A time when I have displayed kindness, positivity, and hard work while working through an obstacle in my life would be this summer of 2022 when I was at my lowest point, I was offered to go volunteer at a church camp for kids who were in need. This camp is called Opportunity Camp, and it is for kids who are not in the best of living situations at home. At this camp, I spread kindness, positivity, and hard work by loving these kids when they didn't feel loved at home, encouraging others to know that there is still good in this world (especially at church camp), and I worked hard by working in the kitchen last minute and fed 300 people, helped with bible studies, as well as helping to staff out when they needed extra help. This camp offers these kids to come here for free and have the best week of their lives. This camp offers free food, clothes, school supplies, and hygiene supplies. I go to this camp every year and just being there, you never want to leave. It is a time to grow closer to God and spread His word to all those kids. We inspire and encourage them. We change their lives for the better. At the end of the week, when all those campers are going home, it is very heartbreaking to all of our staff. Knowing that they go home to the bad conditions they were once in before camp, breaks my heart. But knowing that I just changed that kid’s perspective on life, in general, makes me feel more satisfied when they go back home. They take all they have learned from camp and use it to help others and encourage others to do amazing things. I was blessed to have the opportunity to go to Opportunity Camp, especially when I was going through hard times myself. I struggled at school and home. I felt sad all the time. But I don’t let my problems interfere with the lives of these kids who have a lot worse going on at home. I chose to pick my head up and go to this camp. I went to this camp and found God again and changed so many lives. Knowing that I did that gives me the courage to grow and understand that I am not alone and that I can and will do great things!

A trade I would like to learn more about would be cosmetology. I have always been good with hair, makeup, and nails, but I never considered it one of my careers. I struggled throughout high school trying to figure out "what I want to be when I grow up" because it's something a lot of kids my age get asked and no one has a clue what they want to be. Therefore, my mom asked me "what is something you are good at and you enjoy doing." So, the first thing that popped into my head was cosmetology. First off, what is cosmetology? Cosmetology is "the professional skill or practice of beautifying the face, hair, and skin." My goal in cosmetology is to make other men or women feel more confident and comfortable with themselves with the talent I have been given. How cosmetology works is you have a client who asks you what they want to be done to them between so many options cosmetology provides. So you do that on them and in the end, you are meeting the requirements they have asked you to do for them. Overall, cosmetology can be difficult because you either completely fail at what your client has asked of you or you complete the assignment and their day becomes 10x better because they gave you a chance, whether fail or not and made them feel more beautiful, no matter what the task was. Growing up for me had many challenges. I had a lot happen where I never really had the chance to practice what I love doing. But I found a way to overcome those challenges and learn from them which made me better. I grew up being the only girl out of six brothers, so I taught myself how to do my hair, makeup, and nails. Over years of practice, I became good enough at it to where people were asking me to do their hair, makeup, and/or nails. In the end, no matter what difficulties I go through or face, I still find a way to overcome them and be the person I need to be to help others in a typical way. This encourages others in a way to go out a be amazing human beings. Therefore, this is why I choose cosmetology as my trade, to become the person they need/want to be in the future so others can feel more confident, comfortable, and courageous.