The feeling of holding a young child and carrying her out of a fire. The feeling of providing an elderly woman with an oxygen mask to help her breathe. The feeling of being thanked by a man who had been assaulted, as we get to the hospital. Those are the moments I remember. It's hard to be an EMT and firefighter, especially in an age like today. I have seen so many horrible car accidents and other incidents, it is hard to process it sometimes but I know I have to keep being a volunteer due to the needs of my community. As an EMT and firefighter, I have met people at their worst and most vulnerable times. I am glad I am there to assist them and make sure they get the care they have been searching for, on scene and then, at a nearby hospital. Being a volunteer makes the firefighting job even more rewarding as I focus on the people that need help and what has to be done, instead of the money. I have been a volunteer with the Berwyn Heights Fire Department for almost four years now. Everytime I decide to go into the firehouse for a shift, I am ready to put my skills to use. I am very proud to use what I have learned in the many classes I have taken through the state of Maryland. Being a volunteer is something I am very proud of and my family supports me all the way. I love my community and I show support by dedicating time to staffing the ambulance and fire trucks on my off time. I am very busy, as a full-time student and part-time worker, but still put time aside to head to the firehouse and help the people in my community. I have learned so much already and I continue to learn everytime I go on a 911 call. After taking an EMT class, I knew more than the average person about the human body. After taking a firefighter 1 class, I was able to identify and use all sorts of tools. After taking a hazardous materials operations class, I was able to react accordingly in case of a hazardous leak or a similar incident. After taking a firefighter 2 class, I knew more than just how to fight fire effectively, I knew how to assist the community in making their residences safer. Throughout all the classes and the four years of my service, I have made so many meaningful connections, with the patients, with the community leaders, with my fellow firefighters and EMTs. Being a volunteer at Berwyn Heights has been such a big part of my life. I even lived at the firehouse last year. I will never regret joining nor will I regret taking risks to save someone’s life.

I have never really known what I wanted to do when I grew up, until a couple years ago. I want to be a police officer. I want this for many reasons. The main one is because I want to help people. Many people are struggling in the world and by being an officer of the law, I will have the power to protect and help people on a wider scale. I will provide my service to the people and will change many individual lives with my actions. Also, being part of the law enforcement system will allow me to bring justice to the people who have been cheated or hurt. There are a lot of horrible humans who populate the earth and I want to help put them behind bars. I find satisfaction in bringing justice to the ones who have been harmed. The job also has a thrilling side, where I can deal with once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I will start my success story by applying to police departments as soon as I graduate college. I would like to start off as a patrol officer, working in the streets. I would then hope to move up to become a detective. Being a police officer will certainly bring purpose to my life.

My favorite hobbies consist of listening to music, watching my favourite shows, drawing and volunteering at my firehouse. There are some moments especially where I feel like music will hype me up or make me feel better. I also like to listen to music as I walk or as I do easy homework to raise my want to successfully complete the activity. I listen to music to express myself. I love watching tv shows because they help me dive into a whole different world than mine. I like to draw because it helps me express how my day has been. Drawing also boosts my confidence. Being a volunteer at my firehouse is very investing. I learn a lot about fighting fire and tools but I am also able to talk to community members and help them deal with a current problem. I use my hobbies to be myself and learn and grow.

Confidence is an attractive trait to employers, schools and any other institution. To me, confidence is the firm trust in oneself to be able to accomplish many different things. Confidence is very important in order to affirm one's presence and general abilities. I would say, in the past year, I have become more confident as I uncovered my real self. I am now more confident in my abilities and in expressing myself. I am also more confident in my body image than I was a couple years ago. I still have to work on being confident as I participate in my college classes full of upperclassmen or in my Italian classes especially, as I try to express my ideas to the best of my ability fully in the Italian language. I try to answer with the utmost confidence and show others at my school that I know what I am doing.

I love doing simple, nice gestures for others. I look for opportunities to be there for others but sometimes I feel like people do not want my help and it makes me sad. I feel warmth in my heart when I hold the door for someone and they are grateful or when I say hello to an old person on the street or when I simply listen to one of my friends rant. At my volunteer firehouse, there is nothing more satisfying than getting a thank you from a patient that I helped and transported in the ambulance. I like to support those who need my help. It does not matter how big or small their request, I want to do something to make it come true. I believe in the good of humanity and I am sure that helping others is a trait that we were meant to have.

To me, the meaning of life is to find one's most valued passions and following them. For example, for me, I am a very family and career oriented person. My family and my career are both aspects of my life that I prioritise. I have promised myself that I will always put my family first and my career second. I will be a dedicated mother while also being a responsible and tough police officer on the streets. I plan to dedicate all my time to being a mother and a cop. In addition, life has no meaning without happiness. The way to be happy in life is to do what you love. It is not worth wasting time on doing things that are not bringing you joy. My family and my future job are my keys to my happiness. I know it. That is my philosophy to live a great and joyful life.

