Core to my leadership philosophy is the belief that great leaders are made, not born. I never was picked to head a group of kids growing up. Perhaps this was because I came across as a shy and introverted kid. Still, today I have surprised myself by taking on demanding leadership roles, not to mention applying for other organizations in leadership. Therefore, I do not consider myself born a leader, but I have acquired and honed leadership qualities over the years. For instance, it was not easy communicating with international students who did not speak English, yet thoroughness was expected of me. The role, however, sharpened my communication skills and taught me how to harness team dynamics as a leader. Whatever my initial reaction, however, the challenge is to turn a negative experience into a productive one—that is, to counter adversity with resilience. Psychological resilience is the capacity to respond quickly and constructively to crises. It’s a central dynamic in most survival stories, such as those of the shell-shocked individuals and organizations that rallied in the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. But resilience can be hard to muster for many reasons: Fear, anger, and confusion can paralyze us after a severe setback. Assigning blame rather than generating solutions is an all-too-human tendency. Worse yet, those to whom we turn for counsel may offer us exactly the wrong kind of advice. Trying to overcome this heartbreaking experience was awful and seemed to take forever. I felt as if the world was caving in on me. My whole world was falling down around me; it was almost as if everything I had ever known was taken from me. Things just kept getting worse. My saving grace was the talks that my Grandmother had with me. Watching her and seeing how she dealt with the death of her husband, a man whom she loved with all of her heart and who she had lived with for so many years, made me realize that things would get better. Grandma talked to me and told me that it was not God's fault that he had taken grandpa to a much better place. She said that I should be thankful for all the time that we had to be happy that grandpa was in the promised land. As I’ve grown up, my mental health, and how I’ve dealt with it, defined my beliefs and values. My upbringing had also instilled values and morals that I still base my actions on. My parents, who normally act off emotions and impulse, had subconsciously taught me to become more apathetic and logical as arguments with them always seemed pointless. This indefinitely affected my mental health, causing me to become more emotionally closed off and unable to communicate my feelings towards them. My cognitive well-being, and my adaptations from the challenges it faced, determined my beliefs on religion and my moral principles. Going back to what my mom has done to support me throughout my educational journey, she always encouraged me and my older sister to go to school and do our best. She taught us the importance of showing respect to the grown-ups, especially to our teachers. She always thought very highly of our teachers and would never allow any foolishness on our part. We were always told to have extra respect for our teachers because they were our mothers when she was not present. Today, I can say that my work ethic, integrity, my respect for others, no matter their nationality or ethnicity, comes from watching and listening to my mother.

If I had the power to change only one thing to make the educational system better for future generations, it would be to instill the value of lifelong learning in every child throughout their years of schooling. One of the biggest factors that determine a child's success is their inner motivation to excel in academics. My experiences within the classroom have proven to me that children who have, or who you can help to instill a love and desire for learning and self-improvement will continually strive to excel. What is most discouraging for me as a student in my 12th year of school within California’s public schools is the apathy and lack of appreciation for learning among student bodies, and year after year the plague of apathy grows. It has been astounding to observe during our post Zero Tolerance era, how school districts have become lax in issuing appropriate discipline and providing teachers with support in handling rampant acts of misconduct. Yet I do not singularly blame a lacking school-issued discipline for the problems I observe among other students who follow the example of other students with the worst behavior, and work habits, and look up to and take pleasure in watching the actions of those who dare to be the most defiant. When there is an inner absence of the value and purpose education plays in a student’s life you begin to encounter children who view the education process, teachers included, with disdain leading to the negative behaviors I see daily. We know that it is within the home environment that the importance of education should begin. However, when that foundation and importance are not established, the burden is placed on the teacher and child to develop. Educating in itself is not a burden, it is a labor of love, but to do so in an atmosphere where it is not appreciated nor regarded with respect, the results are far too negative on the educator and students who do comply daily and have a thirst to learn. Further, far too many students are leaving school unprepared for college nor with the skills to work in our highly competitive workforce. At some point, we all come to realize how the impact of the K-12 education we received has affected our later lives. Many people can look back fondly on these formative years, but far too many reminisce with feelings of regret feeling that, “I didn't take my education seriously”. I would say the system has its flaws, but I don’t think we can really fix anything more. There will be kids struggling with some subjects and kids struggling with other subjects. I would just like to say grades are good as they are. The first student would probably flunk in college and the other one could do great things. The world sadly isn’t fair, we are all different and have talents in different fields. Like it or not the education system helps us find those fields. One of the few organizations that I served for my community was the National Honor Society (NHS). I committed 5 hours per week and 25 weeks per year for this service. The reason NHS exists today is that it elevates students' and schools' academics, leadership, and community engagement. It helps the local community by creating enthusiasm for scholarship, stimulating a desire to render service & promoting leadership. As an NHS student, I volunteered in my community and helped with different projects, like marathons, food drives, online fundraisers, and more. In my work, I have demonstrated respect, responsibility, trustworthiness & integrity. It's a great way to get involved & have fun too. In order to maintain the membership, I have to keep up with good grades. Also, I was part of the California Scholarship Federation (CSF). Throughout high school, I've kept up with the academic and volunteer hour qualifications to be a CSF member. In 2019, I took part in the organization and set up for both the annual Easter Egg Hunt at my community park and the Vista del Lago High School International Night. During 2020-2021, I helped with several online club fundraisers and raffles. My primary goal in continuing this leadership is to expand my organizational leadership skills beyond an organization-specific setting to a global arena. Of all the lessons I learned as a leader, the greatest takeaway is that good leadership is not about imposing ideas on people, but providing information so they can make informed decisions. Excellent leadership, to me, is the ability to lead and guide a team, motivating and inspiring individuals to get them to where they need to be. Someone who is a leader and inspires one person may not inspire another. Every day is your chance to direct your career to where you want to go and inspire people along the way. Leadership means inspiring others to work together toward a common goal. It encourages and enables people to do their best work. As a reminder, I would have my own unique set of strengths, knowledge, and experience, because of the life I’ve led. I think about all the lessons I've learned and how they might change even a single person’s livelihood. Sharing my knowledge with my community is a beautiful gift. As a leader, I have perspectives and ideas that can directly impact my community for the better. By using my voice and sharing my skills, I become an essential part of my community. Success isn’t just about wealth. It’s about how I inspire others and make a difference along the way. Leaders today, more than ever before, have to win people’s cooperation. And there are two main ways of doing so: motivation and inspiration. Although the two words are often used interchangeably, they actually mean quite different things – depending on what you want to achieve.

Christmas Eve ended with me crying on our living room floor because my mom wanted me to eat just one of her famous sugar cookies. Her cookies had always been one of my favorite Christmas traditions, but this year when I looked at the cookies, all I could see were calories and guilt. They smelled and looked delicious, but just the thought of taking one bite filled me with anxiety and fear. I consider this the moment I realized my eating disorder had completely taken over my life. I had become obsessed with calories and weight as a way to feel in control of my life and gain confidence. In reality, my eating disorder had slowly stripped me of my independence, health, and happiness. Although the treatment process was often frustrating and challenging, I actually came to enjoy my appointments with the nutritionist in her tiny, cozy office, cluttered with food models and recipes. She taught me the basics of nutrition and helped me form a healthier relationship with food. It took time and quite a few tearful sessions, but I slowly started to view food in terms of the nutrients and benefits it could offer me instead of thinking of food as the enemy. During my recovery, I experienced the powerful impact that proper nutrition could have on overall health. However, the biggest changes were the ones most people could not see just by looking at me; they were the emotional and mental changes that came from properly nourishing my body again. Later, when the house was quiet, I’d go back to the package of cookies. Just one. Okay, two. Another bite. Black out. Spit. Only apples for the next five lunches, I’d bargain with myself. The cycle repeated. Though I’d spoken with therapists, participated in recovery chat rooms, and taken online courses with health coaches trained to curb dangerous eating habits, it wasn’t until after college, when I learned about “intuitive eating” that things started to change for me. But the thing is, this is just my experience. Indeed, people with eating disorders often follow similar patterns; there’s no one way to have issues with food. There’s no one way to recover. Some might find spending so much time around food to be triggering; for me, it’s exposure therapy. I am not in college yet, but I have this to say: At first this writing started off as just a simple essay to help me prepare myself for the essays I had to write when I started applying for college, but I decided at the last minute that I was going to write my essay about something that means a lot to me, and something that I could write confidently about. I chose eating disorders, because of my personal connection with them, and to help people understand more about eating disorders, because I believe that if someone knows enough about an eating disorder, they will be able to say they understand it, to a certain extent, and maybe they will go on, later in life to help people who suffer from eating disorders.

The only legacy I would like to leave behind is that my time on this planet stood for and pointed to an ideal I cared about. The effects of what happens after I'm gone are impossible to quantify, but against the possibility of absurdity, paradoxically it would be nice to have stood for an ideal. It could be giving time and extra energy in your medical practice to save more patients since your ideal is seeing more people alive and happy. It could also be running ultramarathons for fallen soldiers at risk to your body because you believe those men who served in the war are the bravest who existed. My ideal simply stands as this: an objective scientific understanding of the universe. I can't sleep knowing how little we know about it, feeling the void of the unknown extend trillions of light-years in every direction. This is why I am studying chemistry with the intention of pursuing theoretical and computational research. But I don't pretend to assume it will necessarily matter in the end. It's just moving a grain of sand in that direction on a beach with billions of other grains of sand. As long as I care about it and find freedom in it, I enjoy it as well as respect it enough to give my life to it. Beyond that, my legacy will just be my years on Earth, destined to be forgotten, but hopefully lived happily and contented. We all want to be remembered for something, to be known as more than merely ordinary, to be seen as someone who truly made a difference. We all want to be known as someone who truly made a difference, to leave an imprint on this world, and to leave behind something making the future a little brighter. Being depressed as an adolescent had perverse effects on my mental well-being, but it catalyzed a life-changing journey and allowed me to discover a career I'm very passionate about. My new interests in biochemistry and pharmacy had led me to the discovery of the field of nutrition and dietetics, which is an educational career that focuses on constructing healthy diets for individuals and understanding what that food does. This new enthusiasm about these possible STEM careers allowed me to find good colleges and universities that will help me pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist. I had thankfully found a great undergraduate school known as University of the Pacific. I have already applied as an early action applicant for University of the Pacific this fall, and I hope to get in so I will be able to pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist and helping others with their medications as well as mental and physical health. Even though being with anxiety and depression as a small child had detrimental effects on my psyche, it forced me to find a new career path that has put meaning in my life. My personal experiences with mental health and the events that challenged it caused me to change my ideals, my physical well-being, and my career field. The morals that I now base my actions on have reflected my changes from my upbringing and the environments of school and overall society. This change and new interest in the science community allowed me to discover research labs and pharmaceuticals, an educational path that has brought new meaning in my pursuit of bettering myself. Even these obstacles had plagued my mental health during my childhood, they brought positive effects in my teenage years and allowed me to discover my purpose in life.

A healthy lifestyle involves a lot of things under it, including a nutritional diet, daily exercise, adequate sleep, being happy, and thinking positively. When we do all the necessary elements to have a healthy lifestyle, our lives are going on the right path. Living a healthy life is vital for you to be happy and feel good in your present life and for the future. Once you choose to live a healthy life, it lasts all your life. It not only helps you live longer but also better and less prone to sickness and diseases. A healthy lifestyle is the kind of lifestyle that we should all strive for. Health is very important. It’s how you treat yourself and how you define it. It’s very important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. One should make time for everything within their busy lifestyle things as sleep, exercise, and eating healthily. I believe that those are necessary factors for an everyday lifestyle. I know that I would want to prevent diseases in any possible way that I can. In order for myself to accomplish this, I try to take care of myself as much as I can. To feel emotionally and physically healthy I always fit in the time and effort to add those factors to my everyday life. One of the ways of practicing a healthy lifestyle is having an exercise at least three times a week. Having exercise can help to improve body health and control weight. In addition, according to Healthy Lifestyle (2014), exercise can help control the weight gain and maintain the weight loss. This is because, while exercising, our body will have a continuous movement, hence it can help to burn the calories and body fat. On the other hand, exercise and physical activity are the best way to make you feel better because they can help to release stress. With busy schedules, and many things to settle off they sometimes do not get enough sleep or have a healthy and nutrient meal in their daily schedule. If these continue, there might be a possibility that the death rate among young people will increase as they do not take care of their health accordingly. Thus, in order to prevent this unhealthy lifestyle, the government should organize a campaign for a healthy lifestyle in order to remind people about how important to have a healthy lifestyle in life. Living out healthy and staying fit will let us do many things without being worried about the risk of getting sick. The benefits of a healthy lifestyle are manifold: living a healthy life allows you to live longer, which means that you get to spend more time with your family. Exercising daily will enable you to release endorphins and helps you feel happier. Regular exercise also improves the health of your skin and hair, bettering your appearance as well. Healthy lifestyles also primarily reduce your risk of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, diabetes, etc., and also reduce your susceptibility to cardiac arrests. Overall, living your life in a healthy way only has benefits, and that’s why it is recommended that you do everything you can to have a healthy lifestyle. So, eat three nutritional meals a day, avoid unhealthy junk food, go for a run or jog in the morning, get your full 8 hours of sleep, and avoid bad habits like drugs, alcohol, and smoking. A healthy lifestyle is the best thing that you can do for your body, and you will be thanking yourself for following a healthy lifestyle in the later years of your life.

Mental health is defined as one’s emotional and psychological well-being, which is a major factor in someone's life. Personally, the obstacles in my life that challenged the stability and idea of my mental health have heavily changed my personality and forced me to become a more driven person. Persevering through these psychological barriers has allowed me to discover the morals and values that I have based my life on. Depression and anxiety have caused me to disband relationships with past friends who did not support me in my times of need. These changes have also allowed me to discover a career field that has brought significant change in my life. Core to my leadership philosophy is the belief that great leaders are made, not born. I never was picked to head a group of kids growing up. Perhaps this was because I came across as a shy and introverted kid. Still, today I have surprised myself by taking on demanding leadership roles, not to mention applying for other organizations in leadership. Therefore, I do not consider myself born a leader, but I have acquired and honed leadership qualities over the years. For instance, it was not easy communicating with international students who did not speak English, yet thoroughness was expected of me. The role, however, sharpened my communication skills and taught me how to harness team dynamics as a leader. However, we must remember that a healthy lifestyle not only refers to our physical and mental health. Maintaining a balanced diet, exercising daily, and sleeping well are essential parts of a healthy lifestyle. But feeling happy is also a big part of a healthy lifestyle. To enable happiness, thinking positively is a must. When a person does not feel happy or good about themselves, they are not entirely healthy. Thus we must do our best to think positively so that we can feel happy rather than sad. As I’ve grown up, my mental health, and how I’ve dealt with it, defined my beliefs and values. My upbringing had also instilled values and morals that I still base my actions on. My parents, who normally act off emotions and impulses, had subconsciously taught me to become more apathetic and logical as arguments with them always seemed pointless. This indefinitely affected my mental health, causing me to become more emotionally closed off and unable to communicate my feelings towards them. My cognitive well-being, and my adaptations from the challenges it faced, determined my beliefs on religion and my moral principles. Disruptions from close friends and peers caused me to disband relationships that were not beneficial to my mental well-being. During my late years in elementary school and both academic years of junior high, I felt like I was really picked on because of my conditions and autism. In elementary school, I was always the last one picked during recess. This would heavily hurt my feelings, and it caused me to feel emotionally weak and physically inferior to my other classmates. After graduating from elementary school, it became worse in middle school and later in high school. The exhaustion from this became worse. The constant fat-shaming caused me to stop talking to these people, as they had made me think negatively of myself and adversely affected my mental health. Cutting off these relationships with toxic people allowed me to feel better about myself, even though I still dealt with the physical and emotional challenges of being overweight. Being depressed as an adolescent had perverse effects on my mental well-being, but it catalyzed a life-changing journey and allowed me to discover a career I am very passionate about. After being continuously ignored by my classmates and even my parents, I had enough and began changing different parts of my lifestyle. My new interests in biochemistry and pharmacy led me to the discovery of the field of nutrition and dietetics, which is an educational career that focuses on constructing healthy diets for individuals and understanding what that food does. This new enthusiasm about these possible STEM careers allowed me to find good colleges and universities that will help me pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist. I had thankfully found a great undergraduate school known as the University of the Pacific, which prides itself on advanced educational opportunities and a plethora of majors and minors for its students to choose from. I have already applied as an early action applicant for the University of the Pacific this fall, and I hope to get in so I will be able to pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist and helping others with their medications as well as mental and physical health. Even though being with anxiety and depression as a small child had detrimental effects on my psyche, it forced me to find a new career path that has put meaning in my life. My personal experiences with mental health and the events that challenged it caused me to change my ideals, my physical well-being, and my career field. The morals that I now base my actions on having reflected the changes in my upbringing and the environment of the school and overall society. My physical health was ridiculed by my fellow friends and classmates, causing me to negatively perceive myself and later change myself for the better. This change and new interest in the science community allowed me to discover research labs and pharmaceuticals, an educational path that has brought new meaning to my pursuit of bettering myself. Even though these obstacles had plagued my mental health during my childhood, they brought positive effects in my teenage years and allowed me to discover my purpose in life.

In the contemporary world, there are many careers and courses to choose from especially in the pharmaceutical field. Many people only know this field to consist of pharmacists. However, it also contains pharmaceutical technicians. While the roles of pharmacy technicians have been perceived to be behind the scenes, the actual duties consist of more than counting, mixing, as well as preparing sterile preparations. Other roles performed by pharmacy technicians also include customer service, as well as clerical duties. Over the years, the role of this field has kept evolving from typical daily routines in the pharmacies to other critical functions that include management and even procurement. The area of pharmacy technicians is projected to grow by 20% in the next ten years, providing many job opportunities. As a young person, I'll pursue this career not only because of the possible employment and salaries, but also the role it plays in society. My dream about being a pharmacist started when I was in high school, the enthusiasm I have for both chemistry and cancer research combined with the amazement by the human body magnificence encouraged me to think about taking the first step in this path and pursue my undergraduate degree in Science of Pharmacy. I have always enjoyed sciences through my education; I enjoyed learning about every aspect of pharmacy during my undergraduate studies because I am so passionate about it. In chemistry I mostly was entertained when I learned about drug delivery systems, physical pharmacy, analytical chemistry, and pharmacokinetics, while in biology; I loved physiology, pharmacology, nutrition, and pharmacotherapy. I believe those subjects helped me understand the big picture of pharmacy; how specific parts of molecules and medicines affect certain organs, how we can improve them how a small change can have a huge impact on the entire body. Being depressed as an adolescent had perverse effects on my mental well-being, but it catalyzed a life-changing journey and allowed me to discover a career I am very passionate about. After being continuously ignored by my classmates and even my parents, I had enough and began changing different parts of my lifestyle. My new interests in biochemistry and pharmacy had led me to the discovery of the field of nutrition and dietetics, which is an educational career that focuses on constructing healthy diets for individuals and understanding what that food does. This new enthusiasm about these possible STEM careers allowed me to find good colleges and universities that will help me pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist. I had thankfully found a great undergraduate school known as the University of the Pacific, which prides itself on advanced educational opportunities and a plethora of majors and minors for its students to choose from. I will be able to pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist and helping others with their medications as well as mental and physical health. Even though being with anxiety and depression as a small child had detrimental effects on my psyche, it forced me to find a new career path that has put meaning in my life.

Sitting in class, I could not help but look around and notice that everyone else knew what they were doing while I just sat there silently, pretending to fit in. I had no clue what I was supposed to be doing because I did not really understand the lesson the teacher had just finished teaching. I didn’t want to ask a question because it seemed like I was the only one that was lost, so instead, I just sat at my desk with my head down and pretended to write on my paper. I have repeated this scenario on numerous occasions. In 5th grade, I was diagnosed with a learning disability which affected the way I learned and my ability to understand what others around me said. My mom noticed that I was working really hard to accomplish the same work that other kids my age did with less effort and in a shorter amount of time. We saw a psychologist who sent me to a specialist who diagnosed me with a learning disability in central auditory processing, and also had a very weak short term memory. Basically, this means that my brain processes information slower than the average. Although my hearing is normal, it takes my brain longer to comprehend what I hear and then process it. Sometimes I miss parts of what people say because my brain is not able to understand everything that is being said all at once so I need directions written down or given slowly in order to truly comprehend. My main purpose in seeking a college degree is the desire to learn more and to better myself to be more successful in life. I know that there is always an opportunity for learning and developing in life even if someone does not have a college degree, however having a degree broadens the opportunities. I have noticed this to be true especially with jobs. Many times now, jobs will post ads asking about college experiences and even sometimes one of the minimum requirements is to have an associates or bachelors degree. What motivates me most to pursue a college degree is opening new doors for career options and inspiring my daughter through my own actions to pursue lifelong learning. I have waited until this point in my life to take this first step for many reasons. I feel that I had a lot of fear of failure that kept me from pursuing this higher learning. I am in the right place mentally at this stage in my life and feel like I can fully invest in this experience and make it truly a success and representation of what I can do. I am also highly motivated by the fact that my career is truly stalled because I am not competition for someone that has equal experience and a degree. I plan to conquer that competition through this process. I deserve and am a good candidate for this scholarship not because I deserve anything but because I represent a potentially good return on your investment. I am self motivated, a hard worker, I have realistic goals and aspirations, and I wish to make a contribution to the betterment of society as a whole. Fundamentally, it is not so much about me as it is about others. What can I contribute to improve the world. How can I, in my own way, make things better for others. Your scholarship will help me realize my dreams. I am determined because even if I do not get something, I find ways to make myself learn the subject well.

Mental health is defined as one’s emotional and psychological well-being, which is a major factor in someone's life. Personally, the obstacles in my life that challenged the stability and idea of my mental health have heavily changed my personality and forced me to become a more driven person. Persevering through these psychological barriers has allowed me to discover the morals and values that I have based my life on. Depression and anxiety have caused me to disband relationships with past friends who did not support me in my times of need. These changes have also allowed me to discover a career field that has brought significant change in my life. As I’ve grown up, my mental health, and how I’ve dealt with it, defined my beliefs and values. My upbringing had also instilled values and morals that I still base my actions on. My parents, who normally act off emotions and impulse, had subconsciously taught me to become more apathetic and logical as arguments with them always seemed pointless. This indefinitely affected my mental health, causing me to become more emotionally closed off and unable to communicate my feelings towards them. My cognitive well-being, and my adaptations from the challenges it faced, determined my beliefs on religion and my moral principles. Disruptions from close friends and peers caused me to disband relationships that were not beneficial to my mental well-being. During my late years in elementary school and both academic years of junior high, I felt like I was really picked on because of my conditions and autism. In elementary school, I was always the last one picked during recess. This would heavily hurt my feelings, and it caused me to feel emotionally weak and physically inferior to my other classmates. After graduating from elementary school, it became worse in middle school and later in high school. The exhaustion from this became worse. The constant fat-shaming caused me to stop talking to these people, as they had made me think negatively of myself and adversely affected my mental health. Cutting off these relationships with toxic people allowed me to feel better about myself, even though I still dealt with the physical and emotional challenges of being overweight. Being depressed as an adolescent had perverse effects on my mental well-being, but it catalyzed a life-changing journey and allowed me to discover a career I am very passionate about. After being continuously ignored by my classmates and even my parents, I had enough and began changing different parts of my lifestyle. My new interests in biochemistry and pharmacy had led me to the discovery of the field of nutrition and dietetics, which is an educational career that focuses on constructing healthy diets for individuals and understanding what that food does. This new enthusiasm about these possible STEM careers allowed me to find good colleges and universities that will help me pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist. I had thankfully found a great undergraduate school known as University of the Pacific, which prides itself on advanced educational opportunities and a plethora of majors and minors for its students to choose from. I have already applied as an early action applicant for University of the Pacific this fall, and I hope to get in so I will be able to pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist and helping others with their medications as well as mental and physical health. Even though being with anxiety and depression as a small child had detrimental effects on my psyche, it forced me to find a new career path that has put meaning in my life. My personal experiences with mental health and the events that challenged it caused me to change my ideals, my physical well-being, and my career field. The morals that I now base my actions on have reflected my changes from my upbringing and the environments of school and overall society. My physical health was ridiculed by my fellow friends and classmates, causing me to negatively perceive myself and later change myself for the better. This change and new interest in the science community allowed me to discover research labs and pharmaceuticals, an educational path that has brought new meaning in my pursuit of bettering myself. Even these obstacles had plagued my mental health during my childhood, they brought positive effects in my teenage years and allowed me to discover my purpose in life.

As a kid, I loved to draw but most of my pictures were animals like horses and dogs instead of flowers. I loved to play with our puppy and bigger dogs. I loved animals. I still do. I learned a lot about animals and what i want to do with my life is help them, medically or behaviorally. My whole life I have wanted to do something with animals because of my love and passion for them. Sometimes they will react out of instincts. Like small prey or small dogs might look like prey to them. Some dogs have a really high prey drive which isn 't always a bad thing. Because of this prey drive, these dogs can not live in a home with smaller animal 's. It can not live in a home with a small dog, even if it does get along with other dogs, just to be cautious. “ Often there are deeper rooted issues which are causing the dog to do worse things. I also look forward to making a difference in the pet’s life like they make in ours as human companions. I desire to strengthen the bond between owner and pet while educating the owner(s) on how to keep their pets happy and healthy by working together. I recently found that now 15 year old childhood picture of me with a clinic full of animals. I am ready to further my education allowing me turn my dreams into a reality with real patients. Animal rights advocates attempt to distinguish animals from inanimate objects, as they are so often considered by exploitative industries and the law. The animal rights movement strives to make the public aware of the fact that animals are more sensitive, emotional, and intelligent than people have previously believed. Some people advocate for animal welfare and help create standards and practices that protect animals so that animals stay healthy and safe. Animal welfare also aims to bring attention and potentially change the harsh conditions that some endure daily due to human behavior. Animal welfare is important because there are so many animals around the world suffering from being used for entertainment, food, medicine, fashion, scientific advancement, and as exotic pets. In recent years, raising awareness about animal welfare is an important component of social change movements sweeping across our international landscape. And it continues to be important in shaping our understanding of ethical behavior towards animals, regardless of where the opportunity to engage with them crops up. Of course, working with animals means you need to be able to bond and communicate with them, and developing a bond with another species can often be highly rewarding itself. This type of work provides ample opportunities to spend time not just with animals but with other people too.

One of my dreams for the future is to become a strong and independent individual like my mom. Also graduating college and having a family in the future. My mom has been a big influence on most of my goals but mostly she's been an influence on why I want to be a strong and independent person. My mom has overcome many hard times without anyone’s help and seeing her persevere without anyone’s help has taught me that you don't need anyone to overcome hard times. Some people who have influenced me to go to college have been all my 8th-grade teachers, and an influence that I've had that's made me want to have a family has been the fact that I didn't get what I wanted as a kid and as now has made me want to have a family so that I can give them what I couldn't have. They have influenced me a lot to graduate college because they want me to be successful in the future. A specific teacher who has influenced me to go and graduate college has been my honors/AP Chemistry teacher Mrs. Abulencia. She has influenced me a lot in this dream because she has supported me the most throughout the school year in many ways. Some ways she has supported me have been through helping me when I've been struggling in my school work and also by teaching me that anything is possible if you set your mindset and time into it without any excuses. Also knowing her story and what she's been through and was still able to go to college has inspired me to not give up because your struggles are what make you stronger mentally and physically. As you can see Mrs. Abulencia has been such a big inspiration to go to college and pursue my educational goals. Going back to what my mom has done to support me throughout my educational journey, she always encouraged me and my older sister to go to school and do our best. She taught us the importance of showing respect to the grown-ups, especially to our teachers. She always thought very highly of our teachers and would never allow any foolishness on our part. We were always told to have extra respect for our teachers because they were our mothers when she was not present. Today, I can say that my work ethic, integrity, my respect for others, no matter their nationality or ethnicity, comes from watching and listening to my mother. She is the ultimate comforting source, the living security blanket, and the greatest friend. On rainy days or road trips, she will have endless crafts, games, and songs in her repertoire to amuse her children’s wandering short attention span for hours. She will also try every recipe her child brings her and love every bite. However, each goal that I strived for, I achieved because my mother always had faith in me. She believed I could do anything that I put my mind to. For eleven years, my mother was a single parent who raised me. My biological father died before I was born. She basically raised me all alone. My mother always bought me books as a child. Her dedication inspired me to be the person that I am striving for today. She always had a way of showing me her love and care by pushing me towards a successful life. Regardless of the circumstances, she was the one who helped me get to where I am today. This is why I'm determined to go even further in life.

Core to my leadership philosophy is the belief that great leaders are made, not born. I never was picked to head a group of kids growing up. Perhaps this was because I came across as a shy and introverted kid. Still, today I have surprised myself by taking on demanding leadership roles, not to mention applying for other organizations in leadership. Therefore, I do not consider myself born a leader, but I have acquired and honed leadership qualities over the years. For instance, it was not easy communicating with international students who did not speak English, yet thoroughness was expected of me. The role, however, sharpened my communication skills and taught me how to harness team dynamics as a leader. One of the few organizations that I served for my community was the National Honor Society (NHS). I committed 5 hours per week and 25 weeks per year for this service. The reason NHS exists today is that it elevates students' and schools' academics, leadership, and community engagement. It helps the local community by creating enthusiasm for scholarship, stimulating a desire to render service & promoting leadership. As an NHS student, I volunteered in my community and helped with different projects, like marathons, food drives, online fundraisers, and more. In my work, I have demonstrated respect, responsibility, trustworthiness & integrity. It's a great way to get involved & have fun too. In order to maintain the membership, I have to keep up with good grades. Also, I was part of the California Scholarship Federation (CSF). Throughout high school, I've kept up with the academic and volunteer hour qualifications to be a CSF member. In 2019, I took part in the organization and set up for both the annual Easter Egg Hunt at my community park and the Vista del Lago High School International Night. During 2020-2021, I helped with several online club fundraisers and raffles. My primary goal in continuing this leadership is to expand my organizational leadership skills beyond an organization-specific setting to a global arena. Of all the lessons I learned as a leader, the greatest takeaway is that good leadership is not about imposing ideas on people, but providing information so they can make informed decisions. Excellent leadership, to me, is the ability to lead and guide a team, motivating and inspiring individuals to get them to where they need to be. Someone who is a leader and inspires one person may not inspire another. Every day is your chance to direct your career to where you want to go and inspire people along the way. Leadership means inspiring others to work together toward a common goal. It encourages and enables people to do their best work. As a reminder, I would have my own unique set of strengths, knowledge, and experience, because of the life I’ve led. I think about all the lessons I've learned and how they might change even a single person’s livelihood. Sharing my knowledge with my community is a beautiful gift. As a leader, I have perspectives and ideas that can directly impact my community for the better. By using my voice and sharing my skills, I become an essential part of my community. Success isn’t just about wealth. It’s about how I inspire others and make a difference along the way. Leaders today, more than ever before, have to win people’s cooperation. And there are two main ways of doing so: motivation and inspiration. Although the two words are often used interchangeably, they actually mean quite different things – depending on what you want to achieve.

"Selflessness is what has brought me the most happiness." I heard this statement countless times from my grandmother while growing up. She was constantly providing for others in public settings by organizing events through our church or helping other elderly people load their groceries in their cars on her weekly shopping trip. She was just as giving in private settings with nobody around to note her selflessness, rarely taking time to do anything for herself before she made sure everyone else was content and happy. I could never completely wrap my head around her desire to always help in some way, but always admired it. I, like so many others, knew it felt good to make people happy and give to those in need. Still, I would watch her gladly sacrifice her own happiness for the happiness of others, and I would question how she could possibly enjoy doing it every single day until one incidence of total selflessness made it clear. On a warm, summer morning spent with my mom going to get coffees, I felt the cool breeze wrapping itself around me as the wind entered through the rolled-down window of the car. As we continued through the crowded weekend streets, we came upon a man sitting on the side of the street holding a sign reading “Anything will help.” Although this was not my first time seeing someone in need, desperate enough to practically beg for help on the road, it was my first time seeing one in Dublin. My mom, blowing him off as if he was invisible, casually carried on driving, but I couldn’t help but stare as we approached. He had bright, blue eyes that shone like the sea and were visible all the way from my seat in the car. Despite all the surrounding stimuli, a car horn blaring at the four-way stop, the restaurant sign flashing to my right, and the thumping of music obnoxiously blaring from the car next to us, I couldn’t help but focus on them. They looked like they held so many experiences and I wondered what all they had seen, and how it compared to what I had seen in my life. I began to feel increasingly sorry for him. When I'm being selfless, I'm thinking of other people before myself. If I'm selfless, I think less about myself, and more about others — I'm generous and kind. Being selfless is similar to being altruistic — another word for giving to others without looking for personal gain. I show selflessness by performing random acts of kindness every day, offering compliments instead of criticism, practicing kindness meditation regularly, listening instead of speaking first, donating to charity, being a more patient person, and being okay with imperfection. Often, I interact with people by asking questions. To listen is to pay attention. When I show up, I am able to take the posture of listening. There was another specific instance in that I did help someone in need: During this one time, I was returning home from the train station. There were no elevators in this train station. As I was about to walk down the stairs, an old lady approached me and asked me to carry their wheeled trolleys down the stairs. Naturally, I said yes and carried her trolley down the steep station stairs as she gradually descended behind me, holding the stair railings. At the bottom of the stairs, I handed the trolley back to the woman and instinctively said ‘'thank you just before she said ‘Thank you. I walked away in embarrassment.

A healthy lifestyle involves a lot of things under it, including a nutritional diet, daily exercise, adequate sleep, being happy, and thinking positively. When we do all the necessary elements to have a healthy lifestyle, our lives are going on the right path. Living a healthy life is vital for you to be happy and feel good in your present life and for the future. Once you choose to live a healthy life, it lasts all your life. It not only helps you live longer but also better and less prone to sickness and diseases. A healthy lifestyle is the kind of lifestyle that we should all strive for. Health is very important. It’s how you treat yourself and how you define it. It’s very important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. One should make time for everything within their busy lifestyle things as sleep, exercise, and eating healthily. I believe that those are necessary factors for an everyday lifestyle. I know that I would want to prevent diseases in any possible way that I can. In order for myself to accomplish this, I try to take care of myself as much as I can. To feel emotionally and physically healthy I always fit in the time and effort to add those factors to my everyday life. What does it mean to be emotionally and physically healthy? Well, in my definition it means that I shouldn’t let myself down and I should have positive thoughts about everything that makes me happy. Physically healthy I think I should be that I take the time to do some sort of physical activity and eat well most of the time so I can feel good about myself. Being happy is also a major factor. One thing that I have learned over time is that being fit is not the only way that you can feel fresh. When I feel that I am healthy, I feel like I have all the energy in the world. Feeling healthy just makes me feel more alive and that way I’m more productive. I don’t slack around and do nothing. I’m able to stay focused on school, go to the gym, and also go to work. Having a healthy lifestyle is all about choosing to live your life in the most healthy way possible. There are a few things you have to do to start living your life in this way, i.e., the healthy way. This means doing some amount of exercise daily, such as jogging, yoga, playing sports, etc. Adding to this, you must also have a balanced and nutritional diet with all the food groups. It would be best if you were taking the right amount of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fats to help you have a proper diet. Grouped with these two essential aspects (diet and exercise), a healthy person also maintains the same sleep cycle, which should consist of around 7-8 hours of sleep. One of the ways of practicing a healthy lifestyle is having an exercise at least three times a week. Having exercise can help to improve body health and control weight. In addition, according to Healthy Lifestyle (2014), exercise can help control the weight gain and maintain the weight loss. This is because, while exercising, our body will have a continuous movement, hence it can help to burn the calories and body fat. On the other hand, exercise and physical activity are the best way to make you feel better because they can help to release stress. However, we must remember that a healthy lifestyle not only refers to our physical and mental health. Maintaining a balanced diet, exercising daily, and sleeping well are essential parts of a healthy lifestyle. But feeling happy is also a big part of a healthy lifestyle. To enable happiness, thinking positively is a must. When a person does not feel happy or good about themselves, they are not entirely healthy. Thus we must do our best to think positively so that we can feel happy rather than sad. With busy schedules, and many things to settle off they sometimes do not get enough sleep or have a healthy and nutrient meal in their daily schedule. If these continue, there might be a possibility that the death rate among young people will increase as they do not take care of their health accordingly. Thus, in order to prevent this unhealthy lifestyle, the government should organize a campaign for a healthy lifestyle in order to remind people about how important to have a healthy lifestyle in life. In short, having a healthy lifestyle is one of the best ways for us to enjoy our beautiful lives to the fullest. Living out healthy and staying fit will let us do many things without being worried about the risk of getting sick. The benefits of a healthy lifestyle are manifold: living a healthy life allows you to live longer, which means that you get to spend more time with your family. Exercising daily will enable you to release endorphins and helps you feel happier. Regular exercise also improves the health of your skin and hair, bettering your appearance as well. Healthy lifestyles also primarily reduce your risk of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, diabetes, etc., and also reduce your susceptibility to cardiac arrests. Overall, living your life in a healthy way only has benefits, and that’s why it is recommended that you do everything you can to have a healthy lifestyle. So, eat three nutritional meals a day, avoid unhealthy junk food, go for a run or jog in the morning, get your full 8 hours of sleep, and avoid bad habits like drugs, alcohol, and smoking. A healthy lifestyle is the best thing that you can do for your body, and you will be thanking yourself for following a healthy lifestyle in the later years of your life.

I remember the day that I got my cat. My family has 2 cats. But this one is really like mine. This cat chose me, over everyone else. I remember driving with my mother and sister to my friend’s house to pick her up. Arriving at the house I saw a thin, sick little kitten. But she had spunk. Looking at her, I knew that we were going to be best friends. Before bringing her to the vet I decided that her name should be Heidi because whenever she looks at anyone she looks like she has an attitude. Back then I didn't realize how much of an impact she was going to have on my life. We have had Heidi for a couple of years now. Through the ups and the downs, I couldn’t ask for a better cat. She is here for me when I need her, and I will always be there for her. But I think the most important way Heidi has helped me is by improving my mental health. School is stressful, whether that be middle school, high school, or college, students get stressed out. Every day through middle school and high school seemed to cause me great stress and anxiety. Being able to relax and cuddle with my cat always makes me feel better. One of my favorite memories of high school is when I would come home and see her waiting by the door for me. That is a memory that sticks with me because it makes me happy. Also, while growing up I had and do still have depression. Coming home every day to my cat waiting for me definitely provided me with some distraction from it all. Knowing that there is an animal waiting for me to come home, and wanting to be with me makes me feel needed. I believe that everyone wants to be needed in one way or another. My cat definitely got me through some of the toughest days of my life. In the simplest terms, my cat makes me feel less lonely. Feeling lonely really can be one of the worst feelings. Without Heidi, my guess is that I would be completely different. A similar story goes for my other cat, named Winston. The day he walked into my house, he had this look on his face, as if he owned it and we were his tenants. He was beautiful and calm, but also charming. When I asked my mom and dad if I could get one, they would always say "No," and that I was barely able to take care of myself, how could I ever take care of a cat? That made me really mad because I was not a child anymore. I was able to take care of myself very well and they weren't even aware of that. This all changed when I saw one of my friends post a picture of the newborn kittens that a cat had, and I just decided to go ahead and pick it up. When I came home from school, I decided to tell my mom, and surprisingly, she wasn't mad. For the first time, my mom did not refuse and even accepted to go get the kitten with me. We picked him up, and my mom fell in love with him. He was so small and adorable that I knew from that moment on, that my life would never be the same since I had the responsibility to take care of a living being who was separated so early from his mother. After a week, my mom gave him milk and we realized he had diarrhea. I wasn't sure if this was a problem or not since this was my first pet. I read about it online and it turned out that it was actually very dangerous. Words cannot explain how upset and sad I was when I realized he was sick and could die of dehydration. I cried for the entire day and even skipped class to take care of him. Having a kitten really changed my life because I became a truly more responsible person, and proved to my parents that I not only took care of myself but also of a kitten. I think everyone should get a pet because you really have something to look forward to when you come home or even wake up. The silly things my kitten does light up my day; they really calm you down when things are hectic. When you're stressed out or upset, and you see your kitten just calmly walking or just sitting, you feel like the world just stops, and suddenly everything is okay. They don't care about anything, so you learn to be like them; calm and reposed. My cat has taught me a lot over the past few weeks, whether it be to not stress out about much ..or to ignore people better. I wake up in the morning in the best mood from the kisses my cats give me. I love my pet cats because they’re nice, cute, funny, and full of unconditional love. I like to take care of my pets by giving them food, and water, and playing lots with them. I love to take both cats outside for some fresh air and sunshine. Sometimes my mom will let me take my dogs for a walk and we go to the park and let them run around. I love my cats because they snuggle up, make me feel safe, and love me as much as I love them. My pets make me happy and the work a happier place. They are very special to me. Pets offer companionship, unconditional love, loyalty, protection, and even health benefits. They are members of our family. They provide us with companionship but also with emotional support, reduce our stress levels, and sense of loneliness, help us to increase our social activities and add to a child's self-esteem and positive emotional development.

