Is it everybody or every body? For me, is it every BODY matters. Each and every person matters. Brown hair. Purple hair. Red hair. Number one in the class. Number four hundred and one in the class. Autism. Down syndrome. ADHD. "Normal." I cautiously type the word "normal." What is normal and does it even exist? And, to be honest, who cares? Your normal is different from my normal. My normal includes so many different types of people and they all have meaning and they all have purpose. I lead my life by example and hope others will follow. For the last 5 years, I have dedicated a lot of my time volunteering with individuals with intellectual and developmental differences. Do they think they are 'different?' Do they think that they have to sit back and watch and not participate in 'normal' activities? Our job as a society is to make everyone feel worthy. Everyone feel and have purpose. It is our job to affect positive change in our community. This starts with the treatment of others. This starts with treating every BODY with respect no matter what challenges they may have. During my time volunteering, I have seen children with autism thrive when swimming in a pool or participating sensory play. I have seen children and adults with Down syndrome laugh hysterically at my awful jokes and fish like a rock star. I have seen children and adults with cerebral palsy participate in cooking and arts and crafts projects. And, the whole time, everyone felt worthy. Everyone felt special. Everyone felt 'normal.' Take the step in making a positive change as I have done. It starts with self respect and respect for others. It starts with treating every BODY like their lives have meaning and purpose.

Black vs White. Democrat vs Republican. To wear a mask vs to not wear a mask. Vaccine vs No Vaccine. The Election. All of this contributes to the biggest problem facing the world right now. But does it have to be a problem? No, no it doesn't. We live in the United States for a reason. We live in the United States for freedom. We live in the United States to live our lives the way that we chose. With all of this, the biggest problem is lack of respect. Lack of respect for others, the way they live, the way they think, they way the navigate through this world, is our biggest problem right now. A lack of respect comes in a variety of forms and, since March of 2020, I have witnessed it more than I care to admit. From the public, from family members, from classmates, from strangers. You don't like to wear a mask but it is a rule where you live, respect the rules and just wear one. Trust me, I don't like to wear a mask but, in order to attend class at my chosen university, I have to wear one or I am not permitted in. You don't like who was elected? Well, then get out a vote and remember, whether is was Trump in 2016 or Biden in 2020, WE THE PEOPLE put these two gentlemen in office. WE THE PEOPLE have to respect the process whether we like it or not. You have a problem with someone of another race? Let's think about it, the problem lies within you as all people are created equal, we live in the land of the free. So many problems in our world would be solved if we just lived our lives respecting others.

Exercise. Walking. Running. Swimming. Biking. Playing tennis. Golfing. Water aerobics. These words shout longevity. These simple verbs define a long, healthy life. Exercise being the key to longevity. Exercise being the key to health. No excuse mentality exudes healthy. Do you need to do 1000 squats a week along with running a marathon? Absolutely not. Exercise is simply moving. A walk around the block. A pick up game of tennis, official or unofficial. A round of 9 or 18 on the golf course. A jump and swim in the ocean. A water aerobics class at the local YMCA. The possibilities are endless. If you are moving, you are exercising. If you are getting your heart rate up, even better. If you exercise a few times a week, you will more than likely extend your life because you are single handedly contributing to your longevity. Crossword puzzles. Word finds. Words with Friends. Scrabble. Wordle. Playing cards. Exercise isn't just for the physical part of self. Brain exercises such as the ones listed will keep the mind mentally sharp and will play a role in improving cognitive function. Have you ever driven behind an elderly person and thought "speed it up" and then thought, "wow, how cool is it that they are still able to drive?" Have you ever walked the aisles of the grocery store and see an elderly person, on their own, going up and down the aisles as independent as possible? In order to drive, go to the grocery store or even play tennis, a person needs to be mentally aware and mentally sharp. Working the brain with these simple activities will help one prevent memory loss. In summary, exercise, exercise, exercise to live a long, healthy life. You pick the ones that work best for you! Live on!

