Kindness is infectious. It’s a warm and tingly feeling that you can’t help but share with others. It’s the same with giving, but a gift isn’t always physical. Gifts are whatever we want them to be and giving is more of an action than a noun. I have always been challenged with the ideas of what I could give back to the world, to people. I decided that my talents could always be used as a gift to others…so I decided I would give music back to others. Music is so underacknowledged in society, but it is one of the most present forces. You walk into stores and music is playing, you watch a movie - music is playing, you go to a sporting event - music is playing, music is everywhere it is the soundtrack to our lives. We cultivate soundtracks for our lives, playlists to fit any and every scenario, we send people songs to tell them we love them, we play people music to remind them we are thinking of them, we bid farewell to our lost ones with music, and we welcome new extended family into our lives with music. But when it comes to encouraging people to learn about music, it is all of a sudden irrelevant and unimportant. Creativity is crucial to society. It is an expression and an outlet for people. Music is an outlet for people. It's so special because it comes in so many different genres, so there is always something for someone. There is a reason trends exist, they come and they go leaving no real impact on the world, but music has been around all throughout history, having such a deeper meaning and lots of influence. Music makes us who we are, and when words are lost, there will always be a song to describe it for us. Giving back is necessary to society. It is a continuous cycle passed down from generation to generation. It all started when my mom gifted me my record player. It was the best gift I got. Not just because of how it looked, felt, or cost, but because it opened up a whole new world to me. A world full of beautiful sounds: a melodic piano, a chord of a guitar, the orchestral beauty of violins. I was so elated. My mom also gifted me with two albums to start my collection. That day, they were on repeat. My grandmother sat on my bed and sang along to the older tracks she also knew and loved, and my mom stopped in to dance with me to the upbeat tracks. Now - every chance that I get - I collect more. Whether that's from bookstores, websites, or record stores downtown - my favorite shops to attend. It's cool, feeling surrounded by people who also want to expand their collections, who adore music as much as I do. I love sitting in my room, putting a record on. I believe songs sound more raw and personal on vinyl than they do through a phone speaker, even through a car. It's a sound that carries through my space and paints the walls with emotion. As my collection got bigger, the music appealed to more than just me. When my sister returned to college, she would come hangout in my room to dance in the mirror to the fun sounds. It became a binding agent, a community builder in the four walls of our home. I was gifted with the enjoyment of music, and I knew I had to keep giving that to others.

An inside-out roll with seaweed - “No, no, not a soy wrap, thank you.” - enclosing shrimp tempura, crab- “half and half would be great, yes” - avocado, cream cheese, and sometimes cucumber. Sweet soy sauce dressing the top, with fried tempura bits following not far behind, and everything bagel seasoning…if I’m feeling fancy. All of this finished with a side of spicy mayo and lots of ginger. “Is there a chance I can have a little more, please?”. This is my sushi order. It’s an order I don’t switch because it’s never failed me, so why change it? I could eat sushi everyday, and I have the customized chopsticks to prove it. What’s funny about my order, though, is I would never eat some of the ingredients I request in the roll on their own. I love sushi because of all the unique and complex flavors brought together in a dynamic and complimentary way. Over time, I’ve realized why my attachment to sushi is so strong: I desire to live in a “sushi roll world”. I believe that community is the most powerful force we have. Our nation, and more largely our world, has become full of chaos, hate, and fear. It seems like everyday there is another headline declaring a shooting, global warming crisis, or a human right being stripped away. As the world’s cries for help began to amplify, I realized I could not shoulder the burden alone. I should not do it on my own - I am just one person. A part of a much bigger whole. But that does not mean I cannot offer up my strengths and gifts for the greater good of the whole. I am a component, a factor…an ingredient in the sushi roll. This mindset required me to look inside myself: “What do I even have to give?” Compassion: the ability to love hard enough for other people to feel, but I had always considered this a weakness. “There has to be something else, right?” Sensitivity: my feelings, the tools that have never failed me. Empathy: understanding and feeling with someone else in their hurt, struggle, and fear. Community is defined as “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common”, but the “secret sauce” of community is not only in what is shared, but what is different. I encountered honesty in my youth pastor who always spoke the right words, whether I wanted to listen or not. I noticed courage in my math teacher fighting a cancer diagnosis, yet constantly reminded her students how much she cared by never ceasing to remain present. I detected curiosity in the boy in my a cappella group who always asked questions. I sensed a steadfast nature in my grandmother, regardless of the medical results or the pain she woke up with in the morning. I identified determination in my sister, never wavering in her goals. I found peace in my mother, who always reminded me of the power of exhaling, even when her world was spinning and she was out of breath. I couldn’t cultivate all of the ingredients inside myself, because I was never designed to be able to make a sushi roll on my own. I am one ingredient, the people in my community are the complementary ingredients, and together we are the sushi roll.

Look, but don’t look down, but look down so you don’t like…fall, but not for too long because you’re going to psych yourself out. Ugh, now you’ve psyched yourself out. “Gab, you have to get down somehow.” “I know mom, I know.” Go, you have places to be, people to see, go. They’re stairs, crutches should make it easier. Crutches did not make it easier. If anything, the crutches’ cold cylindrical bars and the rubber pads the hospital called “cushion”, only made the simple act of walking down the stairs a laborious task. It was embarrassing, being afraid of the smallest things, and fearing the outcome of what went wrong, all because of some surgery. SCFE, is the name they called it when explaining to my mother that surgery was necessary now, but I asked for the non-layman’s terms. A slipped capital femoral epiphysis, a fancy way of saying that my femur fell out of its socket and needed to be screwed back in. The thought of it was incredibly unpleasant, and to my small sixth grade mind, it grew more uncomfortable by the minute. I was missing all of the activities in middle school, my first year of period switches and bells, for screws. I felt like I was being robbed, and made sure my doctor was aware of my feelings as well: “I- I can’t do that, I can’t stay here. I have spirit week, I have to be at school, I mean- who is going to help me with classes, no, I can’t, this isn’t an option.” It only took about three minutes and a wheelchair ride to my short-term room stay to find out I actually had no choice at all. My whole life, I had wanted control. I was never a big fan of letting someone else make choices for me, but it didn’t seem like anything was up for debate. I had no choice, a feeling I wasn’t used to, and didn’t enjoy, but if I wanted relief, and to feel better… I had to trust and give up my right to choose, but only for a little bit. My surgery was seamless and easy, but it’s true what they say about recovery: It’s just the beginning. That’s also what the nurse said, the receptionist, and the physical therapist. Physical therapy. A deceiving term considering that I felt everything but therapeutic after my sessions, but I had no choice but to do it. The nice lady placed me on top of these wooden steps, and taught me how to walk down them: Crutch first, release, go down. Crutch first, release, go down. It was terrifying, why was I putting my whole weight on two metal sticks? But I had no choice, I needed to get down. It took time, and it was a terrifying idea: putting my faith in something else, but it wasn’t up for debate. There have been so many more times in my life now where I have had to put my trust in something other than myself. It has made me realize how much I lacked trust in others, and how little faith I had. It was an eye opening experience, especially for me whose whole religion surrounds believing and trusting in God. I had to let go and realize that choice was a privilege. That’s the thing about life, sometimes there is no choice. No choice but to submit, to fall, to ask for help. Even if it’s new, even if it’s different, even if it’s hard…it’s good and necessary. Even if I wasn’t given a choice.