Hey, you. Yes, you. Close your eyes and take a few long, deep breaths. Feel your breath entering and leaving your body. Feel your feet connecting to the ground. Focus on those feelings. Now imagine you’re floating amongst the clouds. If thoughts come to you, let them drift past, like clouds. Do you feel a little bit better? Calmer? Many find that the stress can compound with thoughts of not only the present stress but about events or issues that occurred in the past or even events that may occur in the future. Our brains may not actually have a restart button, but there are plenty of things we can do to reboot. Think about a desk stacked high with bits and pieces of different projects, memos, and important papers. When you need to find a specific piece of information, this clutter might make your job pretty difficult. Similarly, when unnecessary or troubling thoughts pile up in your brain, you might end up cycling through the same unwanted mental data. A fruitless search for memory or other important thought can leave you feeling foggy and overwhelmed. Here are some of my tips/resources for you so we can help clear our minds altogether: 1. Make a to-do list Writing down what you need to accomplish will help you stay organized. Doing this lets you “empty your thoughts” on paper, freeing up space in your mind. By writing down, “make a vet appointment,” that thought will no longer pop into your head every few days (or hours). 2. Learn to say no You can’t always say yes. We have limited time and resources. In fact, making a commitment that you can't keep is far worse (for both parties) than saying no. In work and life, we have to prioritize and make decisions. It’s also okay to prioritize your own needs. That’s especially true if you’re feeling rundown or overwhelmed. Saying no will reduce your stress and leave you valuable time for yourself. You can’t help others if you don’t take care of yourself first. 3. Just do it Don’t put things off. Procrastination only increases your stress and distracts you from other tasks. Delayed tasks can take up space in your head and add guilt. If the task is something unpleasant, try breaking it up into parts, or take frequent breaks. If you work from home, find a quiet place and close the door. Use settings on your email, phone, and chats to shut off notifications and let others know you are busy for a time. Tell your colleagues you need some uninterrupted space if you work at an office. Establishing boundaries is perfectly healthy. 4. Take a break Your circadian rhythm, or your body’s internal clock, helps maintain mental fitness and your well-being. Sometimes working when our body doesn’t want to — like late at night, or too early in the morning — just isn’t an option. Meditation can help you practice mindfulness and overcome negative feelings. Using apps makes it easy to practice the techniques. If you’re having trouble sleeping, working a meditation practice at the end of your day or your nightly routine will improve your quality of life. 5. Seek help Ask for help from a colleague, your boss, a friend, or for medical advice from a therapist. Be honest about what you’re experiencing — to yourself, and others, too. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or experiencing burnout, say so. Acknowledging and vocalizing how you’re feeling will ease your mental strain. Cooperation lends new perspectives on a problem and will lighten your load.

One of the simplest but most fundamental mindset shifts around money is that anyone can replace their job income within five to 10 years if they funnel enough of their paycheck into high-yield investments. Anyone can retire young, but it requires deferred gratification. The appearance and trappings of wealth are counterproductive to the actual accrual of wealth. The more I spend, the less I invest, and the slower I build real wealth. That’s because real wealth isn’t visible – it’s in my investable assets. Most people want to look and feel rich, they want the bigger house and faster car and fancier dinners out, but those are the very things that prevent them from becoming rich. To build real wealth, I live frugally now so I can invest for compound returns and passive income. In just a few years, I’ll see the fruits of that deferred gratification and can live a healthier lifestyle based on my invested assets. We all know that building wealth for the future is more important than spending on fleeting wants and desires. It’s hard to put this knowledge into action, however, because it directly conflicts with how we’ve been wired. Humans are addicted to instant gratification. In all areas of life we’ve been conditioned to see it and want it—finances are no exception. Relying on financial tools, such as budgeting and automatic deposits to savings, can change that. When I sit to reflect on my financial journey, I can usually come up with a handful of life lessons I’ve learned. Personal finance can be a long, difficult journey. It won’t be without mistakes and errors, but with every misstep comes an opportunity to learn. This lesson represents real-life experiences, and it serves as a marker on the path that others have taken to financial health.

Hard times always come. But there are things we can do to make them a little more bearable. Whether you see life as a roller coaster or a box of chocolates, we can all agree that while it has its beautiful moments, there are times when hope seems far away. It’s during those challenging moments when we should be open to more opportunities for change and refinement. I have stayed optimistic through tough times by saying "for" instead of "to", keeping a gratitude journal, treating myself, keeping an open mind and perspective, surrounding myself with loved ones, allowing myself to have bad days, making a list of the things I can manage, spending time in nature, and adding positivity to someone else's life. So many of our lives have shifted dramatically as a result of the coronavirus, it is hard to maintain a positive outlook when it seems like there is little to feel optimistic about. So how do we stay optimistic about our lives, our country, and the world when there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that supports the contrary? Research tells us that life tends to be more manageable for optimists. Optimists experience increased physical, mental, and emotional health benefits. They manage stress better and demonstrate resilience and strength during illness and life stressors. At work, optimism has been linked to overall work happiness, increased motivation, improved task orientation, and better problem-solving. Thus, being optimistic is good for you – personally and professionally. I believe in order for us to stay optimistic during tough times, we must be proactive about who we look to for hope, how we explain adversity to ourselves, and whom we interact with. Tough times don't last. Tough people do. Most of us are tougher than we think.

Recently I had a chance to visit the Art Institute of Chicago which is home to some of the favorite pieces mentioned above ("Nighthawks" and "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte"). These pieces are both very impressive and I can see why anyone would choose to rank them very high on a list of favorite pieces. My personal favorites on my visit to this (truly impressive) museum were the Van Gogh pieces hanging there, some of which I'd seen in books before and some I had never known about. I was first drawn to Van Gogh's work when I heard the song ‘Starry Starry Night', by Don McLean in the Vincent van Gogh Gallery, and it's both, beautiful and sad. I felt deep compassion for this man as I began reading more about him and his life, which is a bit different from the unkind stories told of him. I was in awe of his talents and I began looking at Vincent's art and reading his quotes. The simultaneous realism and stylized elements of both artists create an almost eerie other-worldly quality, making the paintings alive and active and present in a way that I've rarely seen. It is so grand in scale compared to what we expected; having only seen pictures, there is much more to the sculpture on either side of each piece. I like it because of the mood that it sets. It just feels a bit melancholy and lonely and (probably not what the artist had in mind when he painted it) nostalgic. Hard to explain why you like something, but that's about as close as I can come. I have an appreciation for many of his paintings, but this would be his work of art that is my favorite.

My favorite scientific discovery is genome editing. It has given scientists power to surgically remove - and just as excitingly, monitor the activity of - genes and the regulatory elements that control them. This has been an absolute game-changer for understanding the mechanisms underlying how biological systems work, but also the diseases that disturb them. Excitingly, some of these efforts are even in clinical trials and hopefully slowly working their way into the clinic. Genome editing technologies enable scientists to make changes to DNA, leading to changes in physical traits, like eye color, and disease risk. Scientists use different technologies to do this. These technologies act like scissors, cutting the DNA at a specific spot. Since it was developed in 2012, the gene-editing tool "CRISPR-Cas9" has revolutionized biology research, making it easier to study disease and faster to discover drugs. The technology is significantly impacting the development of crops, foods, and industrial fermentation processes. Genome editing is a powerful, scientific technology that can reshape medical treatments and people’s lives, but it can also harmfully reduce human diversity and increase social inequality by editing out the kinds of people that medical science, and the society it has shaped, categorize as diseased or genetically contaminated. But we should be reminded that bad genes don’t necessarily lead to bad lives, just as good genes don’t necessarily lead to good lives. If CRISPR is put to use to eliminate rather than to treat genetic differences, we as a society would essentially instrumentalize this moralistic and reductionist assumption. Genome editing is of great interest in the prevention and treatment of human diseases. Currently, most research on genome editing is done to understand diseases using cells and animal models. Scientists are still working to determine whether this approach is safe and effective for use in people.

The phone rang at 1:40 AM. “Hello?” I answered in a sleepy voice. “Mr. Quintanilla?” said the man on the phone. “Who's this? How can I help you?” “This is the sheriff from the local police station. I am notifying you that your building is on fire.” “What a bad joke!” I hung up the phone and went back to sleep. Two minutes later… RING! “Please, stop bothering!” I said. “Do not hang up, Sir, this is the Sheriff's office. One of your tenant’s cars at your building is on fire. Your building is at risk. The fire station has been notified.” I drove to the building as fast as I could. The fire was contained before it got to the building. It was a disaster. Two cars were consumed by the flames and the parking area was devastated. After the fire was out, the Policemen circled the area with yellow tape waiting for the detectives to determine what had happened. One day went by. We couldn't remove the cars or start the restoration process. Two days… no detectives. I visited the police station, “You've got to file a report,” the lady instructed. Done. Three days… nothing. Four days… Again, I visited the Police station, but nobody would take care of the case. Five days… another day lost. I was furious! “No way, Adrian! This is not acceptable. Please help me in any way you can. I don’t want to pay bribes to further feed our corrupt people. They must do their job!” This was the incident that caused me to change how I see the world: Public servants leverage their authority to abuse citizens instead of taking care of them. This made me understand that there may be things I want to change in the world, but I can't.

Making charitable giving a priority isn’t just for big corporations with abundant resources. In fact, small businesses are uniquely positioned to make a significant impact in their communities. That’s because small businesses are more closely linked to their neighbors than, say, a big-box store. Here are ways I act locally to affect positive change for my community: 1. Host a charity drive. I sometimes work with others and team up with a local organization, like a food pantry or a women’s shelter. Then, we put out a call to customers to bring in needed items for a percentage of their purchase. We make sure to get the word out through in-store signage and social media so that our customers are aware of the event. 2. Start an employee volunteer program. I encourage other workers alongside me to pursue their passion to help others by starting a program that allows them flexible hours a few times a month to leave early or come in later while they volunteer with a local nonprofit. 3. Donate my skills and services. One of the most effective ways to give back to my community is by doing what I do best. For example, if I run a restaurant, partner with a local high school to offer internships or host informational events for students who might be interested in pursuing a career in the culinary world. 4. Support other local businesses. I know how challenging it can be to own a small business, so I can team up with entrepreneurs in my area to concentrate your efforts on helping out each other and the community. 5. Offer up my space for events. Nonprofits are often operating on extremely tight budgets, so when they want to throw a fundraising event, they rely on donations, especially for venues.

Losing a loved one is like having the rug swept from under you. We make plans for the day and do not think twice about how those plans can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I never thought much about it myself, until I was faced with the shock and undeniable truth of my uncle’s death. I do not think anyone really thinks about tragedy until they are actually faced with shocking news. It is amazing how we take life for granted. The tragedy never goes away. You just learn how to cope with it and keep moving on. Every single person has their own individual way of expressing their emotions. When I lose wifi connection or when I check my pockets and I don’t feel my phone I feel like I am going to have an anxiety attack. Little meaningless circumstances cause me to freak out on a regular basis. One of the most memorable and disheartening moments in my life was the day that I had to watch my grandfather lay in the hospital and die. When a family member passes on and it is one that you have a close bond with it is very hard to deal with. This was a difficult time for me I didn't understand why he had to die. I was angry at God because I thought that he had called my grandfather as a punishment or some sort of mean act. Each night I would ask God why he took my grandfather, my buddy, away from me. Things like this can drive someone insane; it certainly took its toll on me. Just like in Woiwode's "Wanting an Orange" the two little boys wanted orange so bad that they were willing to act as if they were sick in order to get one. The same reaction took place in my thoughts as well. I thought that if I could die I could be with my grandfather in heaven. Trying to overcome this heartbreaking experience was awful and seemed to take forever. I felt as if the world was caving in on me. My whole world was falling down around me; it was almost as if everything I had ever known was taken from me. Things just kept getting worse. My saving grace was the talks that my Grandmother had with me. Watching her and seeing how she dealt with the death of her husband, a man whom she loved with all of her heart and who she had lived with for so many years, made me realize that things would get better. Grandma talked to me and told me that it was not God's fault that he had taken grandpa to a much better place. She said that I should be thankful for all the time that we had to be happy that grandpa was in the promised land. His suffering was over and now he could be happy. I began to understand that I had been selfish and felt sorry for myself. Even though I was young I understood that God's will was a good thing. When a loved one passes away we are never prepared for the changes that will come to our lives from this tragic accident. Receiving the call that my aunt had passed away in a car crash was very shocking to me and the whole family. It’s something that no family member in this world wants to go through the loss of a loved one. Managing the emotions and feelings we may have after the news is very important since we have to be strong-minded and be able to move forward. The family will always be the most important thing we have in this world since they are everything we really have in life. The most valuable lesson I got from this was to appreciate every moment and the memories you get to make with your family. These are the only things that will be kept after they are gone forever. Also, I believe that if you don’t value this kind of small stuff that in reality means a lot then you are not really living life to the fullest. Appreciation towards my family will be something I show to them from now until GOD decides that it’s time to leave this earth. I believe that GOD has a plan for everyone in this life and once we accomplish that plan he wants us back with him. I know for sure that my grandfather is up in heaven taking care of us and his children. I will never forget how much of a loving and caring person he was, and especially that big and bright smile that he had on her face every time I got the chance to be with family.

Food is very important to human life. However, poor eating habits have a negative impact on human health. Towards this, individuals should put more attention to what they eat. Diseases are caused by a number of factors and one of these factors is poor eating habits. Body metabolism, which is influenced by what we eat, contributes to either healthy being or illness in the body. The intent of this research is to address the concerns of poor eating habits in a bid to reduce negative health complications associated with poor dietary habits. My objective, as a proponent of healthy eating, is to design a simple dietary program, which promotes healthy eating among people. Previously to taking a nutrition class that I did a couple of years ago, I had never given much thought to my eating habits. I always thought of the way I chose to eat as one of those things I didn’t need to concern myself with too heavily now because I’m a young depressed high school student. The way I eat is pretty similar to the way most of my friends eat and when you live away from home, that seems like the norm for people in college, which I currently plan on attending. However, after applying what I’ve learned in this class to my life, I’ve realized that the dietary choices I make now affect not only my current health but my future health as well. So overall, I would say that my eating habits are pretty bad, but I’m working on making them better. In my freshmen year of high school when all my food was prepared for me, I ate pretty well. I made sure to have a balanced diet and to eat a lot of nutritious foods as opposed to processed foods. However, now that I live more independently and am entirely in charge of cooking my own meals, my eating habits aren’t great. I tend to buy a lot of canned or microwavable meals that are quick, easy, and cheap to make. That is what stood out to me most on the days I recorded; how much I eat simply because it’s cheap and convenient. When I was involved in sports I often ate very nutritious foods because I want to stay as physically fit as possible and eating right helped me do that. However, now that I don’t play sports and am a lot more concerned with school and work, making nutritious choices tends to fall to the back burner. Doing this scholarship has made me want to make more thought-through decisions about what foods I chose to put into my body. I know eating a balanced diet makes people feel better mentally and physically, so it’s something I have been working on making a priority in my life. I never realized the connection between the foods we eat and our moods, until I made changes in my diet and felt the results myself. While many people think that eating disorders are just problems with food, exercise, and weight issues, it is much more than that. Eating disorders more often than not show complicated psychological issues, such as depression, low self-esteem, poor body image, and separation from loved ones. Throughout all the chaos in college, eating is one thing that a student can solely be in charge of. Perfectionism on restriction could be understood as a compensatory and derivative attempt to restore feelings of control. Managing ones eating behavior when everything is out of control and out of place in their life can give students a sense of power and control.

The transportation and logistics industry is one of the key components of modern life. It provides the framework through which every raw material and finished consumer good is moved through the supply chain into the hands of consumers. This industry is generally taken for granted by consumers. When consumers do think about the industry it is thought of in terms of unchanging and stagnating transportation modes. This vision of the industry is not an accurate reflection of the reality of the modern transportation industry. During the last several decades the technological innovations that have changed the face of modern life, have also had far-reaching effects on the transportation industry. Transportation is important because it facilitates exchange and travel. Without transportation, the different regions are isolated from each other. Improved transportation plays an important role in a country's economic growth, tourism industry, and infrastructure. We can call transportation the “lifeline” of a nation. Transportation is very important to a country’s economy b/c that’s how goods and services get to market. The world we live in today would not be possible without the use of transportation and the innovations that have come from it. Mobility, travel, and economic activity depend on it. Without cars, planes, trains, and buses, we’d struggle to get from place to place with the ease we do now. In the USA, the Interstate highway system was created for the first-service military movement, the movement of commerce, then lastly movement of people. The most versatile is ground transportation on roads, the cheapest ground transportation is by rail. The fastest transportation is by air. The cheapest transportation of people and cargo is on the water. “Transportation is the means of development”. Here are some reasons to justify this statement. - Productivity will be increased if there is an effective and good transportation system. - Establishment of hotels, motels, lodging, and flooding business. - It provides employment opportunities to society. - It promotes internal and external tourism activities. - It provides and facilitates a Market for the rural product. - Transportation System is the Linkage (Bridge) between rural and urban areas. - It carries raw materials from village to town and goods from town to village. - Transportation system creates the demand and supply. It plays a very important role in my life. Since I have disabilities, I use transportation to be independent. Also, it is a way for me to socialize. There are four bus routes that normally run in front of my house. They were detoured for road and sidewalk reconstruction in 2018. I am good friends with a weekday driver of one of these routes, who has been with the local transit authority for over 40 years, and as a result, driven more than anybody else currently employed by the transit authority. Every day I can, I take her bus from the stop nearest my house to the end of the line in both directions, and then go home. We chat about everything from current events to vacation plans. There are other riders who the driver and I know, including a friend with visual impairments, whose guide dog we play fetch with at one end of the line when they ride. One of these guide dogs is very social, and their handler treats them as a pet when they aren’t working, such as when both are riding the bus. The guide dog is social to the point that their handler has to hold them back when people who we don’t know board the bus, in case something may go wrong.

Congenital heart disease is a problem with the structure of the heart. It is present at birth. Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect. The defects can involve the walls of the heart, the valves of the heart, and the arteries and the veins near the heart. They can disrupt the normal flow of blood through the heart. The blood flow can slow down, go in the wrong direction or to the wrong place, or be blocked completely. The sign and symptoms of severe defects in newborns include rapid breathing, cyanosis (bluish tint to the skin, lips, and fingernails), fatigue, and poor blood circulation. Although many congenital heart defects have few to no signs and symptoms, they are not diagnosed until the child is older. Many don’t need treatment but some do. As medical care and treatment have improved, babies and children with congenital heart defects (CHDs) are living longer and healthier lives. Most are now living into adulthood. Ongoing, appropriate medical care can help children and adults with a CHD live as healthy as possible. Congenital heart problems range from simple to complex. Some heart problems can be watched by the baby's doctor and managed with medicines. Others will require surgery, sometimes as soon as in the first few hours after birth. A baby may even "grow out" of some of the simpler heart problems, such as patent ductus arteriosus or atrial septal defect. These defects may simply close up on their own with growth. Other babies will have a combination of defects and require several operations throughout their lives. My cousin Brandon was born with a congenital heart defect called “transposition of the great arteries.” We didn’t know ahead of time that he had a heart defect, so we were quite surprised during delivery. As the medical team attended to him, I remember them saying, “there’s nothing we can do.” My stomach dropped. Then, they quickly decided he needed to be rushed to the local children’s hospital. It was quite a whirlwind. Brandon's father, Brett, had to leave his wife at the original hospital and go with his son to the children’s hospital, where doctors discovered he had a congenital heart defect called “transposition of the great arteries.” This means that his main arteries (aorta and pulmonary) leading out of his heart were switched, and he would need open-heart surgery to repair them. That said, the diagnosis helped me prepare for what we needed to do. We researched what the defect was and what the prognosis would be. We tried to get all the best doctors on our case right from the beginning. We were also able to prepare what to say to Brandon's older brother—we had to tell them that their sibling would not be coming home from the hospital right away. The older son understood the seriousness of what his father and mom were saying, but the other people in the family didn’t quite get it. They just knew the baby was sick. Looking back, I think one of the hardest things I had to do at the time was to try to leave Brandon's mother, Miriam, at the hospital. She had some complications from delivery and had to stay there for a little while longer. Unfortunately, it was hard to even get updates on Brett's wife’s condition, because I had bad cell phone reception while I was waiting at the children’s hospital. Honestly, I felt really guilty for not being able to support both of them during this time. I’m grateful Miriam's sister, Andrea, was there to stay with her and comfort her. Eventually, I came to realize that the best way to be there for my wife was to be there for our son. I didn’t leave Brandon’s side for the first five days of his life, and I think that helped give her some peace of mind. Another challenge for me was having to relay everything the doctors were telling me about Brandon’s condition back to his mom. I was just a middle schooler at the time. I didn’t speak the medical language. At times, I didn’t always feel valued by the cousin, because the medical team always wanted to speak to the mother who was more important during the situation. If I could give advice to other dads, like Brandon's one, who are in the same position, I would say to be persistent. Keep asking questions, especially when you feel like you aren’t getting all the information. Another bit of advice is to take care of yourself. Remember to eat. Remember to sleep. You need to be at your best to be the best for your child. Due to the advances in medical care, today, children can get the care they need within the first few weeks of life. If I was born today with the same heart defect, the surgery would be done at 4-8 weeks of age. As the medical community learns and moves forward, people with heart defects have and will benefit as a result. Now, we live longer, healthier lives. However, our surgery is not a total cure, and, as we age, we still suffer the effects of these conditions. Continued medical care and ongoing research are vitally important to each of our lives. I remember the first time my other children saw Caden after he was born. When Miriam's older son came into the room, he didn’t see any tubes. He didn’t see any bandages. He just saw his little brother. It was such a sweet moment. I think it was a Top 5 moment in my life. I also wanted to share his story to help raise awareness of CHD. Brandon may look normal and play soccer, for instance, like any other child. But, at any point, the other shoe could drop. Regardless of what he looks like on the outside, he only has half a heart working for him on the inside. And that’s why research is so important. If not for the research that’s been done, Caden wouldn’t even have a story. He wouldn’t be here with us today. Today Brandon likes to tell people, “My heart is happy and strong!” He goes to preschool, loves to play with (healthy) friends, wrestle with his big brother, play superheroes, watch his shows, sing the current hits, swim, go on family vacations and ride his scooter. We are currently waiting for his heart to need a third planned open heart surgery, and we anticipate an eventual need for a full heart transplant. Teagan is currently on three medications a day. He is fed through his g-tube twice a day and the rest of his food he eats by mouth. We still try really hard to not get sick and we are extra aware of the germs around us. Brandon’s first year of life was about keeping him alive, and now it’s about letting him live! I feel so blessed to be the cousin of such an incredible boy, he is truly a miracle! My life is richer than I ever could have dreamed of since the day I became a Heart cousin! The first couple of years of Brandon’s life were filled with caution, fear, and anxiety, and they were consumed by doctors’ visits. This was compounded by the fact that there were always two other siblings in tow. The inside of my minivan was decorated with the hundreds of “good patient” stickers the three of them had collected. These stickers meant Brandon had made it another day. Brandon had one open-heart surgery four weeks after he was born, and he’s been doing well ever since. He’s such a light in our lives. He’s positive, always smiling, and just lights up a room. Brandon has taught us lessons that we might never have learned otherwise. He taught us a different way of looking at the world. He’s a picture of inspiration for many people. Most importantly, he is a thriving little boy – one who is not defined by his heart diagnosis. Truthfully, Brandon is a poster child for a successful surgery. He has done so well that the doctors’ visits have tapered off to a bi-annual cardiology visit. He is able to participate in sports with soccer and swimming topping his list, although hip-hop dancing is his favorite. Most days, it’s easy to forget that he has a serious defect. Yet, occasionally, I catch myself wondering what his future holds. Until recently, children with severe heart defects didn’t survive and there is a huge gap in information about adults with heart defects. There are still questions: How? Why? What’s next? No one really knows. I do know, that I will do everything I can to make sure he lives a long and healthy life.

Motivation is a very strong tool we can use to get further in life and to achieve our dreams and goals. Setting goals for ourselves is something that I consider to be very important, I believe in always pushing myself further and further in life, not only physically but mentally as well. We all have different things or tools we can use to motivate us towards our end goals. In order for us to stay motivated, we have to have a goal and be driven towards achieving that goal. In a small part, every aspect of my life motivates me to strive for my dreams. My family; parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, and nieces motivate me and push me harder to achieve my goals and aspirations. Me being the last in my family to graduate high school, and enter college is a tremendous amount of pressure. I want to be able to prove to them that they can reach their dreams no matter how old or young if they are determined. Mainly, I want to show them that everything is obtainable if you work for it. Lastly, my coworkers motivate me to continue to improve my already strong work ethic. Having people look up to me motivates me to no end. I love to set examples and be a leader to show people anything is possible. The sole reason I was able to maintain a balance between all of my academic and extracurricular activities is that I believed in myself. I believed that I was capable of working harder than usual to juggle my school life and my family life together. I stayed up late to study for exams and woke up early to take my older sister to school since my mother had no other option but to work two jobs after my dad had become physically disabled. I do not know who I would be today if I had not pulled through these rough circumstances and persisted through high school regardless of the tragic events that occurred in my life. I wanted nothing but to wallow in my self-pity and feel horrible for all the setbacks that were persisting in my life. However, I made the decision to keep moving forward, and it was the best decision of my life. I am learning to take each assignment and task one at a time. Simply complete what the task at hand is and then move on to the next. I feel by doing so, I will be able to complete my degree along with knowing that I have faith in myself to push myself and motivate myself along the way. By going back to school and getting my degree I am opening up potentially lots of doors for myself in the future. I am setting a good example for other boys and that no matter what age you are, it is never too late to go back to school and further your education. Education is the key to opening up positions in the workplace that someone without education would not be able to pursue. The benefits will far out way the time and work that it will take for me to complete my degree. This will be something that I can be proud of and prove to myself and others that no matter how hard the goal may seem or how long it may take you to reach the end results, it is always worth it to follow your dreams. I am extremely motivated to accomplish this goal for myself.

Growing up consisted of not limiting my challenges, but challenging my limits. My entire life, everyone insisted that I was normal. However, I spent after-school hours in speech, vision, physical, and occupational therapy instead of going to a friend’s house. Coming in and out of my house 40 hours a week were “tutors,” who told me “try again” whenever I made a mistake until I could do what they asked. My parents had to fight for me to learn in a mainstream classroom like other children my age and, once I was able to do so, an aide was still responsible for me. My family thought that now that I knew why I was different, I would be devastated by this label and use it as a reason why I wouldn’t be capable of something. I was relieved to know that there was a reason that I felt in conflict with the world, and why I constantly felt like I was in a play of life where everyone else had the script except me. Autism has actually gifted me with extreme dedication, focus, and passion. Autism has also given me a top-notch memory, visualization skills, the ability to be extremely detail-oriented, and high integrity. I have had anxiety for as long as I can remember. Growing up, it impacted every part of life. I would have panic attacks before going to school, sleepless nights before games or tests, endless thoughts of everyone being against me, and days where I felt completely alone in the world. Then, things got worse. I became extremely depressed. I partied every chance I got. I hung out with people who fed the worst parts of me. I protected myself by flashing a big smile and playing the part of the bubbly schoolboy. I told myself that depression is scary and no one wants to hear about that. Society wasn't built for people like me, and I can't thrive without leaving my comfort zone. Though consumed by social anxiety, I knew I couldn't let it continue to imprison me. Depression and anxiety have caused me to disband relationships with past friends who did not support me in my times of need. These changes have also allowed me to discover a career field that has brought significant change in my life. Being depressed as an adolescent had perverse effects on my mental well-being, but it catalyzed a life-changing journey and allowed me to discover a career I am very passionate about. After being continuously ignored by my classmates and even my parents, I had enough and began changing different parts of my lifestyle. My new interests in biochemistry and pharmacy had led me to the discovery of the field of nutrition and dietetics, which is an educational career that focuses on constructing healthy diets for individuals and understanding what that food does. This new enthusiasm about these possible STEM careers allowed me to find good colleges and universities that will help me pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist. I had thankfully found a great undergraduate school known as the University of the Pacific, which prides itself on advanced educational opportunities and a plethora of majors and minors for its students to choose from. I will be able to pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist and helping others with their medications as well as mental and physical health. Even though being with anxiety and depression as a small child had detrimental effects on my psyche, it forced me to find a new career path that has put meaning in my life.

I do multiple things to improve the lives of elderly people in my community, such as helping my aging seniors stay connected to family, friends, and community, arranging family visits or outings for my aged adults, especially holidays or days of family celebration like weddings or birthdays, and lining up transportation to get them to senior centers, church, or community functions. I also make sure to encourage volunteerism. Life, as are many things, is often not always about quantity so much as it is about quality. Aging seniors often face losses in the quality of their lives well before they face the end of their days. It’s not enough just to see to their medical needs. We must also see to their mental and emotional needs in order to help them have a positive view of life. In fact, a positive view of life can help alleviate some medical issues that seniors face such as cognitive decline and stress, lack of energy, and appetite. Studies have shown that seniors with a sense of purpose are less susceptible to cognitive impairment, heart attacks, and strokes, and they are more likely to live longer. This is because they are more physically active, take better care of themselves, and are less susceptible to stress. For so long, elder care professionals like myself have talked about the quality of care but not the quality of life for seniors. We now know that quality of care is part of the quality of life that includes every aspect of an elder’s life. And that having a good quality of life improves health and quality of care. In short, many of the problems associated with aging increase due to the lack of meaning in people’s lives, and the result can be an unnecessary surrender to aging.

Books are great friends and they never leave your side. I really enjoy reading books. Books have the ability to move people across the world without requiring them to leave their homes. Books also help in the development of our creativity. My parents and instructors developed in me the habit of reading. They instilled in me the importance of reading. I have read so many books. But my favorite is Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. These books are about the wizarding world. The Harry Potter series contains seven books. The first book in the series, The Sorcerer's Stone, is my favorite from the series. It's one of the most exciting and fascinating books I've ever read. I've read all of the books in the series, and none of them have captured me as much as this one. I read them over and over because they never tire me. There are so many things for young people to learn in this series. The book teaches us the importance of friendship. Throughout the novels, Harry, Hermoine, and Ron stay together and never give up. It taught me the real meaning of friendship. It also demonstrated to me that no one in the universe is perfect. Everyone has good and also evil inside them. The series' most flawed characters, such as Snape, had goodness among them. Similarly, how the nicest one's character, like Dumbledore, had some bad traits. So it all depends on whom you want to be. This book changed my attitude toward people and taught me to be more considerate. Finally, these books showed me what real hope is. It taught me that there is hope at the end of the road, and these are just a few of the most significant and intriguing lessons I took away from Harry Potter.

The "American Dream" means to me (and my family) that there are no limits placed upon us. It means that we have the freedom to choose whatever we want in our quest to find what we believe will make us happy. It means that nothing can get in our way. It means that no matter what we decide to do, we have the right to pick and choose anyone or anything along our path in search of our own personal pot of gold. The American Dream is Limitless. It is Boundless. It means having the ability to be who or what we feel we need to be to live out our existence with as much happiness as we feel necessary to reach and exceed our Dreams and our Goals. The Beauty of the “American Dream” is that everyone has the right to pursue the dream in any way that they wish. In America, there's no “Caste” system, there are no “Arranged Marriages” and no expectation that anyone will even remain in the same lifestyle, community, religion, or culture into which he/she was born. There's no requirement to stay with one’s parents, as in some countries, there are no limits or restrictions as to what can be achieved in education, employment, or success. In America, you are FREE to pursue your dreams as fast and as far as you want to go. How the “American Dream is attained is highly individual. Some people pursue “Business” others prefer “Blue Collar” work. The wonderful thing is- they can both get there! They just have to Dream it, want it, plan it, and work for it, and it can be achieved. Those who lie on the couch in Momma’s basement and “Dream” of a big house with a pool, driving a fancy car, and affording lavish vacations…but never bother to look for, or get a job, don’t attend college or trade school, and think that “The Dream” is Dead, are wrong, it is THEY who have dealt the death blow to their progress, success, and future. The American Dream is reserved for those who apply themselves, work to improve their lives, and earn it. Over the past few years, people have begun to see going to college as a way to achieve the American Dream through career readiness. People used to go to college, hoping to get a better well-rounded education. A most well-rounded education usually came with the courses required for a liberal arts education. The courses would provide a level of analytical and in-depth understanding that would prepare the students for both life and whichever career path chosen. I grew up believing that higher education was the golden ticket to the American Dream. Then, I looked at the data. Social mobility in the U.S. began to decline in the 1980s. Around the same time, college costs ballooned and grad school programs started to proliferate. Yes, many factors put the American Dream on life support. Higher ed is one of them. And yet, it’s a privilege to have finished undergrad and considered grad school. Undergrad is unaffordable for many working-class families. Some students find the means to attend but are alienated by campus environments that favor the white, wealthy, and male. Go to college, get a job, buy a house, raise a family. It may not always be that simple, but it all starts with my college education. Can higher education bring back its promise of mobility? The pandemic has offered a reset button—an opportunity to rethink everything. I hope the industry takes advantage of it. The American Dream is on the line.

If I had the power to change only one thing to make the educational system better for future generations, it would be to instill the value of lifelong learning in every child throughout their years of schooling. One of the biggest factors that determine a child's success is their inner motivation to excel in academics. My experiences within the classroom have proven to me that children who have, or who you can help to instill a love and desire for learning and self-improvement will continually strive to excel. What is most discouraging for me as a student in my 12th year of school within California’s public schools is the apathy and lack of appreciation for learning among student bodies, and year after year the plague of apathy grows. It has been astounding to observe during our post Zero Tolerance era, how school districts have become lax in issuing appropriate discipline and providing teachers with support in handling rampant acts of misconduct. Yet I do not singularly blame a lacking school-issued discipline for the problems I observe among other students who follow the example of other students’ with the worst behavior, work habits, and look up to and take pleasure in watching the actions of those who dare to be the most defiant. When there is an inner absence of the value and purpose education plays in a student’s life you begin to encounter children who view the education process, teachers included, with disdain leading to the negative behaviors I see daily. We know that it is within the home environment that the importance of education should begin. However, when that foundation and importance are not established, the burden is placed on the teacher and child to develop. Educating in itself is not a burden, it is a labor of love, but to do so in an atmosphere where it is not appreciated nor regarded with respect, the results are far too negative on the educator and students who do comply daily and have a thirst to learn. Further, far too many students are leaving school unprepared for college nor with the skills to work in our highly competitive workforce. At some point, we all come to realize how the impact of the K-12 education we received has affected our later lives. Many people can look back fondly through these formative years, but far too many reminisce with the feelings of regret feeling that, “I didn't take my education seriously”. I would say the system has its flaws, but I don’t think we can really fix anything more. There will be kids struggling with some subjects and kids struggling with other subjects. I would just like to say grades are good as they are. The first student would probably flunk in college and the other one could do great things. The world sadly isn’t fair, we are all different and have talents in different fields. Like it or not the education system helps us find those fields.

I will tell you of two men from the 19th century who was extremely admirable. Neither of them was hypocritical slave-owners either (it is so easy to realize an ‘evil’ is being committed but quite another to actively counter it). 1. Frederick Douglass (not to be confused with his contemporary Sen. Stephen Douglas): Wrote an autobiography about his life as a slave in order to bolster the abolitionist movement in America. Douglass was quite an amazing figure for the 19th century because he was a literate former slave and a truly gifted orator who helped to convince otherwise neutral folks of black slaves’ worth as human beings. He may have been an extraordinary former slave but his intelligence was instrumental in winning over many white people’s sympathy. Famously, Douglass met with Abraham Lincoln in 1863 and was able to receive some civil-rights concessions relating to black U.S. soldiers. Frederick Douglass did not work just for the benefit of himself, he also supported the rights of women. 2. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): Mark Twain today is mostly known for his classic American fiction like Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer but Twain was also a witty satirist and possessed a unique amount of insight for a man raised into his circumstance. Twain was born and raised in Missouri, a slave-holding state which lent its name to the infamous “Missouri Compromise”. Because of the time and the place Mark Twain ended up joining the Confederacy during the Civil War. However, unlike most of his compatriots, Twain ended his stint as a Confederate militiaman after only a few weeks. Twain went on to write in favor of the abolition of slavery and, compared to contemporary authors, his depictions of black characters in books were quite humanizing.

I would like to share with you the advice I received from the most successful and hard-working person I have ever met in my life. I am reminding myself of this advice and putting it into practice every day. So now I am living a stable and prosperous life. I live as an independent teen with a strong heart. I received a lot of good financial advice from my dad. He always said to chase a wealthy life, not wealth. Living within your means, working hard, and saving before spending, all contribute to a wealthy life. “Live only today.” This is life advice given to me by someone I admire. But I think this advice applies not only to our lives but also to our financial advice. The changes that have come to me are: 1. Don't work for money. Focus on making money work for you. 2. Never say 'I can't afford it, instead say 'how can I afford it?' 3. Never buy things on credit. If you can't pay cash for it then you can't afford it. 4. Focus on investing rather than saving. 5. Pay yourself first, 10% of everything you earn is yours to keep. 6. Know the difference between good and bad debt. Good debt puts money in your pocket, bad debt takes money out of your pocket. 7. An asset puts money in your pocket. A liability takes money out of your pocket. Spend your money buying assets. 8. Turn your working/active income into passive income. Passive income is income that is generated from assets you own. 9. Focus on improving your financial literacy. 9 times out of 10 financial literacy is self-taught. It is not taught in school. 10. Always keep an emergency fund, this should be at least 5% of your income.

The earth is considered one of the most beautiful planets in the universe. It is the only planet in our galaxy that has enough water to support life. Unfortunately, our planet is suffering due to many problems which should be solved before it's too late. I believe that the biggest problem facing the world right now, however, is pollution. Pollution is a major factor that is threatening our world today. One example of pollution is nitrogen. Humans are adding about 130 to 150 million tons over the 90 to 150 tons that are produced by the nitrogen cycle. This excess in nitrogen causes coastal waters and estuaries to grow toxic algae, killing the fish and trapping the solar heat in the air. Another example of pollution is methane. Methane is produced by gases released by cows, termite mounds or by the bottom of rice paddy. If found in the air methane is very poisonous. By raising more cattle, cutting more tropical forests, thus increasing the number of termites, and by growing more rice, the methane concentration in the air is almost twice as higher as it was 160,000 years ago. Smoke is another pollution factor. Smoke that is produced by cars contains carbon dioxide (CO2). This carbon dioxide in the air causes global warming, which results in the greenhouse effect and climate changes. Satellite studies show that perhaps we will increase the temperature by 3.6 degrees by the year 2001. The warmer the weather the more water it can hold, the higher the precipitation will be. The higher the precipitation the more clouds, then more rain, and the more snow there will be. This will result in more storms and floods. Ways that we can work on this problem are by carpooling, using public transportation, biking, or walking whenever possible.