I am grateful for everything that I own. As I take calls on the ambulance, as a volunteer EMT and firefighter, I see a lot of homeless people. They have nothing. They have a couple of clothes and that's it really. They always call us because they are cold and want a bed to sleep in. That's the main reason why homeless people want to go to the hospital. When I see these people, I feel bad for them. I realise that I am lucky: I have a roof over my head, some money, people who love me and care for me. They do not have that. It's sad to see that so we help them with the little we can do and bring them to the hospital. Sometimes I do feel hopeless and I wish I had more. I think back to those who have nothing and I know I should be grateful for what I have.

A couple years ago, when I was applying to colleges, I was set on going to the Air Force academy. I put all my efforts into the application process. I received a nomination letter from one of the Senator and did well in my interview. I had written very detailed essays and had completed everything in a timely manner. The U.S. Air Force Academy was the last school to give me an answer. As I waited, day after day, I stayed hopeful. I was completely devastated when I was told that I had not been accepted. This made me very sad and I wanted to give up on my dream to become an Airwoman. But today, I have changed my mind and I know I can still be in the Air Force. When I graduate college with a bachelor's degree, I plan on becoming a member of the Air Force. I will not let a "no" from the academy bring me down. I will become an Airwoman, whatever it takes.

In the last year, I lived at a fire station. There was a special program where volunteer firefighters could sleep in and spend most of their time riding the ambulance or fire trucks in exchange for free. It was difficult to live there when I had to go to work and school in the morning and ride the apparatus all night. I tried to get sleep whenever I could and use my time wisely to get some homework done but it did not work out as I had expected. It was also hard because some of the members who lived there with me too would not sympathise with my situation and one especially believed that I decided never to help out at the firehouse. He believed that I did not want to clean, cook or do drills with everyone. He blamed me when I would fall asleep early and not help clean the kitchen and dining room at the end of the night. He would blame me when I would not wake up on time to take an ambulance call. He targeted and blamed me for everything that went wrong with the ambulance or at the firehouse. However, I was persistent and I never asked for a break; I pushed through. I would organise my time the best I could with the unexpected nature of emergency calls. Near the end of the year, I was assaulted by the other live-in member who did not like me. I had to endure a long process to bring around consequences. I spoke with the chief and deputy chief. I decided to go to court to deal with this diplomatically. He lost his job but soon found a new one. I lost some of my college money, an easy location to live and the respect of some of the other firefighters at my firehouse. I never deserved this. It was hard on me and I felt like I was in the wrong. I never intended for him to lose his job. We were both deeply affected by this unlawful situation. I do not which that on anyone else. After that incident, I decided I had had enough of living at the firehouse. I knew that place was not good for my physical nor my mental health so I decided to move out. I am now in a much better place. The people at the firehouse are getting used to me again and I am glad to be back for a couple hours a week.

Recently, I have found myself to be more true to my beliefs. When I was younger, like many other teenagers and children, I would always follow others and start believing in what they believed. I looked up to adults and I thought that everything they believed was right. As my parents left me in the United States and they headed off to Sweden, I knew I had to step up my game and mature quickly. In the past couple of years, I have started to know and understand myself better. I lived with at least ten men in a fire station's bunk room for a while. This made me stronger and more independent than I have ever been. I was able to develop my image and grow into the woman I am today due to an unforeseen series of events that occurred whilst I lived there. Now, I always make sure to express my feelings and beliefs toward several specific subjects strongly so others know where I stand on these subjects.

I have a long bucket list which entails mostly trips to various destinations, daring once in a lifetime opportunities and simple but meaningful experiences. My bucket list encompasses all aspects of my life: my younger years, when I get a job and when I start to settle down. I wrote this list in 2020, as soon as I graduated from high school, looking forward to all the wonderful things I can do run the future. There are many items on my list that I have not been close to reaching yet but it mostly has to do with the time consuming nature of college and the current pandemic. I would rather not travel to Tajikistan, Egypt, Sweden, France, Jordan, Australia, Brazil or Romania at the moment but I will go as soon as I can. Out of the 28 items on my list, I have only crossed off two, which I have accomplished in the past year.

I apply creativity in two instances. They usually consist of random problems that I fix with unexpected means and expressing my feelings through drawing. I love challenges and when something gets broken in the house, I like to try and put it back together. If it involves electricity or plumbing, I usually do not try to fix it due to my inexperience in those fields but anything else, I am ready to at leats try. For example, when there is a whole in clothing, I will sow it back. If there is a box falling apart, I will tape it up. I will always try to make it look brand new. I also am very creative when drawing. I draw when I am feeling overwhelmed or very emotional. It helps me express my emotions to the world. I have a very creative mind and I like to put many different art aspects into one masterpiece. For instance, when I had disappointed myself last week, I drew a spider lost on its enormous web.

I have always had trouble studying. I never dedicated much time to reviewing my material and being the most ready possible for an exam or any other important piece of work. It was like that in high school. I still did fine so my mindset grew and I decided that if I paid attention in class, I would not have to study like all the other kids. But when I went to college I continued that mindset. It was not until after I took my first couple of tests my freshmen year that I knew I had chosen a wrong path. I needed to actually start studying. My only problem was I did not know how. I looked on the internet for tips and I found two that work very well for me. They are simple but effective: review notes at the end of the day by reading them out loud and study in 50 minute intervals. I use them all the time now but I still have to actually pay attention in class.

