The pandemic had affected all of us in various ways since its start nearly two years ago. Though numerous negative things have happened to me and others during these trying times, there has been a significantly positive influence on my life and aspirations as I think back to what has happened to me during these trying times. Being a person who naturally worries about the world around me and has a hard time slowing down, the pandemic has given me a phenomenal opportunity to realize that many others share my feelings and thoughts, making me realize that we all have similar ways to cope. In addition, the pandemic has put my life on breaks, giving me the time to dedicate my efforts to things I never thought I would enjoy or have time for, such as gardening. Additionally, the pandemic has made me come to terms with the fact that there is no need to rush to get a degree, house, and job; these things come with time. I should appreciate the moments of youth and time that I have now while they are still here to enjoy. What I desire will come in time, but patience is undoubtedly key.

Designs both drive and connect the world through identifiability and commonality! My best skill is design and art, whether it be through characters, shirts, or logos. Designing new and unique designs, specifically shirts, is something that I do regularly as it allows me to express my creativity in numerous ways. Additionally, I actively work on improving my skill by creating new shirt ideas on templates, this includes pants, hoodies, jackets, and other forms of apparel to broaden my skill. Creating designs for shirts that incorporate bold or vibrate colors sharpens my skill of design so that what I make is more appealing to others. I also work on improving my skill by analyzing and studying the most popular shirts by well-known brands to determine what resonates with people best at the time. Doing this allows me to improve my designs by seeing what other good designs look like and have in common so that I can incorporate these similarities into my own work. Pushing myself to create a new design every day improves my ability to make a design on the top of my head. With my skill, I hope to one day establish my own business to create shirts that are both stylish and affordable for the general public and my community.

My name is Deja Hadley, and my passion and never ending drive to understand and practice science drives me towards my dream career and ambitious goals. I am currently a high school graduate attending college pursuing a productive career in the STEM field. I graduated from Doral College with an associate degree and am currently majoring in an area that has always been a great interest of mine, Biology. After achieving my degree, I plan to major in Biomedical engineering to broaden my overall knowledge and opportunities. As an individual, I have always been interested in technological and scientific disciplines from a young age and still have a robust and profound natural curiosity concerning how things in the world work and function. I like to learn about different topics of interest, including marine biology, engineering, environmental conservation, and medicine, in my free time through journals, videos, and documentaries. In addition, I enjoy helping others solve technical problems, and studying the outside environment near me as being helpful to as many people as possible is something I pride myself on. I am interested in a STEM degree as I seek to bring about technological and scientific advancements that will better the average citizen's life. As I possess a natural curiosity and like problem-solving in a technical and mechanical sense, a career in an intellectually stimulating and challenging field that addresses the how and why of the natural world is something I would aim for naturally. Moreover, I wish to bring about changes regarding technology and medicine that will make the lives of others easier at a manageable price. Consumer-grade prosthetics, more effective and precise hospital equipment for diagnosing conditions, and research into more eco-friendly devices for the environment are all research endeavors that I wish to divulge into. A STEM degree will give me the fundamental groundwork in knowledge to further my studies. I plan to positively impact this world by using my degree to make typically unaffordable medical devices much more cost-effective and long-lasting. Research into ways that lessen the human ecological footprint at a large-term scale and habitat and species preservation with the aid of genetic and scientific intervention is another goal to help contribute. My plan with the degree is to establish myself in the scientific (biology specifically) field and expand across multiple disciplines to further my reach with what I learned. With my degree, I seek to advance the lives of all people regardless of economic and financial standing and inspire others like me to follow through the STEM field.

Resiliency has been the driving force for all people in the world during these callous times; I am no different in my drive to rebound after numerous mental and financial setbacks. Yet, that very resiliency is driving me to write this about myself and my work. As an African American woman pursuing a career in the STEM field (biology and medical science), I seek to inspire underrepresented communities into undertaking a similar path as I. I also wish to bring about revolutionary changes in medicine and biology that will benefit all regardless of social standing, despite not having the necessary financial means to remain debt-free in my pursuit of higher education, including not having a vehicle for transportation or the required equipment to conduct research into topics of interest. I still push myself to learn in any way to increase my general knowledge and stand up with my peers academically. I still push myself to maintain my grades through numerous tutoring sessions, hours of self-study, patience, and practice. Medical scares involving myself and my family, financial troubles, and lack of motivation during these times have mentally challenged me in terms of my resolve. Still, I am beyond determined to provide for my family through a stable career. Starting side ventures to support my family and me has become a regular staple in my life, which has also brought about other issues. I take these setbacks in stride as I have learned that letting mistakes and failure slow you down will prevent you from achieving your ultimate goals. With my degree in biology, I intend to diverge into medical science with my ultimate goal to contribute to medical research and equipment engineering. I wish to show my passion and prowess through my research, getting my name and mission out to underrepresented communities. In addition, I wish to serve as an example that those like me are more than capable of advancing the field of biology. Inventions into common medical diseases such as Diabetes (something a close family member to me suffers from) by me will not only benefit communities struck by adverse situations by bringing light to such issues. But also show people in communities not represented in STEM fields of research that people like them are capable of incredible feats in the name of advancing public health as someone like them from a similar social or ethical background has already done so. I want to use my degree to uplift the poorly represented by actively encouraging them to participate in fields where they are not familiar. Success will come to them through resiliency from failure and determination and joy towards the little victories they make along their path. I am still not yet close to where I desire to be in my career. Still, I will remain resilient and steadfast in my resolve to pass my test no matter the material, regardless of any failures, and despite the mental strain to get where I need to be so that others can follow in the path I carve.

