Throughout all the mass media I and others consume, I am constantly questioning “why?” Why do others think that one thing is morally right when other individuals may not? Why do so many individuals view others’ actions or reasoning as just when others think they are completely unjust? And the most paramount but ambiguous question: what does it mean to have good morals? While describing what are “good morals” will always remain a subjective matter, understanding what others define as good morals and how these morals relate to the “what,” “why,” and “how” questions of our world open many doors for exposing the truth about the once unexplainable. From biological research such as stem cell research to psychology experiments like The Stanford Prison Experiment, ethical controversies arise for the purpose of better understanding the nature of the universe. It is most often asked: at what point does something become too much? When does research become unethical, ill-moral, or absurdly unjustifiable? However, while the research and experiments some of the world’s top professionals have showcased have been controversial, and have been increasingly frowned upon within many communities, their impact on understanding the closest thing to truth in an empirical setting has been highly significant to the many questions of how the nature of the universe works. Without the many facets of studies such as physics, biology, and psychology, among many others that contribute to the growth of understanding the world that we live in today, our knowledge of the world would be bleak and desolate, hence why it is imperative for scientific studies to continue, with adequate care, of course, to discover uncharted truths of the world’s phenomena. Among the “other” category of truth-discovering fields, I plan to be one of those very professionals who take part in understanding the nature of our universe. For the longest time, I have been fascinated by uncovering the truths behind the “why” of someone’s actions and going into great depths of someone’s history, values, the environment that may reflect them, and the challenges they have faced throughout their life. It was not until the past few years in my academics that I have fallen in love with the nature, mystery, and challenge of comprehending the criminal justice system, law, and psychology. As a future crime intelligence analyst, studying criminal behavior patterns and trends is a passion for me as I can contribute to the concept of helping others, especially law enforcement, to better understand the “who” alongside the “why” and “how” individuals create crime. Was this something that these individuals grew up around? Or was this individual’s fate a result of their environment such as groupthink? In addition to involving myself in the criminal justice realm for personal knowledge and interest, I would like to make an impact within my field through my work so that others are more knowledgeable about the criminal justice system as well. I wish that my work in the criminal justice system can help encourage future generations to be actively involved in finding the “why” in the nature of our universe and the criminal justice system whether that be via public speaking at schools or conversing with journalists about its importance to communities or simply influencing more high schools to teach more about government and the criminal justice system. With more involvement in inspiring youth participation, in collaboration with seasoned and respectable professionals, there will be stronger leadership within the criminal justice system, further promoting better communities and expanding knowledge of how truth is discovered within the large fields of the criminal justice system. I hope for the future that my ever-growing knowledge and expertise in the concepts of criminal justice, law, and psychology will inspire others to expand criminal justice sub-fields, particularly the sciences to better research more about the “why” in understanding crime and victimization, among other criminal justice-related phenomena. However, success in my career journey does not happen overnight, but with assistance, alongside my strong determination for success, I can greatly achieve my career goal as a crime intelligence analyst. After finishing my Associate of Arts degree in Criminal Justice as a first-generation student at Rio Salado Community College, I plan to achieve much more milestones in my education such as obtaining a Crime Analysis certificate and a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University (which is a highly proficient university for criminal justice in the United States). While I still have a long road ahead of me with my education for personal and career gain, I am excited to contribute a positive influence in my community and to others by ensuring safety in many communities, influencing future generations on the importance of understanding government and the criminal justice system and its many facets, and ultimately contributing knowledge to others wishing to seek understanding of the nature of our universe. Thank you, Sean Carroll, and the contributors to this scholarship, for the wonderful opportunity!

While this movie was created before I was born, the Disney cartoon Emperor’s New Groove is one of my all-time favorite Disney movies with the main character Kuzco, the Incan empire ruler from Peru, as the main character. In the movie, Kuzco can be described at first as a highly arrogant, narcissistic, and flamboyant leader who has a high lack of regard for the village where his later loyal friend, Pacha, lives. However, as the storyline progresses, through the countless personality challenges Kuzco faces, one of which being his acceptance that he is stuck in a llama’s body, he acknowledges the need for him to be a better leader. Not only do I appreciate the storyline and the growth of Kuzco, but I also appreciate the humor and stubbornness of his character. Kuzco’s character development, although took a long time and was a strenuous journey, flourished as he acknowledged the importance of those around him, especially when he was in his worst state (a llama). And while the original personality he displayed exposed some of his bad leadership qualities, I believe that his character development displayed what is possible: people can change if they let themselves change. However, Kuzco’s stubbornness and his self-righteousness as an emperor were what was getting in the way of success and growth as a person… or a llama I should say. With Pacha, on the other hand, Kuzco begins to open up about the personality qualities that he can improve on as he deals with the physical and mental endurance of getting back to his grand empire that Yzma, the antagonist who turned Kuzco into a llama, was taking over. Overall, I believe the character development of Kuzco represented not just the importance of taking accountability, but also how important it is to take the final steps in changing and growing from an unfortunate situation. Although he may still have lingering stubbornness and his sassy, eccentric personality, he acknowledges more than before what it means to be a better friend, a better leader, and a better person altogether.

While I have not faced the exact adversities in education compared to many others, I have had many similarities throughout my educational experience. I learned the mental health effects of growing up being bullied for my skin color (as I ironically was a minority in school), growing up with parents who raised their children while working entry-level jobs, and thus short income, and growing up without truly knowing how to fit in, among other adversities. I grew up in an unusual lifestyle despite what stereotypes and statistics say about some of my traits. My adversities however, paved the way for me to find the purpose of a higher education. Instead of dwelling on my adversities, mental health, and overall “sad story,” I make my past experiences work for me. I use my past battles to teach me lessons- move forward, be resourceful, be open-minded, always be humble, never take life for granted, look towards the future, and always be the best “you.” Because of these principles, and then some, I got where I am today. Trial and error, granted, but nevertheless, I have successfully made it. My drive to convert the misfortunes I have experienced into my overall success is the reason why education is so important for me. I can now envision my future dreams more than I ever could when I was younger. Since enrolling in community college, I realized how many different backgrounds people come from, all to end up in one spot. This made me realize, one of the most impactful qualities about higher education. While their adversities are different than mine, I have learned that higher education is a symbol of unity amongst individuals who are driven to pursue a goal in their life, no matter what walk of life they are from. Because of this awakening, I have begun to appreciate more about myself. Was some of my past experiences in elementary through high school still good? Well, no, but what is important is that I can move forward in my life and use my adversity to my advantage. Till this day, I appreciate some of the negative experiences I have had throughout my education. I grew up having little confidence in myself and I gave up on schoolwork, frustrated that I will never be as smart as the classmates who were more natural at doing good in school. Today, I can confidently say that I have become the natural that I wish I was when I was little. Because of the adversities I have faced, I have learned to continue to be the best version of myself, to always look forward, and to always appreciate the gift of education.

