Volleyball is a very unappreciated sport. While most people think of it as "easy" or a "girl's sport", it is so much more than that. Volleyball is the best game invented and everyone should know it. I have played volleyball for five years and continue to love it more and more every time I step on the court. One of my favorite moments while playing would have to be our playoff game to get to state. We had to play a team that we had never beaten before and our whole team was nervous. We all gathered around with the coach just before the game started and I pulled up a motivational video. As we watched it, our energy and confidence grew through the roof. Right before the starting lineup was called, we all gathered around and prayed for strength and determination, and victory. Only 4 sets later our prayers were answered, the court was flooded and so were our eyes. There are many reasons that I love the sport, but besides the competitiveness, it would have to be the family that you build. The blood, the bruises, the jammed fingers, the hours spent in the gym, the tears, the laughs, I wouldn't trade one minute to be doing anything else with anyone else. I think that volleyball should grow in popularity, once people actually try to play the game, they'll never want to quit. Eat. Sleep. Volleyball. Repeat.

The best online shopping places are, of course Amazon Prime, Nike, and SHEIN.

As a person who loves a good deal, there are definitely more than just three that I can think of. But here are my top three just to name a few, Dave Ramsey, Honey.com, and Jeremy's Youtube channel Financial Education.

Everyone wants the ideal body. They think a perfect weight and a perfect body equals a perfect life, and I would know because I was one of those people. I was always a very skinny kid, but my sister was not. So I saw how some people can be rude and I vowed that that would never happen to me. I have always loved sports and any kind of physical exercise, but when I got into high school I became obsessed with how I looked. My best friend was naturally very skinny and I did not like looking bigger than her, especially when we took pictures. Even though I was very small already, I wanted to look "better". Because of my constant self-examination, I suffered from serious anxiety. I wanted people to think I looked good and in shape. I always wondered about what people were thinking about me, and especially my friends. I was always worried about if they thought I was fit and small. I wanted them to see my muscle definition, I wondered if my six-pack was going away, I'd ask myself if I had a 'thigh gap' and other things like that. I would go home and almost every single day I would get into my bikini or strip down to my bra and underwear and examine my body. I'd look at myself in the mirror and see if I could tell a difference, but no matter how defined I was, it didn't stop my anxiety. I continued to always step on the scale and just hope that I hadn't gained any weight. My mental health began to become worse and worse, until one day I realized the seriousness of it. I soon realized that it was affecting my day to day life. I would run five miles on weekdays and work out seven days a week. But soon those things lost their enjoyment. It would be like pulling teeth. I only did it because I wanted to look good, but I did not feel good. It a lot of self-reflection and talking with others, but I finally realized that if I was not taking the right care of my body. I decided to take control and stop over-exercising, under-eating, and over obsessing. Anxiety had become my driving force and I had lost the reason that I loved working out in the first place. Since that time I have become a better person than I was before, even though I only work out 6 days a week and rarely run 5 miles at a time. I've become more defined even with days off and take those rest days to just reflect and love myself in the correct way. Anxiety will still sometimes rear its ugly head, but when I catch myself obsessing and not enjoying what I'm doing I take a day off. I do it because I love it and that should always be the reason. If you are trying too hard to impress the people around you, you will start losing focus. Always take a moment and remember why you are here and the reason you started working out in the first place...being the best you that you can be.

I'm Ella, and I absolutely love to work out. Staying fit has always been such an important part of my life because I have seen the effects of not being in shape. I personally have never been overweight and was actually always on the skinny side as a kid, but my older sister has always struggled with her weight. I have seen first hand how rude people can be and the effects it can have on someone mentally. My sister hasn't ever quite been bullied, but she has had people say things about her gaining weight and other things along those lines. She went on a diet about two years ago and so I decided to do it with her. She has lost about 15 pounds and looks amazing today. Because of all of this, I decided at a young age to always stay fit and help others to reach their goals. That is why I want to be a personal trainer. For me personally, I have worked out 6 days a week for a year and play two different sports on top of that. I love the feeling of accomplishing your goals and seeing so many positive results. Being fit not only has physical positives, but it has emotional and mental positives too. Since my sister has gotten more in shape her emotional state has improved so much. Obviously what people say shouldn't affect you, and your weight doesn't define you, but it can limit you. It can cause a problem such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, heart attacks, and so much more. Every single person should try to be the best person they can be and love themself by loving their body.

Basketball is something that I have a passion for, but since I am only 5 foot 8 inches, I was very intimidated when my coach asked me to start doing jump ball my sophomore year. It may not seem it, but you are being held responsible to get your team the first possession. Even though it was scary, I eventually got it down and love doing it to this day.