If I would have mentioned mental health and its crippling effects to a group ten years ago, their response would be wildly contrasting than if I mentioned it now. But sadly, that is only if it is mentioned in a broad setting: a "community" that has caucasion people, members of the upper class, etc. Mental health has remained one of the most overlooked dilemmas and issues in the Black community. I have so many desires for this world, but optimal mental healthcare for the Black community, and equal understanding for their hardships would be the first to change. I also would want these services to be free, no one should have to pay for help because they do not feel like themselves. Communities of color, Black people specifically have always been viewed as "violent", "feral", and other inhumane terms. As elementary as it sounds, words do hurt, and hearing these terms being used to a grandparent, father, mother, uncle, sibling, is hard and taxing on the mind. Not only that, but they have also always been viewed as tough and strong, to the point where they must uphold that at all times. This is not always society's fault either but due to the generational gap within the families. Because of the complicated history Black people have in the United States, older members were alive when rights were limited, slavery was ending, and more. Their advice will not always be enough for a child in Generation Z, who has social media apps at their disposal to learn more than what their older counterparts are open to even being educated on. This creates a barrier within the family, meaning the child withholds their problems inward, instead of reaching out to a professional for these mental health issues; only making them worse. Overcompensating has become a big problem in the 21st Century. Once a person of color is made the poster child for every mental health issue ever, it becomes just that: a poster and nothing else. The advocacy needed for mental health care needs to come directly to the communities of color, instead of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat. Community outreach is one of the most overlooked strategies. Most people want someone to care enough to see past their appearance, and dig deeper to discover their struggles. Constantly hearing the ineffective phrase "take a walk", is unquestionably the incorrect response when someone is hurting and needs professional help. Lastly, money is an extensive issue. In these communities, money is used for the necessities: other bills that need to be paid, kids that need to be taken care of, so sadly mental health care takes a back seat and collects dust while the other priorities are attended to. A weight would be lifted off of these people’s shoulders if they were met where they are; instead of neglecting them because they couldn't pay for the service anyhow. The first step to changing, advocating, and showing love and care to these communities in terms of mental health is simply going to the source and supporting them financially if needed. I believe a big change would be seen if someone else prioritized Black communities’ mental health for them. Helping to carry the weight of others is how we change the world. Not only has mental health made me realize how I want to advocate for others, but it has made me realize who I am...and how much I need to heal. Who am I? I am someone who often cares too much. I tend to take on the weight of everyone else's issues and make sure that they are all okay before I am. I am someone who remembers everything about people because I want to make them feel included and important. I am someone who has goals and will not settle for anything less than my dreams. I am a person who wants everyone to love her, but who won't believe them no matter how many times I am reminded. I am someone who has been hurt and someone who is still healing. Mental health is so important to our society, and I will fight for my right and everyone else's right forever.

Maintaining a healthy life, especially at my age, is so important. I can build habits now that I will use for my whole life. It's not only physical though, it's also mental. I have always had a hard time with consistency in my physical health. It always felt like a chore to keep up and I never felt motivated enough to continue it for longer than 30 minutes. I had to look at what I was doing that felt hard and too difficult to continue long term: I was trying to workout like everyone else, but I just needed to be me. So I began to do dance workouts like Zumba, and that ended up helping me a lot because it only felt like I was having fun. Then of course, COVID-19 hit and destroyed all of my rhythm that I had found while working out. My mom and I began going on daily walks and I had never felt better. So I try to keep up my walks as much as I can in order to remain fit, but eating is an even bigger part of a healthy lifestyle. So I enjoy superfoods! I love superfoods because I love the feeling I get knowing I am helping my body and my overall health by eating them. I love superfoods also because they are staples in many easy recipes: nuts as granola in my yogurt, kale salads, green tea at a restaurant, an egg on top of my avocado toast, and more. Oats have always been a part of my life. I always ate oatmeal for breakfast before school growing up. My mom and I had this special recipe by adding peanut butter to the mixture in order to boost the flavor and nutritional value, it was always so delicious. Now, I continue to ONLY make my oats in that way, they are so filling and delicious and I add strawberries...another fun and enjoyable trick. I also add oats in the form of granola to my yogurt parfaits. I am a big yogurt parfait fan, even my family will ask me to make them for them. I think the oats add such a fun twist to the sweetness, and I will forever eat it that way. Spinach and I have always had such a love-hate relationship, because no one ever cooked it in a way I was fond of. Through a lot of trial and error, I figured out how I liked eating spinach: raw or in an omelet. Raw spinach is so delicious in so many things: wraps, salads, sandwiches. It almost acts as lettuce in a way, with a little less crunch. I really enjoy spinach because it can also be blended up in green smoothies. It is so versatile and it adds so many nutritional benefits to my diet. Finally, my last favorite superfood is eggs, the most versatile out of all of them. The way I eat eggs has definitely evolved overtime. I used to only eat eggs scrambles, and now I usually only eat them over easy. They are so delicious, but it is definitely important to moderate how much you eat them because of the cholesterol levels. Mentally, I have to do what I love in order to keep a healthy mindset: going on long drives, watching the sunset, and hanging out with the people I love always brings me joy and keeps me mentally happy. It is important to keep a healthy mindset, and I will always try my best to maintain one as long as I live.

Maintaining a healthy life, especially at my age, is so important. I can build habits now that I will use for my whole life. It's not only physical though, it's also mental. I have always had a hard time with consistency in my physical health. It always felt like a chore to keep up and I never felt motivated enough to continue it for longer than 30 minutes. I had to look at what I was doing that felt hard and too difficult to continue long term: I was trying to workout like everyone else, but I just needed to be me. So I began to do dance workouts like Zumba, and that ended up helping me a lot because it only felt like I was having fun. Then of course, COVID-19 hit and destroyed all of my rhythm that I had found while working out. My mom and I began going on daily walks and I had never felt better. So I try to keep up my walks as much as I can in order to remain fit, but eating is an even bigger part of a healthy lifestyle. So I enjoy superfoods! I love superfoods because I love the feeling I get knowing I am helping my body and my overall health by eating them. I love superfoods also because they are staples in many easy recipes: nuts as granola in my yogurt, kale salads, green tea at a restaurant, an egg on top of my avocado toast, and more. Oats have always been a part of my life. I always ate oatmeal for breakfast before school growing up. My mom and I had this special recipe by adding peanut butter to the mixture in order to boost the flavor and nutritional value, it was always so delicious. Now, I continue to ONLY make my oats in that way, they are so filling and delicious and I add strawberries...another fun and enjoyable trick. I also add oats in the form of granola to my yogurt parfaits. I am a big yogurt parfait fan, even my family will ask me to make them for them. I think the oats add such a fun twist to the sweetness, and I will forever eat it that way. Spinach and I have always had such a love-hate relationship, because no one ever cooked it in a way I was fond of. Through a lot of trial and error, I figured out how I liked eating spinach: raw or in an omelet. Raw spinach is so delicious in so many things: wraps, salads, sandwiches. It almost acts as lettuce in a way, with a little less crunch. I really enjoy spinach because it can also be blended up in green smoothies. It is so versatile and it adds so many nutritional benefits to my diet. Finally, my last favorite superfood is eggs, the most versatile out of all of them. The way I eat eggs has definitely evolved overtime. I used to only eat eggs scrambles, and now I usually only eat them over easy. They are so delicious, but it is definitely important to moderate how much you eat them because of the cholesterol levels. Mentally, I have to do what I love in order to keep a healthy mindset: going on long drives, watching the sunset, and hanging out with the people I love always brings me joy and keeps me mentally happy. It is important to keep a healthy mindset, and I will always try my best to maintain one as long as I live.

