The Moon and the Ocean fell in love. The moon, who will rise in darkness, to watch over the ocean. And the ocean and his tides, who reach for the moon trying to kiss her dearly. Of attraction and force, theirs is inevitable, certain to occur when the stars scatter across the heavens. Because the moon loves the ocean in all his wrath and glory. His storms and tranquility, the ocean is a guardian. Bound by duty to serve life, burdened by his divine purpose. And the moon is his asylum. His waves calm under her presence as he worships her like a goddess. For his rage vanishes when he catches glimpse of her brilliant aura, which lights up a sky so gloomy. And he feels at peace. Their destinies have been intertwined with one another since their creation. Two of a whole, the moon and the ocean are. The moon weeps when she sees herself reflected in the waters of the ocean, as beautiful as ever. "Through my eyes", the ocean told her. And they will long for one another until the moon is cold and the ocean is nothing but a drop. Until the sun burns out and the earth withers away, and the stars fade into the never-ending galaxy. "As long as my moondust wanders the cosmos", she said, "and as long as your vapor dissolves into the universe, a part of me will always be searching for a part of you."

My name is Angelie Sharma and my favorite Disney character is Mulan. Growing up, Mulan was my favorite Disney movie because it portrayed a princess that was different from the rest of them. Most princesses wore crowns and dresses, but Mulan is a fighter. Mulan is selfless, brave, and broke the patriarchal stereotypes that were bestowed upon women at the time. Because of this, she became a role model to millions of little girls. Mulan showed them that women and men are equal; that women are just as brave, resilient, and as strong as them. She worked hard and instead of being the good bride that her family and the town expected her to be, she became the hero that saved China from the Huns. She shows large amounts of bravery when leaving her parents’ home to take her father’s place in the draft in the first place. She broke many stereotypes when she disguised herself as a man to go to war, which is something that only men typically did while women and children stayed at home, safe. Then, when Li Shang’s troops were surrounded by the Huns, Mulan swept in to save the day after her careful analysis of her surroundings, which led to the entire enemy army being buried alive. She pushed herself beyond her boundaries and went outside of her comfort zone as she learns that women are just as worthy of men of being on the battlefield. As well as breaking stereotypes, Mulan does not let herself be defined by her beauty. In order to join the army, she had to hide the traits that made her appear feminine and broke the misogynistic idea that Disney princesses are pretty objects to please princes (as portrayed in Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and Beauty and the Beast). This means that Li Shang did not fall in love with Mulan for her looks; he fell in love with her heart, her personality, her soul. And when she fell in love, she allowed for herself to go back to living the simple life rather than bask in the glory of being the hero of China. Amongst her success and popularity, she managed to remain grounded and true to herself; she didn’t let the fame change her.

My dream career is to become a lawyer so that I can help people get the justice they deserve, or protect them from unjust and false accusations. As a woman of color, it’s important to me that everyone, no matter the color of their skin, is treated equally under the law. Recently, there have been many cases of people of color being forced to serve an unreasonable amount of time in prison for crimes that or considered minor. There have also been hate crimes centered around minorities, especially Asians; but because the accused is a white person, they are not given a fair, lengthy punishment. By becoming a lawyer, I will be doing what I can for those who have been falsely accused or wrongfully convicted of a crime. I will be pushing to make sure that the law is applied to everyone fairly. I am going to be a first year college student. I took a criminal justice class my junior year of high school, and I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. After years of being pressured to decide what career I’d want to do for the rest of my life, I realized that I want to do something in the criminal justice field. After learning and reading about various Supreme Court cases, I find it intriguing how the law and Constitution can be interpreted in so many different ways, depending on one’s views, beliefs, and background. I also find some cases to be disheartening, as there are many where the accused was later found innocent, yet they had already spent a majority of their life in jail. Many of the falsely accused also happened to be people of color. Those who are given relatively lighter sentences to no sentence at all are disproportionately white. After hearing their stories, I decided that I wanted to become a lawyer. From books that I have read, I have learned that people of color are more likely to be accused of crime because of the stereotypes that others have made up. These people of color are also the ones who are struggling to get by. When they cross a border, instead of being given a fresh start on life, away from the conflicts of their home country, they are sent to a detention center. There, they are horribly treated, and the government uses this power to continue their abuse of human beings. By becoming a lawyer, I will do everything in my power to assure that the government does not abuse their power and send people to prison because of their underlying racism and implicit bias.