If I could only choose one sentence to share with the world, I would whip out that loudspeaker and strongly tell everyone: "Don't pretend to be someone you are not, because the best version of yourself is the authentic one". As someone who graduated high school less than a year ago, I witnessed the vast majority of my peers changing and molding their personalities constantly just to keep up with popularity. It was honestly shocking and saddening to see some of the lengths kids would go through just to make other people like them. Not everyone in the world is going to like you. It is impossible for everyone in the world to understand you. But when you take off that mask that hides your unique and true self, you will grow closer with the people that matter. You will be appreciated by those who see you for who you are. You only have one shot at life. Don't spend it by being a version of yourself that isn't really you. Only you can be the best you, so go out there and do just that.

I see 88 black and white keys staring at me, pleading to appease, begging to please, trying to put my mind at ease, but I often crack until I'm on my knees. I notice a snapped guitar string asking to be fixed, I pull some tricks, faced with too many conflicts, I eat raw brownie mix, why did I bring up politics? Seriously, why would I bring that up on Thanksgiving? I love my pets, never place any bets, too scared of the threats, protecting limited assets, move on no regrets, work study work until my mind forgets... stuck in a pattern and longing to escape. Je veux m'évader.

The early August air was warm in the city, even at night. As I rolled down all of the windows in my 2014 Honda CRV, I felt it gush in, and so did they. At the top of my lungs, I yelled, "I fucking love you guys!", and my best friends of 5 years responded, "We fucking love you too!". All 5 of us drove the rest of the car ride in complete silence. However, it wasn't an awkward silence. It was a mutual understanding. This is what friendship is: a relationship rooted so deep that every shared moment is a unique experience. An agreement from person to person of loyalty, love, honesty, and trust. A bond where we have no secrets because we are comfortable telling each other anything. A good, quality friend is a person who often understands me better than I even understand myself. They are someone who you could go months apart from and pick back up right where you left off. I am lucky enough to have found several of these people in my life and I don't know what I would do without them. Our friendship allows us to all lean on each other, even while in college.

There are some days when I wake up and I can't even bring myself to get out of bed, let alone go to classes or go to work. This is ok; this is human. We all have times where we feel like we can't function or focus. Bed is just too comfy. However, these spells of depression inspire me to maximize the time I have when I'm feeling well. For me, this is oftentimes as simple as taking a shower, going for a walk, or going for a drive. Anything that involves setting aside time for myself. I had a realization that taking care of my mental health is just as important (if not more) than my physical health, so I make an active effort to block out at least an hour everyday to do something for myself and to spend time with myself. We are stuck with ourselves for our entire lives, so if we don't prioritize our mental health over worrying about the well-being of others, we will be miserable.

Reading this question I laughed, "what on earth was good about the pandemic? Did people seriously have a positive experience while millions of people have died from this?" I rolled my eyes at the computer. Then, I saw my own reflection as the light hit my computer and it hit me: wow, I'm kind of pretty, aren't I? I opened my camera on my phone and smiled. Dang, I look good. Too good. Who gave me permission to be this attractive? Now, I know I sound narcissistic, but you have to keep in mind that before the pandemic I hated myself. I detested everything about my appearance. Caroline from August of 2020 would've shuddered at the sight of my reflection in this computer. So why do I suddenly have all the confidence in the world? Come to think of it, I haven't hated the way I look in months! It dawned upon me that all the time I spent with myself in the pandemic in moments of self reflection had caused me to finally love myself. While COVID-19 is the reason my senior year sucked, it is also the reason I love who I am and who I will become.

One woman that I admire a lot in history is Rachel Carson. As someone who advocates for the environment, I have always looked up to Carson and her work. After reading her incredible writing titled "Silent Spring", I was blown away. I have always been aware of the issue of climate change and the general synopsis of it, but "Silent Spring" specifically outlined various ginormous (and terrifying) threats to our environment. After familiarizing myself with her work, I came to better understand the danger of different pesticides, chemicals, and other pollutants and their negative effects on bird populations. Carson's "Silent Spring" is one of the most influential pieces of literature I have ever read, making her all the more admirable. Because of her, I made sure that my grandpa, who owns a farm, stopped using all environmentally dangerous chemicals on his crops. Even more remarkable, Carson spent the last years of her life battling breast cancer, yet she still fought for nature. Rachel Carson didn't just write a couple of books and gaze at marine wildlife, she inspired thousands of people. What I hope to achieve in this world is to be even remotely like her. However, I don't need any fame, I just want to do what I can to reverse climate change. I hope that I can tell the next generation that I was part of the change that saved this planet, not part of the problem that prevented it from changing. If I choose to do nothing, then nothing will be done, so I must draw inspiration from Rachel Carson and fight for the earth.