I love nature because it is an amazing place to go to relax and get out of my head after a long day of school. I love nature especially in the fall. I love to look at the nice colorful leaves on the trees. I love the feeling of the nice, cool breeze through my hair as I walk. I love how the temperature is not too hot and not too cold; it is just right. I love to see a little bunny here and there or a young deer. I appreciate nature and I understand how much us, humans, have to take care of it. I take care of nature by recycling so our beautiful planet is covered in less landfills. I also pick up litter in parks and near water sources so the animals do not harm themselves by trying to eat it. I walk when I can so I do not create more unnecessary pollution. I try to do what I can do to help our environment stay healthy and beautiful longer.

There is nothing I wouldn't do for my friends and family. I love to give them gifts and make them happy. I love doing simple, nice gestures for others in general. I look for all opportunities to be there for others. I feel warmth in my heart when I hold the door for someone and they are grateful or when I say hello to an old person on the street or when I simply listen to one of my friends rant. At my volunteer firehouse, there is nothing more satisfying than getting a thank you from a patient that I helped and transported in the ambulance. I like to support those who need my help. It does not matter how big or small their request, I want to do something to make it come true. I am a very kind and open person. I always do the most to brightens someone's day.

Joy is a big part of having a successful life. Joy means doing the things you enjoy doing. There is nothing else that can bring happiness into a room than an activity that someone loves to do. I seek out joy in simple ways: drawing, reading, making memories with my loved ones, drinking coffee, being productive. On a regular day as I go to school or work, I start the day as joyous as I can be by waking up early with lots of time to get ready. First as I wake up, I drink my cup of coffee. Then, I take a nice shower, I do my skin care routine, I dress nicely, I put some makeup. All of this makes me happy and brightens my day. As I head out the door, I get a wonderful hug and kiss from my boyfriend. I leave for the day with a smile on my face and a motivated attitude to make this a great day.

I want to leave behind a legacy of love and ambition for my children and family. I want to be remember as a successful member of my community with a kind heart and a strong passion for justice. There is no better way to be remembered than to help those around me. My past, current and future actions will have an effect on my legacy. I will try to be a humble and caring human being as not to damage my reputation and thus, legacy. Legacies go a long way into history. Legacies have a lot of weight in today's society and people are judged more on who was their ancestors than who they are today. Leaving a legacy impacts the individual and the rest of his or her next generations to come. I will leave a positive image of myself in the world so my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren can be proud of who I was and what I did for the world.

I am a volunteer at the Berwyn Heights Fire Department because I enjoy the feeling of being able to improve someone's day. I love my community and I want to show support when someone is in need. I want to get people out of burning buildings. I want to take vital signs on someone in my community who is not feeling well and make them feel better simply by providing them with the attention and care they need. I want to have conversations with patients as we ride to the hospital in the ambulance as I learn more about their culture or how their day was going. I want to put all my energy into bringing someone back to life with CPR. I want to help old people with their expired carbon monoxide detectors. Every small or big gesture is meaningful to me as a firefighter and EMT. I have made some meaningful connections with some of the patients I have transported in the ambulance. There was this transwoman and she told me all about her business in DC which supports LGBTQ+ rights. She told me all about the money she makes and gives to charities. She also told me about her injury: she was kicked by a horse after a race when her and her friend went to meet the racers. There is also this lady who lives a couple houses down from the station and she calls because she has problems with her kidneys. It is never an issue to go over there and see what I can do for her. Many patients know me because I have helped them when they needed me the most. I started as an EMT at 17 years old but I decided to be a firefighter as well soon after. My card has not been updated but I am a Firefighter/EMT. I love doing both so much. I love it so much that I dedicated a lot of time to it. Even with school and work, I found a way to spend hours at the firehouse, going on calls and hanging out with the other members. I even went to great lengths and lived at the firehouse last year. It's been a big part of my life. I have learned some much in the last three years of being a volunteer. I know more about the human body than I ever did thanks to EMT class. I know how to use all sorts of tools thanks to firefighter 1. I know what to do in case a hazardous material leaks out of a tank thanks to hazmat operations. I enjoy this job because of the opportunities, experiences and knowledge I have gained.

I want to know everything. Last week, I realised that I ask a lot of questions. This is usually a good characteristic to have but as I experienced it last week, I now see that I need to be less questioning especially when it involves something that is not my business. I now only ask questions if necessary in these types of situations. I also learned that I used to be a person who wanted to be liked by everyone but after an unfair situation at my place of volunteering, I found myself to be more mature and accepting the fact that I cannot always be liked. I sustain the murmurs and negative looks from the other firefighters at my volunteer firehouse. I know I was right in fighting back for the wrong situation I was placed in. I do not regret being assertive and not letting a lieutenant ridicule me nor making me feel like I do everything wrong.