Going back to school is such a scary time for everyone. Society tries so hard to convince us that we are being stared at, looked at, and ridiculed around every corner at school. My biggest tip for back-to-school would be remember who you are, and take care of yourself. Mental health is a very important word. It is so crucial to remember that you are a person, first. All anyone wants is for someone to listen first. Judgment is something that we all as humans do. I am not saying it's right, but it's a subconscious thought that we all have. Mental health struggles should be listened to first, and then taken on with an objective approach instead of someone telling them what they lacked twenty years ago, so what they are going through now is completely invalidated. We as a society owe everyone the chance to be heard. It doesn't matter if we don't agree with their lifestyle. Schools, workplaces, and community environments need to be better fit to help people first. I believe we would see a major difference in the world if people just knew they had a SAFE place they could go to.

Maintaining a healthy life, especially at my age, is so important. I can build habits now that I will use for my whole life. It's not only physical though, it's also mental. I have always had a hard time with consistency in my physical health. It always felt like a chore to keep up and I never felt motivated enough to continue it for longer than 30 minutes. I had to look at what I was doing that felt hard and too difficult to continue long term: I was trying to workout like everyone else, but I just needed to be me. So I began to do dance workouts like Zumba, and that ended up helping me a lot because it only felt like I was having fun. Then of course, COVID-19 hit and destroyed all of my rhythm that I had found while working out. My mom and I began going on daily walks and I had never felt better. So I try to keep up my walks as much as I can in order to remain fit, but eating is an even bigger part of a healthy lifestyle. So I enjoy superfoods! I love superfoods because I love the feeling I get knowing I am helping my body and my overall health by eating them. I love superfoods also because they are staples in many easy recipes: nuts as granola in my yogurt, kale salads, green tea at a restaurant, an egg on top of my avocado toast, and more. Oats have always been a part of my life. I always ate oatmeal for breakfast before school growing up. My mom and I had this special recipe by adding peanut butter to the mixture in order to boost the flavor and nutritional value, it was always so delicious. Now, I continue to ONLY make my oats in that way, they are so filling and delicious and I add strawberries...another fun and enjoyable trick. I also add oats in the form of granola to my yogurt parfaits. I am a big yogurt parfait fan, even my family will ask me to make them for them. I think the oats add such a fun twist to the sweetness, and I will forever eat it that way. Spinach and I have always had such a love-hate relationship, because no one ever cooked it in a way I was fond of. Through a lot of trial and error, I figured out how I liked eating spinach: raw or in an omelet. Raw spinach is so delicious in so many things: wraps, salads, sandwiches. It almost acts as lettuce in a way, with a little less crunch. I really enjoy spinach because it can also be blended up in green smoothies. It is so versatile and it adds so many nutritional benefits to my diet. Finally, my last favorite superfood is eggs, the most versatile out of all of them. The way I eat eggs has definitely evolved overtime. I used to only eat eggs scrambles, and now I usually only eat them over easy. They are so delicious, but it is definitely important to moderate how much you eat them because of the cholesterol levels. Mentally, I have to do what I love in order to keep a healthy mindset: going on long drives, watching the sunset, and hanging out with the people I love always brings me joy and keeps me mentally happy. It is important to keep a healthy mindset, and I will always try my best to maintain one as long as I live.

I want to be a singer, a recording artist, a world changer. I want to impact people’s lives through music, and make them feel things they have never felt before. I want to tour around the world, experience cultures, give love to everyone so no one feels alone.

Kindness is infectious. It’s a warm and tingly feeling that you can’t help but share with others. It’s the same with giving, but a gift isn’t always physical. Gifts are whatever we want them to be and giving is more of an action than a noun. I have always been challenged with the ideas of what I could give back to the world, to people. I decided that my talents could always be used as a gift to others…so I decided I would give music back to others. Music is so underacknoledged in society, but it is one of the most present forces. You walk into stores and music is playing, you watch a movie - music is playing, you go to a sporting event - music is playing, music is everywhere it is the soundtrack to our lives. We cultivate soundtracks for our lives, playlists to fit any and every scenario, we send people songs to tell them we love them, we play people music to remind them we are thinking of them, we bid farewell to our lost ones with music, and we welcome new extended family into our lives with music. But when it comes to encouraging people to learn about music, it is all of a sudden irrelevant and unimportant. Creativity is crucial to society. It is an expression and an outlet for people. Music is an outlet for people. It's so special because it comes in so many different genres, so there is always something for someone. There is a reason trends exist, they come and they go leaving no real impact on the world, but music has been around all throughout history, having such a deeper meaning and lots of influence. Music makes us who we are, and when words are lost, there will always be a song to describe it for us. Giving back is necessary to society. I believe that music is a gift. It is a continuous cycle passed down from generation to generation. It all started when my mom gifted me my record player. It was the best gift I got. Not just because of how it looked, felt, or cost, but because it opened up a whole new world to me. A world full of beautiful sounds: a melodic piano, a chord of a guitar, the orchestral beauty of violins. I was so elated. My mom also gifted me with two albums to start my collection. That day, they were on repeat. My grandmother sat on my bed and sang along to the older tracks she also knew and loved, and my mom stopped in to dance with me to the upbeat tracks. Now - every chance that I get - I collect more. Whether that's from bookstores, websites, or record stores downtown - my favorite shops to attend. It's cool, feeling surrounded by people who also want to expand their collections, who adore music as much as I do. I love sitting in my room, putting a record on. I believe songs sound more raw and personal on vinyl than they do through a phone speaker, even through a car. It's a sound that carries through my space and paints the walls with emotion. As my collection got bigger, the music appealed to more than just me. When my sister returned to college, she would come hangout in my room to dance in the mirror to the fun sounds. It became a binding agent, a community builder in the four walls of our home. I was gifted with the enjoyment of music, and I knew I had to keep giving that to others.

Look, but don’t look down, but look down so you don’t like…fall, but not for too long because you’re going to psych yourself out. Ugh, now you’ve psyched yourself out. “Gab, you have to get down somehow.” “I know mom, I know.” Go, you have places to be, people to see, go. They’re stairs, crutches should make it easier. Crutches did not make it easier. If anything, the crutches’ cold cylindrical bars and the rubber pads the hospital called “cushion”, only made the simple act of walking down the stairs a laborious task. It was embarrassing, being afraid of the smallest things, and fearing the outcome of what went wrong, all because of some surgery. SCFE, is the name they called it when explaining to my mother that surgery was necessary now, but I asked for the non-layman’s terms. A slipped capital femoral epiphysis, a fancy way of saying that my femur fell out of its socket and needed to be screwed back in. The thought of it was incredibly unpleasant, and to my small sixth grade mind, it grew more uncomfortable by the minute. I was missing all of the activities in middle school, my first year of period switches and bells, for screws. I felt like I was being robbed, and made sure my doctor was aware of my feelings as well: “I- I can’t do that, I can’t stay here. I have spirit week, I have to be at school, I mean- who is going to help me with classes, no, I can’t, this isn’t an option.” It only took about three minutes and a wheelchair ride to my short-term room stay to find out I actually had no choice at all. My whole life, I had wanted control. I was never a big fan of letting someone else make choices for me, but it didn’t seem like anything was up for debate. I had no choice, a feeling I wasn’t used to, and didn’t enjoy, but if I wanted relief, and to feel better… I had to trust and give up my right to choose, but only for a little bit. My surgery was seamless and easy, but it’s true what they say about recovery: It’s just the beginning. That’s also what the nurse said, the receptionist, and the physical therapist. Physical therapy. A deceiving term considering that I felt everything but therapeutic after my sessions, but I had no choice but to do it. The nice lady placed me on top of these wooden steps, and taught me how to walk down them: Crutch first, release, go down. Crutch first, release, go down. It was terrifying, why was I putting my whole weight on two metal sticks? But I had no choice, I needed to get down. It took time, and it was a terrifying idea: putting my faith in something else, but it wasn’t up for debate. There have been so many more times in my life now where I have had to put my trust in something other than myself. It has made me realize how much I lacked trust in others, and how little faith I had. It was an eye opening experience, especially for me whose whole religion surrounds believing and trusting in God. I had to let go and realize that choice was a privilege. That’s the thing about life, sometimes there is no choice. No choice but to submit, to fall, to ask for help. Even if it’s new, even if it’s different, even if it’s hard…it’s good and necessary. Even if I wasn’t given a choice.