I was not at my typical school during my second semester of junior year. Instead, I had the opportunity to attend Conserve School, a semester-long environmental boarding school with 60 students in Northern Wisconsin. One of the most prominent virtues I learned at Conserve School was courage. For me, this has especially become important for how I advocate for myself and how I have learned to use my voice. I came to Conserve School not knowing a single person. The second week of school we had to share our opinions on controversial issues and things that we want to fight for in front of the whole community. I was clearly hesitant in being honest about my thoughts and one of my fellow peers shared this piece of impactful advice with me: “Caroline, don’t cater to your audience, challenge them. If you just tell them what they want to hear, they don’t learn anything new and they won’t try to see from other viewpoints”. I then proceeded to go up in front of an audience of people I hardly knew and spoke my mind. Ever since that statement, I feel an adrenaline rush coarse through my body whenever I participate in a discussion or presentation. I have the courage to fight for what I believe in. And right now, what I have the courage to fight for is the environment. In a time where opinions are inflamed rather than explained, I’m trying to gain the courage to get people to band together to find common solutions to common problems. Your story isn’t just your own story: it’s the voice of our community. So go tell it, work up the courage to spread society's story. My experiences at Conserve School taught me how to stand up for myself and how to use my courage to fuel my voice. It is my responsibility to take action. I don't have the time to wait around for others to do the work that I am obligated to do. If I want to make a difference, I have to know that my voice matters. With all of this being said, all of the lessons, including this one of courage, that I was taught at Conserve School have made me realize that I yearn to have a career in an environmental science field. Wether this be working at a national park or for the DNR doesn't matter to me as long as I am finding ways to actively reverse the climate crisis and help parts of nature that can no longer help itself.

My eyes started going blurry. My normally perfect vision had instantly deteriorated. Someone or something was stabbing and pounding my head. Squeezing, compressing, twisting, stretching, ripping my most powerful organ out of its skull. I was in the middle of my seventh-grade English class in the fall of 2015. I hadn't had too many friends, as it was only my second month at this new school. Not wanting to cause a scene, I tried my best to tough out the pain. Unfortunately, it was so unbearable that I had to clench the back of my head and set it down on the desk. It made a noise that felt incredibly loud to me and the feeling of embarrassment overpowered the warzone of my mind for a split second. Then, the migraine became so torturous that I clumsily sprinted out of the classroom, trying to find my way through the maze of the new school and to the nurse's office. I didn't make it that far. In my state of dizziness, I ran right into a table and ended up stretching myself out on a cushiony chair. Then, she came over. A young, newlywed, redhead, full of funny jokes and a strong personality. My seventh-grade English teacher had left the class to attend to my visible agony. I felt humiliated. This is the first impression my class will have of me! The girl who ran out of the class because her pubescent head hurt. I was so overwhelmed between my migraine and my embarrassment that I broke out into tears. Just a silent cry; they trickled calmly down my face. Mrs. M shook her head slowly and had a look of pure sympathy in her eyes. She grabbed a pillow and a blanket seemingly out of thin air and put my mind and body to rest for a moment. Mrs. M then grabbed a tissue and wiped the tears off of my eyes. Then she said this: "Take a deep breath. Then take another. Keep breathing and remember that I am here for you. Your pain is my pain. Your hurt is my hurt. When you or any of my other children are in agony, I am too. So, what can I do to help?". My eyes were so wide after Mrs. M told me this. I had no idea that a teacher could think of their students as their own kids. It was the first and grandest step that anyone had ever taken to make me feel like I belonged at my new school. These words of kindness meant the world to me. Someone had told me that they genuinely care about my feelings, which was something no one besides my parents had done before. Together, we worked to find a temporary solution to my migraine, and Mrs. M got a pass for me to go home. She cancelled my homework for the rest of the week, knowing that migraines were new to me and that I was still coping with the pain. Mrs M, if you're reading this, please know that you helped me feel like my emotions were valid and showed me true compassion in a time that I was terrified.

