I was seven years old when I saw my first teammate whisked off to the hospital. My team of ages six to fourteen had spent the entire morning on the ski slopes training for our third race of the season when one wrong turn led to a frightening visit from the ski patrol and an eventual ambulance call. As I watched her positioned body depart on the emergency sled, I wondered how many more of my teammates I would see in the same situation. It turns out there would be a lot more. Luckily, my teammate was eventually able to return after her concussion test passed, but she was never as confident and eventually quit the sport entirely. By the time I was eleven years old, I had seen about a dozen teammates on my ski, swim, softball, and soccer teams end up missing their seasons due to preventable injuries. Coming off of my soccer season I knew I had to start improving my strength to avoid further risk of injury. After much convincing, my parents signed my brother and me up for a youth training program and we began hitting the gym three or four times a week. A couple of years later I received a phone call from my mother halfway into a training session that my brother had crashed into a snow gun and was being taken to the hospital. I began to freak out like the overprotective sister I was, but I was calmed by her telling me he knew how to fall safely and take care of his body afterward. My brother ended up with a broken arm and three weeks later was back at swim practice restrengthening his body for the next ski season. Throughout my athletic career, I have seen how athletes can severely injure themselves through one small move. I am passionate about educating athletes on how to train and maintain a healthy body to avoid easily preventable injuries. The strength and agility that I gained through weight training have saved me so many countless injuries. But most of all, my knowledge of how to properly care for my body has been a lifesaver in emergency situations. This has been my reason to attend a receive my bachelor's degree in neuroscience and eventually attend medical school. I aim to become a registered sports medicine doctor and create a program that instructs, helps, and cares for young aspiring athletes to keep them in their sport. I hope that all athletes in the future can receive the knowledge of how to take care of themselves and avoid trips to the hospital. I have personally volunteered in a sports medicine clinic and seen how even just a month of training and knowledge can help athletes become more aware of how they can care for their bodies. I hope to work with some local athletic trainers like the ones that have helped change my life as well as therapists and nutritionists. When I look towards the future, I see a new era for youth sports and all parts of health. Athletes such as Michael Phelps, Naomi Osaka, and Simone Biles have demonstrated the importance of an athlete's mental health as much as physical and I know that I can be a part of the change to our society. Even if my ambitions are large, I believe that I can help create a new generation of athletes.

I started weightlifting at just eleven years old. At the time, superfoods were just specific foods for the older more experienced athletes to consume and not something for a younger athlete. However, as a pescetarian since birth, superfoods have always been a main component in my diet and one of my favorite "secret" food groups to incorporate into my daily calorie consumption. To me, superfoods are extremely deserving of their name as they are truly the heroes of the food chain. One of my favorite meals and also the meal I requested for multiple birthday dinners consists of mustard-glazed salmon with miso broth infused quinoa and roasted broccoli. Many people say they can live off of their favorite meal, but I think it is truly a possibility for mine. Some of my other favorite superfoods include blueberries, which I incorporate into smoothies, parfaits, and on top of peanut butter toast, and spinach sautéed with garlic and olive oil. One of my go-to snacks between sports practices is to have almonds with cheddar cheese and the snack packs that have these with dried fruit are some of my favorite things to have on hand. I have never once needed coffee to get through my crazy day and superfoods are the reason why. Many of my friends will always ask me how I managed to work three different jobs, play two sports, captain six clubs, and make it into the top ten percent without caffeine. I always reply that my diet provides me with enough energy, and superfoods are the building blocks for that. When it comes to these powerful foods, however, I do have my achilles heal. Kale. I have never seemed to enjoy this leafy green and believe me, I have tried it in everything. From salads, to smoothies, wraps, and bowls, I just cannot seem to find a way to incorporate it into my diet. But there are so many different foods out there that can equally provide the same nutrients and thus I am alright with not enjoying every common superfood that lies in the grocery aisle. Superfoods really are just super. They can promote heart health, weight loss, and improve energy levels. I really do not know what I would do without these foods in my diet, and I am fortunate enough to have access and the knowledge to eat these foods and maintain my strength and energy in my busy life.

I learned to ask for help and return it before I could even talk. With two working parents, I was sent off to preschool at only thirteen months old, before my vocabulary had extended to a full sentence. The lessons that one can learn from being away from home all day are endless, and I believe I can trace my life goals to my early days with my much older peers in preschool. I have always loved helping others. It is my life goal, the reason for getting out of bed in the morning and attending college and eventually medical school. I believe that by helping one life, you can in turn help generations. If I can provide aid or direction to people in need, then I can also find growth in myself and make the world that much better for both myself and others. I started volunteering at the basic level in kindergarten with both my girl scout troop and Hebrew school. Even though we were much younger than those we were helping, I learned to appreciate what I had and how I was fortunate enough to learn how to give back to others. Every person has the power to help another, they just need to have the knowledge of how they can help. Even if someone thinks they have nothing, there is always something that is little but powerful like a smile or kind word to change someone's day. I have found that helping others makes me feel better as a person so it is always a win in my opinion. I have since volunteered at a variety of locations with different activities and organizations from teaching Hebrew and/or English, making dinners at the Ronald McDonald House, recycling clothes, singing to the elderly and homeless, making signs for Alzheimer's awareness, and teaching elementary school for remote students with unsafe home environments. Though I have been lucky enough to have all of these memories, there is one specific volunteer opportunity I had the joy of experiencing. The door was slightly ajar, but I knocked anyway, just as I had been taught in the training videos. It was a sweltering day outside Maine Medical Center, but the person on the other side of the door didn't know that. Instead, the only thing she knew was that she was stuck in the hospital, confused, with no one yet able to explain to her why she was there. After hearing a response, I entered the patient's room with a clipboard in hand. My job: bring joy to someone who has forgotten it can exist. We started with simple introductions, but over the next 45 minutes, we went on a journey from Italian childhoods to fishing adventures. I shared stories from the outside world and was gifted with ones from a century past. When her doctor came in for some medication checks, we were both different people. I had learned to help someone through the power of words and stories. Since then, I am always on the lookout for someone in need. I always chat with my elderly neighbors who are just holding out until a hopeful end comes to this pandemic and go out of my way to help them with other tasks that have gotten cumbersome. I feel that it is my duty as a human being to help those around me and I hope that this can become more of a standard in the future.

I still remember the first time I saw a teammate whisked off to the hospital. I was only seven years old. My competitive ski team of ages six to fourteen had spent the entire morning on the ski slopes training for our first race of the season when one wrong turn led to a frightening visit from the ski patrol and an eventual ambulance call. As I watched one of the people I had always looked up to carefully wrapped and positioned on the emergency sled, I wondered how many more teammates and friends I would see in the same situation. It turns out there would be a lot more. Luckily, my teammate was eventually cleared to return after her concussion test passed, but her confidence had disappeared and the season would be her last. Throughout my career as a student-athlete, I have seen how athletes can severely injure themselves through one small move. This has spawned my passion for educating athletes on how to train and maintain a healthy body to avoid easily preventable injuries. The strength and agility that I have gained through weight training have saved me from countless injuries and kept me doing the activities that I love. But most of all, my knowledge of how to take care of my body has been a lifesaver in emergency situations. This has been my motivator to receive my bachelor’s degree in biology and eventually attend medical school. I aim to become a registered sports medicine doctor and create a program that instructs, helps, and cares for young aspiring athletes to keep them involved in their sports and activities. I hope that all athletes in the future can receive valuable knowledge on how to take care of themselves and avoid trips to the hospital. I have personally volunteered in a sports medicine clinic and seen the impacts when an athlete receives knowledge on how to properly care for themselves. I believe that my goal in life is to make people smile and help those who need it. Winning state championships both individually and with my team in two different sports has allowed me to learn how to be successful both by myself and with others. I hope to continue working with my peers for a common goal to help change lives. When I envision the future, I see a new era for youth sports and all parts of health. Even if my ambitions are large, I believe that I can help create a new generation of athletes. I am applying for this scholarship as I believe that my life mission is important and I will need some help along the way. The real experiences that I have witnessed throughout my athletic career have inspired me to help other athletes. The courage and passion that the athletes I look up to have shown over the last few years have pushed me even further toward my goal. I am fortunate that I have a goal and journey already planned at such a young age and I hope to change lives.