My family rescued this adorable puppy, named Dahlia, on my older sister's birthday when she turned 15. Now that she is in college this little one is all mine. Every time I see this puppers sweet face I think about how much I miss my sister and I know it's my job to love on Dahlia while she's gone. @heatherfaulkner1199 ( my mom's IG)

When the things that you need to survive are disappearing, it should set off several red flags in your head. Everyone has been told to 'save the trees' or 'help the turtles' but, how seriously are we taking these precautions. Anywhere from 3.5 to 7 billion trees are being cut down per year, and only 400,000 elephants are left in our world. These numbers and so many more are reason enough to make you want to do something to make a change. When you look at the world around you and see all the animals dying, and all the trees and plants being killed by us humans, you should feel a sense of responsibility to stop it. Our plants produce oxygen that we breathe, so what will happen when all of our plant life is dead? The animals give us the food we need to survive, so what will happen when we have killed them all? It's time to make a change. I am almost certain that you have heard this before, but no one will give any practical steps or tactics that we can take to make sure that this does happen. Going green is a major way to help preserve our plants. First off, we need to reuse things as often as you can. all of our trash is not only causing a major carbon footprint, it is wasting the trees that we killed to make those things. This will help the plant resources to go farther and grow better. Secondly, we need to only kill to eat. While I am all for hunting for fun, the pleasure some get out of killing animals "just because" has become a serious concern. The murder of animals is only necessary because we need their meat to survive, that's the reason they were created. But when we go out in our backyards and kill a ten-point buck just so we can mount in on our wall, then there is a problem. We need to leave the killing to the farmers and butchers that provide the stores with the meat that we buy. We need plants and animals to survive, so we need as many of them as possible. As a community, we first need to raise awareness about these problems that we are facing. No one can do anything unless they are aware. Host a fundraiser in your neighborhood to raise awareness and use the money that you made to give to an organization like The Nature Conservancy. It is groups like these that are going to push us forward to the animal-filled and green world that we need to live in. The animals are vulnerable and can not speak for themselves. The rhinos that are being slaughtered and the plants that are being wasted can't say a word against us. Therefore, it is our job to speak out against ourselves and our wasteful ways. I couldn't stress the seriousness of this enough. Every time you are about to be wasteful or careless, ask yourself, "Is this helping or hurting the world around me?". Yes, you may be only one person, but each person that is only one person makes up the entire world. Help preserve the trees and save the animals. Speak out for those who can't speak for themselves.

Traumatic events shape your life in ways you never thought possible, and especially when those events affect someone you love. My little sister was only 6 years old when her world, and our entire family's world, was altered forever. Our dad had just gone out of town on a business trip when my mom noticed that Riley wasn't quite acting right. She was constantly complaining about being desperately thirsty, tired, hungry and she was very lethargic. Riley would have to use the bathroom almost every five minutes, and my mom, older sister, and I began to get very worried about her. My mom told us that it looked like Riley was showing similar signs to what my dad had shown years ago...right before he was diagnosed. My dad was about 30 years old when he had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. When you hear this, you may think that it is not that serious, but type 1 diabetes is very different from type 2. Here is a quick lesson on the kinds of diabetes so you can have a better understanding of the seriousness of our situation. Type 2 is the most common and usually occurs due to poor diet, no exercise, and obesity. And is only serious if you don't decide to change your lifestyle, and it can be altered with enough care. Type 1, on the other hand, can not be altered or prevented. It occurs when a persons' pancreas completely shuts down and no longer produces insulin. Therefore their level will rise. And if their body doesn't get insulin in it soon, the person can go into a coma and die. So they have to take shots of insulin every time they are going to eat something. They did nothing to make their pancreas give out on them, it is just like any other disease. This is the kind that my dad was randomly diagnosed with in his early thirties. When my mom realized that Riley's signs were similar, she began to get very worried, but thankfully my dad was coming home that night. My mom said that the minute he got home, they were going to use my dad's glucometer ( which is used to check what a person's level is at) and take Riley's level to see if she did have diabetes. A normal person, with a working pancreas, should have a level of 80-150 because their pancreas is regulating their level, but if the pancreas is not working the level will rise. If a person's level gets over 500 they will go into a coma. When my dad took Riley's level, the glucometer read "High Alert". Her level was so high that it couldn't even be recognized on the glucometer. So immediately my parents rushed her to the hospital. The fear in their faces was an image that is forever ingrained in my memory. My poor mom was struggling to breathe due to the panic that was overtaking her. The realization that Riley could go into a come between now and before we arrived at the hospital occurred to me and I began to panic as well. But here we are five years later and Riley is okay. It takes a very brave person to have to live with a disease like diabetes, and both Riley and my dad are so strong. The fact that Riley will basically have this illness her whole life must be very hard on her at times, but she never complains. I may be the older sister, but I sure look up to Riley and am so thankful that she is still here with us.

