As I have tried to change my lifestyle to a more balanced and healthy one, I started by consistently going to the gym and working out. I started going in the summer of 2019 when my dad gave me the opportunity to my sister and me to go to his gym and work with his personal trainer. Initially, I was not thrilled because I was never athletic, and the thought of doing back-breaking exercises was not appealing. I ended up sticking with it and went five days a week during the summer, and my progress was quite dramatic. I started not quite to go as often when the school year started back up, but when the pandemic started, I got back into the habit of going to the gym regularly. I no longer see the gym as an unbearable task that I do just so I can see changes in my body; I now look forward every day to having an hour to challenge myself in that environment and feel refreshed whenever I am finished. Another component of my lifestyle change was changing how I eat and being more conscious of what I was putting in my body. Once I started going to the gym, it became apparent that eating healthy was essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and seeing better results from a workout. I started mainly by experimenting with foods I would have never dared to eat. My dad and sister would help me find different products at the grocery store and then use those to experiment with different meals that provided lots of carbs and/or high national value. It was mostly a trial-and-error situation in which I would determine the foods I liked or did not like and see which foods I could incorporate into my daily life. I also utilized the internet to see which types of vegetables and meals would give me lots of energy throughout the day and assist me with a proper diet. I would watch different YouTubers and blogs that went over the difference in many types of fruits, vegetables, and grains and how they can be used to offer the type of diet you want. After a few months of trial and error, I started developing a routine of what type of foods I wanted to eat every day and planned how those would give me better results in my physical health. I began to drink more protein smoothies, decrease the number of sweets I usually ate, and try to fit in more vegetables and fruits as snacks. Having a healthy eating routine and being aware of it has made me much happier in deciding to live a healthy lifestyle and continue it.

Healthy eating habits are essential to maximizing your quality of life with a reduced risk of health problems and overall complacency with who you are. All the factors that are a part of eating healthy such as eating greens, not eating late at night, and refraining from too many sweets, decide what your body looks like in the long run and the confidence you have in yourself. Your mental sharpness is also positively affected and determines your ability to make better rational decisions. Physical sharpness and increased energy throughout the day can also be determined by healthy eating habits, allowing you to participate in many daily activities. Whenever I consciously decide to eat healthily, I am excited to continue to eat healthy because of the benefits I know I will gain. This is compared to when I acknowledge poor food decisions like eating fast food that I know is not good for my body and gives me more reasons to try to eat more healthily later. The differences in my physical health are usually the most visible when I eat healthily and go to the gym. Foods I usually eat, like spinach and well-balanced nutritious meals, have aided me in losing weight and improving my muscles. The gain in my physical appearance coincides with improved mental health and being able to view myself more positively. The changes in my physical health and appearance are also noticeable in my everyday life of doing tasks, whether focusing more on homework or having more energy to go out with friends and not be as tired every day. The difference in my mental health is also noticeable whenever I practice healthy eating habits because of the boost of serotonin I get from seeing a difference in my weight and mental sharpness. I feel more confident knowing that eating more healthily is the right choice and that I am making steps to improve myself. I notice that I have fewer fluctuations in my moods and am less prone to having a bad day when I consistently eat more fruits and make healthy meals. Whenever I make poor food decisions, it is apparent that I have a more negative outlook on life, making me not want to change my lifestyle. Those impacts on my mental health can be draining, and whenever I look back on them, it only gives me more reasons to stick to a consistently healthy diet.

