I fell in love with the camera the summer before fifth grade. My sister was signed up to work at the media arts camp at her high school, and my parents decided to sign me up since they had nowhere else for me to go during the day. My parents signing me up for that camp has honestly been the best decision they have ever made for me. At this camp, I learned how to film a music video, edit video clips, and take pictures. I continued going to this camp until I was in high school and could no longer attend. During high school, I continued my media arts journey by taking the media arts I, II, III, and IV elective classes. By attending the camp and taking these classes, I have become very experienced with my way around the camera. During my junior year of high school, I took it upon myself to go after my dreams and start doing photography regularly for my school. I started by taking pictures of my high school's band and dance team at all the Friday night football games. I started to make a name for myself at my school and was offered to work at the senior prom taking candid pictures. As I started my senior year, I started to become more comfortable with photographing events and started taking pictures at sports events for the volleyball team, basketball team, soccer team, and gymnastics team. Through all of these experiences, I have realized that I have a gift that I can share with others. Through photography, I have grown into myself as a leader and someone that others can depend on. I have been a solo photographer for many events in and out of school. By doing these events as a solo photographer, I have proved to my school community that I am capable of being a leader. I plan to make an impact on the world through leadership by being a cinematographer. My dream job is to be a cinematographer behind a big movie. By doing this I will impact the world because there are not too many woman cinematographers that are talked about. I want to make an impact on young girls so that they can achieve their dreams if they chase after them. I am very passionate about making positive changes for my community by being a role model for others to look up to. I want young girls to watch a movie and see my name in the credits and believe that if they chase their dreams, then one day their name will be up there too. I want girls to look up to me and realize that just because a job is typically more male-dominated, it is possible for them to also be in that same career. In my community, I have been addressing social issues by being part of more typically male-dominated hobbies. At my high school, I am the president of our Girls Who Code club. This club meets every other week and is a way for teenage girls to be introduced to coding in a laid-back environment. I am also an employee at my high school's in-house helpdesk. At the helpdesk, you are trained to fix a computer in-house. It is truly sad for me to see grown men come up to me during an open house of the school and ask if I truly know what I am doing or if I am just playing games. I am a trained technician and I do know what I am doing.

My future self will be someone who young girls can look up to as someone who works in the entertainment industry and teaches them to follow their dreams of being a cinematographer.

I am unique because I want to change the world by using a camera, whether that be by taking pictures or taking videos. I fell in love with using a camera when I was in fifth grade and went to a media arts camp at my older sister's high school. At this camp, I learned how to operate a camera and make a music video. I continued to go to this camp until I started high school, where I would then start the media art class. Having this love for a camera has allowed me to have many unique opportunities. During my junior year of high school, I reached out to the school's band director and asked to take pictures of the band and dance team at the Friday night football games. Reaching out and taking initiative led to something I never thought would happen, I became the school's go-to photographer whenever they needed someone to cover an event. Since my junior year I have taken pictures at my school's senior prom, my school's field day, and the school's annual run, and have taken up sports photography for volleyball, basketball, and soccer. Photography has made me unique because it has allowed me to share with my school what my talents are. Photography itself is a unique thing because no two photos will ever be the same. A photo can be taken in the same spot every day, but something different will change in the photo every time whether that be something subtle like a piece of dust or something more obvious like the lighting being drastically different. I plan to give back to my community through the pictures I take. The best part about photography is being able to capture important moments in life, whether that be graduation pictures or pictures right after a team loses a game. A single picture can share a story more than any amount of words can. I plan to use my photography to spread joy in my community, whether that be by taking family pictures or taking skyline views of the city for the community to see. I want my community to be proud of itself and realize that we are a community and that we are there for each other. I believe my photographs can give back to the community and spread continue to spread the message of how although we are all unique, we will always be a community.

