Like any other student, I have a 20 ft long list of things I “hate about school” and constantly think about things I wish would change. Supposing I could change my school in a positive way, I would encourage more breaks and holidays, along with excused absences. This is for a few reasons. To begin, many students of non-Christian or common faith within the US are not able to celebrate their holidays while attending school, and often get reprimanded for their absence. I have seen this with a large majority of my friends and these occurrences are uncomfortably common at my school. It seems discriminatory and extremely unfair that my peers are unable to celebrate their holidays, yet I can. If religious freedom is a constitutionally given right, all students should be allowed to fulfill that right. Beyond that, students are easily burnt out. While being educated in a system that prioritizes test grades and statistics over mental health, it is no wonder so many students tend to drop out or flunk high school. Students are encouraged to partake in many clubs, complete their 10 hours of homework in 2, and somehow get 9 hours of sleep a night all at the same time. Beyond that, some students grapple with working part-time to support a family or themselves- typically in a toxic work environment and bosses with a tendency to overschedule. In addition, some students have extreme mental health or physical health issues, which I will touch on shortly. With more breaks, students are able to use their breaks to relax, breathe, and heal- all to prepare for the upcoming academic days. Not only that, they are able to use these days to clean their messy rooms, go on a small road trip, spend time with their friends and family they never see. Shifting to another perspective, many students with chronic illnesses or mental illnesses struggle with school- not only because they are gone so much, but because they are punished specifically for that. Students should be able to prioritize their physical or mental health. At my school, students only get 5 medical school days- not to mention students have been punished for contracting Covid-19 and being absent for the appropriate quarantine period. As for mental health, students are typically placed in a mental health hospital for a week or more with restricted access to the internet. Not only are they punished for their high number of absences, they fall behind in school work and suffer from the stigma surrounding mental illness. These punishments seem cruel and unfair to me, as a student who regularly has mental and physical health issues. Altogether, I strongly believe more breaks, holidays, and excused absences should be implemented. Students (and staff!!) should be taught there is more to life than school, and be allowed to appropriately prioritize their mental health, physical health, and their life.

As a child I grew up witnessing my parents furiously struggle with money. We were lucky enough to only move once. Their credit scores today are still recovering and some months are tight on food. As a product or survivor of this lifestyle, I have become vigilant and strict with my money- this proving to be the most important finance lesson I would ever learn. To keep myself financially stable I have done a number of things such as researching credit scores, banks, loans, and the different types of accounts- along with their purposes or benefits. I have also researched the retirement benefits I can provide and invest in myself, as many jobs fail to provide that benefit for their employees. I first opened a membership savings account with a local bank prior to the start of Covid-19. To this day I have managed to save over $6,000 and have invested over $1,000 in a Custodial Roth IRA account. I have also opened a checking account, in which I regularly and responsibly use a debit card for expenses. I have incurred this money in several ways. During the summer I work at a local greenhouse part time while balancing various classes, academic experiences and internships. I also take on jobs such as tutoring in ASL, Science, English- and babysit. Above all, I also make earrings by hand sometimes sold at small craft fairs and events. To make these feats more astounding, I am severely to profoundly deaf and work two times harder. Finally, I document all sources of income and transactions as well as what form it is in and the date. I am proud of my financial stability and knowledge. Though not financial advice, I am thankful for this lesson and for my financial stability as a result.

As a child I grew up witnessing my parents struggle with money. We were lucky enough to only move once. Their credit scores today are still recovering and some months are tight on food. As a product of this lifestyle, I have become vigilant and strict with my money- this proving to be the most important finance lesson I would ever learn. To keep myself financially stable I have done a number of things such as researching credit scores, banks, loans, and the different types of accounts- along with their purposes or benefits. I have also researched the retirement benefits I can provide and invest in myself, as many jobs fail to provide that benefit for their employees. I first opened a membership savings account with a local bank prior to the start of Covid-19. To this day I have managed to save $3,731 and have invested over $1,000 in a Custodial Roth IRA account. I have also opened a checking account, in which I regularly and responsibly use a debit card for expenses. I have incurred this money in several ways. During the summer I work at a local greenhouse part time while balancing an online study or internship and various classes. Currently I babysit after classes, tutor students in ASL and subjects like science and English, and complete online studies for research companies when possible. To make these feats harder, I am severely to profoundly deaf and put more effort into my success. I document all sources of income as well as the money I spend in notebooks. I also note information such as where I spent it, what form I spend/save it in (such as cash, debit card, or gift card) and the date. I am thankful for this lesson, and my financial stability as a result.

I chose this sort of design because It resonated with me, and I wanted something to memorialize my journey of self through high school. The yellow and white grid represents me from middle school and freshman year of high school. I was scared, timid, I had no idea who I was and I was constantly changing my look. Last year- sophomore year, because of the pandemic I lost many things that were meaningful to me. I had more time alone and had to make peace with myself. Because of this, I began finding who I was, represented by the grid but partially wavy side. This year, is represented by some of the more wavy sides, like the green side. I chose this green side because I am embracing colors I used to hate. I used to hate wearing pink, yellow, and green. Now, I embrace these bright or odd colors, (and I wear bright makeup too!) I also incorporated the top of the box into my design, with the grid carrying over from the top into the sides, and the colors too. I struggled making the colors match but I still love it. The barrier on the sides represents me. The grid and only partially wavy sides have the most barrier or edge, as the other sides represent me lowering my barrier and opening up. I will use this box to remember that it’s okay to lose and rediscover myself. This inspires me because it reminds me that we are all growing, and are all imperfect. I know today will not be forever, and experiencing changes in self or phases in life is perfectly okay. When I look at this box I made with my own hands, I am inspired to truly enjoy life and appreciate who I am.

My story as an activist and a LGBTQ leader begins in middle school- as a result of being bullied and unaccepted as a trans and queer person. My middle school did not have any clubs for LGBTQ+ community or show us any support. Because of this, I took it upon myself to start a Gay-Straight-Alliance. Within the span of 1 year, I managed to establish the GSA, promote events for my members within the community and highlight or create safe spaces within our middle school. We struggled, and succeeded. Our first initiative within the GSA was to spread positivity. We did this by displaying posters around the school with sayings such as “Love is for everyone” and “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” To which our peers responded by destroying them. On the sunnier side, we designed comfortable loose hoodies for our GSA members to assist with body image and dysphoria. Through this, we helped our members feel connected to one another and created a sense of pride. Not only that, the student body finally recognized our GSA and interest grew. Now, as a senior, I lead the GSA at my high school. We recently celebrated solidarity week, Day of Silence, and made rainbow pins to distribute within the student body. Soon we are hoping to paint and install a mural representing our pride and connection to our community. Beyond my involvement in GSA over the past 5 years, I have also worked with the Hetrick-Martin institute- a large non-profit in New York for LGBTQ+ youth - as an employee and an intern for two years. My current roles include creating and leading a safe virtual chat space for queer youth (ages 12-20) and monitoring the content that is talked about, along with giving feedback when the chat is completed. During my internship, I learned about things like consent, building healthy relationships and navigating rocky patches that may occur. As my life moves on to college, I hope that I will be able to gain more roles at Hetrick-Martin institute and invest myself deeper in the LGBTQ+ community as a leader. I will strive to provide friendship and support for other members of my community and create representation within STEM. The representation that is given in STEM does not typically include people like me, queer and deaf. Because of this, I feel motivated to lead and pave the way for others. After I complete my time in college, I plan to establish a cafe. With the collaboration of my friends, we hope to create a physically safe environment for queer youth in our area. If all goes to plan, eventually we will add a youth shelter and more services to offer support. It is also possible that we may start our own non-profits similar to others, and find unique ways to inspire others.

