This may be a bit of personal bias because I built such a strong personal connection with whom showed it to me, but my favorite and most recommended book is "The Stand" by Stephen King. My late stepfather was a King fanatic and when he came into our lives when I was a young teen, that was how we bonded because I was always an avid reader. He had all of the classics: "It", "Carrie", "The Dark Tower" series, anything you could think of. This one, however, was a bit more daunting than even his longest works. I chose to read it at the very mature age of fourteen, all twelve-hundred pages. It took me almost half a school year, and I didn't understand half of the meaning, yet I read it. We were able to talk about it for hours on end, and it made him so touched to see me taking on this arduous task. Besides the emotionality behind my favor for this book is simply the content of its pages. It was full of everything you could hope for in a great story. There was fantastic world and character-building full of emotion and heart. There were tons of action and page-turning sections but not so much so that it became numbing or tiresome. There were real-world ties to politics and society, most of which flew over my head. Even at the age of fourteen, I was never bored while reading it, a task a book that long should not have been able to do. Upon my second read, once I entered college, I understood it much better, and its messages about the nature of a self-dooming society were so much more real at that age. And upon my third read after my step-dad passed and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the emotion of losing people yet being able to come together and grow and heal also became stronger. These messages of love and peace amidst a world of destruction really strike home, and is something I think that more people in this world need to keep in mind. With all the chaos and strife that is in the public eye nowadays, it is more important than ever to keep the human connection in mind and remember that we are in this all together, no matter how good or how terrible we make it. We make our own world.

I used to see volunteering as either a way to dispose of extra time, a way to help people on a surface-level, or just a way to get my required hours done for high school graduation. It was never explained to me all the good volunteering does under the surface. I first really fell in love with volunteering when a professor at my culinary school was begging for volunteers- from his freshman "intro to the field" course- in a class where the students were mostly not up to the snuff he wanted for this particular class. He needed help teaching a nutrition and cooking class to Physician's Assistant students. Most, if not all, had never been in an industrial kitchen, had very little culinary experience, and maybe even little interest in the class. I, myself, had little interest in volunteering to be frank. It was on a day I had no classes and would have been more enjoyed spent outside or in the gym. But I wanted to be able to connect outside of class with the professor, and also to get out of my comfort zone- something I have been constantly trying to do at this school. However, as soon as I got over the anxiety that accompanied meeting so many new people in such a new environment with this newfound responsibilty, I realized I was having so much fun. I've since participated in several other very similar events, whether it be to try to make friends, get in good with the professor, or simply to be able to eat what we make. The more I do it the more I realize that I really love the hidden aspects of volunteering. The engagement, the way you can make someone else care about something-especially when it's something you care about-, the education you can pass on which hopefully they will pass on, and the way it perpetuates one's willingness to do good for others. Because of these events, I have participated in other volunteering events and have felt the same appreciation that that was how I decided to spend my time. Years ago, I would have resented being somewhere I was not able to do exactly what I wanted, when. Now, though, I value the ability to make this choice and to be able to make other people feel good because it has hit home for me that that is truly what we all want. Seeing someone light up when they gain a new skill in the kitchen, or the smile of exhaustion they give when you relieve a heavy burden from an elder at a farmer's market, or the laugh a child makes when they see the batter they made turn into a muffin in 30 seconds in the microwave. These moments are truly what have made me realize what is great about volunteering: not what you are actually teaching or assisting in, but how that makes people feel. How those feelings continue to effect them as they move forward. How your actions influence their actions towards others in their lives, and hopefully allow them to pass on just a little bit of goodness to everyone they know.

