Mental health is incredibly paramount to every individual's existence. It defines how we react to situations in so many ways, but particularly in our social interactions and our beliefs. In my life, I've regularly and directly dealt with the consequences of depression. Though it is something that impacts who I am as a whole individual, it does not define my entire existence. In terms of goals, I've struggled quite a lot maintaining my commitments to them without external motivation. Though I am very good at establishing and keeping up with routines, the end products sometimes are often a hurdle to reach. To combat this struggle, I turn to my interpersonal relationships. Through the last 2 years in college, I've learned that you really learn who your friends are when you're going through tough times. They're the ones that stick with you no matter what. In my many battles with mental health, I've always had people to turn to- even when I might not want to. Many of them have learned how to detect changes in my actions and offer assistance more directly as a result. In a way, I feel that my friendships are strengthened by my most vulnerable times, as those who care for me are able to anchor me to the ground in such cases. In terms of world view, my outlook tends to likely be more bleak than others as a result of the factors affecting my mental health. When you're dealing with hard times, it can feel like everyone and everything has gone wrong in a way. Almost as if you as an individual are the cause of strides that are very much outside your control. Thankfully, not all is as bad as it may seem. It is again through my closest friends that I hold to a beacon of hope for the world, as I know so long as I have my close companions, there will always be some light in this world. Though the United States and global community have a long way to go in terms of destigmatizing and supporting those who struggle with mental health, I hold out hope that others will be able to find support networks similar to my own. It is through a sense of community that we become a part of something larger than ourselves. In a way, portions of the theory of Collectivism suggested by philosopher Jean-Jaques Rousseau in his Social Contract apply to this. His argument that the people can work together to provide for a better outcome for the individual is a mixed theory. Though individuals can attempt to advocate for themselves, it is significantly more effective to advocate for the individual by speaking up for and with the whole of society. If the global community is able to do this, we can care more easily for those in need. In summary, mental health will always be a part of what makes us whole, both in positive and negative ways. It is what forms our actions and ideologies through life. If we can take those feelings and shape them into unified ideas with the help of our communities, we can work with one another to improve the lives of all.

The song "Home" by Phillip Phillips has always reached me deeply, but particularly recently as I've entered college. The core message lies in the fact that no matter where you may be in life, you can always find a place to call home through those you love. And even when you may feel lonely, you can always find someone going through similar struggles who can help you along your way. For so many years, at any point when I would be away from home for an extended period, this song provided me the solace and comfort I needed to carry on. On extended school trips away and when camping, I would listen to this song to remind me of those who cared for me, and to keep in mind that there was always hope. I continue to hang on to the line, "The trouble, it might drag you down- if you get lost, you can always be found." It helped me to realize that no matter how bad things may seem, no one is beyond recovery, even at their lowest points.

The online community has heavily modified how we as humans interact with one another. Within both virtual and real-life interactions, our society has shifted heavily from formalities in conversation to brief and sometimes sharp quips in passing. A large part of this has to do with the anonymity of the digital space as a whole, particularly through the lens of video games. Having personalities online that vary from those presented in our real lives has drastically changed the moral and social implications of our words. Simply put, hiding behind screens using only text-based messages and/ or voices that we can bend to to our own wills with personal modification has made it where there is a lesser degree of accountability held to our online actions. Watching gaming spaces and how they've evolved as I've aged has been both an incredibly amazing and painful experience simultaneously. Though it has been exciting to observe developments in how individuals can play and interact with each other across the world, it has also been incredibly harrowing discerning the rise of toxicity within gaming communities. In the early years of online gaming before the advent of voice chat, players were typically bound to certain pre-set callouts of help and/ or anger, bound by developers' will. But with the advent of live chat came extreme consequences. Though getting to know teammates through live voice and text chat in many games has formed social bonds that can last, it has also allowed a descent into unbridled rage that is publicly visible. I don't have much experience with the largely first-person games that involve these live chats, but I have observed many friends' matches over the years within these spaces. Although it can be quite fun to have banter with your friends or enemies in-game, sometimes extreme boundaries are reached. This typically involves harsh expletives, shouting, and in some severe cases, the throwing of slurs. There is to be expected, of course, some lighthearted anger in losing. Unfortunately, those methods of outcry are typically used in attempts to hurt other players and gain an advantage through psychological damage. Through all this, some questions arise: why has this become accepted to an extent? What can be done to avoid such severe instances in the future? Finally, how does this affect each of us? The acceptance of aforementioned intensities in game matches has somehow worked its way into "gamer culture". This unfortunately occurred due to their prevalence for so many years without being curtailed. Sadly, this is in large part a result of my generation. So what can we do? We can begin with content moderation of gaming communities- it will take vast amounts of people and time, but with work, we can embrace better mutualistic contacts online that will lead to more appropriate real-life interactions. We can't expect a walkback on all vulgarities, of course, but at the very least they can be further discouraged. Implementation of such will help future generations learn to be more respectful to one another in all instances. So how are we all affected by the current online gaming interactions, and what can improving these do for our future? There will always be those who play online games amongst large groups, so their interactions in such communities will affect each of us extensively. By improving online gaming contacts between individuals, we can make for a better real world through diminishing toxicity culture in meaningful ways. The diminution of such vulgar gaming interactions will lead to a more refined social environment in our lives, both immediately and in the distant future.