There are two simple things that make me happy. It all starts in the morning. I need these two pleasures to help me start the day right. The first one is coffee, obviously (who does not like coffee?!!). A hot and steamy cup of dark roast coffee in the morning is a very important part of my routine. Without it, I feel undetermined and sometimes simply groggy. Coffee is not necessary...but it is powerfully recommended. The second and most important pleasure of my day is waking up next to the love of my life. Some people might say I am too young to know and understand love but I can assure you, he is my world, the highlight of everyday. You see, he works overnight so I usually go to bed without him but when I wake up, he is always there, snoring as usual. That brings such warmth to my heart. I do not think I could accomplish anything without that feeling.

There are two simple pleasures that motivate me to push through the day and achieve so much. It all starts in the morning. I need these two pleasures to help me start the day right. The first one is coffee, obviously (who does not like coffee?!!). A hot and steamy cup of dark roast coffee in the morning is a very important part of my routine. Without it, I feel undetermined and sometimes simply groggy. Coffee is not necessary...but it is powerfully recommended. The second and most important pleasure of my day is waking up next to the love of my life. Some people might say I am too young to know and understand love but I can assure you, he is my world, the highlight of everyday. You see, he works overnight so I usually go to bed without him but when I wake up, he is always there, snoring as usual. That brings such warmth to my heart. I do not think I could accomplish anything without that feeling.

The most inspiring book I have ever read would have to be Hoot by Carl Hiassen. The book starts with two completely different stories. As the plot thickens, the stories collide and the reader finally starts to understand how the two stories go hand in hand. This book has always been one fo my favorites due to the caring nature of the main character, Roy Eberhardt. Some construction is being done on what seems to be a deserted field but Roy finds tiny burrow owls there when he gets his foot stuck in a hole in the ground. He decides that the barefoot kid was right and that they need to stop the demolition of the owls' homes. Roy and the other boy make a plan. They eventually stop the project and save the owls. As a child, this book always made me dream of doing so many great things when I grew up.

I would say my best skill is actively listening. Everyone can listen but most people decide not to use their ears effectively or they divert their attention due to a conscious or subconscious reason. The way I listen is an important tool in my life. I am known for being very attentive and remembering many things I hear. I have other skills like being able to play the trombone or drawing animals or doing a circus trick with devil sticks but I do not consider them to be the most essential. I would say I am an auditory learner. This helps me invest myself when teachers talk during a lecture or when my friends tell me their problems. I learn a lot from just paying attention and listening. There is no way for me to really improve my listening skills. But listening does improve my knowledge. Active listening is my skill. What's yours?

I love doing simple, nice gestures for others. I look for opportunities to be there for others but sometimes I feel like people do not want my help and it makes me sad. I feel warmth in my heart when I hold the door for someone and they are grateful or when I say hello to an old person on the street or when I simply listen to one of my friends rant. At my volunteer firehouse, there is nothing more satisfying than getting a thank you from a patient that I helped and transported in the ambulance. I like to support those who need my help. It does not matter how big or small their request, I want to do something to make it come true. I believe in the good of humanity and I am sure that helping others is a trait that we were meant to have.

In 2021, I lived at a fire station with a special program. I would get free housing in exchange for riding the ambulance or fire trucks. It was difficult to live there when I had to go to work and school in the morning and ride the apparatus all night. I tried to get sleep whenever I could and use my time wisely to get some homework done but it did not work out as I had expected. I never asked for a break and pushed through. I would organise my time the best I could with the unexpected nature of emergency calls. Near the end of the year, I was assaulted by one of the other live-in members. That is when I decided I had had enough. I knew that place was not good for my physical nor my mental health so I decided to move out. I am now in a much better place.

1. A while back, I was walking around my neighborhood with my sister and we went inside the community center. There was an art exhibit in a room across the hall. I asked her to go with me. There were many frames and some sculptures. I looked at each of them with curiosity trying to decipher their intended meaning. I knew I would never know what the artist was explaining when he or she made this art but I assigned a message to each that I thought fit perfectly. This was the day I realised that art, in any shape or form, is to be interpreted differently by different people. since this day, I have been inspired to make art. It brings me joy and gives me purpose in life. 2. My favorite teacher in high school was Mr.McRae and he taught algebra 2. I never liked math before that class but my teacher brought me to see math in its complete beauty. At first this math class was like any other, full of gibberish and complicated. I took my first test and completely failed. I did not accept that grade and I asked for retake. I went home and studied for hours. The day came where I had to take the exam once more. I felt at ease when taking the test as I realised what I had done wrong the first time around. Finally, I got my grade. I received a nearly perfect score. Once I understood, how math worked, it became my art, in a sense. I enjoyed the class so much, I wanted to do the homework. I spent hours writing the problems and making sense of them. I learned so much from Mr.McRae but the most important was to be persistent in my studies and in my life. 3. Art is a reflective aspect of the environment of a community. Art can be photography, drawing, painting, sculpting, designing, anything that brings out character. It is expressive and unites those who lives together. Art forms in a specific community, displayed outside or inside main buildings such as the library or community center, reflect the ideals of those living in that town or city. Art can be used to bring joy to those who are missing a loved one or to those who are feeling sick and/or depressed. Art can be used to express the most sincere remorse and sadness unlike any words can. Art can brighten a dimly room or enhance a colorful college dorm. Art means so much and does so much for those who get to experience it. 4. I have failed several times like many people before (and after) me. Failure is a part of life. Failure makes the most arrogant of us humble and helps guide us as we uncover our meaning of life. Failure is an expected and essential part of being a human being. My most meaningful failure was when I was denied the admissions into the United States Air Force academy. I had gone through the whole admission process. I did paperwork, wrote essays, went to interviews but at the end, they did not want me. I was very disappointed in the moment and I started thinking I just was not good enough. Today, I have come to peace with it. I do not see it as a waste because I learned a lot about myself and application systems. I mostly draw but I also take some pictures and below I have attached my most prized works. My model for the art is my dog, Caramel. I have always found her to be an appealing subject and her cuteness grabs people's attention.