I was seven years old when I saw my first teammate whisked off to the hospital. My team of ages six to fourteen had spent the entire morning on the ski slopes training for our third race of the season when one wrong turn led to a frightening visit from the ski patrol and an eventual ambulance call. As I watched her positioned body depart on the emergency sled, I wondered how many more of my teammates I would see in the same situation. It turns out there would be a lot more. Luckily, my teammate was eventually able to return after her concussion test passed, but she was never as confident and eventually quit the sport entirely. By the time I was eleven years old, I had seen about a dozen teammates on my ski, swim, softball, and soccer teams end up missing their seasons due to preventable injuries. Now as I take the steps into my future, I am using my experiences to help influence the world, especially with technology. Technology can change lives and help people in ways like never before. I have seen how athletes can severely injure themselves through one small move. I am passionate about educating athletes on how to train and maintain a healthy body to avoid easily preventable injuries. The strength and agility that I gained through weight training have saved me so many countless injuries. But most of all, my knowledge of how to properly care for my body has been a lifesaver in emergency situations. This has been my reason to receive my bachelor's degree in biology and eventually attend medical school. I aim to become a registered sports medicine doctor and create a program that instructs, helps, and cares for young aspiring athletes to keep them in their sport. I hope that all athletes in the future can receive the knowledge of how to take care of themselves and avoid trips to the hospital. I have personally volunteered in a sports medicine clinic and seen how even just a month of training and knowledge can help athletes become more aware of how they can care for their bodies. I hope to work with some local athletic trainers like the ones that have helped change my life as well as therapists and nutritionists. When I look towards the future, I see a new era for youth sports and all parts of health. This is why I know that technology can help. Technology is revolutionizing sports training by live-tracking performances, perfecting athletic movements, enhancing communication, and virtually eliminating injuries. I hope that as woman, I can help change the world with new perspectives and through technology.

You might think there was no civilization while driving through the Northern Maine wilderness on a snowy December night. Once you get to the part of the massive state where towns become townships, it is difficult to see anything other than a road as you drive along. But if you were to look directly overhead, the reliable telephone poles show that life can exist in even the most rural places. I have always been inspired by the power of electricity. The invention of electricity has changed our lives for the better and created so many life opportunities. Maine's rural nature, as well as the number of inhabited islands, means that so many people have little access to public utilities and opportunities. But since the invention and widespread usage of electricity, toasters could be plugged in instead of rotated over a fire, electric washing machines agitated clothing and linens to clean them, replacing beating, pounding, or hand churning, and the rural population could continue to grow and spread. Electricity has allowed people in rural communities to maintain their traditional culture. With this power, electricity has provided opportunities and ways to simplify life to rural communities around the world. Without it, the world would be a completely different place.

In second grade I failed the state math progress check. By fail, I mean I scored lower than my school's minimum and thus had to be placed in a special "math club" once a week. My frustrations about maths weren't concrete, just that numbers were harder to read than words. It took me the whole rest of the year to comprehend my real issues with math stemmed from my process. I was using memorization instead of understanding concepts. For example, instead of realizing that multiplication was the reverse of division, I memorized an entire sheet of division and multiplication answers. If a problem came up that wasn't on the sheet, I was done for. For my young mind, math made no sense. There was no point in life for needing to know the area of a triangle or how many shoes Billy can or can't buy with six nickels. This frustration led me to believe my future career had to follow the path of my grandmother, a librarian. Not that I was against librarians, but the thought of only having one job open to me (even if my naive mind was wrong) was terrifying and I knew I had to work harder. I always thought math was like a foreign language. A decipher that only a percentage of the population was gifted the key to. The truth is, math is everywhere and the code is attainable by anyone. You just have to know where to look. I started to find uses for math when I had to do the weekly grocery shopping with a $100 budget. Figuring out all the variables of changing prices, weekly deals, and seasonal availability could easily have worked its way into a worksheet or a Khan Academy problem. Mathematics has also crept into my life through my career as a ski racer. Determining how long a specific wax will stay on my skis depending on how many miles I ski was once a challenge. I have always been drawn to puzzles and challenges. Once I realized math could easily factor into those, the game of numbers became a new goal to master. I am currently enrolled in an advanced placement calculus class. Calculus is nothing like any math I have ever taken before, besides pre-calc (but that was during a pandemic). Every time I feel frustrated, I remember the lessons I learned back in my second grade extra help class. Math always has a solution. There is always a key to the lock. This is where my passion for learning comes from. I have seen how time, effort, and good work ethic can make the impossible seem possible. Education to me is the biggest goal, one I have strived for since I was three. For some, education is something that has never been an easily accessible goal for the world. I am fortunate enough to be able to hopefully graduate high school in the Spring and attend a College. My parents have sacrificed so much for me to get where I am today and have bestowed a hunger for knowledge on me. I have learned how to approach obstacles along my path with determination and have conquered those that have given me the most fear. I hope to make a big impact on the world and receive an education that I have strived for.

My world spun upside down from just three letters: J, R, A. While only my medically aware mother gasped the first time those letters were uttered, I soon joined her after the internet answered my protruding questions. I entered the joint specialist's office as a child and left as a child with an autoimmune joint disease more known for harming the older population. Junior Rheumatoid Arthritis. As the days progressed, I learned the full extent of my disease and became increasingly upset at how my body had failed me. Simple tasks like pushing myself off the bed were now impossible. For years I regarded my illness with disdain and hatred. But soon I found myself at the same doctor's office, surrounded by people fifty years my senior when it hit me that my situation was comedic gold. A teenager with a disease stereotypically associated with the elderly is hilarious. And on top of that, I was allowing it to change my life? Ridiculous. Once I realized this, everything changed. I found that even though my pain, I could find a way to bring people joy. The thing was, my diagnosis didn't change anything about me. Instead, it became my motivator. The next fall, I entered our school's stand-up competition and officially announced my diagnosis to the school. I explained that my class now had an elderly person who has joint stiffness and likes to eat prunes. My act was a success and was met with great criticism and questions. I learned how to appreciate the situation I had been dealt. But most importantly, I learned that JRA has not made me less of who I am, but instead taught me so much and helped shape the person I am and will become in the future as an adult.

I was seven years old when I saw my first teammate whisked off to the hospital. My team of ages six to fourteen had spent the entire morning on the ski slopes training for our third race of the season when one wrong turn led to a frightening visit from the ski patrol and an eventual ambulance call. As I watched her positioned body depart on the emergency sled, I wondered how many more of my teammates I would see in the same situation. It turns out there would be a lot more. Luckily, my teammate was eventually able to return after her concussion test passed, but she was never as confident and eventually quit the sport entirely. I have seen how athletes can severely injure themselves through one small move. This has been my reason to attend a receive my bachelor's degree in biology and eventually attend medical school. I aim to become a registered sports medicine doctor and create a program that instructs, helps, and cares for young aspiring athletes to keep them in their sport. I hope that all athletes in the future can receive the knowledge of how to take care of themselves and avoid trips to the hospital. I have personally volunteered in a sports medicine clinic and seen how even just a month of training and knowledge can help athletes become more aware of how they can care for their bodies. When I look towards the future, I see a new era for youth sports and all parts of health. Athletes such as Michael Phelps, Naomi Osaka, and Simone Biles have demonstrated the importance of an athlete's mental health as much as physical and I know that I can be a part of the change to our society.

Last night I received a text message from an unknown number. I was in the middle of a study break when the three-letter message: "can you talk" pinged up on my notification board. I immediately responded without even knowing the person and soon they were sharing a problem over text. Throughout our conversation, I tried the following things to treat them with empathy despite not knowing them well enough to add their number to my phone. I didn't assume anything about their situation but asked questions to understand and consider the situation from different angles. I also tried to share my feelings and hear theirs. He sought to share my feelings, which were unhappiness, hurt, and frustration, rather than dismiss or brush them away, which I find common when I share my problems with other friends. When you are empathetic toward others, you help them feel better about themselves. You let them know that they are not alone in their problems. You also strengthen your relationship with the person, because when you seek to share the feelings of the other, you allow thoughts and emotions to flow between the both of you. When someone tells you a personal problem, chances are he/she doesn’t feel well and needs your emotional support. Show care and concern and you can receive empathy back.

As an avid athlete and ski racer, I have seen how athletes can severely injure themselves through one small move. I am passionate about educating athletes on how to train and maintain a healthy body to avoid easily preventable injuries. I have been weight training since I was eleven and have seen the effects on my sports career and mental health. I hope that all athletes in the future can receive the knowledge of how to take care of themselves and avoid trips to the hospital. I have personally volunteered in a sports medicine clinic and seen how even just a month of training and knowledge can help. My biggest goal in life is to become a registered Sports Medicine Doctor and create a program where athletes can work with my staff, local trainers, therapists, and nutritionists. I believe my life goal is to make people smile and happy and to help those who need it. Not enough people take athletes' full-body health into account and I want to change that and the stigma around the sports world. My dream life has me surrounded between ski mountains and lakes in a wooden house overlooking the water. Nearby will be my office with a commute of under 20 minutes. I will spend my time teaching Zumba classes and coaching skiing while at the same time helping advocate for the environment and raising a family.

