All the books I read I find myself getting lost in, I create movies in my head by just reading words on paper, and I feel like a new person after I close each book I read. Two years ago you couldn’t have even convinced me to pick up a book and now I have shelves upon shelves filled with all genres of books that bring me so much joy. I’ve read tons of books but one book that I think everyone should read is Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. This book was like a big hug and made me feel like all loves are special and made me fall in love with what love is. The emotion of love always scared me, all the broken hearts and ends of friendships, I was sick of giving my heart to people for them to walk all over it but this book healed every part of me that was closed off from the idea of loving again. The book paints love in all different forms, the love between husband and wife, the love between friends, and the love between dogs and their owners. Each story takes on love in a different way and what love means to everybody differently but it also shows the pain love brings, the betrayal it can bring, it shows love from so many angels, and how love isn’t a singular emotion, it's multi-layered, it’s beautiful yet scary. I feel this book is so important and the perfect book because there are so many little individualized stories about love in here that even just one can hit home for everyone who reads it. This book takes you through different lives and it’s written so well that you feel every emotion so deeply, especially if you find yourself relating to these characters. I caught myself gasping and reacting to parts of the book because it was like the author crawled into my brain and took my thoughts and wrote them down, and to me, that's one of the most magical parts about reading. Yes, princesses and vampire brothers fighting over one girl is fun to read about but reading a book and learning things about yourself is what first made me love reading so much and I feel like this book can comfort and validate so many people in their thoughts.

When I read I get lost in my own head. I see movies and characters while simply reading words across a page. When I was younger I was an avid reader but throughout middle school and a majority of high school, I pumped the brakes and hadn't picked up a book merely for pleasure in years but once I did I couldn't even wrap my head around why I had stopped. I consume book after book meeting new characters, learning about new fantasy worlds, becoming attached to these stories, and catching myself reminiscing about books I read months ago. Books teach me about these fictional worlds I long to be in as well as things about myself. I've read tons of stories where I read about these characters and find myself relating to them and empathizing with them. These characters have taught me that I'm not alone in these feelings and things I've endured. They teach me another way to view my own emotions and even put those thoughts and feelings into words that I've never been able to articulate. I've been comforted by the characters that these authors create and they teach me that there's nothing wrong with me or the things I struggle with. I recently read a book about a female character struggling with anxiety and still finding a great love that accepts her and her problems. I've struggled with anxiety my whole life and it's made me hate the way my brain works but seeing the woman in this book not held back by her anxiety has given me more confidence and acknowledged that insecurity that I have in myself and taught me to feel more secure about it. A book that has shaped my goals is another one of my favorites called Normal People written by Sally Rooney. Both characters struggle with mental illnesses or overall problems in this book that I can identify with. The character specifically that has shaped my goals is Connell Waldron, Connell has anxiety and when he goes to college he hopes it will be a new start and his anxiety will diminish and not control so much of his actions but he realizes no matter where he lives or what he does those anxious gnawing thoughts still swirl in his brain. I had these same thoughts and too realized leaving home doesn't change anything While I have many goals in life like becoming a lawyer and starting a family, one of my biggest ones is to truly just live a happy stress stress-free life and this book has made me realize that learning to manage my anxiety will help me reach this. It showed me something I've never wanted to admit to myself, which is the fact that my anxiety is a part of me and it's not going to disappear one day instead of allowing it to control my every action like it used to do to me and it did to Connell. Books are a major part of who I am, I've read classics that have the most life-changing quotes, and love stories that have taught me about gentle love. These words on a page sear into my brain and heart and my favorite part of my day is cuddling up in bed and reading about what my current favorite character is going to do in the next chapter.