One single moment in time can alter your world. One second can change your view on life, and that is exactly what happened to me. The summer of 2015 will forever be one engrained in my memory. My dad was out of town for work so it was just me, my mom, and my two sisters at home. We first started noticing my little sister, Riley, was acting strange just a day or two after my dad had left. She was constantly using the restroom, and she was always thirsty. Riley told us she couldn't seem to quench her thirst no matter how much she drank, so my mom was slightly concerned. As the week went on, Riley seemed to be very lethargic and couldn't concentrate. My mom had seen similar symptoms from my dad about ten years ago just before he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, so she decided that as soon as my dad was home from his trip, she wanted to take Riley's level to see if what she had was the same. A type 2 diabetic is different from a type 1 diabetic in many ways. Type 1 can be altered and is usually caused by obesity, while type 2 is caused by pancreas failure, which means your body can no longer produce insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body when you eat food. When you have sugar or carbs, your body will automatically release insulin to lower your blood sugar (a.k.a your "level"). If your blood sugar goes too high then you can go into a coma and die. As soon as my dad got home, late at night, my mom told my dad what was going on with Riley, so they went to check her level. Now a normal level for a person is 80-100, but when the glucometer showed Riley's reading, all it said was high! Her level was so high that the glucometer couldn't even recognize the number! When my parents saw this they knew that they had to rush her to the emergency room immediately. If her level kept increasing at the rate it was at then she was going to go into a coma. As my older sister and I sat there watching the panic on my dad's face and seeing the tears roll down my mom's cheeks I realized alot. In life you have to expect the unexpected. Why a little girl only 6 years old would have pancreas failure, is something I will always wonder. And how it could possibly be fair for her to have to live her life with a disease is a question constantly ringing in my head. But what I realized is that people are stronger than they know. She is 11 years old now and is managing her type 2 diabetes well. Yes, Riley will be disabled, and yes, she won't be able to do everything she wants too, but she is still here with us and that is something I am greatful for every day. No matter what happens in life, there is always someone out there that has it worse, like a little girl diagnosed with diabetes. Just change your perspective and spend every moment in life like its your last. Stop complaining about whats wrong with your life and start truly living the life you have to its full potential.

A role model, as stated in the dictionary, is a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people. But is this really the most accurate definition of what a role model is? No matter how old you are, you have a role model in your life. There is someone that you look up to, admire or strive to be like. My personal role model is Jesus Christ. Seeing as I am a Christian, I am sure it was expected for Him to be my topic. You may be saying, "Jesus was alive thousands of years ago, so why would you want an old guy to be your role model?" But there is so much more to it than that. Jesus was not a normal human like you and I. He was God's son who was sent to earth to be the ultimate sacrifice for each person's sin. He is my role model because of how His example has changed me. When He was on earth, He never sinned one time. Jesus treated every single person that He came into contact with complete kindness and respect. I could talk about all He did, but it won't have any relevance to you unless I shared an example of a time where He did the impossible even when things were hard. On a normal day, just like any other, Jesus and His friends were hanging out and eating dinner. After dinner, they were all walking around outside when they came upon a large group of men and the authorities. Jesus had been hated by alot of people for a long time, and they had always tried to get the authorities to arrest and kill Him, but they could never find a reason. But they finally caved in and the group of people were here to take Jesus. One of Jesus's "friends", Judas, had purposely led all of them right to the group of angry men. Judas said that they could have Jesus and kill Him, but he wanted to get payed. And that's exactly what happened. One of Jesus's closest friends had betrayed Him. He had sold him as if he was an animal. I have been stabbed in the back by a friend before, and I did not react well. I got mad, stopped talking to them, and still struggle with truly forgiving them to this day. But Jesus proved to be the perfect role model in that instance. He not only willingly went with them but He truly forgave Judas. That was just one of the thousands of times that Jesus was the perfect example. We all overreact, get mad, hold grudges, push people away, judge, and just downright sin, but Jesus never did. That is why He is the ultimate role model. I am certain that all the other people who enter this essay scholarship will have beautifully put together sentences about people who they love. They will use four dollar words and elegant structure, but the only flaw with their essay will be their topic. Each person they choose will no doubt be a great role models who have done kind things for others, but the PERFECT role model is someone who did something for you. Jesus Christ is therole model. He gave His life for everyone and He deserves all the credit. No mother is perfect. No father is perfect. No made up character is perfect. No one is, but Jesus was. When you look up the word role model, the definition shouldn't be a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people, even though it is true. All it needs to say is Jesus Christ.