1 in 5 of us lives with a mental illness in this world. This means every one of us has a family member or loved one affected by mental illness. Like any other health problem, someone with a mental illness needs all of our love and support. One practical solution for helping more people who struggle with mental health is support from family and friends, and this is a key part of helping someone who is living with mental illness. This support provides a network of practical and emotional help. These networks can be made up of parents, children, siblings, spouses or partners, extended families, close friends, coworkers, coaches, teachers, and religious leaders. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals are increasingly recommending couple- and family-based treatment programs. Families and friends can be important advocates to help loved ones get through those hard, early stages of having a mental illness. They can also be key in letting professionals know what’s going on, filling in parts of the picture that the person who’s ill may not be well enough to describe on their own. When helping someone with their own recovery, it is important to remember that it is extremely important for us to take care of ourselves and maintain our own support system. Having friends and family to confide in — as well as assist us when our loved ones cannot — is vital. We should not give up our own lives and interests. Although they can be scary, it is important to remember that brain and behavior disorders are treatable. Individuals with these conditions can live full and healthy lives, especially if they seek treatment as needed. Now more than ever, it is important to reduce stigma and encourage people not to suffer in silence, but to seek help.

The quality/characteristic that I value most in myself is trustworthiness. For sure. Let's admit it, no one wants to be friends with someone who is happy to go spreading all of your personal secrets to anyone and everyone. It's hard to be close to someone if you can't trust them. As far as this goes, I'll say that I do have a difficult time trusting people, which can make this aspect of friendship difficult. That being said, it can be taken as either a blessing or a curse, because on the one hand trust isn't essential in a friendship to me, but on the other hand, I miss out on that aspect of being close sometimes. I don't rely on my friends for much - I'm pretty self-sufficient and my family is very tight-knit and helpful for those things I need others for. What I look for in a friend is a confidant. Someone I can call when I'm angry. Who will let me text their silly jokes and pretends to enjoy them with me :) But mostly I need someone who I can talk to just to bounce thoughts off of. Having someone to discuss big decisions with, for example, is extremely important. And family doesn't always suffice for that. I have the great privilege of having a couple of such friends. I can speak with them about basically anything, they will listen attentively, and I have no concern in the world that they will tell anyone else what I said. These friends are true gifts. I feel that having trustworthiness will help me in my life journey as trust is good for morale and motivation. Trust builds teamwork and collaboration, increases loyalty and the willingness to stay with a company, and decreases stress levels and hostility in the work environment. Trustworthiness is one of the most important qualities in life. It is the quality on which all relationships are built. We are designed to be in a relationship with others, and being able to TRUST each other means that we can do more together. Trust, at a team level, involves communication, commitment, collaboration, and competence – in other words, social interactions. Trust is indeed a crucial factor for team performance. When there is no trust, naturally, no one will voice out their opinions or ideas and there will be little or no team cohesion. When your team trusts you as a leader, it increases commitment to team goals. Communication improves, and ideas flow more freely, increasing creativity and productivity. Perhaps most important, in the hands of a trusted leader, employees are more comfortable with change and more willing to embrace a new vision. Most people will agree that trust is an important element in their friendships. Trust allows us to feel safe with friends: safe to make plans and safe to share ourselves and our lives. Trust requires that we keep our promises and show demonstrations of dependability, respect, and honor. Trust means that you rely on someone else to do the right thing. You believe in the person's integrity and strength, to the extent that you're able to put yourself on the line, at some risk to yourself. Trust is essential to an effective team because it provides a sense of safety. In conclusion, trust is an important and tender aspect of all relationships because it requires us to choose to be vulnerable and courageous. When we have learned to distrust someone, it's usually because we've come to understand that what we share with them or what's important to us is not safe with that person.

I love dogs because they are friendly and cute. When I look at their big, beautiful eyes, I just melt like ice cream on a hot summer day. When they do something bad, it is hard to get upset. As we walk down the sidewalk, dogs greet everyone they see. Dogs are the cutest and friendliest animals on Earth. Dogs are not only adorable; they are also loyal to their owners. When you are away, dogs are always on their best behavior and when you return, he or they will be excited to see you. You can trust dogs to not do their business in the house or on other people’s property if they are well trained. You can depend on your dog to keep you safe. Dogs have always been loyal to me. Dogs are great friends when you are lonely. They can sense when you’re down and even do tricks to cheer you up. My dog usually licks me on my nose when I am crying. A treat is always a good way to say thank you to your dog. When you are lonely, you can always count on your pet. There are many ways that having a dog is good for our health. People with dogs are shown to have fewer heart problems because they get regular exercise from walking their pets. Having a dog improves our mood and reduces stress which in turn means lower blood pressure. Pets, especially dogs and cats can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness, and even improve your cardiovascular health. Caring for an animal can help children grow up more secure and active. Pets also provide valuable companionship for older adults. Dogs have long been known to make great companions. I have heard from many people who own a dog that a dog is capable of boosting your mood and your health. But is it true? I didn’t know if it was all true until my sister surprised us with two tiny dogs. After having our dogs for several months I noticed it does change our lives in many ways. For me, my dogs changed it by showing me how to care for them. They also taught me how to understand them and how to love them even when they’re annoying and clingy. Having a dog teaches us patience, commitment, and selflessness. Caring for a dog takes a lot of responsibility and commitment. We also learn to be less focused on ourselves and be more patient, as pets can sometimes test our patience. Owning a dog can actually have a special impact on our lives. Like I mentioned before at first I wasn’t very happy with the idea of owning pets. After a while, my dad got tired of them as well and wanted to sell them. He actually found a woman who was willing to take them into her home but when my dad was speaking to the woman, ready to give them away, he backed out at the last moment. He couldn’t give them up himself he told me he saw how sad my brothers were and how the puppies looked sad as well and weren’t hyper like always. I wasn’t there with him when he was going to give them up because I was at my mom’s home but as soon as he told me they were meeting up with the woman I felt a knot in my throat. I cried a little because I didn’t want to give them away. I had finally learned to love and accept them.

I apply creativity in my life in multiple ways. First, I make my immediate surroundings as beautiful or eccentric as I can, so I experiment with my sense of color, texture, and line. Second, I sometimes try to go somewhere new-as close to a restaurant I've never tried or as far as China. New places excite the mind and senses and when we humans are excited our creative abilities soar. Third, I slow down my perceptions so I savor them - that means eating slowly and tasting my food, looking closely at the flowers in the garden, and spending time writing down and drawing my perceptions. Fourth, I spend 15 minutes looking around with the eyes of a child. I try to remember that sense of wonderment, love of color, surprise, curiosity, and hunger to explore. It can get my creativity going because I am remembering how I was once very imaginative. Fifth, I do my best not to over-criticize myself. At worst, it will kill and at best cripple my creative hopes and dreams. Sixth, I make up a visualization in which I observe myself imagining and creating effortlessly. So basically just picturing how I can love the process. Seventh, I go with the mindset that I can just do it! Creativity is a muscle where I use it or lose it. Dancing, drawing, brainstorming, and changing my life are all ways I can help with this. The more I use my creativity, the easier it becomes and the better you get at it. Finally, I try to do something new or something old in a brand new way. As Picasso said, “I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”

The wisest thing I've ever heard is the saying "There are two kinds of people in this world, givers and takers. Takers eat better, but givers sleep better." An episode of Through The Wormhole addressed this, actually. It basically boils down to one bad apple really does spoil the bunch, but it's because the bunch figures their only chance at getting anything out of the deal is to play the same game. And as horrible as it is, society somehow tends to look the other way at some of the worst cheaters. It's only when given the chance to leave that that person who seems to be takers actually turns out to be just as good as anybody else. There may be different perspectives on the above-mentioned quote which may vary from person to person. When I was reading the quote only 1 perspective strikes to my mind, but when I analyzed the situation 2nd perception was added to my list. Perception 1: The world is so diverse in culture, religions; it’s very easy to create perceptions. This perception may be more on the negative end of the scale. If you believe in success, you need to create your own ways. Always believe in creating new methodologies for your task rather than running a mad race behind money and becoming followers. Perception 2: As every coin has 2 sides, so let’s see the other side of the coin to see what can be another perception. Givers may sometimes be regarded as external motivators for takers when internal motivation stops working for them. Here, the quote takes the different side of the scale: which is totally positive. Givers here are helpers. Takers may sometimes be treated as the bright side too, until or unless they don't take things for granted.

My interest in studying pharmaceutical sciences began when my sister's eczema became severe. Unable to witness her suffering any longer, I started my trek on researching the newest evidence-based treatments and research regarding eczema. This is where I familiarized myself with pharmaceutical research from institutions and the opportunities that their health system provides patients. In my research, I realized the fundamental importance of a holistic healing approach in conjunction with pharmaceuticals. With that, I helped found Heal Eczema, a website that gives information and strategies regarding the disease that would help others live and cope with its mechanisms. Incorporating my findings, this includes a database of helpful resources, as well as advice on establishing body positivity and implementing mental health wellness. Although my project helped guide dozens of people and addressed my motives, my work will not end here. Eventually, I found an article about Dupixent, a drug recently approved by the FDA; after my sister tried this experimental treatment, she was able to live a normal life. While Dupixent is helpful, it's far from perfect; I have seen her pain during administration and my parents' difficulties in accessing the drug. By the time it doesn't work anymore, I will find a sense of closure if my sister and others like her have a painless and low-cost medication that can be accessed in stores throughout the world and last a lifetime. Researching better alternative eczema treatments is lacking and often ignored because the condition isn't taken seriously by the general population, yet it affects over 31 million U.S. citizens. Finding this is not only an obligation but a life mission that this scholarship can help me achieve by providing the education and resources to make my dream, against all odds, a reality.

There are several study strategies that I use to achieve academic success. First, I make sure to get organized. It's so simple, yet so effective. If I want to avoid nervous breakdowns and being unable to meet the deadline, I’ll try to learn about time management as well as self-organization. Second, I do my best to not be scared to talk to my instructors. At any institution, professors have office hours in case students need to see them. Learning is about helping each other, and my professor isn’t an obstacle toward my academic success. On the contrary, they are there to give me a helping hand in times of trouble. Third, I develop emotional intelligence. Developing emotional intelligence involves strengthening active listening skills, increasing emotional vocabulary, enhancing self-awareness, developing empathy, and learning about self-regulation. All these skills are essential to help a student like me become more self-reliant, self-motivated, and self-controlled. Fourth, I set clear goals and go for them. It takes some time during the planning process, but it lifts the burden of being overwhelmed with all the things that I need to do. When I pursue a goal, I know why I am doing something. As a result, I have a sense of self-motivation. Lastly, I make sure that a good night's sleep matters. Many students as well as the majority of modern people underestimate the importance of good rest at night. Few take into consideration the fact that the lack of sleep has a bad influence both on cognitive and physical activity. One of the recent studies showed that sleep deprivation can raise the chances of dropping the course by 10 percent. For that reason, I make sure I keep a sleeping regime by going to bed and getting up at the same time every day.

What is the care of nature? Preservation of clean water in the river is a concern for nature. After all, if the water is contaminated, fish, water animals, and insects will start to perish, and the balance in nature will be disturbed. Preservation of this balance is a prerequisite because everything in nature is interconnected. Accurate disposal of various wastes is a concern for nature. Yes, if a person came to the forest and just threw a plastic bag there, he already caused damage to nature. And if he took it with him and threw it in the garbage, he took care of nature. Putting a bird feeder in winter is also a concern for nature. If every person does something to protect nature, at least something, our environment will be favorable, beautiful. I love nature because everything that surrounds us is nature. Air, earth, water, mountains, forest, birds, animals in the forest – all this is nature. We often say: “Nature is our home.” Otherwise, our environment. And that we could live, that is, live, and live well, happily, our habitat should be in order: water and air should be clean, trees, animals, and birds – healthy, stones – safe. If we can not enjoy nature, then we can never fully live. And that nature could be enjoyed, it is necessary to take care of it. And everyone should do this. I try to appreciate nature as I take a moment, step, or look outside, let myself go, and breathe in the beauty nature provides. I make sure to find one thing that I see, feel, smell, taste, hear or find beautiful or fascinating in a striking way. I take the time to write down what caught my eye and briefly express how I felt when I recognized it.

Generosity to me means someone that is kind to you, gives unconditionally and does so without judgments or rewards. People can view generosity in many different ways, depending on the situation. A few examples of virtues are courage, self-control, loyalty, and creativeness, but knowledge is the leading virtue. Virtue comes from someone’s character and goodness. A person with the virtue of generosity is usually someone that treats others fairly along with valuing him or herself. There are also many benefits to being a generous person, which include making you happier, healthier, and improving relationships. Generosity might be one of the most important aspects of a healthy relationship because without generosity you would be doing everything for yourself and not looking out for others and their needs. People want a person who would drop anything and help them if they are in need. Taking time to do little things for your partner or friend will not only allow them to gain respect for you but might also make them think of you next time and do something kind or loving in return. In a stable and healthy relationship, it's more than just doing a couple of small nice things here and there, but it's actually putting the person’s needs and wants above your own. An example is my mom will randomly call or text me to see how my day is going. This not only allows me to vent my feelings but also gives me a break from reality and allows me just sit back and talk to her. I would consider that an act of generosity and kindness on her part because she takes time out of her busy day to sit down and talk to me. This shows me that she cares and puts me above her own needs.

I would immediately put it into my bank. $1000 would pay that much more of my school next semester and would be greatly appreciated. My goal is to get out of college debt-free. So far, I have not had to take on any loans, but I have lots of years left. $1,000 would help me get just a little closer to my goal of debt-free college. Only time will tell what will happen in the future though. You never know when an emergency will happen and that $1000 may make the difference between having $1000 in debt and being able to pay with cash. The piece of mind I have from having that buffer will lower my anxiety to the point where I am comfortable enough to take small, well calculated risks. People who live hand to mouth are trapped in their circumstances. Those who have debts and no savings are in an even worse situation. $1000 will primarily go toward EXPERIENCE either something really fun or really important such as Education. Most of the money will go toward having an epic wilderness experience! Some will go to food, transportation and marijunana. Some will go toward art such as printing and publishing. Some for sure will go toward my Life Purpose, Mission, Vision, Dreams, and Ideas. I always tell people to invest in the market because it is one of the fastest if not the fastest way to multiply your capital within a short period of time.

My few years on this planet have been a bit confusing. I have learned of many aspects of life from which one can draw meaning if indeed such meaning can be drawn. I have also learned that there can be no singular meaning of life to stand for us all, or even any one of us. What I have learned above all is that trying to put words to the meaning of life is a task of absolute absurdity. This is not to be confused with the idea that life has no meaning, for life certainly has meaning. However, there is no single meaning of life to be defined - life is different for us all. Therefore, rather than define life for an entire planet, I shall try to explain what life means as I perceive it. At the time, this event seemed rather insignificant and did not merit remembrance. However, its catastrophic effects on my attitude that evening may have helped to mold me into the person I have become. I learned that suffering through such an event, as childish as it was, is quite necessary for any life. Such pains are part of an interminable cycle and only generate balance in one's life (p. 62, 'Life as Suffering'). Despite my horrid time spent that evening, the laughter brought since the incident is a worthy tradeoff. Laughter is an all too necessary function of life, just as suffering and the wide range of other emotions. "Some thinkers would emphasize the importance of sophistication in humor, but others would say that laughter itself is what is important." Whatever the case may be, laughter is an important ingredient in life. Life is a complicated twist of suffering, laughing, and learning all merging to tell a great story - or many stories.

I'm committed because being selfless helps us act from our heart and soul instead of our ego, tapping into our true desired feelings. It’s no secret that change is hard. But imagine if you knew that there was one trait you can work on, which would cause so many of life’s struggles and difficulties to slowly disappear. It would make you a happier person, it would give your life more meaning and it would enhance your relationships with the people closest to you; you would become a more sensitive spouse, a more caring parent, and a more giving person. Nevertheless, as important as it is to lead a life of selflessness, to so many it’s nothing but a theory. You can learn about it, think about it, and even preach it, but when somebody cuts you off on the highway, you don’t feel very selfless. Our nature doesn’t allow us to feel that way. Instead, we think to ourselves, “I don’t care to be selfless. I’m not ready to inconvenience myself for another. Even if it makes sense to me, I’m not willing to give up my own comforts for someone else’s sake.” These thoughts are very natural. People are inclined to do things from which they benefit; they’ll do things once they see what’s in it for them. Being selfless will make you a better parent. Sometimes we’re too caught up in ourselves that we don’t do what’s best for our child. We may think, “What if sending my child to the school which is best for him, is one that will hurt my family’s reputation?” If you can put yourself aside and fill the needs of your child, eventually you’ll feel good about your decision, since every parent ultimately wants the very best for their child.

Gratitude is the feeling to be grateful for an act of kindness done to you by someone. Being grateful also means that you should be willing to return the favor in whatever way possible. In the essay below we will go through some of the benefits of gratitude and the ways to practice it. Gratitude has several benefits on your personal as well as social life. I have listed below some of the important benefits of gratitude for your knowledge: 1) Strengthens Relationship Gratitude strengthens your relationship with others. Being thankful is a wonderful feeling and an experience that strengthens the bonds between both parties. It improves the trust factor and the feeling of being respected and acknowledged. 2) Makes You Happy The quality of gratitude also makes you feel happy. When you express gratitude or receive it from someone, in both cases you feel happy for doing something good or for something good that has been done to you. Persons with gratitude are known to have reduced stress. 3) Makes the Society Sensible A society that expresses gratitude for each other is the happiest and sensible society. People are considerate and never leave a chance to be thankful for others. A sensible society is bound to make progress in the right way. 4) Reduces Comparisons and Promote Acknowledgement When you are thankful for others you don’t compare them on the basis of their financial status or other factors. You are just thankful to everyone and appreciate their achievements. In conclusion, gratitude is a wonderful and the most beautiful feeling that strengthens human psychology and society as well. A society where everyone is grateful is the happiest and the loveliest of all. It's a very important quality of humans and is essential when it comes to social recognition and harmony.

Courage is defined as, the ability to do something that frightens one. Something that is outside your comfort, that is hard for you to do. You must be brave and daring or in other words fearless. The action of courage can not only affect yourself but also the people you surround yourself with. These people are the people that show who you are and what you do. Life should be lived like you just want to enjoy everything you do. This can only be done by living day by day courageously. As people live courageous lives daily then they will be able to have happiness, love, and success. When one has courage they have to ability to make themselves happy, not only themselves but also those around them. Courage can help people speak to one another to help build relationships, some of these relationships can be stuck with you forever. As someone comes out of their comfort zone then they are able to understand what it is like to live a better life. With courage there comes happiness and love. Therefore as people live their lives with happiness and love then they will be able to enjoy what they are doing and who they are. With these attributes then people will be able to understand that success does not always come easy. Everyone must be going uphill before they can find the downhill. Sports-wise, you need to work hard and put all of your might into that one activity for one time. But every athlete knows that after a while then they will be able to be successful and see what all of those long hard nights and mornings were for. Whereas in life you might have to struggle with family issues or even friend issues.

In the contemporary world, there are many careers and courses to choose from especially in the pharmaceutical field. Many people only know this field to consist of pharmacists. However, it also contains pharmaceutical technicians. While the roles of pharmacy technicians have been perceived to be behind the scenes, the actual duties consist of more than counting, mixing, as well as preparing sterile preparations. Other roles performed by pharmacy technicians also include customer service, as well as clerical duties. Over the years, the role of this field has kept evolving from typical daily routines in the pharmacies to other critical functions that include management and even procurement. The area of pharmacy technicians is projected to grow by 20% in the next ten years, providing many job opportunities. As a young person, I'll pursue this career not only because of the possible employment and salaries, but also the role it plays in society. My dream about being a pharmacist started when I was in high school, the enthusiasm I have for both chemistry and cancer research combined with the amazement by the human body magnificence encouraged me to think about taking the first step in this path and pursue my undergraduate degree in Science of Pharmacy. I have always enjoyed sciences through my education; I enjoyed learning about every aspect of pharmacy during my undergraduate studies because I am so passionate about it. In chemistry I mostly was entertained when I learned about drug delivery systems, physical pharmacy, analytical chemistry, and pharmacokinetics, while in biology; I loved physiology, pharmacology, nutrition, and pharmacotherapy. I believe those subjects helped me understand the big picture of pharmacy; how specific parts of molecules and medicines affect certain organs, how we can improve them how a small change can have a huge impact on the entire body.

My goals for the future include helping patients understand what medication can do, not only for them but for them as well; and my second goal was to obtain the satisfactory feeling of being able to help others. This second goal is the main reason why I chose the medical field. In life, all I have ever wanted to do was help others live a happier life, and in my mind, in order to live a happy life, you have to be healthy. The interests I have to involve it being a part of the medical field and the fact that I can still help save lives. Many people don’t understand that, at times, it is truly the pharmacist who is making sure you are taking the correct medications. They can go through and make sure that they don’t have serious interactions with other medications a patient is already taking. They make sure the dosages are right and that patients are taking the right amount of medication and aren’t getting refills of certain prescriptions that they shouldn’t be out of yet. Becoming a pharmacist is the perfect match for me because pharmacists are key players in a wide variety of health care settings, and play a critical role in the medication management for patients. Pharmacists are vital health care professionals that help people to achieve positive results from their medications. I believe that for achieving success, by becoming a pharmacist, I can help patients feel better and get well as quickly as possible. I plan to receive my Doctorate of Pharmacy. In order to achieve this goal, I will invest seven years of my life in higher education. It is necessary for me to acquire a college education in order to be satisfied with my future.

Growing up consisted of not limiting my challenges, but challenging my limits. My entire life, everyone insisted that I was normal. However, I spent after-school hours in speech, vision, physical, and occupational therapy instead of going to a friend’s house. Coming in and out of my house 40 hours a week were “tutors,” who told me “try again” whenever I made a mistake until I could do what they asked. My parents had to fight for me to learn in a mainstream classroom like other children my age and, once I was able to do so, an aide was still responsible for me. My family thought that now that I knew why I was different, I would be devastated by this label and use it as a reason why I wouldn’t be capable of something. I was relieved to know that there was a reason that I felt in conflict with the world, and why I constantly felt like I was in a play of life where everyone else had the script except me. Autism has actually gifted me with extreme dedication, focus, and passion. Autism has also given me a top-notch memory, visualization skills, the ability to be extremely detail-oriented, and high integrity. Despite having grown so much compared to where I’ve started, my hard work doesn’t end here. Reading articles such as “Kid With Autism Now Works at Car Wash Like a Normal Person” does not motivate or inspire me. I’ve proven repeatedly that I am not a statistic, and neither is anyone else. I never let my condition prevent me from achieving my personal and academic goals. I wanted to be an athlete and musician, and I did. I wanted to perform well in school, and I did. I want to be a pharmacist, and I will.

I make sure to treat others with empathy by putting myself in the person's shoes, showing care and concern, acknowledging the person's feelings, asking questions, mirroring their actions, not running ahead of the conversation, making sure to not judge at all, and showing emotional support. Recently I was sharing a problem with a good friend over text. Not only did he respond right away, which I didn’t expect because it was late his time (he lives in a different timezone), but he was very thoughtful in his reply. Some things he did that made me feel better: He didn’t assume, but asked questions to understand my situation. He didn’t judge but understood things from my perspective. He considered the situation from various angles. He gave me helpful suggestions on what could work. He sought to share my feelings, which were unhappiness, hurt, and frustration, rather than dismiss or brush them away, which I find common when I share my problems with other friends. When you are empathetic toward others, you help them feel better about themselves. You strengthen your relationship with the person because when you seek to share the feelings of the other, you allow thoughts and emotions to flow between the both of you. It goes without saying that being empathetic is an important skill. I have shared personal problems with friends before but got replies that made me feel worse and made me deeply regret sharing my problem. I have also made casual remarks that people would pick up, which later turned into heartfelt conversations, like with my good friend above. Having the ability to put yourself in others’ shoes, and to relate and understand where they are coming from, even if you have not been in the situation before.

1. First, I always try to see the bigger picture. Often we tend to attach disproportionate importance to what we need to say. We will lie awake at night stressing about it, whereas for the other person, it's much less of a big deal than we really think. 2. Second, I always ask for time before committing to something. Our immediate instinct is to agree to a request, but we can end up bitterly regretting it. I say that I need some time to consider it first. 3. Third, I make a list of your priorities, such as your partner, family or friends, work, or hobby. Only by understanding, our priorities will automatically speak up for us when one of them is threatened. 4. Fourth, I don’t overestimate “nice”. Being considered nice is always, well, nice. But it doesn’t win us friends- acquaintances maybe, but not proper friends- or promotions or respect. Honesty and integrity are far more valuable qualities. 5. Lastly, I remember that the more we do it, the easier it becomes. We often lack the verbal framework for speaking our minds, so our words come out clumsily and can be hurtful. The good news is that the more practice we get in speaking out, the easier it will be to frame our words thoughtfully and tactfully. Saying exactly what we mean isn’t something most of us are trained to do. From childhood, we're taught the art of “people-pleasing”- of saying yes, even if we mean no, holding back from saying anything that might offend. Some people avoid speaking their minds because they don’t want to offend anyone or get into a conflict. Accept the fact that everyone will not always agree with you — and don’t be afraid of ruffling some feathers.

These days, if you’re a leader of any type, you can’t simply order people around and expect them to do what you want. They may follow your directions if you are watching, but once they’re left on their own they’ll go back to doing what they think is important. Leaders today, more than ever before, have to win people’s cooperation. And there are two main ways of doing so: motivation and inspiration. Although the two words are often used interchangeably, they actually mean quite different things – depending on what you want to achieve. Motivation is about moving people to act in a way that achieves a specific and immediate goal. When you’re motivating people to do something they may not necessarily want to do, you have to offer them something they want in return. I encourage those around me by listening, asking open-ended questions, asking about what the first step will be, dreaming, asking how I can help, and following up. The best way to motivate others is to start by listening to what they want to do. Open-ended questions are the best way to figure out what someone’s dreams are. People are so scared they will fail or look stupid, many never try to reach their goals, so this is where you come in. You must encourage them. After you’ve encouraged them, find how they will start. If they don’t know, you can make suggestions. By allowing others to dream, you solidify the motivation in place and connect their dreams to a future reality. Most of the time, others won’t need anything from you, but it’s always good to offer. Just letting the person know you’re there will help motivate them to start. Periodically, over the course of the next year, ask them how their goal is going.

First, traveling all about the world is definitely our goal since I have been little. When you travel to other countries in addition to seeing the amazing elegance of sunsets overseas, rain forests, waterfalls, a person realize the world will be full of more beauty than you are able of seeing in your lifetime. Not seeing this when I was younger, I actually would have less desire to venture out there when I’m older in addition to having a job and loved one's constraints in play. I would have less of a desire to put the effort into taking the time to travel. Secondly, performing a form deed without expecting anything in return, has usually touched my heart. I used to notice people at the visitors' lights asking for funds, food, coats anything they could ask for. The homeless person right now has food to take in, thanks to the amazing advantages of these generous people. The particular person who is the recipient of a good action or random act associated with kindness has gotten some help. Besides getting food, he likewise received the message that he is important and worth supporting. This good deed warms his heart as well as fills his abdomen. Finally, I would like to be the one who came, the one who saw, not the one who wished they had. I want to see everything my eyes can take, and I want to learn every language my brain can hold. On this seemingly endless trip, I would most likely look forward to New York and Japan the most. The Japanese culture has always interested me and learning its language and culture in Japan would be a great feat for me. I want to experience all the cultures, speak all the languages, and see everything.

Confidence to me is the guts that one has to approach situations that are unfamiliar without doubting themselves. It could be the first step towards asking a girl or a boy out, or it could be taking a step in one 's career towards a direction with uncertain consequences. The definition of confidence is how strongly you believe in your ability to achieve goals in every aspect. Being confident is so important because athletes have all of the ability in the world to perform well, but if they don't believe you have that ability, then they won't perform up to their ability. Self-confidence is an attitude about your skills and abilities. It means you accept and trust yourself and have a sense of control in your life. You know your strengths and weakness well, and have a positive view of yourself. People with low self-confidence often have errors in their thinking. I'm working on being more confident in myself by staying focused, identifying my strengths and capitalizing on them, identifying weaknesses and working on them, believing in myself, closely monitoring my successes, knowing that my confidence may be threatened at times, seeking encouragement from others, and challenging myself. Having a healthy level of self-confidence can help you become successful in your personal and professional life. It can play a role in your motivation to pursue goals and affect how you present yourself to other people. Research has found, for example, that people who are more confident tend to be more academically successful. Improving your self-confidence can have a range of positive effects on your life. In addition to helping you feel better about yourself and your abilities, it can make your relationships stronger and you resilient to stress. Learning how to act confident can actually help you feel more confident.

I make sure to treat others with empathy by putting myself in the person's shoes, showing care and concern, acknowledging the person's feelings, asking questions, mirroring their actions, not running ahead of the conversation, making sure to not judge at all, and showing emotional support. Recently I was sharing a problem with a good friend over text. Not only did he respond right away, which I didn’t expect because it was late his time (he lives in a different timezone), but he was very thoughtful in his reply. Some things he did that made me feel better: He didn’t assume, but asked questions to understand my situation. He didn’t judge but understood things from my perspective. He considered the situation from various angles. He gave me helpful suggestions on what could work. He sought to share my feelings, which were unhappiness, hurt, and frustration, rather than dismiss or brush them away, which I find common when I share my problems with other friends. When you are empathetic toward others, you help them feel better about themselves. You strengthen your relationship with the person because when you seek to share the feelings of the other, you allow thoughts and emotions to flow between the both of you. It goes without saying that being empathetic is an important skill. I have shared personal problems with friends before but got replies that made me feel worse and made me deeply regret sharing my problem. I have also made casual remarks that people would pick up, which later turned into heartfelt conversations, like with my good friend above. Having the ability to put yourself in others’ shoes, and to relate and understand where they are coming from, even if you have not been in the situation before.

My hobby is traveling. Not for such a long time in my life I have had to travel quite a lot. Why do I like this kind of activity? Well, this question is both simple and complex, as a hobby in the life of every human being arises from specific life circumstances. Traveling is a hobby of mine for a number of reasons. Firstly, when traveling, you can learn a lot. When people live in one place and is engaged in all the time the same business, he too gets used to his life, to what surrounds them. He begins to think that somehow did not happen. During the trip, you can dispel this belief. When a person travels, he sees other people’s lives and begins to understand their philosophy. This expands the world of the man himself, forcing him to look at the world through different eyes and become spiritually richer. Secondly, the trip to help check their own forces, and are a kind of test for the human. For example, it's no secret that during some traveling man faces some domestic problems, which can be difficult to overcome. Third, after travel, I always feel that I do not live in vain. It seems to me that the more places in the world I will visit, the more I live and fulfilling. However, I am aware that this is more of my personal and subjective. I never chose a hobby and did not aspire, to pick up in his capacity as something popular or widespread. It so happened that travel is a hobby for many people. I take this absolutely calm and understanding. I know how to enjoy their hobby and enjoy life as a whole, and I am convinced that it is right. So this is a hobby.

Every person has hope for a better future. Even if we all have problems and obstacles we have to face. We live in a world with hate, envy, and evil, but we also live in a world with endless love, passion, and hope. In this hopeful world, our expectations have grown. We have anticipation about the future that we are going to have, and in all honesty, many do not have hope that we will have a better future, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try. We all aspire to be the best we can and I believe that with the ambition we have, we can move forward and better our world and each other. Though times currently seem to be awful, we are living in one of the best times ever. Technology is ruling the world, and the way we choose to use it is deciding what will come next. Not only that, but we are now living in a time where equality and acceptance are pretty much everywhere. I believe that in the future, it’s not going to matter what makes us different. Lastly, I just want to point out that we are still building and shaping our world and lives. We are learning from our many mistakes and fixing them. “America, land of the free and home of the brave..”, but also home of the hopeful. One thing that gives me hope that the future will be better is technology. First and foremost, technology has been flourishing all around us. As a society, we are coming up with new inventions that are boosting our economy. In the future, we may even get the things we have all wished for, such as flying cars or a teleportation device. Our imaginations are endless and our hard work exceeds all. Technology is like stated before, ruling the world and it's making everyday events so much easier. Look to the future and together we can have a great life in our country. With today’s technology, we are doing things that could never happen before, such as producing renewable energy, having electronics that we can use to have conversations over amazing distances, and with the technology we have, we are solving so many medical and historical problems. Technology shapes the future and it can help to make it compatible with nature. It can help us to develop clean energy, transport possibilities with fewer emissions, and low-energy houses to save resources. Technology is not only about technology itself or more efficiency and discovering new methods and processes; we have to add the component of art which is about making wise choices for the future of technology. We should not develop technology because of itself, but to develop it, because it adds value to society and simplifies human life. For this, it needs to be discussed with experts from many fields and we have to relate the technology to the organization and the culture in which it should operate. There are no side effects.

The first time I had picked up a guitar was when I was 8 years of age. After listening to more and more guitar in the world my interest sprouted enough for me to walk up to my parents and say, “Mom, Dad, I want to play the guitar!” They liked the idea of me taking an interest in music, so within the week my dad took me to the only small music shop around the neighborhood. Of course, back then I didn’t understand much about what makes a good guitar just that, but I didn’t care I finally had a guitar! And then it hit me, I had an instrument, granted that instrument was now a pile of dust in my room it was an instrument. So I hoped up and waltz my way up to the familiar blue and orange walled safe zone I called a bedroom. I looked at the guitar and with a smile on my face though, “Let’s try this again.” I started playing more and more through the days I had it, but no matter how much I practiced I just wasn’t getting anywhere with playing. After realizing this, my parents decided it was time for me to get some guitar lessons. With a quick search, we found a local teacher who would hopefully show me where to go. Of course, I had no patience and just wanted to start rocking out riffs left and right. Sadly it wasn’t that simple. Contradicting my previous statement, I had an idea of what I wanted to learn, but as with many things, they never go as planned. From then on out I slowly started getting back into it; I practiced more and more, this time progressing slightly quicker than last time.

I believe that organization is the best skill I have. Organizational skills can not only help you manage your current job—wherever or however you work—but they can also help you look for a new job or land a promotion. And thankfully, you can improve your organizational skills and show them off in your job hunt. With so many requests, tasks, and expectations on your plate, organizational skills are what help you use your time, resources, energy, and mental bandwidth efficiently to achieve your goals and get your job done with less stress. Organizational skills can aid you in arranging your digital and physical spaces as well as managing, prioritizing, and planning everything you need to do. Simply put, organizational skills optimize results in the workplace. They enable you to be the best you can be at your job. I'm actually a very organized person. It's funny that you mention this because just the other day, one of my family friends wanted to borrow my suitcase and saw my closet. He made fun of me for organizing my clothes by length and color. I'm like that with everything. It's just so much easier to manage things. However, I'm not picky and don't need to have things in a certain way. I just want things to be organized. So yes, I consider myself organized. I am improving to be organized by writing things down, making schedules and deadlines, not procrastinating on things, giving everything a home, decluttering regularly, keeping only what I need, knowing where to discard items, and staying away from bargains. Really organized people, like me, are not born organized, they have to cultivate healthy habits, which then help them to stay organized. So even if you think you are a very disorganized person, you can learn to be organized.

I read a beautiful quote in a book by Dr. Deepak Chopra, “We don't grow old; when we stop growing we become old.” I want to grow every single day because I don’t want to grow old. I don’t like old people who keep telling their glory days of the past, curse the present, and remain pessimistic about the future. I always dream of a better future for myself and for the world. I have a million dreams for my future and I am determined to realize all of them with great love, joy, and hard work. I don’t compare with anyone. I simply want to be better than what I was yesterday. I want to improve myself every single day. My desire is to always remain young, energetic, productive, and cheerful by choosing growth. One of my old teachers used to say, ‘Rest is rust.’ The more you work, the sharper your mind becomes. I don’t want to die before I die, and I wish to live every moment of my life to the fullest till I am alive. How beautifully Benjamin Franklin said, “Many people die at twenty-five and aren't buried until they are seventy-five”. Why die young when you have the option to live a great life till your last breath? Even I feel the same. However, I feel that my social circle including my family drag me into meaningless social traditions and waste my precious time. Sometimes, I wish I could leave them all. One day, I shall do that, for sure. This is very helpful to the people who had previously faced failures like me. I want to forget my past and I am still trying.

Our family and friends are our biggest inspirations. They help us thrive and survive in this challenging and increasingly stressful world. Since they play such a huge part in our lives on a day-to-day basis, it becomes even more important to keep tending, loving, caring for, swooning on, cherishing as well as doting on them. But how can you make your significant other, sibling, parent, dog, cat, or even yourself feel special? I have a few suggestions: 1. Surprise them with a gift Choose one that truly reflects their personality or the relationship you two have together. Maybe give them one of your favorite books that reminds you of them, or a CD you think they’d like (do people still use CDs?), or put together an amazing Spotify playlist for them. 2. Tell them something you like about them Try to mention something you don’t think they’ve heard before. Like, “I love how you say the word ‘little.’ It’s just so cute,” or, “The way you dance to the theme songs in movies is so charming!” 3. Plan an adventure for just the two of you An excursion around town, an expedition up the highest mountain in your area, or a train trip to a cool destination are all awesome ways to explore and feel adventurous. Pack generous road trip snacks, obviously. 4. Give them your fullest attention Putting away your phone and work when you’re together will make them feel like they’re the top priority. And practice active listening (because what they have to say is important!). 5. Tell them how you feel Simply express to them how much you appreciate them. You don’t have to go on forever (“you’re the coolest person in the history of the entire earth!”), just be sincere (“I think you’re awesome.”).

Joy, to me, is the feeling that we all seek in life. We probably all remember feelings of joy from our childhood or on certain special occasions. It is a feeling that seems to get farther away from us as we grow older and have less time for play. Even now, we can see joy when we watch young children play. We also see the joy on the faces of religious or spiritual people who seem to understand and love life at a level we cannot even see. Joy is something that we all can sense but is very hard to describe. Joy reveals as a physical sensation inside the body. However, it also affects the mental side of a person. The individual expression of the emotion may include various appearances besides the laugh or smile. For example, a person can jump, happily scream or laugh uncontrollably. All these displays involve both mental and physical aspects. Referring to the physical aspect, the happy hormones secreted by the brain produce a particular reaction inside the body, thus making the person feel happy. A mental appearance of joy creates a distinct feeling that stimulates the person to continue the current action or to be engaged in different events. The sense of joy provides confidence about personal capabilities, strengths, and advantages. A few examples of how I seek out joy in my life include throwing a Frisbee with my dog, dancing, hiking, looking at beautiful art, enjoying a concert, or making love. Play and other activities that don't have a purpose other than helping us feel relaxed and happy keep our mind focused on the present. The present is where joy lives. When we feel joy, we feel great about ourselves. We feel confident, powerful, capable, lovable, and fulfilled.