For my entire life, I have always known that I wanted to pursue some form of degree related to STEM. Over the span of many years the specific disciplines I've wanted to study have changed, but the core idea of STEM has been maintained. Above all, robotics ended up triumphing over other options. How did I land in STEM? It all began in elementary school with my technology instructor. She instilled in me a permanent interest in computer technologies and electronics as a whole. Why robotics, then? That passion all started in 5th grade, ironically enough through a brand responsible for creativity and building blocks as a whole- LEGO. More specifically, my tech teacher introduced a small crew of us to the Mindstorms set of programmable robots. We started building our robots based on the instruction manual to move on a 4-wheel drive, then later progressed to functional sensors and arm subsets to perform various tasks of our own creative builds. My research into the various areas of robotics was initiated during the project portion of middle school competitive robotics. Our team was a part of the FIRST Lego League, an amateur-level competition with both basic robotics on competition fields and real-world theoretical applications through project-based research. As I started researching for the projects, from mechatronics to animatronics and more, I knew I had found my future place in the world. I studied the principles of robotics as a whole, how they could apply to the real-world needs of the projects, and what the probable constraints were based on the technology of the time. This is when I really discovered just how many niches robotics could fill- and I knew that I would fit in perfectly based on what I'd done so far with the help of my teams. The full scale of my robotics journey was not yet realized until high school. I went to a school out of my zone for the robotics academy program. Through this, I took both core and subject-based classes with other robotics and programming students. At the same time, I continued working with a competitive team at a higher level, this time through VEX Robotics. I was simultaneously learning engineering principles and their direct applications through the combination of classwork and extracurricular competition preparations. This is when I truly dialed in the field I wanted to study- animatronics engineering. For many years I found myself obsessed with animatronics at multiple levels- all the way from the simple motion figures you could find at local arcades to advanced lifelike ones found in theme and amusement parks. Though I am not the best at conveying my emotions, I can always identify with those who program and build various animatronics. They express characters’ emotions in so many lifelike ways, all through simple mechanical clicks and whirs. With an advanced understanding of robotics principles through college education, I intend to follow in those engineers’ footsteps and convince audiences of the emotion and artistry behind animatronic figures.

An educated state of affairs is the best way to keep an open mind. Without any continued form of education, we as a society would become stagnant and regress. So why is this so-called "higher education" so important to me specifically? I find it best to maintain a set of principles aligned with the continued advancement and preservation of our world as a whole. In both a historical and modern sense, there have always been and will continue to be many who wish to put others down simply for their identities, beliefs, or other traits of existence. It is my philosophy that we should accept those whom others won't, challenge the normal and established structure of how things are simply based on tradition, and better the lives of ourselves and others. It has always been a goal of mine to continue reading and expanding my knowledge in every way possible. Without any forms of higher education, we would have a lesser understanding of the positives of the world around us- life's mysteries, its people, its cultures, and its triumphs. Though each individual has differing limits, we must care for one another as best we can by furthering our knowledge established in each of those areas. By continuing onward in life solely based on the limited nature of our high school educations we would simply be lost creatures doomed to repeat the transgressions of those who came well before us. Therefore, from my perspective, every individual must seek outside information from the means that they have come to know. Varying sources and comparing data is key to continued research in any regard. In my case, for research, I specifically search for at least one counterargument to all points and attempt to understand how they reached their conclusions. It is especially important in the case of wrongful actions to discover what led to the unfolding events- and how best to avoid the same unfortunate course. The underlying reason behind education as a whole is to overcome bias- whether it be a personal misunderstanding about oneself or achieving what was previously believed to be an unreachable goal. So why do I hold such a high standard to my educational needs? I believe that education is not only a journey of furthering your knowledge but also a journey of self-discovery. In the time of my gap year, I was lost on where to go and what to do, simply skating by without a true sense of purpose. Now that the details of college have been sorted for me, the flame of intrigue and information has been rekindled in me- a passion that will be forever essential to my nature.