Ben Morris Healthy is a word that I personally try not to use, especially in terms of food. But really, it applies to all aspects of life. This is because trying to label a food item, a habit, an action- really any one thing- healthy doesn't take into account health's subjectivity. For instance, something healthy for one person may be unhealthy for another. Health is such a holistic, progressive journey it is hard for me to label things as such. However, this is not to discount making strides and goals to better one's lifestyle. Of that I am a huge proponent. My career goals are dedicated to such, and I am constantly doing so in my personal life as well. Most of the energy I put forward into bettering myself revolves around food and my physical health. I used to struggle with weight and was obese for much of my youth and adolescence. This had a very negative emotional and mental toll, so in correcting these physical habits I have also bettered their relationship with my mental and emotional health as well. Some of the biggest changes I have made have been self-educating on nutrition and exercise, practicing intuitive eating and impulse control, and also making cooking a creative outlet. All these have helped me first gain control over the impulse to binge eat but then also release the need for minute control, again resulting in both physical and mental improvements. This has helped me shift into learning about my own emotions and mental health by allowing me to practice more abstract habits on something grounded and physical, which is something I have learned I need to do to be able to accustomize to something. Because so much of eating has to do with your emotions and mentality, at least these days, it is important for me to keep all these habits in mind constantly. This then allows me to actually focus on the more surface-level aspects of nutrition such as things like macronutrients and micronutrients, overall calorie intake, and other minutia. For someone who is very active, I do have a bit of leeway when it comes to the minutia of my diet. Though this is true, I still try to practice high levels of nutrition not only because it will assist in my endeavors as an athlete, but will also be necessary to practice these when my ability to exercise lessens as I age. The biggest thing I try to focus on is overall calorie intake. Research often shows that eating at a lower calorie range is simply better for health and longevity. One case this is abundantly clear is with Okinawans, who often eat until just satisfied, and no more. Beyond this, they also eat, or at least used to, very cleanly with a diet high in vegetables, natural carb sources, and little proteins with saturated fat. That leads into another habit I try to practice: simply making an effort to eat whole, unrefined foods. I feel if you can make most of the foods in your diet of this type, it will carry you a long way. Not only does it reduce the amount of calories you eat because they're often lower density, but it also reduces the amount of added sugars, hydrogenated oils, artificial ingredients and additives, and many other ingredients linked with poor health outcomes. It also increases things associated with positive health. I do try to not go overboard with these habits though as it, for me at least, can become restrictive and unhealthy very quickly.

Ben Morris Healthy is a word that I personally try not to use, especially in terms of food. But really, it applies to all aspects of life. This is because trying to label a food item, a habit, an action- really any one thing- healthy doesnt take into account health's subjectivity. For instance, something healthy for one person may be unhealthy for another. Or, as so often happens, one healthy habit is often replaced with an unhealthy one in another area of one's life. Health is such a holistic, progressive journey it is hard for me to label things as such. However, this is not to discount making strides and goals to better one's lifestyle. Of that I am a huge proponent. My career goals are dedicated to such, and I am constantly doing so in my personal life as well. Most of the energy I put forward into bettering myself revolves around food and my physical health. I used to struggle with weight and was obese for much of my youth and adolescence. This had a very negative emotional and mental toll, so in correcting these physical habits I have also bettered their relationship with my mental and emotional health as well. Some of the biggest changes I have made have been self-educating on nutrition and exercise, practicing intuitive eating and impulse control, and also making cooking a creative outlet. All these have helped me first gain control over the impulse to binge eat but then also release the need for minute control, again resulting in both physical and mental improvements. This has helped me shift into learning about my own emotions and mental health by allowing me to practice more abstract habits on something grounded and physical, which is something I have learned I need to do to be able to accustomize to something. In terms of less concrete and physical changes I have made many a change when it comes to the abstract concepts of health. I used to be very out of touch when it came to my emotions and mental health, so it has been a long journey of learning about myself. Therapy, meditation, intentional thinking, self reassurance, and constantly checking in are some of the habits and behaviors I've learned have tremendous benefits, at least for me. I am constantly checking in on how I am feeling, constantly reassuring that my behaviors are reasonable, and constantly doing things with intention. These habits keep me grounded and let me practice self-work and make improvements without getting caught up in the spiral of intrusive thoughts and destructive behavior that I am wont to. Another huge battle that I have faced with my health is my struggle with addiction. Whether it be food, nicotine, marijuana, or alcohol, I have constantly been juggling vices for much of my adult life. Though not completely free of them, I am surely in the best space I have ever been. I can drink comfortably, though try to only socially, without bingeing. I can partake in marijuana without becoming dependent on it to get through the day. I can overeat without guilt the whole day or week because of it. And I am not constantly smoking nicotine products, instead just giving into cravings when they hit instead of trying to abstain, which would usually result in a lapse and then weeks or months of abuse. These practices have allowed me to move past the physical boggings of addiction and have allowed me to truly focus on the holisticity of health, easier when you're not battling each individual aspect one at a time.