I believe as humans, we flock to people who think like us. It's not something that's usually intentional, but I do personally see myself forming relationships with people who have the same hobbies, values, etc. Something I value more and more as I grow up is my mind. I try to check in on myself a lot and give myself reflection time, I try to develop a mindset that is healthy. In this time that we live in, mental health is so overrated yet so overlooked. My experiences with mental health have definitely made me more cautious of who I let in my life, who I listen and look up to, and what I want to do in the future. I am a Christian. I grew up in the Bible, reading about putting all of your cares and issues into God and waiting for His timing. His will be done. While this is true, I believe that needing external help from a professional is completely valid and not appreciated enough especially in the Christian faith. I know many people who struggle with their feelings being put off by a pastor, youth leader, or a parent. I don't believe it's fair for any authority figure who has been put in a position of trust in someone else's mental struggles to say what they do or do not need. It really isn't up to them, and using our faith in that is supporting them in their choices of what they need and praying with them in the rough season. Yes, God is everywhere and is always working, and He can work through the therapist, the counselor, the people he has placed in the lives of people struggling with their mental health. I am a part of Gen Z, the generation with the worst stigma. The generation that struggles the most. My friends are also a part of Gen Z meaning that we deal with things in the same way sometimes. I see my circle of friends as a very mental health centered group. Not in a way that's overbearing or irritating, but in a way that is loving and considerate. My friends check up on me randomly, bring me gifts, and I do the same. We do this because we know what we are all going through, and we want to make it just a little bit easier if we can. No one should go through anything alone, and that is the goal I have with all of my relationships. When it comes to the future, I don't know. I have always told everyone I have no idea what I want to do, but I just want to help people. I am still trying to figure out exactly what that means, but growing up in the stages of not knowing how acceptable it was to be open or how much I could say, I do not want anyone else to go through that. I just want to be a vessel, a part of the bigger puzzle of people who are helping break the stigma around mental health. I have been told to take a walk. I have been told my feelings were not valid. I have been told to not talk about my feelings or struggles. I don't want people to go through that. I want the whole world to know that mental health should be embraced, because when it's not embraced, it gets released in bad and unhealthy ways. I want everyone to feel the warmth of support, the comfort of care, and the glow of love.

Mental health has an incredibly terrible stigma. If you struggle with it, you're weak, but if you get help for it, you're even weaker. Growing up in a time where mental health struggles run rampant through teens, I have gotten to see a unique perspective. Inspirational speakers talking about anti-bullying while a kid is getting yelled at in the halls, principals on the loudspeakers urging the students to love everyone while minorities are getting slurs spewed at them, teachers hanging posters telling us that love is love while the LGBTQIA+ community is being discriminated against everyday. All of these are factors in the mental health of everyone, but teens have fallen victim to all of these scenarios and more. We live in a society that is, for lack of better word, fake. You're perfect until you're not, you say one wrong thing and are threatened with losing everything you ever fought to get. How is that fair to anyone? All anyone wants is for someone to listen first. Judgment is something that we all as humans do. I am not saying it's right, but it's a subconscious thought that we all have. Mental health struggles should be listened to first, and then taken on with an objective approach instead of someone telling them what they lacked twenty years ago, so what they are going through now is completely invalidated. We as a society owe everyone the chance to be heard. It doesn't matter if we don't agree with their lifestyle. Schools, workplaces, and community environments need to be better fit to help people first. I believe we would see a major difference in the world if people just knew they had a SAFE place they could go to. I believe as humans, we flock to people who think like us. It's not something that's usually intentional, but I do personally see myself forming relationships with people who have the same hobbies, values, etc. Something I value more and more as I grow up is my mind. I try to check in on myself a lot and give myself reflection time, I try to develop a mindset that is healthy. In this time that we live in, mental health is so overrated yet so overlooked. My experiences with mental health have definitely made me more cautious of who I let in my life, who I listen and look up to, and what I want to do in the future. I am a Christian. I grew up in the Bible, reading about putting all of your cares and issues into God and waiting for His timing. His will be done. While this is true, I believe that needing external help from a professional is completely valid and not appreciated enough especially in the Christian faith. I know many people who struggle with their feelings being put off by a pastor, youth leader, or a parent. I don't believe it's fair for any authority figure who has been put in a position of trust in someone else's mental struggles to say what they do or do not need. It really isn't up to them, and using our faith in that is supporting them in their choices of what they need and praying with them in the rough season. Yes, God is everywhere and is always working, and He can work through the therapist, the counselor, the people he has placed in the lives of people struggling with their mental health. I am a part of Gen Z, the generation with the worst stigma. The generation that struggles the most. My friends are also a part of Gen Z meaning that we deal with things in the same way sometimes. I see my circle of friends as a very mental health centered group. Not in a way that's overbearing or irritating, but in a way that is loving and considerate. My friends check up on me randomly, bring me gifts, and I do the same. We do this because we know what we are all going through, and we want to make it just a little bit easier if we can. No one should go through anything alone, and that is the goal I have with all of my relationships. When it comes to the future, I don't know. I have always told everyone I have no idea what I want to do, but I just want to help people. I am still trying to figure out exactly what that means, but growing up in the stages of not knowing how acceptable it was to be open or how much I could say, I do not want anyone else to go through that. I just want to be a vessel, a part of the bigger puzzle of people who are helping break the stigma around mental health. I have been told to take a walk. I have been told my feelings were not valid. I have been told to not talk about my feelings or struggles. I don't want people to go through that. I want the whole world to know that mental health should be embraced, because when it's not embraced, it gets released in bad and unhealthy ways. I want everyone to feel the warmth of support, the comfort of care, and the glow of love.

Maintaining a healthy life, especially at my age, is so important. I can build habits now that I will use for my whole life. It's not only physical though, it's also mental. I have always had a hard time with consistency in my physical health. It always felt like a chore to keep up and I never felt motivated enough to continue it for longer than 30 minutes. I had to look at what I was doing that felt hard and too difficult to continue long term: I was trying to workout like everyone else, but I just needed to be me. So I began to do dance workouts like Zumba, and that ended up helping me a lot because it only felt like I was having fun. Then of course, COVID-19 hit and destroyed all of my rhythm that I had found while working out. My mom and I began going on daily walks and I had never felt better. So I try to keep up my walks as much as I can in order to remain fit, but eating is an even bigger part of a healthy lifestyle. So I enjoy superfoods! I love superfoods because I love the feeling I get knowing I am helping my body and my overall health by eating them. I love superfoods also because they are staples in many easy recipes: nuts as granola in my yogurt, kale salads, green tea at a restaurant, an egg on top of my avocado toast, and more. Oats have always been a part of my life. I always ate oatmeal for breakfast before school growing up. My mom and I had this special recipe by adding peanut butter to the mixture in order to boost the flavor and nutritional value, it was always so delicious. Now, I continue to ONLY make my oats in that way, they are so filling and delicious and I add strawberries...another fun and enjoyable trick. I also add oats in the form of granola to my yogurt parfaits. I am a big yogurt parfait fan, even my family will ask me to make them for them. I think the oats add such a fun twist to the sweetness, and I will forever eat it that way. Spinach and I have always had such a love-hate relationship, because no one ever cooked it in a way I was fond of. Through a lot of trial and error, I figured out how I liked eating spinach: raw or in an omelet. Raw spinach is so delicious in so many things: wraps, salads, sandwiches. It almost acts as lettuce in a way, with a little less crunch. I really enjoy spinach because it can also be blended up in green smoothies. It is so versatile and it adds so many nutritional benefits to my diet. Finally, my last favorite superfood is eggs, the most versatile out of all of them. The way I eat eggs has definitely evolved overtime. I used to only eat eggs scrambles, and now I usually only eat them over easy. They are so delicious, but it is definitely important to moderate how much you eat them because of the cholesterol levels. Mentally, I have to do what I love in order to keep a healthy mindset: going on long drives, watching the sunset, and hanging out with the people I love always brings me joy and keeps me mentally happy. It is important to keep a healthy mindset, and I will always try my best to maintain one as long as I live.

