Drawing hours away by Emilie

Drawing hours away by Emilie - December 2024 Scholarship Essay

Drawing Hours Away
Emilie Mozingo
Sussex Technical High School

If you had told me, I would be leaving my home to drive over ten hours away to go to college, I wouldn't have believed you. Now in only a few months, I will leave my home to pursue a college degree in illustration. Soon, all my dreams will become reality, and it scares me…a lot. I have never been this far away from my family, and it is going to last for years. This is going to be something I will have to overcome, and my friends and family won't be there to help me through it.
I have always known what I wanted to do with my life. I’ve been planning it out for as long as I can remember. When I was in third grade, I won a Christmas card competition. This was a district wide Christmas Card Competition, and I was the winner. This moment in time was one of the happiest days of my life! Now don’t get me wrong, I loved winning, but I really loved creating the card. This was when I knew what I wanted to do. From this experience I branched off into more art opportunities and competitions. The more I did with art, the more I fell head over heels for it. By the time I was in middle school, I was known for my art by my peers. But then COVID hit, and I was out of school for a while. During Covid, I struggled a lot with the isolation. My teachers were not helpful and I had to teach myself for two years. I was all alone and stuck in a box with no way out. Not being able to leave my house took a hard toll on my body. I started gaining weight from the lack of movement.  I struggled, and I struggled HARD! Then the schools started opening and so did my house. I finally got to go back to school but I was a freshman in a new school. I started finding my way and meeting new people. During the school year I began to lose some of the weight and gain new friends with new art opportunities. I competed in more drawing competitions like SkillsUSA, Peace Competition and so much more! Before I knew it, I was a senior. This year is my last year as a kid, as a high school student, living in my house, and being with my friend. It is all going to change next year! I am going into a college that will take me away from everyone I know and love and it's scary. My brothers are in college right now and they are only about 45 minutes away. I am going to be over ten hours away. Not only will this be difficult for me, but it will be difficult for my mother and father, as well. I am their last kid, and I am going to be far far away. I have never been this far away from home, and I am going to be there for at least four years.
While this is all new and different for everyone, I am hopeful. The pain will be hard, and the changes will be difficult. My parents have been through this before —with my brothers and their own experiences—and I know we will get through it. As time goes on, the pain will fade, I think I will always feel a small bit of pain from being so far away, but I know the longer I am there the less it will hurt for me and my parents.We will all work through the challenges because I am chasing my dream that I have had since I was nine years old!