The qualities and heroism of Simba in The Lion King made me fall in love with the story surrounding his journey and character arc. Watching The Lion King as a child and rewatching it as I got older made me appreciate Simba much more since I could see how his traits played out in the context of the whole story. His comeback after his father's death displayed how courageous of a person he was. I have always admired his optimism throughout the story, as the tribulations he went through were never enough to stop him from reaching the ultimate goal of taking back the kingdom. The challenges presented to him, like his father's death and the guilt he felt, would normally have pushed most people not to be optimistic, yet he still strived to take back what was supposed to be given to him. The realities of being flawed and stubborn make him a relatable character which is also why I enjoy him. The events in the movie that showed his over-confidence that led to several dangerous scenarios were just a reality that others also go through. It is important that characters are still flawed because that shows relatability with viewers and makes the story much more engaging. It certainly made the character much more appealing to me, as I could see that his mistake never took away from his full capabilities as a character. Simba's relationship with his father was a heart-wrenching one that spoke to my emotions and made Simba more human-like in his personality. His love for his father and the pain he felt after he assumed it was his fault encapsulated real-world emotions of grief and sadness that are also a part of our lives. However, the pain he felt after his father's death was also inspiring due to the success he had later in the film and decrowning his uncle because it showed how his love for his father carried with him throughout his entire journey.

Continuing to learn every day, even the most mundane topics, always contributes to the fulfillment I receive from knowing that I am constantly growing as a person. That is because learning is a key component of mental growth. I always try to push myself to learn new topics daily, whether from what I learned in class or the information I see in my day-to-day life. Even the topics I learn from books or talking to my elders has been fundamental in helping me want to be more curious about retaining even more knowledge and being wiser. Being a more mature person through the knowledge I acquire allows me to make more rational decisions in the future and teach those ways to others. Another reason why I see learning important is the ability for me to better contribute to discussions and problems I am involved in. A diverse understanding of things like economics or politics can allow me to help others better understand things they would like to know or tackle problems in class that I have to find a solution to. Being the person that people can rely on for valuable information is also a self-fulling feeling that inspires me to learn even more. Problem-solving can be more useful outside the classroom when I am tasked to solve problems within a paying job or a personal problem brought upon me by a friend. One of the formal ways I plan on continuing learning is by going to law school, where I will enrich my studies and understanding in many more departments of life than I already know. Graduate school will help solidify knowledge that is very useful in my potential career and life outside of work that can help me or others who might be in trouble. Looking even more into the future, I will keep myself busy with projects and hobbies in various fields that will encourage me to seek new interests in the topic and learn from others. Joining different clubs as an adult, like a book club or policy advocacy group, can help me learn a vast amount about things around me and give me the tools to take my understanding to new heights. Outside of organized learning methods, I plan on doing small tasks like reading the news every day and meeting with people I know can inform me about ideas I’m not familiar with. I could take as little or a long time as I want to read the news on various topics and websites in order to learn more about global and local events that can make me a more informed citizen. These are the more simple yet effective tasks that don’t require much effort while still being able to provide me with useful knowledge and ideas. Combining all those methods will satisfy my hunger for learning and keep me informed about the world and people around me.

I would like to positively impact global relations to increase global security and safety throughout my career. In my dream profession, diplomacy, it would be my mission to help ease conflicts through peace talks and diplomatic missions so that wars could significantly decrease. I want to be on the United Nations security council or as a U.S. ambassador because I think those positions can greatly influence peace and have meaningful, lasting impacts. We must continue to try as hard as we can to control the world positively and reduce human suffering caused by countries with leaders that aren't helping their citizens and don't engage in peaceful diplomatic missions. It is essential with the U.S.'s power to try to persuade friendly talks amongst nations and use war or other aggressive actions as final last decisions to reduce unnecessary casualties. Throughout my career, I would put myself at the forefront of contested areas with conflict and engage with world leaders and other ambassadors to negotiate and try to come to compromises. My central belief would be to ensure human rights within every country to ensure the fundamental decencies for everyone living on earth. I would also like to grow more democracies worldwide to ensure that more people live in countries where their voices are heard and are allowed to vote in free and fair elections. Being able to live in a democracy is something I think should be heavily valued and not taken for granted, so I would make an effort to promote leaders that are pro-democracy and will take care of their citizens. The economics of diplomacy is just as important, and I would also focus on trying to help negotiate trade talks that benefit participating countries. Having free and fair trade deals that lower the costs of essential items like food and clothing is significant, especially for poorer nations, so everyone has access to those basic needs. Other industry needs, like certain materials for important technology, will also be essential for countries to negotiate on and make offers. It would be vital for me to impact rebuilding nations after economic crashes and help redevelop so that they can enjoy a higher quality of life and, once again, decrease the highest amount of human suffering possible.

