It is my personal belief that there is no higher calling than a life dedicated to serving others. Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by individuals committed to meeting the needs of their communities through making meals for shut-ins, volunteering in food banks, going on mission trips overseas, running free clinics, and opening their homes to foster children. Those people are my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, family friends, and fellow church members. They have also been my most significant role models from my childhood until now. This is especially true of my mom’s best friend, Joni. She is the most compassionate, loving, and servant-minded person I have ever met. She is also a nurse who manages a free health clinic dedicated to womens' health. They offer free ultrasounds and support pregnant women who cannot raise a baby independently. I shadowed her once and fell in love with her job. Joni has been one of my main supporters throughout my college and career planning journey. It is not only my dream but my goal to follow Joni’s example. That is why I decided to pursue nursing in college. I want to serve people by giving them the support they need to heal. As the STEM-minded child in my family, that role suited me well. Classes like Anatomy and Physiology, AP Chemistry, and Honors Biology were some of my favorite courses in high school, and I want to continue learning these things in college. I plan to study nursing at Indiana Wesleyan University, earn my Bachelor of Nursing Science, become a registered nurse, and start work in a local hospital. During this time, I will serve my community through volunteering part of my time in free clinics. After a few years, I want to return to school and become a Nurse Practitioner. Once I am older and more financially stable, I hope to work nearly full-time at a free health clinic. I also want to make mission trips out of the United States to impoverished countries in desperate need of medical support as often as possible. Even when I am retired, I hope to follow in my grandmother's footsteps, who does things as simple as cooking meals for shut-ins and raising money for local charities through bake sales. Being a nurse is not easy. The coursework in college is challenging and time-consuming, the hours are terrible, and the job is extremely tolling on your physical, emotional, and mental health. However, time and time again, I hear how rewarding it is to be a nurse and help people every day. I know this is the career path I was made to be on, and I can only hope to live up to the example that the people in my life have set.

It is my personal belief that there is no higher calling than a life dedicated to serving others. Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by individuals committed to meeting the needs of their communities through making meals for shut-ins, volunteering in food banks, going on mission trips overseas, running free clinics, and opening their homes to foster children. Those people are my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, family friends, and fellow church members. They have also been my most significant role models from my childhood until now. This is especially true of my mom’s best friend, Joni. She is the most compassionate, loving, and servant-minded person I have ever met. She is also a nurse who manages a free health clinic dedicated to womens' health. They offer free ultrasounds and support pregnant women who cannot raise a baby independently. I shadowed her once and fell in love with her job. Joni has been one of my main supporters throughout my college and career planning journey. It is not only my dream but my goal to follow Joni’s example. That is why I decided to pursue nursing in college. I want to serve people by giving them the support they need to heal. As the STEM-minded child in my family, that role suited me well. Classes like Anatomy and Physiology, AP Chemistry, and Honors Biology were some of my favorite courses in high school, and I want to continue learning these things in college. I plan to study nursing at Indiana Wesleyan University, earn my Bachelor of Nursing Science, become a registered nurse, and start work in a local hospital. During this time, I will serve my community through volunteering part of my time in free clinics. After a few years, I want to return to school and become a Nurse Practitioner. Once I am older and more financially stable, I hope to work nearly full-time at a free health clinic. I also want to make mission trips out of the United States to impoverished countries in desperate need of medical support as often as possible. Even when I am retired, I hope to follow in my grandmother's footsteps, who does things as simple as cooking meals for shut-ins and raising money for local charities through bake sales. Being a nurse is not easy. The coursework in college is challenging and time-consuming, the hours are terrible, and the job is extremely tolling on your physical, emotional, and mental health. However, time and time again, I hear how rewarding it is to be a nurse and help people every day. I know this is the career path I was made to be on, and I can only hope to live up to the example that the people in my life have set.