Instead of a traditional way of explaining the importance of learning and how I plan to continue learning throughout my life in a standard essay format, I wrote a poem to express the value learning has in my life in accordance with this prompt: Learning creates new pathways I can be a college student Learning creates new inspirations I can be a criminal profiler For a new day, Creates a new runway Let my success be on the catwalk Instead of just all talk If I always worried about others’ words I would try to be a part of the herds But I am instead considered one of the nerds That always disturbs However, for every quirky person, There is a new assertion Every light bulb that is above their head Others realize they wish they had unsaid For these bright ones are always misread People always say, “Why can’t they be like normal instead?” But such a normal life would lack such pay If I did not have my quirks, I would not know how the world works So, I am converting the unconforming To lifelong learning Learning creates new opportunities And I can be someone’s role model

As a first-generation student, I am honestly grateful for where I am in life. I tend to humble myself by telling myself that any unfortunate situation can be better, but it can also be much worse. I grew up, despite what my state’s poverty line says, in a poor family where there would be times when we were forced from living in a cracker box in a rural part of the country, to moving from rental home to rental home in an urban part of the country, to having to live in high-crime areas to make-do in the city, to having parents move from lower end jobs to other lower end jobs (not even blue-collar), to having to pay late bills that were already too high, and to not even being able to participate in many extra-curricular activities like sports. Despite what I went through, it is still uncomfortable for me to know that my parents only had two children during this period, but there are also still plenty of other families out there that go through the same situation as me, and sometimes they even have more dependents (i.e., children and sick parents). I also grew up with an extreme lack of confidence in school. Throughout elementary, I felt the immense pressures of schools competing for the highest test scores in the district. Because of their drive to look better, I was hammered with long and strenuous homework assignments and the demands of testing made me lose confidence in my ability to do good in school. I cried often because of the stress of school and the lack of quality relationships I had with people. I thought I would never like school, but I proved myself wrong. Despite being bullied ruthlessly from sixth grade to my sophomore year of high school, I changed my view on education. I buried myself in my studies and, with the help of receiving much better grades and a lot more positive reinforcement from teachers, I blossomed. While I had never expected this change in my life to happen, I can officially say that I was proven wrong as education not only became my distraction from family issues, but it also became the light that I can change my self-deprecating thoughts to real-life solutions. Today, I am proud to say that I am on track with my studies. I will be receiving my AA in Criminal Justice at Rio Salado Community College in the expected time of May of 2023. While I still have many of the same issues (and unfortunately new ones as well) with family matters, I continue to burry myself in my studies and tell myself how proud I am of my accomplishments thus far. I learned through my challenges growing up the importance of persistence, the importance of being open minded about change, anyone can get an education despite what their background says, education is invaluable, and most importantly, do not lose hope.

As a kid, I looked up to my mom's family and noticed how they were active in their community independently and in association with their churches. However, I had never grown up going to church, nor did I think anyone could just volunteer. For these reasons, I never grasped the concept of volunteering until junior high. I began to be more active in my community in 8th grade as my brother was in the Marine Corps. In the Fall of 2016, I volunteered for a Travis Manion Foundation running event as an American flag holder and supporter. However, volunteering for the event made me understand that this moment was truly not just a school project, but it was a new experience that taught me the impact of volunteering. As I was with my mom and one of our Japanese exchange students for the event, I realized that this made me feel that not only am I a part of my local community, but at the time, I was also part of a community that was tailored close to me. During this time, in 2017, my mom and I continued to participate in military-related events through Facebook organizations that were created to connect military family members and supporters. One of the events my mom and I participated in was to create Valentine's Day goodie bags for active troops. While it was interesting to create cutesy gifts for military members, I thought it was still meaningful by knowing that at least I could possibly put a smile on someone's face even in the most undesirable circumstances. By the time I was in high school, I began to be more involved in volunteering that was more specific to me. I decided that with my experience of being in musical production and choir for several years, I could contribute in assisting my old junior high with one of their musical productions. However, even after my enjoyable experiences in volunteering for military events and a musical production, I felt that there were still more opportunities for volunteering experiences that could enlighten me. By 2020, I acknowledged that while I enjoyed many memories I had pre-pandemic, I realized that I could have made memories that opened my mind even more. I wanted to not specifically "make something of myself," but to enjoy life's raw moments while I have the time and youth. Because of this, I participated in two clubs that I had dreamed of doing in high school. While one of my clubs, Best Buddies, is considered a form of advocacy, I felt that the four-year dream of participating in the club in high school helped me achieve this moment of enjoying life's raw moments. However, I also felt that Student Council left an equal amount of impact on my school, especially for my senior class. After a year of quarantine, many felt the effects of loneliness and a loss of enjoyable life experiences. Because of the impact of my past volunteer experiences and the ones I was a part of my senior year, I feel that my volunteer experiences shaped how I think today. A decade from today I could have never pictured that I would have these raw life experiences. Since volunteering, I have become much more of an enlightened person. Now that I have fully understood the impact of volunteering, I am much more driven to keep continuing. I will keep volunteering. I will keep pursuing an educational and career pathway that benefits me and my community. And finally, I will keep pushing myself to make my community a more well-connected environment.