As a child I grew up witnessing my parents struggle with money. We were lucky enough to only move once. Their credit scores today are still recovering and some months are tight on food. As a product of this lifestyle, I have become vigilant and strict with my money- this proving to be the most important finance lesson I would ever learn. To keep myself financially stable I have done a number of things such as researching credit scores, banks, loans, and the different types of accounts- along with their purposes or benefits. I have also researched the retirement benefits I can provide and invest in myself, as many jobs fail to provide that benefit for their employees. I first opened a membership savings account with a local bank prior to the start of Covid-19. To this day I have managed to save $3,731 and have invested over $1,000 in a Custodial Roth IRA account. I have also opened a checking account, in which I regularly and responsibly use a debit card for expenses. I have incurred this money in several ways. During the summer I work at a local greenhouse part time while balancing an online study or internship and various classes. Currently I babysit after classes, tutor students in ASL and subjects like science and English, and complete online studies for research companies when possible. To make these feats harder, I am severely to profoundly deaf and put more effort into my success. I document all sources of income as well as the money I spend in notebooks. I also note information such as where I spent it, what form I spend/save it in (such as cash, debit card, or gift card) and the date. I am thankful for this lesson, and my financial stability as a result.

As a student who excels in science, I plan to work my way through college and one day pursue astrobotany. To follow this plan I have set for myself, I aim to earn a 4 year degree in general science or studies specifically targeted towards the environment, cellular makeup of living objects along with botany/agriculture. To follow that- I will venture into space related knowledge such as aerospace engineering and will apply for internships within NASA. The academic fields that I have picked have been a result of my planning and I believe they will set me on the right path for success. I define success as many things, such as completing college, gaining experience and growing professionally. But I also define success as having financial stability now and in the future. As a child I grew up witnessing my parents struggle with money. We were lucky enough to only move once. Their credit scores today are still recovering and some months are tight on food. As a product of this lifestyle, I have become vigilant and strict with my money. To keep myself financially stable I have done a number of things such as researching credit scores, banks, loans, and the different types of accounts- along with their purposes or benefits. I have also researched the retirement benefits I can provide and invest in myself, as many jobs fail to provide that benefit for their employees. I first opened a membership savings account with a local bank prior to the start of Covid-19. To this day I have managed to save $3,731 and have invested over $1,000 in a Custodial Roth IRA account. I have also opened a checking account, in which I regularly and responsibly use a debit card for expenses such as food and gas. I have incurred this money in several ways. During the summer I work at a local greenhouse part time while balancing an online study or internship and various classes. Currently I babysit after classes, tutor students in ASL and subjects like science and English, and complete online studies for research companies when possible. To make these feats harder, I am severely to profoundly deaf and put more effort into my success. I document all sources of income as well as the money I spend in notebooks. I also note information such as where I spent it, what form I spend/save it in (such as cash, debit card, or gift card) and the date. Typically I don’t tell others about my plans to save money and tend to keep my habits personal. However, I have reached a point where I am pursuing large life choices, and I am confident that if an emergency occurs, I will be okay. I have not been able to say this for years due to not being in a position to make money, let alone save it. This leaves me in a better mental health standing, and allows me to focus solely on my day to day life, such as studying and working. Eventually I hope to take classes in college such as business and accounting, to become comfortable handling money and being highly responsible. I will continue to save vigilantly and work as much as I possibly can (while also not burning myself out)- but I will also strongly avoid taking out student loans by applying to scholarships such as this one. Since the fall of 2021, I have applied to approximately 150 scholarships. I am lucky to be financially stable as of today, and I will do my hardest to continue this stability throughout my life.

My name is Astrid, and I am simply one student out of many. However, I am dedicated to my studies, and to the goals I set for myself. I am Deaf, queer and will be graduating high school early at the age of 16. Despite the struggles of the past few years- with Covid-19 and my inaccessibility in school and the implementation of a new grading system, my GPA still stands at a 3.5. (Which I am very proud of!) The Covid-19 pandemic makes my school life difficult as my access to an ASL- American Sign Language interpreter changed. Even now, I do not have a regular interpreter for school or my club meetings. With intentions to improve the standard of learning for students at my current school, we recently changed to “Standards Based Grading”. I am not the only student who has struggled with this system, as it is difficult to determine one’s academic standing. I feel this is important when looking at my GPA, as I have taken on an advanced course load with 2 AP classes and the expectations of both a Junior and Senior. I take my struggles in stride and am happy to report I feel I am doing well. Many of my teachers and mentors have supported my accelerated academic journey, and some are even impressed. My academic success is important to me and my impact on others and the world for two main reasons. I am pursuing an early graduation because of the potential I hold as a woman in STEAM (also known as STEM). While I do this, I am forming meaningful and fun relationships with peers who have similar interests as me, and inspiring them to aim for the sky. Many of my peers do not have supportive parents or teachers, and I am happy to offer them support. I love seeing other minorities such as myself bloom and succeed. I have a heightened fascination with plants- specifically genetics and performance. My academic journey will continue after high school to include agriculture, botany and genetic plant editing. There is a twist- space! Not only am I dedicated to this, I also want to develop this type of science in space and microgravity. If, and when I am successful, I will leave a large positive impact on the world. With this science, myself and my potential colleagues can develop climate change resistant food crops, and seeds that produce more food for every citizen on this planet. We can apply this to producing food supplies in space, as we venture further and explore more. No matter what happens as climate change worsens, I want to help us be ready. As I progress through my academic and scientific career, I want to help others leave a similar impact on the world.

As a student who excels in science and enjoys looking at the world through a scientific lens, I plan to work my way through college and one day pursue agriculture in space. This is an ambitious goal. To follow this plan I have set for myself, I would like to earn a 4 year degree in science specifically targeted towards the environment and the cellular makeup of living objects along with botany or agriculture. To follow that- I will venture into space related knowledge such as engineering and will apply for internships within NASA. The academic fields that I have picked have been a result of my planning and I believe they will set me on the right path for success. As I've stated before, I am going to college to pursue my goal of agriculture in space. No, I'm not crazy, it's a real thing. But I want to further it. I want to be the person who figures out how to genetically engineer our plants so we can have a food supply, on Earth or in space. I want to help our kelp absorb more carbon dioxide, and grow faster and in a more durable way. The ability we have to genetically tinker with plants is so exciting to me, we can change the way plants work and function, and even the way they look or grow. I get excited when my plant finally propagates or unfurls a new leaf, and I get excited hearing others do way cooler things like growing a zinnia plant on the International Space Station! We have so much potential with this and we have yet to even touch it. I have come to the reality that there is not much we can individually do to slow down or prevent climate change (still hopeful!). But there is something that we, or I can do. We can be ready for the next climate disaster and we can be prepared. This can be through having food supplies ready in space or growing stronger food supplies on Earth. Or making stronger homes and environments for the next flood. It is our future and a sad one but it is full of possibilities that I get absolutely giddy about. Through STEAM, I want to help us survive and continue to exist along with our ecosystems in nature.

