One of my favorite things to do with my friends is get Starbucks. I associate different drinks with different friends. My best friend Julia, who I've known since we were four, and will be my maid of honor in my wedding will always be a Vanilla Beach Frappuccino to me. As kids, that was our go-to order. Although neither of us get them anymore, I still associate them with her and our friendship. My friend Kate is a Strawberry Acai Refresher. She's sweet, energetic, and just like the drink's red hue, she has red hair. It also helps that she loves this drink and it's her typical order. While Kate is a refresher, Lizzie is a Cold Brew with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam. She is sweet on the outside, like the first sip of cold foam, however when you get to know her, you get to see her bold personality come through just like the cold brew with it's striking flavor. In my eyes, Ava is an Iced Matcha Latte. Matcha is a very pretty drink, just like Ava. She cares deeply about the aesthetics in her life which matcha matches very well. I love matcha, although it tastes a little grassy, it's a delicious healthy drink, which is also fitting for Ava as she is a dancer and lives a very healthy lifestyle, making matcha a perfect addition. I think my friends would see me as a Iced Pumpkin Chai, a new drink as of fall last year. From first sip I fell in love and encouraged all of my friends to try it, generously offering sips of my beloved drink to them. While some understood the hype and some didn't, amongst all of them it became common knowledge that this was my favorite drink from Starbucks. I could drink it any time of day, whether it was bright and early before school, a midday pick me up, or an after football game treat I was always up for an Iced Pumpkin Chai. Besides my love for the drink, I think I share qualities with it. For starters, fall is my favorite season. I'm very sweet, but I have a little spice in my personality, like the cinnamon that's sprinkled on top. I have different personalities depending on who I'm with, matching the two components of the drink; the pumpkin cold foam and the chai. When the fall drinks at Starbucks left for the season, I was upset at the loss of my favorite drink, but now I get excited at the thought of an Iced Pumpkin Chai with light ice after school on a warm fall day, before spending time with my friends and getting ready for a football game. I believe this drink is extra special to me because of all the memories attached, and I can't wait to sip one in a month and reminisce on fun times I've had with my friends last fall.

The first book I really enjoyed was The Summer I Turned Pretty. My best friend, Julia, lent me her copy of the novel as collateral, to ensure we would hang out again soon since we went to different schools and often struggled to find time to hang out. I figured I should give the book a try, and immediately couldn't put it down. I knew from the first book that I was team Conrad, but the show solidified my stance on the debate between Team Conrad and Team Jeremiah. I felt an attachment to Conrad because Belly had loved him her whole life, and I believe love like that doesn't just go away. I understand her feelings towards him to an extent, while I haven't loved someone my whole life, I've had attachments to people for a long time like her. Stepping into her shoes, I couldn't imagine the sparks and excitement of finally getting who you wanted your whole life. He brings her so much joy, and this is why I feel her and Conrad are truly meant to be. One of my favorite scenes in the show is shared between Belly and Conrad, on the Fourth of July when they're looking over the dock, about to kiss when fireworks go off and interrupt them, in this moment you can see the emotional fireworks between the characters. This is also a scene that shows Conrad is the better brother because Jeremiah is the one who set off the fireworks, sabotaging Conrad and Belly's special moment because he is jealous. I believe throughout their childhoods, Jeremiah only ever saw Belly as a best friend, until she got pretty, which is when he took romantic interest in her, while I believe Conrad had feelings for Belly throughout his whole life, just like she did. This is another factor that confirms for me that they are the perfect match. Another special moment that shows Conrad's character and why he is the better brother for Belly is the callback to when he teaches her what infinity is, then gets her an infinity necklace for her birthday, and although he decides last minute not to give it to her on her sixteenth birthday, he does eventually give it to her, showing he remembers the little things. This is a moment that shows he is a really sweet person with a kind soul even if he has a hard exterior. While Conrad consistently shows loyalty and commitment to Belly in their relationship, in the third book while Belly is dating Jeremiah, she finds out he cheated on her and slept with another girl. This shows how he doesn't truly cherish Belly, and in my opinion he wanted her so he could have one thing Conrad didn't, and looked at her more as a pawn against his brother than an actual girlfriend. Overall, I will always be team Conrad because I think he is a sweet boy who can sometimes just be misunderstood. He has the biggest heart out of anyone in the series, and he is the perfect match for Belly.

