It is nearly impossible for one person to change the whole world, but teachers can change the worlds of their students. A teacher can change their students' worlds by giving them the chance to learn, grow, and thrive in a safe, caring environment. A teacher can change their students' worlds by believing in them, encouraging their skills and abilities, instilling a passion and excitement for learning, and urging them on to a brighter future. Why should someone be passionate about education? Should I be passionate about the long hours of diligent work? About the low pay? About struggles with large class sizes? Handling difficult behavior? No, what makes me truly passionate about education centers always around the children. Each child is special and unique. Each child should have the opportunity to not only learn, but to be excited and curious about learning. As a future teacher, I want to give my students the chance to grow their knowledge, build skills, make positive friendships, have fun, think critically and creatively, and love learning. I am truly passionate about learning because I want to make a positive difference in children's lives. I want to introduce children to the wonders of learning and help them develop their mental abilities. I want to help children appreciate and take care of their bodies and support their physical growth. I want to help children build empathy and develop better understanding of their emotions. I want to help children understand their actions and their effects and to be aware of their behavior, so that they can learn to treat others with kindness and respect. I love teaching because of its many aspects. Teaching is challenging because teachers are not just responsible for growing their students' mental abilities; teachers are responsible for supporting and cultivating their students' physical, emotional, and behavioral growth as well. Teachers spend a lot of time with their students and are the ones who are responsible for setting the classroom environment. Teachers should focus on a classroom and education that encourages curiosity, discovery, collaboration, enjoyment, and wonder. I've seen so many teachers, students, and classes become bored with learning and become disengaged and unexcited. I want to pursue education because I want to see kids' eyes light up with excitement over learning. I want to pursue education because I want to make kids curious about our world. I want to pursue education so that I can be there for students when they are going through a tough time in their lives. I want to pursue education so that I can truly make a difference. Teaching is not a profession for those wanting money as their reward. But I think that teaching offers a greater reward than money. To watch students learn, grow, and achieve is the reward of a teacher. It isn't money, extra benefits, or summers off that make teachers passionate about their jobs; it is the students who fuel the passion of teachers. It is the thought of the future students that I can impact that makes me truly passionate about education.

In all of my academic and sport experiences, I strive to do the best that I can do. Both mentally and physically, I have challenged myself to achieve integrity and excellence. I am a hard, diligent worker and have a quick mind in addition to an athletic body. In my academics, I have earned higher than a ninety-eight percent in all of my classes, even my dual enrollment classes. My unweighted GPA is a 4.0 and I scored a thirty-two on my ACT. I have had numerous awards in different categories, including mathematics, speech, and music. My academics have taught me the importance of continually learning, and the benefit of expanding and improving my education. In my sports, I have worked hard to become successful. In the past, I have been involved with soccer and track, and presently am very involved with tennis. I have a natural athletic ability which has grown exponentially within the last few years. After taking one summer tennis recreation program, I jumped headfirst into playing Junior Varsity tennis during ninth grade. I worked my way up into Varsity and have achieved two state tennis champion titles. Tennis has taught me to be diligent and to not give up, no matter how challenging or difficult the situation. My future career goal is to become a Speech Pathologist. Throughout my academic and sport experiences, I have learned the underrated and underappreciated value of clear communication. I've experienced the difficulty of speaking up for myself and trying to express my thoughts clearly. I want to help other people to voice their thoughts and speak up for themselves, conveying their words clearly and confidently. Through my academics and sports, I have learned the values of integrity, diligence, patience, and kindness. By becoming a Speech Pathologist, I can use what I have learned to help other people. Outside of sports, I have many interests. For as long as I can remember, I have had a passion for art and music. I have created my own unique kind of art using toilet paper tubes and have even sold some of my creations. I have been in All-State Orchestra all four of my high school years, am in my school's auditioned choir, and have been involved in multiple music festivals, including Jazz invitationals. I have played the piano since I was six, the violin since I was nine, and can play a little bit of guitar and saxophone. Another interest I love is photography. I have entered competitions and sold some of my photos. I have helped photograph weddings and have taken multiple students' senior pictures. An additional interest I have is drama, and I have performed in three musicals and five plays. In addition, I love to read and have read an innumerable amount of books in my lifetime since learning to read at the age of three. My academics, sports, and interests are all integral parts of who I am and are helping to shape my future years. I have learned a lot from my past and fully intend to use what I have learned to make a brighter future for myself and others.

My favorite aspect of the game is the creative mode. As a little girl, I always got stressed by creepers or zombies trying to attack me, but I loved getting to fly around and make cool creations. I started playing Minecraft when I was little and I loved making cute houses or grand hotels. Creative mode resonates with me because I loved being able to freestyle. I could make the tallest towers, the biggest cities, experiment with redstone machines, and spawn the largest army of dogs in existence. I loved all the different types of materials and colors, and the endless possibilities were amazing. I used creative mode to design my own fantasy world, making my own roads, towns, forests and mountains. I made a magical fairy village, an ethereal woodland village where elves dwelled, and a secret cave for witches with a door that only opened at night. I spent countless hours making cool buildings, extensive farms, secret passages, impressive castles, and mythical villages. The whole world was my own design, sparked from my imagination. Minecraft was like a canvas in which I painted whatever picture I want, and sparked my creative streak. I love making things and decorating things, and Minecraft helped me to start creating beautiful and fascinating things from an early age. With the world of Minecraft at my fingertips, I could create whatever I wanted. The only limit was my imagination.