The first woman to come to mind whenever I hear this question is my grandma. She is a huge inspiration for me and a reminder to keep moving forward. Born in Berlin in 1946, her childhood was difficult. She came to Wisconsin when she was around 6 with only her mother, as she never knew her father. Both her classmates and her teacher avoided her and publicly humiliated her because of her German heritage. Yet, she continued to persist. My grandma quickly picked up English and surpassed all other students in her classes. She graduated as the valedictorian at her high school, and almost had that title revoked because she wasn't male. After earning her master's in business and learning Russian, my grandma rose up to become the vice president of a large company in Madison, Wisconsin. She worked so hard her whole life, that when she finally retired at the age of 60, she had no clue what to do with herself. So, she picked up tennis to stay active, a part-time job at a credit union, and a volunteer job at the Dane County Humane Society. She even became an employee of the year after having volunteered for only one year! This is where I am inspired by my grandma the most: she could choose to sit around and do nothing all day, living off of her retirement money and lounging, yet she decides to be an activist and an advocate. Even though she is 74, she helped voters register and helped with absentee ballots during the election this year. She could live a life of wealth and luxury, but she donates most of her money to charity. My grandma has taught me such a prominent lesson about advocacy: it is our responsibility as people who yearn for change to take action. We can't wait around for other people to do it for us. If we want to make a difference, we need to know that our opinion, and our work towards change, matters. My grandma has helped fuel my ambitions of being a voice for the environment. I wish to stand up for those who can't possibly stand up for themselves. To do this, I can never rest. I have to take it upon myself to be the change in this world. As my grandma has always done, I must persist.

The second semester of my junior year I attended Conserve School, an environmentally focussed boarding school in Northern Wisconsin. The second week of school we had to give a 10-minute introduction presentation of ourselves and things that we want to fight for in front of the whole community. I was clearly hesitant in being honest about my thoughts and Michael, my wilderness history teacher, told me this: “Caroline, don’t cater to your audience, challenge them. If you just tell them what they want to hear, they don’t learn anything new and they won’t try to see from other viewpoints”. Ever since that statement, I feel an adrenaline rush coarse through my body whenever I participate in a discussion or presentation. I have the courage to fight for what I believe in. And right now, what I have the courage to fight for is the environment. In a time where opinions are inflamed rather than explained, I’m trying to gain the courage to get people to band together to find common solutions to common problems. Your story isn’t just your own story: it’s the voice of our community. So go tell it, work up the courage to spread society's story.

It would be an understatement to say that 2020 has been a bad year for the world. Everyone has been impacted differently by this year, so I would like to say how it has affected me and my diagnosed depression. I was attending my dream program, Conserve School (a semester-long environmental boarding school), and got sent home not even halfway through because of COVID-19. I was crushed. I went from being in a hands-on learning environment to staring at a computer all day. A few months of this went by, and the next event happened. My mom got sent to the ER for critical kidney failure. I wasn't allowed to visit her and I was terrified that she would die. She's gotten better since but still has dialysis every week. This is what led me to do online school this year. I tried to attend my high school and I went for three days, having a panic attack each one. It was terrifying to think of what would happen if my mom contracted COVID-19 because I got it from someone at school. I can't stand online school, but I figure that it is better than constantly worrying about my mom's health. It is because of my mom's health that I wasn't able to attend any BLM protests despite living 10 minutes away from Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed. COVID-19 has made me have numerous missed opportunities that I won't be able to get back. It has made me realize to seize all the opportunities that I will have in the future.

By this point, the majority of people have seen the Bernie Sanders mitten memes. I photoshopped Bernie into an Oscar award in the image you see here. Besides being quite hilarious, this image actually does represent something greater: finding humor in a bleak year. I got the idea to turn Bernie into this Oscar because his comedic and memorable pose has caused many of us to laugh, smile, and share a common joy of an older man wearing fashionable mittens. This being said, if there were an Oscar award for memes, I think Bernie would win it for making all of our pandemic days a little bit brighter.

