Hailey B.

August 13th, 2016, was a day that has impacted my life immensely. I had always grown up in a home where love and dedication were the top priorities for my mother, father, brother and I. On August 13th, my father drowned trying to save me from a boating accident. On this day not only did my father die, but my best friend died as well. My father was the only person who believed in everything that I wanted to conquer, and his death affected my perseverance for a future for myself. I was twelve years old when my father passed, leaving behind my mother, my six-year-old brother and I.

After my father passed our lives all dimmed, we went from a family who would light up a room with laughter, to a family who darkened one with grief. After my father died my mother went into a depression, during this mental state I became the emotional provider for my brother and I. The loss I experienced made me mature from a young girl with dreams and aspirations to a young adult who wanted to make sure her family was in a place of happiness again.

My father was the sole provider for our family and we were left in financial stress. My father had small life insurance that helped pay for his funeral and cover the cost of the bills owed but that was all. This required my mother to work two jobs while working twelve-hour shifts all at once. Seeing her in such a depression having to provide for my brother and I forced me to seek a job of my own at the age of fourteen. This was when I started working full-time hours, almost every day, while still being a student.

My family's financial status and the loss of my father impacted me immensely. The strain of working almost full time while being in school drove me into a depression. I began self-harming as it felt like a way of closure from the pain of losing my father, and I eventually tried to end my own life. I saw this as a way to help my mother be financially responsible for only one child. My suicide attempt impacted my family vastly. The attempt caused me to look from a different perspective and to enjoy the things in life that I had not before.

My financial status impacted my post-secondary plans in a great way. I had always dreamed of pursuing a career involving six or more years of schooling. Knowing my mother couldn't afford it, I have had to change my career path a lot. Getting this scholarship would be astounding. I would be able to work fewer hours while attending my first year of university, and my mother would have less stress of paying for my university. This scholarship would allow me to pursue my dream of becoming a social worker, without having to stress about student loans after I graduate from university.