When it comes to being unique, just ask about my major; many people do not want to be sign language interpreters, but it's exactly what I want. However, I am unique outside of my major. First off, I am able to admit that I love talking, but I also know when to stop and listen to the people around me. I am not scared to stand by what I believe, yet I will do it in a respectful manner, and in today's society I would that's a pretty unique attribute. One might also say I have a pretty unique upbringing which has taught me the importance of being loving, respectful, and grateful. I grew up in a lower-income family with one active parent and one who wasn't too interested. These two different individuals taught me that it is important, to be honest, and true to myself. That means never changing who I am to make others accept me, I am who I am and I won't let this world change me. So, what about that makes me unique? I see so many college students conforming to their friend groups, falling short of their morals, and questioning why they do. These same kids want to do what social media deems as a success, but I want to live a meaningful life, and yes social media is fun, but it's not meant to determine my life. With that being said, I have been given so many beautiful opportunities through my education, my church, and through my family. When I chose to pursue a degree in American Sign Language Interpreting, I was not sure what I would do with it, all I knew at the time was that I wanted to be of service to the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community. Now, I believe I want to work in children's hospitals across the United States working as an interpreter with children. I know that there are kids who will be terminally ill and will experience extreme isolation because of the small size of the Deaf community; therefore, I hope that I can build meaningful relationships with them and their families so that they do not have to go through this journey alone. The parents may not be able to separate themselves from their pain and if I can offer them any support, I want nothing more than to do that. I can not say that this is for sure what I am going to do because life will throw some wrenches in there, but at this moment, I wish for nothing more than this. In addition, I am considering a second major in counseling so that I may be able to provide the best mental and interpreting support I can to all the families that I can serve. Aside from my future career plans, I hope to serve my community through volunteer work in many different ways. Due to my husband's military status, I hope to work with homeless veterans and get them back on their feet. In addition, I would love to offer babysitting services to families with deaf children so that they can go out and have someone who is able to communicate with their child. On a side note, I love serving people and I hope that after my degree is complete I can spend all my days doing so. Thank you, Charliray Jackson

It's funny how there is a game called Game of Life and honestly, it seems pretty accurate. People go to school, possibly go to college, get married, have kids, have a home, perhaps a few animals, experience a few ups and downs, and then you are done and retirement is your last step to living your best life. Yet, it is obvious that this life, the real one, has far more to offer. Similar to the Game of Life, real life is short. Truthfully, life flies by at a rate no one is quite expecting. Therefore it is important to know what it means to live. To live does not mean to obsess over the possibilities, or strive for perfection. Instead, to live means to take hold of those opportunities that come your way, to make mistakes and use them in a way that means something. However, there is also a moment in life when all people must realize that living is not really about them, but instead about the people around them. We are given one life, and some do believe we have lived others, yet in this life, we were never meant to have the world revolve around us. Life is more than the experiences we partake in, more than the grade we got on the SAT/ACT, more than the books we read, oh the list goes on and on. Life is about the people we surround ourselves with. The ones who stand by us in times of desperation. Life is about how we gave back and served the only world we know. To live a life of meaning is to give to this world what it needs; love, compassion, and kindness. We can experience the meaning of life in the services we provide to those around us.

Now, do not get me wrong, I have read a lot of books, but only a few of them have been truly inspiring. During my junior year of high school, one of my personal reads outside of school was "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. This book was particularly intriguing and to believe it was based on true events in Walls's life was quite extraordinary. One who has read it might question what about it was so "inspiring," truth is I would have if I did not feel a little bit like I could relate to the girl in the book. Throughout the entirety of the novel Walls discusses the hardships she had faced as a child and the quite interesting life she had lived prior to moving to Welch, West Virginia where her life would begin to make sense and she would understand the cruelty of the world she lived in. Walls had caught on fire by age three, been thrown from a car, forgotten about, nearly raped, neglected, and robbed within her childhood, yet did not fail to make a name for herself. I do not have any life situations like the ones she experienced, however, I do know how it feels to put everything aside to pursue one singular thing. Walls, through all of the things she experienced, was pursuing one thing, the ability to have her own life in New York... away from her parents. Walls inspired me to work hard for the things I want. Over the past few years, I have wanted nothing more than to pursue ASL interpreting and Walls has been a wonderful inspiration. It is because of this book I believe that no matter the obstacle it is possible to achieve success, no matter what the odds may be.

Over the past few years, I have been considering finances, specifically my own finances. Out of all of the lessons I have learned in the past few years I believe the most important finance lesson I have learned is to not let your money control you by going into debt. Debt makes people a slave, and as someone who likes to have control over stress levels, there is no reason to have money influence my feeling of stability. Debt is avoidable, and it will always be avoidable. Personal finance is a huge part of living, therefore if you become a slave to the lender your personal finance is no longer your personal finance. Now, it is quite obvious I am no stranger to Dave Ramsey, however, the one thing I took from him was to stay out of debt, do not buy now, and pay later. As someone who is striving to go to college with as little as debt possible scholarships has been a blessing in disguise that students do not take seriously. Money is money, but do not use money that is not there. In order to have control over one's personal finance, one needs to be sure to never become a slave to the lender. Debts are not meant to be normalized, it is time for people to normalize control over their personal finance.