It is my personal belief that there is no higher calling than a life dedicated to serving others. Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by individuals committed to meeting the needs of their communities through making meals for shut-ins, volunteering in food banks, going on mission trips overseas, running free clinics, and opening their homes to foster children. Those people are my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, family friends, and fellow church members. They have also been my most significant role models from my childhood until now. This is especially true of my mom’s best friend, Joni. She is the most compassionate, loving, and servant-minded person I have ever met. She is also a nurse who manages a free health clinic dedicated to womens' health. They offer free ultrasounds and support pregnant women who cannot raise a baby independently. I shadowed her once and fell in love with her job. Joni has been one of my main supporters throughout my college and career planning journey. It is not only my dream but my goal to follow Joni’s example. That is why I decided to pursue nursing in college. I want to serve people by giving them the support they need to heal. As the STEM-minded child in my family, that role suited me well. Classes like Anatomy and Physiology, AP Chemistry, and Honors Biology were some of my favorite courses in high school, and I want to continue learning about these things in college. I plan to study nursing at Indiana Wesleyan University, earn my Bachelor of Nursing Science, become a registered nurse, and start work in a local hospital. During this time, I will serve my community through volunteering part of my time in free clinics. After a few years, I want to return to school and become a Nurse Practitioner. Once I am older and more financially stable, I hope to work nearly full-time at a free health clinic. I also want to make mission trips out of the United States to impoverished countries in desperate need of medical support as often as possible. Even when I am retired, I hope to follow in my grandmother's footsteps, who does things as simple as cooking meals for shut-ins and raising money for local charities through bake sales. Being selected for this scholarship would mean so much to me. Not only would it relieve some of the financial stress so I could focus on what matters, but it would also motivate me to give my best effort because of the support and investment given to me. I will work my way through college no matter how many scholarships I do or do not receive, but I appreciate any help. The career path of a nurse is not easy. The coursework in college is challenging and time-consuming, the hours are terrible, and the job is extremely tolling on your physical, emotional, and mental health. However, time and time again, I hear how rewarding it is to be a nurse and help people every day. I know this is the career path I was made to be on, and I can only hope to live up to the example that the people in my life have set.

It is my personal belief that there is no higher calling than a life dedicated to serving others. Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by individuals committed to meeting the needs of their communities through making meals for shut-ins, volunteering in food banks, going on mission trips overseas, running free clinics, and opening their homes to foster children. Those people are my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, family friends, and fellow church members. They have also been my most significant role models from my childhood until now. This is especially true of my mom’s best friend, Joni. She is the most compassionate, loving, and servant-minded person I have ever met. She is also a nurse who manages a free health clinic dedicated to womens' health. They offer free ultrasounds and support pregnant women who cannot raise a baby independently. I shadowed her once and fell in love with her job. Joni has been one of my main supporters throughout my college and career planning journey. It is not only my dream but my goal to follow Joni’s example. That is why I decided to pursue nursing in college. I want to serve people by giving them the support they need to heal. As the STEM-minded child in my family, that role suited me well. Classes like Anatomy and Physiology, AP Chemistry, and Honors Biology were some of my favorite courses in high school, and I want to continue learning these things in college. I plan to study nursing at Indiana Wesleyan University, earn my Bachelor of Nursing Science, become a registered nurse, and start work in a local hospital. During this time, I will serve my community through volunteering part of my time in free clinics. After a few years, I want to return to school and become a Nurse Practitioner. Once I am older and more financially stable, I hope to work nearly full-time at a free health clinic. I also want to make mission trips out of the United States to impoverished countries in desperate need of medical support as often as possible. Even when I am retired, I hope to follow in my grandmother's footsteps, who does things as simple as cooking meals for shut-ins and raising money for local charities through bake sales. Being a nurse is not easy. The coursework in college is challenging and time-consuming, the hours are terrible, and the job is extremely tolling on your physical, emotional, and mental health. However, time and time again, I hear how rewarding it is to be a nurse and help people every day. I know this is the career path I was made to be on, and I can only hope to live up to the example that the people in my life have set.

