Our planet is the most valuable resource we have as humans, without it life as we know it wouldn't be possible. We must take care of our planet, we will never get a new one and damage to it is often irreversible. We must bring widespread awareness to this global issue and each makes individual efforts to reduce our carbon footprint before it is too late. Your carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide you emit into the atmosphere. Whether that be by driving your car, taking a train, flying, or using up electricity that's powered with carbon emissions. We can all reduce our carbon emissions by being mindful of certain activities' impact on the atmosphere. For example, I drive a Honda Civic and it gets great gas mileage, less gas burned is less carbon in the atmosphere. In addition, I often go out of my way to ride my motorcycle in good conditions for even better gas mileage, again less gas burned is less carbon in the atmosphere. When I leave a room, I turn the lights off, I turn off my computer while I'm not using it and turn off the TV when I'm not watching it. Simple things add up to create less emissions, while you don't have to change your entire lifestyle be conscious of the carbon crisis and do what you can to reduce your footprint. If we want a healthy atmosphere to live in we should take this issue seriously, we want clean air to breathe and blue skies to gaze. The most important thing is to inform others about the climate crisis, while one person can make a difference it will take a global effort to significantly slow damage to our atmosphere. The biggest challenge for global environmental activists is getting other nations to address the carbon crisis and take steps to mitigate their contribution to it. I'm passionate about this issue because my generation is the one that will likely suffer the effects of our ancestor's ignorance. Taking steps in my daily life to reduce my carbon footprint has to be one of the most fulfilling feelings when it comes to knowing I'm doing my part to keep our atmosphere clean. I often think of the climate crisis in my daily life, it's a huge topic in the media and often shows up in my college classes. That's because this issue is real and it affects us all, so we need to address it and pitch in for a brighter future with a cleaner globe.

I'm currently a senior in high school competing at the varsity level for wrestling. This is my 3rd year of varsity wrestling, while sports are important I make it a priority to maintain a healthy GPA too, my current semester GPA is 4.5 on a 4.0 scale. I enjoy taking interesting dual enrollment courses and other AP classes, however, balancing sports and grades has not come without challenges. Deadlines are super important in my classes especially at the college level, so time management has been a valuable skill. Being organized and purposeful with my time has been one of the most important life skills I have ever learned. It allows me to be involved in many activities I'm passionate about, even with a packed schedule. In addition to school and sports, I participate in a program called the Civil Air Patrol. The Civil Air Patrol is a volunteer cadet program with a mission of supporting America's communities with emergency response, diverse aviation and ground services, youth development, and promotion of air, space and cyber power. I have been a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol for more than 3 years. During this time, I have served on my squadron's cadet staff for nearly 2 years. I have been assigned multiple mentees, held several leadership positions, and served as the Cadet Commander of my squadron. I love supporting my community by being involved in programs like the Civil Air Patrol. In the future, I plan to attend college and join the military as an officer through the ROTC program. I also enjoy participating in a volunteer service club at my school called the Interact Club, in which we volunteer for local organizations and charities. I have even reached out privately to organizations that need volunteers. For example, I coordinated a weed cleanup at the local Chestertown Whittsit Center where I logged 12 hours of weed pulling. Being involved in sports like wrestling has given me the mindset to overcome challenges and have discipline. That mindset will be very useful in college where I'm sure I will face my hardest challenges yet. Doing hard things and keeping my schedule full has prepared me for that college experience, I believe that with hard work and determination, I can accomplish anything. So while attending college is financially difficult, I have the tools to make my dreams of going to school a reality. No matter how many challenges I face on my journey through college being a student-athlete involved in extracurriculars is sure to have prepared me for time management and challenges along the way.

Success to me means constant self-improvement and progress towards achieving my goals. My current goal is to attend college, I want nothing more than the opportunity to earn my bachelor's degree and join the military through the ROTC program. For most of my teenage years, I have been involved with the Civil Air Patrol. The Civil Air Patrol is a volunteer cadet program with a mission of supporting America's communities with emergency response, diverse aviation and ground services, youth development, and promotion of air, space and cyber power. Growing up with some amazing cadets in the CAP program I have watched many go on to higher education and become very successful. Many of those cadets were role models to me as a young man and they have inspired me to pursue higher education. My backup plan, if college is too expensive, is to enlist, my objective in my senior year of high school has been to seize every opportunity that may make college more affordable. If I were allowed the opportunity to attend college I would make the most of it, I want an earlier start to higher education so that I may begin my career in a meaningful and impactful job field. Graduating from college with a bachelor's degree in either psychology or criminology will start me in the right direction to achieve my dream career in the military. More specifically I hope to fly in either the Marine Corps or Army after graduating from either of their respected ROTC programs. Earning a bachelor's degree is the only way to become an officer in the military and becoming an officer is the only way to open up new career choices for me. My plan after becoming an officer and securing a job would be to serve for decades until my eventual retirement. Not only do I plan on building a career off of my degree but I also plan on attending post-graduate school to earn a higher degree. I'm extremely passionate about my career path and going to college will set me up to live a meaningful life, however, attending college under the wrong circumstances can be dangerous. Student loans can be devastating for many, especially when taking on that loan by yourself. I have done a lot of research to make my dream of success a reality, I want the best chance to attend a well-respected but affordable college. If I'm not awarded an ROTC scholarship then an in-state college such as the University of Maryland may be in the cards for me. Through hard work and perseverance, I can achieve my goals. I hope to ultimately impact those I meet along the way, whether it be a fellow student, ROTC cadet, or military service member I will do my absolute best to make a positive influence on others' lives. I chose the military specifically to be of service to my home, nation and all the great people in it. My ultimate view of success is being in a position where I can help others and make a real difference in the world. I believe that I can make it to college and further but I will need some sort of financial relief along the way.

