When I used to watch teen coming-of-age movies the topic of drug use was inevitable. When I watched these shows I didn't truly understand how bad drug use is, I would think it was cool due to the high level of romanticizing producers added. Beginning high school I started seeing drug and alcohol use firsthand with my peers. I saw this era as my Hollywood era, I thought ‘wow, this is just like the movies I saw’. Over time, I truly started seeing the reality that is the usage of drugs. It was normalized to start doing drugs in high school that I became immune. I didn't care that I would go into the bathroom to find a group of students smoking weed or other drugs. I would laugh when a friend would jokingly bring alcohol instead of water in their bottle. It wasn't until I started seeing my friends having withdrawal symptoms from just going 3 days without weed or alcohol that I started realizing that it wasn't a little joke, it was dangerous. My best friend started high school by being in soccer, with good grades, social, etc., the 'perfect' student per se. I was happy for him and all his accomplishments, but I didn't realize the image he had was false. Before college I moved and we started video chatting and talking for hours. During these calls, I would notice smoke through the camera and I was surprised when my friend mentioned it was weed. He said it helped him focus, relax, and have fun. He mainly said it was to relax because a lot was going on. It got to the point where he would smoke more than 5 blunts per day, when I realized his high level of intake I spoke to him about taking a break, to slow down, do something else besides smoking because it was getting out of hand. It was no longer just a small drug, he had become dependent on weed. It got to a level where weed stopped helping him relax because he had built such a high tolerance. Being unphased by weed he started trying other high-risk drugs that would ‘help’ him get back that feeling of tranquility. With trying other substances, the change in his personality was impossible to be unphased by the happy-athletic guy I used to know was now tired constantly and had moments of deliria. Seeing my best friend go through this change caused the curtain of the romanticized drug aesthetic Hollywood had put into my mind to fall. It's not romantic or a "vibe", it's perilous. My best friend’s mental health worsened over time and it got to the point that he was under the influence every day to avoid feeling depressed. It all came crashing down when he mixed different drugs and caused an accidental overdose. I was distraught when I got the call, I felt like a failure for not being able to help him. He began going to rehab and I was closer to him than ever. I wanted him to understand that I was there for him and I took him under my wing. I would avoid all topics that might trigger him, stay up late to talk with him when he felt like relapsing, and help him in any way. I matured from my previous mindset during this time I stopped being so naive to what I would see online, refused to fall into peer pressure, and worked on my mental health. Drugs almost took my best friend and I refuse to let them have any more power.

I'm interested in pursuing a degree in STEM because ever since I was in elementary I loved science. Anything science related I was excited to learn about. When I took biology in middle school I knew that this was what I wanted to do. In high school I was in a club for climate change awareness and I was a taking a marine biology class. With these two things combined I realized I wanted to go into the research field for marine biology, the ocean takes a huge part in fighting climate change but it needs help due to human disturbance. I hope to accomplish much research in biology and contribute in fighting climate change and restoring the oceans health. The aquatic species are also overlooked due to there being the difference of them being in a whole different environment. I think these animals should still be studied we could definitely learn a lot from them considering we live in the same planet yet on two different environments. I want to accomplish research on aquatic animals that hasn't been done before. We could definitely learn a lot from these animals especially the ones in the deep sea that could help us in the future. Understanding these animals will also help us understand the vast life under the ocean Considering the abiotic factors the ocean helps combat climate change due to the high amount of levels of CO2 consumption it absorbs. I feel like we are barely scratching the surface of the impact the ocean has in our environment. I want to help further investigate the impact the ocean has on us and how it helps us benefit. Not only with the matter of climate change but any other mystery that might arise. There just seems to be so many questions to be answered and hypotheses to be tested. With pursuing this STEM career I hope to discover more about the planet we live in and the animals we share this planet with.

With staying committed to speaking one's mind, you stay committed to your true self. In these recent times we are overwhelmed with social media, news, information, etc. It can be easy to feel small and be silenced. I like to sometimes take a break from environments that I feel that silence me and discourage me. I take a minute and just remember who I am, what I believe in, and remind myself that I won't be silenced. It's important to take a minute to collect yourself because then I feel ready and confident to speak out in what I believe and not be afraid to share my opinion or an idea. I stay committed to speaking my mind by reminding myself that silence gets people no where, it doesn't motivate growth.