My best friend has been by my side since I was born. They have been through my side my entire life. They’ve seen my many downs, but also the ups that each day brings. As cliche as it sounds, they have made me into the person I am today. Without them, I really don’t know where I would be. My best friend is someone I can’t live without, and I am immensely blessed to have them in my life. When I was younger, my best friend and I had the time of our lives. We would always hang out with each other, eat together, and spend the night together all the time. We were inseparable. As I continued to age and enter school, there were some times when I made other friends and would push my best friend away. I loved playing with my other friends so much that I slowly started to see my best friend less and less. We still had a strong connection, but it was obvious we had grown apart. As I entered my teen years, my best friend and I began to never see eye to eye. We would get into arguments about almost everything. I thought that they were dragging me down and wouldn’t let me be my own person. I was so frustrated with them and their actions that I would ignore whatever advice given, and just talk to the friends I had besides them. After the first few weeks of high school, I was able to make a lot of new friends- more than I ever had. With all my new friends, I really forgot about my original best friend. Sure, we still hung out, but it was not the same as before. I loved my new peers and some even became my new best friends. However, as high school slowly faded, those best friends that I thought I made moved on and had other friends they were closer with. After so many friendships ending, I knew that I needed to talk with my original best friend. They always knew exactly what to say to cheer me up. Almost everyday after school, I would be in my kitchen patiently waiting. I was constantly looking up at the front door and seeing if it would open. When the time finally came, hearing the garage open and the car pull into the garage, I knew my best friend was finally home. There walks in my original best friend, the one who has been with me since the beginning- my mom. My mom is my best friend, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. She has been there for me for everything: when I was five and needed a band-aid, when I was 14 and first transitioning to high school, and even now when I am 19 and just need someone to talk to while in college. I have made new friends here and enjoy my time with them, but I always come back to my mom someway. Whether it's texting, calling, or sending her memes on social media, I am always in contact with her. She is so important to me because she has always done what is best for me and I am so thankful for her every single day. My mom helps me with any and everything she can. Of course, she makes me do things on my own so I can get that adult experience, but she is always there on the sidelines if I ever fail. My mom is and forever will be my best friend.

Ever since I was younger, I have loved to be around animals. It never mattered where I was at- I would always find a way to see or pet some sort of animal. Growing up on my family's dairy farm had certainly assisted my infatuation with animals. In addition, I have had many childhood pets that I loved and cared for with everything I had in me. These driving forces and more are what ended up driving me to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Out on our family dairy, we had hundreds of animals out there. There were cows, goats, pigs, and so many cats. Whenever my dad would bring me out there with him to be his helper for the day, I would always run off to see the animals. Whether it was giving the calves their daily bottles or petting the cats, I would always be spotted with those creatures. I was even nicknamed “baby cat” by my family because I would randomly start meowing to impersonate cats to come closer to me. Although there were many fun times out there, as I got older, I understood that there were some days that were less enjoyable than others. I would see animals get sick or so badly injured that there was nothing to be done to help them. Seeing the pain that some of these animals went through, I knew that I wanted to be the one to try and help them. My experiences out of my family’s dairy fueled my love for animals, while at the same time was the first push I can really think of that led me to where I am today. Beyond my family’s farm, my passion for animals was present when I was at home. One of my first pets was an orange and white cat; and, because I was a very smart five-year-old, I named him Birthday Cake. He was the best cat I ever had. We adopted him (well, he actually adopted us) when the housing market crashed in 2008 and my neighbors packed all their things and moved from our cul-de-sac. We had him for over 10 years, until 2020 when we had to put him down because he had a bad cancer infection in his eye. Seeing him be put down is something that I will never forget; and, although I was very upset it happened, I was glad he wasn’t suffering anymore. After that event, I think that’s when I really knew that I wanted to become a veterinarian. I wanted to be the one to help other animals in need. Whether it be helping them get better from a small illness or putting them out of whatever misery they were in, I wanted to try and help the best I could. Though these events may seem insignificant, they were something so big that they ended up shaping me into the person I am today. As I have gotten older, I have started to get some experience in the veterinary field by shadowing veterinary technicians at my relatives' local vet clinic. There I have been able to learn about the ups and downs that come with working in this sort of field. My choice to study veterinary medicine is rooted in my love and passion for animals. I hope to one day, in the future, fulfill my career decision and help those animals who bring love and happiness into our everyday lives.

Orbiting the sun; this is a constant process the Earth does, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Just like the Earth, my life revolves around the sun, however; in my case, the sun would be agriculture. My entire life has orbited around dairy farming since I was born. Growing up, I have had numerous agricultural experiences, from my family’s farming business to Westside 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA). My involvement in these experiences has helped me continuously learn how vital and ceaseless the practice of agriculture is to humanity. That is why my experiences within the realm of agriculture have unquestionably shaped me into the person I am today. I live in Gustine California, a very small town in the middle of the central valley. My family owns a couple of dairies, and I grew up involved in the “ins and outs” of the business throughout my childhood. I would always try to be with my dad pushing in feed or riding the big tractors. At present, I now work at the dairy in the office by performing administrative tasks such as filing paperwork. I also perform more laborious work such as helping with vet-check when the veterinarian comes to observe the cows every two weeks. Once I was a member of the Westside 4-H, I got my first-ever show calf. To put it shortly, she was the craziest calf my family had seen in a while. She would not budge when we tried to walk her and would even get into things she wasn't supposed to. This calf certainly taught me how to remain determined and to push through those challenges. When it finally came to shows, I knew I was prepared to do the best I could because of the dedication, effort, and preparation I put into her. Being a part of FFA was a memorable experience I was able to have during my high school years. From state and national conferences to showing, I was regularly involved in the FFA organization. Every school year since freshman year, I would pack my schedule with as many agricultural classes as I could.These hands-on experiences helped me understand the importance of agriculture and how it is related to our everyday lives. I was not only able to develop an appreciation for agriculture through these clubs, but it helped me learn what I want to do in my career. As I sit here at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) as a first year Animal Science student, I look back and remember that I have always loved the animal part of agriculture. Whether it was feeding calves with bottles or helping give medication to sick animals, I was always engaged and interested in being with them. My goal is to work towards becoming a veterinarian so that I can continue to work with animals and assist with their well-being. Though I don't know if I want to work with small or big animals yet, I know that I will always take my roots in agriculture and apply them to that career. As I get older, I hope to be able to spread the importance of agriculture to others who aren’t able to have the experiences that I had. Explaining to them the importance of agriculture and how it is the foundation for humanity, would help others learn just how virtual this industry is. Agriculture has such an infinite amount of value, and if the world doesn’t value this, then it would be like the Earth has stopped orbiting the Sun.