I love the memories I make at Disney World. The first time I went I was four years old. I don’t have a lot of memories from that trip, but what I do remember is when my parents took me and my sister to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. My favorite princess at the time was Cinderella so I decided to dress up as her. When I was asked what I wanted to do with my hair I remember looking at a wall of wigs and seeing a very colorful and spiky wig. I loved all the colors so I picked colorful hair to go along with my Cinderella dress. On my second trip my family and I went on the spinning teacups. Alice from Alice in Wonderland was outside of the ride and my dad asked if she could ride in the teacups with us and she said yes. It was such a fun experience riding the teacups with her and I will never forget it. On this same trip me and my sister were celebrating our birthdays. We were at a waterpark and two employees surprised us with two large buckets of ice cream with shovels to eat it with. Another memory I have is on my third trip when I met Anna and Elsa. I was obsessed with Frozen and all I talked about on that trip was meeting Anna and Elsa. They were new princesses in the parks so the wait time was four hours. I wasn’t expecting my family to wait in that line with me, but my mom doesn’t like roller coasters, so she said she would wait in the line while the rest of us went on rides. The fourth time I was at Disney my family and I were in Hollywood Studios in Star Wars land. My family was there with another family and the StormTroopers walking around came over to mess with us. They pretended we were prisoners and put us in a corner. I love making memories at Disney because it is something I will always have with me. I can always tell people my stories and they make me smile. Now that my sister and I are older it is hard to find a time to go to Disney that works for everyone, but I know we will be there again. I can’t wait to keep going and make more memories.

The dream version of my future self is working in a lab to find a cure for genetic diseases and disorders.

“Clean” is my favorite song from 1989. I have been listening to Taylor Swift for as long as I can remember, and 1989 has been my favorite since it came out. At first, my favorite song was “You Are In Love”, but over time it changed to “Clean”. I love how the song can have multiple interpretations. When some people hear the song they can relate it to a past relationship or friendship. Other people can relate it to addiction, and some relate it to mental health. I like how real the song is. She accurately describes how it feels to drown in your feelings, but come out stronger. When she says “So I punched a hole in the roof. Let the flood carry away all my pictures of you” means she let the flood come and take away what she had. She was ready to let go and move on to better things. I like this because it can be hard to let go of something or someone you are used to having, but if it is toxic it is okay to let go. I also like the lyric “I screamed so loud, but no one heard a thing”. This means she was trying to ask for help or tell someone she wasn’t doing okay, but no one was listening. It can be frustrating trying to explain your feelings especially when it feels like no one hears you. When I first heard the line “When I was drowning, that’s when I could finally breathe” I was confused because it didn’t make sense to me. I realized later on that when she says drowning it doesn’t necessarily mean she is drowning. In some aspects, it can mean that, but it could also mean she was drowning her past. She was drowning what haunted her and is creating a better future. The bridge is my favorite part of the song. My two favorite lyrics are “Just because you’re clean, don’t mean you don’t miss it” and “Now that I’m clean, I’m never gonna risk it”. I love the first lyric because even when you get rid of something toxic in your life that doesn’t mean your feelings about it go away. You can miss an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend or an ex-friend. You can also miss how you felt when you weren’t doing good mentally because it became a familiar feeling. I like the second lyric because once you get better you realize how bad you were before. Once you have that realization you don’t want to go back to the same situation or the same feeling.

I read the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio in 4th grade with my class. Wonder is about a boy named August who has facial deformities. He had been homeschooled for most of his childhood, but his parents decided to send him to a real school in 6th grade. This story follows August's journey in figuring out his new life and adjusting to a new school. It is difficult for him to make friends, and unfortunately, many people are mean to him. I often find myself thinking about this book because of the impact it had on me. I remember my 4th-grade class had a lot of badly behaved students and they would constantly disrupt the class, but anytime we read this book everyone would pay attention. I think the reason why everyone was so interested in this book is that we were so young. We were only two years younger than the characters in this story so we could relate to some things they went through. I remember sitting in a circle with my class while my teacher read a scene where the dog dies. I remember looking around the room and seeing every person crying. Looking back I realize how big of a moment that was. No one likes crying in school, but we were all doing it together and feeling the same emotions. I think anyone of any age can enjoy this book and feel the same emotions that I did when I read it in 4th grade. It has important lessons to learn from. Just because someone looks different or acts differently doesn't give someone permission to be rude. I think a lot of people can learn from that.

I remember sitting in science class in 7th grade and learning about genetics. I was fascinated by how genes are passed down through generations. I loved doing Punnett squares and trying to figure out the traits a child could inherit. I was always so excited to go to class to learn more about it. I remember going home one day and telling my parents about nondisjunction—when the chromosomes don’t separate correctly and cause genetic disorders. My dad told me that I could be a geneticist and study genetic disorders, and that is when I decided I wanted to be a geneticist. In my 9th-grade biology class, I learned about genetic mutations. I learned about point mutations, when one nucleotide is changed in a DNA sequence, and frameshift mutations, when a nucleotide is inserted or deleted from a DNA sequence. Both of these mutations can cause different proteins to be created, which can lead to a mutation. Some mutations are more severe like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, Turner syndrome, and Klinefelter syndrome. When I learned about these mutations in class, I decided I wanted to do research to find cures or treatments for genetic disorders and diseases. Over the summer of 2021, I went to a camp in Greenwood, South Carolina at Greenwood Genetics Center. We learned about the immune system and how genetics affect it. We practiced genetic testing, and I learned how to use micropipettes. This captivated me because I like problem-solving, so being able to look at the results and figure out the problem was so much fun. I love continuing to learn about genetics. At the camp I went to in 2021, I was able to get books that helped me learn more about DNA and how it works. I like doing my own research and looking up any questions I have. In college, I can’t wait to learn more about genetics. I want to learn more about mutations and how they affect people. I’m also excited to learn along with other people who love the same thing. I think this will be a great way to connect with people. I would love to start researching in college even if it means joining someone else’s research project. I want to learn how to properly conduct research in genetics. I think it would be amazing to work on a research project with other people who are just as passionate about this as I am.