Not necessarily understand but listen. Not necessarily give advice but listen. Don't judge, just listen. Don't speculate, just listen. Don't interrupt, just listen. Eye contact, actively engaged. Is it really that difficult to be there for someone that struggles with mental health? Absolutely not. It may be hard to understand. It may be hard to give advice. It may be hard to literally wrap your head around it. It is NOT hard to just be there. The one practical thing we can all do is LISTEN! That is the solution. That is the practical solution. Actively listen. Phone away. Computers away. Distractions limited. Just listen. When one is listening, it is easier to pick up on things that may not sound right, things that may cause concern. It is often at this time that you hear something that seems off. It is when you are listening that you capture the feelings of the one suffering, the one needing just to talk it out. Of course, it may go beyond just listening but that is the critical first step. It is here where you are the audience and the interpreter of what may be needed by the person struggling. This is the time that you are in charge of the conversation just by listening. This is where you are helping someone who is struggling with mental help. This is where the act of listening may mean the most. The act of listening is the solution.

Cutting lawns. Taking trash in and out. Shopping during COVID-19. Bringing the mail in. Cleaning out the garage. These are all ways that I have helped my elderly neighbors and all of these are so very important to improving their lives but I view it slightly different. As I set my sights on medical school, I view the lives of so many in different ways. The more active an individual is, the better. So instead of getting the mail for my elderly neighbors on a sunny day, I watch and wait and, usually the same time everyday, they head to the mailbox. I conveniently walk outside at the same time and I talk to my elderly neighbors. Their eyes light up. Some craving conversation. Some craving interaction with others. Others just wanting to talk, plain and simple. Having a conversation is just as important as physical labor to an elderly person. If your elderly needs help with the trash or the lawn, of course help. However, bring it the next level. Engage with them. The stories they have, the interest they have in my life and the advice they can give is unmatched. It not only brings joy to them, it brings me so much happiness. The impact they have on me is just as great as the impact I have on them. I decided to make a change. I take the time. I sit and discover new things. I listen. I share. I take it all in. This is what I look forward to when sitting with my neighbors, sharing with each other, having a conversation, improving the lives of my elderly neighbors.

Don't ever back down from a loss! You lose a bet, you pay up! No excuses, no whining. Participating in Fantasy Football has always been a fun event for my friends and I to do. Get together and watch football on a Sunday. 2020 changed all of that BUT we didn't let 2020 stop our fantasy football league. We enjoyed each other from afar but always keeping up with who was winning or losing. The Loser? Me! The Bet? Frosted tips to my beautiful locks!

"The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow" refers to what? Weightlifting. Running down the field to make that soccer goal. Running a PR in your final cross-country meet. Sprinting down the football field to make a tackle. Getting up on those toes during your dance recital. Tumbling off the cheerleading pyramid. This quote can refer to any and all of those sports! This quote is meant to be inspirational in the arena of sports. That is until I listened to my cross-country coach explaining character one day and what it meant in his own journey. Then it clicked. The strength I feel tomorrow is in terms of MY life and what it takes to be successful in ALL aspects. Cross-country is a stepping stone and part of the journey but building character is more essential than that final sprint. Every goal you set for yourself should not be achievable from day one, in my opinion. It should be earned. Work, no matter how hard or easy, should be essential in obtaining that goal. I dug deep and decided that I needed to feel some sort of pain in all that I do to achieve my ultimate goal of becoming a doctor. From the day I turned 14, I have worked and it wasn't always fun and it certainly wasn't always done without a little sigh from me. Cutting lawns in Florida in the dead of summer is not ideal but it brings home money. Money that I need to pay for my own gas and my own car insurance. It may not be physical pain, but the pain of missing out on fun as a teenager provided me strength in appreciating the rewards of hard work. As I got older, I craved the hard work and became a First Responder/Certified Ocean Rescue Lifeguard. Do many 16 year-olds get to say that the hard work they are doing are saving lives from a drowning in the ocean or a fall in the shower? The training one goes through to be a First Responder/Certified Ocean Rescue Lifeguard is demanding both physically and mentally but the strength and confidence it has given me to pursue my career goal is priceless. Volunteering over 300 hours at a sleep away camp for children and adults with intellectual and developmental differences takes heart and patience but I was able to walk away with more strength than I had walking into the camp. These campers taught me that anything is possible with heart. They walk in pain due to lack of communication skills but working daily on sign language and gestures makes them stronger and their voices louder. If everything is handed to you, you don't appreciate the value. When you fight for the final goal whether it be a grade, a gesture of thankfulness, an award, a touchdown, a PR in a race, just remember "The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow."