The piece of art that I have always wondered about is not popular and most people will not even know which masterpiece I am discussing. My great grandfather was an artist. His painting of a bouquet of flowers has always brought me so much joy. The painting is not complete but that adds to my fondness of it. I plan on finishing it one day. The painting will present itself with flowers of a deep red, a soft background of nude tones and a perfect contrast with the plain background. My great grandfather died when I was very little. My great grandmother's house was filled with his paintings and I loved looking at them each time I visited. It reminded me that his memory was still with us. He gave me inspiration through his art forms. Even though I did not know him very much, I still felt connected to him in some way. I wanted to be as wonderful a painter as he was. My dream job has now changed but I continue to express myself through drawing and painting.

It took me a long time to figure out in what direction I wanted to take my studies and ambitions. I had decided, at an early age, to follow in my grandfather's footsteps and become a painter. I found inspiration in all of his paintings. Then, a couple years back, I became interested by insects and believed I could find a job within the entomology department. It was not until my senior year of high school that I knew what my future would hold for me. I decided to head on an adventurous path. Becoming a police officer became my primary goal and I dived into my Criminal Justice studies head on. I am so thankful to have found my ultimate purpose early in life. I did not have to linger and wait for a couple years of college to pass by to figure out my major of interest. I am so excited for the future. I chose to study Criminal Justice and Criminology as to learn more about the police, the courts and the correctional facilities. I am very intrigued by those three phenomena and want to understand the varied ways to go through the justice system. I am also minoring in Italian as a way to demonstrate my perseverance in foreign language aspects. I have been studying Italian since my freshmen year in high school but it is still sometimes challenging. I want to become fluent. This will make me trilingual. I am sure my knowledge of multiple languages will come in handy when I go on patrol. I plan to use what I have learned throughout my three years of college to make changes. But this will not be any change. I want to improve the training methods of the police department and make sure that "accidents" involving police officers decrease and eventually stop altogether. Some police officers are problematic and that is a fact but there are the other ones who do the right thing and represent their department the best the can. With improved training sessions and methods, the problem cops will be uncovered and the department will take action before they can wreck more havoc. There are already active systems within police departments that target suspicious activity, such as Early Intervention Systems. I want to help develop new tools that will make officers responsible and those who bring problems, I hope they understand that what they are doing and the way they are treating citizens is wrong.

One year ago, I moved in to a firehouse, free of charge. In exchange, I was to ride the ambulance all day and all night. I was excited at first for all the things I would see and the experiences I would endure but it slowly started changing as I headed back to school in-person. I was living there during my spring 2021 semester and it was good because all my classes were online but once the next fall semester arrived, that is when I started falling into a toxic relationship with my body and my soul. I would go to school during the day and as soon as I got back, we would get hammered with calls. I was only guaranteed three hours of sleep a night and when I was opening at my job in the morning, it usually was only one hour. I started being mad all the time, I did not care about my health, I did not care about school and my grades. All I cared about was sleeping. My sleep schedule was at its worst in history. I could not keep my eyes open on calls nor in class. It was bad. And then, one night, I was assaulted by one of the other members who lived in the bunkroom because he was mad that I had missed the tones for a call. This was the point where I decided: 'I'm done.' Since the day I moved out, I have been able to get my sleep back on track and I am slowly working on getting my old self back.

The best way to live a long and healthy life is to like what you do. For example, if you have a job you do not like, then you are always sad and depressed because you despise the time that will come where you have to go back to work. On the other hand, if you like the job, you will be excited and determined to get more done once there. To live a long and healthy life you need to focus not only on your physical health but your mental health as well. Being in perfect harmony with your mind and soul helps you feel connected to your career pursuits and future accomplishments. Life can be hard at time, especially when you face a major failure, but the key is to not give up. When keeping your mind healthy, you will be able to get back on track and accept the failure as a lesson. I have faced a situation like this before: as I applied for schools last year, I was so excited to become an Air Force cadet. However, they did not accept me. It made me sad but with a healthy mind, I was able to accept it and move on. I am now at the University of Maryland and my life is going well. I am glad that my past landed me here.