This is Nala the bunny! She is a 4-year-old black lion head Netherland dwarf mix rabbit. Some of her favorite pastimes include playing soccer, reading Charlotte Bronte, and grilling. She is my adorable little friend and loves bananas almost as much as she loves me :)

My all-time favorite film has to be Silence of the Lambs. Besides the fact of the actors and director being extremely talented, the plot is so intricate and very well written. Despite the problem of him being a cannibal, Hannibal Lector is definitely my favorite character and the reason why I love this movie. His genius personality is so intriguing to me and the way he can carefully plot out his every move is amazing. I also really appreciate that the main character/protagonist is a woman. In most crime/mystery movies the woman is usually the one who is in distress and needs to be rescued. Clarice has reinforced my thought that women can be and will continue to be powerful and prominent in the workforce.

The dinner bell rang and we all rushed in and ate as quickly as we could. It was almost our free time, the time we used every day after meals to play. Our actions were synchronized as we lept from our table and bounded to the common area. We sat at the four-way board and grinned: it was time. I had never played chess before until January 25, 2020, my junior year in high school. Now, it should be noted that during that semester I was not attending an ordinary school. I was at a sustainability-focused semester long boarding school in Northern Wisconsin. I didn't go there with intention of even thinking about chess, yet it became part of my daily routine. It wasn't until I saw a group of people playing a rather intense four-way chess game that I wanted to learn. I vividly remember the first time I played, if one could even call it a proper game. It was an intelligent, yet rather cocky, boy who taught me. He got frustrated very easily with me because I didn't even know the names of the pieces or how each one moved. Yet, with much pleading from me, he persisted in teaching me. I picked up the rules of the game quickly, but I had no strategy at any time that I played. I could only think about the play in front of me and I was unable to see ahead at all. However, I didn't give up. I have never been an athletic person, but I had finally found a game that allowed me to use my mind as a weapon. I was not about to quit because I lost my first several games. I remember that the "chess boys" (as we called them) wouldn't let me play four-way or even three-way chess with them until I won a match. I found this ridiculous, yet I complied. The first match I won was against another inexperienced chess player named Avery (he is still one of my closest friends today). That game was my ticket in! I made it! I triumphantly walked over to the chess boys and told them of my victory. They smirked at each other and let me play the next round. I lost. Dead last out of all four of us. I didn't really care and wished to play again. They told me I still wasn't good enough for them and walked away with the board. That's when I realized that the only person I had actually had fun playing with was Avery. I found him the next day and we played again. I lost, but it was the most fun match I'd ever had. Two people saw how much fun we were having and asked if they could play with us. So with that, our chess squad was formed: Caroline, Lily, Avery, and Lucas. This game became about friendship for me. I find that when our pieces cross paths, so do our minds. Since we got sent home from school in March due to the pandemic, I'm sad to say that I haven't played as much. I play online with chess squad friends, but I don't find that the connection is the same. Despite only really playing for about two months, I have learned so much from chess. One of the most important things I realized is to make your own decisions. I played in a small tournament and was faced against someone whose strategy was to copy my own. It proved useless as I quickly beat them. Reflecting upon this moment I think about how he probably would have beaten me if he had just used his own brain. Life is too short to let others make decisions for you, and this game of chess reminded me of that. Additionally, I have learned how to be competitive while still holding respect for the game and the opponent. I think that this is a very useful skill that I will utilize for the rest of my life. Competitive nature can be good to get what you want, but without respect, it will drive everyone away. As for my goals in life, I don't wish to be a professional chess player or even enter any tournaments. However, the game has influenced what I wish to do with my life. I wish to work in union with others to provide a solution to climate change and ultimately reverse it. If chess has taught me anything, it's that checkmate is possible even when the queen is down. I want to use the critical thinking skills and adaptiveness that I have learned from this game to corner climate change into that checkmate.

A prominent role model in my life has always been my grandma. Born in West Berlin in 1946, her childhood was difficult. She came to Wisconsin when she was around 6 with only her mother, as she never knew her father. Both her classmates and her teacher avoided her and publicly humiliated her because of her German herritage. Yet, she continued to persist. My grandma quickly picked up English and surpassed all other students in her classes. She graduated as the validictorian at her high school, and almost had that title revoked because she wasn't male. After earning her masters in business and learning Russian, my grandma rose up to become the vice president of a large company in Madison, Wisconsin. She worked so hard her whole life, that when she finally retired at the age of 60, she had no clue what to do with herself. So, she picked up tennis to stay active, a part-time job at a credit union, and a volunteer job at the Dane County Humane Society. She even became employee of the year after having volunteered for only one year! This is where I am inspired by my grandma the most: she could choose to sit around and do nothing all day, yet she decides to be an activist and an advocate. Even though she is 74, she helped voters register and helped with absentee ballots during the election this year. She could live a life of wealth and luxury, but she donates most of her money to charity. My grandma has taught me such a prominent lesson about advocacy: it is our responsibility as people who yearn for change to take action. We can't wait around for other people to do it for us. If we want to make a difference, we need to know that our opinion, and our work towards change, matters. My grandma has helped fuel my ambitions of being a voice for the environment. I wish to stand up for those who can't possibly stand up for themselves. To do this, I can never rest. I have to take it upon myself to be the change in this world. As my grandma has always done, I must persist.