Money. Fame. Volunteer Work. Character. Career. History. Friendship. Family. Fancy Cars. Faith. A Big House. A Dream Job. Serving Others. Caring. Fostering Others. What words have meaning to you and your legacy? Do they intertwine? Is one word or phrase more important than the others? Does it matter to you? What makes you happy and satisfied? What makes you think, "I have done enough?" What makes you think, "I could do more?" Growing up, I want to say that these words and phrases all intertwined for me because I really never knew the difference. I never knew we didn't have as much money as our neighbors. I never knew the difference between a Mercedes and a Volkswagen. My family and I always volunteered Thanksgiving morning, during the summer and throughout the school year. As I got older, I began to realize that there actually was a difference. Looking back, my parents were helping me to build character in spite of what we had and didn't have as far as material things. Billy Graham once said, "The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith." Raised in a family where character and faith were more important than any piece of clothing I owned, the type of house or car we had or the amount of money we had in the bank, this quote could have literally been written by my parents. Growing up in a world and house full of kindness was more important that the car sitting in our driveway. There are so many different types of legacies - friendship, financial, family, career to name a few. All of these have value, meanings and all of them are definitely are intertwined with having character, good or bad. You can be financially set for life but if you don't have a strong sense of character, that money can leave you feeling lonely. I truly believe that success in life is what you give back to others. My earliest memory of receiving money on my birthday was when I was about five years old from my grandparents. My dad sat me down and went over what I would be doing with the $50 I received - 50% in savings, 10% to the church, 10% to my choice of charity and 30% I was allowed to spend however I wanted. At five years old, I was ok with that as $15 was a lot of money. As I got older, I resisted only being allowed a small percentage to spend what I wanted because seeing what I actually wasn't putting into my own pocket was hard and disappointing, at the time. Now, at 17 years old, I do appreciate the lessons learned and realize how fortunate I am to have not only a savings account and money to spend how I want, but fortunate enough to give to my choice of those in need and to my church. Not understanding this at the time but having a grasp on this now, I appreciate my parents allowing and giving me the opportunity to leave behind a legacy of character, of giving, of caring, of service to others. As an Eagle Scout, I have been able to build on this character by giving back in so many ways and to so many different organizations such as Camp I Am Special, a camp for children and adults with developmental and intellectual differences. I have spend over 300 hours volunteering at Camp I Am Special and the greatest gift this camp has given me is the gift of appreciation. The gift that everyone matters, everyone has a voice. Whether you have autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome - your voice matters and is often louder than any voice. It is my job, our job, to listen. In closing and to sum up my thoughts on legacy, "Only a life lived for others is worth living," as stated by Albert Einstein.