Greetings! I am Cici and I am an undergraduate student at Rio Salado Community College. I am a first-generation college student that is working to pursue an associate of arts degree in criminal justice so I can achieve my dream career in law! Growing up, I never truly knew what my niche was, nor did I know my "dream job." I have always been interested in many hobbies growing up, but I never had the thought of turning them into professions until I discovered my passion for criminal justice. I had been hesitant at first on pursuing my journey in criminal justice in high school due to the fact of how empathetic I am to feeling other people's pain. Additionally, the criminal justice system can have a long-lasting impact on the mental health of many different people ranging from criminals to lawyers to politicians. As someone who has been exposed to the flaws in the criminal justice and its practices through news, media, books, and educational sources, I believe there is a need for an analytical but empathetic person like myself to help find solutions to these issues. I also believe that in my studies to become a lawyer, and possibly a judge or politician in the far future, I can contribute not just to my community but also to my country and the world by representing what it means to be civil, respectful, empathetic, and to persevere through many challenges for the sake of solidifying justice. While the criminal justice system has been compromised by certain areas of corruption and political challenges, I believe that I can help communities and their hope be restored. As someone who has experienced the impact of unwelcoming mental health issues for most of their life and who has studied these issues amongst others in psychology, I understand the importance of education and using it to restore hope. In addition to this, my college education has entirely impacted my political views and what policies I believe need to be implemented. For example, I believe schools should be implementing seminars in middle schools and high schools annually to teach students about mental health and bullying and their link to school shootings. Through education, not only will these topics be appropriately exposed to students who are more prone to these real issues, but it will teach them life-long lessons that schools continue to ignore. As a result of politicians and communities turning a blind eye to the rise in mental illness, revictimization, and school shootings, the immoral acts continue to pursue just like the recent school shooting event in Uvalde, Texas. (View this link to listen to a presentation I have made about bullying and its impact on school shootings: https://voicethread.com/share/18819525/). Education has always inspired me to do better. I started off as a lost kid who lacked confidence in themself to self-improve in any way. Now, I am a young woman who is in the top 10% of her class, is receiving invitations to be a part of honors societies, and has their focus on education and helping communities through service. As a result of the impact education has had on me, I feel the need to put my studies and my passion to good use by pursuing my main career as a lawyer. Through my service to communities, I believe I can help create the change to restore faith in our justice system and be a leader, supporting communities and establishing reformative practices. Thank you to Robert F. Lawson for serving our community and our country.

The Coronavirus taught me and many others how to learn to live with gratitude and appreciation for life. Many may have learned the hard way through experiencing the loss of a loved one. Others may have learned through the loss of a relationship due to political or extreme conflict. For me, I learned to appreciate education and people to talk to in person when I acknowledged the moment that I would never get a normal high school experience again. While I did appreciate the time I was given at the beginning of the pandemic, I also suffered losses. I suffered the loss of education. I suffered the loss of friendships. I suffered the loss of the full high school experience. I suffered losses so I could learn. As moments of reflection passed by throughout the past two years of the pandemic, I fully understood the importance of gratitude and appreciation. As a result of the enlightenment, I began talking to my friends more, trying to keep up with what is going on in their lives. I participated in extracurricular activities in high school that helped my school's community. I took college courses to fully embrace the importance of education. I helped with activities within my household to support others in my family. And I gained a new family member (a puppy), which helped me receive and give out love. Through my experience with loss, I learned to be thankful and appreciative of what I have around me. Never did I think as someone who lives in a first-world country would be stripped of their first-world privileges of education and experiences until the Coronavirus impacted the United States. As a result of my experiences in loss, I have ultimately encouraged myself to live with gratitude and appreciation for life.

The Coronavirus pandemic has challenged and changed the perspectives on life for many individuals across the world. I too am no exception to being a part of this "many." Because of the impact of Covid-19 and school closures, I developed something that I felt I lacked pre-Covid, which was appreciation. The impact of Covid-19 made me not only acknowledge that I should appreciate and celebrate life, but it also made me acknowledge school can be taken away from me despite living in a first-world country. At the beginning of Covid, my junior year of high school was harshly abrupted by a nationwide school closure. While I did appreciate the extra time that I had to be productive on art projects, learn new hobbies, clean, and spend time with my family, I did not learn to appreciate school until my senior year when I came back in person for the first time since Covid hit. When I came back, the school was bare, everyone was far apart from each other, people did not know how to talk to each other again, and everyone was completely displaced. Oddly enough, I missed the erratic people who would unnecessarily yell in the courtyard. I missed the people who would randomly stop in the middle of the hallway and disrupt the flow of traffic for no reason. I missed seeing stereotyped friend groups gather around throughout the school. I missed the rawness of school. The Coronavirus pandemic challenged the emotional strength of every single person around the world. The pandemic showed me what it means to appreciate the rawness of life whether it is good or bad. Ultimately, Covid-19 pushed people to focus not on how something disrupts their life but to focus on the fact that love sometimes has to be found through grief.

When working with kids, I understood that the best thing that one can do for them was to be a great role model. Being a great role model not only asserts oneself to be the best possible version of themselves, but it also gives children a positive image to reflect on as they get older. When I was working with elementary-aged children at my last job, I knew by asserting my position as a mentor that it was important that I represent what it means to be a "good" role model to the children. Through my mentoring with children, I hope the impact I left behind at my last job is that children can have fun, but also know how to respect others, especially adults. Often times at my last job, I was in predicaments that were not explained in the program's guidelines; therefore, I had to step in at some points and become the "parent" in the situation by creating my own rules or boundaries. For example, at one point, I had to put a kid in time out right next to me, in front of their peers for ten minutes during their active time, and explain to them that their repeated bad behavior will not be tolerated. By teaching what "good" behavior looks like to children through sole observation, children can take a step back to reflect that they could be a part of their pers if they were to behave respectfully. The biggest impact I hope to have through the mentorship of children at my last job was how to have fun but also respect their peers. Through establishing what it means to be a "good" role model and a leader, children can learn as well of what it means to be a "good" and respectable person.

In my junior year of high school, I took a turn in my life that changed what I had dreamed to do for my future career. I initially wanted to be in finance; however, I became fascinated by the criminal justice system once I had taken a criminal justice class. I have never had anyone in my life to look up to as a role model for what it means to be successful and happy as I grew up in a lower-middle-class family that has never received a degree. Growing up, the role models in my family taught me more so of what not to do than what to do, so when I joined my criminal justice class, my criminal justice teacher became one of the biggest contributors to helping me find a positive path to take in life. As a result of my love for learning about the criminal justice system and the affective mentor skills of my teacher, I have taken on those skills in college. I initially had taken psychology as my major of choice because I wanted to be a forensic psychologist. However, due to financial restrictions and a slight loss of passion, I diverted my attention to a different major that went back to my roots. I decided to focus on criminal justice again because I, and many others, believed that I could become a great lawyer. While I do not intend to boast about my skills heavily, I do believe that my extreme analytical way of thinking and my determination to prove what it means to be ethical and provide justice can greatly support others in my community. With my drive to create success and an ethical environment through supporting others, I dream to serve as a lawyer to help my community.