Everyone in life needs someone to look out for them. Whether we know they are there or not, it still means a lot to know someone is in our corner. Last school year, I took a pretty difficult English class. It was grueling because of the amount of reading, writing and overall work we had to do. I would say the only reason I made it through that class was because of the friends I had in it to support me. I felt supported in the class, but that wasn't the case for everyone. In the middle of the year, a girl who I knew from previous activities, joined our class period. She wasn't "like" everyone else: she had some different learning processes, needs, and questions. I already knew that, but some people in the class weren't accepting of her without even knowing her. Anytime she would raise her hand to ask a question, people would laugh or roll their eyes. It began hurting me and hurting me fast. I couldn't imagine how that felt for her. The constant giggles and chuckles under people's breath, the continuous annoyance, but it seemed to me that she didn't even notice...or didn't care. It hurt my heart a lot and I couldn't just sit in that class and let it happen. Even though this class was my least favorite and the teacher terrified me, I couldn't be silent. I needed to forget about myself and think about the greater good of the other girl. THAT to me is selflessness. Giving yourself up no matter how uncomfortable it is or how much we don't want to do it. I never told the other girl what I said to the teacher, I never told my classmates. I didn't need the praise, I just needed to take the weight off of myself. I needed to silently let the other girl know that I saw her, I heard her, and that I loved her. I believe that everyone deserves the right to be heard. There seems to be a big gap in communication when it comes to society as a whole, but especially with younger people in my generation. I have said it to everyone I know: most of the time, people just want to be heard, people want an outlet where they can be themselves. I hope that with my place in their lives they feel heard, loved, and maybe a little more understood.

“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.” -Michelle Obama. I don’t know about other people, but when I think of Michelle Obama, I think of a strong, powerful African-American woman. A powerful woman who does not let anyone belittle or silence her. Michelle Obama was born on January 17, 1964, and she became the First Lady of the United States of America in 2009. When I was 3, I even got to go to their inauguration. Michelle being in the white house until I was 12 really impacted my life, but I didn’t know that at the time. During her time in the White House, she traveled the world helping girls, specifically African-American girls. Michelle Obama said this empowering quote about changing the world one step at a time during the Keynote Address at the Young African-American Women Leaders Forum on June 22, 2011. This quote summarizes my life goal and purpose. Michelle Obama came into office with her husband President Barack Obama in 2009. At that time, I was only 4 years old and I did not realize how much of an impact those eight years would make. Michelle Obama has worked with countless different people in the past, but the two who stick out for me are the other two empowering African-American women who have played a part in my life: Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey. By doing this, she is showing people that an African-American woman can be successful and humble at the same time. If you know me at all, you know that I can be a bit of a doormat to people I am afraid of, but something that most people don’t know about me is that I do not let anyone belittle women, most specifically African-American women. I do this because when I grow up, I want to be just like those three women: bold, courageous, strong, intelligent, lovable, compassionate, but most importantly, I want to be humble. Michelle Obama’s quote states that if we have courage, then we can do anything. When I was little, I was oblivious to my surroundings. I didn’t “care” that I was the only black girl in my class, I didn’t “care” that unarmed black men were being shot down all around the country. I didn’t “care” that my culture was drastically falling, because I didn’t know. I didn’t pay attention to the news, even when I was old enough to hear and understand it. I didn’t pay attention because, I didn’t think it had anything to do with me. Now that I am 13 years old and just a little bit more observant, I know that it has everything to do with me. Now that I am older and pay a lot more attention to my surroundings, I have realized that racism around the world is still occuring, and we aren’t doing anything about it. The people who are trying to do something about it are being blatantly ignored. If you know me, you know that I can’t turn my head easily at a topic that I care about. In Michelle Obama’s words, “...you will not always be able to solve all the world's problems.” When I first heard this quote, I thought, “But can’t I try?” Then I realized that I can’t do it on my own, but I can be a piece of the big puzzle that is slowly being solved and put together. I am not one to step out of my comfort zone, but I am not one to underestimate myself, because I know that there have been women before me who didn’t just let someone push them around, they got up and took control. That's what I will be. I will be a young lady to stand up for what I believe in. I will be a young lady to have the courage to stand up and spread my courage and bravery to other people. Most importantly, I will be a young lady who is humble, a young lady who goes high when others go low. I will change the world a little at a time, but with poise and honor. Not cursing people out, not telling them what is right or what is wrong, but what is just. Michelle Obama has and will be my role model until the day I die. I didn't realize how much she did until January 20, 2018 when her and President Barack Obama walked out of the White House. She might be gone, but her legacy isn’t, and this quote is her in a nutshell. If I say her name, people know who she is, not in a bad way but in a good way. That is how I want to be remembered as well.

Kindness is infectious. It’s a warm and tingly feeling that you can’t help but share with others. It’s the same with giving, but a gift isn’t always physical. Gifts are whatever we want them to be and giving is more of an action than a noun. I have always been challenged with the ideas of what I could give back to the world, to people. I decided that my talents could always be used as a gift to others…so I decided I would give music back to others. Music is so underacknowledged in society, but it is one of the most present forces. You walk into stores and music is playing, you watch a movie - music is playing, you go to a sporting event - music is playing, music is everywhere it is the soundtrack to our lives. We cultivate soundtracks for our lives, playlists to fit any and every scenario, we send people songs to tell them we love them, we play people music to remind them we are thinking of them, we bid farewell to our lost ones with music, and we welcome new extended family into our lives with music. Creativity is crucial to society. It is an expression and an outlet for people. Music is an outlet for people. It's so special because it comes in so many different genres, so there is always something for someone. There is a reason trends exist, they come and they go leaving no real impact on the world, but music has been around all throughout history, having such a deeper meaning and lots of influence. Music makes us who we are, and when words are lost, there will always be a song to describe it for us. Giving back is necessary to society. I believe that music is a gift. It is a continuous cycle passed down from generation to generation. It all started when my mom gifted me my record player. It was the best gift I got. Not just because of how it looked, felt, or cost, but because it opened up a whole new world to me. A world full of beautiful sounds: a melodic piano, a chord of a guitar, the orchestral beauty of violins. I was so elated. My mom also gifted me with two albums to start my collection. That day, they were on repeat. My grandmother sat on my bed and sang along to the older tracks she also knew and loved, and my mom stopped in to dance with me to the upbeat tracks. Now - every chance that I get - I collect more. Whether that's from bookstores, websites, or record stores downtown - my favorite shops to attend. It's cool, feeling surrounded by people who also want to expand their collections, who adore music as much as I do. I love sitting in my room, putting a record on. I believe songs sound more raw and personal on vinyl than they do through a phone speaker, even through a car. It's a sound that carries through my space and paints the walls with emotion. As my collection got bigger, the music appealed to more than just me. When my sister returned to college, she would come hangout in my room to dance in the mirror to the fun sounds. It became a binding agent, a community builder in the four walls of our home. I was gifted with the enjoyment of music, and I knew I had to keep giving that to others.