I could not fall asleep. It felt like fear and anxiety were choking me. Scenario after scenario was running through my mind, each worse than the previous one. My younger sister was in the hospital because of kidney issues and exceptional amounts of pain. As her older sister, I felt utterly helpless. All I wanted to do was take away her pain and make everything better, but I could not. All I could do was lay in bed with my thoughts. However, just because I was not doing anything did not mean nobody was. While I was in bed, nurses accompanied my sister, doing everything they could to fix her. They were the only positive thing my sister remembered about the hospital. Those people became my heroes because I was so grateful they accomplished what I could not. That experience was the catalyst for my desire to become a nurse. It helped that my mom is best friends with a nurse. She is my role model and the most compassionate, loving, benign, and hard-working person I have ever met. She allowed me to shadow her during my junior year of high school, and I loved it so much that I shadowed five other nurses afterward. I loved every nurse I interacted with. I knew I wanted to work with those types of people every day. I also loved the atmosphere of the hospital. I loved all the medical equipment, surgical rooms, and monitors and how a nurse made someone's life better simply by doing their job. I knew that I found my future career. I intend to achieve my aspiration of becoming a nurse by attending college and earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I have already applied to multiple nursing programs like Purdue University and Indiana Wesleyan University, and I am confident I will succeed there. I pushed myself academically in high school and took rigorous AP classes like AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, and AP US History. Excelling in these classes has given me confidence that I can also succeed in the demanding courses that correspond with a nursing degree. Additionally, as a varsity cross country and track and field team captain, senior council member, and student Bible study leader, I have gained valuable time management skills and leadership experience. I have had to juggle multiple responsibilities throughout my high school years, from being a middle school mentor to being a member of the culture club. However, I am confident those experiences have prepared me for college life and my future nursing career. I know nursing is the career path I should be in. I want to be the nurse who helps people's sisters when they cannot. Who serves others in every way possible and is the person little girls look up to. Who does not give up when things get hard because she is working towards something important and meaningful. That is what inspired me to pursue my passion for nursing.

I could not fall asleep one night. It felt like fear and anxiety were choking me. Scenario after scenario was running through my mind, each one worse than the previous one. My younger sister had just been to the hospital the day before. She was having kidney issues and was in a terrible amount of pain. As her older sister, I felt helpless. All I wanted to do was take away her pain and make everything better, but I could not. All I could do was lay in bed with my thoughts. However, just because I was helpless did not mean everyone was. The whole time, nurses were with my sister, running tests, giving her pain medicine, making her comfortable, and talking with her. The only positive thing my sister had to say about her hospital trip was the nurses. Those people became my heroes. They were the ones who put in long hours at night to stay up with my sister and tell her everything was going to be okay. They did what I could not do, and I will always be grateful. That experience was the catalyst for my desire to become a nurse. It also helped that my mom was best friends with a nurse who was the most compassionate, loving, kind, and caring person I had ever met. She has been my role model ever since I was little. In my junior year of high school, she let me shadow her while she worked. The job shadow exceeded my expectations, and I shadowed two other nurses afterward. I loved every nurse I talked to. I knew I wanted to work with those types of people every day. I also loved the atmosphere of the hospital. While it was difficult to see people in poor condition, I loved seeing all the medical equipment, surgical rooms, and monitors. The nurses there were trusted, valued, and beloved. I know that being a nurse is not for everyone. It entails long hours, stressful situations, and demeaning tasks. While I am just a senior in high school, I know I can handle this career. For one thing, I am perseverant when things get hard. I run varsity track and cross country, so I know how to fight when things get difficult. I also had the opportunity to take many challenging classes like AP Chemistry and AP Calculus and excelled. This gives me confidence that I can handle the extensive coursework associated with a bachelor's degree in nursing science. Additionally, I have been given many opportunities to serve others. This ranges from being the captain of the girls' track and cross country team to being an elected member of the senior council. These leadership positions have driven me out of my comfort zone in so many ways and have made me more confident in my abilities. I know nursing is the career path I am called to be in. I want to be the nurse who helps people's sisters when they cannot. Who serves others in every possible way and is the person little girls look up to. Who does not give up when things get hard because she is working towards something important and meaningful. That is why I want to be a nurse.