While since graduating high school, I have had some interruptions in my life that have greatly challenged my mental and emotional strength, I can say they have positively impacted my hopes for the future. With accepting the loss of connections through the pandemic or simply through moving on from high school. With the struggle of keeping friend and family relationships. And with the struggle of overcoming more heavy experiences such as a lack of empathy in the workplace, figuring out where I want to take my passions in college, and how I find myself through an online community college. All these factors and more have greatly challenged my strengths and made me more inspired to do more for myself and others. After finding happiness in two clubs that I participated in high school, I understood that I wanted to do more than be a student. However, because I lack the skills, the finances, and the resources to transport myself to a college campus or even a job in a timely manner, I have found that path not practical to take yet. As a result, I have chosen the path to solely take online community college; but I will plan to partake in on-campus volunteer activities once I reach the university level of my education. As for right now, attending community college alone has pushed my mental and emotional strength on a more positive trajectory than it was a year ago. Additionally, I have been more determined to be the first one in my family to earn a degree as I am already more than halfway through obtaining my associate's degree in criminal justice. With these challenges, accomplishments, and impactful experiences I have endured over the past three years, my hopes for the future have encouraged me to keep persevering.

There are two major goals that I have for the future; however, they require smaller short-term goals to be accomplished in order to achieve this success. The biggest and most important goal that I plan to achieve is to become a lawyer. I have considered other future careers as well such as forensic psychology, politics, and a judge; however, my main focus is to stick with becoming a lawyer. In order for me to achieve this large goal, it is most important that I receive a proper education. However, because I do not come from a financially stable background, I must support myself with the only savings I have, hence why I chose community college. Taking community college has further promoted another one of my long-term goals, which is limiting student debt. On the contrary, while pursuing a college degree through a community college does not change my academics per se, it can affect my other major goal. The other major future goal I have is to be more active in my community and to create more on-campus experiences. After community college, I do plan to move on to a university that not only supports my education goals of obtaining a degree and supporting my future career but also supports my needs so that I can help my community. Because I do not live close to any college campuses and I do not drive, it has made it increasingly difficult to be exposed to my community and the "college experience." With my drive, however, I am confident that I will be able to achieve my future goals of receiving a proper education, being exposed to more community and on-campus experiences, limiting student debt, and ultimately achieving my dream career of becoming a lawyer.

While there are many United States Presidents to boast about their positive impact on the country and society, someone who I admire in American history is President Theodore Roosevelt. Some of the most impactful decisions President Theodore Roosevelt established was his conservation efforts for national wildlife. In fact, a source from the U.S. Department of the Interior called "The Conservation Legacy of Theodore Roosevelt" stated that "after becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used his authority to establish 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, four national game preserves, five national parks and 18 national monuments on over 230 million acres of public land." While in modern-day times, this accomplishment may be more astounding, it was not usual to see this emotion and empathy towards nature. In such times, it was much more common for hunting and fashion to partake in killing animals. Additionally, there were no programs within the United States that promoted wildlife conservation, and programs like PETA that focus on animal rights were not created until more than half a century after Roosevelt first came into office. I believe that President Theodore Roosevelt had set a perfect example of how to be a leader by focusing on the needs of his country first. Within the more modern-day era, many have come to accept this need for empathy by focusing more on global warming and animal preservation. Throughout President Roosevelt's presidential terms, he became an important role model in American history. President Theodore Roosevelt paved the way as a leader to promote growth for his country through wildlife conservation, thus leading on his legacy of becoming one of the most influential and important presidents of American history. Works Cited "The Conservation Legacy of Theodore Roosevelt." U.S. Department of the Interior, 2020. https://www.doi.gov/blog/conservation-legacy-theodore-roosevelt.

I have found several ways to clear my mind and others such as through journaling, cleaning, going on walks, praying, and researching. These habits also not only clear the mind but also promotes personal growth. Most importantly, I find that these tips assist me and many others to detox from the negative energy seeping into the minds of many. While I may not journal for the purpose of stress-relieving, I have helped encourage others, especially those with social anxiety, to write their thoughts down. Journaling through meticulous writing of their thoughts has helped them overcome the stress of confrontation and the over-exaggeration of how their thoughts come off to others when said out loud. However, this may not be the only mechanism to relieving this chaotic thought process. Something that may also cause the over-exaggeration of one's thoughts is not having a clean and organized environment. Whether it be because of rocky relationships or a messy bedroom, a disorganized environment may lead to a disorganized and scattered brain. For example, cleaning up one’s bedroom or desk may help one concentrate more on homework. However, in some cases where more personal channeling is needed, going for a walk outside may be a more appropriate step to achieving optimum mental health. Going outside not only may make someone feel productive, and therefore feel more positive about their life, but one may also feel more connected with the world and themselves. From a first-hand perspective, I found it difficult to go outside by myself, especially with my extreme paranoia about my safety. Once I had gotten a dog, I was more compelled to go out for a walk. I felt more in tune with my environment, embracing every moment. Another mechanism that has helped me embrace this feeling of being more connected is by praying. Praying has gotten me through some tough times with mental health and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Additionally, every time I pray, I feel more connected with my religion. However, religion may not always be the mechanism I feel is most appropriate in situations. Researching holds an important part of clearing my mind. Whether I research about my mental health or research about other curiosities, I find that researching helps me find answers to my life that I feel I cannot get from God. From a recent personal experience, I had to do a research project and I chose to write about obsessive-compulsive disorder (a disorder I have had since I was 10). Researching this subject relieved me by teaching me that my habits are no different than others, there are many who have it worse than me, there is undergoing research on understanding this mental disorder more, and there is a way to effectively cope with this mental disorder Journaling, cleaning, going for walks, praying, and researching are some of the many ways me and others can cope with our mental stresses and help clear our minds. As I have developed these coping habits, I have acknowledged how essential it is to support my mental health in these ways. Through determination, commitment, and perseverance, I and others can use these tips to support our mental health and detox from negative thought patterns that intrude our capability of living a positive and healthy life. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Research: https://1drv.ms/w/s!Ao0BbW95tdA6jy7hm8z--yYWHi7V?e=9Todyy

I believe the meaning of life is to fulfill personal growth and experiences throughout one's entire lifespan. As many individuals start families, the focus of the parents is generally to provide full support for their children. However, the personal growth of the parents occasionally leads to a halt for some at some points in the children's lives; therefore, many also choose not to have children so early in their lives for this very reason. Parents can become easily overwhelmed by the fact that they have a lot more expenses and new stressors pre-conception and as a result, they may lose the drive in themselves to improve. This can also occur in the situation where there is a loss of life, and one has to take on the emotional and/or physical load of handling the loss. While I am not a parent right now, nor someone who is grieving a loss, I do believe that is important for me and everyone else to fully embrace the life we are given and not take time for granted. Covid-19 and other situations in my life and others have been impacted in some way shape or form and have changed the way we think. Because of these changes, I try to soak up every moment I have. I pushed myself to join clubs that I had dreamed of doing in my senior year of high school. I obtained my first job right after high school. And, I pursued college, which I could never have pictured myself achieving until I got a little older. Although these were some great accomplishments for me to achieve, I will choose to keep pushing myself beyond these accomplishments. I will push myself to continue my goals. And ultimately, I will push myself to reach my full potential.