The practice of helping others is one of the most fundamental parts of humanity. It is one of the principles that bond us together. In times of tragedy, the stories of those who help others are inspiring, such as helping the nation recover from national disasters and terrorist attacks. I try to think of myself as a selfless person most of the time. I try to care about the health and wellbeing of others in times of need. It is why I want to enter into the medical field and devote my life to helping others. But growing up, I always found the line between being selfish and selfless as a tedious one. Selfishness brings temporary happiness and contentment, but all too soon washes away like footprints in the sand. When we practice selflessness, however, we can identify with others and connect in more rewarding ways. I always tend to remember the times when I am selfless over selfish and that is the true value. Selflessness helps us act from our heart and soul instead of our ego, tapping into our true desired feelings. But most of all, it is contagious. I strive to be around generous, loving people who share the same values and ultimately help to make the world a better place. I always spend time helping others and going out of my to make people smile.

Nothing comes in between me and taking care of my mental health. Growing up in a somewhat abusive family, I have learned to hide my feelings and not speak out when something is bothering me. So when I need an outlet outside of my house, I head to the slopes. Skiing is hands down my favorite way to rewind, relax, and pay attention to the things that are truly under my skin. Skiing gets me outside in nature at a time of year most people usually hibernate. It allows me to disconnect from the stressors of everyday life while also getting a workout and relaxing. In particular, the time I spend in the mountains gives me space to be in awe of the natural beauty of the world and come out of my mental shell. While skiing, I easily find myself surrounded by absolute silence and miles of untouched natural beauty. There is something so relaxing about skiing down a slope and seeing miles of pine trees and mountains dotted with snow. It reminds me how big the world is compared to my problems. I am encouraged to live in the moment, forgetting the common and often overwhelming stresses of daily life. Catching up with friends, meeting new people, and making unforgettable memories are all vital in maintaining and enhancing happiness. A weekend on the mountain is the perfect place to do all of these things It’s also the perfect environment to meet new, like-minded people with interesting stories from around the world. This is how I take care of my mental health. The mountains call my name and I answer. There, I can truly let loose.

I have been in the same school system for twelve years. Twelve Septembers. Twelve Rosh Hashanah's where we still had school despite it being a major holiday. I was around five or six when I realized this was a problem. Having gone to a Jewish preschool, I was used to spending the important day out of school. However, during that first year at elementary school, I had to explain why I would be missing school to my unhappy teacher. Though she was worried about my learning development, I was adamant about missing school to honor the traditions. Although many people in the U.S. are Christian and celebrate these holidays, people of other faiths are excluded from being able to celebrate their own holy days. It should be a school’s duty to accommodate the holidays that its students and staff wish to celebrate. Schools should respect holidays that are important for other religions and cultures such as the Hindu holiday of Diwali, the Islamic holiday of Eid, the Jewish holidays of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, and the Chinese Lunar New Year. Once I entered high school, I felt confident to induce change. One week into the year I timidly entered the principal's office with only a scribbled notecard. I explained our customs and the importance of the school to honor not just holidays of the Christian faith. I was met with a disgruntled response of "not this year". The next year I tried again with more time as the holiday fell in October. I had researched other schools that took off for all religious holidays and the positive impacts. All I wanted was for the school to honor all religious events instead of just one. But alas, I was met with the same response. On my third try, I brought along some fellow students who were forced to choose between an education and religion. Finally, I received an answer in the ballpark of what I was looking for. Two months later, a small committee met to discuss the subject of religious holidays in school. While I have yet to hear the outcome of this issue, just the fact that a committee even occurred makes me hopeful for the future. I hope that future generations of students will not have to face the same fear of choosing between school and their religion. A conversation can be a spark for any change. Recognizing different holidays would be a huge step forward on the path to give all communities and faiths equality.

Bucket lists are peculiar things. Half the checklists are typically activities that the person realistically will never get done. This is why I have two different lists stored safely in a shoebox lying at the base of my closet. On the realistic list: attend college with minimal debt, become a licensed member of ski patrol, graduate college and attend medical school, travel to at least three other continents, ski-in two other countries, win a state and/or national championship, own my own house, create a children's ski program, ride in a helicopter. and retire by 70. I don't think any of these are impractical, thus giving me the guaranteed satisfaction of knowing they will be crossed out at some point in my life. But when you turn to my unrealistic goals and lists for the future, that's where my true adventurous side comes out. I hope to one day hug a hippo, learn to tribal dance with children in Africa, climb the Great Wall of China, and of course sky diving. In the middle, I hope to make an impact on numerous lives and help change the world. So far, I can say I have done quite a few adventurous things such as participate in the Canadian 150th-anniversary parade, scuba in Jamaica, ride horses, ski in more than a foot of powder, and make it into college. Sure, my bucket list is all over the place, but I think that makes it so much more unique and special. It is good to have goals of all sizes, big and small. I have spent the last fifteen years of my life living in Maine, one of the most secluded states in our country. I cannot wait to start crossing off adventures, locations, and experiences from my bucket list.

I started skiing at four years old. I never cried when I would fall over because every fall was just a motivator for me to get back up and keep trying. I have been skiing for fourteen consecutive winters, and each day gives me more adrenaline to go again. Skiing isn't just a sport for me, it is my world. When I am struggling with a school assignment, or my over-bearing weight to be perfect, I hit the slopes. Sure, you may call skiing just a hobby. But it is more than that. A hobby is something that you can take the extreme, throw yourself in completely, and be fully immersed. I like to think that I have done that with skiing. Just the feeling alone of strapping my goggles to my helmet brings me so much joy. The joyous sound of wind rushing through your ears as you beeline for a big fluffy patch of powder down a trail. I have found no other activity that can be calming and heart-racing at the same time. Hobbies need to build confidence and have a rewarding feature to them. This is achieved after a successful day of training or conquering a new trick in the terrain park. When a hobby requires some level of physical activity it creates chemical changes within your body that help reduce stress. In our crazy stressful world, I am glad that I have a hobby like skiing to keep my feet on the ground and head in this atmosphere. Without skiing, I would be lost among the sea of complexities that surround our life. I think that is the true meaning and best part of hobbies after all.

The art of smiling is not one for a school talent show. Despite having its own world record of two hours of continuous performance, it won’t get applause in front of a bunch of students. I wish I had known this before I auditioned. I have always loved smiling: The crinkling of eyes, the upturned corners of mouth, with or without baring teeth, flexing of cheek muscles. A smile can influence the lives of others without saying a word. It brought recognition to the Cheshire cat, so why not on a talent stage? A motivational speaker once instructed my class to “find a skill you are good at and stick with it.” I like to think that box was checked off before it ever was assigned. At the end of elementary school, we were asked about our future career ambitions for the yearbook. Instead of the typical firefighter, astronaut, movie star, athlete, or artist, beneath my square was the phrase: “make people smile.” This has morphed into my secret talent. Whether it be creating a rap video for a middle school photosynthesis unit, performing a somersaulting act in ski boots on a -20ºF winter day, or becoming a comedian to a crowd of campers when a thunderstorm stole our electricity. If people are smiling, I know I’ve done my job. This is my talent. It may not be good enough for a local talent show or break a new world record for longevity, but perhaps it is an achievement measurable by people around me. I’ve seen how far a smile travels. Some might consider it a talent, others simply an interest. While I can’t walk blindfolded on a tightrope, or juggle cutlery on a unicycle, I know that the small act of a smile can go a long way.

I have always loved smiling. It brings people joy. At the end of elementary school, we were asked about our future career ambitions for the yearbook. But I read the question a little differently. Instead of the typical firefighter, astronaut, movie star, athlete, or artist, beneath my square was the phrase: “make people smile.” This has morphed into my secret talent, my identity, my reason to live. There is no limit to how smiles can be obtained and shared. Whether it be creating a rap video for a middle school photosynthesis unit, performing a somersaulting act in ski boots on a -20ºF winter day, or becoming a comedian to a crowd of campers when a thunderstorm stole our electricity. If people are smiling, I know I’ve done my job. My authentic positivity creates a ripple effect and I can confidently say my best skill is laughing, smiling, and dancing.

We, as the young generation, are growing up in a world of destruction. Of violence. And most importantly, of hatred. As a young child, I don’t remember our world being in such a state of turmoil. This either means my parents did an amazing job at sheltering me from it, or times really have changed and the hate in our world is growing worse by the year. My heart aches when I see the two ends of our country and how divided by hate we have become. Every time I turn on the news or read the newspaper, I see a new tragedy. This is where I can create my legacy. Here I sit, on the cusp of adulthood, my whole life laid out in front of me. Is this world where I want my future children to grow up in? Do I want my kids to face the same fear of attending school as I have? But that is the beauty of a legacy. It isn't set in stone. Our legacies are constantly changing, balancing with each and every decision that we make. When I look at my future, the legacy that I want to leave in the minds of my loved ones, one word comes to mind: CHANGE. Not just change to make the world a better place but to help people learn to change. Sure, I want to make schools safe. I want to decrease the lasting effects of climate change. But I also want to bring love. Joy. Happiness. Hate has ruled our world, especially throughout the past two years. That is why my biggest goal is to help people remember how to love, how to smile, and how to laugh.