I could not fall asleep one night. It felt like fear and anxiety were choking me. Scenario after scenario was running through my mind, each one worse than the previous one. My younger sister had just been to the hospital the day before. She was having kidney issues and was in a terrible amount of pain. As her older sister, I felt helpless. All I wanted to do was take away her pain and make everything better, but I could not. All I could do was lay in bed with my thoughts. However, just because I was not doing anything did not mean nobody was. The whole time, nurses were with my sister, running tests, giving her pain medicine, making her comfortable, and talking with her. The only positive thing my sister had to say about her hospital trip was the nurses. Those people became my heroes. They were the ones who put in long hours at night to stay up with my sister and tell her everything was going to be okay. They did what I could not do, and I will always be grateful. That experience was the catalyst for my desire to become a nurse. It also helped that my mom was best friends with a nurse who was the most compassionate, loving, kind, and caring person I had ever met. She has been my role model ever since I was little. In my junior year of high school, she let me shadow her while she worked. The job shadow exceeded my expectations, and I shadowed two other nurses afterward. I loved every nurse I talked to. I knew I wanted to work with those types of people every day. I also loved the atmosphere of the hospital. While it was difficult to see people in poor condition, I loved seeing all the medical equipment, surgical rooms, and monitors. People there trusted the nurses and were grateful for their assistance. I know that being a nurse is not for everyone, and some people cannot handle a job like that. While I am just a senior in high school, I know that is not the case for me. For one thing, I am perseverant when things get hard. I run varsity track and cross country, so I know how to fight when things get difficult. I also had the opportunity to take many challenging classes and excelled. AP Chemistry and AP Calculus are some examples. This gives me confidence that I can handle the extensive coursework associated with a bachelor's degree in nursing science. Additionally, I have been given many opportunities to serve others. This ranges from being the captain of the girls' track and cross country team to being an elected member of the senior council. These leadership positions have driven me out of my comfort zone in so many ways and have made me more confident in my abilities. I know nursing is the career path I am called to be in. I want to be the nurse who helps people's sisters when they cannot. Who serves others in every possible way and is the person little girls look up to. Who does not give up when things get hard because she is working towards something important and meaningful. That is why I am passionate about nursing.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is one of the absolute best athletes on Team USA. Not only is she the current world record holder in the 400-meter hurdles with a groundbreaking time of 50.37 seconds, but she is also the first person on track to break four world records in the same event. She accomplished this in only thirteen months! Sydney, ever a team player, competes in the women’s 4x400 meter relay team, helping them win gold. Not only is she the best female 400-meter hurdler in the world, Sydney has a heart of gold. Her good sportsmanship and genuine personality make her one of the most beloved athletes in track and field. While most Olympic-level competitors are arrogant and prideful, Sydney gives all the credit for her victories to God. She claims that all her abilities were God-given and that using her platform to glorify Him is her primary motivation. Personally, Sydney has made a real impact on me. I also run hurdles and the 4x400 meter relay in track and field in high school, and I am also a Christian. Seeing her run almost effortlessly, overcome losses, and proclaim her faith publicly motivates and inspires me today. While I will never reach her level, I hope that I can impact and encourage others similarly.

As a senior in high school, people depend on me. My two younger siblings depend on me for guidance and help as they enter the frightening world of high school. My cross-country and track-and-field teams depend on me as the team captain to lead runs and warm-ups while making everyone feel welcomed and included. The middle schooler I mentor depends on me to be her friend and support system as she tries to figure out her identity. Finally, my class depends on me as a member of the senior council, to make well-informed decisions and to plan activities and retreats where everyone can have fun and participate. These leadership positions mean nothing, however, if I do not care about the people who depend on me. That is why I actively pursue genuine relationships with people in every group and make myself available to anyone who might need help or someone to simply listen. My aspiration in life is to be others-centered. My friend’s mom, Joni, is my golden standard when it comes to being others-centered. She is the kindest and most loving person I have ever met. She cares about everyone she comes into contact with, and she never talks poorly about anyone. Joni also just so happens to be a nurse who works at a non-profit women’s health clinic. It was her that inspired me to pursue a career in nursing. Currently, I am applying to Purdue University to get my BSN. Then I plan on taking the NCLEX-RN to become a registered nurse. After that, I will support and care for others every day in the hospital but also at home. Joni gave me an example of how I want to treat my family, patients, and coworkers. I want to inspire someone, just like she inspired me, through how I genuinely care for those around me.

