I know it sounds cliche to say taking care of yourself is important. Yeah everyone might preach that it's imperative to take care of health but doesn't do it. Well, I can tell you because I've witnessed how making certain changes to your life can improve your way of living by a ton. You start to look and feel a whole lot better and you're not going to want to go back. I've made several different changes to my lifestyle such as eating healthier and trying to get in more exercise, meditating, journaling and drinking more water. I noticed that when I made these changes in my life, I started to perform better physically and mentally. Before these changes, I would often fall into depression a lot and I would let myself go. I wouldn't be even close to who I am daily. Once I started to exercise, it was like my depression had vanished and my life uphill for a while after. I felt better than I ever did before. I also used to be stressed a lot before I started to meditate. When I meditate, it takes my mind off of a lot of things that are currently happening and eases my mind. It puts me at peace of mind and I can finally relax and forget about the real world for a minute. This has improved my mental health dramatically because I was constantly stressed and it impacted other aspects of my life. After noticeable results, I make sure to try to squeeze it into my schedule at least 2-3 times a week. I haven't even changed things I want to change such as sleeping habits, and educating myself more on the world that I live in, but I see just changing small things can alter your life a whole lot. I also want to work on my mental health a little more so that way I can go out there and take on anything that comes my way. Some of the things I've changed I'm pretty happy about it and I will do more work on myself since I am my biggest investment. These changes worked for me so do what you need you to need to do to improve your health altogether. I hope that I've inspired you to take care of yourself and listen to your body when it's telling you something because the problems that you're ignoring can be life-altering.

I’ve always heard “Do what you love and the money will follow”. So, therefore, I want to have a career that I love so that I can enjoy going to work. With my career, I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician are the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. Affording post-secondary education being a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as finances, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My values and interest play a role in why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value? My interest has also always been in electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and have an interest in it is also something I highly value because I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I value. Some short-term goals I have in mind are to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and find a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or doing research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as my long-term goals I want to have multiple sources of income and start investing in my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e-commerce. With getting my place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially and be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. As the saying goes, “Do what you love and the money will follow.”

I know it sounds cliche to say taking care of yourself is important. Yeah everyone might preach that it's imperative to take care of health but doesn't do it. Well, I can tell you because I've witnessed how making certain changes to your life can improve your way of living by a ton. You start to look and feel a whole lot better and you're not going to want to go back. I've made several different changes to my lifestyle such as eating healthier and trying to get in more exercise, meditating, journaling and drinking more water. I noticed that when I made these changes in my life, I started to perform better physically and mentally. Before these changes, I would often fall into depression a lot and I would let myself go. I wouldn't be even close to who I am daily. Once I started to exercise, it was like my depression had vanished and my life uphill for a while after. I felt better than I ever did before. I also used to be stressed a lot before I started to meditate. When I meditate, it takes my mind off of a lot of things that are currently happening and eases my mind. It puts me at peace of mind and I can finally relax and forget about the real world for a minute. This has improved my mental health dramatically because I was constantly stressed and it impacted other aspects of my life. After noticeable results, I make sure to try to squeeze it into my schedule at least 2-3 times a week. I haven't even changed things I want to change such as sleeping habits, and educating myself more on the world that I live in, but I see just changing small things can alter your life a whole lot. I also want to work on my mental health a little more so that way I can go out there and take on anything that comes my way. Some of the things I've changed I'm pretty happy about it and I will do more work on myself since I am my biggest investment. These changes worked for me so do what you need you to need to do to improve your health altogether. I hope that I've inspired you to take care of yourself and listen to your body when it's telling you something because the problems that you're ignoring can be life-altering.

A lot of people don't like math because they find it difficult to do or hard to understand. I love math fact that though it may be difficult to understand at times it's so interesting to me. It makes me want to indulge in learning it and wants to learn more and more of it. Math wasn't always my best subject as I struggled with it all of my years in elementary. As I got older, it started to click for me by the time I got into 5th grade and I had fallen in love with math ever since then. Math was fun for me to do. Anytime I did it I felt great about knowing how to do the math and also helped others how to do it. I also found myself being able to connect with others by doing math. It allowed me to be able to see how other people's thought processes were and how someone would approach a situation. Math allowed me to look at the world from another perspective as well. I feel that math is very imperative to our world as it is how we've learned and evolved so much. All of the technologies that we've developed and some of the things humans discovered had come from math. Math has also made me look at the world differently. Now I look at things and try to figure out what math they had used to get precise numbers and get such perfect measurements. I feel that math makes the world more cohesive rather than certain discoveries and things being known. Learning how to comprehend math after not knowing for years on end felt like a great accomplishment. I've loved math ever since and it's quite ironic since I hated math when I was younger. I thought that I would grow to hate the subject all my life just like other people. Now that I understand a decent chunk of math, I can see now how the world seems to make more sense as and I now look at it differently since I see how math brings things together. I didn't think that I thought that it couldn't be done but I had done it and it has opened some doors for me as far as me knowing what to pick for a career and what truly interests me rather than not knowing at all.

Mental health is something I feel isn't talked about enough or taken very seriously. I never knew how badly mental issues can impact you until I started having them myself. I've had depression multiple times and I found it hard to do day-to-day things such as showering, cleaning up, and doing schoolwork. Mental issues are something that you need to take seriously because they can grow on you and becomes more difficult to get over. I know because I've experienced it and it makes it harder to get over. I didn't take it seriously at first and later on, it took a toll on me. I didn't do the stuff I usually would do daily. I didn't go to the park and played basketball, or eat or go out with friends or anything of that nature. I didn't enjoy anything at all and I just felt trapped in my mind. Depression had shaken me up a bit and I wasn't the same for a while. It took a lot out of me to even get up out of bed and that's when I knew I had to fight back against it at some point. It was a hard battle because my mental state was so far off, but I had to get that monkey off of my back. Depression was killing all aspects of my life, I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to go out anymore, and didn't enjoy anything I once did. Luckily, I didn't let it win and completely take over my life. Nowadays I make sure I prioritize myself first so that I'm well-rested and ready to take on my days ahead. I usually do things now such as meditation and journaling which has helped a whole lot because it helps me get out what I'm feeling and relax. I also schedule mental health days for myself so that I get that time to just be myself for a while. Exercising or just going on walks helped me as well because while being active I was also taking care of myself physically. Mental health is a thing that you should always take serious and make sure to take care of because it is just as imperative as your physical well being. Taking care of yourself should be your first priority all the time because the best investment you can make is the investments you make in yourself.

My name is Chantalyia Draper. I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. Mental health is something I feel isn't talked about enough or taken very seriously. I never knew how badly mental issues can impact you until I started having them myself. I've had depression multiple times and I found it hard to do day-to-day things such as showering, cleaning up, and doing schoolwork. Depression had shaken me up a bit and I wasn't the same for a while. It took a lot out of me to even get up out of bed and that's when I knew I had to fight back against it at some point. It was a hard battle because my mental state was so far off, but I had to get that monkey off of my back. Depression was killing all aspects of my life, I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to go out anymore, and didn't enjoy anything I once did. Luckily, I didn't let it win and completely take over my life. Once I finally had gotten over it, I couldn't have been happier but I was never the same emotionally. I felt like I had to hide my emotions all the time. I felt as if no one cared because I had gone through it alone. So when it came to my having problems with my mental health I kept it to myself. I'm slowly coming out of that shell as well as I am starting to express myself a little more every day. I can say for sure that going through mental health issues changed who I was as a person. It made me a stronger person and I proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. Going through mental health issues alone and getting through them showed me that I'd be able to stand on my own as an individual without needing the help of other people. Going through it was tough but I don't regret it at all. I wouldn't change anything about what I had gone through because it strengthened me and made me realize my value as a person and made me realize to never treat myself less than what I am and accept it.

The saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" definitely applies to me. All of my life I've looked up to this one person and always wanted the never-give-up kind of attitude, the determination to always make it happen despite what life throws her way. The challenges she faced in life were tough as I was there through it all but she still made it through. She has had a huge impact on how I carry myself as a person and my attitude toward adversity. The person who's had a significant influence on me is no other than my mom and that influence she had in me is never to give up and face every challenge that comes your way. Time and time again I've watched my mom for years on end make it happen for my siblings and me even if it killed her, she'd still get it done. I also saw this kind of determination get her far in life and I wanted to develop that same perspective and apply it to my life. That's why I work so hard and try my best at everything; because I want to make it happen for myself in life just as she did. She made giving up look impossible as she always found a way. As far as my character goes, this is something I favor about myself and was so glad I had gotten taught such a thing. The way she faced challenges also is one reason why I admired her so much. My mom showed me how important it was to embrace the challenges that were coming my way and face them head-on. That's why now I take on challenges in my life with more confidence. Back then, I used to be scared to take on challenges because I never liked to step outside of my comfort zone to face them. My mom displayed this example to never be afraid and to understand that nothing is given but earned. The most important thing of all is that my mom has shown me all these years the never-give-up attitude she had. She never cared about how difficult something was for her because she'd sit there all day until she figured it out. That is a characteristic I've developed that is a blessing and a curse because sometimes I don't know when to stop working and overwork myself a lot. It's a blessing though because I'll never stop working till I have what I desire. I push myself hard because that's all I have seen growing up and it didn't stop until goals were accomplished.