Benjamin Morris Johnson & Wales University 6 July 2023 Biology and Chemistry These subjects have little to do with what I am pursuing in my life and career at face value, but are two words that mean very very much to me. This goes beyond their classical meaning in terms of studies, but more their implication to everyday life. A way to express what I am trying to say is to relate them to the idea of nature vs. nurture or the adage of blood is thicker than water- on a side note, I must acknowledge how I abhor this line without its finish: 'but the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb'. I am basically trying to say that the biology of family has less importance and value to me than the chemistry between those who you call your family. I say this to not discredit my family, but my experiences in life have made me realize that just because someone is family does not mean they are going to act like it. My biological father was an emotionally neglectful, physically abusive man who put our family into a state of disarray through his erratics and instability. Two years after he and my mother divorced, my mother remarried one of the greatest men I've met as of yet. His name was Marc Dupre, and I love him more than I've ever loved my own father. I have not spoken to my biological father in more than two years after a Christmas dinner at my sister's newly started home turned sour and he reduced both my older sister and younger brother to tears at the dinner table. I have also not spoken to my real father in almost a year, as he passed away from a long fight with cancer on August 30th, 2022. He passed peacefully at home, and I was not there as I had my first day of culinary labs that semester and did not want to miss them. That is something I will always be sorry about; not having been there. He was my best friend for years and our personalities were near perfect matches. We could laugh together, cry together, or just sit and do nothing together. We both struggled with weight all our lives and were able to truly understand that struggle, as well as the struggles we faced against depression, substance abuse, anxiety, loneliness, and so many others. He helped me learn how to handle these, overcome these, and I carry with me these lessons into my manhood. It was always our deep talks which brought me the greatest joy and sense of belonging. Some of my favorite memories, beyond these deep talks, were times when we could just enjoy each other's company passing the time with a simple activity. Whether it be watching sports, old TV shows or movies, or cooking together, these were the times when time would just pass by without effort, and when life was easiest. There was and never will be any substitute for these types of connections in my eyes; one in which you can just spend time with the other person and never look at the clock. It pains me every day that he will never be able to see the milestones of my life- college graduation, seeing me living alone, seeing me if I ever start a family- yet these all pale in comparison to the heartache and despair I feel reminiscing on those types of days, knowing that I'll never get to enjoy his simple company just being together.

Recovery is more than just the initial journey of stopping abuse. It's the lifelong process of changing and healing that follows this abuse. And this abuse comes to a head because of a need to quell some other deeper pain. Self medicating, numbing, abusing, whatever you want to call it is more often than not an attempt to control something, anything in ones life. At least that's how I see it as how it starts for most people. You are just looking to have a part of your life that you have complete control over and that only you can decide. But when that control turns into dependence, turns into need, turns into abuse, that is when you truly must look at the root cause issue. The process of recovery is truly this. Looking at why one feels or felt the need to abuse a substance will help you recover from that root cause that drives substance abuse. If recovery were simply lessening the usage and abuse itself, it would be so easy to relapse. And that's why relapse, of abuse, crime, etc., is so high: because recovery is far too often seen as just ridding yourself of the use of the substance. But when one can truly find the motive for the abuse, that is when one can truly recover. Recover from the abuse, recover from the trauma, recover from the neglect, recover from the pain. Recovery is harder than just quitting, recover is healing from all of it.

I love to help people and make people happy, and food is one of the best ways I know how to do this. Food and the culinary industry has been a huge part of my life for nearly a decade professionally, and even longer personally. I have worked in restaurants since I was 15, so 7 years now. I love serving people and making people happy through food, as that is one of the ways I most commonly find happiness. That really sums up why I love the culinary industry so, but there is so much more to it than that. I love to cook and make delicious food, but a lot of times it is more than the food itself that brings me pleasure. Finishing a challenging dish or fixing something I may have messed up on is one of the best feelings for me. Seeing someone's eyes glow when looking at a dish I made, or seeing them slouch after tasting something really delicious brings me no greater joy. I've always wanted to help people and to make them happy, and food is one thing that everyone derives great pleasure from. This aspect of the culinary industry, making people happy, is why I choose to work in it and keep challenging myself. The better I become, the happier I can make people. Though food is such a common way to achieve happiness, it can also cause pain and detriments at times. As far as health goes, food is one of the most common culprits in the development of chronic diseases. As it is a drug, food relationships can become very rocky at times, and can be a great source of physical, mental, and emotional distress. I myself have been obese, but have worked very hard to achieve control and a healthy relationship with food. Having lost over 120 pounds over several years, I am now the happiest and healthiest I have ever been. I love seeing people traverse the same journey and overcome their difficulties. I would love to one day be able to help people very personally and with them to work on these challenges. Food can be one of the greatest friends or worst enemies of different people, and that is one thing that I would love to help people to fix and overcome. Seeing someone build a healthy relationship with food while still being able to enjoy what they eat and their food is one of the greatest satisfactions for me. I hope to be able to affect people in a positive, long-term, healthful way and I believe by helping them with food issues is one great way to do so.