As a child, I struggled with "big feelings", as my first grade teacher told the school counselor. One of the very first things I remember learning in school was the meaning of the word "empathy" in kindergarten, it resonated with me through my whole childhood. I always felt bad for people I didn't know, I wished I could do more to help and would often get down on myself for not being able to do anything. As I got older, I found ways to work through these feelings from therapists, but my favorite method, which I discovered on my own, was through volunteer work. I take all opportunities I can to volunteer, but my most consistent is at a retirement home in my town. I spend two hours a week there with residents who don't have support systems, whether their family doesn't visit, or they don't have friends in the facility. Throughout my time spent at Storypoint, I've learned new games, listened to and told my own stories, taught residents modern things like music and slang, and built some relationships that I will forever be thankful for. Besides spending time with residents who don't have anyone else, I've also led group activities like different exercise classes, planned birthday parties, led bingo games, and I've enjoyed every minute of being a positive influence in the lives of so many different people. I support my immediate friends and family by always being one call away. Whenever someone needs something, I am always there to help, no matter how big the circumstance. I love to make friends with anyone and I'm always ready to be a listening ear whether we are just acquaintances or best friends. I help neighbors with baby sitting, dog sitting, yard work, and anything else they could ask me. I find helping people around me brings me so much joy. I am a proud member of National Honors Society and other small clubs at my school like Students Against Climate Change, and a women's club called HerVoice that are based on volunteer work to help out in the community. In my future, I plan to continue to take any volunteering opportunity given to me and to one day teach my kids to volunteer. I want to continue to be a trustworthy support system for all my friends and family, neighbors, and even strangers if they need. In my eyes, a fulfilling life is a life where I do everything I can to bring joy to others.

In June, my mom, aunts, two little cousins and I went on a girls trip to Charlevoix, Michigan that was very Taylor Swift influenced. Every moment we spent in the car was accompanied by Taylor Swift songs. In our downtime we sat around singing, making friendship bracelets for each other, and rehearsing for our very own Eras Tour. On our last morning, we got up at 8 a.m., eager for our performance, and decked ourselves out in glitter, on theme outfits, fake blonde bangs, and red lipstick. We snuck into town, mildly embarrassed of our crazy outfits and makeup and preformed our own version of The Eras Tour at an amphitheater in front of the Harbor. I preformed "Is It Over Now?", my favorite song from 1989. We had spent months getting ready for this performance, getting outfits, planned choreography, and practicing our songs. This is why "Is It Over Now?" is my part of my soundtrack to 2024. Right when 1989 (Taylor's Version) came out, "Is It Over Now?" immediately resonated with me and became my favorite song off of the album. When my mom threw out the idea of doing our own Eras tour, I knew I wanted to choose this song because it had quickly very become one of my favorite songs ever. All my friends shared the same love for the song and it became a classic for us to scream-sing in the car. For my performance, I wore a white flowy dress to match the beachy vibe of the 1989 album and channeled my inner Taylor Swift with my red lipstick and hair flips. My mom chose "Shake It Off", specifically the rap part. She put on the best performance out of all of us, with a choreographed dance and my twin cousins as her backup dancers. This song also resonates with me as a representation of 2024 not only because of her but also because of the growing pains I've gone through in my friendships, and how I just need to shake it off. Although it is one of her most popular songs and a lot of Swifties don't like it, I enjoy it because it has a very positive message behind it and it's very catchy. It reminds me of being a little girl and listening to 1989, as that was my favorite album for years of my childhood. Listening back on it now that I've gotten older brings me a lot of joy and nostalgia. Overall, I could say the entire 1989 (Taylor's Version) is the soundtrack to my year, but if I had to pick, "Is It over Now"? and "Shake It Off" are my 2024 anthems due to our Eras Tour performance for both songs, my childhood attachment to "Shake It Off" along with the struggles I dealt with this year, and because of my instant love for "Is It Over Now?".

As a defensive player in lacrosse, it was my job to stop the other team from scoring and to protect my goalie. I was the insurance, the guard. In my five years of playing, my most distinct memory is of a game at a tournament in 8th grade. We had won our first two games, and we were into the last few minutes of our third and final game. We were tied 8-8 and it was the final faceoff of the game. "Go Natalie!" I cheered out for my teammate who was facing a girl who was both double her size and double her speed. The whole game came down to this moment. As I saw the tall girl reach her arm up and catch the ball with such ease at a height so high that Natalie couldn't even come close to reaching, my entire body filled with dread, but had my mind set on turning this possession around and helping my team win the final game to go three for three. I got into position, ready to push this girl out and win the game. I leaned into her with my stick, trying to keep her out of the 8 meter circle, until she pulled away from me before I could realize what had happened. I continued to push and lost my balance, falling forward right as she sprinted past me and scored the final goal of the game. I felt an immediate wave of disappointment wash over me, it was all my fault that we lost. In all sixteen, almost seventeen years of my life, both before and after this game, I've had many other moments of beating myself up over failures in my life, whether it was a bad grade on a test, a hard time connecting with someone, or even unsuccessful job applications. However, with each failure in my life, big or small, I've learned a lesson that I carry with me to help me the next time I do something. Because of the many lessons I've learned from all kinds of failures in my life, I measure success in failures. I truly believe if you don't fail at least once, then you're not putting in your best effort. I dream to start my own company one day all by myself and to build it from the ground up. I understand to achieve this dream there will be lots of failures and roadblocks, which encourage me even more because I know if I can grow past those, I can do anything. The idea of failure excites me because I know something amazing is waiting for me on the other side, helping me come out even stronger and smarter. This opportunity will help me achieve my dream by both helping me receive the education I need and give me the necessary resources to be able to start a company by myself and watch it grow while working through different setbacks and self doubts that will in the end help me create something that I'm so proud of.