I know it sounds cliche to say taking care of yourself is important. Yeah everyone might preach that it's imperative to take care of health but doesn't do it. Well, I can tell you because I've witnessed how making certain changes to your life can improve your way of living by a ton. You start to look and feel a whole lot better and you're not going to want to go back. I've made several different changes to my lifestyle such as eating healthier and trying to get in more exercise, meditating, journaling and drinking more water. I noticed that when I made these changes in my life, I started to perform better physically and mentally. Before these changes, I would often fall into depression a lot and I would let myself go. I wouldn't be even close to who I am daily. Once I started to exercise, it was like my depression had vanished and my life uphill for a while after. I felt better than I ever did before. I also used to be stressed a lot before I started to meditate. When I meditate, it takes my mind off of a lot of things that are currently happening and eases my mind. It puts me at peace of mind and I can finally relax and forget about the real world for a minute. This has improved my mental health dramatically because I was constantly stressed and it impacted other aspects of my life. After noticeable results, I make sure to try to squeeze it into my schedule at least 2-3 times a week. I haven't even changed things I want to change such as sleeping habits, and educating myself more on the world that I live in, but I see just changing small things can alter your life a whole lot. I also want to work on my mental health a little more so that way I can go out there and take on anything that comes my way. Some of the things I've changed I'm pretty happy about it and I will do more work on myself since I am my biggest investment. These changes worked for me so do what you need you to need to do to improve your health altogether. I hope that I've inspired you to take care of yourself and listen to your body when it's telling you something because the problems that you're ignoring can be life-altering.

The dream version of my future self is to be able to be at peace within myself and be happy to live.

Helping others is something I’ve always been interesting in doing. It’s in my nature to be nice and give to those who might need it and I believe it what makes me stick out from others. Giving back is something I’ve been planning to do for years. I always talked about how I wanted to use my career to help other people and donate to others and find ways to help. With my career choice either being an electrician or electrical engineer after I graduate high school, I would contribute to my community with using the skills I learned in my career to help the community. Id use the money that I earn from my career and help out my community by doing things like drives for clothes, food, and even shelter if I can. During my personal time, I’d use the skills that I’ve obtained from my career to even teach others what I know at no cost. I would want to get other people who are interested into these fields which I believe would impact the community in a positive way. Doing this too would motivate others to pursue for real careers and can also see how life can be so different. This is something that I’d absolutely love to do during my personal time because I want to improve other people’s lives. As far as helping my community in my career, I’d make sure to provide the best services I can since my job would be revolved around helping people anyways. Id make sure that the services that I provide will be done correctly and efficiently. With my career I’d also want to help my family as it would be a benefit to them for me to have the ability to fix circuits and wire houses. Id also use my career to get to know the community whom I work for. Some of the things that I want to do most in my personal life which is to donate to charities and participate in things like giveaways, food and clothe drives. I feel that this would be my ways of showing my appreciation and to show that there are people who’ll help you. I would love to donate to charities that relate to homelessness, cancer and hunger. These are conditions I see often and l would like to offer them a helping hand. I feel these things make me unique because nowadays, most people are out for themselves and not even thinking about who could need help or want it but can’t find it anywhere.

The saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”, definitely applies to me. All of my life I’ve looked up to this one person and always wanted the never-give-up kind of attitude, the determination to always make it happen despite what life throws her way. The challenges she faced in life but still made it through. She had a huge impact on how I carry myself as a person and my attitude toward adversity. The person who’s had a significant influence on me is no other than my mom and that influence she had on me is to never give up and face every chalk that comes your way. Time and time again I’ve watched my mom for years on end make it happen for my sibling and me even if it killed her, she’d get it done. I also saw this kind of determination get her far in her life and I wanted to develop that same perspective and apply it to my life. That’s why I work so hard at everything; it’s because I want to make it happen for myself in my life just as she made it happen for herself, myself and my siblings. She made giving up loom impossible as she never did it; she always found a way. As far as my character goes, this is something I favor about myself and was glad that my mom showed me such a thing. The way she faced challenges in her life is one reason why I admire her so much. My mom showed me how important it was to embrace the challenges that were coming my way and face them head-on. That’s why now I take on challenges in my life with more confidence. Back then, I used to be scared to take on challenges as I never like to shell out of my comfort zone to face them. My mom displayed this example to never be afraid and to understand that nothing is given but earned. The most important thing of all that my mom has shown me all of these years was that never give up attitude she had and still has to this day. She never cared about how difficult something was for her because she’d sit there all day until she figured it out. That is a characteristic I’ve developed that is a blessing and a curse because sometimes I don’t know when to stop working and tend to overwork myself a lot. But it’s a blessing because I’ll never stop working until I have what I desire. This is why I push myself also hard because it’s all I saw growing up and looking up to my mom. I’m glad to have someone like my mom in my life and to show me such things. Without her, I wouldn’t even be the person I am today. The one that can get through challenges without shying away; the one who doesn’t give up no matter what; the one who keeps their head up when everything doesn’t seem to be going right. I appreciate her and couldn’t ask anything more of her as she’s formed me into an amazing person. Just as I said earlier, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

A lot of people don't like math because they find it difficult to do or hard to understand. I love math fact that though it may be difficult to understand at times it's so interesting to me. It makes me want to indulge in learning it and wants to learn more and more of it. Math wasn't always my best subject as I struggled with it all of my years in elementary. As I got older, it started to click for me by the time I got into 5th grade and I had fallen in love with math ever since then. Math was fun for me to do. Anytime I did it I felt great about knowing how to do the math and also helped others how to do it. I also found myself being able to connect with others by doing math. It allowed me to be able to see how other people's thought processes were and how someone would approach a situation. Math allowed me to look at the world from another perspective as well. Learning how to comprehend math after not knowing for years on end felt like a great accomplishment. I thought that it couldn't be done but I had done it and proved to myself that I can do anything I set out to do.

I’ve always heard “Do what you love and the money will follow”. So, therefore, I want to have a career that I love so that I can enjoy going to work. With my career, I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician are the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. Affording post-secondary education is a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as finances, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My values and interest play a role in why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value? My interest has also always been in electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and have an interest in it is also something I highly value because I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I value. Some short-term goals I have in mind are to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and find a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or doing research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as the long-term goals I want to have multiple sources of income and start investing in my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e-commerce. With getting my place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially and be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. As the saying goes, “Do what you love and the money will follow.”

My name is Chantalyia Draper. I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. Mental health is something I feel isn't talked about enough or taken very seriously. I never knew how badly mental issues can impact you until I started having them myself. I've had depression multiple times and I found it hard to do day-to-day things such as showering, cleaning up, and doing schoolwork. Depression had shaken me up a bit and I wasn't the same for a while. It took a lot out of me to even get up out of bed and that's when I knew I had to fight back against it at some point. It was a hard battle because my mental state was so far off, but I had to get that monkey off of my back. Depression was killing all aspects of my life, I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to go out anymore, and didn't enjoy anything I once did. Luckily, I didn't let it win and completely take over my life. Once I finally had gotten over it, I couldn't have been happier but I was never the same emotionally. I felt like I had to hide my emotions all the time. I felt as if no one cared because I had gone through it alone. So when it came to my having problems with my mental health I kept it to myself. I'm slowly coming out of that shell as well as I am starting to express myself a little more every day. I can say for sure that going through mental health issues changed who I was as a person. It made me a stronger person and I proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. Going through mental health issues alone and getting through them showed me that I'd be able to stand on my own as an individual without needing the help of other people. Going through it was tough but I don't regret it at all. I wouldn't change anything about what I had gone through because it strengthened me and made me realize my value as a person and made me realize to never treat me less than what I really am and accept it.

I’ve always heard “do what you love and the money will follow”. So therefore, I want to have a career that I absolutely love so that I can actually enjoy going to work. With my career I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician is the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. With affording post secondary education being a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as financially, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My personal values and interest plays a role as to why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value. My interest has also always been with electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and actually have interest in it is also something I highly value due to the fact that I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I definitely value. Some short term goals I have in mind is to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and finding a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or do research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as my long term goals I want to have multiple sources of income, and start investing into my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e- commerce. With getting my own place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons on why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. Like the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

I’ve always heard “do what you love and the money will follow”. So therefore, I want to have a career that I absolutely love so that I can actually enjoy going to work. With my career I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician is the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. With affording post secondary education being a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as financially, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My personal values and interest plays a role as to why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value. My interest has also always been with electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and actually have interest in it is also something I highly value due to the fact that I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I definitely value. Some short term goals I have in mind is to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and finding a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or do research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as my long term goals I want to have multiple sources of income, and start investing into my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e- commerce. With getting my own place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons on why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. Like the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

I’ve always heard “do what you love and the money will follow”. So therefore, I want to have a career that I absolutely love so that I can actually enjoy going to work. With my career I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician is the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. With affording post secondary education being a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as financially, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My personal values and interest plays a role as to why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value. My interest has also always been with electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and actually have interest in it is also something I highly value due to the fact that I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I definitely value. Some short term goals I have in mind is to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and finding a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or do research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as my long term goals I want to have multiple sources of income, and start investing into my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e- commerce. With getting my own place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons on why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. Like the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. The challenges I faced that have made me a better person and have shown me a lot throughout my 18 years of living were being able to stand for what I believed to be right, the times that I changed and other people didn't like that and left me for good. The challenge that was my toughest is growing up with only one parent which was my mom. It wasn't easy by any means necessary because I thought that I would never be able to overcome them honestly. When it came to standing up for myself I found it very difficult as I never wanted to get into a confrontation with anyone or cause any issues. I always wanted to be the one who tried to keep the peace and avoid trouble as much as I possibly could. I then learned if you don't stand up for something, you'll fall for anything and won't stand for anything. Once I learned that I spoke up more about what I believed in and what certain things meant to me. Never again did I feel like I had to be quiet or not say anything because I felt like I would start issues and I now know that you don't have to be quiet about what matters most to you because you don't want someone else to disagree. Other challenges I faced were growing up with only one parent and the fact that I had come out to be lesbian to my family and some friends and I had gotten treated differently. These challenges that I've overcome hurt me the most because they opened my eyes to the world and I had seen that all people weren't who they portrayed to be. Being raised by a single parent wasn't always easy as it was sometimes hard to get certain things that I needed or wanted. It was hard because I never knew why my dad didn't wanna be around and it used to hurt me. Despite some of the struggles that my mom, my siblings and I encountered, she always found a way and I could never lose respect for her because of that. When I first discovered my attraction to other women I was scared about it because I was always told it was wrong and I'll burn in hell for eternity. People look at me strangely or act funny toward me as if I'm not a person at all. It honestly used to hurt my feelings but now I don't listen to what anyone tells me because I've built myself up time and time again when it was meant for my world to be torn apart by other people's opinions. Through these challenges, I have become the person I am today and I couldn't be any happier about how much I've grown as a person.