Although I have been to church very few times in my life and I did not grow up in a religious household, I found God to be an important part of my life. With battling mental health issues and mental disorders like anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, I found that whenever I felt like I have hit my lowest in mental health, I pray to God to get me through. God has helped encourage me to see the light through the darkest of my days. While that sounds very dramatic, it is true! Although it is painful for me to pray to God because of the mental state I am in, I believe that God is always there for me when I need him. Throughout childhood and beyond, I prayed to God to push me through every challenge I had. I feel that the connection I have with him and how he has pushed me to see the light at the end of the tunnel has encouraged me to believe more in my religion. God has helped me through the most dangerous of times like the number of car accidents I have been in. After surviving my first car accident at 15 years old, I felt my religion solidified. I believe that there is a reason for everything, whether it was God testing me or not; therefore, I try to give thanks whenever I could for the life I have been given. In my experiences of talking to God, I felt that it has taught me to be thankful for every second of my life and to never waste it. Talking to God taught me to appreciate the time I have with loved ones. And ultimately, talking to God taught me to accept and overcome any challenge I face.

Before I dove into my most time-consuming hobby of training my five-month-old puppy, I tried to be as actively involved in as many ways I could to improve myself, especially before high school was over. In 2020, I relearned how to make friendship bracelets and I would make them for my family and friends most of the time. I got to greatly enjoy art again once Covid happened after so much time focusing on keeping up with honors courses, being involved in after-school activities, and child care. However, I still enjoy getting involved in other forms of art during and after school as well. From fifth grade to my freshman year of high school (five years), I had been actively involved in my choir. In seventh grade, I enjoyed choir so much that I was in three different choir courses (counterpoint, montage, and honor choir). In eighth grade, I was also involved in montage and honor choir, and I was an extra in my middle school's Cinderella Musical. However, after my freshman year of high school, I realized I did not want to be a one-trick pony, so I decided to invest my time in a range of other interesting courses that could build on my list of talents and hobbies. In my sophomore year of high school, I was involved in a ceramics class where I felt like could finally break into more 3D art. In my junior and senior years of high school, I started to become more serious about my future career goal, so I had to limit my art courses. I did enjoy taking woodshop my junior year of high school; however, one of the more current favorite hobbies, and one that helps my career goal, is understanding the law and the psychology behind crimes.

One change I believe would make education better for future generations is starting to discuss mental health and bullying more. Schools have always tried to cut down children's negative behavior through simple rules like uniform policies. However, schools cutting corners like this has not improved inappropriate and harmful behavior such as bullying. To make education better for future generations, schools across the United States must focus more on the overall mental and emotional health of kids and teens by implementing stricter and more effective policies on bullying. The concept of bullying is not new; however, what kids and teens are getting bullied for and how they are getting bullied are new. While cyber-bullying is outside of school premises, schools should offer services such as a way of receiving anonymous tips that witnesses of cyber-bullying can report to the school. For example, if there were two individuals from the same high school and one was bullying the other through social media, a witness can report the incident to the school. After reporting and confronting the families involved, the school may take disciplinary actions. On the contrary, one of the most well-known forms of bullying, in-person bullying, creates just as much if not more of a mental and emotional impact than cyber-bullying. In-person bullying, verbally or physically, can impact a kid or teen to have mental disorders, and furthermore, have trauma just like cyber-bullying. From my personal experience of being in my first year of kindergarten, all middle school, and half of high school, the bullying I experienced was ruthless. With my experience of the one year of bullying during my first year of kindergarten and the five other consecutive years of getting bullied, I can say schools have not disciplined children and teens enough about the extreme effects of bullying. As a result, kids, teens, and other adults like me suffer from mental disorders like depression and anxiety due to the lack of support from the breeding ground of this negative energy. What should be put in place first on the priority list for schools is the overall health of the kids and teens, not test scores or forcing young children to learn about inappropriate adult topics. Because schools decide to cut corners and not focus on this health crisis, tragic events like school shootings have a higher probability. For some students, school is what some call home and when students are not able to receive adequate mental, emotional, and physical support from schools, their mental health not only depreciates but so does their confidence and drive to push themselves towards successful paths. In summary, it is important that students achieve success through academics. However, the most important change education needs to make for future generations is stricter and more effective policies on bullying. Acknowledging that bullying is an important issue for schools to tackle, regardless of its form, and pushing stricter policies not only benefits the mental health of students but also promotes trust between students and the education system.

My favorite way to help others not only benefits the people that I am helping but it also benefits me. My goal every day is to put a smile on someone's face. I feel that the most enjoyable way that I can contribute to society is by inviting positivity. However, this task sounds much easier than it actually is. For the past 10 years, I have struggled to find what makes me truly happy in life. However, through understanding behaviors, thought patterns, and the obscure nature of reality, I found my style of comedy. As someone who is highly observant and makes many judgements about various subjects, I put these positive and sometimes negative traits to a more beneficial way of helping others. I find that my witty character improves my ability to positively impact my life and others through a different perspective that many can relate to. Ironically, comedy tends to follow the motto of "make the most it," and that's what helps me help others smile and laugh. Looking for the irony, creating a comedic spin of a silver-lining, and creating hypocrisy into a laughing matter not only helps me and others be more positive, but it also teaches others to look at situations in a different perspective and, as said previously, "make the most of it." However, the benefits are not limited to just the emotional aspects. Comedy also helps many individuals mentally and physically destress and from real-world stress-inducing problems. At the end of the day, comedy creates a bond between individuals by creating a positive spin of any topic even one of a negative nature. With my wit, I have found this way of helping highly enjoyable; therefore, every day, it is my goal to help continue this bond by creating smiles and laughs.