I have been overwhelmed with feelings of anxiety and stress during these times, especially during the pandemic. As a result, I had lost the spark I had towards going out and spending time with people; I no longer wished to engage in the activities I used to enjoy. Upon realizing how my mental and physical health was being affected, I decided to take my health back into my own hands by practicing self-care. To start, I have recently begun to take relaxing walks around my community which has allowed me to meet people I would have never met had I stayed in the house and appreciate the nature around me. In addition, I have taken back up drawing and sketching to express my emotions through pictures and am exercising moderately to keep healthy and happy. Exercising allows me to stay consistent in my health which has dramatically increased my overall mood. Additionally, I have created a schedule that keeps me from becoming overwhelmed with my work life while still giving me time to engage in my activities and hobbies to unwind. I have corrected my sleeping schedule to now sleep at an appropriate time, which provides me with energy to go about my day and more time to do productive activities. Taking up cooking healthy meals and tending to a new garden is a practice of self-care that I now participate in to improve my overall well-being. I have found that taking care of myself has improved and impacted my life entirely by giving me a new perspective of what is essential and what should and shouldn't be focused on. I have learned that self-care is a way to reground yourself in a stressful time and should always be practiced healthily as it has made me a happier person overall.

In one of the lowest and darkest abyssal periods in my life, a beacon of light in the form of a friend friend reached down to me and pulled me back up and out of that hole I couldn't myself. A friend is, to me, an extension of oneself and a member of one's family. A friend is someone who you can confide in, rely on, and talk to about things that can't be shared with others. I have always held my friends close to me as they push me along in my life towards my goals, and I do the same for them; not doing so would be a disservice to the many things that friends sacrifice to keep you stable and on track. One's first network to the world starts with the friends they have in their life; friends serve as a building foundation for further exposure to the world around you so that you and others can grow and learn. I value friendship so greatly as sharing friendship with another is equal to opening up a new novel. Friendship is the ability to learn a unique story and about life experiences about another person and see new pages being written as your friend, and you grow as people. Friendship allows me and others to share dreams, goals, hobbies, and wisdom. Friendship enables me to influence those around me to be better people through my actions and vice versa. Most importantly, friendship allows me and my friends to express flaws as individuals with others so that we can find acceptance or work to better ourselves to become better people overall. The compassion and love that comes from friendship is incomprehensible and unmatched and is something that I will always treasure in my life.

The planet that we inhabit is one of none and beautifully unique and dynamic. I am currently studying biology and hope to study environmental biology in the future. Environmental policy changes that I would seek to enact would be the requirement for all multinational or international businesses that rely heavily on various forms of transportation such as planes or shipping trucks to have to use land vehicles that rely primarily (or at least partially) on electric energy. This would drastically reduce the carbon/ecological footprint of productions that are widely dispersed. A second policy change that I would implement would be the conversion from oil and gas energy to a more economically friendly fuel such as solar or wind energy to maintain operations such as factories. To accomplish this, operations would slowly replace already occupied land with solar panels or wind turbines so as not to have to develop more land. Cleaner sources of energy will cut down on pollution byproducts that oil and gas create. Pushing policies such as this on a wide scale will lead to higher productivity outputs and lower pollution levels as there will be less reliance on physical, non-renewable products. In addition, a policy like this on a broader scale will encourage people to seek better ways to improve this technology to make it more efficient and increase productivity. A third policy change that I would implement would be to create a policy that would push for the requirement of environmentally friendly and up-to-date technological equipment. Using equipment that can keep up with consumer demand while also not relying on or producing polluting energy sources will make levels of greenhouse gases gradually lower over time as the equipment becomes more commonplace in agriculture and industry. A fourth major environmental policy that I feel would also help aid in helping the climate crisis is a policy that would place a limit on the amount of oil or gas energy a business or company could utilize based on its size. The limit would serve to make sure that once a limit is hit, sustainable and eco-friendly sources of energy can be used to fulfill the remaining needs of corporations. The limits can be set by state and federal laws or by a secondary committee to make sure that more giant corporations have a fair limit compared to smaller ones. This policy ensures that no matter the type or size of the business, there is always a set limit on the amount of harmful energy sources used and a continual stream of reliant and efficient energy utilized.

As a child, I have always had an active imagination. As a result, I could and can still find fictional beauty in mundane, daily objects. I can see all sorts of creatures and objects in the clouds of the sky. Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee is my favorite book. It touches on that childlike wonder that I still possess through a creative and engaging story set in Korea during its occupation by Japan in a fictional society. Phoenix Extravagant pushes a compelling story that touches on what one is willing to do to provide for those they care about, regardless of morality and justification. The story is enriched with story themes such as mystery, whimsy, and humor that better solidifies the plot. I have always been attracted to fictional stories with nonfictional elements that help ground the story and make it easier to visualize. The story features a gender-neutral main character, which I had never seen in a piece of literature up to that point, and I found it made it easier for me as the reader to connect with them and place myself in the story. Throughout the story, there was numerous moral conflicts and realistic situation that many could relate to such as the need for money to support a family; this leads to the character taking the job that directly pushed the plot forward. I loved the substantial use of complex yet straightforward vocabulary that helped build a more robust world and characters, and I found that the experimental choices the author used made it all the better.