A few years ago, I created an educational website for people to learn first aid and CPR skills. I included credible videos from the American Red Cross and the British Red Cross. All of my information and videos came from sources from medical organizations and hospitals. I knew I needed to create this resource based on experiences my father has had in his profession. My dad is a firefighter-paramedic and runs on so many people going through medical emergencies. I have also attended classes through his employer to learn first aid, CPR, AED, and babysitting skills. In these classes, I learned so many skills that I believed everyone should learn to be able to save lives in emergencies. As more people learn these skills, more lives could be saved. Another resource that could save lives would be an extension of sorts on Siri and Alexa. If I had the funding, I would create a mental health support resource with Siri, Alexa, and other similar software. Many people today suffer from anxiety and depression, and this extension could help them within seconds. With this software, they could be led through breathing and mind-calming exercises in moments of panic, stress, or extreme sadness. If the AI hears anything about suicide or suicidal ideations, it would contact the National Suicide Hotline to call for help. I had this idea a while back, and I would like to discuss it with my mom, who is a licensed therapist. I could come up with the most helpful resource possible with her help. I have already made a bilateral stimulation website for her to utilize during her therapy sessions. I think I could make something even greater, though. This issue is a very personal one for me. Both my younger sister and I suffer from anxiety, and many of my friends do, too. A family member of mine died by suicide in 2015. In the last decade alone, I have had around four other family friends die by suicide. Because of a death in 2021, I fell into a deep depression myself. Since then, I have struggled with my mental health, but my experience in therapy and support from my family have helped me get through my troubles. I do not ever want anyone to experience anxiety and depression as deeply as I have seen, which is why I want to create a resource such as this software extension. I want people to be able to feel seen and heard when they need help. My solution is only a tiny step toward combatting the mental health crisis, but one tiny step is better than none.

My own definition of feminism is promoting equity between genders and sexes. Many others may share this view on feminism in this patriarchal world. Feminism is one of the most important things in my life because I want to live in a future where I as a woman can receive the same treatment and respect a man receives. Too many women face hardships that they should never experience. They all should have bodily autonomy without government interference. Women should be able to go to school and be educated about the world. Men and women should be on an equal playing field. My mother is an incredible feminist role model in my life. When I was young, she was a police officer and detective, but she was forced out of the profession by sexism and harassment. She had filed a lawsuit against the police department and won. My mom has always empowered my sister and me do do whatever we want with our lives and be unafraid to achieve our goals. I see feminism as so very necessary in our world because of my mom. We both saw an issue in society and wanted to make it better. I work to make differences myself in my community by raising awareness on social media and speaking out about injustices. I also sign petitions to lawmakers, and this year I finally get to vote on issues I feel strongly about. I am extremely excited to have my voice heard as an adult in the United States. I also use my voice within my school community. I go to an all-girls private school in St. Louis, so I am always supported when I speak up about inequality. Earlier this school year, I experienced sexual harassment in the form of unwelcome comments and glances. I was completely supported by school authorities, and the situation was handled quickly and thoroughly. I have not had any issues since then. My value of feminism made me feel strong enough to speak up even when I did not have all of the facts and details of the situation. So many women in my life, including myself, have experienced sexism in some form during their lives. I desperately want this inequality and disrespect to end. I want the feminist movement to become even stronger in the near future to combat this issue. I know for certain I will be part of the movement to help it be strengthened.

My biggest dream is to become a great leader, a talented web developer, and a well-rounded woman. The greatest way for me to achieve this dream is by attending the best college for my interests. A good college will provide me with opportunities to improve my leadership and programming skills and to allow myself to better express who I am to the world. College is important to me because it gives me the opportunity to better myself in my talents and my self-expression. I consider my best talents to be coding, dancing, sewing, and crocheting. I have been a dancer since the age of 2, a seamstress and crocheter since middle school, and began my coding education the summer before eighth grade. I am currently a competitive dancer and am part of the hip hop, tap, and contemporary routines at my studio. As of now, I have learned eight coding languages: HTML, CSS, Ruby, JavaScript, Swift, Python, SQL, and Java. In college, I hope to work toward mastering these skills. I want to achieve a degree in Computer Science with a minor in Spanish. I do want to attend Saint Louis University for this degree, and I could travel abroad to the University’s campus in Spain to enhance my Spanish skills. I am always looking for ways to keep learning new things and improve on what I can already do. On the other hand, I have always struggled with finding good ways to express myself. I never had consistent friendships in my life, so my confidence and self-esteem has risen and fallen throughout the years. I was always the person everyone came to for homework help or anything academic but rarely the one people befriended. I feel like an outsider when I am around my peers now. I do not feel accepted for who I am most of the time, so I find it hard to be able to express myself around those who do not seem to care. My hope is that college will give me healthy avenues for self-expression and creating long-lasting friendships. Lately, that is all I have wanted: healthy friendships with people who care about me and who I care about most. I want to find “my people.” I know that finding good friends will help me gain confidence to express myself more fully. During my college years, I hope to find myself. I want to explore my talents and interests all while gaining great relationships with those around me. I want to work toward learning new programming languages and improving my skills in the ones I already know. I would love to keep sewing, dancing, crocheting, and everything else I love so much. Most of all, I want to be able to do these things with friends. Having good, reliable people in my life will help me achieve these things and more. A great college experience will allow me to do anything I aspire to do. All of these reasons are why college is important to me.