Like any student my age, I have a lot of goals and things I wish to do in my life. I have multiple bucket lists; of people to meet, places to go, things to make and food to eat. I also have a bucket list for my education. The first item being the completion of secondary school- I am almost done! The next is the completion of my bachelors degree, eventually my masters and maybe even my doctorate. I am prepared to fund my education and to work as hard as I can. This is all in the pursuit of the largest item on my bucket list- to pursue agriculture in space or microgravity. In the midst of our crumbling world suffering from climate change, I believe this to be the best action to take- no matter what we should always have a viable food supply. Beyond these things on my bucket lists yet to be completed, I have completed many other things such as learning how to make new types of coffee, make spore prints from mushrooms and traveling to 10 out of 50 states within the United States. I have also checked off more personal items such as making progress in therapy and successfully doing things that my anxiety typically prevents me from doing. Despite my deafness and my anxiety, I have completed many items on my bucket list(s) and I hope that I will continue to do within this next chapter of my educational journey; with the support of those around me.

Nature is our world. Before there were banks, schools, and stores- there was nature. Before we had the I-35, we had nature. We had bunnies that came out of hibernation, and birds that adorned our skies. We had sunsets and the sound of a running stream. I love nature because it persists. Despite the existence of humankind and the consequences of our selfish actions, nature is still here. Nature persists in our backyards, when we feed the birds and the deer. Nature persists when sunflowers suddenly grow in the crack of my sidewalk and I see deer when I drive to work. It persists by itself, or through the helping hands of humans who care. I love nature because it is resilient and strong, and persists in the face of extinction. I try to appreciate nature through writing about nature. In my essays and poem, while also reading the works of others. I try to go hiking on nice days, and learn about endangered species out of concern. I thrift my clothing and drink water from a mason jar. I take short showers and try to be minimal with my waste. I am not perfect, but I am trying. And so is nature.

Over the past summer I was given an opportunity to lead and I took it! By taking the opportunity, I led an ASL- American Sign Language class and taught my peers through my Upward Bound Summer Program. This is the biggest opportunity I have been given to lead, and I greatly enjoyed it. I learned many things about how to lead, but also how to teach. Being a leader to me, means being able to work through conflict and tough spots that occur. It is being able to communicate openly with the people you lead and help coordinate cooperation. But it is also about motivating your teammates and encouraging everyone to be their best. This is important to me, as I had many poor leaders growing up. Because of this, I plan to be a good leader for others. This will be reflected- I hope, in my college career as I lead group projects, lab, studies, large papers and maybe even classes that I teach. I am a very enthusiastic person, and I love learning. Through this scholarship and many others that I am applying to, I am hoping to bring more leadership into my life. Whether that be through opportunities, leadership classes and camps, or even just learning from other leaders. Leadership is important to me, and I genuinely hope I can be a good leader for those around me.

Love is a complicated and abstract feeling- one that I have pondered endlessly and even have written academic papers on. Because my "love language" is actions or gifts, I enjoy doing things for the people I love, or making and giving them things. My family is a bit "weird" and I absolutely love them for it. I lock the door every night and close all the shades and curtains, so my mom feels safe. I have an extra car key to her car that allows me to turn her car around and prevent her from having to back into a busy highway. I make healthy meals with my brother and we teach each other about what we learn in school. We also share our workout routines with each other and motivate each other to do our best. I carry on a childhood family tradition of making blueberry muffins (almost) every Sunday and reminds my parents of our younger years, how much they loved each other, and how much they still do. But I also show love beyond these actions. To make my cats feel loved, I take breaks from working on homework to cuddle them and give them belly rubs (they melt like butter in my lap). I wash my car often (when it's not below 0 degrees) and drive gently to keep her safe. I set a light timer for my plants and talk to them as I water them. I carefully read my books and clean my bookshelf often to keep them pristine and feeling valued. Love is not only for humans. Love is also for animals, plants, and inanimate objects. Love has endless boundaries and abilities, and can make someone's day better. Altogether, my life is filled to the brim with love- and I love it.

The formal definition of joy is a "feeling of great pleasure and happiness", as defined by Oxford Languages. Joy means a multitude of things to me- allow me to bring out my poet self. Joy is when I notice my plant attempting to unfurl a beautiful new leaf, or my spider plant shooting off a baby of its own. Joy is also when my friend shares her new favorite book with me, filled with highlights, scribbled notes in the margins, and coffee stains. Joy is when my cat(s) misses me and scrambles for the door to greet me as I arrive home from my long days of school and work. Joy is a beautiful thing to me and I seek it in my life by noticing the smaller moments. When my ASL interpreter sends me funny tik toks, I notice it and I feel joy. Or when my father and I exchange funny or cute cat videos on Instagram after I taught him how to use it- I almost cry. I also seek out joy by looking inward, and pursuing things that make me feel joyful- such as making art, composing spreadsheets for fun, experimenting to make new coffee drinks, and rewatching my favorite films in childhood. Not only do I recognize joy and seek it within my life, I try to be the reason it exists in the lives of others. I do this by buying coffee for my friends and bringing home an extra carton of milk so we can have breakfast in the morning, and turning my mom's car around in the driveway so she doesn't have to. The feeling of joy is beautiful to me, and is quite hard to capture in words or visuals- like a feeling of internal harmony. Find joy in life always.

I am going to college to pursue my goal of agriculture in space. No, I'm not crazy, it's a real thing. But I want to further it. I want to be the person who figures out how to genetically engineer our plants so we can have a food supply, on Earth or in space. I want to help our kelp absorb more carbon dioxide, and grow faster and in a more durable way. The ability we have to genetically tinker with plants is so exciting to me, we can change the way plants work and function, and even the way they look or grow. We have so much potential with this and we haven't even started using it to its fullest. I have come to the reality that there is not much we can individually do to slow down or prevent climate change. But there is so much we can do for when it happens, like being ready and able to move to space or not worrying about our food supply surviving another flood since they were genetically designed to do so. It is our future and a sad one- but full of possibilities that i get absolutely giddy about. Another career related goal I have is shared with my friend. We plan to eventually open a cafe and establish a non-profit. As we are young, we are still dreaming and figuring it out but it is my second highest goal; highest being agriculture in space. I also have a goal that I will explore. When I graduate high school and eventually college, I will explore everything I possibly can; even if it isn't related to my current path. I enjoy exploring and stumbling onto new and extremely interesting things.

I hope to leave a long lasting impact through agriculture in space. There are so many ways I want to, and reasons why. I want to be the person who figures out how to genetically engineer our plants and save families from the impending doom of climate change. I want to save our food supply and make it stronger, so we will always have food. I can't stop the fishing industry but I still want to help our kelp and other crucial aquatic plants absorb a higher level of carbon dioxide. There is not much we can do to slow down or prevent climate change. The top ten companies in the world that create most of the pain to our planet will never listen to us. Despite that, this is something we can do. Something I can do. I want to leave an impact of being the reason why we are still alive, why we have our families and our pets and our friends. I want to allow future generations to develop, grow and flourish; despite climate change. I want to inspire the next deaf woman or nonbinary individual to wholeheartedly follow their dreams and to believe in themself- like I do. I want to be an inspiration to those who follow me in science, as Ada Lovelace, Rosalind Franklin and Mary Anning are to me. I may not be successful in leaving such an impact but I plan to attempt this by going to college, learning everything I can about botany, agriculture and space, then I will experiment and work and test and try new solutions until I get it right. I may never get it right, but I will try my hardest.