I do not have an absolute "dream life" that determines whether I have been successful with using the time I have of my life. Rather I see my future in fulfilling the collection of goals that I wish to achieve in my life. These goals consist of personal, academic, and impactful achievements. Some of the personal achievements I would like to achieve within my lifetime ultimately is based on perseverance of finding myself. I believe I found a lot about myself already, but I would like to discover more about what makes me happy, how I can build more relationships, and how I can be more naturally optimistic. With my many mental health struggles I have had in the past due to obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and anxiety from biological dispositions (e.g., the severity of the comorbidity of OCD) and environmental triggers (i.e., bullying), I find it difficult to remain positive. However, my academic goals have always inspired me to keep persevering through these struggles. My academic achievements consist of not only being the first one in my family to obtain a college degree but also using this degree within my career. I plan to be in law in the future, but I have recently also considered politics and forensic psychology as well. With these academic achievements, I dream to make an impact on many people through my service to the community. Impacts include serving my community through more volunteering, and if in law or politics, inviting new approaches to applying justice, being civil when talking to others, and demonstrating the importance of accepting compromise as a choice for growth. In summary, with natural optimism and determination, I do believe that I will be able to achieve my collection of goals in the personal, academic, and communal areas of my life.

The world is increasingly facing major problems right now. While there are a substantial number of social issues that many agree or disagree on, there is still a deeper meaning to these issues that is not politically prejudiced, racially prejudiced or any other type of representation prejudice. What the world is facing right now is a collective prejudice towards humanity. This means that the world has crossed the threshold of disrespect and has now transcended into repulsive manifestations of the lack of value of human life. This prejudice can take multiple forms. One of the most talked-about forms of prejudice towards humanity is the lack of value in life. Extreme dictatorship or ill leaders do not have to be the only individuals representing the lack of value in life. Nonethical police officers also do not have to represent this prejudice. Prejudice on humanity through the lack of value in life can be simply represented through obtaining a DUI, neglecting one's mental health problems, and peer-pressuring. Through these actions, one can seriously be put in harm, even if it is not visible from the outside. Stripping humanity of its rights, stripping humanity of its expression of life, and ultimately stripping humanity of its life are some of the many prejudices that humanity and the world are facing right now. However, more compassion, awareness, and civility towards others' beliefs, biases, and other internal attributes can create a more welcoming environment that does not promote grotesque actions. While knowledge and awareness of the importance of humanity have made sufficient progress towards creating a more harmonious world, there is still a lot of growth needing to be made. Ultimately, more appreciation and value for life through compassion, awareness, and civility can end the world's biggest problem of the ultimate prejudice towards humanity.

As someone who regularly wears athletic clothing as everyday wear and is constantly cleaning, I find it extremely important for me to represent my best possible self in a comfortable environment. Athletic clothing or not, however, it is important for anyone, not just me, to have a clean and non-distracting environment to productively achieve anything. While this state may not be achievable for everyone, I personally find having a clean and comfortable environment the most helpful to focus on achieving academic success. Because I do online community college in my room, I find it necessary to always make my bed in the morning, do my morning routine to start the day, take care of other responsibilities such as my dog's needs, and make sure my room is nice and tidy before I start doing schoolwork so I can focus in a peaceful environment with no music. While cleaning, I make sure to clean out folders and drawers in my bedroom often, so I know that I not only have an organized space, but I also reassure that important papers for school are not lost. Additionally, and most importantly, cleaning out my drawers and folders remind me of what is most necessary to my needs through reminding me of what I want in life. Cleaning my room is important for me before I study because it detoxes my daily stress by eliminating distractions. Having comfortable clothing also assists in clearing my mind so I do not have to worry if I look a certain way. Ultimately, my productive system of creating a clean and comfortable environment promotes not only good health but also academic success for me.

What motivates me on a daily basis is acknowledging how fortunate I am to have the life I have been given. However, my fortunes do not come naturally. They come from hard work, determination, and ultimately fulfilling my life goal of obtaining my full potential. My motivation is sparked in multiple ways The first way is by loving and taking care of those around me. My friends, my family, my dog, and sometimes children push me the most to achieve my full potential. However, my motivation can also be sparked by building on old goals. Interestingly, going to college, in general, was a goal that I have had since sixth grade. Now, my new goal is to be the first one in my family to complete college. Through this experience and over time, I now am continuing to create more big and boundary-pushing long-term goals. One of those boundary-pushing goals is to travel the world. Education is a major step to achieving this dream. While I may not plan to study abroad in college, I do plan to reach my goal of traveling by exercising my brain with relearning a language and learning new ones. This upcoming summer semester, I plan to relearn Spanish to be more fluent with it again. This may be a challenge because I do not talk to anyone frequently that also speaks Spanish; however, that does not mean I should not try to push myself out into the world. In summary, family, personal growth, inspiration, education, and ultimately determination have kept me motivated. These factors have pushed boundaries in my life. They have inspired new goals. And, most importantly, they have challenged me to always be courageous and not be afraid to reach my full potential.

There are many different approaches to "resolving" mental health crises; however, one group of people actively do their part in helping specifically youth with mental health problems, and that is schools. School is also the most time-consuming, but coincidentally, one of the most insufficient supportive factors in a child or teen's life. The leaders, also known as the school and/or district, should make mental health more talked about in middle schools and high schools (with the discretion of the parental guardians' decision of course). Many children and teens are exposed to intrusive thoughts; however, not many are able to receive treatment for it or be taught what these intrusive thoughts mean about their mental health. This may not only solve mental health crises but also may greatly solve suicidal ideations and school shootings. In addition to teaching students about mental health in schools, students must learn from an early age how bullying impacts others. While there are organizations out there that have attempted to "solve" bullying, it has not been discussed enough within schools to really create an impact amongst students. Discussing these important topics, starting at a young age in children, will increase the likelihood of spreading more awareness of what respect means. In summary, it is evident that mental health problems can evolve into worse possibilities if not effectively resolved. While the main solution of education on mental health topics may particularly pertain to younger generations, it can cause more longer-lasting results within adults as well. Through educating the youth in schools on what is mental health, what are the impacts of mental health, what is bullying, and how bullying can impact mental health, many can take their knowledge to decrease suicidal thoughts and actions, school shootings, and the repetitive cycle of bullying.