The quality I value the most in myself is my ability to persevere. I have been through many trying times, but I still came out the other side of the tunnel each time. As a competitive dancer, I have been shown much disrespect and stood up for myself. Those times did not necessarily go as planned, but they led me to new, better opportunities. I am currently happy where I am in my dance experience. During my sophomore year of high school, I lost two of my great-grandparents in the span of 6 weeks due to COVID-19. A few weeks later, in 2021, a family friend died by suicide that January. Two months later in March, my best friend was kicked out of my dance studio for breaking a few rules. Yet it was of no fault of mine, she completely stopped talking to me after everything happened. Then in April, I was in a car accident. My car was totaled, my nose was broken, and my forehead was bruised. The person who caused the accident drove away. That was when I first started experiencing panic attacks and horrible anxiety. In May 2021, I was assaulted by a classmate out of the blue. We had been good friends, but during a lunch period, she tackled me and held her arm against my throat to choke me. She also hit me where the bruise from the accident was on my forehead. Not long after, some of my friends kicked me out of the group simply because I had asked why I was not invited to a get-together. Another friend of mine asked them the same question but was treated with much more respect than I was. After that, I went on to join my third friend group in my time in high school. The year of 2021 was very difficult, but I was able to persevere and find better things for my life. Now, as a high school senior, I am in a stable friend group, and I kept up my good grades. I still had some more bumps in the road, such as an emergency appendectomy the week before finals in May 2022. I know there will be more hard times ahead of me, but my past experiences have prepared me for the future. I am confident that I can work through them like I have before. My ability to persevere will help me do anything in the future. I know that reaching my goals can be a rocky and rough journey, but I am tough and can hike even the tallest mountain.

In April 2021, I was in a terrifying car accident. I was on my way to school when a car next to me came into my lane and ran me off the road. They had hit me, and I lost control of the car, hit a concrete median, and went airborne. The car finally stopped when it crashed into a wooden utility pole. Luckily, the only injury I sustained was a broken nose. The person who hit me never stopped. Other people stopped to help, though. One of the people followed the car that hit mine and got a picture of the license plate. He and another witness stayed with me when the police officer and my family arrived. Both gave statements about the accident. The person who hit me had also given a statement. Even though they had not stopped, a police officer eventually pulled them over a few days later. They had asked them about the incident, and they lied about what happened that morning. To the extent of my knowledge, they never suffered any consequences for his actions. I, on the other hand, suffered greatly. The day after my accident, I went to a dance competition. That night I had my first major panic attack. Since then, my anxiety has been much worse than it ever was before. It took me months to be able to drive again. I also refused to drive another blue car. Now, at age 17, I am driving again with a little less anxiety. I do not panic as much anymore, either. I always watch my surroundings to ensure that I am safe. I did take some time, but after persevering and allowing time to pass, I was able to overcome the experience and get back to normal.

The most inspiring book I have ever read was "My Dear Hamilton" by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. The book is about Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton's wife. Eliza was a force to be reckoned with throughout her long life. When she was younger, she and her father became friends with the native tribe where they lived in New York. During the Revolutionary War, she met Alexander Hamilton, and they married in 1780. They fought through life together, especially when Alexander entered politics and faced ridicule constantly. She endured the betrayal of her husband's affair with Maria Reynolds. She lost both her husband and her eldest son to duels. Eliza outlived her husband by decades and used those decades well. She told Alexander's story to make sure he would never be forgotten, raised funds for the Washington Monument, advocated for abolition, and opened the first private orphanage in NYC. Throughout her life, she remained strong and helped care for so many people. This is the most inspiring book I have read because it shows the power women can have. Eliza demonstrated how women should be able to do whatever they want. Women can be independent, strong, outspoken, perseverant, head-strong, and so much more. Eliza never let much get in the way of her own goals and happiness. She is an excellent role model for women and inspires generation after generation to follow their hearts and be bold.