I am a senior at my high school, and I am the captain of the cross-country and track-and-field varsity teams. In addition to that, I am the oldest of three children in my family. Naturally, I have been in leadership positions, but a position does not make me a leader. My Criminology 101 teacher once told me that I should never try to be a leader but a servant. He that the people I have helped achieve goals will follow and respect me in ways that no loud and bossy class president could ever earn. Those words have stuck with me, so my goals throughout high school have been to be a servant first and a leader second. In my junior year of high school, I put this into practice when my school chose me to be in our mentor program. In the mentor program, I was assigned a middle schooler to talk to and play games with. Instead of telling her what she should do to be successful in high school, I tried to listen first and give my input when she asked for it. We had great discussions, and I believe I had a positive impact on her life. However, only time will tell. I will be assigned a new middle schooler this year and am excited to pour into her. Additionally, I have had the honor of being elected to the high school junior and senior council by my classmates. The position of being on the senior council has been the area where I have felt like I can serve my classmates the most. In senior council, I was in charge of planning activities for my class's senior retreat. That responsibility was one where I had an exponential opportunity to serve others. My Criminology 101 teacher was a volunteer on that trip, and he watched me when I ran activities and cleaned them up afterward. He later told me how impressed he was by my service to my classmates and by how I demonstrated considerable leadership. That was one of the most impactful compliments anyone had ever given me, and it still encourages me now. In conclusion, I am not a leader because I am a talkative extrovert like everyone else on the senior council, and I am not a leader because I always know the right thing to do. I am a leader because I will do anything to push others to their full potential through service and encouragement.

My name is Braylyn Gudeman, and I am an upcoming senior at Faith Christian High School. Like Kalia, I also run cross country and track for my school. I have a younger sister and brother and a tiny Havanese dog named Tank. We live in West Lafayette, Indiana, close to my extended family. I am a very hardworking student, and my goal is to achieve summacumlauden at graduation, which is my school’s equivalent of valedictorian. To qualify, I am required to get all A’s in every class and an above 4.0 GPA. As of now, I qualify for this honor, and I will be fighting for the rest of my senior year to achieve it. I took AP US History, AP Pre-Calculus, and AP Chemistry last school year and will be taking AP Language, AP Calculus, and Honors Anatomy my senior year. I am on my school’s senior council and volunteer at my church’s nursery every Sunday. My drive going into college is to help people. I know many ways to do that, but I’ve settled on majoring in nursing. Then, I plan on getting a job in a hospital or continuing my education at a medical or perfusionist school. I am unsure if I want to be actively involved with patients or work behind the scenes, so I’m keeping my options open if I wish to work as a registered nurse or in the operating room. Purdue is my top choice because it has a great program and is close to home. I love learning about the human body’s anatomy and medicine, so I am not concerned about the arduous class workload. However, one weighing concern for me is paying for my education. That is how this scholarship will help me. My parents care about my dreams and want to help me pay for college, but they also want to be fair to my siblings and not support me more than them. The amount they agreed to supply will be enough to pay for one semester at a local public college. The rest is up to me. Throughout high school, I have been saving up and working at Panera. I have also been applying to as many scholarships as I can. If I were to get this scholarship, I would use every penny to help pay my tuition. It would most definitely help to relieve some of the financial stress. It will not take away all the stress, but I am prepared to work through college and even live at home if my college is close enough, like Purdue. My college years will not be easy, but high school has prepared me to be disciplined and committed to achieving my goals.