My WHY is young girls across the world. I want to be a role model for young girls across the world who want to pursue work in the film industry. My dream (that I will accomplish) is to be a cinematographer in the entertainment industry, working on big productions and going to award ceremonies. I realize that as I have grown up I have not seen too many female cinematographers get the recognition that they deserve. I want to change this and show more female representation for the people behind the cameras. Seeing a girl from my high school become a cinematographer shows me that my dream is not far out of reach. I know I can do this and I know I can inspire other young girls that they too can work in the entertainment industry as a cinematographer. I plan to continue to add to the spirit of creation and storytelling with future projects and as a student of the arts by collaborating with other women to create something never done. I want to film a movie that when you watch it you automatically think "Woah those are some cool shots. how did they do that?" I want to prove that even though I am female, I can do anything just as well as a male can, if not better. When Frances McDormand gave her acceptance speech in 2018 at the Oscars, she said that many women have stories and have not been able to share them. I will give these women the platform to share their stories. I will put these stories on the big screen. There needs to be more female representation in the entertainment industry and I will become one of the recognized females in the industry. My dream is to inspire young girls that their dream is never too much.

One day, my sister got me to watch this movie with her. I was very reluctant to watch it with her and did not want to. We ended up watching it together and I instantly fell in love with it. This movie truly impacted my life and how I planned on living my life. The movie was Burlesque. Burlesque is a movie about a young girl named Ali who moves from her small town to Los Angeles where she chases after her dream of being a performer. Ali randomly walks into a Burlesque Lounge and immediately falls in love with the atmosphere. Ali is dying to work there as a performer, but when she finds out that they are not hiring dancers, she makes the other server there hire her to be a server. Ali continues working at the Burlesque Lounge working her way up to be a dancer and performer like she has always wanted to be. Ali inspires me to chase after my dreams and make them a reality. I want to follow in her footsteps and move to California to become a cinematographer. I know I can work my way up to become a famous cinematographer that gets to walk red carpets and go to movie premieres. The movie shows that despite all the hardships thrown at her, she fights for her dream and does not give up. I want to have the perseverance that she does. I want to be able to come back from any little setback bigger and stronger than I was before. I will prove that I do belong in the film industry. I will prove that I do deserve to work on a top film as a cinematographer. Another part of this movie that impacted my life was the music. I am a music nerd who loves listening to all types of music no matter the artist or the genre. The music in this movie goes so well with the plot and tells a story in itself. The music flows with the story by really setting a scene for the audience to follow with. My favorite song is the last song in the movie called Show Me How You Burlesque. The vocals just sound so good. The song lyrics give a summary of what the movie is about. I think it is one of the best closing scenes in a movie that I have ever seen.

One technology that inspires me about the way I can make the world a better place is the camera. The first time I used a camera was in the fifth grade. My parents made me signup for a media arts cam at my sister's high school since she was going to be volunteering there. I immediately fell in love as soon as I picked up the camera and took my first picture. From that moment on I knew that one day I wanted to be the girl behind the camera. A camera can make the world a better place because it can capture the most awestruck moments. A camera can tell a story in more words than any person ever could. The camera captures some of the most important moments in history. A camera is such a universal technology that everyone has and can be very easy to use. I think cameras make the world a better place because we can share so many important moments with others in the world. A way that I plan to use a camera to make the world a better place is by making films. I want to make a film that has such amazing cinematography that I inspire another young girl to become a cinematographer. I want to inspire young girls to chase after their dreams because one day they will get to do their dream job. My dream job has been to be a cinematographer for the past few years, and I am finally being able to say that I am on the path to making that dream my reality.

