My two favorite disney channel shows growing up were Good Luck Charlie and Jessie. Just mentioning those two shows implies that this crossover episode I have in my head is going to be a whirl-wind of utter and complete chaos! Imagine this. Jessie and Teddy are both pretty similar charcters already, they both have a charm for nurturing, they both are constantly caught in the tornado of problems and complaints of a huge family, and one day they decide they are sick and tired of it. That’s right both of them, they are too stressed out by the crying, the complaing, the outright nonsense, and the responsibilty of being a positive role model 24/7. Teddy finally snaps when she wanted to spend a nice day with her best friend, Ivy, when her mom makes her babysit Gabe and Charlie, while she and her husband take their older son ,PJ, to a concert. Jessie finally snaps when her veteran dad comes and visits her from Texas and Luke drives a remote control car down the stairs that ends up tripping Ravi while he is holding a box of crickets for Mrs. Kipling that ends up spilling all over Jessie’s dad. So they each decide on their own to get away. Teddy runs away to the Colorado ski slopes with her boyfriend Spencer, since that’s the furthest they can get with the money they have. Jessie leaves the kids with Bertram and hops the first flight to wherever she can get to, which so happens to be Aspen, Colorado, right where Teddy and Spencer are. Teddy is sitting on a lift with Spencer and she is rambling and ranting about how infuritated she is. “It’s like the don’t even care about their oldest daughter!” She yells with her face turning red. Teddy continues to spiral on about how much her siblings and parents have been on her nerves lately, that she couldn’t help but notice the other people on the lift with her. Meanwhile, right beside her Jessie is complaining about the exact same things Teddy is to some random lady (you know Jessie she likes to talk). When suddenly while they are both ranting they both say at the exact same time, “I’m just so sick of this family!” Shocked and confused they both turn to look at each other, ready to tell the other what crazy stuff has happened in the last few days. They go on for a while but nearing the end of their conversation Jessie remarks to Teddy, “No offense but sounds like you got it easier than me.” Teddy retorts with, “No way! You get to live in a penthouse in New York for free, with no parents around and all you have to do is drop a few kids off at school, in what a helicopter? A private jet?” Jessie returns with, “Trust me these kids aren’t normal, and what do you have to be upset about? Your family is always around to support you and you have people who don’t make you feel lonely like Spencer and Ivy.” They both sit back in their seats and think for a minute, when Teddy gets the idea to switch places with Jessie. She gasps as she pitches the idea to her and Jessie smiles a wide grin ready to take on the challenge. After their day in Aspen, Teddy flies to New York to live Jessie’s life and Jessie goes to the suburbs to live Teddy’s life. Apologies, I’ve reached my word limit. However I’d be happy to provide a complete, more detailed essay if possible.

I have been a fan of Zendaya ever since she was on the Disney Channel show "Shake it Up" and the movies "Frenemies" both of which she starred in with Bella Thorne. Her confidence and perseverance have been an inspiration to me year after year as I have grown up with her acting projects. I most admire her acting because she is one of the most versatile and adaptable actresses on the planet. I love how Zendaya can play a teenager or an adult all while perfectly embodying the persona of the character she is portraying. The differences in her acting have been such an inspiration to me all the way from "Shake it Up" to "Spider-Man" because she has taught me that no matter how good you do something the first time, there is always more room to impress yourself and make the world say "Wow she just keeps going and she's not failing because she keeps going." Many Disney Channel actors stop acting after their time in the spotlight of Disney and it is truly heartbreaking for a young fan to almost watch your childhood favorites slip away. But not Zendaya. Zendaya continues to grow her career becoming more and more developed throughout her entirety of acting and it never ceases to amaze me how she grew from "K.C Undercover" to some of the biggest blockbusters of all time. Her perseverance and growth is something everyone should pay attention to as it is the perfect guide and example that people can always keep going and people can always get better despite set-backs and despite giving up. There were plenty of times when I doubted the fact if I even wanted to attend college whether it be because of sloth, expenses, or stress but I looked at Zendaya and all the work she has done to be a better person and actress and it never fails to remind me that, "I can do this" and "I will make this happen for myself" because I am determined to get to where I want to go.