Sometimes the best pieces of art are the ones that don't get a lot of attention. That sit in the background unnoticed until someone with an open mind discovers them and is transformed. That was me with this piece by Jan Hartman. Hartman and his brother started their journey's through the horrible concentration camps in 1942 and ended up in Auschwitz where their parents were murdered. The brothers were later separated but were reunited after their liberation in the spring of 1945. Shortly following his return home, Jan began a series of paintings that reflected his experience in the camp system to express what he had witnessed. Art is one of the best forms of self-expression and Hartman's way of expressing his horror in this piece titled Death March is one of the best. I have spent countless hours stumbling over the words to describe this piece of beauty. For me, it is just another portal into the lives of my family members who passed away all those years ago. Art is a connection to history that we have been fortunate enough to receive. Each piece tells a different story, and it is important that all stories can be told.

I have been in the same school system for twelve years. Twelve Septembers. Twelve Rosh Hashanah's where we still had school despite it being a major holiday. I was around five or six when I realized this was a problem. Having gone to a Jewish preschool, I was used to spending the important day out of school. However, during that first year at elementary school, I had to explain why I would be missing school to my unhappy teacher. Though she was worried about my learning development, I was adamant about missing school to honor the traditions. Once I entered high school, I felt confident to induce change. One week into the year I timidly entered the principal's office with only a scribbled notecard. I explained our customs and the importance of the school to honor not just holidays of the Christian faith. I was met with a disgruntled response of "not this year". The next year I tried again with more time as the holiday fell in October. I had researched other schools that took off for all religious holidays and the positive impacts. All I wanted was for the school to honor all religious events instead of just one. But alas, I was met with the same response. On my third try, I brought along some fellow students who were forced to choose between an education and religion. No again. I was discouraged but knew I had to continue. I was now fighting for the future generations and no longer myself. I entered the new principal's office with a stack of information and all the confidence in the world. It was my final chance. In the end, I left the office satisfied with an answer of "we will consider". Sometimes even a maybe is a spark for change.

Whenever I post something online or even take my mask off in public, my first response is always about my smile. I have always loved smiling and I'll have to say I am honored to have received such a good pair of facial muscles for it. My mirror at home is decorated with pictures of my smile and those somewhat cheesy motivational slogans that one might find on Pinterest, but I don't care what people may think about it. I believe that smiling, whether inside or out, is a bonding part of humanity. Almost everyone knows how to, or has felt the impacts of a simple smile and I love mine. I have always been told that I have a perfect smile, though I am not sure how much should be accredited to my braces or daily applications of chapstick. But either way, I love my smile and smile. The crinkling of my eyes, upturned corners of my mouth, shiny white teeth glistening. Smiling brings me so much joy in just knowing that I have the power to make someone else smile too. That is what is great about smiling: it has the power to change someone's day. I love that my smile can make others smile with me. Even masks can't prohibit it, as I also love eye-smiling. I believe my goal in life is to make people happy and I am so proud of my smile for helping me to achieve it. Call me crazy, but a simple smile can change a whole day. It takes more muscles to frown anyways. I just really love smiling and my ability to make people happy. It is a fundamental part of who I am, and I wouldn't be myself without my smile.

Whenever I post something online or even take my mask off in public, my first response is always about my smile. I have always loved smiling and I'll have to say I am honored to have received such a good pair of facial muscles for it. My mirror at home is decorated with pictures of my smile and those somewhat cheesy motivational slogans that one might find on Pinterest, but I don't care what people may think about it. I believe that smiling, whether inside or out, is a bonding part of humanity. Almost everyone knows how to, or has felt the impacts of a simple smile and I love mine. I have always been told that I have a perfect smile, though I am not sure how much should be accredited to my braces or daily applications of chapstick. But either way, I love my smile and smile. The crinkling of my eyes, upturned corners of my mouth, shiny white teeth glistening. Smiling brings me so much joy in just knowing that I have the power to make someone else smile too. That is what is great about smiling: it has the power to change someone's day. I love that my smile can make others smile with me. Even masks can't prohibit it, as I also love eye-smiling. I believe my goal in life is to make people happy and I am so proud of my smile for helping me to achieve it. Call me crazy, but a simple smile can change a whole day. It takes more muscles to frown anyways. I just really love smiling and my ability to make people happy. It is a fundamental part of who I am, and I wouldn't be myself without my smile.

I have always loved smiling. It brings people joy. At the end of elementary school, we were asked about our future career ambitions for the yearbook. But I read the question a little differently. Instead of the typical firefighter, astronaut, movie star, athlete, or artist, beneath my square was the phrase: “make people smile.” This has morphed into my secret talent, my identity, my reason to live. There is no limit to how smiles can be obtained and shared. Whether it be creating a rap video for a middle school photosynthesis unit, performing a somersaulting act in ski boots on a -20ºF winter day, or becoming a comedian to a crowd of campers when a thunderstorm stole our electricity. If people are smiling, I know I’ve done my job. My authentic positivity creates a ripple effect. Last year, I had an opportunity to work as an assistant teacher for remote elementary students who couldn’t learn at home. I walked naively into a tense situation but with my smile as a guide. When so many were glued to the news during election week, we took screen breaks and tossed pebbles at patches of ice near the train tracks. When horrifying scenes occupied television screens, we voyaged to a local field and had a snowball fight. My talent took up arms against family illness, food insecurity, falling behind, and language barriers. Yet, the contagious power of a smile guided us through as we waved at everyone we passed on our daily nature walks, and danced in empty grocery parking lots with the shoppers brave enough to venture from their homes. Every day, I strive to make people happy through my powerful smile, or dance moves. If I see someone under the weather, it becomes my goal to bring them joy.

I am the captain of my high school alpine ski team. But I am much more than that. This afternoon we have our first race of the entire season. Once we get to the mountain, my responsibility to my team helps me to encourage all of those in the community. When all of the other teams go down the hill with their coaches, my team goes down with me. I take all of the new kids through the course, stopping every so often to explain a technical tactic or answer questions. Despite this, there are always teammates who are nervous before their first race and so we all sit in a circle and talk. I make sure that those who are nervous have their feelings heard and validated, and I try to respond with as much encouragement as possible. I want everyone to feel comfortable and challenged slightly above their limit. If they feel confident in themselves, I know that I have done my job.

I have thirteen books on my bookshelf. I read them so much that I have started keeping track of how many times I have read each with a sticky note tally on the inside cover. But there is one book that I have read to an extreme that I can open up any random page and know exactly what is going on based on that first sentence. This is Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, and I have read it 23 times. This book has always been a big inspiration to me. It tells the story of hope in one of our history's darkest times. Liesel, an orphan, is dropped off in the middle of a German city during the second world war. She has to adjust to a new family, culture, and education system. Through all the challenges, she learns how to read from a book she stole at her brother's funeral. There are so many lessons that the audience can take away from this book but there are two that I take to heart. Similar to Rudy Steiner, become that special friend who could brave the freezing water to save a floating book in the lake. The lessons and value of friendship in even the hardest of times is one that anyone can remember in times of need. Second, to not be afraid of helping even if it may cause suffering and pain. Hans Hubermann, Leisel, and Rudy gave pieces of food to the starving Jews as they marched to their death. Leisel also would bring items from the world down to the basement for Max even if it put her in harm's way. These lessons and more prove how good this book is and it is my favorite for this reason.

In second grade I failed the state math progress check. By fail, I mean I scored lower than my school's minimum and thus had to be placed in a special "math club" once a week. My frustrations about maths weren't concrete, just that numbers were harder to read than words. It took me the whole rest of the year to comprehend my real issues with math stemmed from my process. I was using memorization instead of understanding concepts. For example, instead of realizing that multiplication was the reverse of division, I memorized an entire sheet of division and multiplication answers. If a problem came up that wasn't on the sheet, I was done for. For my young mind, math made no sense. There was no point in life for needing to know the area of a triangle or how many shoes Billy can or can't buy with six nickels. This frustration led me to believe my future career had to follow the path of my grandmother, a librarian. Not that I was against librarians, but the thought of only having one job open to me (even if my naive mind was wrong) was terrifying and I knew I had to work harder. That summer and the four following it, I begged my parents to buy me the best math workbooks they could. I was determined to understand my struggle with the numbers and dashes that weren't as easy to comprehend as words in books. The thing about math was that it was different from reading in that math is reliable. A math answer will always be the same. An equation will always work, and if it doesn't, I need to find a different equation that will. Reading isn't like math. A character's personality may change part way through chapter five, or the dungeons will have a secret key that no one knows about until the dream is over. But math is consistent, and once I realized that I could better understand the world around me and unlock the key to the numbers. I always thought math was like a foreign language. A decipher that only a percentage of the population was gifted the key to. The truth is, math is everywhere and the code is attainable by anyone. You just have to know where to look. I started to find uses for math when I had to do the weekly grocery shopping with a $100 budget. Figuring out all the variables of changing prices, weekly deals, and seasonal availability could easily have worked its way into a worksheet or a Khan Academy problem. Mathematics has also crept into my life through my career as a ski racer. Determining how long a specific wax will stay on my skis depending on how many miles I ski was once a challenge. I have always been drawn to puzzles and challenges. Once I realized math could easily factor into those, the game of numbers became a new goal to master. I am currently enrolled in an advanced placement calculus class. Calculus is nothing like any math I have ever taken before, besides pre-calc (but that was during a pandemic). Every time I feel frustrated, I remember the lessons I learned back in my second grade extra help class. Math always has a solution. There is always a key to the lock. applications are endless: calculating tax when shopping; figuring out how much storage is left on your phone; determining travel times; the list is endless. No matter what field I end up in, I will need math.

