Business is my passion for many reasons. All of the adults in my family are extremely successful in the field of business and I have great relationships with all of them. I know that further down the road I can ask them for any sort of advice and they will be able to deliver important answers that will overall better my understanding of business. It is beneficial to me when the teacher, tutor, or counselor that is teaching me is easy to connect with. Learning directly or indirectly from the polished people in my family has shaped me to be the person I am today and I cannot thank them enough for all the time they have given to my knowledge and maturity. Numbers and recognizing patterns has always come naturally to me and are rarely subjects that I struggle with, acknowledging how certain patterns also fluctuate is something that I enjoy doing in my freetime. Related to business or not I see patterns in academics, behaviors or my peers or other students or even people that I have just met. For example, I recently went to a new barber in Venice Beach because I wanted a change in style. The man that cut my hair had a very cool vibe. About halfway through the haircut he began talking about books that he had read including Atomic Habits and a couple others that were written by the personal coach for Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. I listened to everything he had to say and appreciated him for the knowledge he gave me and for the nice haircut. But, as I was leaving I noticed that the next customer he had, had already begun to get the same treatment even receiving the “work” faster than I had. Seeing those multiple interactions about the same topic made me realize that in the end it may have been a business strategy to build a connection and keep bringing back customers. Niche methods like those have pushed me to really find an interest in business and appreciate it for what it can be for me. In looking towards my future, taking the lessons I have learned thus far and applying them to my business degree will enable me to gain insight in the area of business I pursue after college. I am fortunate to be surrounded by so many amazing business owners in my life that my desire to continue learning in the professional format of college so I can be like them is exciting.

Problems, to me, had always been physical. My mom would ground me for not taking the trash out, maybe a poor grade on a test but I had never had a problem with my thoughts and feeling mentally consumed and exhausted. Facing the four walls of my room from the beginning of May until the end of school brought a new feeling of sadness that I had never felt. I was constantly fighting my mind in punishment. I had trouble articulating my feelings so much so that when I finally chose to speak out about a problem, it came out forceful. My grades reached a low, I lacked motivation, I quit football, something I had played and enjoyed since I was 9, and my life crumbled before my eyes. Watching me crumble was too much to bear and my Mom decided to bring our family to see a therapist. My mother had started to feel like it was her fault and honestly that broke me because it wasn’t. I hated the idea of therapy because to me it sounded like something only people with problems had to go to. Little did I know the problems I was facing. I had no idea how that session would go and the everlasting effects it would have on my mental wellness and attitude. I faced emotional and personal struggles that significantly impacted my motivation. Mrs. Kate helped me recognize that the lack of motivation affected my academic performance and took a toll on my mental well-being. Constantly wondering what punishment was coming did not help my motivation. I was stuck in my four walled bedroom because of my choices and had to decide to do something about it. Deciding that it was on me to choose to improve, I started to implement strategies to help gain motivation towards my school work, which allowed me to seek help from teachers, family and friends. From sitting at the kitchen table doing homework while my Mom made dinner, to studying flashcards to prepare for exams, I tried to help myself find my motivation again. Mrs. Kate also helped my Mom see that I needed to face natural consequences for my actions and not be punished for each small infraction. Although I could have chosen to take advantage of my Mom’s choice to no longer punish me, it created a feeling of pride in me to do good for me, for my self worth, not to avoid punishment. I no longer worked hard at things for a result. I now felt pride in the process and that lesson indirectly taught me to trust the process no matter what the subject or circumstance is. Failure is bound to happen, but the process and growth through each circumstance, whether academic or personal, truly helped me out of the dark hole I was in. I soon rediscovered my motivation for school work. Personal growth comes in many shapes and sizes. My journey was bumpy with roadblocks both academically and mentally. With the help of my family, friends and therapist, I overcame these bumps in my road and my personal growth is one I am proud of. Resilience isn’t a grade on my transcript, but if it was, it would be an A+.

Problems, to me, had always been physical. My mom would ground me for not taking the trash out, maybe a poor grade on a test but I had never had a problem with my thoughts and feeling mentally consumed and exhausted. Facing the four walls of my room from the beginning of May until the end of school brought a new feeling of sadness that I had never felt. I was constantly fighting my mind in punishment. I had trouble articulating my feelings so much so that when I finally chose to speak out about a problem, it came out forceful. My grades reached a low, I lacked motivation, I quit football, something I had played and enjoyed since I was 9, and my life crumbled before my eyes. Watching me crumble was too much to bear and my Mom decided to bring our family to see a therapist. My mother had started to feel like it was her fault and honestly that broke me because it wasn’t. I hated the idea of therapy because to me it sounded like something only people with problems had to go to. Little did I know the problems I was facing. I had no idea how that session would go and the everlasting effects it would have on my mental wellness and attitude. I faced emotional and personal struggles that significantly impacted my motivation. Mrs. Kate helped me recognize that the lack of motivation affected my academic performance and took a toll on my mental well-being. Deciding that it was on me to choose to improve, I started to implement strategies to help gain motivation towards my school work, which allowed me to seek help from teachers, family and friends. From sitting at the kitchen table doing homework while my Mom made dinner, to studying flashcards to prepare for exams, I tried to help myself find my motivation again. Mrs. Kate also helped my Mom see that I needed to face natural consequences for my actions. Although I could have chosen to take advantage of my Mom’s choice to no longer punish me, it created a feeling of pride in me to do good for me, for my self worth, not to avoid punishment. I no longer worked hard at things for a result. I now felt pride in the process, trusting the process no matter what the subject or circumstance is. Failure is bound to happen, but the process and growth through each circumstance, whether academic or personal, truly helped me out of the dark hole I was in. I soon rediscovered my motivation for school work. Personal growth comes in many shapes and sizes. My journey was bumpy with roadblocks both academically and mentally. With the help of my family, friends and therapist, I overcame these bumps in my road and my personal growth is one I am proud of. Resilience isn’t a grade on my transcript, but if it was, it would be an A+.