I love math because it is an objective system in our universe. As my middle school math teacher always used to say, math is the universal language. A student in the Philippines could be learning the same concepts as a student in Canada, and while the numbers could look different, they carry the same value all over the world. Math is the universally equal playing field that breaks boundaries and unites people. Math teaches students practical life skills like problem-solving, communication, and logical reasoning. I was never truly challenged to think critically about a problem until I took AP Pre-Calculus. It pushed me to use my prior math knowledge and apply it in new ways to solve problems I had never encountered before. Pre-Calculus was not easy, but I grew as a student and person. Math is also utilized in almost every job in America. I remember when my Algebra II teacher challenged us to think of a career that didn’t use math in some way. It took us a long time to think of anything, which opened my eyes to the importance and relevance of math in everyday life. Additionally, I love math because it makes sense to me. While grammar rules have exceptions and science is still largely unknown, math builds upon laws and logic. Even when I do not understand a math lesson, I never panic because I recognize that I am simply missing information that connects one step to the next. I have also been blessed to have incredible math teachers and friends who are always happy to answer my questions. This is why I love math.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is, in my opinion, one of the most exceptional book series ever written. As a kid, I loved reading those books, and I will sometimes re-read them even now. I remember the first time my parents let me watch the Hunger Games movie. It was an extraordinary moment for me because, up to that point, I had not been exposed to movies with more mature content. As the oldest child, my parents were more cautious about what movies and shows I was permitted to watch. Seeing the Hunger Games was like a stride into maturity for me. My parents viewed it with me, and it was a special moment for all of us. I adored the movie and the rest of the films in the series. It did not hurt that Jennifer Laurence became Katniss with her fantastic acting, and the series didn’t stray too far from Collins’ original vision in her books. Overall, watching the movies brought to life the characters in the book and challenged me to think about them in different ways. For example, I had originally abhorred Effie Trinket in the books because I perceived her as a selfish and entitled woman who had no sympathy for the plight of Katniss and Peeta. However, after watching the movies, my view of Effie changed. I now saw her as an entitled woman attempting to make the best out of a bad situation. She knew that Katniss and Peeta were inevitably doomed to die in the games, so she did her best to distract them and make the short remainder of their lives as comfortable and luxurious as possible. Having the viewing experience also made the heartbreaks hurt even more. Prim and Finick’s deaths, while tragic in the books, were heartbreaking on the screen. Even more so was the incredible performance of Jennifer Laurence’s portrayal of Katniss’ shock and depression. Speaking of great acting, Josh Hutcherson still chills me when Peta attacks Katniss in the first Mockingjay movie, both on screen and while reading it on paper. While some film adaptations of books abuse the characters and the message, the Hunger Games brought to life the books for me and completed my full immersion into the story Collins was trying to tell. It did not hurt that she was one of the screenwriters and producers of the movies to where she had power to uphold her vision in the books. Additionally, thanks to the books, I could get into Katniss Everdeen’s head and follow along with Jennifer Laurence on screen. One example is in the opening scene of the first movie, where Katniss is hunting a deer. While I might have been confused as to why Katniss was picking up grass and letting it blow away in the breeze, the book had already told me that she was thinking about whether her scent was blowing downwind to where the deer was, thus giving away her position. In another way, we the audience know Katniss’s feelings for Peeta are not what they might appear to be on screen. Her desperation to please the audience in order to obtain life-saving gifts drives her to fake her fondness for Peeta. However, she does progressively change her mind about him as portrayed in both the book and the movie. In conclusion, the Hunger Games means so much to me, and seeing it on screen only strengthened my love of the story. For me, the Hunger Games is the most significant book-to-film adaptation ever made.

When I was twelve years old, my sister and I were obsessed with the American Girl Dolls, so naturally we watched a majority of their movies. Out of all of them, Isabelle Dances into the Spotlight was the one that impacted my life the most. However, it wasn’t Isabelle, the main character, but her older sister Jade who influenced me the most. I always wanted to be Jade growing up, and she became my golden standard. During the first half of the movie, it appears as though everything naturally comes easy to her. She is the perfect student with excellent grades, and she is the best dancer in the school with the lead role in The Nutcracker. While Isabelle’s side of the room is messy and disarrayed, Jade’s is always clean and organized. She is the first to get up in the morning, and all the other girls in the dance school look up to her. As the movie progresses, we learn just how much work Jade exerts in practicing dance and studying for school. My desire to be perfect like Jade motivated me to put more effort into school and studying. I began to get all A’s which transferred me onto the honors track in middle school and high school. She also influenced me to increase my practice time for sports. Before I had little desire for sports, although that was mostly because I was required to play one sport per season. My freshman year, once I settled on sports that I enjoyed, I tried to follow her example as closely as I could. That also included being a leader for the younger girls on my team. I wanted to be a role model to the girls on my team like Jade was to the younger girls around her. Another way that Jade impacted me was in her relationship with her sister. Jade was always there for Isabelle even when she was being, in my opinion, overdramatic. This affected me in that I began to take steps to connect with my sister. It was not easy, though, because we are two completely different people with opposing interests. However, I did my best to be more empathetic and see things from her point of view. Over time, our relationship strengthened and we grew closer. One of the last ways the movie changed me was not from Jade but from her sister, Isabelle. Unlike her older sister, Isabelle was more timid. Every day at lunch, her peers always free-style danced after lunch. Isabelle was often invited to join but always turned it down because it was out of her comfort zone. I could relate to that because I was and still am, to some extent, an introverted kid. After the movie, I figured that if Isabelle could be brave enough to step out of her comfort zone, I could too. She pushed me to say yes to more things. I have made so many friends and done so many things that I would have missed out on had I not done things that made me uncomfortable. I am so grateful for that movie and the impact it has had on my life. I honestly believe I would not have been the same person if I had not watched it.