2020 was in no way an optimal year for any individual, but it was most certainly a time to reflect on the state of our personal lives and our connections with the world around us. From an individual perspective, I entered a period of my best personal growth despite challenging and different circumstances than had been encountered before. I took more time to learn about how to communicate with others even in crisis. I finally recognized the importance of understanding the individual identities of others, and how to respect them no matter how different they may be in comparison to me. But most of all, I learned how to better work with my family in a close manner for more extended periods. As soon as we first entered the period where schools, businesses, and various other facilities were closing across the country, I recognized that I had a responsibility to check in on others as much as possible no matter the circumstances. This is because we didn't know when or if we would ever be able to see each other again in the same fashion. Therefore, I created a small group conversation with as many friends as I could reach out to. We talked to each other on video, trying to virtually hold hands in solidarity with one another. Despite the fact that the statement "we're all in this together" grew somewhat tiring, it has always applied and will continue to apply to this life that we have been given. Every human has the responsibility to take care of one another, each and every day that we are alive on this Earth. We may never realized the impact that one small action towards another person may have, and we therefore must strive to be the best we can be in our relations with each other. I will always remember from 2020 not the things that I lost, but the things that I gained. Particularly highlighted experiences would be our last family trip (for a long time, that is) into distant mountains- seeing the natural beauty of our world put our minds at ease, if only for a short period of time. We were able to take in wondrous views and amazing places that we may never have thought of, simply because we had been given the opportunity to explore in a strangely warped- yet I believe necessary- way. 2020 did not change my future plans to any extreme extent, but I most certainly realized that no path in life is truly certain. Even in an average year, there will always be some hurdles on our journey that we must overcome. As such, I created for myself many backup plans for what I could do, some being simple but creative while others were daring and brash. The overall point that stuck with me the most from last year is that though some outside factors may knock your life entirely off its normal course, what you internalize as lessons from those experiences will help you forever. Each and every day that we live is a gift, and in no way should we take them for granted. For the remainder of 2021, it is my goal to use this knowledge to better serve both my local community and the world stage as a whole- both by my individual actions and by activism in solidarity with others.

Adversity is to a great extent a part of the human experience. I've no doubt had a fair share of it, as has my entire family. My greatest triumph over such issues has been in the last two years of high school. I have managed to overcome my issues with depression by networking with school counselors and teachers, family, and friends. One particular instance where depression hit me hardest was in the winter of Junior year. As are common symptoms, I lost all my motivation, was constantly tired, and wanted to entirely isolate myself in the well of my own problems. I had almost completely given up hope on the outlooks of my future- career, college, or more realistically most everything. But I did not lose all hope, for I had 2 things which I enjoyed still on my side- Concert Choir and the Robotics club. Through speaking with the teachers of those courses, my counselor, and my parents, I finally understood the drastic impact that my grades at the time could have on continuing to pursue such freedom of opportunities in the future. From that moment onward, there was a change in how I acted from an educational perspective- rather than looking too far ahead to what I could be doing, I needed to focus on what was at hand presently. I dedicated as much time as I possibly could to the pursuit of my studies, and I managed to pass through that semester with satisfactory grades. I'd made it to my goal- passing the 3rd quarter of the year. With the fears of that time behind me, I could then relax and smoothly coast through the remainder of the year, albeit cut short due to COVID. When I returned for the Fall of my Senior year, I was a changed individual. I took more time to check in on my friends, as I knew some were probably struggling as I had before. No longer would I hide my emotions, the problems that I was facing. I would meet them head-on and encourage others to do the same. What did I learn after all that time? Press forward in what you are presently focused on, no matter how hard the journey may seem. Don't reflect too hard on what happened in the past or may come in the future, as those events will further complicate things beyond what you need to focus on. And finally, accept help when you need it, as you don't want to wait until it is too late to do so. In regards to my future career, I believe that the same applies as a type of life advice. You may never know what will come in the days beyond where you are, so take advantage of what you have in front of you while you can. And most of all, never give up on even your most staggering of goals.

I looked at what appeared to be an insurmountable height. But I knew the experience coming down would far exceed my initial fears. Despite my fear of heights, I decided to tackle the rappelling tower for the first time. Similar to how I'd tackled a Zipline ladder 2 years prior, I flew down the tower and right back up to rappel again. I had overcome what had previously seemed unfathomable- a wooden tower slowly swaying in the wind, the breeze greeting me as I slid back down to the ground. I had finally made my fear all for naught.