Superfoods are essential to me since they can contain high levels of nutrients and are often very tasteful and diverse in usage. Everyone needs an elevated take of nutrients to live a long and healthy life, so the abundance of superfoods is excellent for me and everyone else to eat and reap the benefits. Without them, there would be a much less available selection of densely packed nutritional foods that I could eat with my meals and enjoy. We all must understand why having densely packed foods with vitamins and nutrients is good for our health because we should aspire to include more healthy foods in our lives. Blueberries will always be my favorite superfood due to their sweet, tart flavor and soft texture. Blackberries can also be very versatile in the foods I put them in. I tend to use them in my salads and smoothies after I work out and eat them as a snack just by themselves. The compactness of blackberries and their juicy texture make them one of the few superfoods that are great to eat by themselves whenever you are in the mood. Kale, blueberries, and chia seeds are some of my favorite ones because I have tried them in my meals and have always found them tasty and fulfilling. Kale is the main ingredient I use when making smoothies and is essential for my fiber and antioxidant intake. It's also great for making salads for the same health benefits and allows me to include many other superfoods like different berries in my salad bowls. Chia seeds are pretty remarkable since they don't have much taste by themselves, so it's easy to put them in other dishes without changing their taste in deserts like overnight chia seed pudding. Blueberries are also great because they have been incorporated into many traditional foods like pancakes, waffles, and yogurt, which always gives me the option to include a superfood in every meal. Another honorable mention is green tea, known for medicinal properties and is a delightful tea coldly. Drinking green tea is also quite varied in that you can add many other ingredients, such as honey, to make your experience much more pleasant while still receiving the benefits of the anti-inflammatory effects and even helping prevent things like diabetes. We must be open to trying new things that are good for us before pushing them away and relying on our old ways and habits.

During the summer of 2021, I found myself helping out a few neighbors in my area by taking out trees that had fallen on their property during a thunderstorm earlier that week. The resident was a senior citizen, and his daughters cared for him at home. I only happened to arrive there while going out for a walk for a few hours and noticed them on their front lawn trying to come up with a way to move the large tree branches. Considering their circumstances, I felt it was only fitting to help them out, so I introduced myself to the family and asked if they could use some help. I was repeatedly told that they wouldn’t want to burden me with assisting them, but I insisted that I should offer my help to them and make their lives easier. They agreed, and we eventually started cleaning up all the dead tree branches along with another neighbor who decided to help us later. After cleaning up for three hours, it was getting late, and I asked if I would come back the next day to help. I proceeded to arrive at their house the next day. The following day, we finished putting the trees into bags, and I also helped cut down some branches that were too large to fit. Our final step was to organize the bags and put them in the front of the house so that they could be picked up by the tree removal organization that comes by our neighborhood. The second day only lasted two hours, but I was delighted to help the family and do a good deed for the community. The family was very thankful for my help and proceeded to pay me for my work. Still, I felt as if that wasn’t necessary because I thought it was obligatory to help out the people around me without compensation. After I got home, I started thinking about how lucky I was to stop and help the family out because they needed help but were too shy to ask for my help initially. If they had never been, there might have still tried to find other ways of receiving support, and it would have been harder to fix their problem. I think it’s essential that you shouldn’t be scared to ask for help when you are in need because it is not easy to navigate the world by yourself, and it is always more enjoyable to have others assist you.