Some say that I talk too much. Yes, I have a lot on my mind and speak freely most of the time. But I also know the importance of listening to build relationships and retain knowledge, and I take time to practice my listening skills every day. Listening is often something that I tend to take for granted and I know that I have to actively practice my listening skills in order to improve who I am as a person. Typically, I hear what is being said, but hearing and listening are too different things. To listen, we need to make a conscious effort not to just hear what people are saying but to take it in, digest it and understand. Active listening helps to learn and understand things better in a social and professional environment and become better at socializing. Through this practice, I am able to sympathize and build stronger relationships by making people feel valued and heard. Listening means paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and how the other person uses his or her body. In other words, it means being aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages. Your ability to listen effectively depends on the degree to which you perceive and understand these messages. I take time to hear every side to a story and to voice my input only when necessary. Even though I do tend to talk a little excessively, I know when to be quiet and listen.

If the past two years have taught me anything, it's that I should be grateful for all of the little things in life and help those around me. It has actually been proven that trials and suffering can actually refine and deepen gratefulness and increase generosity if we allow them to show us not to take things for granted. Taking time to focus my attention on the things I am thankful for lets me consciously think about gratuity. But I have also found that the key to having more gratitude is to be involved within my community. I spend three hours a week volunteering in the hospital, which has increased my level of gratitude for the things that I have. Not only does it make me more grateful for the things that you may take for granted, but studies have shown that volunteering for the purpose of helping others increases our own well-being, and thus our ability to have more gratitude. Being grateful makes me happy, and being happy makes me grateful. I am so fortunate to have a stable roof over my head and food in my fridge. I am thankful that I have the ability to attend school and help others with my knowledge. Gratitude has been engrained within my life and I hope this pandemic can help others see its importance.

What's simpler than a season? To some, it is just a fact of life, a way to mark time passing and reflect on missed opportunities. But for me, seasons are more than just the environment outside; they bring the best simple pleasures all year long. Winter, oh winter. I'm known as a snow enthusiast. The feeling of opening to see white powdery goodness is like no other. The first snowfall of the year is a momentous day and it's the simple pleasure of seeing a blanket of snow on my lawn that brings me so much joy. Simple animal tracks, whether be those of a rabbit, fox, or dog, can spark an adventure of what lives in the vast Maine wilderness. Then there is the rebirth of green in spring. Just smelling the first green thing makes my heart flutter. I like to stop and appreciate the courage it took for the little plant to leave its family below the ground and make its grand entrance into the world above. Soon enough, all the little plants will join their friend and join the cacophony of noises above. The heat of summer cannot combat the freedom of basking in the sun by the edge of the ocean. I love to see the bustle of life that I miss during the school year. Last but not least is fall, full of pumpkin, apples, cinnamon, and warmth. There is nothing better than the colors of fall. The reds, yellows, and oranges dot the mountains around my house signaling the return of winter. Some may think that I spend too much time thinking about seasons. Sure, they come every year, so why bother enjoying every last important seasonal event when you can have them next year? But I still love all seasons the same.

I have been in the same school system for twelve years. Twelve Septembers. Twelve Rosh Hashanah's where we still had school despite it being a major holiday. I was around five or six when I realized this was a problem. Having gone to a Jewish preschool, I was used to spending the important day out of school. However, during that first year at elementary school, I had to explain why I would be missing school to my unhappy teacher. Though she was worried about my learning development, I was adamant about missing school to honor the traditions. Once I entered high school, I felt confident to induce change. One week into the year I timidly entered the principal's office with only a scribbled notecard. I explained our customs and the importance of the school to honor not just holidays of the Christian faith. I was met with a disgruntled response of "not this year". The next year I tried again with more time as the holiday fell in October. I had researched other schools that took off for all religious holidays and the positive impacts. All I wanted was for the school to honor all religious events instead of just one. But alas, I was met with the same response. On my third try, I brought along some fellow students who were forced to choose between an education and religion. No again. I was discouraged but knew I had to continue. I was now fighting for the future generations and no longer myself. I entered the new principal's office with a stack of information and all the confidence in the world. It was my final chance. In the end, I left the office satisfied with an answer of "we will consider". Sometimes even a maybe is a spark for change.

Whenever I post something online or even take my mask off in public, my first response is always about my smile. I have always loved smiling and I'll have to say I am honored to have received such a good pair of facial muscles for it. My mirror at home is decorated with pictures of my smile and those somewhat cheesy motivational slogans that one might find on Pinterest, but I don't care what people may think about it. I believe that smiling, whether inside or out, is a bonding part of humanity. Almost everyone knows how to, or has felt the impacts of a simple smile and I love mine. I have always been told that I have a perfect smile, though I am not sure how much should be accredited to my braces or daily applications of chapstick. But either way, I love my smile and smile. The crinkling of my eyes, upturned corners of my mouth, shiny white teeth glistening. Smiling brings me so much joy in just knowing that I have the power to make someone else smile too. That is what is great about smiling: it has the power to change someone's day. I love that my smile can make others smile with me. Even masks can't prohibit it, as I also love eye-smiling. I believe my goal in life is to make people happy and I am so proud of my smile for helping me to achieve it. Call me crazy, but a simple smile can change a whole day. It takes more muscles to frown anyways. I just really love smiling and my ability to make people happy. It is a fundamental part of who I am, and I wouldn't be myself without my smile.

Whenever I post something online or even take my mask off in public, my first response is always about my smile. I have always loved smiling and I'll have to say I am honored to have received such a good pair of facial muscles for it. My mirror at home is decorated with pictures of my smile and those somewhat cheesy motivational slogans that one might find on Pinterest, but I don't care what people may think about it. I believe that smiling, whether inside or out, is a bonding part of humanity. Almost everyone knows how to, or has felt the impacts of a simple smile and I love mine. I have always been told that I have a perfect smile, though I am not sure how much should be accredited to my braces or daily applications of chapstick. But either way, I love my smile and smile. The crinkling of my eyes, upturned corners of my mouth, shiny white teeth glistening. Smiling brings me so much joy in just knowing that I have the power to make someone else smile too. That is what is great about smiling: it has the power to change someone's day. I love that my smile can make others smile with me. Even masks can't prohibit it, as I also love eye-smiling. I believe my goal in life is to make people happy and I am so proud of my smile for helping me to achieve it. Call me crazy, but a simple smile can change a whole day. It takes more muscles to frown anyways. I just really love smiling and my ability to make people happy. It is a fundamental part of who I am, and I wouldn't be myself without my smile. I am passionate about smiling for a reason.

My world spun upside down from just three letters: J, R, A. While only my medically aware mother gasped the first time those letters were uttered, I soon joined her after the internet answered my protruding questions. I entered the joint specialist's office as a child and left as a child with an autoimmune joint disease more known for harming the older population. Junior Rheumatoid Arthritis. As the days progressed, I learned the full extent of my disease and became increasingly upset at how my body had failed me. Simple tasks like pushing myself off the bed were now impossible. For years I regarded my illness with disdain and hatred. But soon I found myself at the same doctor's office, surrounded by people fifty years my senior when it hit me that my situation was comedic gold. A teenager with a disease stereotypically associated with the elderly is hilarious. And on top of that, I was allowing it to change my life? Ridiculous. Once I realized this, everything changed. I found that even though my pain, I could find a way to bring people joy. The thing was, my diagnosis didn't change anything about me. Instead, it became my motivator. The next fall, I entered our school's stand-up competition and officially announced my diagnosis to the school. I explained that my class now had an elderly person who has joint stiffness and likes to eat prunes. My act was a success and was met with great criticism and questions. I learned how to appreciate the situation I had been dealt. But most importantly, I learned that JRA has not made me less of who I am, but instead taught me so much and helped shape the person I am and will become in the future as an adult.