Community involvement is so crucial and important for people to do because the going ons of your community directly affect you and what you do. The crime rate in your community affects your security, the pollution in your local area affects your health, the bad roads affect your route to work or to school. Communities are part of everyday life and have positive effects on their members. Communities can be found everywhere and can be created anywhere. You may be unaware of it, but you are part of a community not only based on your location, but also based on your lifestyle, your religion, your heritage, your education, or your abilities. When you are part of a group, you understand and compromise with the other members of the group. Discussing issues involving the community helps to lead to solutions. Talking things through with other members improves social skills as well as relationships. Knowing how people feel about certain issues lets you know more about that person, and in turn, you learn more about yourself. Hearing what other people have to say may sway your own opinions about something. I have helped my community in my life so far by the following methods: 1. Host a charity drive. I sometimes work with others and team up with a local organization, like a food pantry or a women’s shelter. Then, we put out a call to customers to bring in needed items for a percentage of their purchase. We make sure to get the word out through in-store signage and social media so that our customers are aware of the event. 2. Start an employee volunteer program. I encourage other workers alongside me to pursue their passion to help others by starting a program that allows them flexible hours a few times a month to leave early or come in later while they volunteer with a local nonprofit. 3. Donate my skills and services. One of the most effective ways to give back to my community is by doing what I do best. For example, if I run a restaurant, partner with a local high school to offer internships or host informational events for students who might be interested in pursuing a career in the culinary world. 4. Support other local businesses. I know how challenging it can be to own a small business, so I can team up with entrepreneurs in my area to concentrate your efforts on helping out each other and the community. 5. Offer up my space for events. Nonprofits are often operating on extremely tight budgets, so when they want to throw a fundraising event, they rely on donations, especially for venues. Separate from the above mentioned, I also do multiple things to improve the lives of elderly people in my community, such as helping my aging seniors stay connected to family, friends, and community, arranging family visits or outings for my aged adults, especially holidays or days of family celebration like weddings or birthdays, and lining up transportation to get them to senior centers, church, or community functions. I also make sure to encourage volunteerism. In addition, one of the few organizations that I served for my community was the National Honor Society (NHS). I committed 5 hours per week and 25 weeks per year for this service. The reason NHS exists today is that it elevates students' and schools' academics, leadership, and community engagement. It helps the local community by creating enthusiasm for scholarship, stimulating a desire to render service & promoting leadership. As an NHS student, I volunteered in my community and helped in different projects, like marathons, food drives, online fundraisers, and more. In my work, I have demonstrated respect, responsibility, trustworthiness & integrity. It's a great way to get involved & have fun too. In order to maintain the membership, I have to keep up with good grades. Sharing my knowledge and strengths is yet another essential leadership skill. It fosters and inspires others to grow. When I share with others, I'm teaching them something special about me and my journey. Imagine what would be possible if my community was in the mode of collaboration and contribution. This mindset creates new ideas and opportunities. As a reminder, I would have my own unique set of strengths, knowledge, and experience, because of the life I’ve led. I think about all the lessons I've learned and how they might change even a single person’s livelihood. Sharing my knowledge with my community is a beautiful gift. As a leader, I have perspectives and ideas that can directly impact my community for the better. By using my voice and sharing my skills, I become an essential part of my community. Success isn’t just about wealth. It’s about how I inspire others and make a difference along the way. A healthcare career has always been where I put myself in the future, mainly because my mom is in the healthcare field. However, I've never been one that could directly help the wounded or deal with anything gory, but am very intrigued by the growing science of pharmacy. As I continue exploring pharmacy, the more I enjoy learning about it and feel like I could excel in this career. It is important to me that I have a passion for whatever path my life takes. Since I have control over that path, I am choosing to pursue a career that will provide my life with both meaning and satisfaction. I plan to help my community through my future career in various ways. First, with the knowledge obtained from college, I hope to counsel young people who are on the verge of going astray. In today's society, there are so many negative factors that influence young people. I want to help them understand the importance of setting goals and striving to become productive citizens. I also want to give them a sense of hope that with perseverance, they can become great role models for other young people.

Having Autism, I feel in constant conflict with the world, as though life is a play where everyone else has the script but for me. Instead of embracing my neurodiversity, a cluster of behavioral therapists were hired to conform me to societal norms. The therapeutic methods implied that my natural communication would only bring the worst out of social interaction, including ostracism and manipulation. Society wasn't built for people like me, and I can't thrive without leaving my comfort zone. Though consumed by social anxiety, I knew I couldn't let it continue to imprison me. Taking a leap of faith, I sent my resume to a local boba shop down the street. A few days later, they called me in for an interview. In the morning of what felt like an impending apocalypse, I sat among thirty other candidates, waiting to be interviewed. My stomach wrenched, my knees locked under my chair, and my heartbeat sounded like gunshots. My mind swarmed with questions and screamed insecurities: Why can't I understand what other people think? Why do I have to communicate verbally to get by in the world? When the manager called my name, I took a deep breath and stood up. I couldn't let my fear of failure stand in my way any longer. Before I knew it, the interview was over. My mind went blank. The manager stood up and shook my hand, the crinkles of his eyes tightening from what appeared to be a smile under his face mask. I had gotten the job. I felt as if I had ridden a roller coaster, except this roller coaster didn't endanger me, and I could ride it. This was the exposure therapy that I needed and longed for, teaching me more than 14 years of behavioral therapy ever has.

My favorite way to help others is to not wait for "thank you." You should not wait that all people will be thankful to you for your help. You should understand, that the help is not something like goods, which is possible to sell with benefits. We help each other just because we want to do it in this way. Do you give the person the bill, because you explained how to go to the library, for example? Or should we stop giving some free advice and free help? It seems, that no one needs such kind of help, because it will not improve our life. But some kinds of help need to have some benefits. For example, we cannot work for free, because we need to earn money. Also, you need to understand, that before helping other people, you need to be ready to do it. It is clear, that there can be different kinds of help, everything depends on our possibilities. But people should be ready for this help. For example, little children cannot take care of someone or just help, because they are not ready, they just need to grow up and understand what does help means. But adult people understood it and because of it, they can analyze their life and understand where it is possible to help other people. We help each other because of different reasons. Some people help because they just can not help other people if they need help. The other people help because they wish to give some positive energy or just because they must help. Sometimes we can help the others because we are sure, that they'll think in a good way about as after that. We need to improve our health, and to be sure, that someone needs us.

When I think about what counts as learning to me, I think about my life. Just being able to live in this world to me is a learning experience, because I feel that my life is full of lessons and I believe that it takes lessons to learn in life. I feel that I've learned to understand learning more and to also understand the value of learning. As I get older I can comprehend subject matters more than I could ever do before. I am learning to be more serious and I find myself not taking life for granted anymore. The biggest learning experience to me so far is life itself. I feel that way because there is so much to learn in life. It takes growing up for me to learn in life. I'm now beginning to understand the value of learning because a year ago I did not appreciate learning. I didn't value it as I value it now. I took it for granted as if learning could just be given to me. I realize now that it has to be earned. My attitude in high school was not always the best because I really did not feel I was learning, so I took it for granted. In middle school, I felt as if the teachers were jokes and I felt they did not care about educating me properly. But I'm now starting to learn the value of an education. I now look forward to learning new things every day. I feel that I am beginning to have a passion for learning. I never thought that I would feel this way about learning because I never did appreciate it as I do now. I now actually yearn to learn; I feel that I need to learn new things.

The only legacy I would like to leave behind is that my time on this planet stood for and pointed to an ideal I cared about. The effects of what happens after I'm gone are impossible to quantify, but against the possibility of absurdity, paradoxically it would be nice to have stood for an ideal. It could be giving time and extra energy in your medical practice to save more patients since your ideal is seeing more people alive and happy. It could also be running ultramarathons for fallen soldiers at risk to your body because you believe those men who served in the war are the bravest who existed. My ideal simply stands as this: an objective scientific understanding of the universe. I can't sleep knowing how little we know about it, feeling the void of the unknown extend trillions of light-years in every direction. This is why I am studying chemistry with the intention of pursuing theoretical and computational research. But I don't pretend to assume it will necessarily matter in the end. It's just moving a grain of sand in that direction on a beach with billions of other grains of sand. As long as I care about it and find freedom in it, I enjoy it as well as respect it enough to give my life to it. Beyond that, my legacy will just be my years on Earth, destined to be forgotten, but hopefully lived happily and contented. We all want to be remembered for something, to be known as more than merely ordinary, to be seen as someone who truly made a difference. We all want to be known as someone who truly made a difference, to leave an imprint on this world, and to leave behind something making the future a little brighter.

“No one is you, and that is your power.“ This, I found, is a quote by Dave Grohl, Nirvana band member and frontman for The Foo Fighters. The full quote reads “no one is you and that is your biggest power.” Interestingly, he’s referring here primarily to your singing voice, but of course, the quote is more broadly applicable. In today's world, we are constantly bombarded with the idea of perfectionism, the lives we wish we had, or the people that we wish we could look like especially on social media. It is okay to admire what other people have. However, the problem arises when it becomes a way for you to seek validation for something. We spend way too much time looking for the ‘perfect' filter or having about two dozen of the exact same shot in order to get maximum likes and comments. It doesn't matter how many Instagram likes and comments you get on your pictures. The only person whose ‘like' truly matters, and whose comment should truly influence the way you live your life is YOU. What matters is that you love yourself and that you love your own imperfect characteristics that make us human beings. No one is you and that is your power! Being “yourself” is not as easy as it sounds – the pressure, constantly, is on all of us to look better, be better, achieve more, succeed always, etc. The list is seemingly endless. The simplest explanation for it is that, no matter how many peoples living in the world, there is none like you. No one has the same inner quote as you and that is your uniqueness or power. So don’t ever feel less worthy of yourself because you are the most effective person in your world.

Happiness is referred to as a good state of mind and body. People often smile, sing, and dance when they are happy. The perspective of happiness is different for everyone in this world. We all must try to find out and note down the things that can make us happy. We can do those things for getting happiness whenever we are in a bad mood or sad. It is presumed that happiness lies in doing big things. Many of us think that earning a lot of money and holding a nice position is necessary for getting happiness. It is true that success brings happiness but it does not mean that it is only the way to be happy. In reality, happiness lies in enjoying small-small things in our life. The happiness that we get by doing these things is a very beautiful experience. I feel happy when I help my mother in her kitchen work, water the plants, eat my favorite dish, go for a walk, listen to music, play with pets, spend time with family, gossip with friends, etc. We need to find ways of getting happy instead of waiting for it to come by itself. We must try to listen to music or feel the beauty of nature when we are happy. Happiness is enhanced when enjoyed in nature with the melody of music. Music has the power to reduce the pain of sadness. We have often noticed that people listen to music when they are very sad or depressed. It helps them in ending the pain of their sorrow and makes them feel better. The best way to keep ourselves stress-free is to be happy. Therefore we must try to find ways to be happy and make others happy too.

Music is a wonderful thing. The right or motivational songs can give you a good kick in the rear. The inspiring lyrics can provide a quick pick me up to motivate me to accomplish my goals. And sometimes it would just remind you to appreciate the beauty of the world that we live in and provide that little lift that we occasionally need. “What doesn’t kill you makes a fighter”. This song, performed by American Idol Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson helps you to evaluate your life when something hasn’t gone your way. Learn from it and come back fighting so that you can reach the next level. “What Doesn’t Kill You” is an empowerment song. It kicks off with a shimmering synth riff, then launches into an upbeat dance-pop number, complete with guitars and electronic drums.“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller, doesn’t mean I’m lonely when I’m alone,” KC sings on the chorus. This song is a buoyant hover between pop-rock, R&B, and Nashville-styled music genres. This song is not only poetic in its lyrics, it is also inspiring during this global pandemic when things seem like they’ve hit rock bottom. One thing that really stands out about the line "Thanks to you I'm finally thinking about me You know in the end the day you left was just my beginning" is the antithesis. Using “end” and “beginning” is an important contrast and it shows that although it may have been the end of a relationship for Kelly, it was only the beginning of the rest of her life where she can really focus on herself. This really applies to us seniors because even though our senior year ended all too soon, it is really only the beginning of our lives.

THESE ARE TOTALLY WRONG: 1. I deserve this scholarship not because I deserve anything but because I represent a potentially good return on your investment. I'm self-motivated, a hard worker, I have realistic goals and aspirations, and I wish to make a contribution to the betterment of society as a whole. What can I contribute to improving the world? How can I, in my own way, make things better for others? Your scholarship will help me realize my dreams. 2. I believe pursuing the Doctor of Pharmacy degree immensely relates to both my immediate and long-term goals. It has already been a challenging path and I know it will get harder, but challenging myself in school is my immediate goal. I know I'd make a fantastic pharmacist, and so I make it a goal to challenge myself every day in everything I do including my education. 3. My personal experiences with mental health and the events that challenged it caused me to change my ideals, my physical well-being, and my career field. My physical health was ridiculed by my fellow friends and classmates, causing me to negatively perceive myself. Even though these obstacles had plagued my mental health during my childhood, they allowed me to discover my purpose in life.

A piece of art that inspires me and which I really like is Van Gogh's work: The Starry Night. Van Gogh, I suggest, was loosely inspired by The Great Wave and it was in his mind when he painted Starry Night. Of course, Starry Night is a product of the artist's unbridled imagination, sparked off by the Provençal landscape and, most importantly, the hours that he would spend looking up at the heavens. Starry Night is one of the most recognized pieces of art in the world. It is absolutely everywhere, too. It can be seen on coffee, mugs, t-shirts, towels, magnets, etc. Honestly, it sometimes feels as if the painting’s fame has exceeded that of its creator. It is a magnificent piece of art. That Starry Night resonates with so many people is a testament to how its beauty is timeless and universal. Notice the brush strokes. For the sky they swirl, each dab of color rolling with the clouds around the stars and moon. On the cypress tree, they bend with the curve of the branches. The whole effect is ethereal and dreamlike. The hills easily roll down into the little village below. In contrast, the town is straight up and down, done with rigid lines that interrupt the flow of the brush strokes. Tiny little trees soften the inflexibility of the town. Bringing nature into the unnaturalness of buildings. One of the biggest points of interest about this painting is that it came entirely from Van Gogh’s imagination. None of the scenery matches the area surrounding Saint Paul or the view from his window. As a man who religiously paints what he sees, it’s a remarkable break from Van Gogh’s normal work. His spirit not only inspired artists but regular people to never give up.

The most inspiring book I've read is "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. This book is basically a story of the boy and the chase of his dream, how he fulfilled it, what were the problems he faced, how he overcame them. This book is a complete package for all those who want to achieve something in life. It's written such beautifully that every word of it will motivate you to fulfill your dreams. Whenever I'm feeling down, I just start reading this book. This book fills you with a lot of energy, motivation, emotion, and confidence... It'll inspire you to let go of your inhibitions and start working towards achieving your dreams right away. Here are some of the most amazing quotes I could take from reading this book: 1. 'The secret of life is to fall 7 times and get up eighth time.' 2. 'It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.' 3. 'Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.' 4. 'When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream.' 5. 'Love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love.' 6. 'Fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.' 7. 'Every search begins with a beginner's luck and every search ends with the Victor's being severely tested.' These are simple lines yet so powerful, full of wisdom...!! All in all, "The Alchemist" taught me that anything is possible if you really want it and have the drive to get it. If you completely let go of your fears and just focus on your dream, you can do miracles!

Equality and diversity, or multiculturalism, is the idea of promoting and accepting the differences between people. Promoting these are essential to providing care in today’s society; in order to provide the support that meets the needs of citizens, management and staff need to be aware of what the terms are and how they're put into practice in the working environment. Here are some ways that I support diversity, equality, and inclusion in the workplace: 1. I make sure to be aware of unconscious bias. 2. I communicate the importance of managing bias. 3. I promote pay equity. 4. I develop strategic training programs. 5. I acknowledge holidays of all cultures. 6. I make it easy for people to participate in employee resource groups. 7. I mix up my teams. 8. I facilitate ongoing feedback. 9. I assess company policies. While many companies have been putting diversity, equity, and inclusion into greater focus over the last few years, there is still significant room for improvement. Diverse teams foster better employee engagement, productivity, and problem-solving abilities. Numerous applications now have an inquiry, once in a while discretionary, equipped to empower individuals with minority foundations or abnormal instructive or family histories to expound on their experience. Promotion of equality and diversity in the class shouldn’t be a challenge and is something that learners should be familiar with at the beginning of the course to know their responsibilities as learners, to contribute to the well-being of others in the class not to harass others because of the differences, giving positive attitudes to individuals. The initial diagnostics assessment should be done by all teachers to be aware of the learners' needs and ways of supporting them, know them as individuals that have different learning needs such as weakness, strength, opportunities, and treatment.

I am a current high school senior: It’s been my desire, longing for a nursing career since I was in primary and secondary school. At the age of 12, I began to look after children and babysit then, from there, I gained an understanding of how to deal with children. Nursing is one of the highly demanding careers that bring new challenges every day and it comes with various rewards and a real sense of job satisfaction. I chose to nurse because it is a profession where you never really finish learning. The one person who always told me I can do whatever I wanted in life was my mom. My mom was my number one supporter, and always told everyone how excited she was for me to fulfill my dreams of becoming a nurse. It has been my dream job since a tender age. Seeing nurses visiting my school treating students, immunization, teaching us about health and sexual health issues, encouraged me. My goal and desire at that age have been to help people within the Health sector. Nursing is the one job everyone says is so fulling and will change your perspective on the world forever. Just last year I started on my journey to becoming a nurse. I want to be a nurse because I feel like it was one of the most rewarding careers a person can hold. There are many different areas of nursing that I can choose to pursue. There are many different definitions of what a nurse really is. Some go by a formal definition of the practice but others believe it is much more personable than that. My health coach for the term will be, I feel like we work well together and he can really help me accomplish some of the health goals that I created after completing my self-assessment. As a nurse, one needs to have high-level wellness so they can perform well at the job. Stress is a key factor that needs to be controlled. Nurses are put under a tremendous amount of stress and being able to control that stress is key in a nurse’s career. I seek a Nursing degree here in the United States in order to increase my knowledge and to be able to practice in the field of professional nursing. My goal of becoming a Registered Nurse has long been encouraged by my personal interest in the profession and by my experience, previous education, and achievements. These factors continue to motivate and inspire my desire to seek this degree and become a healthcare professional. A career in the medical field is always evolving and always needs more hands. Just like the thousands of students enrolled in medical schools, my short-term goals include completing my BSN and starting working as a professional nurse. Although I still have a couple more years before I finish my degree, I can already see myself receiving my diploma that represents four years of preparation for the career I am passionate about. After completing my degree, I will then prepare myself for the National Council Licensure Examination for nurses, a state licensing exam that will prove I am fit and certified to work as a nurse. After passing the exam, I will then begin my career in the medical and service industry. With the many opportunities that the nursing industry offers, I only have to focus on these goals to become successful in this field. Therefore, for now, I will do everything to become a nurse even if I have to do things one step at a time.

SELF-SATISFACTION is my everything. Many people achieve everything in life but don’t get inner peace. Even after achieving so much, they remain unhappy. On the contrary, some people don’t achieve up to the mark according to the standards of society, but they're satisfied with themselves and stay happy regardless of achieving less success. The biggest reason people aren't self-satisfied is that our society compares with others with the ones who have achieved more than us and so we also start comparing ourselves even after knowing we have achieved a lot but still we feel unsatisfied and end up being unhappy.

Mathematics is important because it makes our life orderly and prevents chaos. Certain qualities that are nurtured by mathematics are power of reasoning, creativity, abstract or spatial thinking, critical thinking, problem-solving ability and even effective communication skills. Math is vital in our world today. Everyone uses mathematics in our day to day lives, and most of the time, we do not even realize it. Without math, our world would be missing a key component in its makeup. One either likes math or dislikes it. One reason as to why students may hate math is because many of the concepts are abstract and can be hard to master. Variables, equations, and the dreaded story problems can all be difficult to figure out and understand, but everyone needs them to solve real life situations right now or for our future careers. Creating spending budgets, paying for groceries, buying things on sale, and cooking meals all have to deal with math in some way or another. One has to be able to measure out ingredients, count money, and determine limits when it comes to certain tasks like the examples above. People never realize how much math is around them until they take a step back and look. Research conducted by Dr. Tanya Evans (Stanford University) indicates that children who know math can recruit certain brain regions more reliably, and have higher gray matter volume in those regions, than those who perform more poorly in math. The brain regions involved in higher math skills in high-performing children were associated with various cognitive tasks involving visual attention and decision-making. The same brain regions that helps you do math is recruited in decision-making and attentional processes. I love learning math because I'm able to understand the various topics in mathematics well. I am able to conceptualize various geometrical figures and visualize the concepts. I am able to follow the logic of the derivations, laws and theorems. Mathematics does not require a lot of memorizing of paragraphs. Mathematics allows us to learn many techniques and then practice them on the basis of those we have learned. Mathematics is a subject which is fundamental to every other subject and field in the world. It's basically part of any knowledge. However, some times, going too deep, mathematics becomes inhuman and the world of symbols. This is where many persons will start hating mathematics and then start loving pure sciences or arts. Mathematics is needed to make any engineering method, fabrication of a product. Nowadays, even subjects like entertainment is based on many complicated and recently developed computer based techniques. Those are entirely mathematical. Mathematics and creation of currency has allowed trading of food, and articles in the society. The trade terms are based on appropriate value determination. This is mathematics. Nowadays, health conscious person even count the calories in their food. Mathematicians had learnt various sciences and enriched them by finding new laws and theorems. They form the basis for us to live comfortably and work for better life in future. The mathematicians and scientists have done a great job and their lives and work are inspiring for all of us. Mathematics can be explained visually, with examples in an interesting way. Then all persons will like it. In fact, the first lessons a child learns are the alphabet and counting of numbers. Such is the importance of mathematics. So I like it because it interestingly solves many practical problems in real life in various fields. However, when it becomes inhumanly symbolic matter, I don't like that. It's the application of mathematics I like, rather than the mathematics itself.

Since its invention, calculus has been crucial to the development of many scientific advancements, particularly in the fields of physics and engineering. Calculus can tell us all about the motion of astronomical bodies, weather patterns, electric and electronic circuits and systems, and the movement of sound and light, to name a few. It has probably been useful in the invention of a great amount of objects in your home. Calculus is thus useful for small-scale and large-scale scientific discoveries, inventions, and advancements in general. The linear sequence of math courses in the US ends with the material most often applicable to students going into the sciences: some calculus, some statistics, maybe linear algebra. Other math is pretty much flat out ignored or discouraged until completing that track. College Board, racket that it is, has "Pre-calculus" on the SAT and only has math "Advanced Placement" exams for calculus and statistics - and, as everyone knows, AP exams are the end-all, be-all of preparation for college (/s). So that's a chicken-and-egg cause for the emphasis, too. The ordering, starting with "high school math" (though many students begin this sequence in middle school: {2 years of algebra, 1 geometry} Precalculus (grab bag of tools used later on) {2 semesters of Calculus, Statistics} {Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations} College-bound students (or college freshman) who don't plan to major in math or a science generally stop either after precalculus or after single variable calculus course. Some colleges are even accepting "college algebra" as a terminal math credit, now. Science majors usually get through the single variable calculus and statistics, or wrap up that full sequence (depending on field). Math majors do it all, then branch out into the various fields. "Pre-calc" is just a mishmash of stuff that they didn't cram into the earlier curricula, but is worthwhile to know and/or becomes useful later on. Trigonometry (beyond right-triangle ratios) and various other functions (exponentials, logarithms, etc); "more advanced" algebraic manipulation (complex fractions, polynomial division); continuity, limits, and end behavior (though rarely epsilon-delta); finite, algebraic, and geometric sequences (and geometric series); induction and basic proofs (beyond "two-column" from geometry); etc. As best I can tell, it's largely so the Algebra 2 curriculum can be watered down, but then recognizing that you need to cram these ideas in somewhere before kids are expected to move on. Calculus is of outmost importance because of it's huge applicability. Calculus is not restricted to mathematics and analysis, it's used pretty much everywhere - Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Biology, Engineering, Dynamic systems and so much more. Calculus is the first math class you have where you really ‘do’/accomplish something, so it makes for a decent goalpost for students. It’s often the first math class students appreciate. (Pre-calc, in contrast, is a non-standardized list of topics which feel disconnected and more like tool proficiency than an actual subject in their own right) That's where the importance of calculus comes from. Infinitesimal calculus as one might know, is the study of rate of change of functions with respect to variables the function is dependent on. The notion of rate of change is so important. What is the rate of change of prices ? What is the rate at which temperature of a body changes in heat conduction ? What is the rate of change of velocity of an object ? What is the rate of increase of the population under certain conditions ? You see, it's very important thus to study calculus. It has been the queen of mathematics and has been among the most important gifts the Mathematical world has given us.

Christmas Eve ended with me crying on our living room floor because my mom wanted me to eat just one of her famous sugar cookies. Her cookies had always been one of my favorite Christmas traditions, but this year when I looked at the cookies, all I could see were calories and guilt. They smelled and looked delicious, but just the thought of taking one bite filled me with anxiety and fear. I consider this the moment I realized my eating disorder had completely taken over my life. I had become obsessed with calories and weight as a way to feel in control of my life and gain confidence. In reality, my eating disorder had slowly stripped me of my independence, health, and happiness. Although the treatment process was often frustrating and challenging, I actually came to enjoy my appointments with the nutritionist in her tiny, cozy office, cluttered with food models and recipes. She taught me the basics of nutrition and helped me form a healthier relationship with food. It took time and quite a few tearful sessions, but I slowly started to view food in terms of the nutrients and benefits it could offer me instead of thinking of food as the enemy. During my recovery, I experienced the powerful impact that proper nutrition could have on overall health. However, the biggest changes were the ones most people could not see just by looking at me; they were the emotional and mental changes that came from properly nourishing my body again. Later, when the house was quiet, I’d go back to the package of cookies. Just one. Okay, two. Another bite. Black out. Spit. Only apples for the next five lunches, I’d bargain with myself. The cycle repeated. Though I’d spoken with therapists, participated in recovery chat rooms, and taken online courses with health coaches trained to curb dangerous eating habits, it wasn’t until after college, when I learned about “intuitive eating” that things started to change for me. But the thing is, this is just my experience. Indeed, people with eating disorders often follow similar patterns; there’s no one way to have issues with food. There’s no one way to recover. Some might find spending so much time around food to be triggering; for me, it’s exposure therapy. I am not in college yet, but I have this to say: At first this writing started off as just a simple essay to help me prepare myself for the essays I had to write when I started applying for college, but I decided at the last minute that I was going to write my essay about something that means a lot to me, and something that I could write confidently about. I chose eating disorders, because of my personal connection with them, and to help people understand more about eating disorders, because I believe that if someone knows enough about an eating disorder, they will be able to say they understand it, to a certain extent, and maybe they will go on, later in life to help people who suffer from eating disorders. Also, here are some ways I plan to use these experiences to reduce stigma and provide support for others struggling with eating disorders during my college experience: 1. Talk Openly About Mental Health. 2. Educate Myself and Others. 3. Be Conscious of Language. 4. Encourage Equality Between Physical and Mental Illness. 5. Show Compassion for Those with Mental Illness. 6. Choose Empowerment Over Shame. 7. Be Honest About Treatment. 8. Let The Media Know When They're Being Stigmatizing. 9. Don't Harbor Self-Stigma.

Sitting in class, I could not help but look around and notice that everyone else knew what they were doing while I just sat there silently, pretending to fit in. I had no clue what I was supposed to be doing because I did not really understand the lesson the teacher had just finished teaching. I didn’t want to ask a question because it seemed like I was the only one that was lost, so instead, I just sat at my desk with my head down and pretended to write on my paper. I have repeated this scenario on numerous occasions. In 5th grade, I was diagnosed with a learning disability which affected the way I learned and my ability to understand what others around me said. My mom noticed that I was working really hard to accomplish the same work that other kids my age did with less effort and in a shorter amount of time. We saw a psychologist who sent me to a specialist who diagnosed me with a learning disability in central auditory processing, and also had a very weak short term memory. Basically, this means that my brain processes information slower than the average. Although my hearing is normal, it takes my brain longer to comprehend what I hear and then process it. Sometimes I miss parts of what people say because my brain is not able to understand everything that is being said all at once so I need directions written down or given slowly in order to truly comprehend. My main purpose in seeking a college degree is the desire to learn more and to better myself to be more successful in life. I know that there is always an opportunity for learning and developing in life even if someone does not have a college degree, however having a degree broadens the opportunities. I have noticed this to be true especially with jobs. Many times now, jobs will post ads asking about college experiences and even sometimes one of the minimum requirements is to have an associates or bachelors degree. What motivates me most to pursue a college degree is opening new doors for career options and inspiring my daughter through my own actions to pursue lifelong learning. I have waited until this point in my life to take this first step for many reasons. I feel that I had a lot of fear of failure that kept me from pursuing this higher learning. I am in the right place mentally at this stage in my life and feel like I can fully invest in this experience and make it truly a success and representation of what I can do. I am also highly motivated by the fact that my career is truly stalled because I am not competition for someone that has equal experience and a degree. I plan to conquer that competition through this process. I deserve and am a good candidate for this scholarship not because I deserve anything but because I represent a potentially good return on your investment. I am self motivated, a hard worker, I have realistic goals and aspirations, and I wish to make a contribution to the betterment of society as a whole. Fundamentally, it is not so much about me as it is about others. What can I contribute to improve the world. How can I, in my own way, make things better for others. Your scholarship will help me realize my dreams. I am determined because even if I do not get something, I find ways to make myself learn the subject well.

Growing up consisted of not limiting my challenges, but challenging my limits. My entire life, everyone insisted that I was normal. However, unlike other kids, I spent after-school hours in speech, vision, physical, and occupational therapy instead of going to a friend’s house or the park. My parents had to fight for me to learn in a mainstream classroom like other children my age and, once I was able to do so, an aide was still responsible for me while others in my class didn’t experience this. I want people to know autism is another way of being. I am weary of stereotypes that make us out to be less human than neurotypical people. I have listened to people talk negatively about autism since I was diagnosed and I learned to hate myself and think I was a monster for causing so much hardship. I can’t let others continue living under these common misconceptions about autism. With my knowledge I have acquired about Autism, I have been able to speak about it to others and inform them about this challenging unknown disorder, which I hope to fix in the future. Starting young and learning about this not only inspires me to work my hardest to get rid of Autism, but also encourages me to be a better brother to my sister who has so greatly improved with all the help my family and supporters have given. Seeing news articles such as "Kid With Autism Now Works At a Car Wash Like a Normal Person" or statistics such as "more than 70 percent of young adults with Autism go to college after high school" do not motivate or inspire me. What inspires me most is to do much more than the "normal person" and consistently contribute to the advancement of our society, which is what our world wants all of its students to achieve. I would like to emphasize that my mentioning that I am on the Autism Spectrum is not a reflection of weakness, but rather a strength that would highly benefit both staff and students at any college or university campus. Autism has gifted me with being able to stay extremely dedicated, focused, and passionate regarding my interests; from winning my school's geography bee to playing the guitar and ukulele to getting a fourth-degree black belt to being a track athlete, I always love what I do. Autism has also given me a top-notch memory, visual thinking skills, the ability to be oriented towards fine details, and high integrity. Following my own social rules, I foster less judgment and more empathy due to a deep understanding that difference doesn't mean undeserving, and that all walks of life have meaning and purpose. This scholarship will help by lowering the costs of college and the amount of hours I’ll need to work throughout my studies. This way, I’ll be able to continue with my academic achievements. It will also give me time to find an internship. I have been working hard to save up for college, but with the exorbitant costs of tuition, my part-time jobs haven’t been enough. I am planning to work during my undergraduate degree, but I do wish to focus a lot of my time on my studies. I believe my education and experience fits nicely with the scholarship requirements, and I am certain that this scholarship will make a significant contribution to my continuing education. This scholarship would gain someone like me that would sacrifice whatever it takes to contribute new ways that remediate suffering, inequities, and injustice, to meet the rapidly changing needs of humanity.

I have been inspired by a number of people and instances in my life. Inspiration to me is like a catalyst that awakens my power and ability to work. The biggest inspiration in my life is none other than my family and the person I admire the most is my father. He is the one who has inspired me from my childhood. His qualities like hard-working nature, discipline, sacrifice, and sympathy inspire me a lot. I want to work and become like him always in my life but every time some or the other thing is missing. My father has a good habit of reading books whenever he is free from his office works. He has his own library of books. My father always teaches us to never become afraid of any situation in life. Sometimes my father has been harsh with me but it is because he never wants me to be down in my life. He has a lot of expectations from me and my sisters. The way he manages every work in life gives me a great lesson. He teaches me every day and is good at all subjects. Whatever he does not know he reads and then explains it to me. He has supported me many times whenever I have been in any stressful situation. The way my father struggled in his life to get out from the clutches of poverty and become self-dependent in his life encourages me to do something big in my life so that I can make my father proud of me. Whenever I am discouraged, the words of my father make me again ready to fight and win in any type of situation. This thought always revolves in my mind that when my father could make his way through such an adverse situation then why cannot I, after getting every kind of facility. This helps me to gather sufficient courage and enthusiasm and easily face every difficulty in my life. I always want to be a reason for the smile on the face of my father. Whenever I am faced with a problem and must make a decision, I know that my dad will be behind me one-hundred percent no matter what I choose to do. It is a great feeling to know that someone is always going to support me in anything I choose to do. For example, right now, I am at the point in my life where I have to decide whether I am going to attend a community college, a university, or whether I want to attend school at all. My dad reassured me that he would be happy with the choice I made, as long as it made me happy. Having him tell me that alleviated much of the pressure that I feel to pick a college. I did not want to disappoint him or my mom, and knowing that I would not, makes the decision a lot easier. He is very optimistic, he always seems to find the positive in every situation. I admire the dedication he had towards himself and his future, he believe in himself that he could, and he did. In conclusion, I have been influenced by my dad to do well in life. He has taught me that in order to succeed, you need to have self-confidence, people who support and most of all be dedicated to what you are trying to accomplish. I strongly believe that without him by my side as my father, role model, and supporter that I would not be who I am today.

Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness and on the quality of your relationships with others. For instance, we listen to obtain information, we listen to understand, we listen for enjoyment, and we listen to learn. Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you can improve your productivity, as well as your ability to influence, persuade and negotiate. What's more, you'll avoid conflict and misunderstandings. All of these are necessary for workplace success! There are five key active listening techniques I use to become a more effective listener and actively listen to those around me: 1. Pay Attention Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message. Recognize that non-verbal communication also "speaks" loudly. 2. Show That You're Listening Use your own body language and gestures to show that you are engaged. 3. Provide Feedback As a listener, your role is to understand what is being said. 4. Defer Judgment Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits the full understanding of the message. 5. Respond Appropriately Active listening is designed to encourage respect and understanding. Listening to me means paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and how the other person uses his or her body. In other words, it means being aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages. It means to hear; but also means to pay attention—with our ears, our eyes, and our hearts. True listeners look beyond the words themselves—they search for meaning in the speaker's tone and body language. This is especially important when communication has an emotional component.

1. California Scholarship Federation (CSF): Throughout high school, I've kept up with the academic and volunteer hour qualifications to be a CSF member. In 2019, I took part in the organization and set-up for both the annual Easter Egg Hunt at my community park and the Vista del Lago High School International Night. During 2020-2021, I helped with several online club fundraisers and raffles. 2. Charles Dental Group (dental office): Among my various responsibilities, I sanitized all dental rooms and participated in organizational tasks, such as stocking dental supplies and inputting client data. Between patients, I helped set up operatories for the next appointments and sterilized instruments. This helped ensure that Charles Dental Group is safe, clean, and well-stocked. 3. Heal eczema (Wix website): For the creation of this website, I held the leadership role of developing and designing several pages to make them easy to navigate and understandable for all users. Periodically, I read new scientific journal articles and update the website accordingly with information that coincides best with recent findings to maintain accuracy and reliability. 4. National Honor Society (NHS): As an NHS student, I volunteered in my community and helped in different projects, like marathons, food drives, online fundraisers, and more. In my work, I have demonstrated respect, responsibility, trustworthiness & integrity. It's a great way to get involved & have fun too. In order to maintain the membership, I have to keep up with good grades. 5. Mandy and Savvy's Lemonade (beverage stand work): I was involved in all aspects of the operation, including setting up the stand in accordance with Mahany Farmer's Market guidelines, assembling and disassembling equipment, making and serving drinks customized to the customer's needs, handling the cash register technology, among other operational logistics.

Watching Disney movies, drinking hot cocoa on a cold day, going to a baseball game, coloring, finger painting, baking cookies, having sleepovers, enjoying family reunions, playing cards, charades, and board games; these are those little things that make life big. True happiness comes from little things. It’s not always the most important or biggest moments in your life that make the greatest impact. The moments that you spend with your family, whether on a daily basis or just a couple times a year, show real happiness. I have a big family and all occasions spent together feel like parties. The younger kids make everything an adventure. One night over the summer some of my cousins and I were up at my relative's place in Truckee, California, and we got bored in the middle of the night. We decided to go outside and take funny pictures jumping off this little ledge on the side of the road. It was the most fun I had the whole trip. I was raised on these moments that are considered small, but they make my life full. I continue to experience them. Many people lose sight of these little pleasures when they grow old. People must remember when they were young and innocent; those pleasures that were great and hold onto them, they never lost greatness people just re-prioritized. I will never lose sight of these little pleasures, they are too important. By understanding peace and impermanence, I was able to learn to adapt to the conditions they create and make the best out of the little moments of happiness that life offers for me to create on my own. If you choose happiness as your priority, you will improve your chances of experiencing happiness.

Donating to the causes you care about not only benefits the charities themselves, but it can also be deeply rewarding for you too. Millions of people give to charity on a regular basis to support causes they believe in, as well as for the positive effect it has on their own lives. Giving is important to me particularly because it has been proven to decrease blood pressure and reduce stress. This reduction promotes longer life and better health. Giving promotes social connection. Studies show that when you give to others, your generosity is often continued down the line to someone else, or returned to you. Whether you're donating money or time, giving promotes happiness, draws us closer to others, and strengthens empathy. These are vital for a wealthy life, which starts from the inside. After a certain point, more income doesn't increase well-being — but empathetically giving to others does. In addition to the health benefits, volunteering gives people a sense of purpose. The fulfilling feeling of giving back and contributing to society is unparalleled. Giving back is also a great way to get to know your community and its citizens. When you volunteer, you have the opportunity to meet lots of new people. When you give to others, it activates your mesolimbic system, also known as your brain's reward center. The system is responsible for releasing endorphins, making you feel warm and fuzzy. That means lower stress and increased self-esteem, all from just helping someone out! To give back, I do the following: donate unwanted items, save up my change, donate my time, volunteer my unique skills, give blood, ask for a donation gift, participate in community cleanup, and promote causes on social media.

Passion for Family, Community, Business, Technology and Intellectual growth are what motivate me on the daily basis and are some things that I'm most passionate about. These are vital parts that have contributed to framing me into the person I’ve become. They have also shaped my short-term and long-term goals in life. It’s critical for one to have a vision for their life and what they anticipate accomplishing. Without a vision or desire, there is no hope for one to continue and to pursue anything. My experiences within my passions have helped me align my vision for my life. They have given me the valuable knowledge that has set me up for success to get to this point in life. One of my mentors was able to show me a life outside of poverty. They showed me doors of possibilities and started a fire in my heart that would set a blaze of zeal. Going from a life of no direction or goals to having a vision for my life and wanting to pursue a better life for my future has done a lot for me. It’s important to help everyone in their current situation because you never know what the outcome will be for that individual. Not everyone has the ability and drive to get out of their current situation. Sometimes people don’t want to change from their current situation. For me it was simple I wanted more for myself, I’m glad I made the choice to do something about it. It’s had a lasting effect on my life. It’s amazing that I have a helping hand in protecting our country and helping our country run more effectively. Creating solutions that work effectively takes lots of time and effort also lots of learning.