My all-time favorite book would have to be War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It is a Russian novel based on the time right before the Napolean invasion of Russians and the family within the Russian aristocracy. What I love about the book is that it is realistic fiction and is very descriptive of what happened during the invasion with practical places such as the battle sites. I love history, and having something so honest about the events of the Napoleans war was incredible for me to read. Many storylines and exciting topics change the character's development from the impacts of the war. From political upheavals to spiritual changes within the families, it was exciting to see how they all panned out and were made into a cohesive storyline for all the characters. Tolstoy also mentions many philosophical topics in the novel, which I think are pretty helpful and makes the book so much more than just a 'novel.' One of the most beautiful parts of the book is the syntax and imagery used by the author. It helps paint the picture of the setting in 19th century Russia and what each of the characters felt at each point. It is very popular amongst Russian novelists to paint such vivid imagery. Tolstoy's novel was no different and made the book even more enjoyable with how he conveyed the story. Many dramatic scenes kept me entertained, and there were rarely any dull moments or parts that made me tired of reading.

Doing exercise on a regular basis is a great and easy way of helping people with mental health issues to become better or at least find some comfort in their lives. Exercise is such a practical choice because of how accessible and rewarding it can be. You can easily work out from your own home without buying extra equipment and you can do things at your own pace. Working out can give people an activity where they can focus on themselves and use the workouts to improve their body and the perception of themselves. It can be a great stress reliever depending on what workouts you do because you are putting your energy into something physical without hurting anyone. Since some mental health problems can be attributed to built-up anger and frustrations, working out can be a good medium of decompressing in a healthy way. There are also multiple kinds of chemicals released in your brain that help with your mental health such as increased serotonin levels when you constantly work out. The exercises you choose to do also allow you to be creative and be the deciding factor in the activities you want so that you can feel in charge of how you train your body. There are many other benefits to working out that can impact your life such as increased energy levels throughout the day, having a better outlook on life, and helping you sleep better. Being able to have more energy to do tasks or hang out with friends is a great way of healing and bettering your mental health.

The biggest problem facing our world would be the increasing climate and all the deadly negative issues that come with it. A way to help reduce the impact of climate change would be an initiative to tax carbon production on companies that do pollute to make them pay the accurate price of contributing to climate change at large. The theory behind the tax is that there is an external cost attached to emitting CO2 that is felt by the impacts of climate change and that companies contributing to that should be held more accountable. While carbon taxes could make products more expensive, they can also incentivize companies to invest in green energy and production via green power to reduce carbon dioxide's impact on climate change. The biggest problem with the status quo of energy production is that fossil fuels are very productive and do bring in a lot of money that comes with them. However, a lot of money has yet to be made from companies like car producers and electric companies to get their energy sources from renewable sources like wind or solar. It can also allow for more innovative ways of acquiring new energy sources, changing the way we think about power, and allowing more open-mindedness about sources like nuclear energy. A carbon tax could also open doors for future climate change-directed policy once implemented and have studies conducted to show the benefits it has created.

For my school-related future, I plan on pursuing a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in economics due to my interests in the field. My ultimate goal career-wise is to have a senior position as an economist or policy analyst for either a tech company or the federal government. Another career goal I would like to pursue if life goes in a different direction is to be a US ambassador or work in a consulate in another country since I have always thought foreign policy would be an exciting career. A minor goal would be to improve my relationships with people in my life and not be afraid to reach out to others for help and make sure that people know that I am there for them. A primary personal goal I want to achieve is to be a polyglot by speaking at least five languages because I think it is precious to do so, and I think languages are excellent. If I were to be a polyglot, I would want to be able to speak Portuguese, German, and Russian in addition to English and French.

Many of my study strategies revolve around having quiet spaces to truly focus on the subjects I am studying and not being distracted by anything else. Whenever I need to study for extensive large exams like my final exams, I always work in the home office without my phone and only use the essential items I need to learn. I try to limit how much I need my computer for studying and prefer to use paper for things like flash cards so that technology can not distract me. I like to work in rounds where I learn for 30 minutes and then take a five-minute break to do whatever. It's an effective way of making sure my mind is fresh and that I reward myself with a break after studying. Another strategy is to play videos of people studying on youtube on one monitor because seeing others' work can help me stay focused on my work, and it kind of feels like I am next to that person studying. A habit that allows me to look for an exam is incremental levels of learning for a week before the test. Instead of cramming for a test a day or two before, studying every day for a little has helped me retain a lot more information and doesn't cause me to lose sleep as cramming does.