Over the past year, I have grown into myself and grown with my anxiety. My anxiety started in first grade, I would be so anxious and scared. For the next few years, I would run around my house screaming that I was scared to die. My parents had no clue what to do until one day when I was in third grade, they decided I should see a psychiatrist. My mom worked so hard for me to meet with a good psychiatrist who would help me understand what I was going through. We had to travel about an hour away to meet with her. At this meeting, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. This diagnosis honestly altered my life. I felt like anxiety was my only defining trait. My psychiatrist recommended that I start meeting with a therapist to help me learn some coping mechanisms for when I would have a panic attack. My mom continued to work hard to find the best therapist for me. I met with many therapists over the next few months to find the best fit for me. I stayed with one therapist for about two years and she taught me some coping mechanisms that were beneficial for me. After about two years, I started to get better. I thought my anxiety was "gone" and that it was all over, so I stopped therapy. I was good for a little while until I started sixth grade. I got so anxious and was back to running around my house screaming that I was scared to die. It got to the point where I was scared to sleep alone so I had to sleep with one of my parents. My previous therapist was fully booked, so I had to find a new therapist to go to. My mom searched and searched for a new therapist for me to go to. I finally found one and met the best therapist I have ever been to. She was very easy to talk to and someone I felt I could share all my feelings with. I remember I used to feel embarrassed about going to therapy because it was never really normalized for me. I never knew other kids were having the same type of anxiety that I was having. I genuinely thought that I was the only kid suffering from anxiety. I stayed with my therapist until I graduated eighth grade and everything was so much better. Until last year, I had been out of therapy for two years. Over the past year, I have come to terms with my anxiety and realized that it is not my defining trait. I went through a lot over the past year learning more about myself every day. I had a rough time with friends and ended up leaving two different friend groups which took a toll on my mental health. I realized that some of my friends were not who I thought they were and realized I did not want to be someone who associated with them. I changed my friends and ended up becoming friends with my new best friend. I have changed how I look for friends, but I have not changed who I am as a person. I started therapy again in my junior year of high school because I just needed someone to share my feelings with. I learned that therapy is not something taboo and that many people go to therapy. Through therapy, I have discovered the type of person I want to be. Through my mental health journey, I have fallen in love with working with a camera. Taking pictures and videos has become my main coping mechanism. I get such an adrenaline rush when I get to take pictures. Over the past two years, I have started taking photography seriously and realized that I want to go into that career field. In my junior year of high school, I asked my school's band director if I could start bringing my camera to football games and taking pictures of the band and the dance team. He agreed, and that was the start of my sports photography journey. Ever since then, I have done many other photography shoots. I was hired by my school later in my junior year to shoot the senior's prom. During my senior year, I continued taking pictures of the band and dance team at the football games. I then asked the head photographer at my school if I could start doing more sports photography. Since then I started taking pictures at all the home volleyball games. I was having the time of my life. I was then hired again by my school to take pictures for the school's annual run. I recently started taking some pictures again since Christmas break and realized that I truly have missed taking pictures. I just started taking pictures for my school's soccer team. I plan to take pictures for my school's softball, golf, and tennis team. I am really happy that I found that outlet that makes me forget about everything else around me.

Over the past year, I have grown into myself and grown with my anxiety. My anxiety started in first grade, I would be so anxious and scared. For the next few years, I would run around my house screaming that I was scared to die. My parents had no clue what to do until one day when I was in third grade, they decided I should see a psychiatrist. My mom worked so hard for me to meet with a good psychiatrist who would help me understand what I was going through. We had to travel about an hour away to meet with her. At this meeting, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. This diagnosis honestly altered my life. I felt like anxiety was my only defining trait. My psychiatrist recommended that I start meeting with a therapist to help me learn some coping mechanisms for when I would have a panic attack. My mom continued to work hard to find the best therapist for me. I met with many therapists over the next few months to find the best fit for me. I stayed with one therapist for about two years and she taught me some coping mechanisms that were beneficial for me. After about two years, I started to get better. I thought my anxiety was "gone" and that it was all over, so I stopped therapy. I was good for a little while until I started sixth grade. I got so anxious and was back to running around my house screaming that I was scared to die. It got to the point where I was scared to sleep alone so I had to sleep with one of my parents. My previous therapist was fully booked, so I had to find a new therapist to go to. My mom searched and searched for a new therapist for me to go to. I finally found one and met the best therapist I have ever been to. She was very easy to talk to and someone I felt I could share all my feelings with. I remember I used to feel embarrassed about going to therapy because it was never really normalized for me. I never knew other kids were having the same type of anxiety that I was having. I genuinely thought that I was the only kid suffering from anxiety. I stayed with my therapist until I graduated eighth grade and everything was so much better. Until last year, I had been out of therapy for two years. Over the past year, I have come to terms with my anxiety and realized that it is not my defining trait. I went through a lot over the past year learning more about myself every day. I had a rough time with friends and ended up leaving two different friend groups which took a toll on my mental health. I realized that some of my friends were not who I thought they were and realized I did not want to be someone who associated with them. I changed my friends and ended up becoming friends with my new best friend. I have changed how I look for friends, but I have not changed who I am as a person. I started therapy again in my junior year of high school because I just needed someone to share my feelings with. I learned that therapy is not something taboo and that many people go to therapy. Through therapy, I have discovered the type of person I want to be.