I’ve always heard “Do what you love and the money will follow”. So, therefore, I want to have a career that I love so that I can enjoy going to work. With my career, I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician are the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. Affording post-secondary education is a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as finances, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My values and interest play a role in why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value? My interest has also always been in electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and have an interest in it is also something I highly value because I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I value. Some short-term goals I have in mind are to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and find a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or doing research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as the long-term goals I want to have multiple sources of income and start investing in my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e-commerce. With getting my place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially and be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. As the saying goes, “Do what you love and the money will follow.”

I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. The challenges I faced that have made me a better person and have shown me a lot throughout my 18 years of living were being able to stand for what I believed to be right, the times that I changed and other people didn't like that and left me for good. The challenge that was my toughest is growing up with only one parent which was my mom. It wasn't easy by any means necessary because I thought that I would never be able to overcome them honestly. When it came to standing up for myself I found it very difficult as I never wanted to get into a confrontation with anyone or cause any issues. I always wanted to be the one who tried to keep the peace and avoid trouble as much as I possibly could. I then learned if you don't stand up for something, you'll fall for anything and won't stand for anything. Once I learned that I spoke up more about what I believed in and what certain things meant to me. Never again did I feel like I had to be quiet or not say anything because I felt like I would start issues and I now know that you don't have to be quiet about what matters most to you because you don't want someone else to disagree. Other challenges I faced were growing up with only one parent and the fact that I had come out to be lesbian to my family and some friends and I had gotten treated differently. These challenges that I've overcome hurt me the most because they opened my eyes to the world and I had seen that all people weren't who they portrayed to be. Being raised by a single parent wasn't always easy as it was sometimes hard to get certain things that I needed or wanted. It was hard because I never knew why my dad didn't wanna be around and it used to hurt me. Despite some of the struggles that my mom, my siblings and I encountered, she always found a way and I could never lose respect for her because of that. When I first discovered my attraction to other women I was scared about it because I was always told it was wrong and I'll burn in hell for eternity. People look at me strangely or act funny toward me as if I'm not a person at all. It honestly used to hurt my feelings but now I don't listen to what anyone tells me because I've built myself up time and time again when it was meant for my world to be torn apart by other people's opinions. Through these challenges, I have become the person I am today and I couldn't be any happier about how much I've grown as a person.

I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. The challenges I faced that have made me a better person and have shown me a lot throughout my 18 years of living were being able to stand for what I believed to be right, the times that I changed and other people didn't like that and left me for good. The challenge that was my toughest is growing up with only one parent which was my mom. It wasn't easy by any means necessary because I thought that I would never be able to overcome them honestly. When it came to standing up for myself I found it very difficult as I never wanted to get into a confrontation with anyone or cause any issues. I always wanted to be the one who tried to keep the peace and avoid trouble as much as I possibly could. I then learned if you don't stand up for something, you'll fall for anything and won't stand for anything. Once I learned that I spoke up more about what I believed in and what certain things meant to me. Never again did I feel like I had to be quiet or not say anything because I felt like I would start issues and I now know that you don't have to be quiet about what matters most to you because you don't want someone else to disagree. Other challenges I faced were growing up with only one parent and the fact that I had come out to be lesbian to my family and some friends and I had gotten treated differently. These challenges that I've overcome hurt me the most because they opened my eyes to the world and I had seen that all people weren't who they portrayed to be. Being raised by a single parent wasn't always easy as it was sometimes hard to get certain things that I needed or wanted. It was hard because I never knew why my dad didn't wanna be around and it used to hurt me. Despite some of the struggles that my mom, my siblings and I encountered, she always found a way and I could never lose respect for her because of that. When I first discovered my attraction to other women I was scared about it because I was always told it was wrong and I'll burn in hell for eternity. People look at me strangely or act funny toward me as if I'm not a person at all. It honestly used to hurt my feelings but now I don't listen to what anyone tells me because I've built myself up time and time again when it was meant for my world to be torn apart by other people's opinions. Through these challenges, I have become the person I am today and I couldn't be any happier about how much I've grown as a person.

Growing up in the inner city was eye-opening to me because it showed me many important life lessons that I feel I wouldn't have learned any other way. Though living in the city could be a challenging place to reside, I wouldn't ever take it back or regret it. The inner city built my character and helped me become the person I am today. The inner city showed me that you don't have to be a product of your surroundings because it's some people who had it worse continued to go on and fulfill their purpose on this earth. So growing up in the inner city wasn't the easiest thing to do but it taught me a lot. I think one of the main challenges I faced which are the most difficult, becoming what surrounds you. There are a lot of bad influences in the inner city such as gang bangers, drug dealers, people who want to hurt you, and drug addicts just to name a few. People like this are always around and being around people of such can cause you to pick up their habits and act the same way. I can say that I am truly blessed to have the mind I possess because if I hadn't, I would have gotten caught up in that type of stuff that could have such a negative impact on my life. It is most definitely one of the things I'm truly grateful for in life is to have it in my conscious to want to do right. Safety was another huge challenge I had to overcome while living in the inner city. People who had no good intentions at all were on every corner so you had to watch yourself. I overcame this challenge by not initiating trouble with anyone, avoiding going to places at night, and making sure that I knew where I was as far as the location so that I could be aware of these kinds of people. If something were to happen I had learned to keep a calm and clear mind so that I wouldn't panic and to be able to escape whatever it was I had encountered. I don't think that I would've learned certain precautions if I had lived in the suburban area my whole life. I don't think I would know the real dangers of the world and that alone; being naive is one of the most dangerous things ever. Without living in the inner city, I wouldn't be aware of what dangers are out there. So being there was both a blessing and a curse for me. Overall, I don't think I would be the person I am today if I hadn't encountered what I had living in the inner city. Yeah, it isn't the most ideal environment, but it showed me a lot that I wouldn't have ever known about if I lived elsewhere. I don't regret living in the inner city because it showed me what I felt like I would have learned too late.

I'm sure that you heard the phrase "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.” Some people agree, with this statement and some may not but know but it is truth because I've experienced it. Things I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it through I did and I couldn't be more proud of myself. The dilemma that I faced with being openly lesbian was not the easiest thing in the world to do as I’m judged daily for who I am. I’m proud of who I am and who I've become because I came a long way as a person. When I first discovered my sexuality, it was something that I tried to ignore due to the fact that it wasn’t “normal” and growing up hearing that it wasn’t right for me to be attracted to the same sex as I am. I had a hard time accepting this myself and once my family found out it made it even more difficult for me to accept it. My coming out broke me but made me and I say this because this made me realize that I need to love myself and look for no one’s validation or approval of what I do in my life. It also made me realize how a lot of people are willing to change just because I was different from them. Realizing how people were wasn’t the only eye-opener for me; I also gained a lot of confidence in myself as I learned to embrace myself for who I was. During the time of my coming out, I felt alone but it also helped me to be able to stand alone and be ok with being by myself and being in my own company. I also feel like I realized myself as a person as I felt I didn’t have to be a trick pony, trying to go out of my way to impress people. Being open about something that a lot of people aren’t fond of or what makes you different from a lot of other people isn’t an easy task. It takes a lot of courage which is also how this experience has positively impacted me. It allowed me to build courage I’d never in a million years thought I’d possess. Something I’ve fallen in love with about myself after this experience is how calm I’ve become. I used to feel like I had to always explain myself and I constantly felt angry. After going through what I did after coming out, I realized that I don’t need to explain myself and that everything doesn’t need a reaction. So situations where I’d usually flip out and lose my mind I’m calm about now and don’t even let it get to me. I really came a long way to the strong person I am today. I believe that this whole experience has transformed me as a person completely and it was for the better nonetheless. I love the person I’ve become as I have grown tremendously and want to continue to develop my character and become even better. I honestly don’t regret anything I’ve ever gone through with this experience as it has helped me and opened my eyes to so much. I learned to embrace both challenges and change through this experience I had. The most important lesson I learned was to love and embrace myself despite what anyone else had to say about what I did or who I am.