As a female who has grown up in a low-income family where inconsistent employment unfortunes happened often, both parents came from already low-income families, and no one ever obtained a college degree, it was difficult to envision living a “successful” life. In addition to this, even though I have grown up in a lower-middle-class environment, there are still unrealistic expectations that a family from Caucasian background represent a particular image based on stereotypes (and few statistics). Well, I am one example that does not represent this stereotypical view. However, this reality took a while for it dawn on me until around my senior year of high school to my freshman year of college. Despite this realization, however, it has not changed my view on how important obtaining an education is to me. Since my realization, I have still dreamed to break down boundaries just as much as any human being no matter the color of my skin, my gender identity, my sexual orientation, and my other personal attributes. This realization did not come from thin air, however. It came from a moment where I felt I needed to change personally. In sixth grade, I was motivated to push through all my general education courses to go into honors courses for the sole purpose of being with my friends I knew from fifth grade. I initially felt disappointed and almost ashamed and embarrassed because of the negative view I had towards general education. However, after positive affirmation, feeling and acknowledging positive support from my parents for what felt like the first time, and determination to get good grades, I started appreciating education more. Getting good grades made me feel extremely confident. Getting good grades made me feel like I could achieve a lot more things than I could have possibly ever thought was attainable. Getting good grades helped me envision my success that I can go to college as I did not have a role model that I strongly admired. And most importantly, getting good grades made me feel like I had a purpose. So, I continued to persevere through these educational challenges. By eighth grade, I no longer had any general education courses but instead all honors courses. However, my sole educational plan only consisted of obtaining these honors courses. This led to the next big step in my education- learning to find myself. In my freshman year of high school, I did not hang out with the right crowds; however, that did not stop me from being different by continuing to challenge my education goals. I still had the determination for change. During this process of reflection, I fully realized what is most important for me to continue being successful is by focusing on myself and my needs, not my wants. I acknowledged that I needed to go back to my roots of why education is important to me- it promotes growth. After this period of reflection, I learned to focus on relationships that promoted growth for me with mutual respect to other parties. With my education and experiences, I was able to acknowledge my strengths, focus on my mental health, and obtain amazing opportunities. Education helped me build a stronger mindset and be courageous. Education helped me acknowledge that if I push myself hard enough, I can achieve my wants that I had dreamed such as the scholarships and grants that I received my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college. Ultimately, education is important to me because it encourages me to grow and achieve my full potential for success.

There are many ways I try my best to make my friends, family, and other people in my life feel loved. In fact, one of the ways I make my best friend feel loved is by treating them like family. I occasionally hug them and listen to their daily struggles. Additionally, I make sure that they are respected. Respect is a major quality that I feel that I struggle with receiving from many people in my life, so I feel that distributing respect is highly important in order to receive it. I also feel that respect keeps people happy and makes others look wise. By respecting and fully listening to my best friend's concerns, struggles, and needs, we have a more positive relationship. Effectively communicating with each other on what we can improve with ourselves to benefit each other also highly benefits our relationship. This way of constructive criticism helps not only me but my best friend also feel loved as it gives us an understanding that we both care for each other's well-being. The attributes within the relationship between me and my best friend are highly important to sustaining a positive and mutual relationship. Without these skills and quality attributes to the relationship, there would be no personal growth with either one of us. In conclusion, through communicative skills and respect, I make my best friend feel loved and feel like family.

A couple of days ago, I went to Flagstaff, Arizona for a day trip with my best friend and explored a little bit more of what Northern Arizona was like. I had previously gone up to Flagstaff my Freshman year of high school for a volleyball match, but I did not get to see what Flagstaff had to offer. When I had gone up there, I got to see and explore the restaurants, shops, and a museum. I had loved it but what I was most excited about was hiking because I had not gone hiking in over two years. While my friend and I did not get to go hiking due to a time constraint while being up there, we did explore a walking trail in Buffalo Park. Buffalo Park may have had a lot of dead grass due to it being the end of winter, it was still beautiful to smell the fresh air, see all the pine trees, and see Humphreys Peak's snow caps. In addition to this, we did see some slight pockets of snow that had not melted yet. So, my friend and I decided to enjoy the snow we got on our walk and throw snowballs at each other for the first time. These sensory experiences reminded me of why I love nature. The experiences I had in Flagstaff were some of the most enjoyable experiences I have had while traveling. Through this trip, I learned to love and appreciate the views and the fresh air again, and most importantly, I embraced the purpose of traveling- creating new memories and experiences. In conclusion, the memories I made while in Flagstaff encouraged me to continue to travel and made me less afraid to step out of the comfort of my own home.

For almost the past 10 years, I have been without a dog. When I got a little bit older (about middle school), I had a cat that was my partner in crime. My cat Jinx would help me on my lows and energize me on my highs. I adopted my blonde fluffy cat because he did not like his original house (my neighbor's house across the street) due to the number of animals and people they had in their home. The original owners of my outdoor cat let us keep him; however, a couple of years later, I was not able to keep him anymore because we had to move to another home where they did not allow pets. I was seriously disappointed and cried a lot because I felt that having a companion that I could hold was highly important to my happiness. Fast-forward to December of 2021, my mom and I were looking forward to adopting a dog so that not only could we have something to complete the family, but to also have something that gives us a reason to wake up positive in the morning. Personally, I felt I needed a dog to help me with my mental health and I felt that getting a dog would help with achieving more happiness throughout my day. After my family moved again, we finally got confirmation from our new landlord that we may get a dog. So, we started discussing what types of qualities we wanted in our future dog and other requirements. We then searched many different no-kill shelters close by and no results reached what we needed. This was a difficult process as we also needed a dog that could tolerate young children. However, due to our specific requirements, we had no luck until late December. In late December, my mom saw a Facebook post from the neighbor who originally owned Jinx where the neighbor was advertising many different puppies that were rescued from a hoarding situation. My mom decided to adopt (ironically) a blonde six-week-old puppy on December 31st, 2021. Unfortunately, this was the day Betty White passed away, so we decided to call this (what we believe) golden lab/pitbull/red heeler mix Betty as a homage to the iconic comedian. Betty has been a pure joy since the day we adopted her. She has given me love every morning and shakes her bottom half whenever she is excited. Additionally, she is highly intelligent! I love training her and seeing the big smile on her face every time she is active. She currently does an excellent job of doing four commands ("sit," "shake paw," "lay down," and "drop it"). I am still working on several other commands with her, but she is learning very well. In addition to her amazing personality, she is a great dog to be around when cuddling or doing schoolwork around! Every time I am busy doing school work, she enjoys laying on her bed and sleeping or playing with her toys. Her easy-going personality makes it enjoyable to be around her all the time even when she steals everyone's socks. Betty is an amazing dog that brings a lot of joy to everyone in my family, the visitors in my house, and the dog friends that pass by in the neighborhood. Since her adoption, she has positively impacted my life and my family's life by radiating positive energy throughout the home, giving us a reason to wake up in the morning, and boosting my mental health. With Betty, I can enjoy my daily life every day with her endless positive energy.