There are a lot of reasons why I chose to pursue pharmacy as my career and they all point to the most important reason: pharmacy is a great fit for my life and is something I have become increasingly passionate about. It started when I was researching careers with my parents and my dad suggested pharmacy and, simply put, it sparked my interest because at the time it was one of the few things I thought I'd hate doing. A healthcare career has always been where I put myself in the future, mainly because my mom is in the healthcare field. However, I've never been one that could directly help the wounded or deal with anything gory, but am very intrigued by the growing science of pharmacy. As I continue exploring pharmacy, the more I enjoy learning about it and feel like I could excel in this career. It is important to me that I have a passion for whatever path my life takes. Since I have control over that path, I am choosing to pursue a career that will provide my life with both meaning and satisfaction. I believe pursuing the Doctor of Pharmacy degree immensely relates to both my immediate and long-term goals. Something I like to live by is to always challenge yourself because if you keep doing what is easy, you will never advance or become better. It has already been a challenging path and I know it will get harder, but challenging myself in school is my immediate goal, and I know it will be worth it down the road. It also helps to keep things interesting. I know I would make a fantastic pharmacist, and so I make it a goal to challenge myself every day in everything I do include my education.

I want to contribute happiness, even in the form of a smile. I want to make people’s lives better. I want to bring open mindedness and education to people who are open to it. I also want to receive these same things, not in return, but in general. I want people to take what they can get from me, and I want to take what I can get from those who are maybe even subconsciously offering. I want to let people know that I care about them, regardless if they care about me. From a very young age I wanted to change the world, leave a mark! But as I grew up, I thought if I could help a few who matter the most, I'll at least change the society and now, all I strive to be, is a better and stronger version of myself, be there for whoever wants my help. I cannot control the entire world or anyone for that matter, only myself. So, I'll keep making myself better and let it be a light that guides anyone who has lost their way. A person naturally likes to make people remember them, notice them for something, however, what they want to be remembered for differs from one person to another, some people do many bloody crimes to humanity while the others try to make something to benefit the humanity, though, even if you want to invent something that will benefit the humanity, sometimes it wouldn’t, such as the creation of mobile phones, no matter how useful they are, they still have many cons. In my opinion, I believe that people like to leave their mark in this world as it pleases them, knowing that everybody is remembering them and that they will live forever in this world’s history.

I think that the best way to live a long, healthy life is to not smoke. Although your best plan to live longer is to adopt all four lifestyle factors, if you had to choose one, the researchers say, this is it. Smoking affects coronary arteries and lungs, and smokers also have increased rates of cancer and risk of stroke. Smoking is strongly linked to disease and early death. Overall, people who smoke may lose up to 10 years of life and be 3 times more likely to die prematurely than those who never pick up a cigarette. Longer life expectancy is based around common lifestyle factors including diet, exercise, body weight, social life, and avoiding risk factors like smoking and alcohol. Cancer – not just one type of cancer, heavy drinking is believed to contribute to cancers of the larynx, pharynx, mouth, esophagus, liver, breast, and colorectal area. Combined with smoking, heavy drinkers are at very high-risk levels. One of the biggest mistakes people can make when it comes to heart health is that they ignore their hearts. Everyone is so busy that they sit at their desks all day and work. They have to remember to get up and walk around. Bad habits such as smoking and sitting too often can increase your risk for heart attack. One study reports that individuals who quit smoking by age 35 may prolong their lives by up to 8.5 years. Furthermore, quitting smoking in your 60s may add up to 3.7 years to your life. In fact, quitting in your 80s may still provide benefits. Smoking is a well-known risk factor for multiple chronic diseases. Cutting back or quitting smoking is an excellent way to live a healthier life.

I had to literally break both of my arms to earn my fourth-degree black belt. For a long time, I couldn't practice at a regular Taekwondo like other kids. Being labeled as having Autism and having poor motor skills deterred them from accepting me, and I was only welcome to a special needs dojo an hour away from home. After I mastered most of the basic skills that were taught there, I told my instructor that I wanted to transfer to Taekwondo classes for neurotypical individuals. He was unconvinced. Feeling defiant, I urged him to let me prove myself. Frustrated at my persistence, he pointed towards two tall hurdles at the end of the room: "Go ahead. Show me that you can do it." Awkwardly running, my skinny, wobbly legs thrust me upwards as I leaped over the hurdle. Crashing to the floor, my right arm snapped, and I shrieked in torment. Before anyone could rush to help, I propelled myself off the ground, quickly stumbling to the next hurdle, jumping over it before collapsing. When I landed, my left arm crunched. In tears, grasping my weak torso, panting "I did it," I laughed victoriously before being driven to the ER. Many assume that the best would always be a neurotypical person's average, but I've proven without fail that I am not a statistic. Even if it means breaking two arms, I am willing to make every effort possible to keep growing. Autism isn't an impairment, but more like a computer with a different operating system. I never let it prevent me from achieving my personal and academic goals. I wanted to be an athlete and musician, and I did. I wanted to perform well in school, and I did. I want to be a pharmacologist, and I will.

Every day in our life we get inspired by something or by different people in our life. Despite being inspired by many we all have somebody in our lives that inspires us the most. This choice may differ from person to person. We all are heading forward in our life to become successful. It is only the inspiration that makes a great difference in our thoughts and helps us achieve our goals and get success. When we observe some good qualities in others we want to do the same in our life. It changes our perspective of living. This can only happen when we get inspired by people or thing that makes us think positive as well as motivate us for doing something. We need it most when we are depressed or sad by some failure or great loss in life. It is the inspiration only that makes us strong again to fight the battle of our life. Inspiration is that idea that can change the lives of many people. I have been inspired by a number of people and instances in my life. Inspiration to me is like a catalyst that awakens my power and ability to work. The biggest inspiration in my life is none other than my family and the person I admire the most is my father. He is the one who has inspired me from my childhood. His qualities like hard-working nature, discipline, sacrifice, and sympathy inspire me a lot. I want to work and become like him always in my life but every time some or the other thing is missing. My father has a good habit of reading books whenever he is free from his office works. He has his own library of books. My father always teaches us to never become afraid of any situation in life. Sometimes my father has been harsh with me but it is because he never wants me to be down in my life. He has a lot of expectations from me and my sisters. The way he manages every work in life gives me a great lesson. He teaches me every day and is good at all subjects. Whatever he does not know he reads and then explains it to me. Once I was very ill and therefore I could not prepare well for my exams. I was much worried about this but my father gave me the courage to give my best and leave the results on God. He has supported me many times whenever I have been in any stressful situation. The way my father struggled in his life to get out from the clutches of poverty and become self-dependent in his life encourages me to do something big in my life so that I can make my father proud of me. Whenever I am discouraged, the words of my father make me again ready to fight and win in any type of situation. This thought always revolves in my mind that when my father could make his way through such an adverse situation then why cannot I, after getting every kind of facility. This helps me to gather sufficient courage and enthusiasm and easily face every difficulty in my life. I always want to be a reason for the smile on the face of my father. Inspiration is an idea that can mold our thoughts and bring a change to our actions that may surely lead us towards success. I am very blessed to have my father in my life as my best friend and a great source of inspiration to me.

There are sacred numbers, sacred geometry, and physics that all attempt to explain, define and epitomize spirituality, but being that all these things are from the finite mind, how can we hope to access the infinite nature of spiritual truth? While if we want to make mathematics more profound, more aligned with our material understanding and desires then we only need to abide by the truth of our spiritual nature. Because everything in the universe goes from the subtle into the gross. So if we want to integrate higher understanding into anything, then we only need attune the self to THAT, that precedes it. The line of manifestation goes…Soul> Spirit >Mind >Physical. So man has been operating in just the mental/physical reality for the past few millennia, which is aligned with darkness and unconscious tendencies, ergo war, capitalism and societal injustice. But during the late 1800′s into the1900′s there was a spiritual surge and so a shift in consciousness, that was a sharing and expansion of spiritual truth and enlightening tradition, that then allowed for equal expansion in the mental/physical dimensions of our reality. And so it will be too with the shift we are experiencing now, that actually began back then, is already showing the fruit of new paradigm shifting discoveries as seen in physics, extraterrestrials and inventions, but this is only the beginning of what will change the whole of the collective consciousness.. we are living in very exciting times!! If you are truly a mathematics genius (by that I mean extremely skilled) mathematics becomes spatial, or, space becomes mathematics. You see relationships between things in much more profound way. Too, you have an actual tangible sense of time, distance, depth. “40 feet” is something you can feel. You can - if you’re so inclined to care - “see” geology, see mountains as reaching below the alluvial plane (which has a mathematical shape itself). If spirituality’s aim is understanding and perception of existence, then this is also spirituality. The world is fantastically complex, and as a creation of the mystical, you get to see the patterns and connections. I don’t think of a mathematical equation and think of something spiritual. But I do see it within things I consider spiritual. In my example of the mountain, you understand weight and mass and pressures, momentum… you add all those things together and you can feel the weight of the mountain. A bird on a branch has so many calculations within it, but if you are skilled enough and can spatialize mathematics, you can feel what the bird feels physically. You insert your thoughts into something outside of you. Science (mathematics) and spirituality are both searches for truth. In that philosophical idea, science, as it is exploring, experiencing and explaining reality, is a spiritual quest. For mankind, it is the same as seeking, only using different methodologies, and all such pursuits lead to the same place - understanding, enlightenment, knowledge. Mathematics can take you to a level where you are able to understand the patterns and logic in the things around you. With this, you are able to understand the patterns in the Universe in which you live. And when you understand the universe better, it helps you in understanding the concepts of levels in Spirituality. So as two things are traveling to the same place, over time we realize that we are receiving explanations for the same things. We either integrate it, as I have described, or we notice the coincidences that are not coincidences. If you are good in mathematics, you become more logical and rational.

One investing tip that I've taken to heart is to Look Macro at the Current Market Cycle. The market is driven by cycles—cycles of the stock market, cycles of business, cycles of the economy, cycles of human psychology, and etc. Throughout the course of history, investment markets are known to make the same pendulum-like swings between euphoria and depression; celebrating positive developments and obsessing over negatives; overpriced and underpriced. If you can invest in a sector where current investor sentiment is extreme pessimism (but there’s good fundamentals for the future), you will make a lot of money (granted you have the discipline and resolve to buy and hold for 5–10+ years). Catching a trend before investor sentiment inflects from pessimism to hopeful or even euphoria can mean the difference between working in a cubicle and achieving early financial freedom. NEVER FORGET where we are in the market cycle so you can figure out the odds of where the market is going to be on a macro level. In the coming months, we expect the market to emphasize the timing of economic inflection points. We also detail our cautiously optimistic view on REITs and highlight that differing COVID-19 vaccination rates are making country picking in emerging markets even more crucial in this month's edition of "Three-minute macro." While there might be variations in terms of magnitude, we suspect that most of the Street has similar timelines for its base case, with the possible exception of housing, on which we’re probably a bit more cautious on a tactical basis. We believe that any meaningful deviations by more than a month or two—which is an uncomfortably short period when talking macro—could beget a reassessment of the outlook and force investors to adjust positions accordingly.

One new technology that I'm excited about is Quantum computing. Here is why. Conventional computers can solve some problems efficiently. Much of what we developed over the past 50 years depended on that. But there is a large class of problems, where mathematical complexity increases exponentially with scale, these computers just can't wrap their heads (CPUs) around so easily. Quantum computers can help here. Once they become of practical use, which doesn't seem too distant a future, the pace of our technology will not only increase but change direction as well. To start with, It will have a massive impact on cryptography. Prime factorization is one of the hardest computational problems, and so, many systems bet on its improbability to be secured. Apparently, Q-computers are good at factorization, they can hack into most of these security systems more easily than classic computers. That can change the encryption industry for ever, including blockchain. Another class of problems they can solve is to simulate complex chemical reactions. Up until now, we do not fare well in this area. Consequently our understanding of many chemical processes is very limited. Q-computers can give us deep insights into these reactions and give us the power to design better processes which might be remarkably more efficient than old ones. Simulating molecules is surely an area where classical computers suck. A few atoms can be managed, but the complexity grows exponentially with every added atom. So by the time we reach any practical organic molecule, they just give it up to eternity. Q-computers can do it much better. It is not because of the power of calculations that they win by, but it is the way Q-computers do calculations, they are especially suited for these kinds of problems. The biochemists are already euphoric with the possibility of simulating large molecules like proteins. We will gain a new understanding of biochemistry and possibly engineer these large molecules to make new materials. This can have an immense impact on healthcare industry amongst others. Speaking of materials, material science is another area where Q-computers will shine high and far above their classical cousins. This will possibly give us the power to design wonderful new materials that are currently unthinkable. Vibranium (from Wakanda), Unobtainium (from avatar) and all other fictional materials may well be within our reach with Q-computers. The amount of data our telescopes and radio telescopes generate is impossible to process with even the biggest supercomputers we will ever have. It is fairly possible that we will know the presence of ET decades after our telescopes discover them if we rely on classic computation. Q-computers will change that too and give us a big jump in our search for cosmological wonders. The possibilities are endless. While the effects of AI and block-chain are more visible and predictable, the effect that Q-computers may have on our lives is nearly unthinkable right now. That is the reason I am most excited to see Quantum computing becoming a reality.

Friendship to me is very precious. True friends are worth more than all of the gold in the world. Friends are people who like you for who you are, and who knows all of the good and bad things about you, but still like you. They are people who are always there for you. Not just through the good times, but through the bad times as well. Friends try their best to help each other, even if they don't fully understand each other. A friend is someone who can always make you laugh when you are down, and cry with you when you are hurt because it pains them to see you hurt. If you ever need a hug or kind word, your friend is right there beside you to help. Friendship is trust. Trust in your friend, and trust that they'll always pull through for you. Friendship is also love. Love for each other that's so strong that you'd do anything for the other, even give your life. But friendship can't just be left alone. It needs to be nourished so it can grow into something better than it was before. True friends are hard to find, but when you find them, you know that they were worth the waiting. Friendship is doing something the other likes but you don't, just because you want to make your friend happy. Friendship is knowing that you mean the world to someone, and someone means the world to you. Friendship is all this and a lot more that couldn't possibly be put into words. But most importantly, friendship is forever, no matter what. If you have a true friend, even if you move far away or just lose touch with each other, you will always be friends. That is what friendship is.

Here are some of the different ways that I practice self-care: - I live Healthily, eat healthy foods, get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and avoid drugs and alcohol. I also make sure to manage stress and go for regular medical check-ups. - Also, I practice good hygiene. Good hygiene is important for social, medical, and psychological reasons in that it not only reduces the risk of illness but also improves the way others view me and how I view myself. - In addition, I try to do something I enjoy every day. That might mean practicing Taekwondo, watching a favorite TV show, playing video games, playing guitar, and singing for me. - Lastly, I find ways to relax, like meditation, yoga, getting a massage, taking a shower, or even walking in the woods. Although there are several things on my list that I am cringing over I will give it my all. Starting the process of self-care now will hopefully alleviate future problems that I could face. I embrace this experience to create more self-love within. Setting out with determination and a clear understanding of my plan will hopefully create the motivation that I need to complete my goals. Instead of beating up on myself as I usually do, I will commit to that task the following day. It is not so much doing the tasks that I am worried about because everything on my list I appreciate, it is finding the time to fit it all in. I think what will motivate me is knowing that if I can’t help and take care of myself then how can I take care of my future clients. My ultimate goal is to help others better their lives so I think this plan will give me a jumpstart in helping myself first.

A growth mindset is an idea that intelligence and abilities can be developed through effort, learning, and persistence. It can help us progress in life and accomplish our goals. Moreover, many scenarios in life require us to be flexible and open to new ideas in order to grow and develop. The difference between fixed and growth mindset is that people with a fixed mindset believe you either are/aren’t good at something based on your inherent nature because it is just who you are. However, people with the growth mindset challenge themselves, take charge of their learning, and review mistakes until they understand them. According to Carol Dweck, these two different mindsets lead to very different behaviors and results. This shows that the harder you work, the more your ability will grow. Through the skills that I've acquired in my life, I know how more successful I am. Back in my high school days when I had to do speeches, the difficult part was when you have to stand up and speak loud. At first, I was a very shy person, and my speeches were so bad because I used to get scared, especially when I used to stand up in front of all the class; most of my speeches went like that. However, we had a speech where you have to talk for about twenty-two minutes and stand up in front of everyone. This exemplifies that I have to work hard in order to be good at doing the presentation. I worked so hard I put all my effort just to finish this presentation perfectly. Dweck emphasizes that you can make a plan of positive action that can remedy a deficiency. This means that no matter how hard the task is, show the best you can to make a difference.

Throughout my life, I've learned patience through many people and situations. Patience is an important part of growing up and is still difficult for me. Although it's hard to be patient with others and myself, my grandmother, my siblings, and babysitting instilled patience in me. Patience is difficult to uphold, but my grandmother never loses her patience. She's an amazing woman who grew up helping to care for her brothers and sisters. I honestly have no idea how she raised several children too, but she did and I've never heard one story of her losing her patience. Growing up, she taught me how to be a kind, patient, and loving person. She and I are extremely close and she encourages me to be the best person I can be. My grandmother is a true example of patience for me and she inspires me to be like her. Patience is considered a vital part of anyone’s life. Since it can be a great solution to attain joy and happiness, an individual that is the patient can stay calm in any extreme or problematic situation. Thus, anyone can practice enhancing their patience level in situations that are highly troubling and frustrating. Patience can easily enhance your behavior, as well. It can make the person calmer instead of being violent and irritated at all times. Besides, to maintain peace within any relationship both at home and work, it is essential to be calm rather than annoyed and angry. Also, the advantages of Patience have been acknowledged by several individuals, including many philosophers and researchers. Many people believe that having Patience helps to bring about optimistic changes. It also allows an individual to form empathy towards other people. Thus, it helps an individual to improve their level of tolerance and accept other individuals easily.

When I was a young teenager I fell in love with playing the guitar, which is one of my favorite hobbies nowadays. It was its symmetric shape at first that drew me closer. The guitar has a wonderful shape and size. It felt great in the hands and the woods used in its construction were warm and always smelled of roses. It was around this time that I first heard it played by a master and another miracle was revealed, the guitar could produce more than one melody at a time. It was a very important discovery for me because I knew at that point in time that I would try to make a life with the guitar. There is a particular quality to the sound of a plucked string. In listening to recordings I was struck by the very human quality of the tones. The strings sounded like voices from a choir. Tone, the color of the sound, is a quality of the guitar that keeps me listening and practicing. I have to practice every day to hear what a great sound could feel like. There is another attractive feature of the guitar, its mobility. I could take my guitar anywhere. I put it in its case and took it with me so that I never had to worry about being apart from it. The guitar gave me an opportunity to build a landscape of sound that I could visit every time I picked it up. This was a very important connection I had with practice and the masters of the guitar's history. The guitar is an instrument that fits me particularly well because it is a very individualistic instrument. An instrument that can be played in many different ways and reveals the personality of the person playing it. The fact that the music is created with hands on the strings makes this possible. There is nothing in between the hands and the music. Finally, there is the love of music itself. An instrument is only a means to enter the world of music. It is the music itself that has kept me working to get better as a player. Music gave me something to concentrate on when I could not concentrate. It gave me a purpose when I felt none. Music gave me hope for the future when I felt I was going nowhere. The work of the guitar taught me what can be achieved with daily practice. There was no other subject that did this for me while I was growing up. Even today the guitar still challenges me to no end. I still have to work hard to create and the next level of skill is always in the future after daily work. Today I get to show others how to create their own world of music to inhabit. I am in a very privileged place where I am blessed with the work of introducing this miracle of sound, the process of practice and improvement.

Making charitable giving a priority isn’t just for big corporations with abundant resources. In fact, small businesses are uniquely positioned to make a significant impact in their communities. That’s because small businesses are more closely linked to their neighbors than, say, a big-box store. Here are ways I act locally to affect positive change for my community: 1. Host a charity drive. I sometimes work with others and team up with a local organization, like a food pantry or a women’s shelter. Then, we put out a call to customers to bring in needed items for a percentage of their purchase. We make sure to get the word out through in-store signage and social media so that our customers are aware of the event. 2. Start an employee volunteer program. I encourage other workers alongside me to pursue their passion to help others by starting a program that allows them flexible hours a few times a month to leave early or come in later while they volunteer with a local nonprofit. 3. Donate my skills and services. One of the most effective ways to give back to my community is by doing what I do best. For example, if I run a restaurant, partner with a local high school to offer internships, or host informational events for students who might be interested in pursuing a career in the culinary world. 4. Support other local businesses. I know how challenging it can be to own a small business, so I can team up with entrepreneurs in my area to concentrate your efforts on helping out each other and the community. 5. Offer up my space for events. Nonprofits are often operating on extremely tight budgets, so when they want to throw a fundraising event, they rely on donations, especially for venues.

I would like to share with you the advice I received from the most successful and hard-working person I have ever met in my life. I am reminding myself of this advice and putting it into practice every day. So now I am living a stable and prosperous life. I live as an independent teen with a strong heart. I received a lot of good financial advice from my dad. He always said to chase a wealthy life, not wealth. Living within your means, working hard, and saving before spending, all contribute to a wealthy life. “Live only today.” This is life advice given to me by someone I admire. But I think this advice applies not only to our lives but also to our financial advice. The changes that have come to me are: 1. Don't work for money. Focus on making money work for you. 2. Never say 'I can't afford it, instead say 'how can I afford it?' 3. Never buy things on credit. If you can't pay cash for it then you can't afford it. 4. Focus on investing rather than saving. 5. Pay yourself first, 10% of everything you earn is yours to keep. 6. Know the difference between good and bad debt. Good debt puts money in your pocket, bad debt takes money out of your pocket. 7. An asset puts money in your pocket. A liability takes money out of your pocket. Spend your money buying assets. 8. Turn your working/active income into passive income. Passive income is income that is generated from assets you own. 9. Focus on improving your financial literacy. 9 times out of 10 financial literacy is self-taught. It is not taught in school. 10. Always keep an emergency fund, this should be at least 5% of your income.

One way in which I try to have a positive impact on the world is to share my knowledge and skills with others. Sharing my knowledge and strengths is yet another essential leadership skill. It fosters and inspires others to grow. When I share with others, I'm teaching them something special about me and my journey. Imagine what would be possible if my community was in the mode of collaboration and contribution. This mindset creates new ideas and opportunities. As a happy byproduct, I will continue to deepen my knowledge and skill set along the way too. Sharing knowledge and inspiration is equally important in our professional spheres. It can foster vision in others and strengthen professional ties. When I share with others, it helps deepen my own knowledge and engrains what I know. New conversations and opportunities can arise just from that gesture, offering even more opportunities to grow. As a reminder, I would have my own unique set of strengths, knowledge, and experience, because of the life I’ve led. I think about all the lessons I've learned and how they might change even a single person’s livelihood. Sharing my knowledge with my community is a beautiful gift. As a leader, I have perspectives and ideas that can directly impact my community for the better. By using my voice and sharing my skills, I become an essential part of my community. Success isn’t just about wealth. It’s about how I inspire others and make a difference along the way. By sharing knowledge about specific topics, employees can support each other in acquiring a new skill set. This makes knowledge sharing especially beneficial for new colleagues — colleagues that want to learn about something else, or colleagues that want to get out of their comfort zone.

I will have the quiet evenings I need to read, to write, to be at peace. I will still be with my significant other, maybe we have gotten married, maybe not, it doesn't matter too much to us. We will hike and bike often, exploring the landscape around us. We will not be outrageously wealthy, but we will be able to get by comfortably and tip well when we go out. We will both find our work fulfilling and we will still spend hours sharing ideas about our respective fields. We will finally be able to sleep late on the weekends. We will travel as much as we can, to as many places as we can. We will both worry less and be more comfortable with who we are. We will be happy together. Without my other half, my “dream life” would be incomplete. I may have a modest home in a quiet suburb, made of things that don't fall apart easily. I will be 100% comfortable with the way I am aging; I will be passing on my wisdom. I will be proud and secure about age. I will be physically fit, active, and intellectually sharp. I will be a mentor to others. I will lead by example. I hope to have discovered some amazing treatment or even cure for something; to have saved a drowning healthcare organization, to have lifted a community or two. I want to finally be at a point in my career where people just take my word for it because I know my stuff. I will have mastered my soft skills. I will not have to tell my face how to look when someone says something requiring visible empathy. It will come naturally, my patients will know I really do care.

One of the simplest but most fundamental mindset shifts around money is that anyone can replace their job income within five to 10 years if they funnel enough of their paycheck into high-yield investments. Anyone can retire young, but it requires deferred gratification. The appearance and trappings of wealth are counterproductive to the actual accrual of wealth. The more I spend, the less I invest, and the slower I build real wealth. That’s because real wealth isn’t visible – it’s in my investable assets. Most people want to look and feel rich, they want the bigger house and faster car and fancier dinners out, but those are the very things that prevent them from becoming rich. To build real wealth, I live frugally now so I can invest for compound returns and passive income. In just a few years, I’ll see the fruits of that deferred gratification and can live a healthier lifestyle based on my invested assets. We all know that building wealth for the future is more important than spending on fleeting wants and desires. It’s hard to put this knowledge into action, however, because it directly conflicts with how we’ve been wired. Humans are addicted to instant gratification. In all areas of life we’ve been conditioned to see it and want it—finances are no exception. Relying on financial tools, such as budgeting and automatic deposits to savings, can change that. When I sit to reflect on my financial journey, I can usually come up with a handful of life lessons I’ve learned. Personal finance can be a long, difficult journey. It won’t be without mistakes and errors, but with every misstep comes an opportunity to learn. This lesson represents real-life experiences, and it serves as a marker on the path that others have taken to financial health.

Recently I had a chance to visit the Art Institute of Chicago which is home to some of the favorite pieces mentioned above ("Nighthawks" and "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte"). These pieces are both very impressive and I can see why anyone would choose to rank them very high on a list of favorite pieces. My personal favorites on my visit to this (truly impressive) museum were the Van Gogh pieces hanging there, some of which I'd seen in books before and some I had never known about. I was first drawn to Van Gogh's work when I heard the song ‘Starry Starry Night', by Don McLean in the Vincent van Gogh Gallery, and it's both, beautiful and sad. I felt deep compassion for this man as I began reading more about him and his life, which is a bit different from the unkind stories told of him. I was in awe of his talents and I began looking at Vincent's art and reading his quotes. The simultaneous realism and stylized elements of both artists create an almost eerie other-worldly quality, making the paintings alive and active and present in a way that I've rarely seen. It is so grand in scale compared to what we expected; having only seen pictures, there is much more to the sculpture on either side of each piece. I like it because of the mood that it sets. It just feels a bit melancholy and lonely and (probably not what the artist had in mind when he painted it) nostalgic. Hard to explain why you like something, but that's about as close as I can come. I have an appreciation for many of his paintings, but this would be his work of art that is my favorite.

Growing up consisted of not limiting my challenges, but challenging my limits. But unlike other kids, I spent after-school hours in speech, vision, physical, and occupational therapy instead of going to a friend’s house or the park. Coming in and out of my house 40 hours a week were “tutors,” who told me “try again” whenever I made a mistake until I could do what they asked. My parents had to fight for me to learn in a mainstream classroom like other children my age and, once I was able to do so, an aide was still responsible for me while others in my class didn’t experience this. I knew that “the A-word” existed among my family members’ vocabulary, but didn’t know until I was 15 years old that it meant “Autism.” Despite having grown so much compared to where I’ve started, my hard work doesn’t end here. Seeing statistics such as “more than 70 percent of young adults with Autism do not go to college after high school” may suggest that the best I can accomplish is a neurotypical person’s average, but I’ve proven repeatedly that I am not a statistic, and neither is anyone else. I don’t need a role model with Autism to tell me how much I can achieve, because I have always known I can not only achieve but exceed my goals and ambitions. I never let my condition prevent me from achieving my personal and academic goals. I wanted to be an athlete and musician, and I did. I wanted to perform well in school, and I did. I want to be a pharmacist, and I will. I have many personal goals, both short-term and long-term. They all deal with pursuing excellence in different fields. I realize that it’s possible to accomplish all of these goals with enough determination for success and a strong character. I also understand that life will throw many obstacles and challenges in my path of achieving these goals, and I feel I'm ready to push through them all. I have always enjoyed sciences through my education; I enjoyed learning about every aspect of pharmacy during my undergraduate studies because I'm so passionate about it. In chemistry I mostly was entertained when I learned about drug delivery systems, physical pharmacy, analytical chemistry, and pharmacokinetics, while in biology; I loved physiology, pharmacology, nutrition, and pharmacotherapy. I want to contribute happiness, even in the form of a smile. I want to make people’s lives better. I want to bring open-mindedness and education to people who are open to it. I also want to receive these same things, not in return, but in general. I want people to take what they can get from me, and I want to take what I can get from those who are maybe even subconsciously offering. I want to let people know that I care about them, regardless of whether they care about me. I believe pursuing the Doctor of Pharmacy degree immensely relates to both my immediate and long-term goals. Something I like to live by is to always challenge yourself because if you keep doing what is easy, you will never advance or become better. It has already been a challenging path and I know it will get harder, but challenging myself in school is my immediate goal, and I know it will be worth it down the road. It also helps to keep things interesting. I know I would make a fantastic pharmacist, and so I make it a goal to challenge myself every day in everything I do include my education.

Growing up consisted of not limiting my challenges, but challenging my limits. My entire life, everyone insisted that I was normal. However, unlike other kids, I spent after-school hours in speech, vision, physical, and occupational therapy instead of going to a friend’s house or the park. Coming in and out of my house 40 hours a week were “tutors,” who told me “try again” whenever I made a mistake until I could do what they asked. My parents had to fight for me to learn in a mainstream classroom like other children my age and, once I was able to do so, an aide was still responsible for me while others in my class didn’t experience this. I knew that “the A-word” existed among my family members’ vocabulary, but didn’t know until I was 15 years old that it meant “Autism.” Despite having grown so much compared to where I’ve started, my hard work doesn’t end here. Seeing statistics such as “more than 70 percent of young adults with Autism do not go to college after high school” may suggest that the best I can accomplish is a neurotypical person’s average, but I’ve proven repeatedly that I am not a statistic, and neither is anyone else. I don’t need a role model with Autism to tell me how much I can achieve, because I have always known I can not only achieve but exceed my goals and ambitions. I went from a toddler whose only words were “mom,” “milk,” and “open,” to an AP student graduating as one of the top students in my class. I never let my condition prevent me from achieving my personal and academic goals. I wanted to be an athlete and musician, and I did. I wanted to perform well in school, and I did. I want to be a pharmacist, and I will. I suppose it has always been in me to be inspired. I am aware I started out curious, for better and worse alternately! I believe I started out as a better person, then I learned some bad habits I didn’t like overly much and didn’t take them up. I discovered the plethora of bad habits available at my easy disposal but nothing jumped out and grabbed me. On my whimsical way, I’ve been scraped and bruised, betrayed, and abandoned. I liked how some people were very nice and how I felt, and I remembered I always felt like that was how I would like to be. I'd like to invent a teleportation device that would be safe to use for living things, including humans. That is, the ability to transport a human, their clothes, and what they are carrying, cheaply, comfortably, and safely over a few tens of miles. The main reason is to get rid of the car and all the ugliness and pollution it produces. As I visited some medieval villages recently, I noticed how much more beautiful it would be if there were no cars parked everywhere, signage all over the buildings, the sound of cars passing, and the fact that I was trapped on the side of the road and could not walk where I wanted. Similar, but varied, complaints could be made about most of the rest of the world: it would be so much nicer without (other people’s) cars. Of course, such a device would disrupt life as we know it. Imagine how it would change wars, personal and national security, vacationing, choice of residence, immigration, etc. Hence I need to invent a replacement for the device with all the benefits and without the costs.

- Student forever who learns from every moment of life to make it better. - Biochemistry student that is interested badly in research. - A guitarist and vocalist who just shares their own feelings by the medium of songs. - Person who likes to experience everything possible in life. Wants to pass from best to worst situations. - Lover of everything surrounded by people, places, creatures, and other living objects. - Euphoric who can smile even when someone insults me! - Rebel who neither accept rules of society nor care about views of others on me. Just care about what I do and what I feel is right for me.

Growing up consisted of not limiting my challenges, but challenging my limits. My entire life, everyone insisted that I was normal. However, unlike other kids, I spent after-school hours in speech, vision, physical, and occupational therapy instead of going to a friend’s house or the park. Coming in and out of my house 40 hours a week were “tutors,” who told me “try again” whenever I made a mistake until I could do what they asked. My parents had to fight for me to learn in a mainstream classroom like other children my age and, once I was able to do so, an aide was still responsible for me while others in my class didn’t experience this. I knew that “the A-word” existed among my family members’ vocabulary, but didn’t know until I was 15 years old that it meant “Autism.” Despite having grown so much compared to where I’ve started, my hard work doesn’t end here. Seeing statistics such as “more than 70 percent of young adults with Autism do not go to college after high school” may suggest that the best I can accomplish is a neurotypical person’s average, but I’ve proven repeatedly that I am not a statistic, and neither is anyone else. I don’t need a role model with Autism to tell me how much I can achieve, because I have always known I can not only achieve but exceed my goals and ambitions. I went from a toddler whose only words were “mom,” “milk,” and “open,” to an AP student graduating as one of the top students in my class. I never let my condition prevent me from achieving my personal and academic goals. I wanted to be an athlete and musician, and I did. I wanted to perform well in school, and I did. I want to be a pharmacist, and I will. I have many personal goals, both short-term and long-term. They all deal with pursuing excellence in different fields. I realize that it’s possible to accomplish all of these goals with enough determination for success and a strong character. I also understand that life will throw many obstacles and challenges in my path of achieving these goals, and I feel I'm ready to push through them all. I have always enjoyed sciences through my education; I enjoyed learning about every aspect of pharmacy during my undergraduate studies because I'm so passionate about it. In chemistry I mostly was entertained when I learned about drug delivery systems, physical pharmacy, analytical chemistry, and pharmacokinetics, while in biology; I loved physiology, pharmacology, nutrition, and pharmacotherapy. My friends and I had eleven days practically on our own in California. Eleven days of freedom away from home. Our parents were worried about us and told us not to talk to strangers or go off with anyone we met along the way. Three teenagers on their own in California for eleven days, something was bound to go wrong. By day two we had already met three guys on the beach who invited us to drive up to Mt. Soledad with them which is a mountain in San Diego where you can see the whole city (we never actually made it there that night). Bad situations occurred there from that moment. Drunk driving is a very serious matter. Not only does one endanger their own life when driving while intoxicated, but the lives of others can be endangered as well. I could have lost my driver's license for a certain period of time, my auto insurance rates could have increased, and I could have even spent time in jail.

Growing up consisted of not limiting my challenges, but challenging my limits. My entire life, everyone insisted that I was normal. However, unlike other kids, I spent after-school hours in speech, vision, physical, and occupational therapy instead of going to a friend’s house or the park. Coming in and out of my house 40 hours a week were “tutors,” who told me “try again” whenever I made a mistake until I could do what they asked. My parents had to fight for me to learn in a mainstream classroom like other children my age and, once I was able to do so, an aide was still responsible for me while others in my class didn’t experience this. I knew that “the A-word” existed among my family members’ vocabulary, but didn’t know until I was 15 years old that it meant “Autism.” My family thought that now that I knew why I was different, I would be devastated by this label and use it as a reason why I wouldn’t be capable of something. I was relieved to know that there was a reason that I felt in conflict with the world, and why I constantly felt like I was in a play of life where everyone else had the script except me. I understood why I love repetitiveness, but ironically, overcoming my difficulties by challenging routines and moving out of my comfort zone has been something that I am most proud of. Autism has actually gifted me with extreme dedication, focus, and passion: from winning my school’s geography bee to playing the guitar and ukulele, to earning a fourth-degree black belt in Taekwondo, to being a track athlete, I always love what I do. Autism has also given me a top-notch memory, visualization skills, the ability to be extremely detail-oriented, and high integrity. I don’t see Autism as an impairment, but more like a computer with a different operating system. Following my own social rules, I foster less judgment and more empathy due to a deep understanding that difference doesn’t mean undeserving, and that all people are deserving of meaning and purpose. Despite having grown so much compared to where I’ve started, my hard work doesn’t end here. Reading articles such as “Kid With Autism Now Works at Car Wash Like a Normal Person” does not motivate or inspire me. Seeing statistics such as “more than 70 percent of young adults with Autism do not go to college after high school” may suggest that the best I can accomplish is a neurotypical person’s average, but I’ve proven repeatedly that I am not a statistic, and neither is anyone else. I don’t need a role model with Autism to tell me how much I can achieve, because I have always known I can not only achieve but exceed my goals and ambitions. I went from a toddler whose only words were “mom,” “milk,” and “open,” to an AP student graduating as one of the top students in my class. I never let my condition prevent me from achieving my personal and academic goals. I wanted to be an athlete and musician, and I did. I wanted to perform well in school, and I did. My interest in studying pharmaceutical sciences began when my sister's eczema became severe. Unable to witness her suffering any longer, I started my trek on researching the newest evidence-based treatments and research regarding eczema. This is where I familiarized myself with pharmaceutical research from institutions and the opportunities that their health system provides patients. In my research, I realized the fundamental importance of a holistic healing approach in conjunction with pharmaceuticals. With that, I helped found Heal Eczema, a website that gives information and strategies regarding the disease that would help others live and cope with its mechanisms. Incorporating my findings, this includes a database of helpful resources, as well as advice on establishing body positivity and implementing mental health wellness. Although my project helped guide dozens of people and addressed my motives, my work will not end here. Eventually, I found an article about Dupixent, a drug recently approved by the FDA; after my sister tried this experimental treatment, she was able to live a normal life. While Dupixent is helpful, it's far from perfect; I have seen her pain during administration and my parents' difficulties in accessing the drug. By the time it doesn't work anymore, I will find a sense of closure if my sister and others like her have a painless and low-cost medication that can be accessed in stores throughout the world and last a lifetime. Researching better alternative eczema treatments is lacking and often ignored because the condition isn't taken seriously by the general population, yet it affects over 31 million U.S. citizens. Finding this is not only an obligation but a life mission that this scholarship can help me achieve by providing the education and resources to make my dream, against all odds, a reality. My goals for the future include helping patients understand what medication can do, not only for them but for them as well; and my second goal was to obtain the satisfactory feeling of being able to help others. This second goal is the main reason why I chose the medical field. In life, all I have ever wanted to do was help others live a happier life, and in my mind, in order to live a happy life, you have to be healthy. The interests I have to involve it being a part of the medical field and the fact that I can still help save lives. Many people don’t understand that, at times, it is truly the pharmacist who is making sure you are taking the correct medications. They can go through and make sure that they don’t have serious interactions with other medications a patient is already taking. They make sure the dosages are right and that patients are taking the right amount of medication and aren’t getting refills of certain prescriptions that they shouldn’t be out of yet. Becoming a pharmacist is the perfect match for me because pharmacists are key players in a wide variety of health care settings, and play a critical role in the medication management for patients. Pharmacists are vital health care professionals that help people to achieve positive results from their medications. I believe that for achieving success, by becoming a pharmacist, I can help patients feel better and get well as quickly as possible. I plan to receive my Doctorate of Pharmacy. I believe pursuing the Doctor of Pharmacy degree immensely relates to both my immediate and long-term goals. Something I like to live by is to always challenge yourself because if you keep doing what is easy, you will never advance or become better. It has already been a challenging path and I know it will get harder, but challenging myself in school is my immediate goal, and I know it will be worth it down the road. It also helps to keep things interesting. I know I would make a fantastic pharmacist, and so I make it a goal to challenge myself every day in everything I do include my education.