Scholarships. The big word when it comes to college, because what do scholarships offer? Money! That adds a lot of pressure onto the shoulders of applicants. I have never done well in pressure-filled situations, but I know that scholarships are very important to apply to before applying to college. But I also know it's very good to apply even if the chances of winning them aren't very strong, because it increases writing skills. I have learned plenty of things about myself during the scholarship process, and I hope to take these things I've learned to my college experience. The first thing I began to learn about myself was that I am a procrastinator. I don't think I've always been like this, and I also don't think it's necessarily a bad thing...all the time. It is really easy to put scholarships on the back burner, especially when school is in session and extracurricular activities are in full-swing. I had to remind myself that my priorities were very off because I just wanted to do what I wanted, and scholarships were not at the top of the list. I always told myself I produced the best writing under pressure, but that's not always a realistic strategy. I had to remember that scholarships were important to the college application process and I had to take them seriously. Another important thing I learned about myself in the college application process is I am terrified of changing and growing. This may not seem fully connected to scholarships, but it is! I didn't want to accept the fact that I was growing up, I was moving onto the next part of my life, so I denied that by not putting my all into my scholarship applications. Whenever my mother would bring up college, I would genuinely start crying and panicking. I never wanted to hear about the next steps, but denying that change was happening never slowed down the time, it never turned back the clock. I had to fully embrace the next step, and when I did my writing got so much better when applying to scholarships. It is important to reflect on what you learn when doing something new. I had to tell myself this constantly. When I was younger, I knew it was only a matter of time until it was my turn to apply for scholarships. Now that I'm here, I know that I am ready. I can do anything I put my mind to with the work that comes with it, and scholarships have opened my eyes even more to that fact.

Black hair is something that can only be described between the black race. Not because people are wanting to be territorial or rude, but because it is such an unexplainable anomaly if you don't possess the hairs on your head. It has always been hard to find aids in taming the beast that is our hair, until the hairdryer to change all hairdryers entered stores. A big word in black hair is shrinkage. It is a word used to describe how much length black hair loses when it is dry. It's crazy how many inches black hair gains back when blown out properly, but no machines ever gave black hair the proper blowout without other tools such as a comb, brush, or the separate attachment of a hairdryer. At least that was the case, until the Rev-Air Reverse Hair Dryer. The reverse hairdryer is a machine that sucks in wet hair and straightens it in one stroke. This type of technology was unheard of for black hair, and everyone was beyond excited to look into the item more. There began to be an infinite amount of Tik Toks, Instagram posts, and sponsored ads about the groundbreaking technology. It was an exciting moment, because black people had never had the technology to make their hair easier to tame. It was exciting to feel thought of. That is the power of technology: inclusion. A simple piece of technology for something as vain as hair, made a whole race feel included and recognized. That is what makes technology so cool.

Maintaining a healthy life, especially at my age, is so important. I can build habits now that I will use for my whole life. It's not only physical though, it's also mental. I have always had a hard time with consistency in my physical health. It always felt like a chore to keep up and I never felt motivated enough to continue it for longer than 30 minutes. I had to look at what I was doing that felt hard and too difficult to continue long term: I was trying to workout like everyone else, but I just needed to be me. So I began to do dance workouts like Zumba, and that ended up helping me a lot because it only felt like I was having fun. Then of course, COVID-19 hit and destroyed all of my rhythm that I had found while working out. My mom and I began going on daily walks and I had never felt better. So I try to keep up my walks as much as I can in order to remain fit, but eating is an even bigger part of a healthy lifestyle. So I enjoy superfoods! I love superfoods because I love the feeling I get knowing I am helping my body and my overall health by eating them. I love superfoods also because they are staples in many easy recipes: nuts as granola in my yogurt, kale salads, green tea at a restaurant, an egg on top of my avocado toast, and more. Oats have always been a part of my life. I always ate oatmeal for breakfast before school growing up. My mom and I had this special recipe by adding peanut butter to the mixture in order to boost the flavor and nutritional value, it was always so delicious. Now, I continue to ONLY make my oats in that way, they are so filling and delicious and I add strawberries...another fun and enjoyable trick. I also add oats in the form of granola to my yogurt parfaits. I am a big yogurt parfait fan, even my family will ask me to make them for them. I think the oats add such a fun twist to the sweetness, and I will forever eat it that way. Spinach and I have always had such a love-hate relationship, because no one ever cooked it in a way I was fond of. Through a lot of trial and error, I figured out how I liked eating spinach: raw or in an omelet. Raw spinach is so delicious in so many things: wraps, salads, sandwiches. It almost acts as lettuce in a way, with a little less crunch. I really enjoy spinach because it can also be blended up in green smoothies. It is so versatile and it adds so many nutritional benefits to my diet. Finally, my last favorite superfood is eggs, the most versatile out of all of them. The way I eat eggs has definitely evolved overtime. I used to only eat eggs scrambles, and now I usually only eat them over easy. They are so delicious, but it is definitely important to moderate how much you eat them because of the cholesterol levels. Mentally, I have to do what I love in order to keep a healthy mindset: going on long drives, watching the sunset, and hanging out with the people I love always brings me joy and keeps me mentally happy. It is important to keep a healthy mindset, and I will always try my best to maintain one as long as I live.

I was unaware of what a superfood was until a car ride with my mom. I feel like those car rides are where I gained a lot of my knowledge, We were driving easily down the street while she was eating blueberries, and I remember asking her: "Are blueberries good for you?" Of course, this sparked such an informational conversation where I learned how important superfoods are, and how they are all around us. They are much easier to incorporate into our diets than I thought! I love superfoods because I love the feeling I get knowing I am helping my body and my overall health by eating them. I love superfoods also because they are staples in many easy recipes: nuts as granola in my yogurt, kale salads, green tea at a restaurant, an egg on top of my avocado toast, and more. I would say that I have many favorite superfoods, but I will highlight three: oats, spinach, and eggs. Oats have always been a part of my life. I always ate oatmeal for breakfast before school growing up. My mom and I had this special recipe by adding peanut butter to the mixture in order to boost the flavor and nutritional value, it was always so delicious. Now, I continue to ONLY make my oats in that way, they are so filling and delicious and I add strawberries...another fun and enjoyable trick. I also add oats in the form of granola to my yogurt parfaits. I am a big yogurt parfait fan, even my family will ask me to make them for them. I think the oats add such a fun twist to the sweetness, and I will forever eat it that way. Spinach and I have always had such a love-hate relationship, because no one ever cooked it in a way I was fond of. Through a lot of trial and error, I figured out how I liked eating spinach: raw or in an omelet. Raw spinach is so delicious in so many things: wraps, salads, sandwiches. It almost acts as lettuce in a way, with a little less crunch. I really enjoy spinach because it can also be blended up in green smoothies. It is so versatile and it adds so many nutritional benefits to my diet. Finally, my last favorite superfood is eggs, the most versatile out of all of them. The way I eat eggs has definitely evolved overtime. I used to only eat eggs scrambles, and now I usually only eat them over easy. They are so delicious, but it is definitely important to moderate how much you eat them because of the cholesterol levels. I love superfoods and how they have changed my diet, and I hope I rejuvenated some interest in adding these recipes to yours!

