When one thinks of making the world a better place a humanitarian or even social aspect may surface with technology. Why not take a trip down memory lane and even experience a bit of nostalgia for a while with the incorporation of the PlayStation 2. Playing the PlayStation 2 has been a core memory for me with sitting in my parent's room playing Tekken 3 with my brother trying to remember all of the button combos to use in order to get King, the pro-wrestling character, to do special moves in order to get to the K.O. There was even JAKX, the racing game that taught me a lot of patience and the fact that not everything is going to come easy, sometimes you need to practice a bit or even try something outside of the box in order to get you where you want to go. The PlayStation 2 provided me with hours of entertainment and a healthy way to destress after school while also fostering connections with many of my friends and siblings. As far as technological advancement, the PlayStation 2 was pushing the boundaries of home entertainment systems in gaming and multimedia technologies, and thus helped to influence creativity, storytelling, music, art, and ultimately played a role in shaping contemporary culture. There is a catalog of revolutionary technologies that helped make the world a better place, and the PlayStation 2 should be on that list as it has undoubtedly enriched many lives with it contributions towards the social, cultural, and technological implementations it has steered ever since I was still learning button combos.

Leadership has been a concept that I had such a narrow view of growing up because I did not know that in me helping my classmates with their math homework or studying with one of my friends in band class just so they could feel comfortable about the test coming up was me displaying leadership. It wasn’t until I got into high school that I became an advocate in my community by joining a volunteering organization under the name of spirit girls and becoming an ambassador in my high school where I realized that I am more than capable of obtaining a leadership position all while being myself. This propelled me into my journey of being elected president of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) at my university. I was also honored to be selected as a Bagley College of Engineering Ambassador. So, the question remains of which one of these moments of my life would I consider to be my greatest achievement to date, and for that, I would have to say being president of NSBE. Being able to combine my passion for volunteering that stemmed from my time in high school as a spirit girl with the ability to make change within my community as a leader with the ambassador program was exactly what I needed in college to be able to give a positive impact in multiple members’ lives. Whether it be just a conversation to ease their minds about a test that was coming up, doing monthly mental check-ins, or inviting a company to come to speak about the many opportunities that they could offer to our members with an internship, co-op, or job, many people were able to take away something useful that they could use as encouragement to continue to excel in the future. This is a key idea that I tried to implement within the middle school students that I tutored in mathematics just last year as I have done with many of the members that I had the privilege of talking to while I was still president. Change comes in many different waves, and I learned that open communication and allowing myself to be vulnerable about where I was in life could help others be real with themselves about their journey and know that no one has to go about challenges and obstacles alone as long as they can have a community to help them. This mindset and drive to help others mixed with my love for technology is a component I hope to successfully develop in the future where I can achieve a way to help more students that may need a community to turn to when they may be needing a conversation or two to help lift their spirits.

I remember doing a summer reading program from when I was a small kid through high school, but it was when I read Island of the Blue dolphins by Scott O'Dell one summer that I truly was inspired. Island of the Blue dolphins is a story where a 12 year old girl named Karana has to learn how to survive on an island by herself for years with multiple obstacles. Being only a couple of years younger than Karana, the idea of having to face the death of a brother while still making the necessary tools to survive was a bit bewildering to me. Being the youngest in my family, I always had older siblings to watch over me much like Karana watched over and protected her younger brother. The whole reason she was left on the island is because she didn't want to leave her brother by himself, and to have that much love to make such a quick and life altering decision was very inspiring to me. Karana was a character that held a resounding amount of forgiveness and even took in one of the wild dogs that could have been responsible for her brother's death, and they became close companions. This was just one of the examples of forgiveness that she had shown throughout the book, and Scott O'Dell did an amazing job in creating a children's book that would not only be entertaining, but would help kids like I was at the time learn the difficult journey of forgiveness through time, understanding, and trust.

I have been reading from an author by the name of George C. Fraser who reminded me to give unto others and to keep giving until it hurts. If it does not hurt, then that would mean that I have not been giving enough. I have taken his words and the countless stories of people inspired by him into consideration because I want to be able to be that selfless where I can be in the position to help others and change lives. My first step in my commitment to helping others is to educate myself so that I can return that knowledge to my family and friends and the next generation. I actually am a virtual math tutor to 8th grade students in Texas, and I teach them during their school hours everyday in my free time from school and my other jobs, so that I can make sure that I am at least making an impact somehow in the public educational system. Thinking of my family and students' futures and the direction I would like my life to go is how I am going to stay committed to helping others because it is no longer my life that is going to be impacted.

Being a student that is majoring in Computer Engineering, I don't have many examples of success in this major from females let alone minority females in my field. I speak my mind on how my journey is going because I always have the thought in my mind that my honesty throughout my story will ring true to another person that may be a minority female trying to accomplish a degree in Computer Engineering or just an Engineering degree in a predominantly white school in the future. I am a math tutor for 8th grade students through TEACH For America, and 60% of my students are female. I am staying committed to speaking my mind because I could have an impact on anyone of my students in how they are going to be in the future. I want them to see someone who is freely speaking their mind and choosing to make their opinion and feelings known.

I would get an oil change for my car since my code displayed on my dashboard last night after work. I would then put 70% of it into my savings, and I am not doing much for Spring break except hanging out with my family, so I would treat my sister out for dinner. I signed up to go to the National Society of Black Engineers National Convention the week after my Spring Break, so I would reserve some money for food and the shuttle since we have to pay out of pocket for those costs. I noticed that the further I get into college, the more practical my spending habits have become because a part of the college experience is having to take on new responsibilities. With that being said, I have recently been taking into account my mental well-being, and I would also buy myself some more candles and a yoga mat so that I could continue doing meditation in a more comfortable environment. I have an internship this upcoming summer in a different city from where I live, so I have been saving up for the cost that are going to come with that transition, and the $1,000 would be a big help for me.

I actually was interested in meditation and good breathing techniques, but I never had much experience with what that would actually look like. I just recently joined a 3 day event called SKY Campus Happiness Retreat where I am learning how to destress for 3 hours at a time. I just finished the first day, and I can already tell that my muscles are less tense, and my headache is no longer there from yesterday. To put it more simply, I am taking care of my mental health by proactively giving my time and effort into doing specific techniques designed to help one have more positive energy and be a bit more calm. I could say sleeping helps me relax, but I also like to read since that gives me a sense of peace to allow my mind to follow a journey within the book. The most important aspect to consider when thinking of mental health and relaxation is your intent, and I intend on building on the ways of improving myself and my mental health as well.