I was really unsure about joining tennis when I first considered it. I believed myself to be a one-school-sport-only kind of girl and I thought my time was committed to volleyball. Tennis wasn't even on my radar 3 months before my Sophomore season started when my best friend, Clara, said she was going to sign up for it. I was shocked when she said this because I thought Clara was like me in that volleyball would be our only sport. Out of fear of being left out and missing out, I impulsively signed up and tried out for tennis right before the girls' season was about to commence. I was really nervous because I had never touched a racquet before and I didn't know how the scoring worked. Thankfully Clara was right there alongside me the entire tryout process and during that short 90-minute tryout we learned everything from the proper swing technique to what kind of shoes tennis players wear. My coach, Coach Zinke, didn't say a word to me the entire tryout but finally, at the end, he came up to me with an intimidating look. I thought to myself "You gave it your best shot" I thought of all the ways he thought about cutting me but to my complete and utter shock he looked at me and Clara and said, "Do you guys want to be swing players?" Meaning that if we wanted to and depending on the game we would both get to play JV and Varsity matches. I couldn't believe my FOMO and impulse just got me to be a swing player with no experience in a matter of just a couple of weeks. What I learned from this experience is that tennis provides an opportunity to play a sport that one can play at any point in their life because even if it is difficult to pick up, it is an incredible game that can build strength and endurance all while enjoying the beautifully clean fresh air. After I joined tennis my perspective of volleyball shifted dramatically. I had a great experience with my first tennis team, everyone was kind and supportive which was an awkward place for me because every volleyball team I had been on produced toxic and negative players who did not celebrate success, and players who drove each other to hate each other. Tennis taught me what a healthy sports team and environment looked like and it taught me that it is critical to actually enjoy the sports you are playing. I learned what the spark feels like when you find an activity you genuinely enjoy and the moment I played my first match I knew I found something truly special. Tennis shaped me and my future by making me patient, resilient, and adaptable to change, which is helping me navigate changes in my future and is also helping me in my search for the perfect college for me. I undoubtedly want a place where I can play tennis so I can grow to be a better player and person both on and off the court. If I had told the Freshman me that I would become a tennis player she would've looked at me like I was insane. But it was the best choice I could've made for both my mental and physical health that made me want to exercise and be outdoors more than ever before.

If my year so far had a soundtrack of songs exclusively from 1989 (Taylor's Version) it would include "Now That We Don't Talk." I love the song "Now That We Don't Talk" which Swift released in October after keeping it hidden for almost 10 years because it describes how in many situations of relationships people are better off not talking to those people than they were constantly talking to them. It is a very upbeat song which is perfect for my year because the feel of the song has lots of energy and excitement, as have I throughout 2023. Almost every month of the year I have gotten the privilege to travel to many places both in and outside of the United States. My adventures to Orlando for DECA Nationals, New York City for my best friend's 16th birthday, O'ahu for family fun and Paris, France have been some of the most wild and exciting times of my life and "Now That We Don't Talk" has the perfect rhythm to match the energy of being venturesome. As for the lyrics of this phenomenal song, they are a perfect descriptor for how it is important to remember to stay away from negative energy and it is important to remember that although being cut off from someone you used to talk to every day may be a weird challenge at first but in the long run it is crucial to remember, "maybe I am better off." Swift uses the lyric, "I called my mom she said that it was for the best" to describe how even as an adult writing the song she still needed her mom's advice and help in a variety of situations and challenges. I call my mom for help every single day and 2023 has been an especially tough year in which I have needed my mom's help more than ever. For example, my mom taught me how to recognize the red flags of a toxic relationship I was in at the beginning of the year and thanks to her wisdom and my initiative to "call my mom" I was able to learn firsthand what emotional manipulation looks like and how I should never lower my standards for a mediocre guy. Through and through I learned that I was in fact "better off" without that relationship in my life, just like Swift had predicted for herself in the lyrics of "Now That We Don't Talk." Even though "Now That We Don't Talk" just came out a couple of short months ago I feel that it is definitely the most suitably relatable song that can perfectly sum up my year of 2023. It was very upbeat, memorable, and catchy and will be one undoubtedly be one for the books.

My favorite song on 1989 is without a doubt in my mind, “Clean”. I love the song Clean because it is a healthy reminder that you need to remove toxicity from your life in order to live a “clean” and healthy life. Swift expresses her struggles in Clean of how it felt like she was drowning and no one could hear her screams but once the rain came down, and washed everything that was making her drown she was finally able to breathe and feel clean again for the first time in a long time. This song is especially dear to me because 1989 was the first Swift album that I really was able to get into. When I was in middle school I was really struggling to let go of the toxicity of my life, specifically bad friends whom I had unhealthy relationships with. I wasn’t able to see myself struggling, I was screaming so loud on the inside but I couldn’t even hear my own cries for help. My family tried their absolute best to wash away my anger and tears that I had towards my toxic relationships with friends but I implacably refused to listen or let go. I was in strong belief that they were the people I needed to be around. At this point in time I had never really paid attention to the song “Clean” because I didn’t think I could really relate to it at this point. I refused to let go of those friends to the point where they were the ones who had to let go of me, and I victimized myself and moped and felt sorry for myself all while I could’ve just been the one to wash them away from me instead of vice versa. Now here I am about three years later and I just started listening to Clean for the first time. I don’t mean listening to it in my car, or putting it on on the background while cleaning my room. No, I mean really listening to it and taking in every single word and lyric to throughly analyze what Swift really was trying to tell her fans about her experiences with washing away toxicity from her life. I finally learned how relatable my experience in middle school was, and the message Taylor Swift was trying so hard to tell me was that I have to be the one to rain down when I’m drowning so I can finally be clean. No one else will clean up any trace of themselves so that I can be clean, I have to do it myself. When I’m driving I only listen to Clean when the rain comes pouring down.