Over the past year, I have grown into myself and grown with my anxiety. My anxiety started in first grade, I would be so anxious and scared. For the next few years, I would run around my house screaming that I was scared to die. My parents had no clue what to do until one day when I was in third grade, they decided I should see a psychiatrist. My mom worked so hard for me to meet with a good psychiatrist who would help me understand what I was going through. We had to travel about an hour away to meet with her. At this meeting, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. This diagnosis honestly altered my life. I felt like anxiety was my only defining trait. My psychiatrist recommended that I start meeting with a therapist to help me learn some coping mechanisms for when I would have a panic attack. My mom continued to work hard to find the best therapist for me. I met with many therapists over the next few months to find the best fit for me. I stayed with one therapist for about two years and she taught me some coping mechanisms that were beneficial for me. After about two years, I started to get better. I thought my anxiety was "gone" and that it was all over, so I stopped therapy. I was good for a little while until I started sixth grade. I got so anxious and was back to running around my house screaming that I was scared to die. It got to the point where I was scared to sleep alone so I had to sleep with one of my parents. My previous therapist was fully booked, so I had to find a new therapist to go to. My mom searched and searched for a new therapist for me to go to. I finally found one and met the best therapist I have ever been to. She was very easy to talk to and someone I felt I could share all my feelings with. I remember I used to feel embarrassed about going to therapy because it was never really normalized for me. I never knew other kids were having the same type of anxiety that I was having. I genuinely thought that I was the only kid suffering from anxiety. I stayed with my therapist until I graduated eighth grade and everything was so much better. Until last year, I had been out of therapy for two years. Over the past year, I have come to terms with my anxiety and realized that it is not my defining trait. I went through a lot over the past year learning more about myself every day. I had a rough time with friends and ended up leaving two different friend groups which took a toll on my mental health. I plan on changing the stigma around mental illnesses and that it isn't something that defines you. Having a mental illness is not your defining trait. I want more high schools to have counselors that can help struggling teenagers when they need help. Teenagers go through so much in high school and have a hard time finding the help they need. I want a program through the school where I can get therapy and any other resource to help me become the best student I can be.

Over the past year, I have grown into myself and grown with my anxiety. My anxiety started in first grade, I would be so anxious and scared. For the next few years, I would run around my house screaming that I was scared to die. My parents had no clue what to do until one day when I was in third grade, they decided I should see a psychiatrist. My mom worked so hard for me to meet with a good psychiatrist who would help me understand what I was going through. We had to travel about an hour away to meet with her. At this meeting, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. This diagnosis honestly altered my life. I felt like anxiety was my only defining trait. My psychiatrist recommended that I start meeting with a therapist to help me learn some coping mechanisms for when I would have a panic attack. My mom continued to work hard to find the best therapist for me. I met with many therapists over the next few months to find the best fit for me. I stayed with one therapist for about two years and she taught me some coping mechanisms that were beneficial for me. After about two years, I started to get better. I thought my anxiety was "gone" and that it was all over, so I stopped therapy. I was good for a little while until I started sixth grade. I got so anxious and was back to running around my house screaming that I was scared to die. It got to the point where I was scared to sleep alone so I had to sleep with one of my parents. My previous therapist was fully booked, so I had to find a new therapist to go to. My mom searched and searched for a new therapist for me to go to. I finally found one and met the best therapist I have ever been to. She was very easy to talk to and someone I felt I could share all my feelings with. I remember I used to feel embarrassed about going to therapy because it was never really normalized for me. I never knew other kids were having the same type of anxiety that I was having. I genuinely thought that I was the only kid suffering from anxiety. I stayed with my therapist until I graduated eighth grade and everything was so much better. Until last year, I had been out of therapy for two years. Over the past year, I have come to terms with my anxiety and realized that it is not my defining trait. I went through a lot over the past year learning more about myself every day. I had a rough time with friends and ended up leaving two different friend groups which took a toll on my mental health. I realized that some of my friends were not who I thought they were and realized I did not want to be someone who associated with them. I changed my friends and ended up becoming friends with my new best friend. I have changed how I look for friends, but I have not changed who I am as a person. I started therapy again in my junior year of high school because I just needed someone to share my feelings with. I learned that therapy is not something taboo and that many people go to therapy. Through therapy, I have discovered the type of person I want to be.