I hope to impact the world in terms of public safety. I hope that as a current EMT and firefighter, I can save those in distress. In the future, I hope that as a police officer, I can bring justice to the victims and their families. One person can have such a lasting impact on the world. They do not have to be famous and known throughout the globe, like Micheal Jackson or Marilyn Monroe. To leave a powerful impact on the globe, an individual must pursue his or her dreams while being faithful to his or her values. This person must interact with those around them and make their job a way to target change. I will use my voice as a police officer to change the current negative views of law enforcement by fixing requirement training standards and by developing new technologies in order to increase accountability within the department.

Any act of service, no matter how small, can make a difference in somebody's life. A few acts of kindness that I follow everyday are simple. I open doors for others or hold the door for someone behind me. I feel like this simple gesture puts a smile on anyone's face and it always makes me happy to have given a little kindness to someone I barely know. I also love to donate clothes to charities or thrift stores. I know that there are many people in the world who are homeless and poor. These donations can help them, especially in the colder months. I also love to send letters or emails to my friends and family that I have not seen in a while. I send at leats two letters a week to my pen pal. I call my dad and my mom whenever they are free to ask they are doing and to tell them more about what is going on in my life. Throughout the day, I make sure to do one act of service. I hope this gesture makes someone's day better.

I have never been much of a public speaker nor of a know-it-all, blabbermouth, and whatever else you would like to call it. On the other hand, I have always found listening to be my best quality. It is through listening that I show empathy for those going through tough times. It is also through listening that I grasp the mathematical and lyrical concepts my teachers throw at me in the gigantic lecture hall. It is through listening that I can enjoy music and any other form of auditory art. Listening has been a very important tool that I have use very often. Listening is taken for granted by so many around me. I know that blind people appreciate it. I appreciate it too. However, not to the point that those lacking vision do. I emphasise with those who have never experienced the powers of listening. I do not think I would be who I am today without this special skill.

I am very passionate about drawing and painting. I started drawing when I was about 5 years old. I would color everything and decorate everything in the apartment, even the walls. As a young child, I dreamed of becoming an artist and displaying my art on the walls of a gallery. I continued drawing into my teen years, getting better and better. I would dedicate most of my free time to applying myself and expressing what I was feeling on the papers in front of me. I even dreamed of one day, being able to finish the incomplete masterpiece my grandfather left before he died. Those pink and red flowers on the light canvas have always tempted me. I miss him so much and I hope I could have learned his art through him. However, he passed away before I was old enough to ask. The art of drawing and painting will remain with me until my very last breath.

I have many goals that I hope to achieve in my lifetime. I hope to finish my education in the next year and a half. After much hardwork and perseverance, I hope to see my name on the parchment background of a college diploma. After that, I have most of my career planned out. I want to either start applying for police departments in the area or some out of state. The first one who chooses me, I will accept their offer and start my policing career there. I hope to move to another state at some point in my life but I am not sure which one yet, considering I can transfer effectively without starting from point zero. I have seen enough of Maryland and would love to discover Pennsylvania or Arizona or any state in between. In terms of my personal life, I plan on getting married in the next two years and settle down soon after. Taking into consideration being financially stable, I hope to start a family no later than fifteen years from now. I plan to balance my life between family and work very well. I will be a fair and tough cop on the streets during the day and a caring mother in the evenings. After a long life lived, visits to many countries and so many cherished experiences, I will retire and move to Italy to enjoy the years that remain.

There are two simple pleasures that motivate me to push through the day and achieve so much. It all starts in the morning. I need these two pleasures to help me start the day right. The first one is coffee, obviously (who does not like coffee?!!). A hot and steamy cup of dark roast coffee in the morning is a very important part of my routine. Without it, I feel undetermined and sometimes simply groggy. Coffee is not necessary...but it is powerfully recommended. The second and most important pleasure of my day is waking up next to the love of my life. Some people might say I am too young to know and understand love but I can assure you, he is my world, the highlight of everyday. You see, he works overnight so I usually go to bed without him but when I wake up, he is always there, snoring as usual. That brings such warmth to my heart. I do not think I could accomplish anything without that feeling.

Giving back is one of the most simple things that brings me joy. It is hard to find gifts for my friends and family sometimes but when I put my mind to it, I will find the most amazing presents possible. I am not sure if they will adore the gift and if they do not it makes me sad. I spent hours looking for the most ideal gift worth giving. This is how much I care. I would rather buy and give than receive. I find my most valuable present in making the ones around me happy. When it comes to neighbors or community members, which I know less than my own family, I give to them through an online group. When I find something in my closet that I do not use anymore, I post it online, hoping someone will want it and will use it more than I ever did. Everything I give on that platform is free. I even sometimes make the effort to go drop the item off at my neighbor's house instead of them having to take a trip, even if they do not live close at all.

I was never big on stocks, bitcoin and investments until a couple of months ago. I started with no previous knowledge of how the system really worked. What I knew was that investing was a risk and I was sure I could make a lot of money if I took the time to learn. I would say the one investing tip that has stuck with me since I started investing is be optimistic. Investments go up and down all the time. When you plan on investing, you have to be confident that you will make profit off of the money (and time) you put in. It does sound like a very simple tip but it is one that has kept me from stressing out when stocks would decrease. I am grateful to have learned from my few experiences and I hope to learn more about investments as I continue my pursuit in this intriguing world.

