I have always had a heart for leading and serving. Throughout the years, I have participated in too many projects to count–some large and some small. A few memories that particularly stand out to me are working with special education students, repairing homes for low-income residents of the Mississippi Delta, and creating art and cards for those suffering. Also, I am very involved with my church and youth group. I have done a lot with them, such as serving at the local homeless shelters and visiting nursing homes. At my church, I am a part of the youth leadership team and worship team, which involves leading small–and sometimes large–groups, working to coordinate events, and guiding worship. I also work with the children's ministry often; my favorite part is leading crafts or songs. At my school, I lead multiple clubs whose focuses range from academics to Christianity or service. I also love to find ways to support my small town. I have volunteered time to paint faces at local festivals and pick up trash on our main street many times. From all of this and more, I have worked well over three hundred service hours throughout high school, but despite the work, it feels like a blessing to use my gifts to help people. I am genuinely passionate about serving others, and I want to continue doing this in college and afterward in my career as an architect by making Mississippi a better place for its people. After college, I want to work towards getting my license and building my portfolio as well as increasing my network. Eventually, I want to work at a firm that designs for people and encourages change and new ideas. I am very interested in new urbanism, and I hope my future job enables me to help Mississippi grow toward a brighter future that promotes people’s health and happiness. I am very excited to learn about new technology and resources that I can use to create my designs. From new software to advanced building materials, I am excited to see what the future holds. I hope to build relationships with people so I can create great designs that they love. Additionally, I am excited to work on projects that promote affordable housing, and sustainable materials, and combat urban sprawl. It may be far off, but starting my own firm that utilizes all of these things I have talked about is a dream of mine.

I have always loved two things: creating things and helping people. I will be going to Mississippi State University in the fall to study architecture, and once I get my degree, I want to continue these actions in my adult life. My dad is an architect so I have seen the good and bad of the profession my entire life and I am prepared for it. I know architecture is a very time-consuming, difficult, and expensive major so I am extremely grateful for any financial assistance whatsoever. Along with regular housing, tuition, food, and commuting costs, architecture requires a heavy amount of expensive supplies. From certain kinds of pencils to a brand-new, high-cost computer, I will have to find a way to pay for these items. Financial aid would lighten the burden of having a part-time job so I can dedicate more time to my major and other extracurriculars. Despite all of this, I believe I can get it paid for to live out my dream of becoming an architect. I love art and architecture so I have always tried to intertwine this with my passion for helping others. Projects such as making cards for hurting people and painting murals on storm shelters in my town, I always try to use my talents for good. I have also used my creative eye many times to decorate my church; many of my service projects are related to or done through my church. I am a Christian first before anything else and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for me. Other things that may not seem “artistic” but I still love doing are working with the special education students at my school, feeding lunch at the Salvation Army, and repairing homes for the low-income elderly in the Mississippi Delta. Part of these tasks involves simply talking to people and being kind which I strive to do every day. From all of this and more, I have worked well over 200 service hours throughout high school but despite the work, it just feels like a blessing that I get to use my gifts to help people. Although I would love to go on a large-scale mission trip one day, I deeply enjoy helping people locally. Mississippi will never drastically improve unless the young people stay and help it grow. After college, I want to use my education to work in Mississippi and make it a better place through projects such as affordable housing, sustainable building, and more walkable, people-centered communities that support health and happiness. I have researched these topics quite a bit and with the education I will receive at Mississippi State University, I believe I can make these dreams a reality.