Over the past year, I have grown into myself and grown with my anxiety. My anxiety started in first grade, I would be so anxious and scared. For the next few years, I would run around my house screaming that I was scared to die. My parents had no clue what to do until one day when I was in third grade, they decided I should see a psychiatrist. My mom worked so hard for me to meet with a good psychiatrist who would help me understand what I was going through. We had to travel about an hour away to meet with her. At this meeting, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. This diagnosis honestly altered my life. I felt like anxiety was my only defining trait. My psychiatrist recommended that I start meeting with a therapist to help me learn some coping mechanisms for when I would have a panic attack. My mom continued to work hard to find the best therapist for me. I met with many therapists over the next few months to find the best fit for me. I stayed with one therapist for about two years and she taught me some coping mechanisms that were beneficial for me. After about two years, I started to get better. I thought my anxiety was "gone" and that it was all over, so I stopped therapy. I was good for a little while until I started sixth grade. I got so anxious and was back to running around my house screaming that I was scared to die. It got to the point where I was scared to sleep alone so I had to sleep with one of my parents. My previous therapist was fully booked, so I had to find a new therapist to go to. My mom searched and searched for a new therapist for me to go to. I finally found one and met the best therapist I have ever been to. She was very easy to talk to and someone I felt I could share all my feelings with. I remember I used to feel embarrassed about going to therapy because it was never really normalized for me. I never knew other kids were having the same type of anxiety that I was having. I genuinely thought that I was the only kid suffering from anxiety. I stayed with my therapist until I graduated eighth grade and everything was so much better. Until last year, I had been out of therapy for two years. Over the past year, I have come to terms with my anxiety and realized that it is not my defining trait. I went through a lot over the past year learning more about myself every day. I had a rough time with friends and ended up leaving two different friend groups which took a toll on my mental health. I realized that some of my friends were not who I thought they were and realized I did not want to be someone who associated with them. I changed my friends and ended up becoming friends with my new best friend. I have changed how I look for friends, but I have not changed who I am as a person. I started therapy again in my junior year of high school because I just needed someone to share my feelings with. I learned that therapy is not something taboo and that many people go to therapy. Through therapy, I have discovered the type of person I want to be.

If I could have everyone in the world read one book, it would be I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. McCurdy did a really good job writing this book and painting a picture of what her life truly was like. Growing up with iCarly, I never would have thought that anything was going on with Jennette. Her book taught me that everything truly is not as it seems. Her book also taught me that if anyone truly has a secret that they don't want anyone to know, then no one will know the secret. The book truly painted the picture that being a child actor can be a horrible thing. Jennette was abused by her mother and no one seemed to notice the signs of that. Jennette's mother truly held her back from doing what she wanted to do. Jennette talks about how her mom was the one to make her have an eating disorder at such a young age. Thinking about a little girl scared to grow up because she thinks that she will disappoint her mom for being "bigger" truly breaks my heart. Jennette's mom put her through so much that no one would have ever known about it unless she wrote this book. I think this book would be very eye-opening for everyone to read because it talks about many issues that can be hard to talk about. Many people grew up with Jennette, and I think everyone deserves to know what her mother put her through and how it deeply effected her.