When you have an immediate family member in an economic field, you are bound to talk about money. In my case, I cannot visit my grandfather without my economic future coming up. Though I may complain, I always try to take his advice to heart, even when he forgets my age and experience in the workforce. However, there has always been one piece of advice that I will stand by until I am his age and instructing my grandchildren the same thing. The tip came up while I was driving home from my tedious job as a lifeguard at a somewhat sketchy waterpark. I had just received my first paycheck of the season which was more than I had expected so naturally, I needed to get my grandfather on the line for some advice. After reading him the amount on my paycheck, he surprised me with a minimal number. I immediately questioned what he meant by it, as I had received far more than what he noted. Since then I have always followed his rule when receiving any sum of money. Ten percent of the money would stay in my spending account for "want" money. This includes anything that I simply desire because I am still a child and the newest book or technology device still intrigues me. The next thirty percent would be for things I "need". Typically, this money goes towards the ever-increasing gas prices or school supplies. That leaves me with sixty percent to "save", and use at another time in the future when I direly need it. Thanks to this system, I have been able to get the best out my of hard-earned money and still invest some for the future. While I may not always abide by this system, it is always there for me.

I am the captain of my high school alpine ski team. But I am much more than that. This afternoon we have our first race of the entire season. Once we get to the mountain, my responsibility to my team helps me to encourage all of those in the community. When all of the other teams go down the hill with their coaches, my team goes down with me. I take all of the new kids through the course, stopping every so often to explain a technical tactic or answer questions. Despite this, there are always teammates who are nervous before their first race and so we all sit in a circle and talk. I make sure that those who are nervous have their feelings heard and validated, and I try to respond with as much encouragement as possible. I want everyone to feel comfortable and challenged slightly above their limit. If they feel confident in themselves, I know that I have done my job.

I have been in the same school system for twelve years. Twelve Septembers. Twelve Rosh Hashanah's where we still had school despite it being a major holiday. I was around five or six when I realized this was a problem. Having gone to a Jewish preschool, I was used to spending the important day out of school. However, during that first year at elementary school, I had to explain why I would be missing school to my unhappy teacher. Though she was worried about my learning development, I was adamant about missing school to honor the traditions. Once I entered high school, I felt confident to induce change. One week into the year I timidly entered the principal's office with only a scribbled notecard. I explained our customs and the importance of the school to honor not just holidays of the Christian faith. I was met with a disgruntled response of "not this year". The next year I tried again with more time as the holiday fell in October. I had researched other schools that took off for all religious holidays and the positive impacts. All I wanted was for the school to honor all religious events instead of just one. But alas, I was met with the same response. On my third try, I brought along some fellow students who were forced to choose between an education and religion. No again. I was discouraged but knew I had to continue. I was now fighting for the future generations and no longer myself. I entered the new principal's office with a stack of information and all the confidence in the world. It was my final chance. In the end, I left the office satisfied with an answer of "we will consider". Sometimes even a maybe is a spark for change.

I was seven years old when I saw my first teammate whisked off to the hospital. My team of ages six to fourteen had spent the entire morning on the ski slopes training for our third race of the season when one wrong turn led to a frightening visit from the ski patrol and an eventual ambulance call. As I watched her positioned body depart on the emergency sled, I wondered how many more of my teammates I would see in the same situation. It turns out there would be a lot more. Luckily, my teammate was eventually able to return after her concussion test passed, but she was never as confident and eventually quit the sport entirely. I have seen how athletes can severely injure themselves through one small move. This has been my reason to attend a receive my bachelor's degree in biology and eventually attend medical school. I aim to become a registered sports medicine doctor and create a program that instructs, helps, and cares for young aspiring athletes to keep them in their sport. I hope that all athletes in the future can receive the knowledge of how to take care of themselves and avoid trips to the hospital. I have personally volunteered in a sports medicine clinic and seen how even just a month of training and knowledge can help athletes become more aware of how they can care for their bodies. When I look towards the future, I see a new era for youth sports and all parts of health. Athletes such as Michael Phelps, Naomi Osaka, and Simone Biles have demonstrated the importance of an athlete's mental health as much as physical and I know that I can be a part of the change to our society.

Our color-coded calendar on the ‘fridge used to be madness. Each day was overflowing with karate, yoga, girl scouts, softball, or theatre. In the midst of all this chaos were my dance classes in the little studio on Broadway Ave. I always admired that it was on a road named after the destination where our dreams frolicked. The main room was cluttered with dance bags strewn all over dentist-office blue cushions. Sunlight danced across the floor and reflected off of the full-length mirror where you could stare for hours. I loved the spirit of dance, but I was definitely not a natural. According to family legend, song and dance were never a part of the gene pool. Despite extra lessons, stretching at home, and competition teams, I was never the star pupil in class. I guess I can always blame my DNA for dance joining the cemetery of buried activities by middle school. I have always loved the feeling of music carrying me away to a tropical island. Even though dance was no longer a major part of my life, the rhythm still incorporated itself into my whole life. I knew that I was a dancer, but needed a way to express myself. Then I discovered Zumba. I shouldn’t have wanted to participate. This wasn’t for me. I was a dance class dropout. But I still found the confidence to open the door to the Zumba room attached to the local gym. A modest room lined with gym bags and water bottles on a freshly waxed hardwood floor awaited me. Sunlight streamed in through the transom windows and danced its way across the floor. A hint of pine from the floor circulated through the fan’s merciless blades and drifted across the angelic space. It's an island hidden in the sea. I’m back at the studio. There is no time to register my new dance mates as the wooden door slams open and an overly-bouncy woman sprints in. My shoulders tense as Latin music swarms into my ears and déja vu clouds my mind. I am home. Pop, Bollywood, Latin, Salsa, Country. Whoever created the “time flies” cliché saying really deserves an Oscar. My shoes tango across the floor pulling me out of the rabbit hole I had tumbled into. No step is incorrect, no motion needs to be repeated. As I hear a loud whoop during an intense punching move I am surprised to find my mouth joining in. The tape marks on the floor are completely disregarded as we skip into a circle formation, arms raising to expel any unwanted forces out. I shouldn’t be this relaxed, it's not normal. I shouldn’t be in this room where those my age never venture. But I stay because here I am free. Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, I have taken up the art of Zumba as my own. I have spent hours in front of my at-home studio learning choreography to teach at my self-started school Zumba club. I have taken dozens of classes, practicing in styles I would have never been exposed to. With Zumba, I don't have to worry about the stress of life. I can be myself and one with the rhythm of the music. I now cannot hear a song without putting moves to it. Zumba has helped me get through the toughest times and I have become stronger because of it. I will always love to dance and I have found my outlet. In the future, I plan to start a Zumba club and continue to spread the positivity and inclusiveness that we need in these times.

Last night I received a text message from an unknown number. I was in the middle of a study break when the three-letter message: "can you talk" pinged up on my notification board. I immediately responded without even knowing the person and soon they were sharing a problem over text. Throughout our conversation, I tried the following things to treat them with empathy despite not knowing them well enough to add their number to my phone. I didn't assume anything about their situation but asked questions to understand and consider the situation from different angles. I also tried to share my feelings and hear theirs. He sought to share my feelings, which were unhappiness, hurt, and frustration, rather than dismiss or brush them away, which I find common when I share my problems with other friends. When you are empathetic toward others, you help them feel better about themselves. You let them know that they are not alone in their problems. You also strengthen your relationship with the person, because when you seek to share the feelings of the other, you allow thoughts and emotions to flow between the both of you. When someone tells you a personal problem, chances are he/she doesn’t feel well and needs your emotional support. Show care and concern and you can receive empathy back.

If the past two years have taught me anything, it's that I should be grateful for all of the little things in life. It has actually been proven that trials and suffering can actually refine and deepen gratefulness if we allow them to show us not to take things for granted. When it comes to gratitude, I have learned to be thankful for both positive and negative experiences. Gratitude is not only about being thankful for positive experiences. I try to sit down every day before I go to bed reflect on my day and remember what happened throughout the past few hours. If you picture something in your mind, the feeling of gratitude travels down your entire body. When I spend time appreciating the little things, I find that it overall helps my mood. Taking time to focus my attention on the things I am thankful for lets me consciously think about gratuity. But I have also found that the key to having more gratitude is to be involved within my community. I spend three hours a week volunteering in the hospital, which has increased my level of gratitude for the things that I have. Not only does it make me more grateful for the things that you may take for granted, but studies have shown that volunteering for the purpose of helping others increases our own well-being, and thus our ability to have more gratitude. Being grateful makes me happy, and being happy makes me grateful. I am so fortunate to have a stable roof over my head and food in my fridge. I am thankful that I have the ability to attend school and help others with my knowledge. Gratitude has been engrained within my life and I hope this pandemic can help others see its importance.

