More frequently than not, when asked what their greatest inspiration is, most people respond with three things: their parents, a family friend, or a celebrity. Whereas my lifelong friends and family undoubtedly inspire me to become a striving individual, they are not the sole inspiration in my life. The possibilities of what my future holds drives and spurs me forward. For instance, my following career drives me to do well in school and go to college. If not for the possibility of securing an exceptional job in the near future, I would have given up on going to school years ago. In addition, my subsequent career in Wildlife Veterinary is what drives me to take Advanced Placement (AP) classes like Biology. By actively participating in AP classes, I jumpstart my education and save money that I can use to help invest in college tuition. My future self equally determines me to engage in sports, workout, and be a healthy living being. I properly take care of my body and eat healthily now because, in the future, I do not want to spend time in the hospital for complications I could have prevented earlier in life. Likewise, I spend time in the gym because I know in the future, the rigorous work I put myself through will eventually pay off. In addition, the future probability of having a husband and family is why I put myself through tedious assignments and advanced classes. The possibility of providing for a household spurs me to push forward and do my best in school. Doing well in school regulates if I pull a well-paying job to care for my family. Not merely do I want to become a Wildlife Veterinarian because I love animals, but because it is a well-paying job that will efficiently allow me to pay back my student debts and provide for a family. My most primary inspiration in life is the full future of many distinct possibilities. I endeavor in everything I undertake because I know my hard work will all one day be worth the struggles. My friends and family promptly drive me to become a respectable person, whereas my future eagerly pushes me to work hard in everything I manage and adequately prepare for what lies ahead.

Whereas most Christians have a top-of-the-mountain testimony, I am a sister of Christ that was born and raised in the church. You could almost say my life-story is rather dull and boring. I was baptized at age eleven and my father is a pastor so I grew knowing about Jesus and how God sacrificed his one and only son to set us free from our sins. Although I have been told this throughout my life, it was not until recently that I really understood what this meant. The children of the church have always been told that Jesus died on the cross for their sins. While this is true, small children do not understand the true meaning of sinning. In Sunday school we were taught about the Ten Commandments; have no other gods before God, do not make idols, do not take the Lord's name in vain, remember the Sabbath day, honor your father and mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear witness against your neighbor, and do not covet. At an early age, I had these memorized like the back of my hand before knowing the following terms: idols, adultery, covet, and false witness. I had to learn the hard way what these actually mean because you cannot simply explain these terms to a child. It was not until the seventh grade when I moved to Washington from Texas, that I was exposed to the real world. I was raised in the "bible belt" so as a kid, I never knew the meaning of true sin. I knew not to lie, cheat and steal, but that was about it in terms of understanding. It was not until seventh grade that I heard such things as swearing, saying God's name in vain, sexual immorality, LGBTQ+, and many other worldly sayings and actions. My innocence was taken from me because I was slowly learning what these words meant from my peers. I remember getting into arguments about what being a Christian actually meant during school. I was quickly told to keep my opinions to myself and to stop "forcing" my religion. This did not bother me as much as knowing how wrong my peers were. All I wanted was to spread the word of Jesus and to save my friends from suffering. Throughout high-school, I tried to spread Christianity as much as I could but I knew that it would never be enough to satisfy my distress. Many children grow up in the church but do not know what being a Christian actually means. I learned the true meaning of Christianity through my Junior High and High-School years. While most Christians have an epic tale of how they came to Christ, Christians raised in the church have less spectacular stories. Although my story was always consistent with the church, I still had my hills and valleys that made me a stronger Christian.

My first picture is of my nine month old Shih Tzu. Shadow is a spontaneous puppy who loves to play in the leaves as you can see from this photo. My second picture is of my other two Shih Tzus Ollie and Piper. This was the first time we took them to go fishing and while Piper loved it, Ollie was doubtful. The third picture is of my wonderful chinchilla Pim. Pim enjoys to run in her chinchilla ball and eat snacks such as pumpkin seeds and dried fruit.

The smell of burning land filled my nostrils. Just a couple of more boxes to hand out, I thought to myself. My arms were tired and my head was spinning but seeing the joy on little kids faces made it all worth it. In the summer of 2020, there were many fires in Washington state. I volunteered with Church of Christ Disaster Relief Effort to hand out boxes of food and supplies for six hours. Due to the smoke, I had bad headaches for a week, but it was the best feeling to spread joy to needing families.