I am deeply passionate about agriculture in space. No, I'm not crazy, it's a real thing. But I want to further it. I want to be the person who figures out how to genetically engineer our plants so we can have a sustainable and reliable food supply, whether it is on on Earth or in space. I want to help our kelp and other crucial aquatic plants absorb a higher level carbon dioxide while growing faster, stronger, and better. I am passionate about this because we have the ability to genetically tinker with plants. We can change the way plants work, function, look, and grow! We have so much potential and endless opportunities with this; we have only just begun. This passion was spurred by the unfortunate reality that there is not much we can do to slow down or prevent climate change. The top ten companies in the world that create most of the pain to our planet will never listen to us. Despite that, this is something we can do. Something I can do. We can be ready to move to space if needed. We can take a sigh of relief, knowing our food supply won't be destroyed by the next flood. More generations can learn, grow and flourish. It is our future and a sad one- but full of possibilities that i get absolutely giddy about. My passion is agriculture, and especially agriculture in space.

Like anyone else, I have many pleasures; big and small. I enjoy dancing in the kitchen while I make my family breakfast muffins, singing in my car in unison to a favorite musical or cleaning up my personal spaces after a long day. But most of all, I enjoy learning. It is a small and simple pleasure, and one that may seem cliche. This presents itself in my life in many ways, such as how my heart warms when I receive yet another book or gift card for a newspaper, or certificate for a skillshare class. My heart also warms when the tiny lightbulb goes off in my head, shining as bright as possible and my eyes gleaming. It makes me happy when I finally realize that toothpicks were given their name by their original use; getting the lettuce or weird popcorn kernel out of their teeth. Or when I learn that the creator of Dr. Seuss had a collection of "midnight" or nighttime paintings to be released after his death- depicting a potential alias of his in a dark gloomy manner alluding to the state of his mental health. Ever since I was born, I have been addicted to learning. I asked my father endless questions every night to extend my bedtime and made lists of books to read, things to learn. Learning makes me happy because I can grow. I can gain knowledge and perspectives I didn't have before, and compare myself to wonderful figures like Socrates, and call myself a "gadfly". It makes me happy and it keeps my future bright, it keeps my eyes open and my chin up. Of many pleasures, I consider learning to be the most meaningful with deep impact, despite its size and simplicity.

Like many others, I am an empath. As an empath I am sensitive to the emotions of those around me and I can feel them strongly. During my time in therapy in the past and going forward, I find coping methods to help me deal with being an empath. My largest and most helpful coping method- I find, has been listening. I have observed that many don't need advice or an active solution to their problem- they simply need an open and non-judgemental ear. Upon such an epiphany, I started actually listening to people- and in an active way. I began a small habit of taking my friends for drives on scenic routes, getting coffee on cold days, and going for walks on warm days. Not only do my friends feel more heard, but our relationships are stronger, and our lives feel reduced and easier to handle. Listening means many things to me- especially because I am an empath but due to my deafness. People share a misconception that listening is only receiving sound with your ears. Along with it being able to perfectly repeat what you have been told, make eye contact with the speaker and all while sitting still without moving or fidgeting. This is wrong. Truly listening is the practice of allowing someone to communicate with you. While you are open, friendly and non-judgemental. Listening is significant to me, and has grown beyond only hearing and soundwaves. Actively listening to those around me has improved my social life, and I happily encourage it for others when possible.

This may be stereotypical and cliche- my favorite artist is Vincent van Gogh. Despite his true story being widely accessible and easy to learn about, we continue to glorify the bad parts. His most famous paintings were created during his recovery from his severe mental health issues. Many believe he cut off his ear in a lover's quarrel- rather he became upset at an artist he worked with and suffered terrible hallucinatory attacks in which he lost consciousness. He was not the kindest person; nor was life kind to him but he inspires beauty in the good and bad.

I am passionate about STEM for many reasons. My most significant reason is the impact it has on millions of lives, including every day people we see walking down the street. In many ways, from the sophisticated innovation and improvisation of the internet, to cures for diseases such as cancer and having found the ability to edit genes. All the possibilities are absolutely endless and make my head spin!! (Side note: I do not plan to go into a health or science health related career field, but knowing my peers who do, it gives me hope that they can improve treatments for breast cancer, something that has prominently run in the feminine side of my family.) I am preparing to pursue Environmental law, to be an environmental lawyer. As part of my education path, I am also planning to pursue environmental studies, which is included in S of STEM- Science. I will also take classes related to plant biology, agriculture and those of a similar sort. I am deeply passionate about plants, along with the role they play into the environment. This vital point in my educational career will prepare me for a multitude of jobs ranging from working in a greenhouse, a lab genetically editing and mutating plants, or even a law office, protecting the environment from negative man-made situations. I believe that pursuing my place in environmental studies and science, STEM will have a long lasting impact on my education, career, and even my personal life.

As a first generation and a first born child, I am the first in my family to go to college. The thought of pursuing an expensive form of higher education has been unspoken in my family up until now. I am partially supported by my family in my educational path. My unique situation has put me through a multitude of things in life, including traumatic life experiences, being held to a high standard of success and "perfection", self learning resilience and strength, caused me to develop mental illnesses that I continue to struggle with such as anxiety and depression. I am also deaf and identify as queer. I am considered the black sheep in my family. However, I am lucky to have parents who realized their standards of "a good kid" has hurt me and who now accept me. But I am still learning how to be resilient, courageous and to advocate for what I need- especially when no one wants to help me. I have had a difficult upbringing and I know I will have a difficult experience getting into college, let alone paying for it. My parents pursued jobs and a career that once served them well, financially, mentally, physically, but does no longer due to our rapidly changing society. This causes an implication, of which that is true. I have little to no money to pay for college. I have no role models to inspire me to pursue a higher form of education- other than myself. I will be the first in my family to go to college, pursue four full years and receive a degree. But I will also go on to pursue law school, to become an environmental lawyer, and fight for those who cannot fight for their land, right to health, and to live in a harmless home, and to fight for the environment and earth herself. I have experienced so much, and I hope to use my intense passion to fight for others. I am a first generation student and I am very proud of it.

Everyone in my family including myself has a mental illness. I will tell you my story. As a deaf kid growing up, I was brutally bullied. From the first day of kindergarten all the way up to my freshmen year of high school. As a feminine identified queer person, I was bullied more, of course. I had to deal with death threats from my own relative/extended family members. I also suffered an undiagnosed eating disorder, and I am still recovering. At the time all this happened, my only coping mechanism I had was school. I would throw myself into doing the best I possibly could in my classes, always getting As and A+. I also participated deeply in extracurriculars, which led to me helping establish two things: a mental health support group at lunch, and a GSA at my middle school. Both of these helped myself and others talk about our mental health illnesses, problems and concerns. (I have since developed better coping mechanisms.) Aside from my rough upbringing and time in middle school/early high school, I still struggle with my mental health today. I deal with undiagnosed chronic pain in my hands and sometimes other joints along with being sensitive to the environment/air pressure. All this together means I am highly susceptible to falling into periods of extreme anxiety or depression and sickness. I have been on a waiting list for a therapist in my area for at least three years. I am trying my best. My education plan is unique to myself, and I hope to pursue college to take my place in a career I am truly passionate about which would be environmental law, and to be the best version of myself: physically and mentally.

Instagram: (Private) @whattasoftie I'm proud to be a woman (or feminine identified) in the LGBTQ community because it inspires growth and pushes me to learn every day. It is a large part of who I am, along my resilience and motivation to live and make change. I am proud to support my sisters and friends, and to strive for a better future for us, including the ones who come after us.