What exactly is a hobby? When asking the mighty force that is known as the internet, even the answer doesn't exactly know. "A regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time". Though this answer may seem straightforward, it honestly confuses me more. See, for me, a hobby is something I do for enjoyment, while also providing life lessons and interactions. A hobby shouldn't be just something you do in your "precious" free time or something that only can occur once or twice a month if you get lucky. Instead, hobbies should be defined as activities that bring someone happiness and are engrained within their life. I started skiing at four years old. Yes, for those that live in the Northern Part of the country, I understand I started later than average. I never cried when I would fall over because every fall was just a motivator for me to get back up and keep trying. I have been skiing for fourteen consecutive winters, and each day gives me more adrenaline to go again. Skiing isn't just a sport for me, it is my world. When I am struggling with a school assignment, or my over-bearing weight to be perfect, I hit the slopes. Sure, you may call skiing just a hobby. But it is more than that. A hobby is something that you can take the extreme, throw yourself in completely, and be fully immersed. I like to think that I have done that with skiing. Just the feeling alone of strapping my goggles to my helmet brings me so much joy. The joyous sound of wind rushing through your ears as you beeline for a big fluffy patch of powder down a trail. I have found no other activity that can be calming and heart-racing at the same time. Hobbies need to build confidence and have a rewarding feature to them. This is achieved after a successful day of training or conquering a new trick in the terrain park. When a hobby requires some level of physical activity it creates chemical changes within your body that help reduce stress. In our crazy stressful world, I am glad that I have a hobby like skiing to keep my feet on the ground and head in this atmosphere. Without skiing, I would be lost among the sea of complexities that surround our life. I think that is the true meaning and best part of hobbies after all.

My world spun upside down from just three letters: J, R, A. While only my medically aware mother gasped the first time those letters were uttered, I soon joined her after the internet answered my protruding questions. I entered the joint specialist's office as a child and left as a child with an autoimmune joint disease more known for harming the older population: Junior Rheumatoid Arthritis. As the days progressed, I learned the full extent of my disease and became increasingly upset at how my body had failed me. Simple tasks like pushing myself off the bed were now impossible. One night, as I was slowly getting adjusted to my new schedule of medications my mother asked me how I honestly felt about my diagnosis. "I guess you have an elderly daughter now", was my curt response as I took my last opaque pill and stormed off. Looking back on it, I can see how far off my overreaction was. For years I regarded my illness with disdain and hatred. But soon I found myself at the same doctor's office, surrounded by people fifty years my senior when it hit me that my situation was comedic gold. A teenager with a disease stereotypically associated with the elderly is hilarious. And on top of that, I was allowing it to change my life? Ridiculous. Once I realized this, everything changed. I found that even though my pain, I could find a way to bring people joy. The thing was, my diagnosis didn't change anything about me. Instead, it became my motivator. It taught me to emphasize with others who were less fortunate to not receive a diagnosis for their problems. It helped me find strength in helping others. Sure, I cannot bend my wrist enough to perform a perfect handstand. But I have learned to do so much more with JRA. I learned how to turn over in bed to wake up in the morning. I learned how to find other exercise outlets like weightlifting instead of handstands. This past fall I was able to deadlift 315 lbs which wouldn't;t have been possible if I hadn't started weight training to help strengthen my joints. Being diagnosed with a chronic disease helped me learn to turn negatives into positives. It changed my entire outlook on my life. In the fall of my eighth-grade year, I entered our school's stand-up competition and officially announced my diagnosis to the school. I explained that my class now had an elderly person who has joint stiffness and likes to eat prunes. My act was a success and was met with great criticism and questions. I learned how to appreciate the situation I had been dealt with. But most importantly, I learned that JRA has not made me less of who I am, but instead taught me so much and helped shape the person I am and will become in the future as an adult. I know that the lessons I have learned through battling this illness will carry on with me and continue to influence my decisions as I enter the next chapter of my life.

When you have an immediate family member in an economic field, you are bound to talk about money. In my case, I cannot visit my grandfather without my economic future coming up. Though I may complain, I always try to take his advice to heart, even when he forgets my age and experience in the workforce. However, there has always been one piece of advice that I will stand by until I am his age and instructing my grandchildren the same thing. I had just received my first paycheck of the season which was more than I had expected so naturally, I needed to get my grandfather on the line for some advice. After reading him the amount on my paycheck, he surprised me with a minimal number. I immediately questioned what he meant by it, as I had received far more than what he noted. Since then I have always followed his rule when receiving any sum of money. Ten percent of the money would stay in my spending account for "want" money. This includes anything that I simply desire because I am still a child and the newest book or technology device still intrigues me. The next thirty percent would be for things I "need". Typically, this money goes towards the ever-increasing gas prices or school supplies. That leaves me with sixty percent to "save", and use at another time in the future when I direly need it. Thanks to this system, I have been able to get the best out my of hard-earned money and still invest some for the future. While I may not always abide by this system, it is always there for me.

Whenever I post something online or even take my mask off in public, my first response is always about my smile. I have always loved smiling and I'll have to say I am honored to have received such a good pair of facial muscles for it. My mirror at home is decorated with pictures of my smile and those somewhat cheesy motivational slogans that one might find on Pinterest, but I don't care what people may think about it. I believe that smiling, whether inside or out, is a binding part of humanity. Almost everyone knows how to, or has felt the impacts of a simple smile and I love mine. At the end of elementary school, we were asked about our future career ambitions for the yearbook. But I read the question a little differently. Instead of the typical firefighter, astronaut, movie star, athlete, or artist, beneath my square was the phrase: “make people smile.” This has morphed into my outlook on life and my favorite characteristic about myself. There is no limit to how smiles can be obtained and shared. Whether it be creating a rap video for a middle school photosynthesis unit, performing a somersaulting act in ski boots on a -20ºF winter day, or becoming a comedian to a crowd of campers when a thunderstorm stole our electricity. If people are smiling, I know I’ve done my job. My authentic positivity creates a ripple effect through my smile and ability to spread joy. Smiling brings me so much happiness in just knowing that I have the power to make someone else smile too. That is what is great about smiling: it has the power to change someone's day. I love that my smile can make others smile with me. Even masks can't prohibit it, as I also love eye-smiling. I believe my goal in life is to make people happy and I am so proud of my smile for helping me to achieve it. Call me crazy, but a simple smile can change a whole day. It takes more muscles to frown anyways. I just really love smiling and my ability to make people happy. It is a fundamental part of who I am, and I wouldn't be myself without my smile. My ability to spread joy through smiling and to make people happy is a quality that I love about myself. I know that my outlook on life and ability to make people smile will be a positive part of my future. Whenever I am in a place of need, I know I have people to lean on as I would and will do the same for them. Happiness is a constantly reciprocating event. I feel confident that my smiles will help me throughout the crazy rollercoaster that we call life.

I was seven years old when I saw my first teammate whisked off to the hospital. My team of ages six to fourteen had spent the entire morning on the ski slopes training for our third race of the season when one wrong turn led to a frightening visit from the ski patrol and an eventual ambulance call. As I watched her positioned body depart on the emergency sled, I wondered how many more of my teammates I would see in the same situation. It turns out there would be a lot more. Luckily, my teammate was eventually able to return after her concussion test passed, but she was never as confident and eventually quit the sport entirely. By the time I was eleven years old, I had seen about a dozen teammates on my ski, swim, softball, and soccer teams end up missing their seasons due to preventable injuries. Coming off of my soccer season I knew I had to start improving my strength to avoid further risk of injury. After much convincing, my parents signed my brother and me up for a youth training program and we began hitting the gym three or four times a week. A couple of years later I received a phone call from my mother halfway into a training session that my brother had crashed into a snow gun and was being taken to the hospital. I began to freak out like the overprotective sister I was, but I was calmed by her telling me he knew how to fall safely and take care of his body afterward. My brother ended up with a broken arm and three weeks later was back at swim practice restrengthening his body for the next ski season. Throughout my athletic career, I have seen how athletes can severely injure themselves through one small move. I am passionate about educating athletes on how to train and maintain a healthy body to avoid easily preventable injuries. The strength and agility that I gained through weight training have saved me so many countless injuries. But most of all, my knowledge of how to properly care for my body has been a lifesaver in emergency situations. This has been my reason to attend a receive my bachelor's degree in biology and eventually attend medical school. I aim to become a registered sports medicine doctor and create a program that instructs, helps, and cares for young aspiring athletes to keep them in their sport. I hope that all athletes in the future can receive the knowledge of how to take care of themselves and avoid trips to the hospital. I have personally volunteered in a sports medicine clinic and seen how even just a month of training and knowledge can help athletes become more aware of how they can care for their bodies. I hope to work with some local athletic trainers like the ones that have helped change my life as well as therapists and nutritionists. When I look towards the future, I see a new era for youth sports and all parts of health. Athletes such as Michael Phelps, Naomi Osaka, and Simone Biles have demonstrated the importance of an athlete's mental health as much as physical and I know that I can be a part of the change to our society. Even if my ambitions are large, I believe that I can help create a new generation of athletes.