I would risk my life to save another. I love my community and I want to be the most helpful possible. I have been a volunteer at Berwyn Heights Fire Department for two years now. I have dedicated a lot of my time to be there and help those who call the ambulance or the firetrucks. When you become a volunteer firefighter, it takes a lot of training and work; just like doing this as a career firefighter. There are many classes that volunteers need to take. The main ones are Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), which lasts about four months, Firefighter 1 and Hazardous Materials Operations. There are many other classes: some are needed to be able to drive the ambulance or the firetrucks, others are available for us to learn more and be better at that we do. We have a special program where individuals can decide to live at the firehouse. It's one of the best ways to save money and get a lot of experience in the field. When I used to live there, I would spend at most 120 hours a week helping out and "staffing". No matter what you are doing, if you are sleeping, eating, showering, if there is a call you have to go. I went on so many calls during the year that I lived there. It resulted in about 1,000 calls, including all the false alarms. During all these runs, I learned how to be a better provider and how to handle death, disease, stress, fire and so much more. I have seen a lot for my age and that has made me wiser already. My most significant take away is that people are not always going to be easy to deal with but helping them is worth it. Some people will not want our help but at least, we will have tried. I have had to deal with rude patients, drunk patients, high patients. Some of them would fight back but in our protocols, because they were altered and no one else was there to assume a caretaker position over them, we were forced to take them. Some of these patients were so violent we had to ask the local police department to ride with us to the hospital. It was never fun to deal with people like that but I accepted it because I knew it was the right thing to do.

My all-time favorite film is Logan. It is one of the last X-Men movies made. It follows Logan, the Wolverine, throughout his search of identity. He was turned into the Wolverine by a scientist but does not remember his past. In looking for answers, he discovers a young girl that has similar claws as well as lacks knowledge of her past. As he delves deeper into the hunt for this mysterious man who made him, he finds out that other mutants were created by scientist Zander Rice. The Wolverine is portrayed as a selfless being as soon as he realizes what is at play. I enjoyed this movie because it was adventurous, mysterious and heartwarming all in one.

Being fit looks different for everyone. The only way to decide what fit looks like to you is to experiment with foods, exercise and activities. Staying fit does not only encompass physical health but mental health as well as a good relationship with food. I have never been very picky about anything but when I started getting older I realized there were foods I liked and those I did not. I figured out that in life, you need to be able to control your cravings but also satisfy them when your body is telling you it is hungry. You need to figure out which foods are worth the calories and which foods you need for your body to stay feeling the best. I am not actually a big dessert fan but I do love a good cake or some dark chocolate after a nutritious dinner. I drink coffee every morning, hot or cold. I also love most fruits and vegetables. I eat red meat most of the time and drink plenty of water. For exercise, I enjoy biking around my neighborhood, weightlifting and walking on the treadmill. There are many benefits that I have achieved by staying fit. Living at a firehouse is very stressful and keeping my head and body in check has many positives. I need to be focused and energetic during the day. Food and coffee help me meet those standards. I need to stay strong so I can save someone stuck under a car, break open doors and much more. I need to stay mentally healthy because doing this kind of work can be hard on the mind at times. I stay fit to help others as well as myself.

My grandmother has depression. I have never seen it with my very own eyes, either because I did not want to believe it or simply because she hid it from my sister and I. My mom would tell me stories of her childhood when she would get verbally abused by my grandmother. My mom said it was hard but she knew it was because of her illness. My mom would get torn over the fact that her own mother would make fun of her weight and the way she looked. My mom told me she was forced to take care of her little brother when her mom was having one of her depressive phases. She also said her mom would sleep a lot during the day and she would claim she was tired all the time. It was definitely hard on my mom, I can tell when she starts talking about her past. As a volunteer EMT, I have seen situations where family members with depression are acting irrationally. I remember a specific call for a man in his fifties who was hitting his kids and calling his wife a liar just because he was in a depressive mood. The man was denying anything his family said and he rejected our help. I felt bad for the family because it reminded me of my mother and her own mother. I was able to talk to the wife and listen to her as well as provide her with some options. People with mental illnesses usually are not being mean on purpose; they just need help. But most of them do not know how to ask for help or how they can be helped. All they need is support from family members. Mental illness is a topic that needs to be more widely discussed. Talking and listening will go a long way.

