What the Hixson Award Means To Me

If I could sum up what the Hixson Award means to me in two words, I would say "Almost Everything". When it comes to me, almost everything is a lot. When I would sit at my desk in my basement for long nights staring at the computer screen looking for scholarships, (a hobby I picked up after I quit computer games) I started to tell myself that I would just be another kid getting out of college with a huge plate of debt. I knew I deserved something, even if it was small.

 I searched high and low for scholarships that weren't based on having a high GPA and test scores, because my real skills came naturally to me, and weren't able to be reflected in any of those two things. Late January came, and I finally found something. The Hixson Opportunity Award. I found out that it wasn't entirely merit based, and involved something that I had been through. A personal hardship. I found out the next day that there was another kid trying to get the same scholarship and I felt doomed. He was second in the class with a GPA that was unparalleled to mine, and he played all sports, was in every single club, and his mom was a teacher. My dad told me to just be myself, and that was exactly what I did.

I spent long hours writing and rewriting a summary of a part of my life that I view as not the typical high school experience that everyone enjoys. When I was done, I took a deep breath, and told myself that I deserved this. The following May, I was waiting for that letter that said either I had received the scholarship. I started to get discouraged, until one day. I woke up late for school because I was studying for a physics test. I got the mail out of the mailbox, and to no surprise the letter wasn't there. I threw the mail down on the China cabinet, and then I saw it. Peeking out from under a stack papers was a piece of an envelope with a seal on it. I read it, and my heart dropped. Crossing my fingers, and slowly tearing open the envelope, I pulled out the letter. I saw the word congratulations and I dropped the letter and jumped up and down so much that my mom thought someone was breaking into the house. She picked up the letter, and read, and instantly burst into tears and gave me a huge hug.

When I made it to school I walked into the Guidance counselors office, and one of them was already waiting for me by the door and told me how proud of me they were. To this very day, receiving that letter was one of the best days of my life, and I will always remember it in great detail. To this day I am eternally grateful that someone took the time to read about a hard time in my life, and acknowledge me for it.