I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. The challenges I faced that have made me a better person and have shown me a lot throughout my 18 years of living were being able to stand for what I believed to be right, the times that I changed and other people didn't like that and left me for good. The challenge that was my toughest is growing up with only one parent which was my mom. It wasn't easy by any means necessary because I thought that I would never be able to overcome them honestly. When it came to standing up for myself I found it very difficult as I never wanted to get into a confrontation with anyone or cause any issues. I always wanted to be the one who tried to keep the peace and avoid trouble as much as I possibly could. I then learned if you don't stand up for something, you'll fall for anything and won't stand for anything. Once I learned that I spoke up more about what I believed in and what certain things meant to me. Never again did I feel like I had to be quiet or not say anything because I felt like I would start issues and I now know that you don't have to be quiet about what matters most to you because you don't want someone else to disagree. Other challenges I faced were growing up with only one parent and the fact that I had come out to be lesbian to my family and some friends and I had gotten treated differently. These challenges that I've overcome hurt me the most because they opened my eyes to the world and I had seen that all people weren't who they portrayed to be. Being raised by a single parent wasn't always easy as it was sometimes hard to get certain things that I needed or wanted. It was hard because I never knew why my dad didn't wanna be around and it used to hurt me. Despite some of the struggles that my mom, my siblings and I encountered, she always found a way and I could never lose respect for her because of that. When I first discovered my attraction to other women I was scared about it because I was always told it was wrong and I'll burn in hell for eternity. People look at me strangely or act funny toward me as if I'm not a person at all. It honestly used to hurt my feelings but now I don't listen to what anyone tells me because I've built myself up time and time again when it was meant for my world to be torn apart by other people's opinions. Through these challenges, I have become the person I am today and I couldn't be any happier about how much I've grown as a person.

My name is Chantalyia Draper. I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. Helping others is something I’ve always been interested in doing. It’s in my nature to be nice and give to those who might need it. Giving back is something I’ve been planning to do for years. I always talked about how I wanted to use my career to help other people and donate to others and find ways to help them in any way. With my career choice either being an electrician or electrical engineer after I graduate high school, I would contribute to my community with using the skills I’ve learned in my career to help in the community. Id use the money that I earn from my career and help out my community by doing things like drives for clothes, food, and even shelter if I can. During my personal time, I’d use the skills that I’ve obtained from my career to even teach others what I know. I would want to get other people who are interested in these fields which I believe would impact the community in a positive way. Doing this too would motivate others to pursue post secondary education because they would see how much better their lives could be if you have more than just a high school education. This is something that I’d absolutely dedicate my personal time to because I want to improve other people’s lives. As far as helping my community in my career, I’d make sure to provide the best services I can since my job would be revolved around helping others anyways. Id make sure that the services that I provide will be done correctly and efficiently. With my career I’d also want to help my family as it would be a benefit to them for me to have the ability to fix circuits and wire houses. Id also use my career to take my time to actually listen and get to know who the people are in my community. Some of the things that I want to do most in my personal like is donate to charities and participate in things like giveaways and food and clothe drives. I feel that this would be one of my ways of showing my appreciation and to show that there are people who’s willing to help other people. I would love to donate to charities that related to cancer, homelessness, hunger and also scholarships for school if I can. These are things I see often and I would like to contribute to change the amount of people who are homeless, dying of hunger, kids who need money to pay for school and reduce the amount of deaths of cancer. This is what I’m looking forward to most upon me graduating. These are my plans for helping my community in both my personal life and with my career. I would love to accomplish all of these goals as I really want to make a positive impact and contribution to the people around me and the world. I hope I am able to make at least some of these contributions accomplished once upon my time to graduate. I want to improve others people lives in any way I can and out of the genuineness of my heart. Before I leave this earth I want to do something that will change it.

I'm sure that you heard the phase "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.” Some people agree, with this statement and some may not but know His true because l've experienced it. Things I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it through I did and I couldn't be more proud of myself. The dilemma that I faced with being openly lesbian was not the easiest thing in the world to do as I’m judged on a daily basis for who I am. I’m actually proud of who I am and who Ive become because I came along way as a person. When I first discovered my sexuality, it was something that I tried to ignore due to the fact that it wasn’t “normal” and growing up hearing that it wasn’t right for me to be attracted to the same sex as I am. I had a hard time accepting this myself and once my family found out it made it even more difficult for myself to accept it. Me coming out broke me but made me and I say this because this made me realize that I need to love myself and look for no one’s validation or approval on what I do in my life. It also made me realize how a lot of people are willing to change just because I was different from them. Realizing how people were wasn’t the only eye opener for me; I also gained a lot of confidence in myself as I learned to embrace myself for who I was. During the time of me coming out, I felt alone but it also helped me to be able to stand alone and be ok with being by myself and being my own company. I also feel like I realized myself as a person as I felt I didn’t have to be a trick pony, trying to go out of my way to impress people. Being open about something that a lot of people aren’t really fond of or what makes you different from a lot of other people isn’t an easy task. It takes a lot of courage which is also how this experience has impacted me in a positive manner. It allowed me to build courage I’d never in a million years thought I’d possess. Something I’ve really fell in love with about myself after this experience is how calm I’ve become. I used to feel like I had to always explain myself and I constantly felt angry. After going through what I did after coming out, I realized that I don’t need to explain myself and that everything doesn’t need a reaction. So situations where I’d usually flip out and lose my mind I’m calm about now and don’t even let it get to me. I really came a long way to the strong person I am today. I believe that this whole experience has transformed me as a person completely and it was for the better none the less. I love the person I’ve became as I have grown tremendously and want to continue to develop my character and become even better. I honestly don’t regret anything I’ve ever went through with this experience as it has helped me and opened my eyes to so much. I learned to embrace both challenge and change through this experience I had. The most important lesson I learned was to love and embrace myself despite of what anyone else had to say about what I did or who I am.

The loss of my grandmother in 2017 made me look at the world way differently. It made me stronger nonetheless. It showed me that just because I'd lost someone close to mean doesn't mean that I sit and live in grief because she wouldn't have wanted that for me. If anything, she'd want me to be able still chasing my dreams in life to be able to become someone. To be able to positively impact the world. It makes me want to fight because I know she'd want me to go after whatever my goals are to be able to succeed in life. Something else that makes me want to fight to achieve what I want out of life is the personality my grandma had when she was alive. She always tried to be positive and gave it her all at any given moment and that makes me keep going because I feel as if she's living through me. And if I can, want to be able to carry that with me throughout my life to help me keep going when I lose the motivation to do so. It hurt to lose her but it also made me stronger as a person and I'll never forget that she had done that for me.

One person I'd say that has had my back the most throughout my educational career is my mom. The way she faced challenges in her life is one reason why I admire her so much. My mom showed me how important it was to embrace the challenges that were coming my way and face them head-on. That’s why now I take on challenges in my life with more confidence. Back then, I used to be scared to take on challenges as I never like to shell out of my comfort zone to face them. She makes sure that I am comfortable with the decision I make when it comes to my education and makes sure that it's going to benefit me in the end. She also likes to talk about my education often to see what I would like to do with my life. She is very invested because it's something we talk about almost every time we do have a conversation with one another and I'm really glad we have that opportunity as mother and daughter. My mom displayed this example to never be afraid and to understand that nothing is given but earned. The most important thing of all that my mom has shown me all of these years was that never give up attitude she had and still has to this day. She never cared about how difficult something was for her because she’d sit there all day until she figured it out. That is a characteristic I’ve developed that is a blessing and a curse because sometimes I don’t know when to stop working and tend to overwork myself a lot. But it’s a blessing because I’ll never stop working until I have what I desire. This is why I push myself also hard because it’s all I saw growing up and looking up to my mom. I’m glad to have someone like my mom in my life and to show me such things. Without her, I wouldn’t even be the person I am today. The one that can get through challenges without shying away; the one who doesn’t give up no matter what; the one who keeps their head up when everything doesn’t seem to be going right. I appreciate her and couldn’t ask anything more of her as she’s formed me into an amazing person. Just as I said earlier, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Helping others is something I’ve always been interested in doing. It’s in my nature to be nice and give to those who might need it. Giving back is something I’ve been planning to do for years. I always talked about how I wanted to use my career to help other people and donate to others and find ways to help them in any way. With my career choice either being an electrician or electrical engineer after I graduate high school, I would contribute to my community by using the skills I’ve learned in my career to helping in the community. I use the money that I earn from my career and help out my community by doing things like drives for clothes, food, and even shelter if I can. During my time, I’d use the skills that I’ve obtained from my career to even teach others what I know. I would want to get other people who are interested in these fields which I believe would positively impact the community. Doing this too would motivate others to pursue post-secondary education because they would see how much better their lives could be if they have more than just a high school education. This is something that I’d dedicate my time to because I want to improve other people’s lives. As far as helping my community in my career, I’d make sure to provide the best services I can sense my job would be revolved around helping others anyways. I make sure that the services that I provide will be done correctly and efficiently. With my career, I’d also want to help my family as it would be a benefit to them for me to have the ability to fix circuits and wire houses. I also use my career to take my time to listen and get to know the people in my community. Some of the things that I want to do most in my personal life are donated to charities and participate in things like giveaways and food and clothes drives. I feel that this would be one of my ways of showing my appreciation and showing that there are people who are willing to help other people. I would love to donate to charities that are related to cancer, homelessness, and hunger and also scholarships for school if I can. These are things I see often and I would like to contribute to changing the amount of people who are homeless, dying of hunger, and kids who need money to pay for school and reduce the number of deaths of cancer. This is what I’m looking forward to most upon my graduation. These are my plans for helping my community in both my personal life and my career. I would love to accomplish all of these goals as I want to make a positive impact and contribution to the people around me and the world. I hope I can make at least some of these contributions accomplished once in my time to graduate. I want to improve others people's lives in any way I can and out of the genuineness of my heart. Before I leave this earth I want to do something that will change it.

