and taking slow and deep breaths, I can regain control over my thoughts and emotions. This technique has become a valuable tool for me, especially when things feel overwhelming. Overall, I believe that maintaining mental wellness is important in order to function in all aspects of life. It’s easy to neglect our own mental health when we’re busy with everyday things, but by doing that, it’ll eventually lead to burnout and emotional distress. By taking the time to reflect, breathe, and taking care of my mind, I can show up more fully in my academic, personal, and creative endeavors. These practices have not only helped me manage my stress but have also given me a stronger sense of self-awareness and resilience, which are important for a healthy and balanced life.

My interest in pursuing a computer science degree first began with my love for storytelling and creating fictional worlds. From a very young age, I have enjoyed drawing, making up stories, and collaborating with my friends to create intricate characters and scenarios. As I grew older, my passion for storytelling turned into something more, which made me realize that I wanted to bring these characters and stories to life through video games. Games to me offer a unique way where the players can interact with the world and the story game developers have created, which gave me the desire to learn how to build these interactive experiences. The technical side of creating video games, especially coding and designing, has drawn me towards computer science. With the hopes of making people smile one day, I am currently pursuing a computer science degree to create video games. I want to combine my love for storytelling and technology to create experiences that not only entertains, but also stirs up emotions within the players. I have been working on developing characters and stories for years with me usually incorporating parts of myself into them which makes these creations and projects deeply personal to me. The idea that others will one day interact with these characters and be moved by them, just like I have, fuels my passion for game development. My dream job is to work as a game designer and developer where I can combine my technical skills and my creativity to create immersive worlds and experiences that will leave a lasting impact on players. Because of my immense dedication to my goals and my unwavering passion for learning, I firmly believe that I am the perfect candidate for this scholarship. By consistently refining my skills and seeking knowledge through personal projects and academic coursework, I have been working towards this dream for years. Moreover, I offer a distinctive viewpoint at the table as my focus extends beyond the technical aspects of programming to encompass the utilization of technology in crafting impactful stories and engendering emotional connections. I am determined to make a positive impact through the games I create and with this scholarship, it will allow me to focus fully on my studies and further develop the skills I need to reach my goal. I am firm on making a positive impact through the games I create, and this scholarship will allow me to focus fully on my studies and further develop the skills I need to reach my goal. In conclusion, my passion fuels my journey towards creativity and technology. My dream is to bring joy to others through the games I create, and I believe that my dedication, experience, and perspective makes me the best candidate for this scholarship. With this opportunity, I can continue working hard towards my goals of becoming a game developer and sharing my stories with the world.

A project that I have been working on for years and am still deeply passionate about is creating stories and characters. It all began when I was a freshman in high school, where a simple and random question about a game mechanic sparked my curiosity, which led me to imagine an entire world from it. From there, I started developing characters with unique personalities, likes, dislikes, and roles they have in this fictional universe. Whenever I make these characters, I always found myself putting parts of my own experiences, fears, and personal struggles into these characters, which makes the stories a way for me to reflect on myself while also creating something personal and meaningful to me. As the years went by, my passion for this project only grew bigger. Throughout my high school experience, I focused on adding more characters and stories that would logically and emotionally connect to the overall narrative at hand. This personal project ended up becoming a coping mechanism for me, which allowed me to channel my emotions into the creative process. I filled up multiple notebooks and digital documents with story ideas, world-building concepts, and complicated mechanics that help shape the rules of the universe. Writing these stories became an outlet for both my creativity and personal growth, inspiring me to push my creative boundaries constantly. In my senior year, I started talking more openly about the stories that I have been working on for so long that I would discuss the characters, lore, and world-building with anyone who would listen to me because it was something I truly loved. Through this process, I ended up meeting my best friend, who also had a deep passion for storytelling and character creation. Their world-building and characters had developed over the years as well, which we just instantly bonded over our shared interest. To this day, we continue to inspire and encourage each other to create more stories and characters. We often bounce ideas off of each other along with creating new concepts and new ideas together. This friendship of mine has been an enormous factor with my continued passion for storytelling. Working in technology, especially in game development, inspires me because it constantly challenges my creativity. Technology also gives me the tools to bring my stories to life in interactive and engaging ways. My life long goal is to make video games that allow others to explore the characters and worlds that I have created over the years. As I get to learn more about coding and game development, I am excited to learn how to weave the narratives I made into an immersive experience for others to enjoy. The idea that one day my creations can make people smile and feel connected to the characters just like how they helped me through difficult times just drives me to work even harder for it. In conclusion, storytelling has been a project passion of mine for many years now and technology gives me the platform to take that passion even further. With a deeper understanding of coding and game design, I am excited to one day share these stories with the world and create experiences that will resonate with others just as much as they have for me.