The person I see in the mirror is the dream version of me, I've seen her grow and I will foster that growth so I can continue to improve as I have thus far.

My bucket list consists of many things, including travel, music, and helping combat social justice issues in my community. As a recent high school graduate who finished high school a semester early, I had nine months to work on my craft, explore the world, and discover adulthood. I turned 18 on January 1st of this year, so the new year meant lots of new opportunities. In March, I plan to travel with my high school Select Choir to New York City to perform in Carnegie Hall for a concert that we auditioned for pre-pandemic. From New York, I will travel to Arizona and play as many open mics as possible to get myself and my music in front of new people. Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I have always wanted to be a singer when I grow up. Now I'm an adult who is performing regularly and writing her own songs. My biggest accomplishment was getting accepted into my dream college, Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where I will study songwriting and music business. This is the perfect school for not only my dreams but also my passion for inclusivity and diversity. I strive to be an advocate for both, but living in a small town makes that difficult. I've held multiple marches and rallies in Steamboat Springs, CO in order to raise awareness and show support for many things, some of which include women's rights, reproductive rights, and sexual harassment advocacy. Ultimately, my bucket list items are to make the world a better place through my actions and music career, as music impacts people’s awareness and motivation to pursue their own dreams.

This is Aspen. Her name comes from a tree that is very common to see in my home state of Colorado. Everywhere we go with Aspen, people always say it looks like she is smiling, or that she looks like such a happy dog. The first picture encapsulates this personality trait of hers. She really is a happy dog. (IMG-4888.JPG contents: Adia Clark Lay (me, left), Aspen (middle), Kailani Clark Lay (sister, right)

After moving to from Illinois to Colorado, my relationship with my life long best friend went through a rough patch. That rough patch turned into fights and eventually came to an end after some mean words were said. I stayed up all night writing about my feelings with my guitar. "Burn" is one of the first songs I ever wrote and I am so excited to finally share it with the world.

Taylor Swift once said "So many girls out there say, 'I'm not a feminist,' because they think it means something angry, or disgruntled, or complaining, or they picture rioting and picketing. It is not that at all. It simply means you believe women and men should have equal rights and opportunities." I, Adia Clark Lay, am about to be a senior in the fall of 2021 and can relate to this quote more now than ever. I have always thought that women and men should be treated equally but never felt comfortable calling myself "a feminist". The boys at school made it seem as if it was a bad thing. Before George Floyd's death, I would scroll through social media occasionally and post things once every few weeks. After Floyd's death, I started posting infographics, news articles, and many other things relating to discrimination in the U.S. on my Instagram Story every day. I didn't think I was going to change the world with one post, but the little things can make a difference. After George Floyd, I was not only posting about racial discrimination but about the election and "feminist" related topics. A boy in my grade responded to a post I made about respect for females calling me a "Stupid educated feminist thinking there smart". Yes, I get the irony. This opened my eyes. Boys have tainted the word "feminism" because they do not believe in it. We live in a man's world, so whatever a man thinks, goes. Right? No. Women are rising and men are choosing to support them. Women are securing jobs in fields previously dominated by men. Although American women are only making 82 cents for every American man's dollar, the number is improving. This is due to the work of females around the globe, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Malala Yousafzai. These women fought for gender equality, and one continues to do so every day. I hope that by continuing to post on my social media about prominent issues that face our society, I can educate others and hopefully destigmatize the word "feminist".