I've had depression since I was four. In my sophomore year of high school, I lived in a group home to treat my body dysmorphia, a disorder of distorted perception. When I entered college while my parents were unemployed, a neck injury caused me to quit my job and take time off from school. All of these statements are true, but they are missing information. Now, I should say that I am not a believer in optimism as it most commonly exists in mainstream culture. When people refer to optimism, they most commonly describe positivity. As French philosopher Voltaire states, this type of optimism is "the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable." Often, things don't work out. In these moments, it's not always appropriate to conceal our emotions behind a veneer of positivity. My experiences have taught me a different kind of optimism. This kind of optimism involves experiencing the positive and negative equally and embracing both. Life is about more than just experiencing happiness and achieving pleasure. If pleasure were the meaning of life, we'd all admire hedonists. But we don't. There is beauty in the negative; obstacles challenge us and drive our growth. They develop our character and imbed us with grit and determination. Life is supposed to be messy, and the messiness is what makes it worth living. My life looks a little different from this perspective. I've had depression since I was four, and I appreciate how this condition has challenged me. Although my neck injury was painful, it resulted in my choice of a more suitable major. My type of optimism allows me to face obstacles courageously without maintaining a facade of positivity. My challenges make me who I am, and my life looks much brighter when I embrace them.

If I didn't use the $1,000 to pay my college tuition, I would use it to pay off my hospital bill. On December 29th, 2021, an improperly healed neck injury sent me to the hospital in excruciating pain. After examining me hastily, the ER doctor gave me two lidocaine injections, a prescription for pain patches, and instructions for scheduling a follow-up appointment at the Colorado Brain & Spine Institute. However, when I called to schedule an appointment, I was told I needed a referral from a doctor. I was not able to get a referral. Eventually, the lidocaine injections wore off, and I ran out of patches and pain pills. After more searching, I was able to find a physical therapist who understood my injury and helped me treat it. However, after I endured months of physical therapy and finally healed my injury, I was notified that I had a hospital bill for $713. At the time of my hospital visit, I had insurance. However, after my insurance discovered that nobody could be held liable for my injury, they decided against covering my visit. $1,000 would cover my hospital bill and relieve the financial stress of paying off the $713. My mom currently makes minimal income as a substitute teacher, and my dad is retired at 66. Although we used to have some financial reserves, the pandemic eroded our savings. If I had $1,000, I could leave my injury in the past and continue to work for a better future.

My favorite piece of art is Death Cab for Cutie's song My Mirror Speaks. Music has the power to make things unspoken spoken. It can reach into the soul and hold our deepest fears and insecurities in front of us. Music transcends individual differences and promotes unity by illuminating the human condition. Death Cab for Cutie's "My Mirror Speaks" is a great example of this phenomenon. The song draws inspiration from Sylvia Plath's Poem "Mirror," which highlights the human fear of aging. The most poignant line from the poem states that, in the reflective surface of a lake, a woman "has drowned a young girl, and ... an old woman/Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish." These lines capture the essence of what it means to be human. We are constantly faced with our own mortality. We are constantly trying to make sense of ourselves and our surroundings in the face of change. "My Mirror Speaks" encapsulates the message of Plath's poem and pairs this message with music. The first verse of the song begins with the lines: "With every sun that sets/I am feeling more/Like a stranger on a foreign shore/With an eroding beach/Disappearing from underneath." The songs speaks to me because, not only does it touch on the universal concept of mortality—it also enhances this concept by pairing it with a sentimental melody. Music is an essential form of art. By combining poetry with rhythm and melody, music allows us to see ideas in different, more vivid ways.