If I could have everyone in the world read just one book, it would be "Little Women" because of its dynamic characters and storyline. It is such a masterpiece, and I think that everyone should read it at least once. There is so much in the story that we can learn from or relate to. The girls in the book really come alive and it is easy to believe that they were actually real people. They are faulted and flawed, and they make many mistakes along the way. However, they try hard to overcome their faults and help one another to become the best version of themselves that they can be. They work hard to help and love others, showing kindness to those around them. The book has many lessons that people can learn from and numerous examples of love, courage, and joy, even in the midst of difficulties. "Little Women" follows four girls as they mature and go through all the ups and downs of life. It demonstrates the strength of love, family, and friendship during times of pain, sickness, loss, heartache, and grief. The types of love displayed in the book are uplifting and encouraging. The book contains love that is patient, gentle, joyful, kind, faithful, and sacrificial. In the book, the girls go through some truly heart-wrenching events that truly make the readers feel the sadness and seriousness of the situation. But even in the darkest of grief, the light of love is able to shine through. I think this book should be read by everyone because it depicts life as it truly is. It depicts life as being hard, painful, and difficult. But it also describes times of joy, friendship, laughter, and love. The sisters experience times of hardship, but they help one another and come alongside one another, and the bond that they have serves as a great role model for siblings in our present world. Even though the girls might have fought or argued at times and are by no means perfect, they show how strong the ties of their family are. Coming alongside one another is important, and the four sisters in the book "Little Women" show how family can support and love one another through the worst of circumstances. Even death can't separate these girls from one another, because they are always connected by the bond of love.

Love is kind. This statement is so simple, yet so profound. In a world today where there is war, death, envy, greed, and hate, we must have love. We need love that is kind; love that is unconditional and unceasing, marked by compassion, generosity, joy, and patience. Having love that is kind means that we don't just love those who love us back, but that we love everyone whether they love us in return or not. We shouldn't love because we expect to get something. We should simply love, expecting nothing in return. During tennis season in high school, I loved my opponents and showed kindness to them in many ways. I would always encourage them and compliment them, praising them when they made a good shot. I would chat with them while we were taking breaks, and I knew all my opponents by name. Whenever my opponent needed something, I would offer it to her, whether it was band-aids, medicine, racket grips, water, snacks, bug spray, or sunscreen. I've held umbrellas to shelter my opponents from both the sun as well as the rain, I've helped cool them down with my hand fans, and I've let them borrow my spare visor or use my pair of sunglasses. During one match I had, I played against a girl who had recently gotten very sunburnt. It was close to a hundred degrees that day and the sun was in full force without any clouds in the sky. Whenever we had breaks during the match, I would chat with her while positioning myself so I blocked the sun and gave her shade. She thanked me over and over for my kindness, and I made a positive impact on her that day. In all my matches, I strived to do whatever I could to help or encourage my opponent. Whether I was winning or losing the match, I always had a smile on my face and friendly words on my tongue. At the end of a match, I would also ask the girl if I could pray for her and whether she had any specific requests I could pray for. Because I showed my opponents love and kindness, I made their days a bit brighter and made many friendships. God loves us and has given us the ability to love, and so we should show love and kindness to others. Love is so important to me, and I want to show love and kindness to as many people as I can. Love can do such amazing things and change people's entire lives. I plan to continue to show people love, even to the people who might not love me back. God has given me a big heart and a lot of empathy and understanding for others. I will continue to show love and kindness to others, no matter who I'm with or where I am. I am going to continue to reach out to people, encouraging them and helping them. Because showing love and kindness to the whole world can start with showing love and kindness to one person at a time.

My first experience playing tennis was in the summer after my seventh-grade year, at a tennis camp that my mom had signed me up for. It was hard for me since I was just beginning and I didn't even know how to hold a racket correctly. When I first started, I was one of the worst players there and I was embarrassed about it. I wanted to get better so I decided to try to improve as much as I could, one step at a time. Over the next couple of weeks, I worked hard and diligently. As I focused on improving my skills, I fell in love with the sport of tennis. By the end of tennis camp, I was able to win against the best players there. I started playing JV tennis for my high school during my freshman year. In sophomore year I played Varsity, and in Junior year I won State in Flight 3. I am now about to start my senior year of tennis. Throughout the time I've spent playing tennis, I've learned not to get discouraged. Tennis has taught me to be patient and to overcome difficulties and shortcomings. Just because I lose a point doesn't mean I'll lose the next one. Tennis is a very mental game but I've learned not to get worked up about my failures. Instead, I smile and move forward. Tennis has taught me many valuable lessons. It has taught me to relax and try my best amid stressful situations, and it has also taught me not to get worked up about winning or losing. I try my best and I work hard, but I've learned to accept defeat graciously and applaud my opponents. It has taught me to care about other people, no matter where they're from or who they are. I look for ways to help and encourage my teammates, my coaches, and players from other teams. I love to encourage people, whether they're on my team or not. I've found that even when on opposite teams, tennis can bring people together and form close friendships. Tennis has also taught me to lead and shoulder responsibility. I've had to lead our team's warm-ups and games. I've also helped our coaches to demonstrate tennis drills. I've assisted younger teammates to improve their skills and helped them identify and fix problems. On tennis trips, I watch over the younger girls and make sure that my teammates are ready and on time. Tennis has taught me to be bolder and less unsure about myself, and it has helped to mold me into a responsible leader. All of the things I've learned from tennis have been valuable in shaping who I am today and have prepared me for the future. Among other things, tennis has taught me how to work hard, help others, and accept responsibility. This will help me to have a stronger, brighter future. Whatever my future looks like, tennis has taught me to stay patient and not give up. I have taken the skills I have learned from tennis into my life and I will use them to help shape my future.