I'm sure that you heard the phrase "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.” Some people agree, with this statement and some may not know this but it's true because I've experienced it. Things I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it through I did and I couldn't be more proud of myself. The dilemma that I faced with being openly lesbian was not the easiest thing in the world to do as I’m judged daily for who I am. I’m proud of who I am and who I've become because I came a long way as a person. When I first discovered my sexuality, it was something that I tried to ignore due to the fact that it wasn’t “normal” and growing up hearing that it wasn’t right for me to be attracted to the same sex as I am. I had a hard time accepting this myself and once my family found out it made it even more difficult for myself to accept it. Me coming out broke me but made me and I say this because this made me realize that I need to love myself and look for no one’s validation or approval on what I do in my life. It also made me realize how a lot of people are willing to change just because I was different from them. Realizing how people were wasn’t the only eye opener for me; I also gained a lot of confidence in myself as I learned to embrace myself for who I was. During the time of me coming out, I felt alone but it also helped me to be able to stand alone and be ok with being by myself and being my own company. I also feel like I realized myself as a person as I felt I didn’t have to be a trick pony, trying to go out of my way to impress people. Being open about something that a lot of people aren’t really fond of or what makes you different from a lot of other people isn’t an easy task. It takes a lot of courage which is also how this experience has positively impacted me. It allowed me to build courage I’d never in a million years thought I’d possess. Something I’ve fallen in love with about myself after this experience is how calm I’ve become. I used to feel like I had to always explain myself and I constantly felt angry. After going through what I did after coming out, I realized that I don’t need to explain myself and that everything doesn’t need a reaction. So situations where I’d usually flip out and lose my mind I’m calm about now and don’t even let it get to me. I came a long way to the strong person I am today. I believe that this whole experience has transformed me as a person completely and it was for the better nonetheless. I love the person I’ve become as I have grown tremendously and want to continue to develop my character and become even better. I honestly don’t regret anything I’ve ever gone through with this experience as it has helped me and opened my eyes to so much. I learned to embrace both challenges and change through this experience I had. The most important lesson I learned was to love and embrace myself despite what anyone else had to say about what I did or who I am.

There have been many obstacles preventing people from creating generational wealth. One of them is that we come from a poorly disadvantaged background. It makes it harder for us to create wealth for ourselves let alone our descendants. As for South Africans, we come from the Apartheid era; our great-grandparents most of them had no formal education also our grandparents. The only people who were educated were our parents. Most of them are teachers and Nurses. They had enough financial ability to provide us with a quality education. Also after 1994, there were many bursaries available for black students. So this generation has got more doctors more PhDs, more chartered accountants, engineers etc. Even though we are so qualified now and we are getting high-paying jobs; the fact remains that we still need to look after our families. Our parents had no investment portfolios to take care of themselves, the only portfolio they had was our education their only hope to get us out of poverty. They expended all their income on our education, most of our parents at 50 have never been on vacation outside the country and have not even boarded a plane before. They have been feeding on hand-to-mouth and obtaining different loans just to pay for our education. If you build generational wealth, the generations that are produced after you wouldn't have to worry about paying for college or whatever post-secondary education you'd like to go through. It is very important to have generational wealth if you plan on having a family of your own one day. I plan on building it for my future family by opening bank accounts for my kids and investing in them. I'll also try to get into having valuable assets such as cars or houses so that they'll have something before I am deceased. Also, I'll make sure that my kids are very knowledgeable financially to make sure they can produce their wealth as well so that they can pass it down to their families in the future. I'll also tell show them how they should invest in their futures. Generational wealth to me means being able to have generations of your family taken care of financially. Many people don't get the chance to do so but I'll make sure that I create generational wealth for the family I create and make sure that it'll continue on. As they say, you may come from a poor family but don't let one come from you.

Helping others is something I’ve always been interested in doing. It’s in my nature to be nice and give to those who might need it. Giving back is something I’ve been planning to do for years. I always talked about how I wanted to use my career to help other people and donate to others and find ways to help them in any way. With my career choice either being an electrician or electrical engineer after I graduate high school, I would contribute to my community with using the skills I’ve learned in my career to help in the community. Id use the money that I earn from my career and help out my community by doing things like drives for clothes, food, and even shelter if I can. During my personal time, I’d use the skills that I’ve obtained from my career to even teach others what I know. I would want to get other people who are interested in these fields which I believe would impact the community in a positive way. Doing this too would motivate others to pursue post secondary education because they would see how much better their lives could be if you have more than just a high school education. This is something that I’d absolutely dedicate my personal time to because I want to improve other people’s lives. As far as helping my community in my career, I’d make sure to provide the best services I can sense my job would be revolved around helping others anyways. I make sure that the services that I provide will be done correctly and efficiently. With my career, I’d also want to help my family as it would be a benefit to them for me to have the ability to fix circuits and wirehouses. Id also uses my career to take my time to listen and get to know the people in my community. Some of the things that I want to do most in my personal life are donated to charities and participate in things like giveaways and food and clothes drives. I feel that this would be one of my ways of showing my appreciation and showing that there are people who are willing to help other people. I would love to donate to charities that are related to cancer, homelessness, and hunger and also scholarships for school if I can. These are things I see often and I would like to contribute to changing the number of people who are homeless, dying of hunger, and kids who need money to pay for school and reduce the number of deaths of cancer. This is what I’m looking forward to most upon my graduation. These are my plans for helping my community in both my personal life and my career. I would love to accomplish all of these goals as I want to make a positive impact and contribution to the people around me and the world. I hope I can make at least some of these contributions accomplished once in my time to graduate. I want to improve others people's lives in any way I can and out of the genuineness of my heart. Before I leave this earth I want to do something that will change it.

The funny part is that I never used to like math at all. I used to think it was too difficult and didn't make much sense. Thanks to my elementary and middle school teachers for helping me understand. Once it finally clicked for me, math became so fun for me and that's how I had gotten so wrapped up in math. Math has nonetheless helped me see the world from a different perspective. I was finally able to understand why certain things were the way they were. Music, for example, carries in sound waves and there are "waves" in math which would be Sine and Cosine waves. Doing things such as trigonometry to be able to get a certain position on things. When I started taking Algebra 2 in 10th grade, that's when I had a hard time understanding math again. The thing about math is that it's so interesting to me and since you're always learning something new and that's why I'm so drawn to math. I see the world now and ask "what kind of math was used to be able to create this object or what kind of math contributed to making the world in general? A lot of careers also include math in them and I'll be entering one of those fields associated with math by me becoming an electrician and engineer. These are fields, especially engineering, that are very math-heavy. So knowing math to be one of those is imperative. Math has become such a huge part of life now that I even want it to be a part of my career. As I said before, I wasn't always good at math and I never always loved math. I used to hate it and it never made sense to me. It would be as if someone would be speaking another language to me. I wouldn't understand anything that went on in a math class at all no matter who I went to. About 5th grade is when it really clicked for me and I was even doing 6th-grade math while still in 5th grade because the work was too easy. Fast forward I am currently a high school senior working towards graduation and preparing for the real world. I'm glad I was able to find out what I liked doing before my high school career came to an end. Learning and understanding math is something that has definitely help me develop and changed my life.

Mental health is something I feel isn't talked about enough or taken very seriously. I never knew how badly mental issues can impact you until I started having them myself. I've had depression multiple times and I found it hard to do day-to-day things such as showering, cleaning up, and doing schoolwork. Depression had shaken me up a bit and I wasn't the same for a while. It took a lot out of me to even get up out of bed and that's when I knew I had to fight back against it at some point. It was a hard battle because my mental state was so far off, but I had to get that monkey off of my back. Depression was killing all aspects of my life, I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to go out anymore, and didn't enjoy anything I once did. Luckily, I didn't let it win and completely take over my life. Once I finally had gotten over it, I couldn't have been happier but I was never the same emotionally. I felt like I had to hide my emotions all the time. I felt as if no one cared because I had gone through it alone. So when it came to my having problems with my mental health I kept it to myself. I'm slowly coming out of that shell as well as I am starting to express myself a little more every day. I can say for sure that going through mental health issues changed who I was as a person. It made me a stronger person and I proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. Going through mental health issues alone and getting through them showed me that I'd be able to stand on my own as an individual without needing the help of other people. Going through it was tough but I don't regret it at all. I wouldn't change anything about what I had gone through because it strengthened me and made me realize my value as a person and made me realize to never treat myself less than what I am and accept it.

My name is Chantalyia Draper. I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. Mental health is something I feel isn't talked about enough or taken very seriously. I never knew how badly mental issues can impact you until I started having them myself. I've had depression multiple times and I found it hard to do day-to-day things such as showering, cleaning up, and doing schoolwork. Depression had shaken me up a bit and I wasn't the same for a while. It took a lot out of me to even get up out of bed and that's when I knew I had to fight back against it at some point. It was a hard battle because my mental state was so far off, but I had to get that monkey off of my back. Depression was killing all aspects of my life, I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to go out anymore, and didn't enjoy anything I once did. Luckily, I didn't let it win and completely take over my life. Once I finally had gotten over it, I couldn't have been happier but I was never the same emotionally. I felt like I had to hide my emotions all the time. I felt as if no one cared because I had gone through it alone. So when it came to my having problems with my mental health I kept it to myself. I'm slowly coming out of that shell as well as I am starting to express myself a little more every day. I can say for sure that going through mental health issues changed who I was as a person. It made me a stronger person and I proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. Going through mental health issues alone and getting through them showed me that I'd be able to stand on my own as an individual without needing the help of other people. Going through it was tough but I don't regret it at all. I wouldn't change anything about what I had gone through because it strengthened me and made me realize my value as a person and made me realize to never treat myself less than what I am and accept it.