This essay will be a little cheesy, but my best friend. I deeply admire them and they have helped me bloom into the person I am today. I met them the summer before I started high school. We were both in the same trio Upward Bound program (Government funded program to help first gen students go to college!) I was a shy kid and I experienced severe imposter syndrome while I was there. Upon meeting my friend Shea, (wonderful name), I was a new kid by the end of the program! She is your stereotypical theatre kid but even better. She inspired me to come out of my shell, and she was my best friend. Having gone through some bad stuff, we bonded over our traumatizing experiences and came out brighter on the other side. She was there when I was discovering my feminine side and coming back into touch, and helped me embrace being a feminine woman again. And we learned how to embrace our natural hair, as mine is fluffy and long, and hers is short and insanely frizzy and curly. Never really having true " besties" or friends before, she was my first and still is. She was my wonderful lawyer in our mock trial club in 2019 and she is my drama partner now. (Also my work-out buddy!) We also work together on community and social activism. She is the strongest person I know, and makes me stronger. No words I could ever conjure could authentically show you how much of an impact she has had on me. They have turned me into the wonderful person I am today and given me the self love and skills I need. As I pursue college and become an environmental lawyer, I will carry their life lessons of self love, acceptance, tolerance and resilience into my career and personal life every day. (We even share techniques we learn in therapy with each other!) She reminds me I am worthy of love, good things in life, and good friends. I am incredibly thankful to her and her existence, as obsessive as that sounds. She has been the best person I have ever met and I absolutely cannot wait to watch her go to college and do what she loves! My best friend, Shea, is the woman in my life that I admire, that has deeply impacted me today and given me long lasting life lessons.

I am a first generation student, coming from a low income family. I am also deaf in a hearing family with only one other deaf family member. I could ramble about the ways I am disadvantaged but I won't. Instead, I'll tell you about my journey as a student and as an entrepreneur, along with lessons I have learned and my motivations. Like most feminine people and other girls in elementary school, I was a girl scout. But I was a wonderful girl scout. My mother was the troop leader and I was her kid! I would dance in front of the table and lure customers in with my made up songs and my sweet voice saying "you want some yummy cookies?" I would also handle the money. Additionally, I would help my mom make signs and organize everything. To say at the least, I was a good entrepreneur at the age of 10! I don't mention this often but I actually won the best cookie seller in my area! (Granted it was because my mother had too many cookies and I was motivated enough to sell them all). That was the first point in my life where I realized I liked this. That I can actually do this. A good lesson I learned during this time was how people are incredibly forgiving when you make mistakes and that if something is worth it, it'll work out. Moving on, the next point in my life that was impactful was in middle school. My grandma was the craftiest person you've ever met and she would regularly bring me along to her craft shows. I was fascinated by all the powerful and incredible crafters and women around me. Before long I was making my own little things and selling them on my grandma's table! She also helped me to run a cute lemonade stand during the summer when we would have our local rummage/garage sales. I made a good penny off that one. I learned a lot about how if I enjoy something, the more I do it, I can make money by doing it and I also learned that sometimes your business life is impacted by the entrepreneurs you are surrounded by. Fast forward to today. I have profiles on depop, facebook and instagram where I successfully sell artwork and handmade felt earrings. It is a slow business but I am very proud of it. (I've already made 5 sales within 2 months!!) Starting this was stressful for me, as I was having immense difficulty finding a job, being a deaf student in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic. During this time, I had to learn how to trust myself and in my ability to create products people will want to buy. I also had to learn how to love myself, my ambitions, and my dreams. I am planning to go to early college and get my Environmental law degree This is important to my future because I am incredibly passionate about the environment and helping minority groups, such as indigenous groups (as I am from a tribe that has been almost forgotten). This motivates me to succeed because I want to create my own travelling law firm, made up of people who are like me. Disabled, queer, natives, people of color and the list goes on. I am motivated by the idea I can be a successful business owner, entrepreneur, and run a law firm committing to fighting environmental issues and racism. I have learned so many lessons, skills and continue to use and display them every day. Thank you.

This meme means many things to me. When I look at this meme, I laugh! It makes me happy. It also makes me happy since I grew up watching Bob Ross paint, and he is in many of my childhood memories. I just love him, he's a sweet little guy with his happy mistakes. And Bernie Sanders is also a sweet little guy (with his happy little mittens! Although politics is complicated and migraine inducing, bernie is such an easy guy to turn into a meme and to laugh at! (And with). He even turned this meme about himself into sweaters (they sold out in less than two hours!!) and all the profits went to meals on wheels. This meme makes me happy but means that there is always something good in everyday, even if it's just a photo of bernie sitting and being a jolly old grandpa! (This meme was not made by me but I still love it!) Thank you!

I am currently working on educating myself about current happenings, history and social change. This is important and I'll explain why. This grant would help me to pursue early college in the semester of fall 2021 and to learn new skills. One of many skills I will develop with this grant will be my ability to learn and check my facts. This makes sense, in the context that I want to become a environmental lawyer. I will need to be able to research the plaintiff and defense for every case, which involves largely checking my facts, gathering accurate information and presenting it in a truthful way to the court. This skill will not only be developed by pursuing my bachelors degree and my law degree, but also by my immersion on a liberal arts campus and exposure to cultures and perspectives of others. There are many other skills that this grant will help me pursue and develop but this is the most important. This skill is absolutely crucial to my career as a successful environmental lawyer. Thank you.

As a queer and creative person, I have an endless supply of ideas. My most brilliant and ambitious idea and vision is to create a traveling law firm, focused on environmental law and fighting climate change along with racism, all while traveling and working together as a diverse group. This is an interesting vision, as it would take such a large amount of work, innovation and personal development on everyone including me, to succeed. This scholarship will help me toward my career aspirations by giving me the money and motivation I need to pursue my undergraduate degree two years earlier than the average high school student. This allows me to pursue an associate degree in early college instead of staying in high school for my junior and senior years. From there, I'll transfer to a better college to pursue a bachelor's degree in something I enjoy, then go on to pursue a law degree. This will give me the start I need and be my stepping stone. I am excited to make this vision come alive among others. I have absolute faith and trust in my visions and my ability to advocate for myself, educate myself, and work on my personal development. This scholarship would make my career aspirations more pursuable. Thank you.

The environment is my everything. At first hearing this, it does sound cliche but hear me out. I grew up out on the outskirts of a small town on the tip of Lake Superior. Because of this, I had a childhood not only filled with bullying (unrelated) but also filled with opportunities to look at water bugs, catch (and unironically kiss) frogs, go fishing with my cousins, learn how to swim without drowning, learn how to do stand up kayaking (definitely scary). Aside from all the things I could do due to living next to a big lake of fresh water, I grew up next to a native american community I had deep respect for and I was an avid supporter of the local businesses including the farmers market. All these things in my childhood were possible just because of where I lived and the environment. Finding out my native american descent helped me make the connection between me and my environment and also how I treat the environment and why I do. This art piece that is included (linked to a google photos album) is created from scraps after I completed another project with my cricut (crafting cutting machine) along with candy wrappers, old paint, and materials I wanted to reuse. This represents how to "not be trashy" and how we should care about the environment in our own ways, whether that means picking up trash, enjoying nature, or making art with recycled materials. My environment and our earth is my everything and I am devoted to taking care and loving it.