Growing up, my life seemed straight out of a fairytale. Parents who were completely enamored with one another, two young daughters who spent hours worrying about nothing other than the perfect outfit for their Barbie dolls, and the overall picture-perfect life. As I got older, that picture started having rips and tears and slowly withering away into just a memory. As the life I knew started slipping away, my mother was left to raise my sister and me herself. Watching my mom struggle on her own to financially and emotionally raise my sister and me was one of the hardest things I've had to see, and even harder as a young kid. The mom I saw as strong and brave, I then saw as vulnerable and alone, except for the sacrifices and tribulations she went through to raise my sister and me into the young women we are now, which has made me realize that although she was vulnerable, she is the strongest and bravest woman I’ve ever known.             My relationship with my mom and her being the one who raised me all by herself has shaped who I am as well as what type of mom I want to be. As much as I didn't need to go through the trauma I went through to get to the point where my mom was put in the position to raise my sister and me by herself, I don't think I would be the person I am today without these things, or view my mom the way I do now. My mom has held me in her arms and brushed through my hair while I've cried, and I've held her in mine the same way, and while that may seem like a sob story, it's those moments that have made me grow so close with my mom. I had to see her struggle to make rent and send countless emails trying to get my dad to pay child support. Seeing your parents struggle and cry is something your five-year-old self never could imagine; they're these bulletproof walls that could solve world hunger if they wanted to, and noticing that bulletproof wall slowly crack was hard as a child, but it's the exact thing that led to mine and my mom's relationship becoming what it is today.            When I was young, I said my dad was my biggest hero, but as I got older, I realized there was nobody else in the world I looked up to more than my mother. The strength she had during those years is a strength that I don't know if I'll ever have. She raised two young girls by herself, far away from her family for any type of support. I hope to be half the woman she is one day and raise my kids the same way she raised me. As mad as we got at each other and the arguments that I thought we could never get back from, I still find myself in my dorm room wishing I was on the couch watching The Real Housewives with her or just running errands in her company. My mom is my other half, and without her and the sacrifices she made to be my mom, I could never have become the strong young woman I've grown up to be.

Growing up, my life seemed straight out of a fairytale. Parents who were completely enamored with one another, two young daughters who spent hours worrying about nothing other than the perfect outfit for their Barbie dolls, and the overall picture-perfect life. As I got older, that picture started having rips and tears and slowly withering away into just a memory. As the life I knew started slipping away, my mother was left to raise my sister and me herself. Watching my mom struggle on her own to financially and emotionally raise my sister and I was one of the hardest things I've had to see, and even harder as a young kid. The mom I saw as strong and brave, I then saw as vulnerable and alone, except the sacrifices and tribulations she went through to raise my sister and me into the young women we are now, which has made me realize that although she was vulnerable, she is the strongest and bravest woman I’ve ever known. Now that I've gotten older and truly realized how hard it was for my mom as a single parent, it's encouraged me to pursue family law. I’ve always been passionate about law, but the circumstances in which I grew up and the way I watched my mom struggle and grow have shown me my more specific passion in law is about helping those other families who go through these same situations. I want to be able to help not only single mothers but single fathers, I've grown up in that type of environment, and it changes how you see both your parents, how you view love and marriage, and even who you are as a person and how you’ll live the rest of your life. I want to practice family law to help the children and parents in these types of households. My heart aches for the children watching their mom cry over the price of groceries or rent, the children who have to wipe their mother's tears and hold the women they thought were bulletproof in their tiny arms. I plan to continue to work hard through undergrad as well as all through law school. My end goal is to become a family law attorney and express my passion for this issue by focusing my time on helping children and single parents. I want to make the justice system more helpful and aware of how much help single parents need, I've seen firsthand the amount of money and stress it costs to merely get a divorce and fight custody battles; it seems never-ending and like there's almost never good news. I plan to make it easier on parents during times that are already hard enough, and not just for them but for their kids who hear mommy and daddy have to go to court next Tuesday. I am working diligently in school to ultimately end up practicing family law with plans to help families like the one I grew up in, and I can’t wait for the day that instead of hoping and working towards this goal, I can happily say that I do help them.