During my first year in high school, I could not focus on my schoolwork, causing me to fall behind in several of my classes, such as math and biology. My inadequate studying made me miss many concepts and have almost failing grades. Once I realized how much work I needed to get back on top of my grades and end the year with a desirable transcript. I shifted my focus onto a constant habit of studying. It started with me using routines I found on the internet and having my family and friend hold me accountable to get my work done. I always studied for at least two hours after school and tried to go to tutoring as much as I needed. My new habits allowed me to overcome the procrastination and laziness that I had for many years. I kept those studying habits through the rest of the year, even when, at times, all I wanted to do was play games on my phone or go to bed. By the end of the year, I could bring my grades up to A’s and B’s and receive at least an 85% on all of my final exams.

Confidence means being able to trust yourself with the task at hand and having the courage to act or respond in the way you want to. Within my life, I constantly try to improve the confidence I have in myself because of how far it can take you in life. I used to reinforce confidence in myself by looking at my past accomplishments. Looking at what success I have done in the past reminds me of the things I can accomplish in the future whenever I feel like I can’t achieve something. Whenever I prepare for something in the immediate future, I like to talk to myself and excite myself to give me the confidence to do well. I have done that with interviews and presentations so that I wouldn’t appear so nervous in front of other people and so that I can tell myself that I will do great. I have stopped comparing myself to others who seem to have accomplished more than me in my everyday life. It can be straightforward to see others succeed on social media and think that I am not doing enough. Still, when I phase that thinking out, I can focus purely on myself and not assume that I don’t have what it takes just because I see other people with success.

I take great pride and joy in the many hobbies that I devote my time to and use as a way to understand my passions in life. One of my favorite hobbies that I discovered most recently was kayaking. I found kayaking when I went to Broken Boe, Oklahoma, for several years and did it for the first time with my family. It was pretty brutal since it was my first time and made me sore after we completed the trail in two hours. But when I went kayaking again in a different part of the state, I realized how fun it could be and allows you to appreciate the nature around you when you are in the water. Ever since then, any time I visit somewhere with a body of water, I make it my mission to see if there is an opportunity for me to kayak there. Reading is another hobby that I initially thought was boring and not for me. I used to hate reading in elementary and junior high, but I realized it was only because those were the books I was forced to read for class. I discovered the philosophy and political theory genre in high school and became in awe of how invested I was in those types of books. I continue to read whenever I have large amounts of time so that I can spend hours reading and researching new topics that I come across whenever I hyper fixated on a different philosophical or political idea. I also enjoy reading to become a well-rounded person who understands various issues within other fields of view.

Before I go to bed and wake up, I always make sure to follow a routine that I know helps me relax and allows me to start and end the day with a clear mind. I always like to make hot black tea, usually English Breakfast, and sit and watch youtube videos when I know I am about to go to sleep. I also enjoy putting on face masks to clear up my skin; that always feels refreshing when I take it off. Something that I've found to be helpful is intentional about when I go to bed and not at random times whenever I'm tired. By going to bed at a specific time every day, I can feel more prepared for the activities I do every day and know how much sleep I will be getting that night. I use other activities during the day, such as simply reading a new e-book that I find exciting and reading for a couple of hours. If it's a good day outside, I also like to read on the patio in my backyard to relax in the sun while reading a comforting novel. Little activities that I take for granted also help a lot when it comes to taking care of my mental health, so I like playing card games with my sister and even just going out for 30-minute walks around my neighborhood to relax mentally.