Since the beginning of my junior year of high school (2019), I was inspired to learn more about the U.S. criminal justice system. As of 2022, I am an online college student for Rio Salado Community College and I am majoring in Criminal Justice. I am currently working on my associate in arts for Criminal Justice at a local community college as opposed to a university because I felt that partaking in an expensive university at the moment would not be beneficial to my circumstances due to the fact that I am still working on my two short-term goals of knowing how to drive and being able to afford college out-of-pocket with no help from family. I have so far paid for most of my college expenses through scholarships and grants. My goal throughout college, other than passing my courses, is to pay for my classes without taking out any student loans or relying on family members as I believe my education is important for me to be responsible for and not put a financial burden on my family who already struggles to pay for some bills. As for long-term goals, I do plan to go within the law sector of a career path such as being a lawyer or a judge. I am also open to a mixture of psychology and law such as forensic psychology for my career path; however, forensic psychology, for example, takes at least eight years of education and comes with a heavier price tag than I can afford. I have also considered politics for a far-future career path as I believe I can bring some solutions to modern-day conflicts, but politics is not my major focus. I do believe that with extra financial help I will be able to achieve these many goals.

As someone who experiences a lot of tension in their family, I try to find the reasons behind this tension. A lot of what sparked this tension was the collision of two families living in a three-bedroom townhome, with a total of seven people (including a toddler and a baby) back in 2019. By the end of 2020, there were daily arguments between the families which lead to the split of family members and the young children moving across the country. However, despite the conflicting parties splitting, there was still major residual tension between family members, including my core family. Watching videos and taking a psychology course in my first semester of college did help me a lot in my discoveries for why I have so much tension in my household. I initially could not grasp all the continuous disrespect that I felt from my older sibling until I did this research. Their past experiences and their mental health do play a major part in these harmful words; however, the personal attacks were not something I felt was tolerable due to the extent to which my older sibling went at. I am very loving towards my parents, but I had continuously struggled to understand why they do not have a change of heart due to these continuous problems that my older sibling puts on the family. The answer had dawned on me; however, once I had watched a casual video during my free time where the father of two mentioned "your children will never love you as much as you love them." I felt that the father's words were one of the wisest things I have heard and it felt more of a resolution to not my problems, but to the understanding of accepting the reality of my parents' views.

As a student that is getting into law and understands the importance of safety within communities, I am passionate about making environments safer while still providing justice. While I am pursuing in the field of criminal justice, and more specifically law, I still find the importance in keeping environments like schools safe. In the 21st century, crime statistics for school shootings have increased exponentially since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Despite efforts to decrease these shootings, such as means through shooting drills, they have not resolved the issue; instead, they have worsened the mental health of the students who endure these programs. I believe that schools need to implement more programs dedicated to providing higher mental support and open discussions within health classes, P.E. classes, and/or science classes on what is mental health and how one can improve it. Additionally, the topic of bullying should also be mentioned and how it impacts mental health. I am confident that opening students' minds to mental health and its impact will greatly impact the statistics and further decrease the number of school shootings per year.

As someone who has been a victim of borderline bullying when I was four to fully being bullied when I was 12, I had a problem with my image and how I could be able to obtain and hold friendships. Through my experience, I became highly independent with my studies, frequently worked on school projects by myself, and rarely socialized outside of school until my junior year of highly school (the first in five years that I had not experienced being bullied). In fact, most people began to want to socialize and make friendships with me just to get better grades. Unfortunately, that was my best chance of being friends with anyone, therefore, I experienced the pain of having to read and understand one's intentions of getting into a friendship with me before I got too involved with them. While this was not a happy moment in my life, I have matured a lot by learning the social ques of many people and knowing what is important for my personal success. Because of this growth of maturity, I have developed hope for my future that I can remain on target with my personal success with school and work and my social success with making and holding valuable relationships.

When I first started my Fall 2021 classes, I had just left a daycare-like job with k-8 children. I had saved up all the money I made at working at a job that motivated me to make children learn and smile, however, I left because of a new manager who did not fairly treat me well and had a particular bias against me no matter how well I would perform. Because I was not getting treated fairly, it began to psychologically mess with me, therefore, I began performing more poorly at work because the environment was not encouraging or as inviting as I felt previously. Additionally, I did not like how the company treated the children with their unrealistic standard of Covid-19 protocols that were being pushed on the children. Once I moved on to a grocery store job and after several days of training, I had left because the department manager had little regard for my safety as a female, and told me that I would have to walk or take a taxi-like service before my 3am shift at some point because I am at the bottom of the totem pole. At that moment, I learned that after being unfairly treated by managers and going through mental stress of feeling like I need to keep pushing myself to make money while devoting my time to about 2-4 essays a week, I knew it was best for my mental health to go through some recovery and finish my college classes and then organize how I want to truly spend my time while being productive with classes. As of now, I spend most of my time doing school work or showing some service to my family by cleaning the house while I relax in a quiet home.

Growing up, I commonly got bullied a lot, however, I am not described as a typical minority. Despite that I am not a typical minority, I was seen as a minority within my community that I grew up in, thus it was extremely difficult to make friends. When I entered middle school, I wanted to be with people I knew from elementary, but they were all in honors courses and I was not. By eighth grade, I was in all honors courses, but the people I had looked up to developed adverse personalities, started experimenting with drugs, and were all around not positive people to be around. Although I had originally started excelling in my courses to make friends, I was still encouraged to push myself academically even if I was getting bullied consecutively and not getting along with people who I had considered as "friends". While my journey toward becoming super mature was not enjoyable due to the lack of friends, I still ended my senior year of high school still proud of how much I have pushed myself within my academics and mental health difficulties.

As many have been negatively impacted by Covid-19, many of us have acknowledged how important our kind words mean to someone who needs them most. However, I did not start using my kind words because of a negatively-impacting virus. I had always acknowledged that saying "please" and "thank you" were some of the most impactful words that many fail to use because many of us, especially within the United States, are so used to instant gratification and getting what we want. But what if we did not live in that form of society? That question comes to my mind everyday as I think that your whole world can turn upside down with every loss, every cry, and every death. I will say, however, I, like everyone else, am not perfect. When Covid-19 severely impacted just about every country around the world and schools shut down, I became much more appreciative for the little things such as the accessibility to being happy in an environment that was originally viewed as slightly annoying because of the people. I began to appreciate my high school much more than I did before when the environment was much more like a ghost town. There was no kids excessively yelling in the courtyard of my high school; there was not groups of kids talking to each other before school in the library; and there was no kids to see smiling at each other. Covid-19 made my appreciation for what I have in a new light.