Something that has always interested me is sports and outdoor activities. When I was younger, my family and I would go camping at different lakes, beaches, and deserts to relax and get away from the house. I remember my mom always having me do some type of sports activity after school to get all my energy out for that day. As I grew up, I started doing dance, volleyball, gymnastics, swim team, soccer; I was an active kid but tried so many different sports that I never got good at just one. I noticed when I got old the more my family went camping the less time I had for sports. When I got to high school, I cheered for all four years and the Stunt team for three years. This year I am in my senior year, and it is my last year doing cheer and stunt at the high school level. I will be doing stunt at the college level but the memories of going to practice on Friday and then right after late at night driving to the camping spot will be something I miss the most. As I have grown up over the years and have been lucky enough to live in the same house all my life, I realized that my interest has changed throughout the years. I know this is just me growing up but the sports that I was interested in when I was a kid brought me to where I am today. My interests outside of school are camping in a fifth wheel and going on new adventures. My interest is finding new adventures to go on and whether that may be sports or camping. New adventures bring new possibilities into your life, my interests guided me to a path that shaped me into the person I am today. Camping is something some people do get the chance to do so I try to embrace every moment just as I do in sports.

I have always wanted to help people. People sometimes get lost; life gets in the way and people start to forget the important things in life. From my sophomore, junior, and senior year in high school I started taking a Career Technical Education course involving criminal justice. I knew my junior year I wanted to work in a career field that helped people work together to figure things out and find a common purpose. It was difficult trying to pick just one job in the career field I wanted to work in, but by this year of my second semester of senior year I found a career that I want to pursue. I found that the law can be a powerful tool depending on how you use it. I have seen people use it for the wrong reasons and the right ones. I want to be a mediator for families that need it. Sometimes people have a challenging time communicating with one another when things do not go someone's way. I find that if you use the law and listen to people and what their thoughts are in the situation or relationship it is easier to find common ground. Being a mediator is not me controlling the conversation between two people, it is people talking to one another and if needed I will step in. I am invisible until I need to be shown. I am just there to be neutral between two or more people and I do not render binding decisions between the parties I am working with. What made me want a degree in this field is the children that suffer and are put in the middle of the argument or conflict between those that disagree. Children should not have to endure the guilt and blame that may be put on them. I want to make a positive impact between the child and their guardians. It's not always the guardians’ fault for putting the child in the middle of the argument between two people. I want to help and show the adult/adults in the room that what they do around their child effects how the child reacts to situations, mental and emotional state, but most of all how they look and perceive their guardian. The positive impact in this field of work is to show the guardian and child that sometimes you need to take a step back look at the situation and see if the topic of the argument is really something that is important. Sometimes all people need is for someone to listen to them, communicate with them calmly, be honest and encouraging.

Cheerleading is magic to me; it lights up a light that I never knew I had inside me. It was also a dream of mine to cheer in high school. I've been on my high school cheer team for four year and stunt team for three years. I have learned to juggle school, cheer, stunt, relationships with family, friends and time for myself. I found myself being able to multitask and not get overwhelmed by all the chaos around me. My first two years of cheer I did not have confidence which made it difficult to make friends with girls on the same team as me. Junior year was different I grew, learned, achieved, and let the worry stop. I made junior varsity for cheer which I was disappointed about but once I took a step back, I was grateful for the judge's decision. Junior year I grew as a person and a teammate. My academic achievements gave me confidence in myself which carried over to cheer. I was captain of junior varsity my junior year. Being the only junior on junior varsity was embarrassing at first but I learned that even though I was put on this team for a reason and whatever that reason was I was just thankful I was still being given the opportunity to cheer. Being captain opened my eyes to the confidence you need to lead the team, advocate for the team, and the communication needed to lead. Stunt was different this year we finally won a game. I was still having to juggle school, stunt, friendships, and other things that helped me improve into my senior year. My senior year had brought a lot of change and growth in my life. Everything changed this year; I lost all my friends, my confidence went down the drain, I did not know who I was or what I wanted to do with my life after high school. During my senior year I found peace in being by myself at school and finding who I was again. It is crazy how one friendship can break you down and make you feel like you are nothing. As cheer season started, I went toward the younger girls and built relationships with them. I wanted to be there for them and guide them if they ever needed me. I challenge myself academically with higher level classes. The cheer team was different, there were so many recent changes happening with the program, but I learned to adapt and not get overwhelmed. Stunt changed too, I have learned dedication and perseverance. I am one of the captains on stunt this year. I know my responsibility is to lead the team, guide them, and not give up on them. These four years of cheer and three years of stunt have taught me how to be confident in myself, how to react in stressful situations, communicate with different people and listen to what they have to say and learn from it.