I remember sitting in science class in 7th grade and learning about genetics. I was fascinated by how genes are passed down through generations. I loved doing Punnett squares and trying to figure out the traits a child could inherit. I was always so excited to go to class to learn more about it. I remember going home one day and telling my parents about nondisjunction—when the chromosomes don’t separate correctly and cause genetic disorders. My dad told me that I could be a geneticist and study genetic disorders, and that is when I decided I wanted to be a geneticist. In my 9th-grade biology class, I learned about genetic mutations. I learned about point mutations, when one nucleotide is changed in a DNA sequence, and frameshift mutations, when a nucleotide is inserted or deleted from a DNA sequence. Both of these mutations can cause different proteins to be created, which can lead to a mutation. Some mutations are more severe like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, Turner syndrome, and Klinefelter syndrome. When I learned about these mutations in class, I decided I wanted to do research to find cures or treatments for genetic disorders and diseases. Over the summer of 2021, I went to a camp in Greenwood, South Carolina at Greenwood Genetics Center. We learned about the immune system and how genetics affect it. We practiced genetic testing, and I learned how to use micropipettes. This captivated me because I like problem-solving, so being able to look at the results and figure out the problem was so much fun. I love continuing to learn about genetics. At the camp I went to in 2021, I was able to get books that helped me learn more about DNA and how it works. I like doing my own research and looking up any questions I have. In college, I can’t wait to learn more about genetics. I want to learn more about mutations and how they affect people. I’m also excited to learn along with other people who love the same thing. I think this will be a great way to connect with people. I would love to start researching in college even if it means joining someone else’s research project. I want to learn how to properly conduct research in genetics. I think it would be amazing to work on a research project with other people who are just as passionate about this as I am.

In June 2020, I went to a Black Lives Matter protest with my family. My parents were worried at first because of the stories they heard on the news about violence occurring at these protests, but I convinced them to go. I wanted to protest to build an inclusive community. I believe it is important for everyone to be treated fairly and feel safe wherever they are. When people come together to protest, it shows support in denouncing unjust and inhumane treatment. It was so nice seeing everyone come together to support the same cause. It shows people they are not alone and they will always have support.

My favorite book is Wonder by R.J Palacio because of the realism. I love reading books that are not based on a true story, but is something that happens in real life. Wonder is one of those books. This story is about a little boy named August Pullman who has facial deformities. He is ten years old going to a new school. He meets many students. Some are kind to him while others unfortunately are not. In this story August has to learn to love himself and learn how to stick up for himself and his friends. I love how this story moves so many people. The first time I read it was in fourth grade with my class. By the end of the book everyone was in tears, and we had a long discussion about how Wonder relates to the world today. Being in fourth grade and hearing a story like that changed my perspective on the world. There were moments in this books where it felt like it could have been based on a true story. I love how people can relate to this book. There are situations that do not deal with August’s facial deformities, that anyone of any age can relate to. The death of family members and pets, bullying, and not knowing how to handle your emotions. I feel like every person should read this book at some point in their life because it shows you the real world, and not everyone can have everything.

Recently I showed up for a friend. She was going through a break up and unfortunately it really hurt her. She began texting me and our other friends concerning things. She was saying things like “I don’t wanna be here anymore.” and “Maybe if I wasn’t here I would finally be at peace.” I started texting her separately so I could have a conversation with just me and her. I have known her since 2nd grade so I did not want to lose one of my closest friends. About a year ago this same thing happened with one of my other friends, and fortunately she is still here so I thought I knew how to help, but what I learned is that when someone is suicidal there is not just one way to help. I had no idea how to help her so I talked to my dad who is a therapist. He was guiding me on how to help her and telling me what to tell her. She continued to say things like “I can’t do this anymore.” and “I just want to die.” At this point I was so scared and had no idea what to say. My dad made the suggestion to text her parents to let them know what was going on. My mom texted her mom and expressed my concern about her mental health as well as the concerning texts I was receiving. A few minutes later her mom texted back and said that they would check on her and help her the best they can. I didn’t hear anything from my friend for a while so I decided to not assume the worst, and go to bed. During the night periodically I would check my phone to make sure she was okay. In the morning when I got up for the day I got a text from her. She said that her parents stayed with her during the night and she would get the help she needed. She did get that help and did get better. A couple of days ago when I was going through some things with other friends she texted me and told me that she would always be there for me. She told me how she would never forget how I was there for her during her break up and how I helped her. Hearing her say that helped me more than she could know. Knowing that I saved someone’s life and that I really helped someone feels amazing. I always wanted to be good for something and now I feel like I have accomplished that. I saved my friends life. The song I have attached may seem like a strange song to put with this story but me and her can both relate to this and we really bonded over it.