The most perfectly imperfect version of myself that I hope and strive for is someone who cares not for what best benefits themself or their image, but someone who works to reciprocate the love and passion given to them by nature, family, and community.

It covers 1.18 million square kilometers of our planet - it’s in our homes, in our offices, and in our favorite restaurants to eat at. It covers 0.8% of Earth’s total surface area. It’s the most widely-used substance after water. And it accounts for about 8% of Earth’s total carbon emissions, only surpassed by coal and oil. The culprit: cement, a key component of concrete. It’s all around us, and it’s not going anywhere. Chances are, humans will not stop building things anytime in the near future. As a matter of a fact, the building rate may even increase with the influxing needs of the housing market. Cement contributes detrimental emissions to our environment in one of two ways. One is through the chemical reactions that occur while heating and compressing limestone to prepare cement for its role in the concrete mixture. The other is the harmful use of fossil fuels used to heat the concrete for constructional use. To battle this phenomenon, in 2019 CarbiCrete technology was founded by Dr. Mehrdad Mahoutian and Chris Stern. This concrete substitute eliminates cement as an ingredient altogether, replacing it with “slag” - a type of waste from the metal-making process. Slag is seen in many areas of construction - most commonly in paved roads. They mix this slag with aggregate and water, then cure the substance for it to reach its full strength. C02 is one of the most important parts of this curing process: it is used to fill tiny holes in the concrete matrix, bringing the concrete to the correct density. As a result, the concrete creation process halts the release of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, while simultaneously utilizing waste from the production of crucial metal building materials. This is one of my favorite inventions in recent history. It tackles one of the largest threats to our environment - urban sprawl and expansion. I believe in solving large problems one step at a time, and this, to me, is a fantastic start. Any technology that completely eliminates its emission of greenhouse gasses, especially one that is viable on such a large scale, is absolutely pivotal. One of the most important things to me, as I have hinted, is the conservation of nature and the environment we as humans were given to thrive in. I plan to pursue an education in geology and conservational science. I will use my knowledge and experience in these subjects to minimize pollution, human waste, and natural hazards. With the help of an education in geology, I will contribute to the development and execution of an eco-friendly connection between humans and the land they build, work, and live on. I will use my passion in my career to contribute the absolute most that I can to the earth that has given me the hope and resources to get to where I am today.

"Mom, what's a mortgage again?" I asked as I set my cereal bowl down on the counter. I hopped up next to her while she washed the dishes, and we talked for hours. These distant "adult-y" responsibilities always fascinated me when I was younger. Luckily for me, my mother has worked at First Citizen's National Bank for about 25 years now. She's held just about any position in that building aside from owning it. If there is anyone on the face of this earth with a perfect credit score, it's my mother. She's always been a planner, and great with money, of course. She has taught me how to effectively pay off a loan and budget my shallow McDonald's crew member income each month. I have her to owe as my stepping stone in terms of financial knowledge that continues to benefit me to this day, especially in my preparation for higher education. Since I'm now in my junior year of high school, and college is approaching, those "adult-y" responsibilities have become a very real thing for me to consider. Even though I am determined to pursue higher education with as little debt as possible, it is incredibly important to steadily save money now. As a junior in high school, this is the absolute ideal time for me to do so. Even if I manage to cover my entire tuition with merit and state scholarships, items like textbooks, meal plans, gas/transportation, housing, and other needs will need a steady flow of income as well. The stress of not knowing how I will pay for my next textbook or tank of gas could greatly hinder the quality of education that I worked so hard to pay for. Even though paying for college up front is an especially proactive goal to have, being prepared for the unexpected is extremely crucial. In the case of any kind of medical or financial emergency, having an excess puddle of money would potentially save my educational career. An emergent need from a family member or a medical crisis of my own without monetary support would force my education onto the back burner, possibly even halting it altogether. Managing my finances in the present will look like cutting back on unnecessary shopping trips, picking up extra work hours, and eating meals at home. Cutting smaller corners combined with steady, effective budgeting is a lot more sustainable for a high school student like me than freaking out at the last moment and trying to work as much as possible right before the end of senior year. This last-minute rush would be much less effective in saving money and cause me tons of more stress than it's worth. Additionally, practicing and perfecting those habits now will set me up for stress-free money management when I become independent from my parents in the future. Attending college will be infinitely more accessible if I work hard now to gain responsible habits in managing my finances. I am beyond ecstatic to put these habits to use in my journey of higher education.