I have been involved in high school varsity wrestling for 3 years now, I'm now in my senior year and last season of varsity wrestling. This year I hope to come back and accomplish what I couldn't last year, in my junior year I received two close-decision 2nd place medals in high school tournaments. Both tournaments hosted at least a dozen schools, in both tournaments I lost my final match 3-2. At the height of my junior season, I held an approximate record of 21-3. I have been an underdog since I started wrestling, and this year I plan to take control of my destiny and win a tournament. I have trained all summer in preparation for the 23-24 wrestling season, throughout my high school career I have wrestled against the favorite in most major matches. One situation where I was considered an underdog was at my home Kent County Holiday tournament in the finals match. I fell short in the final seconds of my match, this year I remain the underdog coming from a small school with a small team of about 10 wrestlers. I have learned through wrestling to embrace my losses and take full accountability for them. Carrying those losses into the last season of my high school year has been a strong motivational factor in my training. I want to make my coaches proud, the current head coach of my team has been supporting our often underrepresented wrestling program for 20+ years, he has made sacrifices in his personal and work life to provide our team with the tools to be competitive. He has taught me the value of sportsmanship and the art of being humble. My close losses have taught me more than any win I have ever received, this year I will push through in times of need not only for myself but for my teammates and coaches who work hard to make our wrestling team the best it can be. I will do my best to make my wrestling family proud, regardless of my opposition I will perform to my absolute best. I plan to wrestle in college, if my school offers it, as wrestling is not just a sport for me but a lifestyle. To be successful in my sport you require extreme discipline and constant self-improvement, the goal is to become better every day. I focus on being a better version of myself daily, weekly, monthly, etc., and constant and steady self-improvement with determination will beat skill 9 times out of 10. Although I may not be the favorite in many of my matches I plan to shock my competition, I have a lot riding on my final year of wrestling. This is my last chance to prove I can go the distance and I will go the distance.

Generation Z stands to inherit a world filled with many imperfections caused by the Millennial generation. The question is how Gen Z will confront these issues using their modern technologies and new understandings of modern education. The climate crisis is a big issue and Gen Z is concerned about its impact on the globe. Many seek to bring awareness to the issue of global warming, especially Gen Z as their generation is the most affected by this ongoing environmental ordeal. There are many young activists leading others in committing to sustainable practices and renewable energy sources. Conserving our already tarnished environment is very important as the new generation has to see more and more damage to nature occur in real time. With the technology available today Gen Z has the tools to reach more people than ever and bring light to this issue. Digital media provides unparalleled reach for advocates of the environment to speak out with a wide reach. Gen Z is also left with a tax structure that perpetuates greed, including a massively disproportionate wealth inequality. Economic inequality is a more pressing issue for Gen Z as the wealth gap continues to widen and large corporations dominate entire industries today. A likely solution in the future would be more tax reforms to distribute wealth and promote social responsibility. Gen Z must create a new vision for a tax structure that promotes transparency and uses technology to account for our current financial state. We have more tools than ever with modern technology to balance the power of the uber-wealthy with the underrepresented in poverty. All in all, Gen Z will be left with these challenges left by generations past and ignoring them will do nothing but leave us blindsided. Addressing these issues is the order of the new generation and they have to power to solve issues in many areas. With adovacy for equity, conserving our environment, technological advantages, and global reach Gen Z can change the course of the world to make a more sustainable and equitable tomorrow.

One specific teacher, a math teacher in my sophomore year of high school, changed my outlook on academic excellence and the work and discipline required to learn at a higher level. This class was an accelerated course via the STEM program, as a result of our accelerated status this teacher had high expectations of us all. She was easily the most intimidating teacher that I or anyone else had ever had at any education level to date. Due dates were strict and unforgiving, time in class was limited and answers were demanded with little time for any calculations to be made. Failure was demanded. This was a new concept to my then 15-year-old self, I felt that these demands from my teacher were unreasonable. It was almost as if she wanted her students to fail... The realization came to me only after completing the course that my teacher had never wanted us to fail, but to experience failure so that we might grow in understanding of these new complex mathematical concepts. I now see that failure sparks something inside of us, that feeling of failure ignites a passion to succeed and that passion will take you higher than any external motivation or purpose to succeed. Once you have achieved failure you can grow much more than without the presence of that failure. So many people are afraid to fail, the key is to welcome failure, it is only only place where true growth can take place. "No one has ever accomplished anything without failure" she would say. Her most notable quote was the story of Thomas Edison and his quote "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” This is wisdom that up until this point I had never understood because I had yet to experience any real failure or triumph. Her class was designed to push the limits of students, she knew what we were capable of and wanted to stretch the potential of each student. Many of my classmates have still yet to realize the purpose of her unusually strict teaching methods and momentous expectations. I am eternally grateful for her challenging teaching style as it has permanently changed my outlook on failure as a final to a point at which exponential growth can take place. Only through taking this challenging class did I understand the true value of failure, I will never forget that experience or that teacher.