It was embarrassing, being afraid of the smallest things, and fearing the outcome of what went wrong, all because of some surgery. SCFE, is the name they called it when explaining to my mother that surgery was necessary now, but I asked for the non-layman’s terms. A slipped capital femoral epiphysis, a fancy way of saying that my femur fell out of its socket and needed to be screwed back in. The thought of it was incredibly unpleasant, and to my small sixth grade mind, it grew more uncomfortable by the minute. I was missing all of the activities in middle school, my first year of period switches and bells, for screws. I felt like I was being robbed, and made sure my doctor was aware of my feelings as well: “I- I can’t do that, I can’t stay here. I have spirit week, I have to be at school, I mean- who is going to help me with classes, no, I can’t, this isn’t an option.” It only took about three minutes and a wheelchair ride to my short-term room stay to find out I actually had no choice at all. My whole life, I had wanted control. I was never a big fan of letting someone else make choices for me, but it didn’t seem like anything was up for debate. I had no choice, a feeling I wasn’t used to, and didn’t enjoy, but if I wanted relief, and to feel better. My surgery was seamless and easy, but it’s true what they say about recovery: It’s just the beginning. That’s also what the nurse said, the receptionist, and the physical therapist. Physical therapy. A deceiving term considering that I felt everything but therapeutic after my sessions, but I had no choice but to do it.

Michelle Obama has worked with countless different people in the past, but the two who stick out for me are the other two empowering African-American women who have played a part in my life: Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey. By doing this, she is showing people that an African-American woman can be successful and humble at the same time. If you know me at all, you know that I can be a bit of a doormat to people I am afraid of, but something that most people don’t know about me is that I do not let anyone belittle women, most specifically African-American women. I do this because when I grow up, I want to be just like those three women: bold, courageous, strong, intelligent, lovable, compassionate, but most importantly, I want to be humble. Michelle Obama’s quote states that if we have courage, then we can do anything. When I was little, I was oblivious to my surroundings. I didn’t “care” that I was the only black girl in my class, I didn’t “care” that unarmed black men were being shot down all around the country. I didn’t “care” that my culture was drastically falling, because I didn’t know. I didn’t pay attention to the news, even when I was old enough to hear and understand it. I didn’t pay attention because, I didn’t think it had anything to do with me. Now that I am 13 years old and just a little bit more observant, I know that it has everything to do with me. Now that I am older and pay a lot more attention to my surroundings, I have realized that racism around the world is still occuring, and we aren’t doing anything about it. The people who are trying to do something about it are being blatantly ignored. If you know me, you know that I can’t turn my head easily at a topic that I care about. In Michelle Obama’s words, “...you will not always be able to solve all the world's problems.” When I first heard this quote, I thought, “But can’t I try?” Then I realized that I can’t do it on my own, but I can be a piece of the big puzzle that is slowly being solved and put together. I am not one to step out of my comfort zone, but I am not one to underestimate myself, because I know that there have been women before me who didn’t just let someone push them around, they got up and took control. That's what I will be. I will be a young lady to stand up for what I believe in. I will be a young lady to have the courage to stand up and spread my courage and bravery to other people. Most importantly, I will be a young lady who is humble, a young lady who goes high when others go low. I will change the world a little at a time, but with poise and honor. Not cursing people out, not telling them what is right or what is wrong, but what is just. Michelle Obama has and will be my role model until the day I die. I didn't realize how much she did until January 20, 2018 when her and President Barack Obama walked out of the White House. She might be gone, but her legacy isn’t, and this quote is her in a nutshell. If I say her name, people know who she is, not in a bad way but in a good way. That is how I want to be remembered as well.

Story is attached.

Last school year, I took a pretty difficult English class. It was grueling because of the amount of reading, writing and overall work we had to do. I would say the only reason I made it through that class was because of the friends I had in it to support me. I felt supported in the class, but that wasn't the case for everyone. In the middle of the year, a girl who I knew from previous activities, joined our class period. She wasn't "like" everyone else: she had some different learning processes, needs, and questions. I already knew that, but some people in the class weren't accepting of her without even knowing her. Anytime she would raise her hand to ask a question, people would laugh or roll their eyes. It began hurting me and hurting me fast. I couldn't imagine how that felt for her. The constant giggles and chuckles under people's breath, the continuous annoyance, but it seemed to me that she didn't even notice...or didn't care. It hurt my heart a lot and I couldn't just sit in that class and let it happen. Even though this class was my least favorite and the teacher terrified me, I couldn't be silent. I needed to forget about myself and think about the greater good of the other girl. THAT to me is selflessness. Giving yourself up no matter how uncomfortable it is or how much we don't want to do it. I never told the other girl what I said to the teacher, I never told my classmates. I didn't need the praise, I just needed to take the weight off of myself. I needed to silently let the other girl know that I saw her, I heard her, and that I loved her. I believe that everyone deserves the right to be heard. There seems to be a big gap in communication when it comes to society as a whole, but especially with younger people in my generation. I have said it to everyone I know: most of the time, people just want to be heard, people want an outlet where they can be themselves. I hope that with my place in their lives they feel heard, loved, and maybe a little more understood. I have always been told I was a natural born leader. I had always been put in points of responsibility and I have always wanted to help people in any way I can.

I am a Christian. I grew up in the Bible, reading about putting all of your cares and issues into God and waiting for His timing. His will be done. While this is true, I believe that needing external help from a professional is completely valid and not appreciated enough especially in the Christian faith. I know many people who struggle with their feelings being put off by a pastor, youth leader, or a parent. I don't believe it's fair for any authority figure who has been put in a position of trust in someone else's mental struggles to say what they do or do not need. It really isn't up to them, and using our faith in that is supporting them in their choices of what they need and praying with them in the rough season. Yes, God is everywhere and is always working, and He can work through the therapist, the counselor, the people he has placed in the lives of people struggling with their mental health. I am a part of Gen Z, the generation with the worst stigma. The generation that struggles the most. My friends are also a part of Gen Z meaning that we deal with things in the same way sometimes. I see my circle of friends as a very mental health centered group. Not in a way that's overbearing or irritating, but in a way that is loving and considerate. My friends check up on me randomly, bring me gifts, and I do the same. We do this because we know what we are all going through, and we want to make it just a little bit easier if we can. No one should go through anything alone, and that is the goal I have with all of my relationships. When it comes to the future, I don't know. I have always told everyone I have no idea what I want to do, but I just want to help people. I am still trying to figure out exactly what that means, but growing up in the stages of not knowing how acceptable it was to be open or how much I could say, I do not want anyone else to go through that. I just want to be a vessel, a part of the bigger puzzle of people who are helping break the stigma around mental health. If I would have mentioned mental health and its crippling effects to a group ten years ago, their response to me would be wildly more contrasting than if I mentioned it now. But sadly, that is only if it is mentioned in a broad setting, a "community" that has caucasion people, members of the upper class, etc. Mental health, in my opinion, is one of the most overlooked dilemmas and issues in the Black community right now, and has been for awhile. My utopian vision for optimal mental health for the Black community is an available outreach and understanding just like what is given to others. I also would want these services to be free, no one should have to pay for help because they do not feel like themselves. Communities of color, Black people specifically have always been viewed as "violent", "feral", and other inhumane terms. As elementary as it sounds, words do hurt, and hearing these terms being used to a grandparent, father, mother, uncle, sibling, is hard and taxing on the mind. Not only that, but they have also always been viewed as tough and strong, to the point where they must uphold that at all times. This is not always society's fault either but due to the generational gap within the families. Because of the complicated history Black people have in the United States, older members were alive when rights were limited, slavery was ending, etc. Their advice will never be enough for a child in Generation Z, who has social media apps at their disposal to learn more than what their older counterparts are open to even being educated on. This creates a barrier within the family, meaning the child turns to other things instead of reaching out to a professional for these mental health issues, only making them worse. Advocacy is a big word in the sense that too much does too little. Overcompensating has become a big problem in the 21st Century, once you make a person of color the poster child for every mental health issue ever, it becomes just that, a poster and nothing else. The advocacy needed for mental health care needs to come directly to the communities of color, instead of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat. Community outreach is one of the most overlooked strategies. Most people just want someone to care enough to see more than just their appearance, but dig deeper and actually see their struggles. Constantly hearing to just "take a walk" when you're struggling is not doing much and it is most definitely not being effective in the way the person most likely wants it to be. Lastly, money is a large issue. In these communities, money can be tight because of the other bills that need to be paid, kids that need to be taken care of, sadly mental health care takes a back seat and collects dust while the other priorities are attended to. A large need is just meeting them where they are instead of neglecting them because they couldn't pay for the service anyways. Thus, the first step to advocating and showing love and care to these communities in terms of mental health is simply going there and supporting them financially if needed. I believe a big change would be seen if someone else prioritized their mental health for them.