Since 1962, when Spider-Man was introduced in the comics, he has been one of the most loved and iconic superheroes of all time. There have been many different variations of him and all have been unique in their own way. For years there has been a dispute as to who is the best Spider-Man. ‘Best’ can mean different things to different people, so this debate will focus on comic book accuracy and the actor’s depiction of the character. After analyzing all the aspects of the characters, there is an obvious choice for who is the superior Spider-Man. To assess who is the best, it must be determined what makes Spider-Man, Spider-Man. He gets his name from his spider-like strength, speed, and abilities. When it comes to strength, Holland takes this one with no question. In Spider-Man: Homecoming he holds together a ferry and, even though it is only for a few seconds, it is one of the most impressive feats out of all three Spider-Men. He also lifted a building off of himself near the end of the movie. The pinnacle of Maguire’s strength is seen in the train scene, and while that is impressive, it falls short in light of Holland’s show of strength. The best we got out of Garfield was him lifting a car. However, he does make up for that with his spider-like fighting moves and his great humor. He has the best quips and he makes funny comments during fights which is very accurate to the original character. Although Garfield is a great Spider-Man, he is not as great as Peter Parker. All three Peter Parker's had money problems and complicated love lives which are kind of motifs in Peter’s life. Maguire most definitely had a hectic double life but he was a bit more serious and awkward. Garfield was almost not awkward enough and had a much more trendy, skater feel. While Maguire and Garfield were in their late twenties when they took the role, Holland was only nineteen. This really helps emphasize the innocence and youthfulness that is classic to the character. However, his movies are missing a key part of Peter Parker’s story; Uncle Ben. Tony Stark takes up the father figure role in his life and, while there was an Uncle Ben in his past, he has not been seen on screen. Intelligence is another big part of Spider-Man’s characterization. All three movies show that intelligence but some movies focus on it more than others. Maguire is geeky and smart but nowhere near the genesis that Peter Parker should be. He doesn’t have Spider-Man’s quick wit or sarcasm. He also had organic webs instead of the classic homemade web shooters. Holland’s intelligence level is portrayed as more accurate in his movies. It is also stated that he is the smartest person at his school while Garfield was second only to Gwen Stacy. While both Holland and Garfield made their own webs, Holland also tailored his suit specifically to hone his enhanced senses. Tobey Maguire did a good job at playing Peter Parker and will always be held in high regard for being the first one to bring the web-slinger to the big screen. Andrew Garfield made a more than satisfactory Spider-Man that was unique and had an unforgettable love story. Nevertheless, Tom Holland excels in both sides of the character. He has the geeky and loveable nature of Peter Parker while also having the confident and witty qualities of Spider-Man, pulling together what neither of the previous actors could. Holland understands that with great power comes great responsibility.

When I was thirteen, I went to the doctor with a cold and the nurse discovered a heart murmur. Long story short I had an atrial septal disorder (ASD), a hole in the wall of my heart. I'd had it since birth but it had grown in size. In March 2020, I got a noninvasive heart surgery which I, fortunately, recovered from quickly. My surgeon said it was the largest ASD he has ever seen and he left the operating room during surgery to discuss with my parents that he might have to perform open heart surgery. It all happened so quickly but during quarantine, I had a lot of time to reflect on the surgery and how my life could have been so different if we had not noticed my ASD. At the time, I had already run cross country for two years; that was the only sport I had ever done. My doctors said running is probably what worsened my ASD and I was terrified I wouldn't be able to keep running. I remember instantly crying in the doctor's office when I heard this and crying again when I had to tell my coach. Thankfully I got to pick back up in the following season my ninth-grade year. I guess I had taken for granted simple things such as sports. I did not realize how much cross country meant to me but the thought of not being able to do it revealed a lot of things to me. I was never that good at running. As a 5'1" girl who is not "slim" and who had never done another sport, it did not come naturally to me as it did to some other people. It stung to see my friends excel without trying that hard. I never thought I'd be anything other than mediocre and it wasn't that important to me so I didn't put in as much effort as I could have. After my surgery, I realized I should take advantage of the opportunities set before me so I tackled the challenge head on and tried my hardest. A little too much enthusiasm and not enough proper running knowledge lead to a four-month-long hip injury that started at the end of my freshman year after a pretty successful track season. I was able to fully embrace running again in the last half of my sophomore season but I was weak and so were my times. I continued to pursue my dream through the off-season. Just the small glimpse in my freshman track season of what being a top runner might look like was enough to keep me going. Now the unbelievable is happening and I am going into my senior season as the top girl on the team. If someone had told younger me, or anyone else for that matter, that I would be the top girl on our multiple-time state champion team by my senior year, we would have laughed in their face. It's all going by so fast and sometimes I get tired of it but I'm trying to savor all of it, the good and the bad. Six years of cross country has definitely built a lot of character and it has also made my life so much happier and healthier. I hope to run in college and run marathons when I'm older. My journey with my atrial septal disorder showed me that while I do have to work very hard for things, it is possible to achieve my goals if I have enough drive.

