Growing up, I never really understood the importance of education, and for that reason, I ended up taking git for granted. Reflecting back, I really wish I hadn't because I feel as though I cheated myself and now may not have some of the information and education that some of my other peers do. When I was in sixth grade, I had a language arts class where the teacher would assign us 20 new words every two weeks for us to study and memorize in order to help us grow our vocabulary. However, at the time I really saw it as a burden and I never really took the time to study, let alone open the book. When it was time for the tests, I felt lucky that I would pass with a C, just by listening in on our day to day class activities. However, one of the tests, I was not as lucky as I have been before, and ended up failing it. and had to get it signed by a parent. With my parents both hard on education and care about my grades, I did not want to show them the test, and needed to forget that it needed to be signed. The consequence for this was that I had to attend detention after school. The day of the detention was a day like no other. As soon as I got home, my parents were harder on me than they have ever been regarding schoolwork. They started to ask to see me complete my homework and ask me when I have tests coming up. I am extremely grateful for that opportunity. because, I feel that without that incident, I definitely would not be where I am today. When I realized how important education really was, I started looking at it at a completely different angle and realized that my education, ultimately, is my key to a good life.

It was my birthday, March 12, 2020, and already there were rumors that our school was going to shut down for a week, which meant a two week spring break. At the time, it sounded amazing, what a great birthday present! However, as time progressed, we never went back. March 13th was the last day of my junior year, without me knowing. I never got to say goodbye to my senior friends the way I wanted to. It all happened over a screen, and it was different, unusual, but I would soon learn that this will be the way I would have to spend my last year of high school. As time kept ticking, I found myself spending lots of time with my family and myself. Quarantine has let me find who I actually am as a person. As much as I do not like what has happened as a result of COVID, in some ways, I am grateful that I was forced to stay home, that I had to spend time with myself rather than with friends. This has led me to realize that many of the relationships that I had at the time were extremely toxic, and if that had kept going, who knows where I would be as of today. Quarantine has completely changed the way I view life. Before tha pandemic, I took a lot of things for granted that I never even thought about. Things like a stroll in the mall with friends or alone, or simply driving downtown to enjoy the scenery, but, as we know, our beloved America has had some civil unrest throughout the entire pandemic, and as a result has made many people fear for their lives. This civil unrest shows who we actually are as a nation. How will we react when the entire country, entire world is in a pandemic, and people from all over need help. In some ways, you could say that it showed our true colors, and not in a positive way. The pandemic has shown that our society is not as great as we say it is, or as others perceive it to be. It is obvious that there are still many walls up in many people, that are clearly not ready to bring them down and accept everyone. Looking back, I cannot help but realize that when people are at their worst/most vulnerable, is when noone is willing to help. People will stand for what they think is right, whether it is or not, and the fact that this civil unrest is happening during a pandemic shows that us Americans may not be as amazing as we think we are, and there is a lot of work and mending to be done.

Growing up, I would watch all different types of movies. In these movies, the main character's role model is always either someone popular, or a sports player or someone who has accomplished amazing things. Howeve, I do not think that a role model has to have all of that shazam. In my life, my grandmother is my role model. She is who i look up to and aspire to be like. My grandmother has shaped me into the person I am today. Without her, I would not know the things I know, and I definatley would not be here today. I owe my entire life and more to her. My grandmother showed me that if I put my mind to something, I can, and will, get it done, no matter the task at hand. A gathering of 30 people all at my house? No problem, got it covered. A toddlers birthday party? Done. Aunt pregnant and needs help with cleaning her house and cooking for her kids. Check and check. Watching my grandmother while growing up gave me a view of who I will be when I grow up, and I know that I have done a great job at keeping her legacy alive. My grandmother taught and showed me that when cooking, make sure to have extra to feed 4 more. With a big family and big appetite, people will eat, and having more is never a bad thing. I hope that in my near future, I keep remembering my grandmother and making her happy by feeding and comforting those who are less fortunate. I feel as though it is my duty to help everyone on this world with everything they need help with. However, I am only one human being, and I know that I can not do this on my own. Because of that, I hope to raise my kids and grandkids to love to help and remind be of my grandmother. My grandmother is the best person that I have and will every meet. I truly hope that others have role models that mean as much to them as my grandmother does to me.

I really want the children of today to come together to solve global problems whether it be global hunger, a pandemic, or racism. It is up to us to teach the young that together, more could be solved. I try my best to lead by example. I am a part of my community and always try to get people of all ages to help with a project that we are working on. When doing so, I always make sure that the youngest have the most important job, with my assistance. I want to teach them how to lead and how to be a good leader of a large number of people. When these kids learn how to do these things, they start to realize that with help anything can be accomplished. When I run into someone who feels as though they could do everyting themself, I make sure to show them just how well working together is effective. Our projects that we do range from collecting garbage at the park to collecting perishables for people who are less fortunate than us. I seriously believe that there is good in every single person, they just need to meet the right person for it to show. Helping ones community is like putting a bandage on a gun wound. If people from all over do their part, there would be enough help to buy the tools needed in order to stitch it up. With everyones help, I genuinely beileve that the children of today, will become the leaders of tomorrow.