I have been pro-life for as long as I can remember. My family was not culture warriors: We never picketed, and I’m not sure we ever discussed the subject at home. My only memories of anything close to activism are of occasional appeals to our church to donate diapers to a local crisis pregnancy center. I was impressed by the urgency of the requests, which focused almost exclusively on the burdens disadvantaged single mothers faced and the opportunity we had to aid them. That somewhat idyllic approach impressed on me the vague but definite intuition that life in the womb was worth preserving and the woman who bore is worth supporting. This impression that being pro-life means supporting the people whose wombs bear life as much as the life itself has never left me. My activist impulses have grown since my youth, and those instincts have been sharpened. The reasons for this are complex and personal: Like many people, I have been intimate with those struggling to conceive and with those desperately seeking to avoid doing so. The heart-wrenching pain of infertility and miscarriage, the struggles of teenage motherhood, the fears, and anxieties of an unwanted pregnancy — as I have grown older, such experiences have deepened my sense that human life is a wonderful, tragic mystery. Whatever else we think about it, the drama of conception leads to the most profound joys and sorrows, the most ardent hopes and expectations, and the most visceral fears and anxieties. In college, I could describe myself as pro-life; but I actually now joke that I am rabidly pro-life. If people feel their identity and value as human beings are not respected, this can stop them from enjoying life and living comfortably during a period of care. Some actions and activities that I take to promote the value and dignity of all human beings, especially the unborn, include: letting people choose their own clothing, involving them in decisions relating to their care, addressing the person properly, making food look and taste nice, respecting personal space and possessions, handling hygiene activities sensitively, promoting social activities, knowing how to detect pain, and having a friendly chat. Solidarity, the option for the poor, care for creation, economic justice, and the common good are examples of values that are vital to any society built upon the dignity of the human person. Human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. From both divine revelation and natural law, we know that there is something special about human life. We are made in the image of God. Protection of human life and dignity is a natural instinct of all people and stands at the core of Catholic social teaching. The life and dignity of the human person are foundational to Catholic social teaching precisely because, without it, no other rights have meaning. Methods for upholding dignity are usually small, seemingly inconsequential things, but to a person who has resigned the majority of their independence to a stranger, they mean the world. But choice and control, communication, eating and nutritional care, pain management, personal hygiene, practical assistance, privacy, and social inclusion can help.

Depression. I have been depressed for some time now. It is excruciating at times and all-consuming at other times. It has devoured a huge chunk of my high school life. It has limited me. Chained me and decapitated me. Imagine living with a giant void in your life. Imagine living knowing that everything you're doing is futile and pointless. Imagine not wanting to talk to anyone but feeling excruciatingly alone when you don't. Imagine being holed up in your room for days and weeks. But the silver lining is that it’s been an amazing teacher. It’s taught me about myself. It’s taught me about life. It’s taught me the power of challenging the ‘script’ and it has reiterated the virtue of mobility. It's taught me to calm down. It's taught me to let things go. It's taught me to love. It's helped me to get to know myself better. And most importantly, it's taught me how to forgive myself. I don't remember any of my childhood. Nothing particularly traumatic caused this, but the general combination of my heavy depression and optimism lead me to only strive for the future. When I had to write "what happened over summer vacation" assignments in grade school, I almost always broke down in tears. When you're depressed and you find it inconceivable that anything good can happen to you, you kinda accept that your life will be like this. You keep going over the events that led to this, and you cannot make peace with it. And you form a self-fulfilling prophecy that dictates that you'll never be happy. After that, you tend to self-sabotage to make that prophecy true. Once you're perceptive of this, you can realize and understand the human psyche even better and you're better equipped to confront your demons.

Core to my leadership philosophy is the belief that great leaders are made, not born. See, I never was picked to head a group of kids growing up. Perhaps this was because I came across as a shy and introverted kid, but today I have surprised myself by taking on demanding leadership roles, not to mention applying for other organizations in leadership. Therefore, I do not consider myself born a leader, but I have acquired and honed leadership qualities over the years. However, one of the few organizations that I served for my community was the National Honor Society (NHS). The reason NHS exists today is that it elevates students' and schools' academics, leadership, and community engagement. It helps the local community by creating enthusiasm for scholarship, stimulating a desire to render service & promoting leadership. As an NHS student, I volunteered in my community and helped in different projects, like marathons, food drives, online fundraisers, and more. In my work, I have demonstrated respect, responsibility, trustworthiness & integrity. It's a great way to get involved & have fun too. In order to maintain the membership, I have to keep up with good grades. My idea of leadership is being able to inspire others, motivate, set a vision, communicate, respect others, and of course, lead by example. A leader must have an honest understanding of who they are, what they know, and what they are capable of. To be a successful leader, you have to be able to convince your followers, not just yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. In my opinion, this can build confidence in their followers to have faith in you, in order to be able to lead. I strongly believe that good leaders are made rather, and not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. The way in which I communicate either builds or can harm the relationship between my soldier and me. When an important moment of discussion arises, I am always prepared to appropriately handle the situation at hand. More than anything else, I believe as a leader it is always important to have great social skills in order to be communicative with clarity and objectiveness and to have a good relationship with the ones I lead. As a leader, I understand the meaning of recognition and praise when one is doing a good job, which too is significantly important. I will apply what I learned to my time beyond high school by becoming a master of resourcing, working well within a group, managing and prioritizing tasks, communicating well with others, meeting deadlines, motivating myself to complete projects, trying to have commitment and loyalty, and never giving up. I should be explicit about the application, focus on core concepts, identify sub-skills, provide others with practice, make it social and collaborative, and involve others in the process. While I am in school, I may not think about all the wonderful tools I am acquiring. I may not realize at the time the invaluable skills I am practicing and perfecting just by taking college classes, whether online or on campus. I may already be employed and working in “the real world”. Or, I may be graduating soon with a certificate or degree and just starting my journey into full-time employment. There will be times where I purposefully apply what I have learned and there will be other times where I automatically complete tasks without even realizing I was using a skill I learned in school. Over time, these skills can become second nature.

One of my goals in education/life is to be a good colleague and employee and to earn a decent salary that will allow me to support my family and the people I love. I am aware of the mistakes I make, and I try to improve in the most important role of my life. Something that I'm pretty passionate about is self-development and self-improvement in my personal life. My goals for the future also include helping patients understand what medication can do, not only for them but for them as well; and my second goal was to obtain the satisfactory feeling of being able to help others. This second goal is the main reason why I chose the medical field. In life, all I have ever wanted to do was help others live a happier life, and in my mind, in order to live a happy life, you have to be healthy. Many people don’t understand that, at times, it is truly the pharmacist who is making sure you are taking the correct medications. They can go through and make sure that they don’t have serious interactions with other medications a patient is already taking. They make sure the dosages are right and that patients are taking the right amount of medication and aren’t getting refills of certain prescriptions that they shouldn’t be out of yet. The steps that I have taken this far to bring me closer to my goal include: getting everything all down on paper, brainstorming what needs to happen, coming up with an action plan, making things measurable, taking action, considering my talents and expertise, and delegating less important tasks. In addition, I also schedule a time to focus, read and listen, network at every opportunity, review my strategy and progress, exercise for 30 minutes a day, and celebrate each milestone. I see my vision impacting the world positively in the future as it would allow me to give back to my community, stand up for causes that I care about, do random acts of kindness for loved ones or people I meet throughout the day, find like-minded people who are committed to the same cause as me and can help me make an impact, and not work myself to exhaustion. I will be working in a health-related field, ideally improving treatment and/or diagnosis of cancer, immunologic, and/or infectious diseases. The company will be nimble and creative like a startup but the financial stability of a large company. The people will be friendly, open, smart, creative, big-hearted with a clear vision of the big picture. The compensation for my work will be generous and I will feel like I can believe they pay me to do this all day! My vision is to have a career that allows me to integrate my project management skills with my transition change management passion and expertise. I am energized by getting results through people and feel a project is not truly successful unless the end results are achieved and people are adopting the new technologies, capabilities, etc. once they are deployed. I need to make enough money to enable my financial independence, and reduce my work hours to about 30 per week, and/or at least have a lot more flexibility on when and how much I work in 7 years. Work-life balance is extremely important to me. I actually love working, but I love my family and friends more, and I need to ensure work-life doesn’t take over and consume my life. I need time to unwind and focus on my physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

1 in 5 of us lives with a mental illness in this world. This means every one of us has a family member or loved one affected by mental illness. Like any other health problem, someone with a mental illness needs all of our love and support. One practical solution for helping more people who struggle with mental health is support from family and friends, and this is a key part of helping someone who is living with mental illness. This support provides a network of practical and emotional help. These networks can be made up of parents, children, siblings, spouses or partners, extended families, close friends, coworkers, coaches, teachers, and religious leaders. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals are increasingly recommending couple- and family-based treatment programs. Families and friends can be important advocates to help loved ones get through those hard, early stages of having a mental illness. They can also be key in letting professionals know what’s going on, filling in parts of the picture that the person who’s ill may not be well enough to describe on their own. When helping someone with their own recovery, it is important to remember that it is extremely important for us to take care of ourselves and maintain our own support system. Having friends and family to confide in — as well as assist us when our loved ones cannot — is vital. We should not give up our own lives and interests. Although they can be scary, it is important to remember that brain and behavior disorders are treatable. Individuals with these conditions can live full and healthy lives, especially if they seek treatment as needed. Now more than ever, it is important to reduce stigma and encourage people not to suffer in silence, but to seek help.

Growing up consisted of not limiting my challenges, but challenging my limits. My entire life, everyone insisted that I was normal. However, unlike other kids, I spent after-school hours in speech, vision, physical, and occupational therapy instead of going to a friend’s house or the park. Coming in and out of my house 40 hours a week were “tutors,” who told me “try again” whenever I made a mistake until I could do what they asked. My parents had to fight for me to learn in a mainstream classroom like other children my age and, once I was able to do so, an aide was still responsible for me while others in my class didn’t experience this. Despite having grown so much compared to where I’ve started, my hard work doesn’t end here. Reading articles such as “Kid With Autism Now Works at Car Wash Like a Normal Person” does not motivate or inspire me. Seeing statistics such as “more than 70 percent of young adults with Autism do not go to college after high school” may suggest that the best I can accomplish is a neurotypical person’s average, but I’ve proven repeatedly that I am not a statistic, and neither is anyone else. I don’t need a role model with Autism to tell me how much I can achieve, because I have always known I can not only achieve but exceed my goals and ambitions. I went from a toddler whose only words were “mom,” “milk,” and “open,” to an AP student graduating as one of the top students in my class. I never let my condition prevent me from achieving my personal and academic goals. I wanted to be an athlete and musician, and I did. I wanted to perform well in school, and I did. I want to be a pharmacist, and I will. SUDs impact the social functioning of individuals and create a burden for society as well. These disorders contribute to medical or psychiatric conditions, disability, and death as a result of accidents or diseases caused or worsened by substance use, or higher rates of suicidality, all of which affect society. Some of the adverse effects of drug abuse are 1) Deterioration of physical health: Different drugs have varied and serious direct physical and psychological consequences such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, abnormal body sensation, seizures, suicidal behaviors, and even sudden death I plan to make a positive impact on the world through education on Substance Use Disorder by recommending and making an effort to help others around me in the following ways: behavioral counseling, medication, medical devices, and applications used to treat withdrawal symptoms or deliver skills training, evaluation and treatment for co-occurring mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and long-term follow-ups to prevent relapse. I see myself educating others about Substance Use Disorder and helping people recover by increasing community collaboration to reduce substance abuse, increasing access to skill-building opportunities for parents and adults working with youth, supporting pro-social and youth development activities, and increasing access to brief intervention and treatment for youth and adult abuse. I see my helping people recover by asking others' views, discussing reasons not to use drugs, considering media messages, discussing ways to resist peer pressure, knowing the person's activities, establishing rules and consequences, knowing the person's friends, keeping track of prescription drugs, providing support, and setting a good example for them. It's never too soon to start talking to them about drug abuse. The conversations I have today can help others make healthy choices in the future.

Core to my leadership philosophy is the belief that great leaders are made, not born. See, I never was picked to head a group of kids growing up. Perhaps this was because I came across as a shy and introverted kid, but today I have surprised myself by taking on demanding leadership roles, not to mention applying for other organizations in leadership. Therefore, I do not consider myself born a leader, but I have acquired and honed leadership qualities over the years. For instance, it was not easy communicating with international students who did not speak English, yet thoroughness was expected of me. The role, however, sharpened my communication skills and taught me how to harness team dynamics as a leader. My primary goal in continuing this leadership is to expand my organizational leadership skills beyond an organization-specific setting to a global arena. Of all the lessons I learned as a leader, the greatest takeaway is that good leadership is not about imposing ideas on people, but providing information so they can make informed decisions. Great leadership, to me, is the ability to lead and guide a team, motivating and inspiring individuals to get them to where they need to be. Someone who is a leader and inspires one person may not inspire another. Every day is your chance to direct your career to where you want to go and inspire people along the way. Leadership means inspiring others to work together toward a common goal. It encourages and enables people to do their best work. My idea of leadership is being able to inspire others, motivate, set a vision, communicate, respect others, and of course, lead by example. A leader must have an honest understanding of who they are, what they know, and what they are capable of. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Being a leader is important to me because effective leaders provide clarity of purpose, motivate and guide the organization to realize its mission. Leadership is a vital management function that helps to direct an organization's resources for improved efficiency and the achievement of goals. To be a successful leader, you have to be able to convince your followers, not just yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. In my opinion, this can build confidence in their followers to have faith in you, in order to be able to lead. I strongly believe that good leaders are made rather, and not born. The way in which I communicate either builds or can harm the relationship between my soldier and me. More than anything else, I believe as a leader it is always important to have great social skills in order to be communicative with clarity and objectiveness and to have a good relationship with the ones I lead. As a leader, I understand the meaning of recognition and praise when one is doing a good job, which too is significantly important.

I do multiple things to improve the lives of elderly people in my community, such as helping my aging seniors stay connected to family, friends, and community, arranging family visits or outings for my aged adults, especially holidays or days of family celebration like weddings or birthdays, and lining up transportation to get them to senior centers, church, or community functions. I also make sure to encourage volunteerism. Life, as are many things, is often not always about quantity so much as it is about quality. Aging seniors often face losses in the quality of their lives well before they face the end of their days. It’s not enough just to see to their medical needs. We must also see to their mental and emotional needs in order to help them have a positive view of life. In fact, a positive view of life can help alleviate some medical issues that seniors face such as cognitive decline and stress, lack of energy, and appetite. Studies have shown that seniors with a sense of purpose are less susceptible to cognitive impairment, heart attacks, and strokes, and they are more likely to live longer. This is because they are more physically active, take better care of themselves, and are less susceptible to stress. For so long, elder care professionals like myself have talked about the quality of care but not the quality of life for seniors. We now know that quality of care is part of the quality of life that includes every aspect of an elder’s life. And that having a good quality of life improves health and quality of care. In short, many of the problems associated with the aging increase due to the lack of meaning in people’s lives, and the result can be an unnecessary surrender to aging.

Climate change is a long-term change in the climate due to an increase in the average temperature. The earth's climate is not stable all the time but we still have to worry because it has a big impact on us the way it's changing. The natural factors that impact climate change are changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun. The human causes of climate change are the burning of fossil fuels, cutting forests and less agriculture, and many other reasons. Beyond recycling, there are a surprising amount of simple everyday steps you can take to leave a greener footprint. To have a positive impact on the climate, I shorten my showers, turn down the heat in the winter, hang out my clothes to dry, stop using lawn chemicals, eat less meat, take public transportation, and stay informed on politics. COVID-19 isn’t the only worldwide emergency affecting billions of people—climate change continues to threaten us with devastating implications. With the global data streams that are now available, we can account for all the other changes in management and direct human activity to reveal the isolated effects of climate change. We can see the consequences of climate change reshaping the world around us. First, we are burning fossil fuels for electricity production, industry, and transportation. Second, we are producing food on a huge scale, mainly intended for livestock. Third, we are transforming the Earth’s ecosystems, reducing its capacity to remove the pollutants dumped into the atmosphere, water, and soil. Climate change is scary, and in large part due to the actions of just a few huge corporations, the world around us is changing very quickly. It’s hard to feel like we can make a difference as individuals, but to be honest, every little bit helps.

Some impacts that I hope to have through my mentorship of others include how I could get valuable objective feedback, make new contacts, gain wisdom from past mistakes, and get a fresh perspective. The specific benefits of being mentored include: being encouraged and empowered in personal development, being helped to identify and achieve career goals, and being helped to identify and correct gaps in generic skills and knowledge. Research confirms that quality mentoring relationships have powerful positive effects on young people in a variety of personal, academic, and professional situations. Ultimately, mentoring connects a young person, such as myself, to personal growth and development, and social and economic opportunity. Being a mentor serves as a way to give back and is an important development and learning experience. Teaching others is the best way to learn yourself. In the same way, mentors become more competent as leaders and communicators as they guide and help rising talent. A good mentor, like me, can help a person come out of his comfort zone by creating different leadership scenarios. Another great benefit of mentorship is that it helps in networking. Mentors can push people directly to other leaders who can help. Mentors help people to gain more confidence and improve people skills. Becoming a mentor can enrich my life on a personal and professional level by helping me build my leadership skills. It helps me develop my ability to motivate and encourage others. This can help me become a better manager, employee, and team member. Mentoring provides critical guidance to a young person on his or her path to success. Mentoring is to support and encourage people to make their own learning in order that they boost their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be.

I’m ready to do anything and everything that is thrown at me in a classroom setting and that's an attitude I love about myself, for the most part anyway. I’m ready to help any friend or family member in an instant; I’ll drop literally anything and everything to help my older sister— I don’t care what I’m doing, if she needs me I’ll be there. Also, I love my willingness to learn— any and everything. I’ll research tirelessly if it means I can learn something new and write something different in the process. I’ll study until everything I learned in class is committed to memory, or until an understanding as deep as I can make it is formed. Plus, I love how I can maintain a mostly optimistic attitude— if not for myself, then the one I can readily maintain for everyone else. I never let anyone I know go a second of expressing negativity around me without filling them with the different positives, and that accounts for both discord and offline. In addition, I love my writing. I usually overly criticize my writing as I see many flaws in it, but I have grown to love it. Reading back to some past answers, I forget I’m reading my own until I check the author— they just never seem like something I would have written a few years ago. Lastly, I love my determination— sometimes wavering, but always there as I continue to face obstacle after obstacle towards my future. The determination fuels my passion for science, my love of learning, and everything I do. The very determination that keeps me going despite the constant stream of negativity. That determination has brought me to where I am in school and my own life— it’s something I have grown to love.

If I were a highly influential person in the world today I would look at the most important problem facing the world and seek to implement a solution to the problem. The problem is symbolized by Afghanistan - poverty, violence, and ignorance! The solution is also staring at our faces. The news is packed with statistics and updates on the challenges we face as global citizens. Sometimes it can seem as though there are too many – from the climate crisis to the high rate of gender inequality around the world, too many people living without access to medical care. With all the multifaceted problems in the world today, it is difficult to say which are more important than others. If I want to maximize my chance of having a big positive impact on your career, it’s usually best to work on a global issue that’s large in scale, solvable, and neglected. These are not always the biggest problems in the world — rather they are the issues that receive little attention compared to how important they are and how much can be done about them. For instance, in 2020, I remember how the United States spent 778 billion dollars on military and China 252, while only 31 billion dollars worth of aid was provided to undeveloped countries. If only these two countries cut their military expenditure by 30%, another whooping 300 billion dollars can be made available to the undeveloped and poor countries for building schools, agriculture, and hospitals. This will immediately translate into poverty alleviation, empowerment of women, and reduction in violence. Of course, the school curriculum will have to be revised to teach philosophy and science and to cut out the barbarous part of religious studies. And this is what I would stand for.

Question #2: Art and STEM make the world a better place as it pervades every part of our lives. Art is about using creativity and imagination to increase the development of STEM's essential skills, as well as enhance flexibility, adaptability, productivity, responsibility, and innovation - all required skills for a successful career in any field of study. Studying art subjects contributes to the development of essential skills like collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Groups of learners can work collaboratively to create a visually appealing product or object that is based on the understanding of a STEM concept, such as the mathematics of the parabola used to create fine art imagery. However, things and areas of study are grouped due to similarities in the thinking and curriculum of the fields. The arts and the technical fields just do not have enough in common to put them in the same group. You would not find the same assignments or curriculum in an art class as you would in a STEM program. Undoubtfully though, art can inspire deeper meaning, allowing students to think. It teaches some remarkable life lessons by allowing students to imagine, aspire, and dream. It encourages students to think out of the box and come up with innovative ideas. Slotting the arts into a child’s STEM education has proven benefits such as increased creativity, improved academic performance, increased motor skills, higher decision-making skills, better visual learning, and an enhanced learning experience. Today, the relevance of the Arts is gaining momentum across the USA and is now widely seen as an important primary academic subject. School curriculums in 48 states now have the arts incorporated into their STEM programs and have witnessed the benefits it brings to their students. However, a study conducted by Kent State University found that despite the increased focus on including the arts within STEM programs, at least 51% of art teachers still felt that the focus was still primarily on the original STEM subjects. By igniting both sides of the brain - the left (analytical thinking) side and the right (imaginative thinking) side - can create some of the best thinkers of our future generation. It teaches them essential skills that will benefit them in and out of the workforce. In a world full of new opportunities and expanding fields of work, a great STEAM education can really help students prepare and excel in an ever-changing workforce and produce some of the greatest inventions and innovations the world is yet to see. Required Question: Growing up consisted of not limiting my challenges, but challenging my limits. My entire life, everyone insisted that I was normal. However, unlike other kids, I spent after-school hours in speech, vision, physical, and occupational therapy instead of going to a friend’s house or the park. Coming in and out of my house 40 hours a week were “tutors,” who told me “try again” whenever I made a mistake until I could do what they asked. My parents had to fight for me to learn in a mainstream classroom like other children my age and, once I was able to do so, an aide was still responsible for me while others in my class didn’t experience this. I knew that “the A-word” existed among my family members’ vocabulary, but didn’t know until I was 15 years old that it meant “Autism.” My family thought that now that I knew why I was different, I would be devastated by this label and use it as a reason why I wouldn’t be capable of something. In fact, I approached this news in the opposite way. I was relieved to know that there was a reason that I felt in conflict with the world, and why I constantly felt like I was in a play of life where everyone else had the script except me. I understood why I love repetitiveness, but ironically, overcoming my difficulties by challenging routines and moving out of my comfort zone has been something that I am most proud of. Autism has actually gifted me with extreme dedication, focus, and passion: from winning my school’s geography bee to playing the guitar and ukulele, to earning a fourth-degree black belt in Taekwondo, to being a track athlete, I always love what I do. Autism has also given me a top-notch memory, visualization skills, the ability to be extremely detail-oriented, and high integrity. I don’t see Autism as an impairment, but more like a computer with a different operating system. Following my own social rules, I foster less judgment and more empathy due to a deep understanding that difference doesn’t mean undeserving and that all people are deserving of meaning and purpose. I wish to pursue a college education because it would allow me to help others while also satisfying my parents' expectations. The benefits of getting a college degree are very numerous indeed, and a college education is a great investment in my life. I would gain more money, a bigger knowledge base, job security and satisfaction, and the ability to withstand tough times. And all these factors would give me a secure future. Higher education serves a lot of purposes. Pursuing higher education and getting a bachelor’s degree or going to graduate schools opens a lot of doors in the professional world and offers countless potential benefits in terms of financial stability. It doesn’t only revolve around learning; it also provides me with opportunities for further personal development. The bottom line is that a college education would lead me to my dream career while teaching me the ways to deal with different real-life situations. It serves more than just as a stepping stone into the professional world and enables me to learn how to be a better person. So, whether I am still deciding to apply for college or need more advice on why I should consider higher education, I should keep those reasons above in mind to make the best decision for me and my future.

My favorite scientific discovery is genome editing. It has given scientists power to surgically remove - and just as excitingly, monitor the activity of - genes and the regulatory elements that control them. This has been an absolute game-changer for understanding the mechanisms underlying how biological systems work, but also the diseases that disturb them. Excitingly, some of these efforts are even in clinical trials and hopefully slowly working their way into the clinic. Genome editing technologies enable scientists to make changes to DNA, leading to changes in physical traits, like eye color, and disease risk. Scientists use different technologies to do this. These technologies act like scissors, cutting the DNA at a specific spot. Since it was developed in 2012, the gene-editing tool "CRISPR-Cas9" has revolutionized biology research, making it easier to study disease and faster to discover drugs. The technology is significantly impacting the development of crops, foods, and industrial fermentation processes. Genome editing is a powerful, scientific technology that can reshape medical treatments and people’s lives, but it can also harmfully reduce human diversity and increase social inequality by editing out the kinds of people that medical science, and the society it has shaped, categorize as diseased or genetically contaminated. But we should be reminded that bad genes don’t necessarily lead to bad lives, just as good genes don’t necessarily lead to good lives. If CRISPR is put to use to eliminate rather than to treat genetic differences, we as a society would essentially instrumentalize this moralistic and reductionist assumption. Genome editing is of great interest in the prevention and treatment of human diseases. Currently, most research on genome editing is done to understand diseases using cells and animal models. Scientists are still working to determine whether this approach is safe and effective for use in people.

Books are great friends and they never leave your side. I really enjoy reading books. Books have the ability to move people across the world without requiring them to leave their homes. Books also help in the development of our creativity. My parents and instructors developed in me the habit of reading. They instilled in me the importance of reading. I have read so many books. But my favorite is Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. These books are about the wizarding world. The Harry Potter series contains seven books. The first book in the series, The Sorcerer's Stone, is my favorite from the series. It's one of the most exciting and fascinating books I've ever read. I've read all of the books in the series, and none of them have captured me as much as this one. I read them over and over because they never tire me. There are so many things for young people to learn in this series. The book teaches us the importance of friendship. Throughout the novels, Harry, Hermoine, and Ron stay together and never give up. It taught me the real meaning of friendship. It also demonstrated to me that no one in the universe is perfect. Everyone has good and also evil inside them. The series' most flawed characters, such as Snape, had goodness among them. Similarly, how the nicest one's character, like Dumbledore, had some bad traits. So it all depends on whom you want to be. This book changed my attitude toward people and taught me to be more considerate. Finally, these books showed me what real hope is. It taught me that there is hope at the end of the road, and these are just a few of the most significant and intriguing lessons I took away from Harry Potter.

The wisest thing I've ever heard is the saying "There are two kinds of people in this world, givers and takers. Takers eat better, but givers sleep better." An episode of Through The Wormhole addressed this, actually. It basically boils down to one bad apple really does spoil the bunch, but it's because the bunch figures their only chance at getting anything out of the deal is to play the same game. And as horrible as it is, society somehow tends to look the other way at some of the worst cheaters. It's only when given the chance to leave that that person who seems to be takers actually turns out to be just as good as anybody else. There may be different perspectives on the above-mentioned quote which may vary from person to person. When I was reading the quote only 1 perspective strikes to my mind, but when I analyzed the situation 2nd perception was added to my list. Perception 1: The world is so diverse in culture, religions; it’s very easy to create perceptions. This perception may be more on the negative end of the scale. If you believe in success, you need to create your own ways. Always believe in creating new methodologies for your task rather than running a mad race behind money and becoming followers. Perception 2: As every coin has 2 sides, so let’s see the other side of the coin to see what can be another perception. Givers may sometimes be regarded as external motivators for takers when internal motivation stops working for them. Here, the quote takes the different side of the scale: which is totally positive. Givers here are helpers. Takers may sometimes be treated as the bright side too, until or unless they don't take things for granted.

The earth is considered one of the most beautiful planets in the universe. It is the only planet in our galaxy that has enough water to support life. Unfortunately, our planet is suffering due to many problems which should be solved before it's too late. I believe that the biggest problem facing the world right now, however, is pollution. Pollution is a major factor that is threatening our world today. One example of pollution is nitrogen. Humans are adding about 130 to 150 million tons over the 90 to 150 tons that are produced by the nitrogen cycle. This excess in nitrogen causes coastal waters and estuaries to grow toxic algae, killing the fish and trapping the solar heat in the air. Another example of pollution is methane. Methane is produced by gases released by cows, termite mounds or by the bottom of rice paddy. If found in the air methane is very poisonous. By raising more cattle, cutting more tropical forests, thus increasing the number of termites, and by growing more rice, the methane concentration in the air is almost twice as higher as it was 160,000 years ago. Smoke is another pollution factor. Smoke that is produced by cars contains carbon dioxide (CO2). This carbon dioxide in the air causes global warming, which results in the greenhouse effect and climate changes. Satellite studies show that perhaps we will increase the temperature by 3.6 degrees by the year 2001. The warmer the weather the more water it can hold, the higher the precipitation will be. The higher the precipitation the more clouds, then more rain, and the more snow there will be. This will result in more storms and floods. Ways that we can work on this problem are by carpooling, using public transportation, biking, or walking whenever possible.

Generosity to me means someone that is kind to you, gives unconditionally, and does so without judgments or rewards. People can view generosity in many different ways, depending on the situation. A few examples of virtues are courage, self-control, loyalty, and creativeness, but knowledge is the leading virtue. Virtue comes from someone’s character and goodness. A person with the virtue of generosity is usually someone that treats others fairly along with valuing him or herself. There are also many benefits to being a generous person, which includes making you happier, healthier, and improving relationships. Generosity might be one of the most important aspects of a healthy relationship because without generosity you would be doing everything for yourself and not looking out for others and their needs. People want a person who would drop anything and help them if they are in need. Taking time to do little things for your partner or friend will not only allow them to gain respect for you but might also make them think of you next time and do something kind or loving in return. In a stable and healthy relationship, it's more than just doing a couple of small nice things here and there, but it's actually putting the person’s needs and wants above your own. An example is my mom will randomly call or text me to see how my day is going. This not only allows me to vent my feelings but also gives me a break from reality and allows me just sit back and talk to her. I would consider that an act of generosity and kindness on her part because she takes time out of her busy day to sit down and talk to me. This shows me that she cares and puts me above her own needs.

Every person has hope for a better future. Even if we all have problems and obstacles we have to face. We live in a world with hate, envy, and evil, but we also live in a world with endless love, passion, and hope. In this hopeful world, our expectations have grown. We have anticipation about the future that we are going to have, and in all honesty, many do not have hope that we will have a better future, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try. We all aspire to be the best we can and I believe that with the ambition we have, we can move forward and better our world and each other. Though times currently seem to be awful, we are living in one of the best times ever. Technology is ruling the world, and the way we choose to use it is deciding what will come next. Not only that, but we are now living in a time where equality and acceptance are pretty much everywhere. I believe that in the future, it’s not going to matter what makes us different. Lastly, I just want to point out that we are still building and shaping our world and lives. We are learning from our many mistakes and fixing them. “America, land of the free and home of the brave..”, but also home of the hopeful. One thing that gives me hope that the future will be better is technology. First and foremost, technology has been flourishing all around us. As a society, we are coming up with new inventions that are boosting our economy. In the future, we may even get the things we have all wished for, such as flying cars or a teleportation device. Our imaginations are endless and our hard work exceeds all. Technology is like stated before, ruling the world and it's making everyday events so much easier. Look to the future and together we can have a great life in our country. With today’s technology, we are doing things that could never happen before, such as producing renewable energy, having electronics that we can use to have conversations over amazing distances, and with the technology we have, we are solving so many medical and historical problems. Technology shapes the future and it can help to make it compatible with nature. It can help us to develop clean energy, transport possibilities with fewer emissions, and low-energy houses to save resources. Technology is not only about technology itself or more efficiency and discovering new methods and processes; we have to add the component of art which is about making wise choices for the future of technology. We should not develop technology because of itself, but to develop it, because it adds value to society and simplifies human life. For this, it needs to be discussed with experts from many fields and we have to relate the technology to the organization and the culture in which it should operate. There are no side effects.

Things are humming along, and then: A top client calls and say, “We’re switching suppliers, starting next month. I’m afraid your company no longer figures into our plans.” Or three colleagues, all of whom joined the organization around the same time you did, are up for promotion—but you aren’t. Or your team loses another good person in the third round of layoffs; weak markets or no, you still need to make your numbers, but now you’ll have to rely heavily on two of the most uncooperative members of the group. Decades of research in psychology, on topics including hardiness, learned helplessness, coping, and the correlation between cognitive style and health, confirms that each of us has a distinct, consistent pattern of thinking about life’s twists and turns—a pattern of which most of us are largely unaware. It may be an unconscious reflex to look backward from traumatic incidents to explain what just happened. Such analysis can be useful, certainly—but only up to the point where strong negative emotions start to prevent our moving on. People can build high levels of resilience in themselves and their teams by taking charge of how they think about adversity. Resilient managers move quickly from analysis to a plan of action (and reaction). After the onset of adversity, they shift from cause-oriented thinking to response-oriented thinking, and their focus is strictly forward. I've identified four lenses through which managers can view adverse events to make this shift effectively: Control. When a crisis hits, do you look for what you can improve now rather than trying to identify all the factors—even those beyond your control—that caused it in the first place? Impact. Can you sidestep the temptation to find the origins of the problem in yourself or others and focus instead on identifying what positive effects your personal actions might have? Breadth. Do you assume that the underlying cause of the crisis is specific and can be contained, or do you worry that it might cast a long shadow over all aspects of your life? Duration. How long do you believe that the crisis and its repercussions will last? The first two lenses characterize an individual’s (like mine's) personal reaction to adversity, and the second two capture his or her impressions of the adversity’s magnitude. People should consider all four to fully understand their instinctive responses to personal and professional challenges, setbacks, or failures. Most of us go with our gut when something bad happens. Deeply ingrained habits and beliefs sap our energy and keep us from acting constructively. Someone who has marched steadily through a string of successes can easily come to feel like a hero, able to fix any problem single-handedly. A traumatic event can snap that person back to reality. Even for the less heroic among us, adversity can touch off intense bursts of negative emotion—as if a dark cloud had settled behind our eyes, as one manager described it. Whatever my initial reaction, however, the challenge is to turn a negative experience into a productive one—that is, to counter adversity with resilience. Psychological resilience is the capacity to respond quickly and constructively to crises. It’s a central dynamic in most survival stories, such as those of the shell-shocked individuals and organizations that rallied in the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. But resilience can be hard to muster for many reasons: Fear, anger, and confusion can paralyze us after a severe setback. Assigning blame rather than generating solutions is an all-too-human tendency. Worse yet, those to whom we turn for counsel may offer us exactly the wrong kind of advice.

I believe that organization is the best skill I have. Organizational skills can not only help you manage your current job—wherever or however you work—but they can also help you look for a new job or land a promotion. And thankfully, you can improve your organizational skills and show them off in your job hunt. With so many requests, tasks, and expectations on your plate, organizational skills are what help you use your time, resources, energy, and mental bandwidth efficiently to achieve your goals and get your job done with less stress. Organizational skills can aid you in arranging your digital and physical spaces as well as managing, prioritizing, and planning everything you need to do. Simply put, organizational skills optimize results in the workplace. They enable you to be the best you can be at your job. I'm actually a very organized person. It's funny that you mention this because just the other day, one of my family friends wanted to borrow my suitcase and saw my closet. He made fun of me for organizing my clothes by length and color. I'm like that with everything. It's just so much easier to manage things. However, I'm not picky and don't need to have things in a certain way. I just want things to be organized. So yes, I consider myself organized. I am improving to be organized by writing things down, making schedules and deadlines, not procrastinating on things, giving everything a home, decluttering regularly, keeping only what I need, knowing where to discard items, and staying away from bargains. Really organized people, like me, are not born organized, they have to cultivate healthy habits, which then help them to stay organized. So even if you think you are a very disorganized person, you can learn to be organized.

My favorite way to help others is to not wait for "thank you." You should not wait that all people will be thankful to you for your help. You should understand, that the help is not something like goods, which is possible to sell with benefits. We help each other just because we want to do it in this way. Do you give the person the bill, because you explained how to go to the library, for example? Or should we stop giving some free advice and free help? It seems, that no one needs such kind of help, because it will not improve our life. But some kinds of help need to have some benefits. For example, we cannot work for free, because we need to earn money. Also, you need to understand, that before helping other people, you need to be ready to do it. It is clear, that there can be different kinds of help, everything depends on our possibilities. But people should be ready for this help. For example, little children cannot take care of someone or just help, because they are not ready, they just need to grow up and understand what does help means. But adult people understood it and because of it, they can analyze their life and understand where it is possible to help other people. We help each other because of different reasons. Some people help because they just can not help other people if they need help. The other people help because they wish to give some positive energy or just because they must help. Sometimes we can help the others because we are sure, that they'll think in a good way about as after that. We need to improve our health, and to be sure, that someone needs us.

When I think about what counts as learning to me, I think about my life. Just being able to live in this world to me is a learning experience, because I feel that my life is full of lessons and I believe that it takes lessons to learn in life. I feel that I've learned to understand learning more and to also understand the value of learning. As I get older I can comprehend subject matters more than I could ever do before. I am learning to be more serious and I find myself not taking life for granted anymore. The biggest learning experience to me so far is life itself. I feel that way because there is so much to learn in life. It takes growing up for me to learn in life. I'm now beginning to understand the value of learning because a year ago I did not appreciate learning. I didn't value it as I value it now. I took it for granted as if learning could just be given to me. I realize now that it has to be earned. My attitude in high school was not always the best because I really did not feel I was learning, so I took it for granted. In middle school, I felt as if the teachers were jokes and I felt they did not care about educating me properly. But I'm now starting to learn the value of an education. I now look forward to learning new things every day. I feel that I am beginning to have a passion for learning. I never thought that I would feel this way about learning because I never did appreciate it as I do now. I now actually yearn to learn; I feel that I need to learn new things.

A piece of art that inspires me and which I really like is Van Gogh's work: The Starry Night. Van Gogh, I suggest, was loosely inspired by The Great Wave and it was in his mind when he painted Starry Night. Of course, Starry Night is a product of the artist's unbridled imagination, sparked off by the Provençal landscape and, most importantly, the hours that he would spend looking up at the heavens. Starry Night is one of the most recognized pieces of art in the world. It is absolutely everywhere, too. It can be seen on coffee, mugs, t-shirts, towels, magnets, etc. Honestly, it sometimes feels as if the painting’s fame has exceeded that of its creator. It is a magnificent piece of art. That Starry Night resonates with so many people is a testament to how its beauty is timeless and universal. Notice the brush strokes. For the sky they swirl, each dab of color rolling with the clouds around the stars and moon. On the cypress tree, they bend with the curve of the branches. The whole effect is ethereal and dreamlike. The hills easily roll down into the little village below. In contrast, the town is straight up and down, done with rigid lines that interrupt the flow of the brush strokes. Tiny little trees soften the inflexibility of the town. Bringing nature into the unnaturalness of buildings. One of the biggest points of interest about this painting is that it came entirely from Van Gogh’s imagination. None of the scenery matches the area surrounding Saint Paul or the view from his window. As a man who religiously paints what he sees, it’s a remarkable break from Van Gogh’s normal work. His spirit not only inspired artists but regular people to never give up.

There are books we read without a purpose. We grab them when we want a leisure activity that wouldn’t burden us with dilemmas about the choices we make in life. There are also powerful books that transform something within us. Some authors manage to change the way we understand the world and ourselves. For some people, the inspiration is in the Scriptures, while others prefer modern psychology in the form of “how-to” books. The book that shifted me from the zone of comfort was The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. No matter how many times I go back to it, I always discover the new inspiration that helps me trace my entire life in the direction I believe it is supposed to go. This book makes me seek answers deep within me. The questions Dostoevsky imposes are mostly based on belief and free will, which are both a freedom and a punishment. In my opinion, this writer was one of the greatest researchers of the human soul that ever existed. In The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky gave us the idea of a beautiful, positive person through the character of Father Zosima, opposed against the character of the bitter rationalist Ivan Karamazov. Between these two “absolute” characters, I could recognize a plethora of personalities with their own internal struggles. There is hardly a human characteristic that Dostoevsky did not address in this book. For Nietzsche, this author was the only psychologist from whom he had anything to learn. In psychology, the personality is defined as “the integrated and dynamic organization of the physical, mental, moral, and social qualities of the individual that manifests itself upon others in social life”. Dostoevsky managed to capture different combinations of these factors. Thus, this novel is more than literature to me; it's psychology and philosophy in action.