During 2020 I had suffered multiple hardships and tolerated rough times. My perspective largely changed when I realized how much I have to fight for myself. For more context, before my school closed down, I had to right with my school district every day for an interpreter since I am severely deaf. I kept getting denied an interpreter due to my school "not having enough money" or because "it just won't work out" and I kept going back and forth. This meant I would attend some of my hardest ap classes without an interpreter or an accommodation of any sort and my grades (always As) were going down and down. When the Covid-19 pandemic forced my school to shut down and us to be virtual, we barely met for virtual classes. We would just be handed some work and they said "just get this done by monday". It is then that I realized that I could learn independently and I started enrolling in online free college courses. (in all these courses I got the accommodations I needed without having to fight!) As of a few weeks ago I started applying for an early college so I can start college now and continue to expand my learning in a way that is good for me. I will have to fight in every aspect of my life but due to 2020 and all the things that happened, I am now strangely comfortable fighting for myself along with asking for what I need to be a successful person. I learned many things about self advocacy and how to take care of myself, how to prioritize important subjects and events and that I am much smarter than I say I am. These learning and my new perspective will allow me to go far in my life and my career in terms of fighting for accomodation and also in terms of taking care of my self, staying on top of my life and being the best version of myself possible. i am quite thankful to the covid-19 pandemic and the situations that happened because of it, as strange as that sounds, it was an extremely good time for me to learn as much as I could and grow as a person, to try new things (like getting a job!!!), ask for accomodations more confidently (and get them!),and to apply for fellowships or intern positions with qualifications that I do not have just to see if I'll get them (and I usually do!). 2020 has truly changed me as a person for the better, given me a huge confidence boost and given me the high pressure environment to learn what is right and wrong for myself and to know that my life is my life only and I have full control. I am proud of how far I have come and improved in so many ways and I can only hope that others have benefitted from this previous years despite all the hard and bad things we pushed through.

I grew up not in the city, but I grew up on the outskirts of my town. Due to the position I was living in and still am, I have few neighbors and I am used to going camping regularly during the summer. Although I enjoy camping and being in the outdoors time to time, I find that my family (including me) rather enjoy spending short periods of time outside and observing outdoors from inside a building. This is interesting to me and is a large part of my experience with the outdoors. I've gone through it all, stung by a bee as an unsuspecting child pretending to work and sell ice cream, I've had a tent collapse on me during a really dark night while it was also raining, gotten lost multiple times. From my experiences, I wouldn't say I would jump at the chance to go camping or spontaneously isolate myself in the forest and forage for my food. However, that does not mean I hate or disappreciate the great outdoors and our environment. I appreciate the outdoors in a specific way. This may be in me picking up trash on a walk just for fun or looking into reusable items to prevent my carbon emissions. Speaking of carbon emissions and my carbon footprint, I care deeply about the environment and I greatly hope that I will be able to strengthen EPA protections, laws and policies to preserve the land and outdoors for my generation and the generations to come. With my experiences and my interesting perspective and love for the outdoors, I have learned a lot. The first thing I learned as a kid was when I got stung by a bee. What I learned was that even if you are not doing anything, people (or in my case, bees) will still hurt you or want to and you can't avoid it. I learned that things like getting stung by a bee or perhaps mauled by a bear (hopefully that never happens to me haha!) is a part of life and the best thing to do in any of these situations is to take care of yourself health wise first then tolerate the pain, use the pain and experience to improve other parts of your life. The second thing I learned was you do not have to see something a specific way to love it or devote your life to it. I am not an avid camper, as I've mentioned but I still try to enjoy the great outdoors in my own way and I am still in love. My actions towards something does not measure my love and care for it. If you were to compare me and my love of the outdoors to an avid mountain climber and hitch hiker, yes we enjoy the environment and nature in different ways, but you'll find that we both love the same. This goes for many other things in life! I have my individual views and perspectives on things but that does not change my devotion and commitment to the specific topic. These are not the only things I've learned from my experience but these are the most important because I use them in my life everyday. My experience helped me realize that I love the environment and I can do my part by becoming an environmental lawyer and made me realize I can work around any boundaries or obstacles in my upcoming college years and my new career ahead of me. I am thankful to my interesting experience with the great outdoors and I hope that others of my generation can benefit from nature the way I have and continue to do everyday.

There are many problems with climate change that must be solved and the possibilities are endless. The one that interests me the most is climate racism. It may be self explanatory but it is when people of color are suppressed by society in so many ways and end up living in extremely poor quality and cramped living spaces. Not only that, the government and higher ups allow extremely environmentally harmful companies to created and developed plants and factories right next to these housing spaces. According to an article by eenews, a study published shown that in nearly 3-quarters of the studied 25 cites, lower income neighborhoods were exposed to higher head than wealthier neighborhoods. This means that not only are people of color and low income neighborhoods at a higher risk for cancer and asthma related to pollution and air concerns, but also more at a risk for dying from heat related illnesses. I plan on working on this problem by studying environmental law to prevent companies from establishing harmful facilities near low income neighborhoods. I am most excited about my dream to create my own travelling law firm (made up of diverse poc and people with disabilities) to help fight environmental cases to protect our land and our minorities. I hope that not only I can work on climate racism in terms of health issues with low income neighborhoods and people of color, but also help native american indians or natives reclaim their land and fight against pipelines or intruding harmful industrial projects that take place on their land. Climate racism is the most interesting part of climate change and I hope that I can start working on it as soon as possible.

I am deaf among other disabilities. In this "unique" position, I experienced a large amount of unjust hardship, discrimination and second guessing. During middle school and early high school, my goals were to just make it through the day, tolerate all the bad stuff and keep my grades up. Like always, I have to fight with my school district for "reasonable' or even any accommodations. This is relevant because through my stubbornness and my need, I learned how to fight, argue in a more dignified way (known as debating) and I got my accommodations. As I learned how to do this, I found that I could get what I need and help others get what they need whether it was something from a teacher, the school district or anything. This largely influenced my decision to go into law, since I now had these new developed skills. With these skills I can be shockingly persuasive and compromise well if it's needed. With my plans to study law, I also hope to not only study environmental law specifically but work on environmental racism and create my own traveling law firm made up of other people similar to me in diversity, whether that be in race/skin color or disabilities. My experience growing up with my disabilities has made me a strong willed and bold person and has given me the grit I need to study law and succeed in achieving my very high dreams and goals.

My journey with self love and acceptance has been complicated and difficult, just like anyone else's journeys and experiences. I grew up in a school district that was quite ableist and strict, and it had an extremely debilitating and awful impact on myself as a deaf and disabled child along with my mental health and whether or not I had a future worth living and fighting for. At the time of elementary and middle school, I was considered a "gifted child". As other once considered "gifted child's" know, this has a horrible impact on you as a person. The unreasonable standards and the succeeding too well with no challenges or any room to genuinely learn and grow. I've always gotten straight A's, that has never changed. But at the expense of what? At the expense of the hate of my body and my disabilities and at the hate of who I was. This changed my relationships because I ended up in really toxic friendships that ended in trauma I've long forgotten. I also had lost my beliefs because the Christian church that was two miles from my house, had bullied me and forced me into situations I didn't like, all because they had an inkling I was a different kind of kid. At that time, I had no dreams and no aspirations. I thought "why bother if I have to just suffer though today and tomorrow". Once I reached my first year of high school, the sun came out and as cliche as that sounds, things changed. I realized I am more than my past experiences and I am worthy of self love. I still struggle with complete self love today but I set boundaries for myselfs in my relationships and I have found my dreams and beliefs. My journey is long and yet to be complete. I am glad that I have learned to accept myself for my flaws and perks and to love myself for the amazing parts. I also hope that others in a similar situation like me can learn how to love themselves and accept them along with all their hardships and experiences.