I’ve always heard “do what you love and the money will follow”. So, therefore, I want to have a career that I love so that I can enjoy going to work. With my career, I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician are the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. Affording post-secondary education is a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as finances, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My values and interest play a role in why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value? My interest has also always been in electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and have an interest in it is also something I highly value because I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I value. Some short-term goals I have in mind are to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and find a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or doing research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as the long term goals I want to have multiple sources of income, and start investing in my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e-commerce. With getting my place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. Like the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

My name is Chantalyia Draper. I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. Mental health is something I feel isn't talked about enough or taken very seriously. I never knew how badly mental issues can impact you until I started having them myself. I've had depression multiple times and I found it hard to do day-to-day things such as showering, cleaning up, and doing schoolwork. Mental issues are something that you need to take seriously because they can grow on you and becomes more difficult to get over. I know because I've experienced it and it makes it harder to get over. I didn't take it seriously at first and later on, it took a toll on me. I didn't do the stuff I usually would do daily. I didn't go to the park and played basketball, or eat or go out with friends or anything of that nature. I didn't enjoy anything at all and I just felt trapped in my mind. Depression had shaken me up a bit and I wasn't the same for a while. It took a lot out of me to even get up out of bed and that's when I knew I had to fight back against it at some point. It was a hard battle because my mental state was so far off, but I had to get that monkey off of my back. Depression was killing all aspects of my life, I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to go out anymore, and didn't enjoy anything I once did. Luckily, I didn't let it win and completely take over my life. Once I finally had gotten over it, I couldn't have been happier but I was never the same emotionally. I felt like I had to hide my emotions all the time. I felt as if no one cared because I had gone through it alone. So when it came to my having problems with my mental health I kept it to myself. I'm slowly coming out of that shell as well as I am starting to express myself a little more every day. I can say for sure that going through mental health issues changed who I was as a person. It made me a stronger person and I proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. Going through mental health issues alone and getting through them showed me that I'd be able to stand on my own as an individual without needing the help of other people. Going through it was tough but I don't regret it at all. I wouldn't change anything about what I had gone through because it strengthened me and made me realize my value as a person and made me realize to never treat myself less than what I am and accept it.

My name is Chantalyia Draper. I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. Mental health is something I feel isn't talked about enough or taken very seriously. I never knew how badly mental issues can impact you until I started having them myself. I've had depression multiple times and I found it hard to do day-to-day things such as showering, cleaning up, and doing schoolwork. Mental issues are something that you need to take seriously because they can grow on you and becomes more difficult to get over. I know because I've experienced it and it makes it harder to get over. I didn't take it seriously at first and later on, it took a toll on me. I didn't do the stuff I usually would do daily. I didn't go to the park and played basketball, or eat or go out with friends or anything of that nature. I didn't enjoy anything at all and I just felt trapped in my mind. Depression had shaken me up a bit and I wasn't the same for a while. It took a lot out of me to even get up out of bed and that's when I knew I had to fight back against it at some point. It was a hard battle because my mental state was so far off, but I had to get that monkey off of my back. Depression was killing all aspects of my life, I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to go out anymore, and didn't enjoy anything I once did. Luckily, I didn't let it win and completely take over my life. Once I finally had gotten over it, I couldn't have been happier but I was never the same emotionally. I felt like I had to hide my emotions all the time. I felt as if no one cared because I had gone through it alone. So when it came to my having problems with my mental health I kept it to myself. I'm slowly coming out of that shell as well as I am starting to express myself a little more every day. I can say for sure that going through mental health issues changed who I was as a person. It made me a stronger person and I proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. Going through mental health issues alone and getting through them showed me that I'd be able to stand on my own as an individual without needing the help of other people. Going through it was tough but I don't regret it at all. I wouldn't change anything about what I had gone through because it strengthened me and made me realize my value as a person and made me realize to never treat myself less than what I am and accept it.

Financial literacy is a skill that a lot of people lack nowadays and it's no secret. This is where most of our generation lacks knowledge and with us not acquiring much of this life skill, it's going to be a struggle when it comes to finances. You need to know about things such as how to write checks, budgeting which is a huge one and will help you get ahead financially, saving, investing, and retirement just to name a few of the things you need to know about financially. Being financially responsible is very valuable and will help you get ahead financially if you haven't already. I plan to help others and educate myself to become financially literate by trying to learn more and then share that information at such things as small neighborhood events or going to schools to talk about it because I want other people just as I want myself to succeed financially. I plan to teach myself to become financially literate by taking charge of my learning and going ahead and looking into the deeper aspects of things such as investing, saving, and retirement. I want to know things like which type of retirement plan would be more beneficial to me. I want to know things like how much money should I save a month for 20-30 years so I can reach my personal financial goal, and what kind of investments should I make that will positively affect me. Once I finally acquire the information I want, I will then start to tell other people about what I've learned and get them to look more at their financial situations. They'll then see how much or how little they have to work on their finances. I also want kids of later generations to know about this information on financial literacy as it'll help them way earlier and this way, they'll be more prepared for the life that's ahead of them. They also wouldn't have to go so long without knowing proper financial etiquette to be able to live their lives without worry. Knowing about your finances and how to manage them will help anyone who has goals that they want to reach in life or dreams that they've always wanted to fulfill. The thing is that all of those dreams start with your finances and how you plan determines how many of those dreams are going to become realities.

My name is Chantalyia Draper. I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. Mental health is something I feel isn't talked about enough or taken very seriously. I never knew how badly mental issues can impact you until I started having them myself. I've had depression multiple times and I found it hard to do day-to-day things such as showering, cleaning up, and doing schoolwork. Depression had shaken me up a bit and I wasn't the same for a while. It took a lot out of me to even get up out of bed and that's when I knew I had to fight back against it at some point. It was a hard battle because my mental state was so far off, but I had to get that monkey off of my back. Depression was killing all aspects of my life, I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to go out anymore, and didn't enjoy anything I once did. Luckily, I didn't let it win and completely take over my life. Once I finally had gotten over it, I couldn't have been happier but I was never the same emotionally. I felt like I had to hide my emotions all the time. I felt as if no one cared because I had gone through it alone. So when it came to my having problems with my mental health I kept it to myself. I'm slowly coming out of that shell as well as I am starting to express myself a little more every day. I can say for sure that going through mental health issues changed who I was as a person. It made me a stronger person and I proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. Going through mental health issues alone and getting through them showed me that I'd be able to stand on my own as an individual without needing the help of other people. Going through it was tough but I don't regret it at all. I wouldn't change anything about what I had gone through because it strengthened me and made me realize my value as a person and made me realize to never treat myself less than what I am and accept it.

Being a leader is something I was born into since I'm the first child that my mom had. I had to do the right things and set a good example at all times so that my younger siblings then followed after me and could be just as great. It wasn't easy but I did it and I'm proud of myself. I try to make sure I think before I do a lot of things so that way they can also see that and copy that as well. I make sure I try my hardest in everything I do and I want them to do the same. I practice servant leadership in my interactions with family by being a good example for my younger siblings. I try to make sure I'm making the right decisions before I make them. I try to make sides that I put my mind into everything I do because you'll never know what your result would be if you don't push those boundaries you have and out of your comfort zone. I also show them that it's ok to not be perfect all the time. I tell them as long as they try their absolute hardest and left nothing on the table they did what they were supposed to do. I practice leadership at school by being the leader of things like projects and assignments. I'm usually the one assigning roles to people so that way we can do the assignment or project smoothly without many problems. It usually works out well and everyone who is involved gets a good grade on it. I'm also a Customer Sales Leader at Express which is my current employment. I have to lead the sales floor for two hours and ensure that the associates are doing what they're supposed to do and making sure everything runs smoothly. Being in this position helps me outside of school or home because I get to lead in the real world and test my leadership skills. This also helps the people around me by them wanting my help and wanting me to help them get better at whatever they do. That's the kind of leader I want to be to people because I don't want to be hard to talk to or rude or judge because I'm here to help. Helping people is something I've always been interested in and I think that and leadership go hand and hand for me.

I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. I’ve always heard “do what you love and the money will follow”. So, therefore, I want to have a career that I love so that I can enjoy going to work. With my career, I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician are the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. Affording post-secondary education being a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as finances, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My values and interest play a role in why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value? My interest has also always been in electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and have an interest in it is also something I highly value because I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I value. Long-term goals I want to have multiple sources of income, and start investing in my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e-commerce. With getting my place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially and be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. As the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

I’ve always heard “do what you love and the money will follow”. So therefore, I want to have a career that I absolutely love so that I can actually enjoy going to work. With my career I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician is the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. With affording post secondary education being a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as financially, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My personal values and interest plays a role as to why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value. My interest has also always been with electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and actually have interest in it is also something I highly value due to the fact that I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I definitely value. Some short term goals I have in mind is to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and finding a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or do research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as my long term goals I want to have multiple sources of income, and start investing into my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e- commerce. With getting my own place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons on why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. Like the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

What does it mean to be an American? In my eyes to be an American means to have privileges, rights, and freedom. America isn't perfect, but it is one of the only countries that have rights given to people of different diversities and gender. America does not have tremendous poverty. Instead, we have choices given to us by the people who fought and died for the American people. Being an American means being able to be free to make whatever decisions you want to make and being whoever you want to be. You can build your dream life as an American because of the people before us who fought for us to get where we are today. You could be the biggest entrepreneur on the planet or the world's best athlete. You can be anything you've ever dreamed of. There are many opportunities in America for you to be able to come and build the life you desire and dream of. Since a kid, I always wanted to do something with electricity and technology because I was always intrigued by how it worked. I wanted to know how TVs were able to function, and how entertainment systems were put together. I remember I used to be able to successfully hook up an entire tv and entertainment system at just six years old. Since then, I knew that I wanted to get into the electrical industry. Even though the electrical industry is man dominated, I just loved the fact of being able to contribute to the technology world and make our world better when it came to technology. To be an American is to be able to seize opportunities. You have amazing opportunities in America to become anything you want to be. You can go to college and major in your future career, or you can go to a trade school and still get a good job. You could also go into a business such as doing hair or nails or even invent something new that you may need that could make you money. There are just many opportunities as an American to make your life how you want it to be. Those opportunities will definitely change your life for the better. Everybody that comes into America will be able to make better of their lives, regardless of their financial status. To put a very long story short, being American means being able to get your dream life.