One of the best investment tips I can give is that when it comes to investing, simple is best. When you buy stock in a company, you’re buying shares – or, literally, a portion of the company. You’re a partner in the company. Would you become a partner in a business that you didn’t understand? What’s simple for one person might be complicated for someone else. Medical doctors might find pharmaceutical companies straightforward but be puzzled by banks. Financial analysts might have the opposite perspective. People who invest in a company without understanding its underlying business open themselves up to a whole new type of risk. They’re not even able to understand how to tell whether or not the company is doing well. Some businesses are too complicated for anyone to understand. The business model of energy services and trading company Enron – one of the largest companies in the U.S. just months before it went bust in 2001 – was complicated enough to impress millions of investors. But Enron wound up being an enormous fraud. Investors who asked themselves if they understood Enron’s operations would have stayed away from the stock. Unfortunately, the finance industry – including brokers, analysts, and bankers – have a vested interest in selling you shares of companies you may not understand. Sounding smart is how they help justify fat fees and commissions. They also count on the customer not feeling comfortable with saying, “I don’t understand.” As an investor, you’re always a prisoner of what’s called “execution risk” Are the managers of the company you own performing? Can they make the business grow? There are plenty of “simple” businesses that go bust… and complicated businesses that deliver strong returns to investors. A business that’s simple to explain isn’t necessarily simple to operate.

Having Autism, I feel in constant conflict with the world, as though life is a play where everyone else has the script but for me. Autism isn't an impairment, but more like a computer with a different operating system. I never let it prevent me from achieving my personal and academic goals. I wanted to be an athlete and musician, and I did. I wanted to perform well in school, and I did. I want to be a pharmacologist, and I will. Following my own social rules, I foster less judgment and more empathy due to a deep understanding that difference doesn't mean undeserving, and that all walks of life have meaning and purpose. I have several ideas and plans on how to avoid college debt, and here are a few of my suggestions that I've come up with: 1. Save your money as early on as possible. Saving my cash before and during college, I can help to repay those loans much more quickly once they become due. I could get a part-time job, have a yard sale or begin a savings account so that I will have extra money to pay off the loans and payments that will quickly accumulate. 2. Take my time, and don’t be in a hurry. While everyone wants to graduate and get a new career as soon as possible, it is important to keep in mind that the longer I am enrolled, the longer I can put off repaying those loans. I may try out part-time school, and work part-time if I can. While this method won’t work for everyone, it can help ease the stress of being a full-time student while allowing me to earn money and get a jump-start on paying back my loans. 3. Get as many scholarships as I can. The difference between loans and scholarships is that I won’t have to pay those scholarships back. There are literally hundreds of different types available, so I should look into these as soon as possible. The more I am awarded, the less money I’ll have to dish out to student loans. Even if I earn a couple of smaller scholarships, every little bit helps to whittle down that student loan balance. 4. Become an intern. A lot of internships are unpaid, but there are also many that do pay. It might not earn me as much as a full-time career, but I will be able to simultaneously earn a paycheck and gain important experience along the way. I should continue to do my homework, and try to find an internship with a local company that offers positions for college students. 5. Get granted a grant. Similar to scholarships, grants do not have to be paid off and can go towards my college education. The government offers several different grants, but I should be sure to pay close attention to the guidelines before applying. Grants are typically given to people who have certain financial difficulties, while scholarships are given to people who have different abilities in things like sports, the arts, writing, or other facets. My financial aid counselor could walk me through the grant application process, and see if I qualify. 6. Avoid tempting credit cards. Credit card companies often prey on college students. I should avoid applying for one if possible, or else I will most likely end up with more debt than just student loans. Credit cards can be great in an emergency, but they can also be very tempting, especially when I want to buy that pizza or go out for a night on the town.

Our family and friends are our biggest inspirations. They help us thrive and survive in this challenging and increasingly stressful world. Since they play such a huge part in our lives on a day-to-day basis, it becomes even more important to keep tending, loving, caring for, swooning on, cherishing as well as doting on them. But how can you make your significant other, sibling, parent, dog, cat, or even yourself feel special? I have a few suggestions: 1. Surprise them with a gift Choose one that truly reflects their personality or the relationship you two have together. Maybe give them one of your favorite books that reminds you of them, or a CD you think they’d like (do people still use CDs?), or put together an amazing Spotify playlist for them. 2. Tell them something you like about them Try to mention something you don’t think they’ve heard before. Like, “I love how you say the word ‘little.’ It’s just so cute,” or, “The way you dance to the theme songs in movies is so charming!” 3. Plan an adventure for just the two of you An excursion around town, an expedition up the highest mountain in your area, or a train trip to a cool destination are all awesome ways to explore and feel adventurous. Pack generous road trip snacks, obviously. 4. Give them your fullest attention Putting away your phone and work when you’re together will make them feel like they’re the top priority. And practice active listening (because what they have to say is important!). 5. Tell them how you feel Simply express to them how much you appreciate them. You don’t have to go on forever (“you’re the coolest person in the history of the entire earth!”), just be sincere (“I think you’re awesome.”).

Things are humming along, and then: A top client calls and say, “We’re switching suppliers, starting next month. I’m afraid your company no longer figures into our plans.” Or three colleagues, all of whom joined the organization around the same time you did, are up for promotion—but you aren’t. Or your team loses another good person in the third round of layoffs; weak markets or no, you still need to make your numbers, but now you’ll have to rely heavily on two of the most uncooperative members of the group. Decades of research in psychology, on topics including hardiness, learned helplessness, coping, and the correlation between cognitive style and health, confirms that each of us has a distinct, consistent pattern of thinking about life’s twists and turns—a pattern of which most of us are largely unaware. It may be an unconscious reflex to look backward from traumatic incidents to explain what just happened. Such analysis can be useful, certainly—but only up to the point where strong negative emotions start to prevent our moving on. People can build high levels of resilience in themselves and their teams by taking charge of how they think about adversity. Resilient managers move quickly from analysis to a plan of action (and reaction). After the onset of adversity, they shift from cause-oriented thinking to response-oriented thinking, and their focus is strictly forward. I've identified four lenses through which managers can view adverse events to make this shift effectively: Control. When a crisis hits, do you look for what you can improve now rather than trying to identify all the factors—even those beyond your control—that caused it in the first place? Impact. Can you sidestep the temptation to find the origins of the problem in yourself or others and focus instead on identifying what positive effects your personal actions might have? Breadth. Do you assume that the underlying cause of the crisis is specific and can be contained, or do you worry that it might cast a long shadow over all aspects of your life? Duration. How long do you believe that the crisis and its repercussions will last? The first two lenses characterize an individual’s (like mine's) personal reaction to adversity, and the second two capture his or her impressions of the adversity’s magnitude. People should consider all four to fully understand their instinctive responses to personal and professional challenges, setbacks, or failures. Most of us go with our gut when something bad happens. Deeply ingrained habits and beliefs sap our energy and keep us from acting constructively. Someone who has marched steadily through a string of successes can easily come to feel like a hero, able to fix any problem single-handedly. A traumatic event can snap that person back to reality. Even for the less heroic among us, adversity can touch off intense bursts of negative emotion—as if a dark cloud had settled behind our eyes, as one manager described it. Whatever my initial reaction, however, the challenge is to turn a negative experience into a productive one—that is, to counter adversity with resilience. Psychological resilience is the capacity to respond quickly and constructively to crises. It’s a central dynamic in most survival stories, such as those of the shell-shocked individuals and organizations that rallied in the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. But resilience can be hard to muster for many reasons: Fear, anger, and confusion can paralyze us after a severe setback. Assigning blame rather than generating solutions is an all-too-human tendency. Worse yet, those to whom we turn for counsel may offer us exactly the wrong kind of advice.

Gratitude is the feeling to be grateful for an act of kindness done to you by someone. Being grateful also means that you should be willing to return the favor in whatever way possible. In the essay below we will go through some of the benefits of gratitude and the ways to practice it. Gratitude has several benefits on your personal as well as social life. I have listed below some of the important benefits of gratitude for your knowledge: 1) Strengthens Relationship Gratitude strengthens your relationship with others. Being thankful is a wonderful feeling and an experience that strengthens the bonds between both parties. It improves the trust factor and the feeling of being respected and acknowledged. 2) Makes You Happy The quality of gratitude also makes you feel happy. When you express gratitude or receive it from someone, in both cases you feel happy for doing something good or for something good that has been done to you. Persons with gratitude are known to have reduced stress. 3) Makes the Society Sensible A society that expresses gratitude for each other is the happiest and sensible society. People are considerate and never leave a chance to be thankful for others. A sensible society is bound to make progress in the right way. 4) Reduces Comparisons and Promote Acknowledgement When you are thankful for others you don’t compare them on the basis of their financial status or other factors. You are just thankful to everyone and appreciate their achievements. In conclusion, gratitude is a wonderful and the most beautiful feeling that strengthens human psychology and society as well. A society where everyone is grateful is the happiest and the loveliest of all. It's a very important quality of humans and is essential when it comes to social recognition and harmony.

For the past 2 and half years, I have been depressed with my life, profession, and everything. It’s quite exhausting. I was in constant sadness, irritation and an irresistible urge to escape. on some days I was able to feel better when I was with close friends but other days I was just worse. I never had the courage to go to some psychologist but at that time it didn’t seem like there was any problem with my life it was just that I was unable to handle it, I was unable to ignore and cope with things. It was like I am trapped within things and I couldn’t escape this trap and no one could have helped me. From here when I try to imagine what was I about 1 year ago, it’s just like a nightmare. Somehow things started to get easy, things that were bigger problems for me, went away. I lost my job, and it was a bad thing but I felt better because life was easy without a job, at least for some days. People who were trouble for me went away. I don’t think that I actually solved my problem but I think I survived it and managed to escape it after so long. Sometimes I think I wasted my years on that problem which I could have easily escaped but I kept trying so hard in a hope that someday I can be something else by facing the problem and solving the problem. I don’t know whether I am a better person or not, or I was correct or not but It was an experience. It’s been several months now and sometimes that feeling comes back but it’s not that constant feeling. It’s like I am not far from that thing. It will take more time. I am no stranger to thinking I know some things. I have thought myself quite brilliant many times. I have had my own self put in my place so repeatedly that the only result of the beatings is a true sense of humility. You don't have to see it; I don't expect that you would. Hardly anyone can see who I really am. Sometimes I've been called a chameleon, a leopard with changing spots, and all the while I shake my head and tell them my life is lived situationally. I cannot tell you what I'd do without absorbing the whole of a situation; it's not possible for me to visualize that much. I was always stuck with problems most people couldn’t fix. For some mysterious reason, people thought I had some sort of sorcery to fix things. It reminds me of a time I went to a Physics teacher for a problem I couldn’t solve. He started out by saying “You need to see the solution before you solve the problem”. At this point, I thought he was high and had been in the office for too long because if I could see the solution then I would not have come to see him. What he meant was I needed to understand what the problem was asking before solving the problem. I applied this approach ever since to every difficult problem. Understand it first, break it down into manageable pieces, then ensure your solution is repeatable. Nothing worse than having to re-invent the wheel. I beat it, and there is not the slightest doubt in my mind about it. No matter which direction it runs or how uneven the ground it runs across, I will always arrive at wherever it's going before it can get there.

Independence means to be resourceful- to be able to adapt to any situation and satisfy your needs with what you have. It is to take responsibility for your actions and be aware of the consequences, be brave, and take the risk of trusting only yourself. Being able to control your own life is power, but it is a weakness too. Independence is not the key to happiness, but the key holder. I believe that in order to be self-sufficient, you need to learn to be flexible and be happy with what you have. Even if you possess nothing, you still can rely on something yourself. I really like how I feel when a challenging situation occurs because then I have the opportunity to test my abilities, such as fast thinking or remaining calm. It is most important for me to choose the best and most realistic option from the ones I have. For example, when I was eight I went to English classes twice a week. I needed to leave, go there and return back to school, but there was nowhere to leave my bag pack and I carried it with me the whole time. I thought out of the box to find a solution, as much as I could at that age, I took all my courage and asked the security officer if I can leave it to him. He willingly accepted. That is how I actually learned that independence is to respect and take care of myself. Independence is a hidden treasure in and when you find it, you are responsible and resourceful. This gives you the chance to have a healthy relationship with people, put and get trust. Independence is to be proud of yourself, but also proud enough to admit that you need others too.

My few years on this planet have been a bit confusing. I have learned of many aspects of life from which one can draw meaning if indeed such meaning can be drawn. I have also learned that there can be no singular meaning of life to stand for us all, or even any one of us. What I have learned above all is that trying to put words to the meaning of life is a task of absolute absurdity. This is not to be confused with the idea that life has no meaning, for life certainly has meaning. However, there is no single meaning of life to be defined - life is different for us all. Therefore, rather than define life for an entire planet, I shall try to explain what life means as I perceive it. At the time, this event seemed rather insignificant and did not merit remembrance. However, its catastrophic effects on my attitude that evening may have helped to mold me into the person I have become. I learned that suffering through such an event, as childish as it was, is quite necessary for any life. Such pains are part of an interminable cycle and only generate balance in one's life (p. 62, 'Life as Suffering'). Despite my horrid time spent that evening, the laughter brought since the incident is a worthy tradeoff. Laughter is an all too necessary function of life, just as suffering and the wide range of other emotions. "Some thinkers would emphasize the importance of sophistication in humor, but others would say that laughter itself is what is important." Whatever the case may be, laughter is an important ingredient in life. Life is a complicated twist of suffering, laughing, and learning all merging to tell a great story - or many stories.

I'm committed because being selfless helps us act from our heart and soul instead of our ego, tapping into our true desired feelings. It’s no secret that change is hard. But imagine if you knew that there was one trait you can work on, which would cause so many of life’s struggles and difficulties to slowly disappear. It would make you a happier person, it would give your life more meaning and it would enhance your relationships with the people closest to you; you would become a more sensitive spouse, a more caring parent, and a more giving person. Nevertheless, as important as it is to lead a life of selflessness, to so many it’s nothing but a theory. You can learn about it, think about it, and even preach it, but when somebody cuts you off on the highway, you don’t feel very selfless. Our nature doesn’t allow us to feel that way. Instead, we think to ourselves, “I don’t care to be selfless. I’m not ready to inconvenience myself for another. Even if it makes sense to me, I’m not willing to give up my own comforts for someone else’s sake.” These thoughts are very natural. People are inclined to do things from which they benefit; they’ll do things once they see what’s in it for them. Being selfless will make you a better parent. Sometimes we’re too caught up in ourselves that we don’t do what’s best for our child. We may think, “What if sending my child to the school which is best for him, is one that will hurt my family’s reputation?” If you can put yourself aside and fill the needs of your child, eventually you’ll feel good about your decision, since every parent ultimately wants the very best for their child.

We live in a world that constantly tells us what to do, how to act, what to be. Knowing how to be true to yourself and live the life you want can be a challenge. When someone asks how we are, we assume that the person does not mean the question sincerely, for it would lead to an in-depth conversation. So telling them that you are good or fine, even if you’re not, is the usual answer. In an ideal world, we would stop and truly listen. We wouldn’t be afraid to be ourselves. Instead, when we answer about how we are doing, our mask, the persona we show the world, tightens. Sometimes even more so than it might have been before. Eventually, it becomes hard to take off, even when you’re alone. I stay true to myself in my daily life by embracing my vulnerability, choosing my attitude in adversity, and doing what makes me happy when no one's looking. When you are your true self, you can better self-advocate or stand up for what you need. Your self-expression matters, and you should value your voice. It’s okay to need things, it’s okay to speak up, and it’s okay not to be okay. You can take control of your destiny and live the life you want by staying true to yourself. You can start anytime. You can start today. Being the best version of you has nothing to do with your success or your status. It has everything to do with your character, what you do when no one’s looking. By being yourself, you are being brave. By acknowledging all you can be, you tell the universe that you can until you believe it too. The steps are easy, and you are worth it.

I will tell you of two men from the 19th century who was extremely admirable. Neither of them was hypocritical slave-owners either (it is so easy to realize an ‘evil’ is being committed but quite another to actively counter it). 1. Frederick Douglass (not to be confused with his contemporary Sen. Stephen Douglas): Wrote an autobiography about his life as a slave in order to bolster the abolitionist movement in America. Douglass was quite an amazing figure for the 19th century because he was a literate former slave and a truly gifted orator who helped to convince otherwise neutral folks of black slaves’ worth as human beings. He may have been an extraordinary former slave but his intelligence was instrumental in winning over many white people’s sympathy. Famously, Douglass met with Abraham Lincoln in 1863 and was able to receive some civil-rights concessions relating to black U.S. soldiers. Frederick Douglass did not work just for the benefit of himself, he also supported the rights of women. 2. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): Mark Twain today is mostly known for his classic American fiction like Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer but Twain was also a witty satirist and possessed a unique amount of insight for a man raised into his circumstance. Twain was born and raised in Missouri, a slave-holding state which lent its name to the infamous “Missouri Compromise”. Because of the time and the place Mark Twain ended up joining the Confederacy during the Civil War. However, unlike most of his compatriots, Twain ended his stint as a Confederate militiaman after only a few weeks. Twain went on to write in favor of the abolition of slavery and, compared to contemporary authors, his depictions of black characters in books were quite humanizing.

Hard times always come. But there are things we can do to make them a little more bearable. Whether you see life as a roller coaster or a box of chocolates, we can all agree that while it has its beautiful moments, there are times when hope seems far away. It’s during those challenging moments when we should be open to more opportunities for change and refinement. I have stayed optimistic through tough times by saying "for" instead of "to", keeping a gratitude journal, treating myself, keeping an open mind and perspective, surrounding myself with loved ones, allowing myself to have bad days, making a list of the things I can manage, spending time in nature, and adding positivity to someone else's life. So many of our lives have shifted dramatically as a result of the coronavirus, it is hard to maintain a positive outlook when it seems like there is little to feel optimistic about. So how do we stay optimistic about our lives, our country, and the world when there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that supports the contrary? Research tells us that life tends to be more manageable for optimists. Optimists experience increased physical, mental, and emotional health benefits. They manage stress better and demonstrate resilience and strength during illness and life stressors. At work, optimism has been linked to overall work happiness, increased motivation, improved task orientation, and better problem-solving. Thus, being optimistic is good for you – personally and professionally. I believe in order for us to stay optimistic during tough times, we must be proactive about who we look to for hope, how we explain adversity to ourselves, and whom we interact with. Tough times don't last. Tough people do. Most of us are tougher than we think.

Music is a wonderful thing. The right or motivational songs can give you a good kick in the rear. The inspiring lyrics can provide a quick pick me up to motivate me to accomplish my goals. And sometimes it would just remind you to appreciate the beauty of the world that we live in and provide that little lift that we occasionally need. “What doesn’t kill you makes a fighter”. This song, performed by American Idol Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson helps you to evaluate your life when something hasn’t gone your way. Learn from it and come back fighting so that you can reach the next level. “What Doesn’t Kill You” is an empowerment song. It kicks off with a shimmering synth riff, then launches into an upbeat dance-pop number, complete with guitars and electronic drums.“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller, doesn’t mean I’m lonely when I’m alone,” KC sings on the chorus. This song is a buoyant hover between pop-rock, R&B, and Nashville-styled music genres. This song is not only poetic in its lyrics, it is also inspiring during this global pandemic when things seem like they’ve hit rock bottom. One thing that really stands out about the line "Thanks to you I'm finally thinking about me You know in the end the day you left was just my beginning" is the antithesis. Using “end” and “beginning” is an important contrast and it shows that although it may have been the end of a relationship for Kelly, it was only the beginning of the rest of her life where she can really focus on herself. This really applies to us seniors because even though our senior year ended all too soon, it is really only the beginning of our lives.

The only legacy I would like to leave behind is that my time on this planet stood for and pointed to an ideal I cared about. The effects of what happens after I'm gone are impossible to quantify, but against the possibility of absurdity, paradoxically it would be nice to have stood for an ideal. It could be giving time and extra energy in your medical practice to save more patients since your ideal is seeing more people alive and happy. It could also be running ultramarathons for fallen soldiers at risk to your body because you believe those men who served in the war are the bravest who existed. My ideal simply stands as this: an objective scientific understanding of the universe. I can't sleep knowing how little we know about it, feeling the void of the unknown extend trillions of light-years in every direction. This is why I am studying chemistry with the intention of pursuing theoretical and computational research. But I don't pretend to assume it will necessarily matter in the end. It's just moving a grain of sand in that direction on a beach with billions of other grains of sand. As long as I care about it and find freedom in it, I enjoy it as well as respect it enough to give my life to it. Beyond that, my legacy will just be my years on Earth, destined to be forgotten, but hopefully lived happily and contented.

I read a beautiful quote in a book by Dr. Deepak Chopra, “We don't grow old; when we stop growing we become old.” I want to grow every single day because I don’t want to grow old. I don’t like old people who keep telling their glory days of the past, curse the present, and remain pessimistic about the future. I always dream of a better future for myself and for the world. I have a million dreams for my future and I am determined to realize all of them with great love, joy, and hard work. I don’t compare with anyone. I simply want to be better than what I was yesterday. I want to improve myself every single day. My desire is to always remain young, energetic, productive, and cheerful by choosing growth. One of my old teachers used to say, ‘Rest is rust.’ The more you work, the sharper your mind becomes. I don’t want to die before I die, and I wish to live every moment of my life to the fullest till I am alive. How beautifully Benjamin Franklin said, “Many people die at twenty-five and aren't buried until they are seventy-five”. Why die young when you have the option to live a great life till your last breath? Even I feel the same. However, I feel that my social circle including my family drag me into meaningless social traditions and waste my precious time. Sometimes, I wish I could leave them all. One day, I shall do that, for sure. This is very helpful to the people who had previously faced failures like me. I want to forget my past and I am still trying.

The phone rang at 1:40 AM. “Hello?” I answered in a sleepy voice. “Mr. Quintanilla?” said the man on the phone. “Who is this? How can I help you?” “This is the sheriff from the local police station. I am notifying you that your building is on fire.” “What a bad joke!” I hung up the phone and went back to sleep. Two minutes later… RING! “Please, stop bothering!” I said. “Do not hang up, Sir, this is the Sheriff's office. One of your tenant’s cars at your building is on fire. Your building is at risk. The fire station has been notified.” I drove to the building as fast as I could. The fire was contained before it got to the building. It was a disaster. Two cars were consumed by the flames and the parking area was devastated. After the fire was out, the Policemen circled the area with yellow tape waiting for the detectives to determine what had happened. One day went by. We couldn't remove the cars or start the restoration process. Two days… no detectives. I visited the police station, “You've got to file a report,” the lady instructed. Done. Three days… nothing. Four days… Again, I visited the Police station, but nobody would take care of the case. Five days… another day lost. I was furious! “No way, Adrian! This is not acceptable. Please help me any way you can. I don’t want to pay bribes to further feed our corrupt people. They must do their job!” This was the incident that caused me to change how I see the world: Public servants leverage their authority to abuse citizens instead of taking care of them. This made me understand that there may be things I want to change in the world, but I can't.

Joy, to me, is the feeling that we all seek in life. We probably all remember feelings of joy from our childhood or on certain special occasions. It is a feeling that seems to get farther away from us as we grow older and have less time for play. Even now, we can see joy when we watch young children play. We also see the joy on the faces of religious or spiritual people who seem to understand and love life at a level we cannot even see. Joy is something that we all can sense but is very hard to describe. Joy reveals as a physical sensation inside the body. However, it also affects the mental side of a person. The individual expression of the emotion may include various appearances besides the laugh or smile. For example, a person can jump, happily scream or laugh uncontrollably. All these displays involve both mental and physical aspects. Referring to the physical aspect, the happy hormones secreted by the brain produce a particular reaction inside the body, thus making the person feel happy. A mental appearance of joy creates a distinct feeling that stimulates the person to continue the current action or to be engaged in different events. The sense of joy provides confidence about personal capabilities, strengths, and advantages. A few examples of how I seek out joy in my life include throwing a Frisbee with my dog, dancing, hiking, looking at beautiful art, enjoying a concert, or making love. Play and other activities that don't have a purpose other than helping us feel relaxed and happy keep our mind focused on the present. The present is where joy lives. When we feel joy, we feel great about ourselves. We feel confident, powerful, capable, lovable, and fulfilled.

Having Autism, I feel in constant conflict with the world, as though life is a play where everyone else has the script but for me. Instead of embracing my neurodiversity, a cluster of behavioral therapists were hired to conform me to societal norms. The therapeutic methods implied that my natural communication would only bring the worst out of social interaction, including ostracism and manipulation. Society wasn't built for people like me, and I can't thrive without leaving my comfort zone. Though consumed by social anxiety, I knew I couldn't let it continue to imprison me. Taking a leap of faith, I sent my resume to a local boba shop down the street. A few days later, they called me in for an interview. In the morning of what felt like an impending apocalypse, I sat among thirty other candidates, waiting to be interviewed. My stomach wrenched, my knees locked under my chair, and my heartbeat sounded like gunshots. My mind swarmed with questions and screamed insecurities: Why can't I understand what other people think? Why do I have to communicate verbally to get by in the world? When the manager called my name, I took a deep breath and stood up. I couldn't let my fear of failure stand in my way any longer. Before I knew it, the interview was over. My mind went blank. The manager stood up and shook my hand, the crinkles of his eyes tightening from what appeared to be a smile under his face mask. I had gotten the job. I felt as if I had ridden a roller coaster, except this roller coaster didn't endanger me, and I could ride it. This was the exposure therapy that I needed and longed for, teaching me more than 14 years of behavioral therapy ever has.

One of the few organizations that I served for my community was the National Honor Society (NHS). I committed 5 hours per week and 25 weeks per year for this service. The reason NHS exists today is that it elevates students' and schools' academics, leadership, and community engagement. It helps the local community by creating enthusiasm for scholarship, stimulating a desire to render service & promoting leadership. As an NHS student, I volunteered in my community and helped in different projects, like marathons, food drives, online fundraisers, and more. In my work, I have demonstrated respect, responsibility, trustworthiness & integrity. It's a great way to get involved & have fun too. In order to maintain the membership, I have to keep up with good grades. So far for NHS, I have done the following community service activities: Washed cars to raise funds for the Folsom Community (2021); Worked on a Tree Planting Project (2021); Made front and back crewneck designs for the club merchandise (2021); Donated socks, toys, and chocolates for the Favors for Foster Kids Drive w/ Lilliput Families at Vista del Lago High School (2021); and Donated toothpaste and toothbrushes for Folsom Senior Care Baskets (2021). The NHS is a great organization that makes it possible to take care of kids, non-profit organizations, and aged people. The best part is that students do that. I am so glad to be a member of my school's organization of this because I want to help people and learn more about this world. I know the organization has unlimited opportunities and being its member enables me to develop my professional and academic skills in social services. It’s a privilege that my tutors and other leaders chose me to become an NHS member, and I’m very happy because they recognized my dedication and willingness to contribute to the community. I’ll keep serving the community to change the world. I strive to succeed in everything, including typing, writing academic papers, playing sports, playing music, passing my exams, and gaining a deeper understanding of actual information. That’s because I have the determination to excel. There are many activities that interest me. I also want to accomplish life goals by earning the respect of other people around me because it’s an important element. I have many personal goals, both short-term and long-term. They all deal with pursuing excellence in different fields. I realize that it’s possible to accomplish all of these goals with enough determination for success and a strong character. I also understand that life will throw many obstacles and challenges in my path of achieving these goals, and I feel I am ready to push through them all. I know my weak and strong sides. I keep using them to achieve important goals. I have strengths in listening, observing, being patient, understanding, using my creativity, leading other people, and these are only a few of my positive characteristics. I lead other people well due to my ability to analyze and understand their unique situations and be patient with them. I can evaluate and learn their weaknesses and strengths, such as willingness to work, and I take them into account when making my decisions. Being a good leader means being a good servant. I will always follow others regardless of my position of power. I realize the amount of studying necessary to get into a prestigious college that fits my professional and personal interests. I can excel in different areas of interest in my high school, and I will retain my personal strengths and keep improving them for the rest of my life.

Courage is defined as, the ability to do something that frightens one. Something that is outside your comfort, that is hard for you to do. You must be brave and daring or in other words fearlessness. The action of courage can not only affect yourself but also the people you surround yourself with. These people are the people that show who you are and what you do. Life should be lived like you just want to enjoy everything you do. This can only be done by living day by day courageously. As people live courageous lives daily then they will be able to have happiness, love, and success. When one has courage they have to ability to make themselves happy, not only themselves but also those around them. Courage can help people speak to one another to help build relationships, some of these relationships can be stuck with you forever. As someone comes out of their comfort zone then they are able to understand what it is like to live a better life. With courage there comes happiness and love. Therefore as people live their lives with happiness and love then they will be able to enjoy what they are doing and who they are. With these attributes then people will be able to understand that success does not always come easy. Everyone must be going uphill before they can find the downhill. Sports-wise, you need to work hard and put all of your might into that one activity for one time. But every athlete knows that after a while then they will be able to be successful and see what all of those long hard nights and mornings were for. Whereas in life you might have to struggle with family issues or even friend issues.

In the contemporary world, there are many careers and courses to choose from especially in the pharmaceutical field. Many people only know this field to consist of pharmacists. However, it also contains pharmaceutical technicians. While the roles of pharmacy technicians have been perceived to be behind the scenes, the actual duties consist of more than counting, mixing, as well as preparing sterile preparations. Other roles performed by pharmacy technicians also include customer service, as well as clerical duties. Over the years, the role of this field has kept evolving from typical daily routines in the pharmacies to other critical functions that include management and even procurement. The area of pharmacy technicians is projected to grow by 20% in the next ten years, providing many job opportunities. As a young person, I'll pursue this career not only because of the possible employment and salaries, but also the role it plays in society. My dream about being a pharmacist started when I was in high school, the enthusiasm I have for both chemistry and cancer research combined with the amazement by the human body magnificence encouraged me to think about taking the first step in this path and pursue my undergraduate degree in Science of Pharmacy. I have always enjoyed sciences through my education; I enjoyed learning about every aspect of pharmacy during my undergraduate studies because I am so passionate about it. In chemistry I mostly was entertained when I learned about drug delivery systems, physical pharmacy, analytical chemistry, and pharmacokinetics, while in biology; I loved physiology, pharmacology, nutrition, and pharmacotherapy. I believe those subjects helped me understand the big picture of pharmacy; how specific parts of molecules and medicines affect certain organs, how we can improve them how a small change can have a huge impact on the entire body.

Growing up consisted of not limiting my challenges, but challenging my limits. My entire life, everyone insisted that I was normal. However, I spent after-school hours in speech, vision, physical, and occupational therapy instead of going to a friend’s house. Coming in and out of my house 40 hours a week were “tutors,” who told me “try again” whenever I made a mistake until I could do what they asked. My parents had to fight for me to learn in a mainstream classroom like other children my age and, once I was able to do so, an aide was still responsible for me. My family thought that now that I knew why I was different, I would be devastated by this label and use it as a reason why I wouldn’t be capable of something. I was relieved to know that there was a reason that I felt in conflict with the world, and why I constantly felt like I was in a play of life where everyone else had the script except me. Autism has actually gifted me with extreme dedication, focus, and passion. Autism has also given me a top-notch memory, visualization skills, the ability to be extremely detail-oriented, and high integrity. Despite having grown so much compared to where I’ve started, my hard work doesn’t end here. Reading articles such as “Kid With Autism Now Works at Car Wash Like a Normal Person” does not motivate or inspire me. I’ve proven repeatedly that I am not a statistic, and neither is anyone else. I never let my condition prevent me from achieving my personal and academic goals. I wanted to be an athlete and musician, and I did. I wanted to perform well in school, and I did. I want to be a pharmacist, and I will.

Several things fuel my life, and here are some examples: 1. Spending time with that "friend" sucks the life out of you because you feel bad for him or her. 2. Staying at the job that makes you feel like "Mr. Anderson" in my favorite movie "The Matrix" and will ultimately turn you into a member of the walking dead. 3. Staying in a relationship because it's the "right thing to do" and his or her parents really like yours. 4. Keeping an art/craft/building project around that you know deep inside you will never want to finish because you don't think it fits with who you are/were anymore. 5. Staying in a profession or job because that's the field you got into and you've never done anything else. Notice that whether you like it or not does seem to matter here? 6. Going on a vacation that you don't really want to go on because your friend really wants to go and you don't want to disappoint him or her. 7. Staying in a sports league or volunteer organization because you think your position or skills will be tough for them to replace, not because you want to be there. I often struggle with pulling the plug on a job/obligation, but I'm definitely getting better at it. A big reason for the improvement is that I find that everyone affected by my decision to move on is usually better off in the end. Everyone gets a chance to find a better fit. Now, I'm not going to say I haven't made some mistakes along the way, but the "could haves", "should haves", "would haves" that come with always staying the course are tougher to live within the long run. Only time will tell how successful I will have been.

I make sure to treat others with empathy by putting myself in the person's shoes, showing care and concern, acknowledging the person's feelings, asking questions, mirroring their actions, not running ahead of the conversation, making sure to not judge at all, and showing emotional support. Recently I was sharing a problem with a good friend over text. Not only did he respond right away, which I didn’t expect because it was late his time (he lives in a different timezone), but he was very thoughtful in his reply. Some things he did that made me feel better: He didn’t assume, but asked questions to understand my situation. He didn’t judge but understood things from my perspective. He considered the situation from various angles. He gave me helpful suggestions on what could work. He sought to share my feelings, which were unhappiness, hurt, and frustration, rather than dismiss or brush them away, which I find common when I share my problems with other friends. When you are empathetic toward others, you help them feel better about themselves. You strengthen your relationship with the person, because when you seek to share the feelings of the other, you allow thoughts and emotions to flow between the both of you. It goes without saying that being empathetic is an important skill. I have shared personal problems with friends before but got replies that made me feel worse and made me deeply regret sharing my problem. I have also made casual remarks that people would pick up, which later turned into heartfelt conversations, like with my good friend above. Having the ability to put yourself in others’ shoes, and to relate and understand where they are coming from, even if you have not been in the situation before.

My hobby is traveling. Not for such a long time in my life I have had to travel quite a lot. Why do I like this kind of activity? Well, this question is both simple and complex, as a hobby in the life of every human being arises from specific life circumstances. Traveling is a hobby of mine for a number of reasons. Firstly, when traveling, you can learn a lot. When people live in one place and is engaged in all the time the same business, he too gets used to his life, to what surrounds them. He begins to think that somehow did not happen. During the trip, you can dispel this belief. When a person travels, he sees other people’s lives and begins to understand their philosophy. This expands the world of the man himself, forcing him to look at the world through different eyes and become spiritually richer. Secondly, the trip to help check their own forces, and are a kind of test for the human. For example, it's no secret that during some traveling man faces some domestic problems, which can be difficult to overcome. Third, after travel, I always feel that I do not live in vain. It seems to me that the more places in the world I will visit, the more I live and fulfilling. However, I am aware that this is more of my personal and subjective. I never chose a hobby and did not aspire, to pick up in his capacity as something popular or widespread. It so happened that travel is a hobby for many people. I take this absolutely calm and understanding. I know how to enjoy their hobby and enjoy life as a whole, and I am convinced that it is right. So writing is a hobby.

Confidence to me is the guts that one has to approach situations that are unfamiliar without doubting themselves. It could be the first step towards asking a girl or a boy out, or it could be taking a step in one 's career towards a direction with uncertain consequences. The definition of confidence is how strongly you believe in your ability to achieve goals in every aspect. Being confident is so important because athletes have all of the ability in the world to perform well, but if they don't believe you have that ability, then they won't perform up to their ability. Self-confidence is an attitude about your skills and abilities. It means you accept and trust yourself and have a sense of control in your life. You know your strengths and weakness well, and have a positive view of yourself. People with low self-confidence often have errors in their thinking. I'm working on being more confident in myself by staying focused, identifying my strengths and capitalizing on them, identifying weaknesses and working on them, believing in myself, closely monitoring my successes, knowing that my confidence may be threatened at times, seeking encouragement from others, and challenging myself. Having a healthy level of self-confidence can help you become successful in your personal and professional life. It can play a role in your motivation to pursue goals and affect how you present yourself to other people. Research has found, for example, that people who are more confident tend to be more academically successful. Improving your self-confidence can have a range of positive effects on your life. In addition to helping you feel better about yourself and your abilities, it can make your relationships stronger and you resilient to stress. Learning how to act confident can actually help you feel more confident.

The first time I had picked up a guitar was when I was 8 years of age. After listening to more and more guitar in the world my interest sprouted enough for me to walk up to my parents and say, “Mom, Dad, I want to play the guitar!” They liked the idea of me taking an interest in music, so within the week my dad took me to the only small music shop around the neighborhood. Of course, back then I didn’t understand much about what makes a good guitar just that, but I didn’t care I finally had a guitar! And then it hit me, I had an instrument, granted that instrument was now a pile of dust in my room it was an instrument. So I hoped up and waltz my way up to the familiar blue and orange walled safe zone I called a bedroom. I looked at the guitar and with a smile on my face though, “Let’s try this again.” I started playing more and more through the days I had it, but no matter how much I practiced I just wasn’t getting anywhere with playing. After realizing this, my parents decided it was time for me to get some guitar lessons. With a quick search, we found a local teacher who would hopefully show me where to go. Of course, I had no patience and just wanted to start rocking out riffs left and right. Sadly it wasn’t that simple. Contradicting my previous statement, I had an idea of what I wanted to learn, but as with many things, they never go as planned. From then on out I slowly started getting back into it; I practiced more and more, this time progressing slightly quicker than last time.

These days, if you’re a leader of any type, you can’t simply order people around and expect them to do what you want. They may follow your directions if you are watching, but once they’re left on their own they’ll go back to doing what they think is important. Leaders today, more than ever before, have to win people’s cooperation. And there are two main ways of doing so: motivation and inspiration. Although the two words are often used interchangeably, they actually mean quite different things – depending on what you want to achieve. Motivation is about moving people to act in a way that achieves a specific and immediate goal. When you’re motivating people to do something they may not necessarily want to do, you have to offer them something they want in return. I encourage those around me by listening, asking open-ended questions, asking about what the first step will be, dreaming, asking how I can help, and following up. The best way to motivate others is to start by listening to what they want to do. Open-ended questions are the best way to figure out what someone’s dreams are. People are so scared they will fail or look stupid, many never try to reach their goals, so this is where you come in. You must encourage them. After you’ve encouraged them, find how they will start. If they don’t know, you can make suggestions. By allowing others to dream, you solidify the motivation in place and connect their dreams to a future reality. Most of the time, others won’t need anything from you, but it’s always good to offer. Just letting the person know you’re there will help motivate them to start. Periodically, over the course of the next year, ask them how their goal is going.