The vast amount of bright, progressive young people throughout the world that seek change helps give me hope for our future and that it will be more prosperous. While younger generations always tend to be more progressive, I think that our youth age will make many positive changes in our world through our different communities. Many teens are already embarking on their activism and political advocacy to demand change within our political systems. There are also teens making significant progress in the science and technology field that will be able to create new inventions to serve the public. Due to the ambitious nature of our youth, I think that it is possible that I can see many changes to our way of life that increase our health and efficiency and overall higher quality of life to become a more robust society. The fact that our youth today is relatively very engaged with current news due to our immediate access to the internet means that there are issues already being discussed amongst each other, causing discourse and allowing more people to bring ideas to the problems we have. With issues like climate change, generation z has been more understanding of the real and is more likely to acknowledge the new issues in our world instead of being skeptical. And once this generation becomes adults, we will have to face the problems that we inherited from past generations, giving another incentive to act fast and come up with ways of solving our problems. The social aspect of life is another thing that our young age will also be able to repair when it comes to issues like racism and xenophobia because we tend to be more open with others. Social progressivism is needed to make our society more tolerable for others and allow different kinds of people to feel welcomed and not discriminated against. I believe that our generation has the tools and kindness to do such a thing where our society will constantly try to be more open-minded and understanding of others

During the second semester of my first year of high school, I was in a severe dilemma that could have seriously affected the opportunities I have today. My attendance in school was in trouble, and all of my grades were around 70%, with only one 80% average in one class. I didn’t take it very seriously for most of the year because it was the first year of high school, and I didn’t think I wanted to go to college or do anything special. I would spend most of my time playing video games, not doing my homework, and doing my school work with as little effort as possible. After having many talks with counselors and my parents, I finally realized that I needed to be serious about my education. I took the initiative and started routinely going into afterschool tutoring and making up hours that I missed from school. Initially, it was hard for me because I didn’t have as much free time and was constantly making up old school work. At times I felt that it wasn’t worth it and that I should have continued to slack in school so that life could be accessible again. However, I continued to see the bigger picture of allowing myself more opportunities if I did well in school, so I finished what I started. By the end of the school year, I had more than a 90% average in six of my classes and was on track to graduate on time while being A/B honor roll accomplished.

The single Champion by Kanye West is a song that I habitually play due to the uplifting nature that inspires me. Many lyrics, such as “This a story of a champion… tell me what it takes to be number one, did you realize that you were a champion in their eyes”, allow me to envision myself in the lyrics and how I can be a champion. The upbeat tempo also provides a refreshing environment that fuels the uplifting lyrics and makes me more appreciative of the work. The sample used in the song from Steely Dan offers a chorus of vocals that add to the raw feelings projected by Kanye and further invoke the passion within the music. All parts of the song seem to come together in perfect pieces that allow it to show the inspiration of becoming a champion in life and having success because the lyric scheme and the beat have become a track that I make sure to play when I need a little inspiration or just something to keep me pushing through a task to see the bigger picture.

I plan on going to a four-year university for my bachelor's, in which I will obtain a degree in political science. I then want to go to graduate school in pursuit of a master's in economics. My goal is to stay in my hometown for only a few years to save money from a part-time job and eventually move to New York City. My dream job would be as an economic analyst or in an economic department within the field of urban planning. I also have many other professions that I would like to consider such as a pharmacist or working as a foreign service officer. Within my personal life, I want to be a polyglot in languages such as German, Portuguese, and Russian due to my love of languages and linguistics. I also want to make traveling something that I semi-regularly do because of how important it is to see different cities and countries to have a different perspective on life.

I constantly strive to make sure all my friends and people I associate with feel included whenever I’m with them. That includes simple actions such as acknowledging their religious holidays and cultural celebrations. Activities like those let people know that I care about the things they celebrate and support them. People like to feel understood culturally, and people will not mock them. Since we all have our differences, we need to make sure that everyone feels included and not ostracized. I sometimes go out of my way to participate in cultural events with my friends, such as Diwali and Quinceaneras, in which I have learned much more things from certain cultures and created more respect for them. That’s why I emphasized letting others know they are appreciated for the difference they have and how their perspectives can be helpful to a conversation. Having a diverse friend group is also something I value and actively try to increase. Whenever I start the new school year and sit with my friends at lunch, I try to find new people that can sit with us that may be of another race and gender and try to make friends with them. It’s a way of making people feel more included and increasing the close people around me from different backgrounds. It’s imperative to have people that can share their views and have a different lens of life with you, and being able to converse with those people at memorable times like lunch can be very special and eye-opening.