I’ve always heard “do what you love and the money will follow”. So, therefore, I want to have a career that I love so that I can enjoy going to work. With my career, I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician are the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. Affording post-secondary education is a main concern of mine that I faced when concluding that this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. My original plan was to become an electrical engineer but I thought about how much more time out of my life I'd be spending in school and the amount of debt I'd be in. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as finances, this would be a good career for me to pursue. Having little to no debt and interest while being able to make decent money plays a role in why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do that? Also, you would be able to graduate with little to no debt at all if you plan correctly and you can still make pretty good money and start investing in your future life as well. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially and be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. As the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

My name is Chantalyia Draper. I am originally from Ohio and I moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. I grew up here in Detroit and have been here for 10 years now as I am now 18 and a senior in high school. Mental health is something I feel isn't talked about enough or taken very seriously. I never knew how badly mental issues can impact you until I started having them myself. I've had depression multiple times and I found it hard to do day-to-day things such as showering, cleaning up, and doing schoolwork. Depression had shaken me up a bit and I wasn't the same for a while. It took a lot out of me to even get up out of bed and that's when I knew I had to fight back against it at some point. It was a hard battle because my mental state was so far off, but I had to get that monkey off of my back. Depression was killing all aspects of my life, I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to go out anymore, and didn't enjoy anything I once did. Luckily, I didn't let it win and completely take over my life. Once I finally had gotten over it, I couldn't have been happier but I was never the same emotionally. I felt like I had to hide my emotions all the time. I felt as if no one cared because I had gone through it alone. So when it came to my having problems with my mental health I kept it to myself. I'm slowly coming out of that shell as well as I am starting to express myself a little more every day. I can say for sure that going through mental health issues changed who I was as a person. It made me a stronger person and I proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. Going through mental health issues alone and getting through them showed me that I'd be able to stand on my own as an individual without needing the help of other people. Going through it was tough but I don't regret it at all. I wouldn't change anything about what I had gone through because it strengthened me and made me realize my value as a person and made me realize to never treat me less than what I really am and accept it.

My name is Chantalyia Draper. I am currently 18 years old and a high school senior. I was born in Ohio originally but moved to Michigan when I was just 8 years old. My educational goals are to pursue trade school to become an electrician and then once I'm done with that, I plan to go to college to become an electrical engineer. When it came to standing up for myself I found it very difficult as I never wanted to get into a confrontation with anyone or cause any issues. I always wanted to be the one who tried to keep the peace and avoid trouble as much as I possibly could. I then learned if you don't stand up for something, you'll fall for anything and won't stand for anything. Once I learned that I spoke up more about what I believed in and what certain things meant to me. Never again did I feel like I had to be quiet or not say anything because I felt like I would start issues and I now know that you don't have to be quiet about what matters most to you because you don't want someone else to disagree. Other challenges I faced were growing up with only one parent and the fact that I had come out to be lesbian to my family and some friends and I had gotten treated differently. These challenges that I've overcome hurt me the most because they opened my eyes to the world and I had seen that all people weren't who they portrayed to be. Being raised by a single parent wasn't always easy as it was sometimes hard to get certain things that I needed or wanted. It was hard because I never knew why my dad didn't wanna be around and it used to hurt me. Despite some of the struggles that my mom, my siblings and I encountered, she always found a way and I could never lose respect for her because of that. When I first discovered my attraction to other women I was scared about it because I was always told it was wrong and I'll burn in hell for eternity. People look at me strangely or act funny toward me as if I'm not a person at all. It honestly used to hurt my feelings but now I don't listen to what anyone tells me because I've built myself up time and time again when it was meant for my world to be torn apart by other people's opinions. Through these challenges, I have become the person I am today and I couldn't be any happier about how much I've grown as a person.

Integrity is doing the right thing versus the wrong, even if no one is watching you. It may mean nothing to some and a lot to others. People who value integrity highly are the ones who are some of the best people. To me, integrity is very important in my personal life and outside of it. I've always been a person of integrity and I believe in treating people how I want to be treated by someone else. A time I've exercised honor in my life was hard because I thought that it would hurt to tell someone something they may not want to hear. This time was when I had to tell my family that I had an attraction toward other girls. They weren't fond of this at all and we had a really hard time afterward. Eventually, they accepted it and we got even closer as a family. It was hard for me to tell them that because I know what they believe in and what they allow and don't but I had to tell them because something because as the saying goes, "the truth will set you free". Integrity is a thing that I really take pride in because nowadays, people don't care about such things anymore. It is vital to be honest and do the right thing because that's why we really don't trust each other now as humans. I feel that if there were more people who valued integrity, the world would be a much better and stress free place to live.

To answer the question, no, I've never been in foster care at all. I’ve always heard “do what you love and the money will follow”. So, therefore, I want to have a career that I love so that I can enjoy going to work. With my career, I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician are the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. Affording post-secondary education is a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as finances, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My values and interest play a role in why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value? My interest has also always been in electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and have an interest in it is also something I highly value because I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I value. Some short-term goals I have in mind are to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and find a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or doing research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as my long-term goals I want to have multiple sources of income, and start investing in my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e-commerce. With getting my place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially and be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. As the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

I’ve always heard “do what you love and the money will follow”. So, therefore, I want to have a career that I love so that I can enjoy going to work. With my career, I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician are the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. Affording post-secondary education being a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as finances, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My values and interest play a role in why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value? My interest has also always been in electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and have an interest in it is also something I highly value because I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I value. Some short-term goals I have in mind are to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and find a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or doing research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as my long-term goals I want to have multiple sources of income, and start investing in my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e-commerce. With getting my place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially and be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. As the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

Being able to go to college debt and worry-free is a dream come true. Imagine not having to pay off loans for 20-30 years of your life. Or having to work day and night so that by you’re not in debt. People’s financial situations are the reason why a lot of people don’t pursue post secondary education. So receiving a scholarship would help me a ton because I don’t want to put myself in the predicament of having to pay for the decisions I made in the past. Paying for higher education isn’t cheap as everyone already knows. It’s important to have but everyone can’t obtain it without it hurting their lives. If I were to receive a scholarship for post-secondary education, it would encourage me to pursue college more. The only reason why I don’t want to pursue college is because of how expensive it is to attend. I also wouldn’t want to leave my family with debt they’d have to pay off for years in the end because of me. If given a scholarship I’d make sure to make the best out of such an opportunity so that I can help other people. Helping others is naturally in me too so why not get a job or use the opportunity I’ve been given to help someone else? I value this ad helping out someone who might need it would probably really come in handy. Being given a scholarship would be so higher for me because trying to pay for any type of education after high school would be impossible without going into debt. Time after time again, people are falling victim to debt. Paying off debt for the next 29-30 years is something I’m not a fan of and want to avoid at all costs. Receiving a scholarship would keep me out of the cycle of people pursuing post-secondary education but having to pay off debt. This is something that held me back from wanting to go to college and it’s something that holds many people back. That’s why being able to have aids such as scholarships, grants, FAFSA, and other ways to help pay for education after high school. Obtaining a scholarship to be able to go to school without worrying about debt would be a dream come true for me. So if I was allowed to get a scholarship, I’d use it to my full advantage to improve my life. It would be life-changing to me as well as to others because I want to change not just my life but other people’s lives as well. Getting my post-secondary education would be part of that plan for me to improve both my own and other people’s lives. Receiving a scholarship would benefit me and help me achieve all of the goals I have set up for my life. I’d seize this opportunity in a heartbeat if given to me and make the absolute best out of it.

Financial literacy is a skill that a lot of people lack nowadays and it's no secret. This is where most of our generation lacks knowledge and with us not acquiring much of this life skill, it's going to be a struggle when it comes to finances. You need to know about things such as how to write checks, budgeting which is a huge one and will help you get ahead financially, saving, investing, and retirement just to name a few of the things you need to know about financially. Being financially responsible is very valuable and will help you get ahead financially if you haven't already. I plan to help others and educate myself to become financially literate by trying to learn more and then share that information at such things as small neighborhood events or going to schools to talk about it because I want other people just as I want myself to succeed financially. I plan to teach myself to become financially literate by taking charge of my learning and going ahead and looking into the deeper aspects of things such as investing, saving, and retirement. I want to know things like which type of retirement plan would be more beneficial to me. I want to know things like how much money should I save a month for 20-30 years so I can reach my personal financial goal, and what kind of investments should I make that will positively affect me. Once I finally acquire the information I want, I will then start to tell other people about what I've learned and get them to look more at their financial situations. They'll then see how much or how little they have to work on their finances. I also want kids of later generations to know about this information on financial literacy as it'll help them way earlier and this way, they'll be more prepared for the life that's ahead of them. They also wouldn't have to go so long without knowing proper financial etiquette to be able to live their lives without worry. Knowing about your finances and how to manage them will help anyone who has goals that they want to reach in life or dreams that they've always wanted to fulfill. The thing is that all of those dreams start with your finances and how you plan determines how many of those dreams are going to become realities.

