I found out in October of 2021 that I have Juvenile Dermatomyositis, or JDMS, which means I have a skin rash and muscle inflammation. This inflammation resulted in deterioration of my muscles, especially in my legs. I suffered through it in August and September, realizing something was wrong in late August. I am in my school's marching band, and was still participating in marching despite the extreme pain my autoimmune disease caused for me. I went to multiple doctors and was worried about how bad my pain would be before I was able to get help. I went through a lot in these last few months with my autoimmune disease, and the worry it caused worsened my mental health, which definitely hit an all time low during those months, but now I am recovering and have almost no pain and am seeing a therapist to talk about this struggle as well as life. On the other hand, in late November my dad was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, another autoimmune disease and is unfortunately unable to get his medication and is not getting better still. I worry for him as he is constantly loosing blood due to this, and can barely leave the house. I am so glad I am on the recovery part of my struggle, and I hope that others that are struggling with an autoimmune disease know the relief of recovering and going back to normal. My dad and I have struggled together and knowing I was able to start my recovery gives me hope for my dad to recover as well. I am very thankful for my doctor, who has been there any time that I have questions and always keeps me well informed about my autoimmune disease and what I can be doing. I am so grateful to my parents for always putting aside extra money and saving, because we had enough money to pay for all of my and my dad's medical expenses, including medicine, MRI's, infusions, and more. My family went through some very dark times in these last few months, and I hope that this only makes us stronger. Our autoimmune diseases affect us, but our struggle affects those around us. My mom and sisters all have been worrying about us, and I've been worrying about my dad. I think my autoimmune disease has made me worry about everything in life more than I already did.

I think that calculus is important in the STEM field because as you continue your learning, part of keeping your brain sharp is learning new things that challenge you, and calculus is most definitively a challenge, not to mention helpful in STEM fields. Calculus relates to physics of objects, the motion and velocity of objects that can be found easily through the advanced math of calculus. Calculus while challenging, can be very helpful in analysis of an object, and also helps develop strong critical thinking skills and problem solving. I am currently taking calculus through my high school, and I am glad I decided to. My teacher works with us one on one so we can learn our curriculum. My high school offers calculus as a CCP course, or a College Credit Plus course, which means we can earn a college credit for taking this class. I intend to go to Miami University, which requires calculus for computer science majors, which I will be. I now don't have to take it with hundreds of other students because Miami will accept my credits. However I intend to take calculus again despite this to strengthen my understanding of this complex idea. Calculus is often seen as the "Gatekeeper" of STEM because of its difficulty, but it is vital to doing many things in STEM fields.

I am very inspired by the song Jupiter from the collection The Planets by Gustav Holst. I was introduced to the collection in eighth grade by my band director when we played an arrangement, and I fell in love with the collection. I listen to this song when I want to work on school and don't want lyrics as a distraction, and tend to write with the flow of the song, my typing tempo reflecting the song. My favorite part begins at about two and a half minutes into the almost eight-minute piece, when the brass come in with the melody, it feels like I'm floating up on the higher octave with them, then they switch to a more triplet feel instead of a monotonous duple feel, and I am inspired to create, whether it be crafts, writing, building, I want to make something amazing that will last past me. This piece is very emotional for me, it brings forward very raw emotions, allowing me to better express how I feel, and bring it out into the world. I am always grateful to my band director for expanding my musical horizons, as this song inspires me four years later, and will for a long time.

I've been told by my dad since I got my job to invest all the money I didn't need, having me live off of as little money as I could, even if that number made me uncomfortable. I started putting $100 dollars into my retirement account each month, as that's as much as I could reasonably work with, and I've seen such growth in my money, which if I hadn't invested it, I most likely would have already spent it. I think that with investing money, if you immediately invest it, and don't let yourself have access to the money, it makes it harder to miss having it, and easier to simply invest it and let it grow on its own. That way you can simply check in from time to time, and check your growth, or even start putting more money towards investing. My dad has always helped me financially, and I feel well prepared for adulthood financially because of the wisdom he has imparted onto me.

I would like to see people openly help others more often, as many people are afraid to ask for help. If more people can extend a hand and help a fellow human, if people could be more compassionate in our urban society, our world would surely see a positive change in our societal norms. While I am only one person, I try to help with this by volunteering at a local thrift store, and offer others help when I can, whether it is academic help or otherwise.

My little baby dog Geordi is a Shih-Tzu, and loves absolutely everyone and everything. His favorite place to lay in our whole house though is this little corner between two archways. He curls up his little body and naps there, sometimes he just lays there and watches what goes on in our living room and kitchen, always waiting for someone to drop some ice for him to munch on.

My dad has always kept our family aware of our spending habits. We don't overspend, and we live under our means. We don't go out and buy the brand new thing, we wait a few years to buy it, or simply don't get it. When I got my job, my dad encouraged me to get a retirement account now and save for the future. I now have a ROTH IRA, with almost 3,000 in my account thanks to my dad helping me and investing my money. Always put money aside, even if it's a small amount, I only put $100 in each month, and my account flourished. Thinking about this sort of thing while I'm young and have disposable money means that I will have more later, which is very important to me. Living under my means now and saving a large part of my money means I won't have to worry about money in retirement and get to live comfortably.

I've suffered from depression for a while now. I don't have suicidal thoughts, I just don't see a point in life. My siblings and I have always supported each other through our battles with our inner demons, as both of my siblings suffer from depression and insomnia. My best friend in middle school tried to commit suicide multiple times, and I ultimately felt helpless, I couldn't really share the issues I was going through with anyone, as I was surrounded by suffering. I want to be there for people as an emotional crutch, even if I need one too. I can understand what they're going through, and encourage them to keep going. Just because it's been brought for weeks, months, even years, doesn't mean there isn't light at the end of the tunnel. My friend from middle school is graduating this year with me and is in a much better place. They inspire me every day to keep going, to be educated, and to live life. I was their rock throughout middle school, and though we drifted apart once they moved schools, we still support each other through our hardships. I couldn't thank them enough for being there for me when I felt like I was at the bottom of a well, trapped behind my feelings, and I'm sure they feel the same for me. I think everyone who is suffering from a mental illness needs a friend who is getting better, not recovered, but better. It shows you that you can do better, that you can do it too.