I'm a full-time student-athlete graduating in three years with a 3.95 GPA and three internships under my belt. I've earned a bunch of awards and I have been honored with a few invitations to organizations such as the National Society of Leadership and Success. I'm not bragging, especially because I worked my tiny butt off to get where I am. I'm just trying to illustrate how much of an impact one's hometown can make on them.

Mine is Hainesport, NJ, about thirty minutes from Philadelphia, PA. It's one of the smallest, whitest towns in Jersey, but it's a huge factor in why I've been so successful at a young age. I moved to Hainesport when I was eight and while my young self never would have believed it then, it was the best thing my parents could have ever done for me. And it's funny because my parents were originally going sign on the dotted line to move us to Lumberton, the town right next to Hainesport, until they saw how high the property taxes were.

Everything truly does happen for a reason.

I know I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure after driving for 10 minutes, you'll already be outside of Hainesport. It's mostly a couple of neighborhoods on two sides with Route 38 cutting in between. There is a popular Irish pub known as Dunleavy's, a small Wawa (the Holy Grail of South Jersey), a few little shops and of course our school. That's pretty much it. Oh and there is a trampoline park somewhere in the middle that I've never been to.

Yeah, it's small but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

The small elementary/middle school held about 400-500 students combined (I think) and had some of the best teachers that a student could ever ask for. From my seventh and eighth grade language arts teacher Mrs. Reale to my favorite teacher of all time from fifth grade, Ms. Breder, my teachers had a huge part in turning me into the woman I am today. Even though I was eleven at the time, Ms. Breder refused to let me take the easy route. She wasn't the type of teacher to give you an A or a gold star or a satisfactory because you did the work. Teaching me to do the work correctly, even when I struggled is the reason Ms. Breder had made such an impact on my life.

And push me she did. Bobbi Breder, if you're reading this, I totally owe you my diploma when I receive it in May as well as the first big paycheck I get.

And of course I could never forget Mrs. Reale. The always chipper woman with the highest-pitched voice in a all of South Jersey had no problem sneaking her way into my heart because of the way she opened my mind. I never would have been able to get through Honors English III my junior year of high school (the second hardest class I have ever taken) without the crafty workings of my 7th/8th grade language arts teacher. And some of my friends from Hainesport may argue that the two classes have no relation to each other, but in my eyes, they have everything to do with one another.

Speaking of friends, I got particularly lucky in that department—as I was lucky with many other things in Hainesport. Besides my parents, brothers, and sister, my friends from Hainesport have had the greatest to do with the woman I am today. But the fact that we're still friends a decade later in college speaks for itself and brings a smile to my lips every time I think about it because I know ninety percent of people lose their middle school friends in high school. So the fact that I've maintained the same friendships with the same group of absurdly intelligent women through college really humbles me. It's not just that these women I met ten years ago are kind, hilarious, beautiful people that are always there for me. It's that they push me to be better without even realizing it. Because they constantly received accolades and praise for their pursuits at a young age, I realized that I didn't want to be left behind. It was never a competition, just a desire to always be equal, especially as the one of three and a half black people in my graduating class at Hainesport. I always felt the need to prove myself even though my friends never made me feel that way. Of course my parents had a lot to do with my current and future success. However, my friends deserve much of credit as well.

Hainesport may be the smallest, whitest town in Jersey, but it has some of the most incredible people I've ever had the honor of knowing. And Hainesport would not be Hainesport without it's people. I'm so lucky to have grown up in this particularly small town because at twenty, I've had such an amazing, full life already because of my teachers, my coaches, my neighbors, and especially my friends.

Oh and of course my parents (obviously) who forced me into Hainesport in the first place. Thanks Mom and Dad!