“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” by Alexandra

“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” by Alexandra - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

Since before I could walk and talk, I fell in love with Walt Disney’s characters, stories, and music. Oh, I remember them so well, and the many videotapes my mother and father took of us can testify to the hundreds of times my sister, brother, and I watched “The Jungle Book” (animation) and sang and danced to the songs in our baby proof play room. Then we added “The Lion King” and “Toy Story” to our list of favorite repeats. I always had a play date as my siblings were the exact-same age as me, and boy could we play together, and yet as we grew older, I had trouble venturing outside of the family. Despite being a triplet, or maybe, because I am a triplet, I have always been a shy person, some would say extremely shy. Believe me when I say, this is an area that causes me great anxiety. My mom especially made a point of giving us many experiences to see what we were passionate about. We experienced quite a bit for a family on a limited budget – art class, dance class, gymnastics, cheerleading, soccer, softball, baseball, track and field, skiing, swimming, even roller skating classes. These activities unfortunately did not help my shyness but they did help me to understand and believe in a quote that Walt Disney is credited with saying: “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”

I take this quote to heart. Scholarships don’t come easily for middle class, white American families, even when my mom became unemployed last June and with my family having three children attend college next year. We have looked at all options. We even pursued the military option, but I did not pass the physical due to some nagging hip issues I have had over the years which would make it difficult for me to pursue a high level of rigorous activity. However, I will not be deterred from my college goal as I keep Disney’s quote in mind.

As I sift through my options, I also know that I will probably not be able to count on my parents as co-signers for a private loan. Understanding what I have to work with, I am mulling through every scholarship I can find, knowing that I will need to raise some serious money in order to attend a state university and live there. I have worked hard throughout my high school career with a 3.2 GPA. I have been accepted to all six schools that I applied to, three private and three public. I applied to the private schools with the possibility of ROTC taking care of tuition/fees, but now those options are out due to the medical issue, unless I can find enough scholarships/grants. I am leaving all options on the table as I know that if I have the courage to pursue the college dream, it will come true.

Walt Disney has taught me to allow for great possibilities and to never sell myself short. I am not going to allow anything to stand in the way of my dream. I am making headway with my shyness every day as my senior year unfolds, and numerous academic, sporting, and school event opportunities come my way. My goal of attending and living at college to major in chemistry is halfway there. I have been accepted into the schools, and now I just need to work hard to find the money to pay for it. I feel I will succeed, and I am going to do as Woody said in “Toy Story, "Ride like the wind, Bullseye!"