Relaxation is something that most people in the world do not get to have very often. When I get the chance to relax, there are three things that I enjoy doing to calm myself down: Listening to soft music, pampering myself, and sleeping are my three favorite things to do. Although some people prefer exercising to relieve themselves of stress, I find that relaxing is a great way to rid myself of a stressful day. Playing a slow song after a hard day of classes or work is a regular activity for me. This way I can sing at my leisure and not have to worry about anyone correcting me or caring if I am off-tone with the song. Lyrics to a song are also important to me if I want to relax. I can not fully lie back and feel at peace with myself if I am hearing lyrics that are full of dirty language and bad words. In order for me to relax, I need to play the music softly because otherwise the words overpower my thoughts, and drain out any knowledge that I'm trying to keep within myself or release from myself. I take care of my mental health by talking about my feelings, keeping active, eating well, drinking sensibly, keeping in touch with others, asking for help, taking a break, and doing something that I'm good at. It’s important to take care of yourself and get the most from life. In addition to what I mentioned above, I also accept myself for who I am and take special care of others. Feeling good about yourself boosts my confidence to learn new skills, visit new places and make new friends. Caring for others is often an important part of keeping up relationships with people close to me.

First, Traveling all about the world is definitely our goal since I have been little. When you travel to other countries in addition to seeing the amazing elegance of sunsets overseas, rain forests, waterfalls, a person realize the world will be full of more beauty than you are able of seeing in your lifetime. Not seeing this when I was younger, I actually would have less desire to venture out there when I’m older in addition to having a job and loved one's constraints in play. I would have less of a desire to put the effort into taking the time to travel. Secondly, performing a form deed without expecting anything in return, has usually touched my heart. I used to notice people at the visitors' lights asking for funds, food, coats anything they could ask for. The homeless person right now has food to take in, thanks to the amazing advantages of these generous people. The particular person who is the recipient of a good action or random act associated with kindness has gotten some help. Besides getting food, he likewise received the message which he is important and worth supporting. This good deed warms his heart as well as fills his abdomen. Finally, I would like to be the one who came, the one who saw, not the one who wished they had. I want to see everything my eyes can take, and I want to learn every language my brain can hold. On this seemingly endless trip, I would most likely look forward to New York and Japan the most. The Japanese culture has always interested me and learning its language and culture in Japan would be a great feat for me. I want to experience all the cultures, speak all the languages, and see everything.

In the last five years, equality and diversity have come under the spotlight more consciously and actively than ever before. The high-profile reporting on gender pay gaps, the MeToo movement, increased participation in LGBTQ Pride by companies, and the wider community, and more recently, the Black Lives Matter movement all play a major part in this. These events have encouraged forward-thinking companies to implement equality and diversity programs in the workplace. Embracing diversity at work helps create an inclusive culture. It encourages staff loyalty and shows commitment to good business ethics. From compliance to leadership, we offer practical solutions on how to promote equality and diversity in the workplace. However, we know that workplace discrimination is still a major concern. In order to achieve equality, diversity, and inclusion in your workplace, you first need to assess the current organizational behaviors, the behaviors you would like to encourage, and act - identify what needs to be done to achieve them. The benefits of having a culture where behaviors support equality, diversity, and inclusion, are well-publicized, and something that we will cover in this article, but if you are aware your business needs to improve in this area, this resource will be a good starting point. To support equality and diversity, I do the following actions: - Treating all staff and suppliers fairly - Creating an inclusive culture for all staff and suppliers - Ensuring equal access to opportunities to enable students to fully participate in the learning process - Enabling all staff and supporting them to develop to their full potential - Equipping staff with the skills to challenge inequality and discrimination in their work environment - Making certain that any materials do not discriminate against any individuals or groups - Ensuring policies, procedures and processes don’t discriminate

Having Autism, I feel in constant conflict with the world, as though life is a play where everyone else has the script but for me. Instead of embracing my neurodiversity, a cluster of behavioral therapists were hired to conform me to societal norms. Though successful, these 40-hour weekly pieces of training left me panicked; the therapeutic methods implied that my natural communication would only bring the worst out of social interaction, including ostracism and manipulation. I would like to emphasize that my mentioning that I am on the Autism Spectrum is not a reflection of weakness, but rather a strength that would highly benefit both staff and students at any college or university campus. Autism has gifted me with being able to stay extremely dedicated, focused, and passionate regarding my interests; from winning my school's geography bee to playing the guitar and ukelele to getting a fourth-degree black belt to being a track athlete, I always love what I do. Autism has also given me a top-notch memory, visual thinking skills, the ability to be oriented towards fine details, and high integrity. Following my own social rules, I foster less judgment and more empathy due to a deep understanding that difference doesn't mean undeserving, and that all walks of life have meaning and purpose. Seeing news articles such as "Kid With Autism Now Works At a Car Wash Like a Normal Person" or statistics such as "more than 70 percent of young adults with Autism go to college after high school" do not motivate or inspire me. What inspires me most is to do much more than the "normal person" and consistently contribute to the advancement of our society, which is what our world wants all of its students to achieve. Autism isn't an impairment, but more like a computer with a different operating system. I never let it prevent me from achieving my personal and academic goals. I wanted to be an athlete and musician, and I did. I wanted to perform well in school, and I did. I want to be a pharmacologist, and I will. This scholarship would gain someone like me that would sacrifice whatever it takes to contribute new ways that remediate suffering, inequities, and injustice, to meet the rapidly changing needs of humanity. Through my future mental health career, I plan to make a positive impact on the world by staying positive, practicing gratitude, taking care of my physical health, connecting with others, developing a sense of meaning and purpose in life, developing coping skills, doing meditation, and using relaxation techniques. Americans are more stressed today than ever before, according to recent studies. There are a number of things that contribute to the lower sense of well-being experienced by adults in the U.S. The Stress in America Report from the American Psychology Association (APA) revealed that health care, politics, and mass shootings are becoming major sources of trauma for Americans. I've read studies that show how one in four adults suffers from mental illness in any given year. While that is a sobering fact, the even more frightening issue is that there simply aren’t enough mental health resources to go around – meaning those who need help often fail to get it. While worry and anxiety are nothing new, unique shifts in technology and the ways we interact with and relate to the world around us have had a psychological impact. Establishing a routine that supports your psychological well-being can make all the difference in the world. Discover some straightforward ways to put yourself first and take charge of your personal wellness.

I had to literally break both of my arms to earn my fourth-degree black belt. For a long time, I couldn't practice at a regular Taekwondo like other kids. Being labeled as having Autism and having poor motor skills deterred them from accepting me, and I was only welcome to a special needs dojo an hour away from home. After I mastered most of the basic skills that were taught there, I told my instructor that I wanted to transfer to Taekwondo classes for neurotypical individuals. He was unconvinced. Feeling defiant, I urged him to let me prove myself. Frustrated at my persistence, he pointed towards two tall hurdles at the end of the room: "Go ahead. Show me that you can do it." Awkwardly running, my skinny, wobbly legs thrust me upwards as I leaped over the hurdle. Crashing to the floor, my right arm snapped, and I shrieked in torment. Before anyone could rush to help, I propelled myself off the ground, quickly stumbling to the next hurdle, jumping over it before collapsing. When I landed, my left arm crunched. In tears, grasping my weak torso, panting "I did it," I laughed victoriously before being driven to the ER. Many assume that the best would always be a neurotypical person's average, but I've proven without fail that I am not a statistic. Even if it means breaking two arms, I am willing to make every effort possible to keep growing. Autism isn't an impairment, but more like a computer with a different operating system. I never let it prevent me from achieving my personal and academic goals. I wanted to be an athlete and musician, and I did. I wanted to perform well in school, and I did. I want to be a pharmacologist, and I will.

Technological innovations are enabling healthcare providers to advance and enhance the medical industry at an alarming pace. And it’s not just fast. In addition, it’s efficient. Some technologies allow doctors to diagnose illnesses with 100% accuracy. By means of science and technology, researchers are building new innovations that are expanding and transforming health care. Here's what I'm excited about in terms of upcoming tech advancements: 1. Cancer Metastasis: Professors from IITB BSBE have got some exciting results on the mystery of cancer spreading out in other body parts after initiation. The technology aims at redesigning human antibodies to fight metastasis. Once it is out in the market the cancer treatments will be way cheap and the probability of human survival will increase drastically. 2. Insulin for diabetes in tablet form: Presently diabetic patients intake insulin by injection which is very cumbersome. Some patients have to take insulin at least thrice a day. This increases the vulnerability of skin infection at the injecting point and also it is painful. Many patients have a phobia of injections which results in ignorance of regular dosages. There are companies and also academicians who are working on converting insulin into tablet form. The technology is in the development stage. 3. Tuberculosis drug delivery by genomics and AI: Presently there are viral strains that are resistant to multiple drugs. They call it MDR TB, which is prevalent in most patients. Doctors have to try multiple drugs before they find the right drug to administer, in meantime, the patient passes it to almost 21 healthy people. The study conducted by academicians in IITB has found a novel way of learning the right drug delivery to patients. They are combining genomics with AI to fight TB. 4. Enhanced Software and Electronic Health Records. EHRs are the subject of much debate. Some researchers argue that EHRs are a pivotal development in the enhancement of the health care system. Nevertheless, many care providers find that current EHR systems are awkward to utilize, resulting in the slow adoption of the technology. Doctors that do utilize the technology spend a great deal of their time performing repetitive tasks. Still, researchers hope that AI technology will shortly automate recordkeeping by improving on existing innovations such as voice recognition. 5. Improved Cancer Recovery Sources. Genomic sequencing has enabled researchers to discover hundreds of cancer-related aberrations, and they expect to discover more. Utilizing this same methodology, researchers are also developing genomic-based medicines for other diseases. Additionally, genomics developments have affected the health care legislative process, with the FDA giving expedited approval of a genomic technology that doctors can now use regardless of where growth is located. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) performed an evaluation in parallel with the FDA to make this unprecedented decision possible. For the first time, the FDA approved a single test for the diagnosis of each solid tumor. Legislators recognized genomics worth as a source that is effective for identifying treatment options with a high probability of success.

1. California Scholarship Federation (CSF): Throughout high school, I've kept up with the academic and volunteer hour qualifications to be a CSF member. In 2019, I took part in the organization and set-up for both the annual Easter Egg Hunt at my community park and the Vista del Lago High School International Night. During 2020-2021, I helped with several online club fundraisers and raffles. 2. Charles Dental Group (dental office): Among my various responsibilities, I sanitized all dental rooms and participated in organizational tasks, such as stocking dental supplies and inputting client data. Between patients, I helped set up operatories for the next appointments and sterilized instruments. This helped ensure that Charles Dental Group is safe, clean, and well-stocked. 3. Heal eczema (Wix website): For the creation of this website, I held the leadership role of developing and designing several pages to make them easy to navigate and understandable for all users. Periodically, I read new scientific journal articles and update the website accordingly with information that coincides best with recent findings to maintain accuracy and reliability. 4. National Honor Society (NHS): As an NHS student, I volunteered in my community and helped in different projects, like marathons, food drives, online fundraisers, and more. In my work, I have demonstrated respect, responsibility, trustworthiness & integrity. It's a great way to get involved & have fun too. In order to maintain the membership, I have to keep up with good grades. 5. Mandy and Savvy's Lemonade (beverage stand work): I was involved in all aspects of the operation, including setting up the stand in accordance with Mahany Farmer's Market guidelines, assembling and disassembling equipment, making and serving drinks customized to the customer's needs, handling the cash register technology, among other operational logistics.

Passion for Family, Community, Business, Technology and Intellectual growth are what motivate me on the daily basis and are some things that I'm most passionate about. These are vital parts that have contributed to framing me into the person I’ve become. They have also shaped my short-term and long-term goals in life. It’s critical for one to have a vision for their life and what they anticipate accomplishing. Without a vision or desire, there is no hope for one to continue and to pursue anything. My experiences within my passions have helped me align my vision for my life. They have given me the valuable knowledge that has set me up for success to get to this point in life. One of my mentors was able to show me a life outside of poverty. They showed me doors of possibilities and started a fire in my heart that would set a blaze of zeal. Going from a life of no direction or goals to having a vision for my life and wanting to pursue a better life for my future has done a lot for me. It’s important to help everyone in their current situation because you never know what the outcome will be for that individual. Not everyone has the ability and drive to get out of their current situation. Sometimes people don’t want to change from their current situation. For me it was simple I wanted more for myself, I’m glad I made the choice to do something about it. It’s had a lasting effect on my life. It’s amazing that I have a helping hand in protecting our country and helping our country run more effectively. Creating solutions that work effectively takes lots of time and effort also lots of learning.

1. First, I always try to see the bigger picture. Often we tend to attach disproportionate importance to what we need to say. We will lie awake at night stressing about it, whereas for the other person, it's much less of a big deal than we really think. 2. Second, I always ask for time before committing to something. Our immediate instinct is to agree to a request, but we can end up bitterly regretting it. I say that I need some time to consider it first. 3. Third, I make a list of your priorities, such as your partner, family or friends, work, or hobby. Only by understanding, our priorities will automatically speak up for us when one of them is threatened. 4. Fourth, I don’t overestimate “nice”. Being considered nice is always, well, nice. But it doesn’t win us friends- acquaintances maybe, but not proper friends- or promotions or respect. Honesty and integrity are far more valuable qualities. 5. Lastly, I remember that the more we do it, the easier it becomes. We often lack the verbal framework for speaking our minds, so our words come out clumsily and can be hurtful. The good news is that the more practice we get in speaking out, the easier it will be to frame our words thoughtfully and tactfully. Saying exactly what we mean isn’t something most of us are trained to do. From childhood, were taught the art of “people-pleasing”- of saying yes, even if we mean no, holding back from saying anything that might offend. Some people avoid speaking their minds because they don’t want to offend anyone or get into a conflict. Accept the fact that everyone will not always agree with you — and don’t be afraid of ruffling some feathers.

My interest in studying pharmaceutical sciences began when my sister's eczema became severe. Unable to witness her suffering any longer, I started my trek on researching the newest evidence-based treatments and research regarding eczema. This is where I familiarized myself with pharmaceutical research from institutions and the opportunities that their health system provides patients. In my research, I realized the fundamental importance of a holistic healing approach in conjunction with pharmaceuticals. With that, I helped found Heal Eczema, a website that gives information and strategies regarding the disease that would help others live and cope with its mechanisms. Incorporating my findings, this includes a database of helpful resources, as well as advice on establishing body positivity and implementing mental health wellness. Although my project helped guide dozens of people and addressed my motives, my work will not end here. Eventually, I found an article about Dupixent, a drug recently approved by the FDA; after my sister tried this experimental treatment, she was able to live a normal life. While Dupixent is helpful, it's far from perfect; I have seen her pain during administration and my parents' difficulties in accessing the drug. By the time it doesn't work anymore, I will find a sense of closure if my sister and others like her have a painless and low-cost medication that can be accessed in stores throughout the world and last a lifetime. Researching better alternative eczema treatments is lacking and often ignored because the condition isn't taken seriously by the general population, yet it affects over 31 million U.S. citizens. Finding this is not only an obligation but a life mission that this scholarship can help me achieve by providing the education and resources to make my dream, against all odds, a reality.

Having Autism, I feel in constant conflict with the world, as though life is a play where everyone else has the script but for me. Instead of embracing my neurodiversity, a cluster of behavioral therapists were hired to conform me to societal norms. Though successful, these 40-hour weekly pieces of training left me panicked; the therapeutic methods implied that my natural communication would only bring the worst out of social interaction, including ostracism and manipulation. Society wasn't built for people like me, and I can't thrive without leaving my comfort zone. In the morning of what felt like an impending apocalypse, I sat among thirty other candidates, waiting to be interviewed. My stomach wrenched, my knees locked under my chair, and my heartbeat sounded like gunshots. I was paralyzed by the thought of speaking to another human being. My mind swarmed with questions and screamed insecurities: Why can't I understand what other people think? Why do I have to communicate verbally to get by in the world? When the manager called my name, I took a deep breath and stood up. I couldn't let my fear of failure and dispassion stand in my way any longer. Before I knew it, the interview was over. My mind went blank. The manager stood up and shook my hand, the crinkles of his eyes tightening from what appeared to be a smile under his face mask. I had gotten the job. I felt as if I had ridden a roller coaster, except this roller coaster didn't endanger me, and I could ride it. This was the exposure therapy that I needed and longed for, teaching me more than 14 years of behavioral therapy ever has; doing this on my own became one of my biggest accomplishments. I finally wasn't so scared anymore.

My goals for the future include helping patients understand what medication can do, not only for them but for them as well; and my second goal was to obtain the satisfactory feeling of being able to help others. This second goal is the main reason why I chose the medical field. In life, all I have ever wanted to do was help others live a happier life, and in my mind, in order to live a happy life, you have to be healthy. The interests I have to involve it being a part of the medical field and the fact that I can still help save lives. Many people don’t understand that, at times, it is truly the pharmacist who is making sure you are taking the correct medications. They can go through and make sure that they don’t have serious interactions with other medications a patient is already taking. They make sure the dosages are right and that patients are taking the right amount of medication and aren’t getting refills of certain prescriptions that they shouldn’t be out of yet. Becoming a pharmacist is the perfect match for me because pharmacists are key players in a wide variety of health care settings, and play a critical role in the medication management for patients. Pharmacists are vital health care professionals that help people to achieve positive results from their medications. I believe that for achieving success, by becoming a pharmacist, I can help patients feel better and get well as quickly as possible. I plan to receive my Doctorate of Pharmacy. In order to achieve this goal, I will invest seven years of my life in higher education. It is necessary for me to acquire a college education in order to be satisfied with my future.

I want to contribute happiness, even in the form of a smile. I want to make people’s lives better. I want to bring open mindedness and education to people who are open to it. I also want to receive these same things, not in return, but in general. I want people to take what they can get from me, and I want to take what I can get from those who are maybe even subconsciously offering. I want to let people know that I care about them, regardless if they care about me. From a very young age I wanted to change the world, leave a mark! But as I grew up, I thought if I could help a few who matter the most, I'll at least change the society and now, all I strive to be, is a better and stronger version of myself, be there for whoever wants my help. I cannot control the entire world or anyone for that matter, only myself. So, I'll keep making myself better and let it be a light that guides anyone who has lost their way. A person naturally likes to make people remember them, notice them for something, however, what they want to be remembered for differs from one person to another, some people do many bloody crimes to humanity while the others try to make something to benefit the humanity, though, even if you want to invent something that will benefit the humanity, sometimes it wouldn’t, such as the creation of mobile phones, no matter how useful they are, they still have many cons. In my opinion, I believe that people like to leave their mark in this world as it pleases them, knowing that everybody is remembering them and that they will live forever in this world’s history.

There are a lot of reasons why I chose to pursue pharmacy as my career and they all point to the most important reason: pharmacy is a great fit for my life and is something I have become increasingly passionate about. It started when I was researching careers with my parents and my dad suggested pharmacy and, simply put, it sparked my interest because at the time it was one of the few things I thought I'd hate doing. A healthcare career has always been where I put myself in the future, mainly because my mom is in the healthcare field. However, I've never been one that could directly help the wounded or deal with anything gory, but am very intrigued by the growing science of pharmacy. As I continue exploring pharmacy, the more I enjoy learning about it and feel like I could excel in this career. It is important to me that I have a passion for whatever path my life takes. Since I have control over that path, I am choosing to pursue a career that will provide my life with both meaning and satisfaction. I believe pursuing the Doctor of Pharmacy degree immensely relates to both my immediate and long-term goals. Something I like to live by is to always challenge yourself because if you keep doing what is easy, you will never advance or become better. It has already been a challenging path and I know it will get harder, but challenging myself in school is my immediate goal, and I know it will be worth it down the road. It also helps to keep things interesting. I know I would make a fantastic pharmacist, and so I make it a goal to challenge myself every day in everything I do include my education.

Mental health is defined as one’s emotional and psychological well-being, which is a major factor in someone s life. Personally, the obstacles in my life that challenged the stability and idea of my mental health have heavily changed my personality and forced me to become a more driven person. Persevering through these psychological barriers has allowed me to discover the morals and values that I have based my life on. Bullying and verbal abuse have caused me to disband relationships with past friends who did not support me in my times of need. As I’ve grown up, my mental health, and how I’ve dealt with it, defined my beliefs and values. My upbringing had also instilled values and morals that I still base my actions on. My parents, who normally act off emotions and impulse, had subconsciously taught me to become more apathetic and logical as arguments with them always seemed pointless. This indefinitely affected my mental health, causing me to become more emotionally closed off and unable to communicate my feelings towards them. My cognitive well-being, and my adaptations from the challenges it faced, determined my beliefs on religion and my moral principles. Bullying from close friends and peers caused me to disband relationships that were not beneficial to my mental well-being. During my late years in elementary school and both academic years of junior high, I was heavily picked on because of my excess weight. This would heavily hurt my feelings, and it caused me to feel emotionally weak and physically inferior to my other classmates. The verbal abuse became worse as some of my friends would call me fat every day and would continually harass me by the way I looked and the size of my clothes. The constant fat-shaming caused me to stop talking to these people, as they had made me think negatively of myself and adversely affected my mental health. Cutting off these relationships with toxic people allowed me to feel better about myself, even though I still dealt with the physical and emotional challenges of being overweight. Being overweight as an adolescent had perverse effects on my mental well-being, but it catalyzed a life-changing weight loss journey and allowed me to discover a career I am very passionate about it. After being continuously harassed about my weight by my classmates and even my parents, I had enough and began going to the gym and changing my diet to fit my weight loss needs. I had thankfully found a great undergraduate school known as the University of the Pacific, which prides itself on advanced educational opportunities and a plethora of majors and minors for its students to choose from. I will be applying as an early action applicant for the University of the Pacific this fall, and I hope to get in so I will be able to pursue my dreams of being a dietitian and helping others with their physical as well as mental health. Even though being obese as a small child had detrimental effects on my psyche, it forced me to find a new career path that has put meaning in my life. The morals that I now base my actions on have reflected my changes from my upbringing and the environments of school and overall society. My physical health was ridiculed by my fellow friends and classmates, causing me to negatively perceive myself and later change my body for the better. Even these obstacles had plagued my mental health during my childhood, they brought positive effects in my teenage years and allowed me to discover my purpose in life.

The quality/characteristic that I value most in myself is trustworthiness. For sure. Let's admit it, no one wants to be friends with someone who is happy to go spreading all of your personal secrets to anyone and everyone. It's hard to be close to someone if you can't trust them. As far as this goes, I'll say that I do have a difficult time trusting people, which can make this aspect of friendship difficult. That being said, it can be taken as either a blessing or a curse, because on the one hand trust isn't essential in a friendship to me, but on the other hand, I miss out on that aspect of being close sometimes. I don't rely on my friends for much - I'm pretty self-sufficient and my family is very tight-knit and helpful for those things I need others for. What I look for in a friend is a confidant. Someone I can call when I'm angry. Who will let me text their silly jokes and pretends to enjoy them with me :) But mostly I need someone who I can talk to just to bounce thoughts off of. Having someone to discuss big decisions with, for example, is extremely important. And family doesn't always suffice for that. I have the great privilege of having a couple of such friends. I can speak with them about basically anything, they will listen attentively, and I have no concern in the world that they will tell anyone else what I said. These friends are true gifts. I feel that having trustworthiness will help me in my life journey as trust is good for morale and motivation. Trust builds teamwork and collaboration, increases loyalty and the willingness to stay with a company, and decreases stress levels and hostility in the work environment. Trustworthiness is one of the most important qualities in life. It is the quality on which all relationships are built. We are designed to be in a relationship with others, and being able to TRUST each other means that we can do more together. Trust, at a team level, involves communication, commitment, collaboration, and competence – in other words, social interactions. Trust is indeed a crucial factor for team performance. When there is no trust, naturally, no one will voice out their opinions or ideas and there will be little or no team cohesion. When your team trusts you as a leader, it increases commitment to team goals. Communication improves, and ideas flow more freely, increasing creativity and productivity. Perhaps most important, in the hands of a trusted leader, employees are more comfortable with change and more willing to embrace a new vision. Most people will agree that trust is an important element in their friendships. Trust allows us to feel safe with friends: safe to make plans and safe to share ourselves and our lives. Trust requires that we keep our promises and show demonstrations of dependability, respect, and honor. Trust means that you rely on someone else to do the right thing. You believe in the person's integrity and strength, to the extent that you're able to put yourself on the line, at some risk to yourself. Trust is essential to an effective team because it provides a sense of safety. In conclusion, trust is an important and tender aspect of all relationships because it requires us to choose to be vulnerable and courageous. When we have learned to distrust someone, it's usually because we've come to understand that what we share with them or what's important to us is not safe with that person.

What is the care of nature? Preservation of clean water in the river is a concern for nature. After all, if the water is contaminated, fish, water animals, and insects will start to perish, and the balance in nature will be disturbed. Preservation of this balance is a prerequisite because everything in nature is interconnected. Accurate disposal of various wastes is a concern for nature. Yes, if a person came to the forest and just threw a plastic bag there, he already caused damage to nature. And if he took it with him and threw it in the garbage, he took care of nature. Putting a bird feeder in winter is also a concern for nature. If every person does something to protect nature, at least something, our environment will be favorable, beautiful. I love nature because everything that surrounds us is nature. Air, earth, water, mountains, forest, birds, animals in the forest – all this is nature. We often say: “Nature is our home.” Otherwise, our environment. And that we could live, that is, live, and live well, happily, our habitat should be in order: water and air should be clean, trees, animals, and birds – healthy, stones – safe. If we can not enjoy nature, then we can never fully live. And that nature could be enjoyed, it is necessary to take care of it. And everyone should do this. I try to appreciate nature as I take a moment, step, or look outside, let myself go, and breathe in the beauty nature provides. I make sure to find one thing that I see, feel, smell, taste, hear or find beautiful or fascinating in a striking way. I take the time to write down what caught my eye and briefly express how I felt when I recognized it.

There are several study strategies that I use to achieve academic success. First, I make sure to get organized. It's so simple, yet so effective. If I want to avoid nervous breakdowns and being unable to meet the deadline, I’ll try to learn about time management as well as self-organization. Second, I do my best to not be scared to talk to my instructors. At any institution, professors have office hours in case students need to see them. Learning is about helping each other, and my professor isn’t an obstacle toward my academic success. On the contrary, they are there to give me a helping hand in times of trouble. Third, I develop emotional intelligence. Developing emotional intelligence involves strengthening active listening skills, increasing emotional vocabulary, enhancing self-awareness, developing empathy, and learning about self-regulation. All these skills are essential to help a student like me become more self-reliant, self-motivated, and self-controlled. Fourth, I set clear goals and go for them. It takes some time during the planning process, but it lifts the burden of being overwhelmed with all the things that I need to do. When I pursue a goal, I know why I am doing something. As a result, I have a sense of self-motivation. Lastly, I make sure that a good night's sleep matters. Many students as well as the majority of modern people underestimate the importance of good rest at night. Few take into consideration the fact that the lack of sleep has a bad influence both on cognitive and physical activity. One of the recent studies showed that sleep deprivation can raise the chances of dropping the course by 10 percent. For that reason, I make sure I keep a sleeping regime by going to bed and getting up at the same time every day.

I apply creativity in my life in multiple ways. First, I make my immediate surroundings as beautiful or eccentric as I can, so I experiment with my sense of color, texture, and line. Second, I sometimes try to go somewhere new-as close to a restaurant I've never tried or as far as China. New places excite the mind and senses and when we humans are excited our creative abilities soar. Third, I slow down my perceptions so I savor them - that means eating slowly and tasting my food, looking closely at the flowers in the garden, and spending time writing down and drawing my perceptions. Fourth, I spend 15 minutes looking around with the eyes of a child. I try to remember that sense of wonderment, love of color, surprise, curiosity, and hunger to explore. It can get my creativity going because I are remembering how I was once very imaginative. Fifth, I do my best not to over-criticize myself. At worst, it will kill and at best cripple my creative hopes and dreams. Sixth, I make up a visualization in which I observe myself imagining and creating effortlessly. So basically just picturing how I can love the process. Seventh, I go with the mindset that I can just do it! Creativity is a muscle where I use it or lose it. Dancing, drawing, brainstorming, and changing my life are all ways I can help with this. The more I use my creativity, the easier it becomes and the better you get at it. Finally, I try to do something new or something old in a brand new way. As Picasso said, “I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”

Mental health is defined as one’s emotional and psychological well-being, which is a major factor in someone's life. Personally, the obstacles in my life that challenged the stability and idea of my mental health have heavily changed my personality and forced me to become a more driven person. Persevering through these psychological barriers has allowed me to discover the morals and values that I have based my life on. Depression and anxiety have caused me to disband relationships with past friends who did not support me in my times of need. These changes have also allowed me to discover a career field that has brought significant change in my life. As I’ve grown up, my mental health, and how I’ve dealt with it, defined my beliefs and values. My upbringing had also instilled values and morals that I still base my actions on. My parents, who normally act off emotions and impulse, had subconsciously taught me to become more apathetic and logical as arguments with them always seemed pointless. This indefinitely affected my mental health, causing me to become more emotionally closed off and unable to communicate my feelings towards them. My cognitive well-being, and my adaptations from the challenges it faced, determined my beliefs on religion and my moral principles. Disruptions from close friends and peers caused me to disband relationships that were not beneficial to my mental well-being. During my late years in elementary school and both academic years of junior high, I felt like I was really picked on because of my conditions and autism. In elementary school, I was always the last one picked during recess. This would heavily hurt my feelings, and it caused me to feel emotionally weak and physically inferior to my other classmates. After graduating from elementary school, it became worse in middle school and later in high school. The exhaustion from this became worse. The constant fat-shaming caused me to stop talking to these people, as they had made me think negatively of myself and adversely affected my mental health. Cutting off these relationships with toxic people allowed me to feel better about myself, even though I still dealt with the physical and emotional challenges of being overweight. Being depressed as an adolescent had perverse effects on my mental well-being, but it catalyzed a life-changing journey and allowed me to discover a career I am very passionate about. After being continuously ignored by my classmates and even my parents, I had enough and began changing different parts of my lifestyle. My new interests in biochemistry and pharmacy had led me to the discovery of the field of nutrition and dietetics, which is an educational career that focuses on constructing healthy diets for individuals and understanding what that food does. This new enthusiasm about these possible STEM careers allowed me to find good colleges and universities that will help me pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist. I had thankfully found a great undergraduate school known as University of the Pacific, which prides itself on advanced educational opportunities and a plethora of majors and minors for its students to choose from. I have already applied as an early action applicant for University of the Pacific this fall, and I hope to get in so I will be able to pursue my dreams of being a specialized pharmacologist and helping others with their medications as well as mental and physical health. Even though being with anxiety and depression as a small child had detrimental effects on my psyche, it forced me to find a new career path that has put meaning in my life. My personal experiences with mental health and the events that challenged it caused me to change my ideals, my physical well-being, and my career field. The morals that I now base my actions on have reflected my changes from my upbringing and the environments of school and overall society. My physical health was ridiculed by my fellow friends and classmates, causing me to negatively perceive myself and later change myself for the better. This change and new interest in the science community allowed me to discover research labs and pharmaceuticals, an educational path that has brought new meaning in my pursuit of bettering myself. Even these obstacles had plagued my mental health during my childhood, they brought positive effects in my teenage years and allowed me to discover my purpose in life.

Watching Disney movies, drinking hot cocoa on a cold day, going to a baseball game, coloring, finger painting, baking cookies, having sleepovers, enjoying family reunions, playing cards, charades, and board games; these are those little things that make life big. True happiness comes from little things. It’s not always the most important or biggest moments in your life that make the greatest impact. The moments that you spend with your family, whether on a daily basis or just a couple times a year, show real happiness. I have a big family and all occasions spent together feel like parties. The younger kids make everything an adventure. One night over the summer some of my cousins and I were up at my relative's place in Truckee, California, and we got bored in the middle of the night. We decided to go outside and take funny pictures jumping off this little ledge on the side of the road. It was the most fun I had the whole trip. I was raised on these moments that are considered small, but they make my life full. I continue to experience them. Many people lose sight of these little pleasures when they grow old. People must remember when they were young and innocent; those pleasures that were great and hold onto them, they never lost greatness people just re-prioritized. I will never lose sight of these little pleasures, they are too important. By understanding peace and impermanence, I was able to learn to adapt to the conditions they create and make the best out of the little moments of happiness that life offers for me to create on my own. If you choose happiness as your priority, you will improve your chances of experiencing happiness.

Happiness is referred to as a good state of mind and body. People often smile, sing, and dance when they are happy. The perspective of happiness is different for everyone in this world. We all must try to find out and note down the things that can make us happy. We can do those things for getting happiness whenever we are in a bad mood or sad. It is presumed that happiness lies in doing big things. Many of us think that earning a lot of money and holding a nice position is necessary for getting happiness. It is true that success brings happiness but it does not mean that it is only the way to be happy. In reality, happiness lies in enjoying small-small things in our life. The happiness that we get by doing these things is a very beautiful experience. I feel happy when I help my mother in her kitchen work, water the plants, eat my favorite dish, go for a walk, listen to music, play with pets, spend time with family, gossip with friends, etc. We need to find ways of getting happy instead of waiting for it to come by itself. We must try to listen to music or feel the beauty of nature when we are happy. Happiness is enhanced when enjoyed in nature with the melody of music. Music has the power to reduce the pain of sadness. We have often noticed that people listen to music when they are very sad or depressed. It helps them in ending the pain of their sorrow and makes them feel better. The best way to keep ourselves stress-free is to be happy. Therefore we must try to find ways to be happy and make others happy too.

Donating to the causes you care about not only benefits the charities themselves, but it can also be deeply rewarding for you too. Millions of people give to charity on a regular basis to support causes they believe in, as well as for the positive effect it has on their own lives. Giving is important to me particularly because it has been proven to decrease blood pressure and reduce stress. This reduction promotes longer life and better health. Giving promotes social connection. Studies show that when you give to others, your generosity is often continued down the line to someone else, or returned to you. Whether you're donating money or time, giving promotes happiness, draws us closer to others, and strengthens empathy. These are vital for a wealthy life, which starts from the inside. After a certain point, more income doesn't increase well-being — but empathetically giving to others does. In addition to the health benefits, volunteering gives people a sense of purpose. The fulfilling feeling of giving back and contributing to society is unparalleled. Giving back is also a great way to get to know your community and its citizens. When you volunteer, you have the opportunity to meet lots of new people. When you give to others, it activates your mesolimbic system, also known as your brain's reward center. The system is responsible for releasing endorphins, making you feel warm and fuzzy. That means lower stress and increased self-esteem, all from just helping someone out! To give back, I do the following: donate unwanted items, save up my change, donate my time, volunteer my unique skills, give blood, ask for a donation gift, participate in community cleanup, and promote causes on social media.

Equity has a significant impact on the strength and prosperity of local, state, and national economies. I believe that educational inequity is something we all should stand for because by improving education outcomes for underserved student groups, we can: Increase net economic benefits to society. Save billions of dollars in public assistance programs. Equity in education is necessary for economic mobility. Without it, the economy will suffer from an achievement gap between groups in society. Because some students aren't prepared to achieve their working potential, it creates income inequality, which, in turn, forms a wealth gap. Parents on the lower-wealth tiers can't afford to send their children to the expensive, quality schools that those on higher tiers can. This contributes to structural inequality, where the institutions themselves contribute to inequality. As a result, inequity in education means that society loses the income and economic output potential of the lower-income tiers. That slows economic growth for everyone. Unequal educational outcomes are attributed to several variables, including family of origin, gender, and social class. Achievement, earnings, health status, and political participation also contribute to educational inequality within the United States and other countries. Inequity in education slows economic growth as much as recessions. Students that don't receive the educational resources they need can't perform at their optimal level. They don't earn as much, can't build wealth, and therefore can't afford to send their children to good schools. This continues a cycle of structural inequality that hurts society as a whole.

I want to make a change in my life because all I do is overthink almost everything that comes into life's way. I am practically an expert at worrying by now. I worry about EVERYTHING, from politics to the economy, to the environment, to hypothetical situations that will never happen. And I really, really need to stop. I've seen that in other people's perspectives, they want to change the world not because they think the grass could be greener, but because they are hopeful for a more peaceful and productive society. They have a version of the world inside of their heads that they can't stop dreaming about, sure that they could make a difference in somebody else's life. The steps that I have taken this far to bring me closer to my goal include: getting everything all down on paper, brainstorming what needs to happen, coming up with an action plan, making things measurable, taking action, considering my talents and expertise, and delegating less important tasks. In addition, I also schedule a time to focus, read and listen, network at every opportunity, review my strategy and progress, exercise for 30 minutes a day, and celebrate each milestone. I think this scholarship will help me by allowing me to be more selective in how I spend my free time. I would be able to maximize the college experience through service-learning, volunteer opportunities, and internships. In other words, this scholarship will help by lowering the costs of college and the number of hours I'll need to work throughout my studies. This way, I'll be able to continue with my academic achievements. It will also give me time to find an internship. To pay it forward to someone else, I plan to accept a good deed in return or ask to pay it forward. When I ask someone to pay it forward, it simply means that I ask them to repay your kindness by doing a good deed for someone else. In this way, I can help others to keep spreading kindness to even more people.

I think that the best way to live a long, healthy life is to not smoke. Although your best plan to live longer is to adopt all four lifestyle factors, if you had to choose one, the researchers say, this is it. Smoking affects coronary arteries and lungs, and smokers also have increased rates of cancer and risk of stroke. Smoking is strongly linked to disease and early death. Overall, people who smoke may lose up to 10 years of life and be 3 times more likely to die prematurely than those who never pick up a cigarette. Longer life expectancy is based around common lifestyle factors including diet, exercise, body weight, social life, and avoiding risk factors like smoking and alcohol. Cancer – not just one type of cancer, heavy drinking is believed to contribute to cancers of the larynx, pharynx, mouth, esophagus, liver, breast, and colorectal area. Combined with smoking, heavy drinkers are at very high-risk levels. One of the biggest mistakes people can make when it comes to heart health is that they ignore their hearts. Everyone is so busy that they sit at their desks all day and work. They have to remember to get up and walk around. Bad habits such as smoking and sitting too often can increase your risk for heart attack. One study reports that individuals who quit smoking by age 35 may prolong their lives by up to 8.5 years. Furthermore, quitting smoking in your 60s may add up to 3.7 years to your life. In fact, quitting in your 80s may still provide benefits. Smoking is a well-known risk factor for multiple chronic diseases. Cutting back or quitting smoking is an excellent way to live a healthier life.

“No one is you, and that is your power.“ I believe that the utter truth behind the above sentence is the idea of SELF LOVE. In today's world, we are constantly bombarded with the idea of perfectionism, the lives we wish we had, or the people that we wish we could look like especially on social media. It is okay to admire what other people have. However, the problem arises when it becomes a way for you to seek validation for something. We spend way too much time looking for the ‘perfect' filter or having about two dozen of the exact same shot in order to get maximum likes and comments. It doesn't matter how many Instagram likes and comments you get on your pictures. The only person whose ‘like' truly matters, and whose comment should truly influence the way you live your life is YOU. What matters is that you love yourself and that you love your own imperfect characteristics that make us human beings.

Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness and on the quality of your relationships with others. For instance, we listen to obtain information, we listen to understand, we listen for enjoyment, and we listen to learn. Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you can improve your productivity, as well as your ability to influence, persuade and negotiate. What's more, you'll avoid conflict and misunderstandings. All of these are necessary for workplace success! There are five key active listening techniques I use to become a more effective listener and actively listen to those around me: 1. Pay Attention Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message. Recognize that non-verbal communication also "speaks" loudly. 2. Show That You're Listening Use your own body language and gestures to show that you are engaged. 3. Provide Feedback As a listener, your role is to understand what is being said. 4. Defer Judgment Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits the full understanding of the message. 5. Respond Appropriately Active listening is designed to encourage respect and understanding. Listening to me means paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and how the other person uses his or her body. In other words, it means being aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages. It means to hear; but also means to pay attention—with our ears, our eyes, and our hearts. True listeners look beyond the words themselves—they search for meaning in the speaker's tone and body language. This is especially important when communication has an emotional component.