COVID-19 is the word of 2020 and it has affected every single individual one way or another. Early on, my parents decided to focus on the positive and our time together as a family. Being in the restaurant business was stressful as everything had shut down with no answer as to what would happen in the future but my parents stated that during this time as a family, we would cherish every moment whether it was playing a tense game of monopoly, cleaning out the 10th closet in our house or making meals we would have never tried during 'normal' times. Looking at my mom and dad during this time, I admired their focus on family and not the stress of whether or not the restaurant would reopen (thankfully it did!) As selfish as this may seem, COVID began to affect me in the summer when Camp I Am Special had to cancel all summer camps due to the restrictions that were in place. This camp is a camp for children and adults with special needs that I have spent over 300 hours volunteering not only in the summer, but throughout the school year during Super Saturday and Fashion Show Weekend. These families no longer had an outlet for their children and that affected me more than I thought it would. Being a volunteer at the camp is a way to give back to the community and to give these families a well deserved break as we treat their kids to the time of their lives. I knew that being a part of the virtual camp and sending letters to campers was a small gesture that went a long way! Even though it was not the same, seeing the campers virtually but a smile not only on my face but the face of the campers and their families. The cancelation of so many things in my life, I began to appreciate things I had taken for granted for so long. First of all, my sister, Gabrielle was someone I am close to but never stop to think about how lucky I really am to have her in my life. We both volunteer together every summer at Camp I Am Special, we drive together to school every day together, we participate in the same sport of cross country BUT did I really spend time with her? The answer is no (sadly). During quarantine, we laughed, we watched TV, we played board games, we cooked dinner together. We did so many things that we haven't been able to do because of our crazy schedules. Going off to college next year really never hit me until this time focused on family. Wow, I really am going to miss them but how awesome is it that a pandemic, a restaurant closing, virtual school brought us together just a year from me leaving for college. This is time cherished and time we would not have had if it was not for COVID-19 and the quarantine.

When you think of role models, many think of grandparents, parents, coaches, teachers, famous inventors, etc. Yes, it is true, I have so many people to look up to and would be so lucky to have a part of all of these individuals a fraction of myself but the role model I think of during this time isn't your "typical person." Have you ever been lucky enough to volunteer at an organization that literally catered to every single need of a child or adult with a disability? Someone that dedicated her life to making the summers so special for these individuals that nothing else in the world mattered. Rebecca Aleman is the director of Camp I Am Special and this has been her life for the past few years. Since my sophomore year, I have put in more than 300 hours at Camp I Am Special and have interacted with children and adults with cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome, Spina Bifida to name a few. Never once, did one of these individuals feel different during his/her time at camp. They felt special, they felt loved, they felt like they were the most important people in the world. They felt 'normal' and never made to feel like a disability got in the way of anything they wanted to do. Rebecca didn't allow just any high schooler to volunteer. It was mandatory that every buddy go through intense training. It was also required that each buddy filled out a detailed application where Rebecca combed through each and every one of them, matching each buddy to a specific camper. It was so important to her that each buddy/camper combination was a perfect match. A perfect resume didn't get you the volunteer job; a compassion and love for all individuals got your the volunteer job! And, every buddy was invited back every year. The year of 2020 brought challenges all over the world but it hit this community hard as the sleep away camp was canceled due to the challenges of COVID-19. Instead of hanging her head, Rebecca developed a virtual platform for the buddies, campers and their families to join in weekly over the entire summer. We witnessed Ryan, who has Down syndrome, make cookies from scratch. We watched as an entire group of buddies put on a virtual talent show, a show that is usually the highlight of the end of summer camp each week. Rebecca is my role model in so many ways but her love and her heart is what makes her one of the best people I have ever met in my entire life. She truly makes the world a better place by not seeing what is on the outside but truly what is on the inside. Rebecca gives every individual the belief in him/herself and give them the courage to try anything and everything. She gives them the determination to succeed. I have always known that I wanted to pursue premed and make this world a better place by saving lives. As an First Responder, I have had a glimpse into the world of saving lives on a smaller scale. Rebecca gave me the desire to not only make the world a better place by saving lives, but she gave me the insight to making the world a better place by seeing the abilities in every single person, regardless of any disability. Because of Rebecca and Camp I Am Special, I see that individuals with disabilities have a voice, one that is even bigger than my own voice.