I remember it so vividly: the fourth week of sophomore year. It was the day that led me to not seeing my best friend for half a year. I got dropped off at school and started cramming for a test at my rigorous college-prep school. I had already had a mental breakdown the night before, but I didn't think much of it as I'm told that most teenagers are also constantly stressed. I took the test, got a C, and went to go find my best friend so I could rant to her. That's when I realized that she was nowhere to be found. I was confused because she typically has perfect attendance so I snuck out my phone and texted her, "where are you?" This was something that wouldn't be answered for months to come. The next few days, when she still didn't show up to school, I kept texting her over and over again. "Are you ok?", "What happened", "I miss you". I started reaching out to both her parents and then my school, but no one responded. I started to lose my mind. My best friend disappeared from the face of the earth and no one knew where she was. The worst part was, no one else seemed to care. Two agonizing months, eleven mental breakdowns, and one therapist later, I finally heard back: "I'm so sorry. I'm in a mental hospital. I didn't tell you this, but I started getting seizures from PTSD I had from being sexually harassed. I'm sorry that I wasn't a better friend and didn't tell you until now. I thought you wouldn't care." I was relieved that she was alive, but that's also when I lost it. I was angry at her for thinking that I didn't care about her. I was mad at her for apologizing for being in a hospital. And I was so hurt that she didn't think she could tell me before. I had no idea that anything this extreme had happened to her and I was disappointed that she never told me. I thought that it was something I did wrong. I didn't get to see her for four more months after that. While she is "fine" today, she still has to take a ton of medication and go to the clinic regularly. With COVID-19, I never get to see her. I learned so much from this experience. I realized to not take it personally if someone doesn't want to share everything that happens in their life. Even if it's my best friend, it's their choice whether to tell me or not, and it's not my business if they don't. I also came to know that you never know what is going on in someone's life. This friend was always so cheerful and funny. She masked her depression and PTSD so well, that no one could tell she was the slightest bit unhappy. Not even her closest friends. This experience has given me a chance to step back and look at the world from a new perspective. I won't assume that everyone's life is perfect just because they have a smile. I have to be open-minded and non-judgemental with all people, no matter what their circumstances are. Recently, my school created a mental health awareness program. I plan to participate and possibly start an outreach program in addition to the awareness one. I hope to do my part in educating others, and myself, in order to create a safer world for people with mental health challenges.

One woman that I admire a lot in STEM is Rachel Carson. As someone who advocates for the environment, I very much admire Carson and her work. After reading her book Silent Spring, I was blown away. I have always been aware of the larger picture of climate change, but Silent Spring described various specific (and terrifying) threats to our environment. I suddenly came to know the danger of pesticides and their effect on bird populations. Carson's Silent Spring is one of the most influential books I have ever read, making her all the more admirable. Because of her, I made sure that my grandpa, who has a farm, stopped using environmentally dangerous chemicals on his crops. Rachel Carson didn't just write a couple of books and watch marine wildlife, she inspired thousands of people. What I hope to achieve in STEM is to be even somewhat remotely like her. I don't need to be famous, I just want to do what I can to reverse climate change. I hope that I can tell the next generation that I was part of the change that saved this planet. I know that this is a broad statement, but it's true. If I choose to do nothing, then nothing will be done.

It was a nice day out for the Northwoods of Wisconsin in February: 3 whole degrees Fahrenheit! My history class walked out on the frozen lake with ice augers and ice saws, ready to cut it open. After learning of the ancient practice of ice cutting and ice blocks, it was time to make our own. We cut a triangular shape as a team, and hoisted it out of the lake. Then, it was time to dunk. I was nervous, but my adrenaline caught up to me as I plunged my head into the freezing water. Truly, a unique experience.