My mom has always told me how proud she is of my independent drive to achieve. Some people might call it ambition, but I don’t see it that way. I want to be the best possible version of myself, and I want to make a positive impact on people around me. Athletics has been one of the main avenues I have found for personal development. Throughout high school, starting in freshman year, I’ve run cross country and track and field. Those two sports have given me ground for growing physically strong and healthy because of the intense cardio and strength training, but that’s not where I found the most growth. Those two sports have taught me endurance. Especially while running a cross country race, I have hit so many mental walls, and reached the near breaking point of my body. However, I am pleased to say that to this day I have finished every race. This is because along the way running helped me to develop the drive to continue even when it isn’t easy. That endurance is continually tested in my life with difficult coaching, younger teammates, challenging classes, and long working hours. In the end though, I know that pushing through will build my character and make me into a better person. Sports have also given me the foundation for the quality of leadership. I have had great role models in past seniors who have given me an example of what being a great leader looks like. This year I am going to step into my role as one of the senior leaders both in sports and in my school. This pushes me sometimes as I am not naturally a very extroverted person. I have to step out of my comfort zone in many ways in order to make others feel heard and seen. It also tests and strengthens my patience when having to deal with younger and more immature freshmen. Thankfully, my younger brother has given me experience with that age group, and so I am more prepared than I would have been without him. I am also striving to grow emotionally. Typically, I tend to put logic first and emotions second, but junior year has shown me that not everyone feels that way. In sports, new runners tended to take poorer races personally, and in some cases, they broke down into tears. I would not say I am a very comforting person, and I am usually very uncomfortable when people start to cry. The first couple of times I tried to comfort them I felt extremely awkward and stiff, but the more I reached out and listened to them, the easier it became. My friends have also been going through some hard patches in their lives and being there for them has also helped me to grow in that area. This is a skill I want to continue to develop throughout my life and I plan on doing that by training myself to be more empathetic by putting myself in their shoes, reaching out to those around me more, and stepping out of my comfort zone so I can help comfort others. In conclusion, personal development is important to me because I want to become as close to being human as I possibly can.

Tom Holland is my favorite Spiderman. He perfectly portrays a high schooler’s mannerisms and reactions while incorporating that into his role as a superhero. I would also say that in terms of being true to the original Spiderman-Man comics and animated shows, Tom Holland is the most true to form. He gives life and vibrancy to his role that makes audiences fall in love with his character. His background in dance and gymnastics also add to his integration into the role of the acrobatic hero. The only shortcomings of his movies were that they didn’t give him enough room to grow as a character like the Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire. This was because the movies were too integrated with the overall MCU that Disney was pushing. However, that is not to say that Tom Holland didn’t shine despite these setbacks. Towards the end of Spider-Man Homecoming when he is trapped under rubble and debris, Tom Holland shows us the range of his acting, and really makes you feel for his desperation and triumph. On the flip side, his interactions with Ned, Happy, and May demonstrates his close relationships with them, and in Spider-Man No Way Home, Tom Holland’s performance is enough to bring the toughest critic to tears over the death of his aunt. The grief and anger he carries over throughout the rest of the movie ending with the final confrontation between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin are enough to earn him the title of one of, if not the best Spider-Man actor ever.