When I was thirteen, I went to the doctor with a cold and the nurse discovered a heart murmur. Long story short I had an atrial septal disorder (ASD), a hole in the wall of my heart. I'd had it since birth but it had grown in size. In March 2020, I got a noninvasive heart surgery which I, fortunately, recovered from quickly. My surgeon said it was the largest ASD he has ever seen and he left the operating room during surgery to discuss with my parents that he might have to perform open heart surgery. It all happened so quickly but during quarantine, I had a lot of time to reflect on the surgery and how my life could have been so different if we had not noticed my ASD. At the time, I had already run cross country for two years; that was the only sport I had ever done. My doctors said running is probably what worsened my ASD and I was terrified I wouldn't be able to keep running. I remember instantly crying in the doctor's office when I heard this and crying again when I had to tell my coach. Thankfully I got to pick back up in the following season my ninth-grade year. I guess I had taken for granted simple things such as sports. I did not realize how much cross country meant to me but the thought of not being able to do it revealed a lot of things to me. I was never that good at running. As a 5'1" girl who is not "slim" and who had never done another sport, it did not come naturally to me as it did to some other people. It stung to see my friends excel without trying that hard. I never thought I'd be anything other than mediocre and it wasn't that important to me so I didn't put in as much effort as I could have. After my surgery, I realized I should take advantage of the opportunities set before me so I tackled the challenge head on and tried my hardest. A little too much enthusiasm and not enough proper running knowledge lead to a four-month-long hip injury that started at the end of my freshman year after a pretty successful track season. I was able to fully embrace running again in the last half of my sophomore season but I was weak and so were my times. I continued to pursue my dream through the off-season. Just the small glimpse in my freshman track season of what being a top runner might look like was enough to keep me going. Now the unbelievable is happening and I am going into my senior season as the top girl on the team. If someone had told younger me, or anyone else for that matter, that I would be the top girl on our multiple-time state champion team by my senior year, we would have laughed in their face. It's all going by so fast and sometimes I get tired of it but I'm trying to savor all of it, the good and the bad. Six years of cross country has definitely built a lot of character and it has also made my life so much happier and healthier. I hope to run in college and run marathons when I'm older. My journey with my atrial septal disorder showed me that while I do have to work very hard for things, it is possible to achieve my goals if I have enough drive.

I don't want my dream house to be big. Surprising and maybe not very "Barbie" of me but this is my dream house. A warm, cozy, detailed-oriented house is my dream. I still want to have plenty of room to entertain guests and host gatherings with family and friends, just as Barbie would intend. I would want this house to be located in North Carolina, not too hot or cold, with both beaches and mountains. Something old and unique, with plenty of projects to keep me busy. Something of my childhood dreams. When you enter the front door, which does have stained glass windows, you have a coat rack to your right. To your left is the living room which would be very cozy and it would have a fireplace with my dog's bed next to it and a comfy couch you sink into with a variety of colorful pillows haphazardly thrown about. Behind the living room is the kitchen, with many windows and dark green cabinets. There would be a breakfast nook in the corner with a plaid tablecloth and flowers in a vase that always stays fresh. They can do that because this is my dream house, it doesn't have to be realistic. The dishes also magically get washed because I said so. On the other side of the house, a few short steps from the kitchen is the dining room. This room would be used during the holidays and any other time I would have people over for meals. On the walls would be chair rail trim with a detailed wallpaper above it and a solid color below it. There would also be gold candelabras hanging on the wall with some eclectic pieces of art hanging between them. Near the dining room would be a library with every book I've ever read or want to read or probably need to read for some reason or another. There would be a deep cushioned chair and ottoman next to a bay window where I could sit and read for hours. A vintage glass lamp would sit on my dark oak desk where I can romanticize doing work that I've been procrastinating. Upstairs would be my bedroom with a king bed and a private bathroom. I would need one or two guest bedrooms of course for when people come to visit. There would also be a studio space with a lot of natural lighting so I can work on my paintings and other projects. Drop cloths would be covering the original herringbone hardwood floors, trying to protect them from paint in vain. I wish to have a garden in the backyard to grow some of my own food. As well as a patio with an outdoor dining area and a grill. All around my house, there would be a variety of flowers and greenery as well as some bird feeders so I can watch hummingbirds from my window. It's been a dream of mine to pursue a career in architecture since I was very young. Perhaps if I can make that dream come true, then I can make my dream house a reality.