I would like to create a future worth believing in. This may sound bizarre and outside of the box for this scholarship. I start this by creating artwork from recycled materials such as leftover cricut vinyl matched with green mint candy wrappers to inspire reusing materials or making the best of what you have. From there I start to create things such as earrings and candles that are eco friendly and start a small business for myself while inspiring others to do the same. I'll most likely create this small business while I pursue college (specifically for a degree in environmental law) and I'll go on to create my own law firm. A diverse law firm made up of traveling lawyers who work on environmental cases. This is not a single creation but it's more like a journey of creation with tiny little creations along the way. I want to say through my creations that despite whatever challenges you face, you have the power to change things, just as I am trying to. It is hard to see a future worth believing in and investing in when there are so many social issues and crisis. I think it is important for the world to see my creation so they are inspired to create their own future worth believing in and to know that they have the potential and power to make that thing they want to make. I want my creations to be a reminder that there are things in life worth fighting for.

In the same boat as many other students and learners, COVID-19 had a large impact on my life and the way I learn along with my perspective on the world. The first thing I learned about myself is how I tend to react in situations of a large change. I adapt surprisingly well and for the most part I have no problem picking up new habits. Despite a large part of my accessibility in my education and daily life being reduced such as masks, less in person conversations along with interpreters and so forth, I stay above afloat. Aside from discovering my advocacy skills and adaptability, I also learned how to take care of my mental health. Instead of easily ignoring my mental health and going about my busy day, I can now take the time to prepare food I like and take mental health breaks, and I can do things that truly intrigue me or inspire me to learn. In a better mental health standing than ever before, I have more time to think about deep questions about who I am as a person, what my political and ethical beliefs are and who I want to along with what I want in my future. I learned that I can be good in political situations and that I love learning about DNA! (I also learned that I enjoy researching the history and traditions of the native american tribe I have ancestry from). Although the pandemic is unfortunate in many ways for how it has affected lives and our daily life, I am glad I have the opportunity to overcome and grow from difficult obstacles in life.

While there are many roles in my life that education can take on, it took on the most empowering and important role in my life. As a deaf person, I had a lot of negative learning stereotypes pushed upon me, such as the idea that I will never learn to speak or I will never go to college. Using my stubbornness and my willingness to prove others wrong, I used school and my grades to prove my worth as a person (which no one should ever have to do). Since I started middle school, I have passed every class with an A- or higher and I tend to excel in all my additional clubs. Education started out for me, as something for me to use to prove others wrong. As a high schooler and as a grown person I have come to realize that education is empowering for me and is a way for me to not only grow even more, but to learn things I had never before, to think about things in a completely different aspect, and to learn about what makes me passionate. Now, I use education to learn about the environment, about plants and social issues such as civil rights and I use education to make change. I am extremely grateful for the role that education has assumed in my life and I hope that the role of education takes me and others far in our dreams and hopes.

I was going to make a playlist filled with my favorite instrumental songs like Experience by Ludovico Einaudi but I decided to curate a more nostalgic playlist (seeing as it's new year's eve as I'm applying). Here comes the sun- is a feel good song and a classic. All the songs in this playlist are a variety and are similar to Here Comes the Sun by the beatles in the way of it being cheerful or slightly somber, modern nostalgic or older nostalgic and just good vibing songs! (My favorite song on this playlist is Don't Worry Be Happy!)

One of my many role models is my best friend. It may sound bizarre to someone like you but my friend is one of a kind. She was the first person to take me in under her wing in high school. We met during the summer when I was an incoming freshmen, in upward bound- a college prep program. We had some interactions and we knew each other, but it wasn't until the fall season of mock trial when we conversed way more and became really close. She became a mock trial attorney and encouraged me to audition for varsity. Despite both of us having little experience in fake law but a lot of acting experience, we both made it on varsity! (We shocked a lot of people this way) We have participated in clubs together and had a blast at competitions! Who knew two friends could make such a good witness-lawyer duo for mock trial? (And a great team at thrifting great finds too!!) She is my role model because she is everything I strive to be (as weird as that sounds). She inspires me to dive headfirst into opportunities I may not 100% qualify for like scholarship applications and job applications. She is extremely resilient and strong, and reminds me how strong I am myself. She has the heart of a teddy bear with a brain of super smart connections and brain cells. She has a strong irish genetic background (I do too!) along with flamboyant hair to match her personality that defines her. We even have a zodiac sign compatibility! When we are together, we light up the room and talk about bizarre topics. I have learned many things from her paired with wonderful experiences. She is also my role model because she is incredibly wise and reminds me to take a break, take care of my mental health, etc and etc. Her impact in my life has shaped me into a strong wonderful person who is not afraid to be bold and to take chances. Her lessons and her words encouraged me to become an activist and helped me realize that I want to pursue environmental law. Without this role models and all the other ones in my life, I most likely would not be going to college and I would be devoid of passion for the environment or for civil rights. I hope that one day I can be a role model for someone else to look up to and rely on, just like she is for me. She is not in my life every day as we are both attending online school and we are in different grades. We do stay in contact! We work in clubs together and complete activism projects along with chatting every once in a while through social media or a sweet little letter. . I did not realize she was a role model until recently, when I looked back on my achievements, both academic and personal. She is one of the best role models I could ever ask for and I am forever indebt to her.

As an activist, I am always working on social issues and trying to inflict change in my community. These are some of the social issues I hope to address or social issues I am currently working on. The two most important social issues in my eyes are civil rights and environmental rights. I am currently completing high school (hopefully pursuing early college) and hoping to study environmental law in college. From there I will become an environmental lawyer and start practicing. I hope to use my law degree to prevent large companies from harming the environment and to lessen cases involving climate racism. People of color are more likely to end up in "bad" neighborhoods where companies buy neighboring land and build factories on them. This leads to high rates of cancer, respiratory issues, asthma, and diseases for the people living there, usually people of color who do not have the money to get diagnoses or treatment. I will hopefully pursue and win cases where I can prevent this from happening. This is incredibly important as to how people of color get treated and harmed. People of color and minorities deserve better. Aside from this social issue and my potential environmental law degree, I regularly pick up garbage on my run/walks every monday on nice days. Not only that, I work with a summer club at my school to pick up garbage or trash at the beach and to keep the water clean. Moving on, this is how I hope to address the social issue of politics. As of right now, I am working with non profit organizations that are political such as Represent Us to help spread less misinformation, more political leadership roles for young teens or adults and to politically energize voters. This pertains to the social issue of politics where there is a large amount of "dark money" and gerrymandering, misinformation and manipulation. Voters often feel cheated or unmotivated to politically participate due to the causes I listed. By working on this, I have energized myself and those around me to attend to our civic duty and to fight for a more fair political system. At Represent Us I am part of the RepUs Youth Lead, meaning I am one of a group of young teens and adults who gather virtually on thursdays to share what we are up to, solutions to issues, and new ideas. My last but not least, the homeless community. I participate in a student alliance club at my school sponsored by the ACLU and we do independent community projects and so forth. We recently wrapped up a drive for homeless shelters in terms of hygienic products, mask, sanitary products and etc to help keep those who are homeless healthy and safe. I also work with the Luzuriaga foundation to write letters to children for community service hours and to bring a little light into the lives of homeless children. I have written close to 50 letters in my months with this foundation. I am always trying to learn new things and to help those who I can, whether that be through something big like pursuing environmental law or just picking up garbage. I have big dreams and hopes that some of these social issues will be addressed and dissolved.

Based on my interest and passion for the environment, I think I'll study environmental studies or a subject similar to the field of climate change and the impact of the world. I plan to study environmental law and become a traveling lawyer. There is a high chance I will find that something else like stem cells and DNA and go into a subject of biology. In general, I think in college I will study something related to cells and plants, whether that be specifically plant cell alternating, environmental studies or environmental law. The idea of dabbling in different areas of study is especially attracting to me and makes me incredibly hopeful for college and whatever subject i end up studying. I will follow my brain and my gut through college and see where I'm led.