Growing up, my life seemed straight out of a fairytale. Parents who were completely enamored with one another, two young daughters who spent hours worrying about nothing other than the perfect outfit for their Barbie dolls, and the overall picture-perfect life. As I got older, that picture started having rips and tears and slowly withering away into just a memory. As the life I knew started slipping away, my mother was left to raise my sister and me herself. Watching my mom struggle on her own to financially and emotionally raise my sister and I was one of the hardest things I've had to see, and even harder as a young kid. The mom I saw as strong and brave, I then saw as vulnerable and alone, except the sacrifices and tribulations she went through to raise my sister and me into the young women we are now, which has made me realize that although she was vulnerable, she is the strongest and bravest woman I’ve ever known. Now that I've gotten older and truly realized how hard it was for my mom as a single parent, it's encouraged me to pursue family law. I’ve always been passionate about law, but the circumstances in which I grew up and the way I watched my mom struggle and grow have shown me my more specific passion in law is about helping those other families who go through these same situations. I want to be able to help not only single mothers but single fathers, I've grown up in that type of environment, and it changes how you see both your parents, how you view love and marriage, and even who you are as a person and how you’ll live the rest of your life. I want to practice family law to help the children and parents in these types of households. My heart aches for the children watching their mom cry over the price of groceries or rent, the children who have to wipe their mother's tears and hold the women they thought were bulletproof in their tiny arms. I plan to continue to work hard through undergrad as well as all through law school. My end goal is to become a family law attorney and express my passion for this issue by focusing my time on helping children and single parents. I want to make the justice system more helpful and aware of how much help single parents need, I've seen firsthand the amount of money and stress it costs to merely get a divorce and fight custody battles; it seems never-ending and like there's almost never good news. I plan to make it easier on parents during times that are already hard enough, and not just for them but for their kids who hear mommy and daddy have to go to court next Tuesday. I am working diligently in school to ultimately end up practicing family law with plans to help families like the one I grew up in, and I can’t wait for the day that instead of hoping and working towards this goal, I can happily say that I've achieved this and truly do help them.

My perfect Barbie Dream House, not the 1965 Barbie and Skipper Deluxe Dreamhouse, not the 1990 Barbie's Magical Mansion, but Charleey's Dream House. My dream house would be on the beach in Greece, elevated and secluded but close enough to hear the waves crash and watch the sunrise with a frappe in the morning. The exterior would be a cottage-style house with vines and pink and yellow flowers tracing the roof and windows. The house would be a clean white color with big windows with gold trim and a wraparound porch with white rocking chairs with pink fluffy pillows and white and gold coffee tables. In the back of the house would be delicate white steps leading to a rooftop that looks onto the ocean and parts of the city with a slight head turn to the left or right. The rooftop would have big pink roses, trees with tea lights, and a cozy hanging chair to read in. Making your way to the front door, the first steps in the house greet you with a warm vanilla pumpkin smell. White and gold trim tile frosting the floor, and a welcoming feeling hugging you as you make your way through the house. The kitchen would be plastered with creams, pinks, and gold, almost like a princess castle, with a huge island in the middle, perfect for baking. The bedroom would have a huge bed in the middle with cream sheets with delicate pink roses, and cloud-like pillows. White silk curtains draped from the headboard and across the top of the bed. The perfect makeup vanity with a large heart mirror, and drawers upon drawers filled with every blush, mascara, and lipstick product imaginable. The walking closet with baby pink hangers hanging every skirt, dress, and blouse I've ever wanted and heels I only dream of. Warm lighting and candles were carefully sprinkled throughout the room, leading to a bathroom with a large shower that looked out onto the ocean. The best part of my dream house would be the library. The library would have tall white and gold shelves with a large sliding ladder for me to live out my Beauty and the Beast fantasies. Books upon books fill every inch of shelving, ranging from classics like A Picture of Dorian Gray to romances I find myself getting lost in and daydreaming about. In the corner of the room against the wall, looking out onto the ocean would be a reading nook, a bay window with large pink and white pillows. My dream reading nook I could spend hours reading in and get so deep in my head that I forget where I am. On the other side of the room would be my own little coffee, I could make matchas, teas, and chais and cuddle into my nook, and create movies in my head while merely reading words on a page. Although the outside environment of the house would be a Greek Mama Mia dream, the inside would be a princess cottage with pink roses and gold accents in every room. The perfect mix of the sweet scent of vanilla and the undertones of the smell of a new book. All the little creative parts I would want in a house perfectly intertwined with one another, making my very own perfect Barbie Dream House.