I have twenty-three combined pens, markers, and highlighters in my pencil cup. There is no space for pencils, sharpies, even erasers. But I utilize every single one of those writing devices throughout my nightly homework and no one can stop me from continuing. I have always loved using different colors when taking notes. Pencils don't exactly have the best colors anyways. While my choice brand for colored pens has varied over the years, my color-coded system has never haltered. I always use red and blue for vocabulary words with the latter for the definitions. My trusty purple is for key phrases and points. My dark green is for example while the light green is for the date. Yellow receives minimal use for simple underlining. Lastly, my beautiful orange provides a summarizing sentence. Sure, my homework may take an extra twenty minutes with the color-coded system, but it works in the long run. When I need to review a topic briefly before a test, my eyes know to look for the green and orange words on the page. Highlighting also adds an additional level of fun and entertainment during long lectures and boring passages. Through my use of note-taking, I can stay focused while achieving academic success.

When you have an immediate family member in an economic field, you are bound to talk about money. In my case, I cannot visit my grandfather without my economic future coming up. Though I may complain, I always try to take his advice to heart, even when he forgets my age and experience in the workforce. However, there has always been one piece of advice that I will stand by until I am his age and instructing my grandchildren the same thing. The tip came up while I was driving home from my tedious job as a lifeguard at a somewhat sketchy waterpark. I had just received my first paycheck of the season which was more than I had expected so naturally, I needed to get my grandfather on the line for some advice. After reading him the amount on my paycheck, he surprised me with a minimal number. I immediately questioned what he meant by it, as I had received far more than what he noted. Since then I have always followed his rule when receiving any sum of money. Ten percent of the money would stay in my spending account for "want" money. This includes anything that I simply desire because I am still a child and the newest book or technology device still intrigues me. The next thirty percent would be for things I "need". Typically, this money goes towards the ever-increasing gas prices or school supplies. That leaves me with sixty percent to "save", and use at another time in the future when I direly need it. Thanks to this system, I have been able to get the best out my of hard-earned money and still invest some for the future. While I may not always abide by this system, it is always there for me.

I have been in the same school system for twelve years. Twelve Septembers. Twelve Rosh Hashanah's where we still had school despite it being a major holiday. I was around five or six when I realized this was a problem. Having gone to a Jewish preschool, I was used to spending the important day out of school. However, during that first year at elementary school, I had to explain why I would be missing school to my unhappy teacher. Though she was worried about my learning development, I was adamant about missing school to honor the traditions. Once I entered high school, I felt confident to induce change. One week into the year I timidly entered the principal's office with only a scribbled notecard. I explained our customs and the importance of the school to honor not just holidays of the Christian faith. I was met with a disgruntled response of "not this year". The next year I tried again with more time as the holiday fell in October. I had researched other schools that took off for all religious holidays and the positive impacts. All I wanted was for the school to honor all religious events instead of just one. But alas, I was met with the same response. On my third try, I brought along some fellow students who were forced to choose between an education and religion. No again. I was discouraged but knew I had to continue. I was now fighting for the future generations and no longer myself. I entered the new principal's office with a stack of information and all the confidence in the world. It was my final chance. In the end, I left the office satisfied with an answer of "we will consider". Sometimes even a maybe is a spark for change.

You might think there was no civilization while driving through the Northern Maine wilderness on a snowy December night. Once you get to the part of the massive state where towns become townships, it is difficult to see anything other than a road as you drive along. But if you were to look directly overhead, the reliable telephone poles show that life can exist in even the most rural places. I have always been inspired by the power of electricity. The invention of electricity has changed our lives for the better and created so many life opportunities. Maine's rural nature, as well as the number of inhabited islands, means that so many people have little access to public utilities and opportunities. But since the invention and widespread usage of electricity, toasters could be plugged in instead of rotated over a fire, electric washing machines agitated clothing and linens to clean them, replacing beating, pounding, or hand churning, and the rural population could continue to grow and spread. Electricity has allowed people in rural communities to maintain their traditional culture. With this power, electricity has provided opportunities and ways to simplify life to rural communities around the world. Without it, the world would be a completely different place.

Whenever I post something online or even take my mask off in public, my first response is always about my smile. I have always loved smiling and I'll have to say I am honored to have received such a good pair of facial muscles for it. My mirror at home is decorated with pictures of my smile and those somewhat cheesy motivational slogans that one might find on Pinterest, but I don't care what people may think about it. I believe that smiling, whether inside or out, is a bonding part of humanity. Almost everyone knows how to, or has felt the impacts of a simple smile and I love mine. I have always been told that I have a perfect smile, though I am not sure how much should be accredited to my braces or daily applications of chapstick. But either way, I love my smile and smile. The crinkling of my eyes, upturned corners of my mouth, shiny white teeth glistening. Smiling brings me so much joy in just knowing that I have the power to make someone else smile too. That is what is great about smiling: it has the power to change someone's day. I love that my smile can make others smile with me. Even masks can't prohibit it, as I also love eye-smiling. I believe my goal in life is to make people happy and I am so proud of my smile for helping me to achieve it. Call me crazy, but a simple smile can change a whole day. It takes more muscles to frown anyways. I just really love smiling and my ability to make people happy. It is a fundamental part of who I am, and I wouldn't be myself without my smile.

Thirty-six people sat in the overheated waiting room on the last day of spring 2019. Out of the bunch, a minimal five didn't have a walking support device by their side and only one wasn't legally an adult. I was the only kid in the waiting room. My world spun upside down from just three letters: J, R, A. While only my medically aware mother gasped the first time those letters were uttered, I soon joined her after the internet answered my protruding questions. I entered the joint specialist's office as a child and left as a child with an autoimmune joint disease more known for harming the older population. That night, as I was slowly getting adjusted to my new schedule of medications my mother asked me how I honestly felt about my diagnosis. "I guess you have an elderly daughter now", was my curt response as I took my last opaque pill and stormed off. Looking back on it, I can see how far off my overreaction was. JRA or Junior Rheumatoid Arthritis is more common than the average, not a diseased person, might assume. Over 50,000 children a year go through the same situation of receiving a JRA diagnosis. As the days progressed, I learned the full extent of my disease and how I needed to change. But above all, I thought my diagnosis filled in the last pieces of my puzzle. Why couldn't I push myself up from bed in the morning without pain? JRA. Why couldn't I handstand walk at the playground anymore? JRA. Why was throwing a softball so difficult for me when I had been doing it for years? JRA. But after years of this mentality, I had my reawakening. I was at the same doctor's office, surrounded by people fifty years my senior when it hit me. My situation is comedic gold. A teenager with a disease stereotypically associated with the elderly is hilarious. And on top of that, I was allowing it to change my life? Ridiculous. Once I realized this, everything changed. I found that even though my pain, I could find a way to bring people joy. The thing was, my diagnosis didn't change anything about me. Instead, it became my motivator. I learned how to turn my struggle into a true strength through my love of bringing joy. JRA became a part of my life. It taught me to emphasize with others who were less fortunate to not receive a diagnosis for their problems. It helped me find strength in helping others. Sure, I cannot bend my wrist enough to perform a perfect handstand. But I have learned to do so much more with JRA. I learned how to turn over in bed to wake up in the morning. I learned how to find other exercise outlets like weightlifting instead of handstands. This past fall I was able to deadlift 315 lbs which wouldn't;t have been possible if I hadn't started weight training to help strengthen my joints. Most importantly, I learned that the three letters of my disease do not define who I am but are rather just another integer into the crazy complex equation that makes up my life. JRA has not made me less of who I am, but instead taught me so much and helped shape the person I am and will become as an adult.

I have always loved smiling. It brings people joy. At the end of elementary school, we were asked about our future career ambitions for the yearbook. But I read the question a little differently. Instead of the typical firefighter, astronaut, movie star, athlete, or artist, beneath my square was the phrase: “make people smile.” This has morphed into my secret talent, my identity, my reason to live. There is no limit to how smiles can be obtained and shared. Whether it be creating a rap video for a middle school photosynthesis unit, performing a somersaulting act in ski boots on a -20ºF winter day, or becoming a comedian to a crowd of campers when a thunderstorm stole our electricity. If people are smiling, I know I’ve done my job. My authentic positivity creates a ripple effect. Last year, I had an opportunity to work as an assistant teacher for remote elementary students who couldn’t learn at home. I walked naively into a tense situation but with my smile as a guide. When so many were glued to the news during election week, we took screen breaks and tossed pebbles at patches of ice near the train tracks. When horrifying scenes occupied television screens, we voyaged to a local field and had a snowball fight. My talent took up arms against family illness, food insecurity, falling behind, and language barriers. Yet, the contagious power of a smile guided us through as we waved at everyone we passed on our daily nature walks, and danced in empty grocery parking lots with the shoppers brave enough to venture from their homes. Every day, I strive to make people happy through my powerful smile, or dance moves. If I see someone under the weather, it becomes my goal to bring them joy.