As a deaf student who is very artistic and crafty, business and economics was a whole other world I didn't know. This photo is of me last year (2019) at my very first FBLA (future business leaders of America) conference. I gave a seven minute speech how FBLA affects the development of the next business leaders and owners, which I did not know much about. I am happy looking back on it, that I took a wild chance to do one of the boldest things in my life and dive into a world of complicated and intriguing business affairs.

As a deaf person I have overcome large challenges that I am amazed at when I look back on how I have grown. That would not have been possible without one of my biggest role models, my own dad. He was not a flamboyant or extreme person as I am, but he is quiet and strong. During the hardest part of my life so far, he was the only person who had given me a rock. I learned from him that my identity, whether it be my appearance and gender or my deafness, is completely up to me. I also learned that sometimes when things happen, they happen for a reason and I should seize any opportunity I see fit. He is the reason I am the person I am today in all my glory and resilience. The things I have learned and inherited from him have helped me to be a fearless person and to jump at opportunities to achieve my goals such as getting my first job, pursuing leadership positions in volunteering organizations or clubs. He inspires me to challenge my way of thinking and to continue growing in every way every day. I will pay what I've learned forward by pouring my energy and time into my education so that I am able to help others in my own way. In this way I can pass down what I've learned and my previous experiences. I am grateful for what i have learned in my mere years of being a learner and I am wide eyed and excited for what comes next.

The role of music in my life is tantamount to an individual saving my life and genuinely supporting me. I am a deaf queer person. I grew up in a small town with extremely limited services for queer/lgbt people and deaf people with endless possibilities in a town the state over from WI. I had no role models growing up until I found music. I had lost most of my hearing when I was a tiny child but I had hearing aids and I kept up with the recent technology. My first musical role model was Lindsey Stirling. She is a dancing violinist. When I discovered her and fell in love, I was only 7 or 8 and I was just learning to dance. She was the first musician to make me realize that although I am deaf I can still enjoy music. And if I can enjoy music, I can make music. From there I used classical and orchestra music to help myself get through late and early middle school, where I was bullied and received death threats for being a queer person. (Side note: I established the gsa at my middle school since there was no prior resource or safe space for us) In middle school, I finally picked up a violin and I did sound awful. Before I knew it, I'm in 8th grade and I'm doing full scales and I'm co first chair violin. In 9th grade I struggled because things were different in high school and I was denied access to an interpreter by my school multiple times and I had no LGBT resources. I used music to help me get out of bed, get through the day and still work through all my obstacles. As I write this, I am listening to music. The role of music in my life has been prominent and you could go as far to call it, the backbone of my life and who I am Today, I am a proud queer deaf person who is succeeding in orchestra, getting better every day with my vibrato and I am defying those who said I couldn't play the violin because I am deaf. I am proving those wrong who wouldn't allow my mother to play the flute in high school. I encourage other deaf and lgbt individuals to branch out, involve music in their life and to use it in their good and bad days. Music is the greatest gift in life and should be embraced by everyone and especially those who need it the most.

My hopeful impact is to start making change locally little by little environmentally by taking care of our water source, Lake superior, taking care of my town Superior by picking up trash every monday during the summer. My passion is to maintain our current environment and help it thrive for my generation and for those to come. My plan I am working on taking is to 1, start locally by picking up trash, participating in environmental campaigns, doing political campaigning for environmentally friendly candidates and so forth. 2, Finish high school in good standing or attend early college with good environmental ranking and standing along with courses. Get a bachelor's degree in environmental studies or something similar. 3. Go to law school specifically to become an environmental lawyer. From there I will jump into practicing environmental law and be able to fight cases such as the current Largest Buc-ee's gas station proposal in Orange county and to be able to have a larger environmental impact. 4. After I gain enough experience as an environmental lawyer and am confident, buy a mini van/old school bus, renovate it and become a traveling environmental lawyer. i will create my own law firm of travelling environmental lawyers and eventually a program within my law firm to extend grants/scholarships to other students pursuing environmental law and needing money to complete law school or take the bar exam. I am extremely passionate about the environment, having grown up next to the largest source of fresh water and being surrounded by oppressed indigenous communities. I am aware that currently, I can only do as much as picking up trash, working with my family and community to replant trees after large storms and fallen trees, grow my own plants, encourage less harmful alternatives to my family. But I know that someday I will be able to work in a career that allows me to pour my passion into something that matters and will be worth it. It's a big dream and bold dream but it's the kind of dream that might just happen. And if it happens, it will not only have a large environmental impact but it will also inspire minorities such as poc, women and people with disabilities to pursue their wildest dreams.

This photo may look like two cats cuddling and it is! But this photo is also of a cat named Tiger. He was once a tiny traumatized cat from seeing his weary mom be run over by a car. He is only 8-9ish years old but it took him until recently for him to genuinely open up and be himself, no regrets. This photo is very recent and was from the first time he cuddled with me and we had an emotional connection (he also looks like he's smiling! @whattasoftie(ig)

In a community of living next to the largest body of freshwater in the world, you would assume that people wouldn't take their privilege for granted. It is interesting how people will reference a quote by unknown, " you only miss your water when the well runs out", but not act the same way. My name is Astrid and I live on the tip of Lake Superior. In my community, I would like to see a change in which citizens like me treat our water, sky, land and resources. That includes sharing the land with the Native Americans who live here and respecting their heritage, history and who they are. This change would result in less trash and pollutants in our "fresh"water, restrictions on fishing and hunting, local or regional environmental protections being enforced and countless things I've yet to learn. The change I would like to see in my country is different from my community. I live in the United States of America, where the EPA (environmental protection act) is watered down every day to allow businesses to destroy the environment for a dollar sign, a profit and a social status. The change I speak of would take years to happen, years for citizens to realize that climate change exists and puts low income residents and poc at risk every day. It may take decades, dare I say for a change to happen like truly enforcing the EPA and supporting small businesses that make eco friendly products and reusing packaging. My country needs to change to become not only environmentally tolerant, but environmentally supportive of our land and of our futures. Lastly, the largest change I would like to see, pertains to the world we live in. I would like to see the change where we are no longer dying and withering away like plants that were recently scorched by a forest fire, and where we have pushed so hard with all of our sweat and tears to do one thing. Save the planet. To turn around so drastically and switch all the gears, toss out the old ones and make new ones to save the planet, stop climate change at least for now and to wake up one day without seeing the planet lashing out in natural disasters. To enforce these perhaps "radical" changes I have envisioned in my words, to change things locally I pick up at least two bags of garbage every monday on a 4-5 mile walk. I participate in a student alliance with the ACLU to work on civil justice which connects to climate injustice of poc. During the summer I participate in a weekly beach clean up and I always pick up garbage I see on ground wherever I go. I also rideshare with my siblings who can drive to save us gas and money while encouraging others to do the same. Aside from picking up garbage, fighting climate racism and injustice, and ridesharing, I also am working on starting a small business that offers ecofriendly earrings made of paper with reused packing. I grow plants in my tiny bathroom greenhouse like mint plants and bamboo that I use for resources (crafts and tea). In addition I have worked with my friends and family after local natural disasters like extreme storms or winds, to use fallen trees for local crafts and work and to plant new trees! Everyday I am learning and improving myself so I can improve the land and the environment around me. I hope someday that my small impact and change will lead to a big change and a big impact; and I will be a role model to someone who had no idea how to start in helping the environment.