I’ve begun to notice Cardinals more. They perch on top of the fence, whistling, as I eat my oatmeal in the morning. They sit nestled in between the folds of the birthday cards at the grocery store. They shake the snow off of the frozen branches as they search for worms in the winter. I’ve researched when their brooding seasons are and when they are the most active. Luckily for me, and my Nana, Cardinals don’t migrate - they are always in season. They are my reminder and my comfort year-round. My Nana adored Cardinals. She put them on the Christmas tree and embroidered them onto clothes. I remember watching the lock screen of her ancient laptop fade into different award-winning images of Cardinals - I loved the ones in the snow. She passed from bone cancer in the middle of 2022, my sophomore year of high school. Her passing was the first of any family member I have ever experienced - for which I am fortunate. I’m unsure how a person could experience what I experienced multiple times. I guess one has no choice, which is an important lesson to learn. It is one I learned. The death of my grandmother fine-tuned my understanding and perspective of relationships with the people I care about most. I do not skip the stillness and love that flutters in the air around a loved one, even if there is no conversation or event. The most common of moments are mundane, and what a waste it is to sit and wish they were over - to be bored of them. The death of my grandmother has made me appreciate, enjoy, and love more passionately without regret. I am currently firmly agnostic, and I have always been. I am unsure, still, if there is a god, but I do believe in my Nana. It is true when they say death convinces even the most unspiritual of people. The first time I ever saw a Cardinal peck on the living room window was just weeks after her passing. It cocked its head through the glass at me, as if to say "It’s alright, little one." That was a phrase of hers that she used when I was younger and fell over more easily. I can sense that she watches over me and smiles when I reach the goals I work so hard for. I can feel her cheering me on. My Nana’s love of the earth flows directly into my inspiration even today. The cancer that took her from me cannot take away the motivation she gave me to make the world better than I entered it. For a year or two now, I’ve been dead set on pursuing my higher education in the field of geoscience, specifically geology. I crave the knowledge and opportunities that will help me to preserve this earth and the people that live on it. I intend to work with other fields to sustainably research and construct in ways that are minimally harmful to our planet. My Nana was always one of my biggest supporters, and her death has constantly motivated me to make her proud and make myself proud. One of the most valuable things she ever taught me was to follow my own aspirations. And follow my own aspirations I will do.

I clawed desperately at my throat, gasping and reaching, but I just could not feel the air. My chest ached from trying to get the oxygen in and out of my lungs. “Just calm down and breathe,” Coach would say, “You need to get in better shape.” She stood there with her hands on her hips, with that look on her face like she was annoyed. I fell to the ground, my head pounding. Ignorant coaching, summer conditioning, and lack of a diagnosis resulted in scenarios like this almost every day for me when I played volleyball. Before I knew of my condition, I couldn’t understand why everyone was so far ahead of me in terms of endurance. It just came so easy to them, and I was always in the very back breathing loudly and passing out. I know now that I wasn’t out of shape, but that’s what I had always assumed was wrong with me. I had played sports my whole life - I could lift weights and play my sport perfectly fine. It was the sprints and countless laps around the football field that destroyed me. I incessantly felt like I was drowning on land. I have Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD), or laryngeal dysfunction. VCD is the abnormal closing of the vocal cords often when breathing or speaking. It has similar symptoms to asthma; however, they are not identical. VCD involves immense difficulty breathing in oxygen while asthma deals with difficulty breathing it out. Imagine running a marathon or doing sprints while breathing only through the pinpoint of a coffee straw. I was diagnosed in the fall of 2023 - my sophomore year of high school. That was also the last time I played volleyball. I’m a junior now. I quit for a lot of reasons, most of them involving the coach. She refused to take my condition seriously. This happened often, I guess because the condition was much less common than conditions like asthma. When we ran Trojan Miles, or laps around the football field combined with the bleachers, my coach wouldn’t let us stop unless we beat the time of our previous lap. All of us struggled with this, but I consistently did around seven or eight before she allowed me to collapse on the field. With my diagnosis, I was prescribed an inhaler to use before any physical activity. I starkly remember my first time running after using the inhaler, it was like floating. It was incredible. I ran until my legs ached. Previously, I couldn’t run until my legs were tired because my lungs always gave out first from trying to heave the air through my throat. All of that extra energy I was used to putting towards breathing was suddenly available. I felt like I was flying. My journey with VCD was incredibly challenging for a very long time, but I'm very glad I had the experience. I’m proud of myself. Despite feeling like I was making no progress in comparison to everyone else, I continued to work hard to better myself. VCD taught me the value of slow, steady progress, and also that everyone deals with issues on different levels, even if it is not apparent. From the outside, I just seemed like a lazy, out-of-shape athlete, but I was actually struggling with a problem that not even I was aware of. VCD forced me to persevere and focus on myself even when I wanted to give up. I am not defined by my condition, and it is not my enemy. For me, VCD was a blessing in disguise.