Movies and books have always had a very large impact on my life. My dad has always been into movies for as long as I can remember and as a result, my sister and I have watched all kinds of movies ranging from action to rom-coms, with action movies having the largest overall impact on my life. Mission Impossible, James Bond, and the many Batman movies all have that one leading character that can do anything with the help of a few friends. The leads are disciplined and knowledgeable about the world in a way that makes them very respected and I have always looked up to them. My primary goal is to become a C-17 pilot for the U.S. Air Force and to do so I will need to have outstanding grades and discipline all through college. Through characters like Ethan Hunt, James Bond, and Bruce Wayne, I know that to be the best you have to be motivated and disciplined in all aspects of your life, and while I know I am nowhere near their level of discipline I always try to push myself in the right direction. Of all the books I have read, the series that impacted my goals the most was Harry Potter. When I was reading Harry Potter for the first time I was very inspired by Harry's bravery and determination to do everything he could to defeat Voldemort while saving the most people possible, even when that meant sacrificing himself. He showed me that even when you are not ready to face a challenge that comes your way if you persevere and allow the people you trust to help you, everything will work out the way it's supposed to. After reading the series I expanded my military goals to include forming lasting relationships with people that bring me up and help me grow, not people that hold me back. This year I am a senior in high school and since I started high school in 2020 I have joined the National Honor Society; Civil Air Patrol, which is an auxiliary volunteer program to the U.S. Air Force; I participated in track and cross country, and I discovered my love for aviation and reading. I have also always valued learning highly, with my favorite subjects being literature and science. Through my education, I hope to help as many people as I can. When I am a part of the Air Force as an officer in a leadership position, I will need to be knowledgeable about what I am doing so I can fly and serve my country to the best of my ability. After the Air Force, I would like to join the Civil Air Patrol as a Senior Member so that I can use my aerospace knowledge to help educate the youth of the future and help them in the same ways the adults in Civil Air Patrol are helping me now. There would be no better way to use my education than to help the next generation and I am excited for that time to come.

My future self is a strong and confident C-17 pilot for the Air Force that is not afraid to advocate for herself especially when others are pushing her down.

For the past five years, I have been very interested in joining the Air Force. My dad and several of my other family members that I look up to were a part of different military branches and I always wanted to take after them. Although I never knew what I would want to do once I could join the Air Force. I could not find a job that seemed like it would be a good fit for me for quite some time. Then I was introduced to an organization called the Civil Air Patrol. Now, for the past two years, I have been a part of the Civil Air Patrol, which is an auxiliary to the Air Force that emphasizes the importance and education of aerospace, leadership, respect, and volunteer service. When I first joined it was only the military aspect that intrigued me. Aerospace did not initially appeal to me but the more I learned about it through our lessons, aviation became something I wanted to do and eventually became the only career I could see myself doing even outside of the military. The first time I remember considering aviation as a career was right after I got to try a flight simulator with a yolk and foot pedals at one of our weekly Civil Air Patrol meetings. What really ended up pushing me though was being able to hear the experiences of real Air Force pilots and how they got to travel the world through flying. Another part of Civil Air Patrol that greatly benefited me was the heavy emphasis on building leaders. I have always tended to be a more quiet person that would rather follow than lead but I was pushed out of my comfort zone in this area after I joined. Recently in our squadron, a lot of seniors holding leadership positions graduated and moved on. This left me and a few other cadets to take up all their old positions and I am now a sergeant for one of our flights. This means I have to tell the cadets where to go, I teach them how to drill and march, and I help them learn everything they need to. The Air Force and Civil Air Patrol by extension have always believed that leaders are not born, but made and that anyone can become a leader through training. I agree with this sentiment and have used it to guide me when I feel like I should not be leading or that I am not ready. As a sergeant now, I speak up and communicate very well with my flight and I always make sure to check in with them to see where they think they can improve but also where I can improve. I also always make sure I am very well informed about what I need to be teaching them so that they are always getting accurate information. I know that I am not a perfect leader but I am always doing the best job I can and do everything possible to make sure I am growing to become a stronger leader each day.

If I was sorted into any of the Hogwarts houses I would definitely be a Hufflepuff. My greatest strengths are my fierce loyalty to those that I love, my strong sense of empathy, my selflessness, and my kindness which are all prevalent traits in true Hufflepuffs. My loyalty is most apparent when regarding my closest friends; one of whom is liked by some but hated by most, due to her unapologetic nature and the rumors that follow her everywhere. When people talk badly about her, even though I dislike confrontation and tend to be very shy, I always defend her and try to dispel any rumors that would hurt her. All of my friends will get my loyalty until I am taken advantage of or my trust is broken. My ability to empathize with others is one of the traits that I like most about myself. Empathy coupled with kindness allows me to understand people and give chances to people that the majority would not have given a second glance. Sometimes I allow my kindness to become a weakness and overextend myself but I would rather have my kindness occasionally become a weakness than not have enough of it. Another integral aspect of my character is my strong sense of justice and a desire for fairness in all areas. Nothing makes me more upset than when someone is treated or punished unfairly. It extends to the point that when I watch movies and read books where something unfair happens I can not stop thinking about how things should have gone differently especially when the person in the wrong is not punished but an innocent person is. Also, no matter what field I go into I always was to find a way to help other people. Whether it be getting out of my comfort zone and stepping up as a leader to help a group, or working one on one with someone to help them learn something I always want to find ways to help people grow. One place that I do this now is within one of my military-related extracurriculars. Leadership is a heavily emphasized value in this group and while I am not always comfortable stepping up I try my best to make sure the people below me are benefiting from and understanding what I am teaching them. While there will occasionally be times that I embody the traits of a Slytherin or a Ravenclaw, I am proud to say that the majority of my values put me in the Hufflepuff house.

When I was in 8th grade I started to get interested in joining the Air Force. My dad had been in the Air Force and I wanted to follow in his footsteps but I was not sure what I wanted to do in the Air Force yet. Then through doing cross country, I met a girl who once a week, missed practice to go to Civil Air Patrol. I did not know what it was at the time but she explained to me that it was an auxiliary to the Air Force that teaches you about aerospace, leadership, and respect among other military core values. I started going regularly and it became clear all the other cadets were interested in either flying or space-related career fields. Then as I started learning more about aviation and flying I got more invested in our aerospace lessons. For one aerospace lesson, our senior members had gotten a reserves Air Force pilot to come in and talk about his experience. He talked about how he got to fly several different kinds of planes, all passenger, and that while he was flying he got to travel to so many places he would have never had the opportunity to see otherwise. I have always been passionate about traveling and after hearing him speak I started to realize that flying might be a career I would enjoy. Pretty soon aviation became the only career I could ever picture myself doing, even outside of the Air Force. Now it has been a little over a year that I have been focused on pursuing aviation, and I have been planning my life after high school accordingly. After I graduate, I want to attend Metropolitan State University of Denver and pursue a Bachelor's in Aviation and Aerospace Science. Also while in college I want to participate in the ROTC program offered to prepare me for my Air Force career. Upon getting my degree I plan to join the Air Force as an officer where I will be an active duty pilot for 10 years. It is my dream to fly C-17s, and I want to do everything possible to ensure I will be able to fly them. For this to happen, I will need to have the highest grades possible because you choose your planes in the Air Force based on class rank as I understand it. After I leave the Air Force I want to become a pilot for Southwest Airlines where I will fly Boeing 737s and I hope to fly as an airline pilot until it is time for me to retire.