My mom has always told me that I could write about car maintenance with the same passion as human rights, my favorite hobbies, or my own life. As a child, I would write practice lesson plans and deliver speeches to the mirror in my bedroom. I practiced my signature in cursive, waiting for the day I’d publish a book and autograph it for kids like me. I wanted to write books for kids who dove into fiction to escape their own struggles. The same second grader who got her first poem published in an anthology, the same sixth grader that practiced her cursive to make sure her autograph looked good, the same 16-year old that spent weeks writing her own poetry just to get through the day, the same 19-year old that saw her first play produced on stage and wept the whole time, are all applying to this program. I am the voice for all the versions of myself that barely survived their own stories. I want to be an inspiration for every hurting little girl, every broken teenager, every struggling adult who cannot fathom a life of love or stability. Writing has always been cathartic for me, and I strive to use writing to provide support for others. The catharsis of writing is the process itself, the assembly, the fine-tuning, and the development of the piece. I’ve known since elementary school that I wanted to be a lifelong scholar. As a first-generation college student, a disabled woman, a lesbian, and an activist, I have fought my entire life for every resource I have. I am happiest when I am writing, I am most fulfilled when I am researching, and I am best motivated when I feel that I can make a difference in what I do. I will not back down from an opportunity to protect someone who is struggling. Between helping people cross new milestones in their life, escape financial poverty or domestic violence, and have a voice to advocate for themselves. By telling my story, by writing to an audience of no one, and by being my own sounding board when I had no one else, I found my voice. I am confident that this program will lead me towards impactful, inspired work. If every milestone in life can teach you a lesson, the lesson for me has been to lean into the chaos of it all, earnestly and without any sense of shame. The Master of Liberal Studies program, and by extension, this study abroad experience, is the culmination of all my past work, my chance to apply a lifetime of lessons to a successful and impactful future, and my lifelong dream realized. I would so appreciate your help in making this a reality.