One healthy habit that I will adopt to manage my mental and emotional health in school will be having more relaxing time and going to the gym. I do not get to exercise like I want to in high school since I am part of so many extracurricular activities that require so much of my time. In college, I want to be able to go to the gym a few times a week. It does not matter if I go to the gym to just do yoga or go and lift weights. Going to the gym is a big stress reliever and makes me feel so much better about myself after. Going to the gym helps me mentally know that I am making myself better and by going consistently it starts to show on my body. The gym is a healthy habit for me to have as I get older because I do not have the same metabolism I did as a child. The gym is important because when I look in the mirror I want to see the girl I know I am. The gym would also allow me to keep my mind busy and focused on a certain task. My mind tends to wander, so I think going to the gym would be a nice healthy distraction for me. A distraction I use right now is sleeping, which is not very healthy for me. I will create a safe space for my friends and other students to manage their own mental and emotional health by using my room as a safe space. My room has always been my sanctuary and I think even at college it will become a safe space for me. I will always allow my friends to come to talk to me and not feel stressed. I know how hard it is during school when you get so overwhelmed that you just need somewhere to recharge. My room could provide a safe space for everyone who might just need a little escape from reality. I would put up some pride flags in my room and different other symbols showing that I want everyone to feel welcome and safe in my room. I never want to make anyone else feel stressed or anxious when they are around me. I want to be a reliable friend who people can depend on and can go to. My room could be something comforting for others.

My freshman boyfriend convinced me to be band manager for our high school band. I was stuck doing it sophomore year after we broke up but ended up having the time of my life. The next year I decided to do it again, but I decided I wanted to do something different while being the manager, I also wanted to be the photographer. I asked the band director one game day and he told me to bring my camera to the game and to have fun. Since then I became my school's photographer for different events. I continued to photograph the band and dance team throughout my senior year. From this experience, I got to travel with the band to our championship football game and even travel to Universal Studios in Florida for them to perform. This opportunity has blessed me with many picture opportunities. I am so grateful for this opportunity and for being able to take such fun pictures with my friends doing things they love. By being a band photographer/manager, I was able to have plenty of pictures that I could choose from for my portfolio. I will never forget the moments I took these pictures, and the pure glee I felt getting this opportunity.

To me, feminism is women empowering other women and having equality between men and women. Feminism is important because without feminism I would probably not have the opportunity to go to college and get a higher education. Without feminism, I would have to stay at home and be a good housewife for my husband who would be the sole breadwinner of the family. I am glad we have feminism and women activists who are out there fighting for our rights. Feminists have provided me with a life where I have the opportunity to be what I want to be which is to be in the entertainment industry. I want to be a cinematographer and these feminist activists are helping me get there. Someone inspirational to me is Frances McDormand. Her speech at the 2018 Oscars affected me because she raised so much awareness that we need more inclusion in the entertainment industry. She is a feminist I look up to for helping pace the way on inclusion and diversity in the entertainment industry. She has impacted my view on feminism because she fights for inclusion in a typically male-dominated field. Frances McDormand is an inspiration to me because she is inspiring me to continue working to get into the entertainment industry so that one day I can be the one giving a speech like hers at an award show. At my school, I am contributing to feminism by being the president of the Girls Who Code Club. Our Girls Who Code club meets every other week. This club is helping young women get into coding and start to get more into a typically male-dominated field. I enjoy this club because it always me to bond with other girls from my school and allows us to do something fun together. Any career involving technology is typically a male-dominated field. Girls Who Code allows girls at my school to be introduced to coding in a laid-back way where they do not have to feel intimidated. All of the girls who go to the meetings want to be there and want to learn more about coding. Another thing I do for the feminist movement at my school is by working at my school's helpdesk. At the helpdesk, we do in-house computer repairs for all of the students who attend the school. The school does an open house every year and it is sad to see how many men think that we girls are just playing games and do not know how to fix the computer. I am a trained technician who knows what she is doing and knows how to fix a computer. By being a technician, I hope to inspire other young girls to go into more typically male-dominated careers.

The song Like A Boy by Ciara has the most important message to me. When I truly listened to that song a few months ago my life changed. The lyrics resonate with me because if I were a boy, I truly would have more opportunities than I have as a girl. The line "wish we could switch up the roles and I could be that" means to me that if I were to be a boy I could do so much more than I can as a girl. This song is important because it points out the societal differences between boys and girls that are present in our society. This song shows how a boy can act, but if a girl were going to act like that then it would be considered toxic or bad. Boys have it easier to act as they want and not be persecuted for their decisions.