When I started high school I wanted nothing more than to grow up and do "cool kid" things. This meant going with the flow and following others, forgetting my values and molding to what others told me was "cool." I was living a double life. In one of my lives I was a "Christian," honest, kind, positive child. However, in my other life I was a liar, a bully, boy crazed girl. My life was going down a bad alley and I did not see a problem with it. Before the end of my freshman year, my double life backfired. I lost all my supposed friends, my parents were battling with to what to do with me, and I was battling with the kind of person I wanted, and needed, to be. I knew I was in the wrong and the only way for someone is to change is for them to want to change. The throughout sophomore year I spent finding my faith. I started surrounding myself with people who loved life and strived to be the best people they could be. This of course was when COVID hit and I began to focus on my attitude, perspective, relationships, and lifestyle. My faith became my backbone. Since my turnaround from freshman year of high school, instead of acting like a good person, I have spent my junior and senior year doing my best to actually be a good person. When I look back on my high school career, I could not be more proud of myself for turning my life around. If I would have never been called out for being a bad person I would have never found ways to get through rough moments and would have never become the person I was meant to be.

Over the past few years, I have been thinking about the fact that college is expensive and debt is not something I want to worry about as soon as I get out of college. For a very long time, I have planned on studying American Sign Language and getting my bachelor's in it. Unfortunately, ASL is not too common so the colleges that do offer it are kind of hard to find. Therefore I had to start applying for scholarships and I honestly had no idea where to begin, all I knew was school was going to be expensive, but I did not want cost to stand in the way of my dreams. I have been applying for scholarships since about halfway through my junior year and I have learned a lot about ways to afford college. After going through the Dave Ramsey course, I learned that the best way to avoid college debt is paying cash outright for college and work hard to qualify for scholarships and earn money to put towards my college career. Some of my plans to avoid college debt obviously include applying for as many scholarships as possible along with looking into work-study programs and any kinds of grants that I can find. I hope to avoid debt by keeping my academics high and contributing as much money as I can to afford college comfortably.

Friendship is more than just caring about someone, it is a relationship that you share with people. Friendship is something I value. It is more than saying, "Oh yea, we are friends," instead it is how we treat each other, what we know about each other, and whether or not we bond. I have many acquaintances, I have very few friends. To me, my friends are more than just friends, they are people I confide in, they are people who can confide in me. Friends are people who do not judge you but hold you accountable. They are supportive and realistic, they are the ones who never leave when things get hard, even if they are miles away, the friendship is still there. Friendship is not "hey, how are you? May I have the math homework from last night?" Friendship is, working together, being there, showing kindness, showing love, bonding on a level that you would not with just anyone. Friendship is a bond that we can only share with a small group of people because too many friendships allow for easy breakage. Friendship is forever when you are all on the same page when it comes to bonding.

The biggest problem that the world is facing right now is the COVID vaccine and what the best decision is when it comes to getting this vaccine. People are trying to find reasons as to why they are right and others are wrong. This is causing a divide for people across the world. The only way to fix this problem is to unite with one another and allowing information about the vaccine to stay private for individuals who have gotten it and those who have not gotten it. It has become a matter of invading personal information and the only way for it to be restored is by giving people their right to keep their medical business private and educating people on the fact that a vaccine is based on an individual's preferences. The least we can do as a community that is facing division is work together to reunite ourselves and support people's decsions.

Over the past few years, I have learned that self-care is very important. I have also learned that it is far more than how you treat your body, but it is also what you feed your body mentally and physically. I practice self-care every day by staying clean, eat food that benefits me physically and mentally, working out and doing yoga, spending time reading, and taking time to practice my hobbies. Each of these things helps me keep a clear head and a happy body. By keeping to a routine that allows me time for me my life has got sustainably better. I have found that I sleep better, my patience with people has grown and I find myself not getting as annoyed with people. On top of that, I find school less stressful and I do not feel like I am cramming so much into one day. Having a self-care routine that I follow every morning and every night helps me start and finish the day with a clear, refreshed, and relaxed mindset. I've noticed that I have also been able to help people around me by giving them tips on things that could help them feel less stressed. Self-care is not just about how you feel personally, but also who you surround yourself with. People who take care of themselves also take care of each other. Self-care requires a supportive group of people who encourage you to make time for yourself while still staying sociable. I know that sometimes my best self-care is setting aside time with my best friend, it helps give me peace of mind and enjoyment.