I’ve always heard “do what you love and the money will follow”. So therefore, I want to have a career that I absolutely love so that I can actually enjoy going to work. With my career I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician is the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. With affording post secondary education being a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as financially, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My personal values and interest plays a role as to why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value. My interest has also always been with electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and actually have interest in it is also something I highly value due to the fact that I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I definitely value. Some short term goals I have in mind is to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and finding a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or do research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as my long term goals I want to have multiple sources of income, and start investing into my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e- commerce. With getting my own place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons on why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. Like the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

I’ve always heard “do what you love and the money will follow”. So therefore, I want to have a career that I absolutely love so that I can actually enjoy going to work. With my career I would also love to help out other people since that’s what I love doing at heart. Factors that have influenced my decision to become an electrician is the fact that it’s affordable for me, it’s a good career, I get to help other people, and the best part in my opinion l; not having to go to school for a long time. With affording post secondary education being a main concern of mine, this was one reason I chose to go to trade school to be an electrician. I’m honestly scared to death to be in debt and want absolutely nothing to do with it. This would be an alternative for me right now, then I may go to college to pursue electrical engineering. I then would be able to have both of the careers I always wanted without being in debt by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As far as financially, this would be a good career for me to pursue. My personal values and interest plays a role as to why I chose to pursue becoming an electrician. I love to help other people and make others around me and what better way to do that than to get a career that allows you to do what you value. My interest has also always been with electricity and putting things together since I was a kid. Being able to do something and actually have interest in it is also something I highly value due to the fact that I want to live what I do. Being interested in my career is something I definitely value. Some short term goals I have in mind is to graduate high school, save up enough money to get myself a car and finding a good trade school to attend. I plan to graduate high school by keeping my grades up and handling other school things. I plan on saving up about $200-$400 a month so that I can have a car in about 3-5 months and I plan on either going to a community college that provides trade school or do research to find the best trade school for me and how much it’ll cost for me to go. As far as my long term goals I want to have multiple sources of income, and start investing into my retirement. I plan on having multiple sources of income by learning about e- commerce. With getting my own place I also plan to save until I have enough money to be on my own as as far as my retirement funds, I want to open and Roth IRA which would be free of tax by the time I pull out all of my money. These are things that I value most and are the main reasons on why I selected the career I did. I want to be happy doing my job while also being able to help the people around me. I also want to be free financially be able to build the dream life I’ve always wanted to have. This career would be valuable for me too so that I could help my family as well. Like the saying goes, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

My dream or goal for my life is to be able to travel and take care of the people around me. I want to have fun with my life as much as I can because as they say, life is short and tomorrow isn’t promised.

“Nobody’s perfect”. I know that you’ve heard this before and it’s true, nobody’s perfect but we can try our hardest to make sure we make positive impacts on the world. Of course you can’t do it alone so we all need to work together to make the change happen. That change I would want to see in my community, the country and the world is for us to be more united regardless of who or what we are. Multiple heads are always better than one and I think people being more united as a whole would eliminate a lot of the problems we have today as a society such as racism, inequality, etc. I’ve seen it first hand how being united rather than everyone being separated and wanting to live life in their own bubbles in a positive manner. Everyone is so much happier, a lot of conflicts are resolved without it being tragic and someone dying or getting hurt over something that could’ve been solved properly if we would work together toward the issue and and not work against each other. I believe that we can do locally to help make a difference is small things such as neighborhood gatherings to meet the people who you call your neighbors and get to find out more about them. When you know people, you tend to build a better bond with them. Doing this would at least ensure you have a more united community. Another thing I believe we can do to make a difference in our community, country and world together as a whole is do community projects like planting trees and picking up trash to make it look nicer and more. You can also gain more quality time with the people in your community and this is also another way you can get to know the people whom you live around on a daily basis which creates bonds. Being kind to other people is also a big factor I believe that can help us due to the fact that we don’t know what each other go through on a daily basis and an act of kindness can go a long way. Life is hard on everybody and if we’d act locally and start to use one of these acts, they’ll unite us as a country and world. Life has its ups and down and isn’t really fair on anyone but if we had each other more, we’d feel less alone in the world. You wouldn’t feel by yourself if you’re going through something because you’d have people you’d be able to talk to. I hope someday that we can apply this to our everyday lives so that way we lived united and help each other out. If we can possibly get these changes out, it would make the world a better and safer place to be. I hope humanity could implement these changes to our world because nowadays too much negativity goes around and everyone zeros in on that but not enough positive things go around.

I know it sounds cliché to say taking care of yourself is important. Yeah everyone might preach that it’s important to take care of your health but everyone doesn’t actually do it. Well I can tell you because I’ve witnessed it first hand how making certain changes to your life can improve your way of living by a ton. You start to look and feel a whole lot better and you’re not going to want to go back. I’ve made several different changes to my lifestyle to be more healthy and they are the following: exercise, meditating, journaling, my eating habits and drinking more water. I’ve noticed right off of the bat on how good I felt once I started eating right. I felt like I had more energy, I was in a better mood, I felt that I could get more done. Eating healthy improved my mental health by a ton due to the fact that my body felt great so my mind followed and my mental health was great as well. I also started to sleep better from eating healthy. It was hard giving up eating junk food because I loved all of the candy, chips, juice and cookies but, I knew to start feeling better, it starts with what I’m putting into my body every day. Once I started to eat healthy it affected other aspects in my life in a positive manner. For instance my relationship with both my family members and my girlfriend, I performed way better at my workplace, and even at home I felt as if I was becoming a brand new person. I felt so great after changing my diet that I encouraged the people who are around me to start eating better and it’ll turn their whole lives around. I know it turned my life around and change my perspective on life itself. A few tried it and they started to see how I been feeling since I changed the way I eat. One of my friends told me that she felt like she could conquer the world after she changed what she was eating. My mom even said that her eating better benefitted her life more than she thought it would. Eating healthy is something I thought that I’d never do because i thought I wouldn’t like it or that it was food that was healthy and was good as junk food but in all reality I was wrong and I encourage everyone to take care of yourself and watch what you eat because your body will reward you and thank you later.

I know it sounds cliché to say taking care of yourself is important. Yeah everyone might preach that it’s important to take care of your health but everyone doesn’t actually do it. Well I can tell you because I’ve witnessed it first hand how making certain changes to your life can improve your way of living by a ton. You start to look and feel a whole lot better and you’re not going to want to go back. I’ve made several different changes to my lifestyle to be more healthy and they are the following: exercise, meditating, journaling, my eating habits and drinking more water. I noticed that when I made these changes to my life, I started to perform better physically and mentally. Before these changes, I would often fall into depression a lot and let myself go. I wouldn’t be even close to who I am on a daily basis. Once I started to exercise, it was like my depression had vanished and my life went uphill for a while after. I had felt better than I’ve ever felt before. I also used to stress a lot so I started to meditate. When I meditate, it takes my mind off of a lot and puts me at ease and I can relax and just breathe. This improved my mental health immensely as I stopped stressing so much about things and I had a much calmer approach to certain situations instead of getting riled up. I’m glad I’d done it sooner because the stress i was going through, it interfered with other aspects of my life. As I seen noticeable results from meditating, I try to fit it into my schedule at least 2-3 times a week. The few things that I’ve changed about my lifestyle had improved my quality of living by a ton and I couldn’t be any happier that I made these changes. The changes I made worked for me personally but change whatever you please but make sure they make a positive impact on your life and quality of living. With these changes in my life and how well I felt, I encouraged the people around me to try the things I’ve been doing to improve the way of life because we don’t have to live and die In misery. Make your life worthwhile and do what makes you happy. You want to live your life to the fullest but it starts with you.

Have you ever just been tired mentally? You don’t really feel like yourself and it starts taking a toll on you physically just as it is mentally. You start to become more distant and you just fall into a dark place in your mind. Having good mental health is just as important as having good physical health. I believe that mental health is important because when your mind gives up, your body follows right after. Mental health plays a role in our lives everyday and every now and then, we need help with that. We need to ensure that our mental health is well taken care of to be able to produce for ourselves and others. Dealing with it isn’t the easiest task to do but if you have a few activities that you enjoy to do to feel calmed, to feel better or to make you feel ok. From experience, I’ve been in a very bad place mentally before, almost suicidal, and what I did to bring me out of that state was to do things I enjoyed to do like playing basketball and exercising. Within a month I was no longer in that state of mind and was in some of the best shape physically in my life. I loved the way I felt once I worked out and came home. I felt there was no better feeling than defeating my depression and improving on myself physically as well. While working out worked for me, everyone’s not the same and should do what they feel to improve their mental health. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself before anyone else. Some things I do now to make sure I have good mental health are things such as journaling, exercising, listening to music but not too much, just going on a walk or just being somewhere by myself also helps me just relax and calm down and helps me not to overthink. Doing small things like this is just as imperative as making sure you’re active, making sure all of your responsibilities are taken care of, or if you’re going to school and have work to complete. Your mental health is just as important and instead of putting yourself on the back burner all the time, try to make time for yourself so that you can take that mental break that you need. I think that this should be something applied all over the world because being mentally ill is really a thing and need to be taken more serious.