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"How has your journey with CF shaped the problems you want to solve and the impact you hope to have on others?"

"Don't forget to do your treatments, Jayla!" This was a sentence that I heard countless times during my childhood, ever since I was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Every morning and night, I have a set of two-hour-long treatments to complete. Most people who are born with Cystic Fibrosis are diagnosed at birth, but due to it being a primarily Caucasian male disease, no one thought to test a sickly African American girl for it until I was dying in a hospital bed at the age of five. My early childhood revolved around the diagnosis. I was constantly in the hospital. I thought of it as my second home. I'd have to get surgeries done each time I went there. Either a bronchoscopy to "suck all that nasty mucus out," as the doctors would tell me, which made my throat hurt for days afterward. Or, in more dire situations in which my lung function would drop into dangerous territory and I'd have to get a PICC line in order to stabilize myself, before being sent home after a few weeks with it still in my arm, pumping IV fluids into me. I can now proudly say that I haven't been in the hospital for four years. Now, you might be wondering why I'm telling you all this. Well, the reason is that it was a central part of my life. I say "was" because I believe that part of my life is over. Though I still have the lung disease and am still affected by it, it's no longer the center of my life, nor the star that I orbit around. In those four years that I've been no longer staying in my second home, I've discovered things about myself and realized the person I want to be. I've taken up animation, book writing, weight lifting with my brothers, and so much more. It feels like I have a new lease on life and a new vigor for it. I have so much more time to experience life now that it isn't upended by an unexpected hospital stay each year. That's why I'm applying to Wingate's honors college in the first place. So that I can learn, grow, reach my goals, and go beyond them. I decided to help others like me at the age of fifteen, so I spoke at the Guys and Dolls event organized by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, where we raised $2.2 million to support further research into the disease. Despite my disability's setbacks, I've woken up extra early each day in order to complete my two-hour-long treatment session. Waking up earlier than my peers every day just to get to school each morning has been a struggle. Nonetheless, despite my hardships, I've maintained a place on the A honor roll throughout most of my high-school years. That's the reason I've come to you. I'm seeking your assistance to help me continue to reach the goals. Thank you for your consideration, and breathe easy.