I have never had a specific role model in my childhood for every aspect of life. I have just always looked up to women who did amazing things, those who changed the world or defied the norms of society. I have enjoyed listening to my favorite trombone player, Melba Liston, and followed in her footsteps. I am on my ninth year now. I have enjoyed watching many wonderful actresses on screen such as Helena Bonham Carter and Halle Berry. I wanted to be an actress at some point in my childhood and they were my main source of support. I have looked up to famous painters for inspiration. My great grandfather was one of them, even though he wasn’t a woman. I have trained to be like Abby Wambach and other female soccer players to prove to the world, especially my hometown that soccer is not only for boys. I played for six years. I have felt honored to be amongst the girls who participated in the first Maryland state wrestling championship. I have been honored to work alongside the EMS duty officer on a call not too long ago. But honestly speaking, my main role model throughout my life has been my mother. I might not stand out, amongst all the others who say that but I know why I admire my mother. She was able to move to a new country without anyone from her hometown and learn to adapt to the environment there. She was able to raise two daughters by herself, with a little help here and there, of course. She was able to work for so long at the job she loved but with people she couldn't stand at points; she didn't give up on her dream to work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) just because of the people there. She was never like other girls or women; she had something special in her. She liked different types of music than others and she behaved differently. She has helped me understand the importance of doing what you love but also dealing with the negative parts in a good sort of way. She has helped me reach my goals and continues to push me to achieve what I put my mind to. She has not always been present in my life as she left to different countries for her job and now she’s in Sweden but I still admire her for that. Her and I, we did not have a good relationship at times; we would argue every time we opened our mouths but I admire the fact that we dealt with that and now are on better terms. Through my eighteen years of living, I have realized one thing, my mother is a strong figure and she has and will help me no matter what. She has pushed me to become whatever I want and follow my deepest desires. She has shown me how to be daring, compassionate and motivated. She has shown me how to enter the reality of the world headstrong. She has taught me well.

When I was told I had not been accepted, it was a real shock to me. I had gone through every step. I had reread everything I wrote. I had rechecked my information. I had pestered my teachers for recommendations. I had prepared physically and mentally for the obstacles to come as a member of the Air Force Academy but alas, I was rejected like so many others. Sometimes, I still think back on why I hadn’t been chosen to be one of the new cadets of class of 2024. I had motivation and the grades. What else did they need from me? Sometimes, I still wonder what I could have done better to get at the level that they wanted or expected me to be. I, now, realize that it was fate that I was banned from going to Colorado and remained in Maryland. I, now, see all the good things I would've missed if I had gone far from home. My failure to be accepted into the Air Force program left me here, an eighteen year old girl trying to figure out what to do with my life. This failure has helped me continue my rise in the fire department, at which I have volunteered for almost two years now. If I had left, I would never have finished my Emergency Medical Technician class. I would never have received my EMT certification. I would also have never met the people I have here and the experiences I have lived here: I lived at a college dorm, I explored new clubs, I took some interesting college classes, I have become an ambulance aid, I have seen a dead person, I have become friends with people across the world through school. My failure, one of the biggest failures of my life, according to myself, has brought me a new perspective on life. I, now, know that I want to earn a bachelor’s in criminology and criminal justice. I, now, know I want to become a police officer and maybe later a detective. I, now, know what kind of person I want to be in this world, all because of my failure.

For the past eighteen years I have been alive, I have experienced the difficulty that physical strength in women inhibits in other members of the community. Most people might not see this as such a great adversity as there are way worse types of problems but this is something that still happens in society today and needs to end. Since the very early days, men were the breadwinners, the ones with muscle, the ones with strength, the ones with the power. They lead society and women were there to help raise families and take care of the house. Years went by and strong women, both physically and mentally, have become more common in everyday life. The views towards this subject have always been a little vague in my opinion. I would not say I am a particularly muscular individual but I do consider myself to be strong in many different ways. Women with prominent muscle structures are looked down upon by older generations for unknown reasons. I personally think it is because the older women are jealous that they were never able to attain that level. Some of the generations of nowadays think brawny women are ugly; their muscles cover their external beauties and do not compliment their bodies. On the other hand, many people judge when women cannot carry heavy objects or cannot do manual labor. They need to request help from a male figure, which shows their weakness. Society initially states that women should be strong without showing any type of bulging muscle. I have always been confused on this subject. Society is setting so many restrictions for women and they are very strict in the simple fact that they cannot be attained. People think I am weak and I enjoy proving them wrong when I carry my heavy bag down from the shelf or when I raised a twenty-four foot ladder all by myself. These challenges help me build character and develop my personality. I will never let anyone, especially men, think I am a weak individual. I know women all over the world are fighting for their equality to men. The female population is growing stronger and they are not backing down. I continue going to the weight room no matter what the boys in there think. I bench press a small amount compared to the boys but I will continue and as I increase the weight, I get closer and closer to my goal. I might be a “small” woman but I am not weak. I will never let anyone judge me or any other women based on their physical appearance; strength does not only come with muscle, it is a symbol of perseverance and courage, determination and integrity, mindfulness and understanding. These challenges have kept me on my feet; they have pushed me to not give up; they have made me the best possible. Today, I am a strong woman and I encourage all others to raise up and continue looking and feeling their best, ignoring all negative comments on their appearance or in this case, their muscle.

This is a picture of me in my firefighter uniform. I am a volunteer EMT/Firefighter at a station close to my house. I am currently going through a regimen of training in order to become a nationally certified firefighter. For now, I help save people who are having health problems. Even though infection control is a very important part of the job, EMTs are exposed to many infectious or communicable diseases. We also face hazardous materials in some situations and violent people. However, nothing will stop me and many others from pursuing our dreams and helping the people in need.