If you could give one piece of advice to your past self, what would it be and why? by Anna

If you could give one piece of advice to your past self, what would it be and why? by Anna - September 2022 Scholarship Essay

My personality and characteristics are quite versatile and complex. There are many moments where I voice my opinions on a topic and sometimes, I listen to others and have an open mind. I exercise the need to speak out if a situation is going in the wrong direction, especially when I am in a leadership position. I stay dedicated to any hobby I invest my time and focus on improving and enhancing that skill. I am a heavy thinker on making decisions and doubt check on how it’ll affect my future and others. Over my high school years, I took a great interest in helping my community. Throughout my local community service activity experience, I was able to understand the drastic need for help for various communities in our area. I was selected to be a part of a leadership group in our county, and we had the opportunity to create a project. Within this project, we made donations to a local organization that works with foster kids. This experience really impacted me to become aware of the needs of children who are in the foster care system hoping to find a loving family but are struggling with trying to find the resources to help them with their essential needs. It increased my interest and fascination with helping those in need and giving back to my community. The importance of learning how to give back to others and make a difference in my community is a valuable aspect that I continue to act on in my daily life. I would tell my peers as well as those younger than me that, despite all the work one must put into improving something, it is definitely worth the input. I am grateful for the opportunity to make a lasting impact on my community, and it allows me to continue to strive for improvement. I gained a lot of experience from being able to cooperate with my group and interacting with people who share similar interests in helping others. During our project, when we had gone to Walmart to buy the necessary materials for the children, I just remember feeling joy about knowing that the money that we raised and the products we were buying was going toward a greater cause. I started imagining how the foster children would be excited to be given these necessities and through this, I have learned to be more appreciative. Donating my time and energy into something greater than myself allowed me to gain leadership and team-building skills, which is a huge aspect of who I am and my personality.