“The start of my junior year of high school was probably one of the biggest struggles I’ve had thus far. After having moved from the school district I lived in since 6th grade to the middle of my junior year, I fell into one of the worst depressions of my life. In addition to losing all of my close friends, I also had to adapt to another school district, student body, and curriculum. I lost all motivation to do anything. My grades started to fall, my attendance was pretty much nonexistent, and my mental state was rapidly deteriorating. By the time I started my senior year, I thought any chances I had for an academic scholarship went out the window. I thought I wouldn’t graduate or be accepted into any universities. I would have to just attend community college. I wanted so badly enjoy the dream of campus living and be able to experience life outside of the small towns that I had lived in my entire life. By the end of my senior year, I was accepted into two universities, two community colleges, and offered thousands of dollars in scholarships. I finally walked across the stage at graduation, and proved to my family, and more importantly, myself, that I did it, and nobody could take that away from me. The gist of the story is no matter what your situation, no matter how bad you think things are going to end up, anything and everything is possible through a little hard work and the right mindset.” ~Amber