If I were a highly influential figure, I would mainly stand for fairness. In all honesty, it seems that kindness has lost all substance and now the definition is nothing but a blurred mess. Fairness, or justice, has become an avoided term, a word that now has been affiliated with riots, violence, and hate. In my mind justice can be as little as helping someone up when they fall down. The dictionary term for justice is "just behavior or treatment". Everyone deserves to be treated like a person. Something I have learned from my sixteen years on this Earth is that people don't require much, most people just want someone to see them as a human. I would stand for that. Seeing everyone and going the extra step in knowing them deeper. This is so important in this world and I try to remind myself and everyone that most problems can be solved with simply just listening. That is what we need, and what I would stand for. But I didn't form these beliefs on my own. I had a support system who drilled these mantras into me, and made me who I am now. My mom was always a firm believer of doing what's write..in and out of the classroom. I always strived for good grades because I always wanted to make her proud. She would always tell me "don't do it for me, do it for yourself." So I began doing it for myself (and secretly still for her too), and I saw myself becoming stronger. Being strong in academics has always meant a lot to me, because I know how far it can take me in life. My mom has always told me to never leave low hanging fruit hanging, to always do more. I would say that is why my grades are the way they are. My mom planted the seed in me to be great and continuously watered them for me, even when I didn't want to. She reminded me that it is my educational journey and she could only do so much, not as a threat but as a reminder that I can do it. She will forever be my support, my rock and I am thankful for such a solid foundation as I move onto what's next in my life. I know I am ready because my mom will be with me no matter what.

Everyone in life needs someone to look out for them. Whether we know they are there or not, it still means a lot to know someone is in our corner. Last school year, I took a pretty difficult English class. It was grueling because of the amount of reading, writing and overall work we had to do. I would say the only reason I made it through that class was because of the friends I had in it to support me. I felt supported in the class, but that wasn't the case for everyone. In the middle of the year, a girl who I knew from previous activities, joined our class period. She wasn't "like" everyone else: she had some different learning processes, needs, and questions. I already knew that, but some people in the class weren't accepting of her without even knowing her. Anytime she would raise her hand to ask a question, people would laugh or roll their eyes. It began hurting me and hurting me fast. I couldn't imagine how that felt for her. The constant giggles and chuckles under people's breath, the continuous annoyance, but it seemed to me that she didn't even notice...or didn't care. It hurt my heart a lot and I couldn't just sit in that class and let it happen. Even though this class was my least favorite and the teacher terrified me, I couldn't be silent. I needed to forget about myself and think about the greater good of the other girl. THAT to me is selflessness. Giving yourself up no matter how uncomfortable it is or how much we don't want to do it. I never told the other girl what I said to the teacher, I never told my classmates. I didn't need the praise, I just needed to take the weight off of myself. I needed to silently let the other girl know that I saw her, I heard her, and that I loved her. I believe that everyone deserves the right to be heard. There seems to be a big gap in communication when it comes to society as a whole, but especially with younger people in my generation. I have said it to everyone I know: most of the time, people just want to be heard, people want an outlet where they can be themselves. I hope that with my place in their lives they feel heard, loved, and maybe a little more understood.

Look, but don’t look down, but look down so you don’t like…fall, but not for too long because you’re going to psych yourself out. Ugh, now you’ve psyched yourself out. “Gab, you have to get down somehow.” “I know mom, I know.” Go, you have places to be, people to see, go. They’re stairs, crutches should make it easier. Crutches did not make it easier. If anything, the crutches’ cold cylindrical bars and the rubber pads the hospital called “cushion”, only made the simple act of walking down the stairs a laborious task. It was embarrassing, being afraid of the smallest things, and fearing the outcome of what went wrong, all because of some surgery. SCFE, is the name they called it when explaining to my mother that surgery was necessary now, but I asked for the non-layman’s terms. A slipped capital femoral epiphysis, a fancy way of saying that my femur fell out of its socket and needed to be screwed back in. The thought of it was incredibly unpleasant, and to my small sixth grade mind, it grew more uncomfortable by the minute. I was missing all of the activities in middle school, my first year of period switches and bells, for screws. I felt like I was being robbed, and made sure my doctor was aware of my feelings as well: “I- I can’t do that, I can’t stay here. I have spirit week, I have to be at school, I mean- who is going to help me with classes, no, I can’t, this isn’t an option.” It only took about three minutes and a wheelchair ride to my short-term room stay to find out I actually had no choice at all. My whole life, I had wanted control. I was never a big fan of letting someone else make choices for me, but it didn’t seem like anything was up for debate. I had no choice, a feeling I wasn’t used to, and didn’t enjoy, but if I wanted relief, and to feel better… I had to trust and give up my right to choose, but only for a little bit. My surgery was seamless and easy, but it’s true what they say about recovery: It’s just the beginning. That’s also what the nurse said, the receptionist, and the physical therapist. Physical therapy. A deceiving term considering that I felt everything but therapeutic after my sessions, but I had no choice but to do it. The nice lady placed me on top of these wooden steps, and taught me how to walk down them: Crutch first, release, go down. Crutch first, release, go down. It was terrifying, why was I putting my whole weight on two metal sticks? But I had no choice, I needed to get down. It took time, and it was a terrifying idea: putting my faith in something else, but it wasn’t up for debate. There have been so many more times in my life now where I have had to put my trust in something other than myself. It has made me realize how much I lacked trust in others, and how little faith I had. It was an eye opening experience, especially for me whose whole religion surrounds believing and trusting in God. I had to let go and realize that choice was a privilege. That’s the thing about life, sometimes there is no choice. No choice but to submit, to fall, to ask for help. Even if it’s new, even if it’s different, even if it’s hard…it’s good and necessary. Even if I wasn’t given a choice.

If I would have mentioned mental health and its crippling effects to a group ten years ago, their response to me would be wildly more contrasting than if I mentioned it now. But sadly, that is only if it is mentioned in a broad setting, a "community" that has caucasion people, members of the upper class, etc. Mental health, in my opinion, is one of the most overlooked dilemmas and issues in the Black community right now, and has been for awhile. My utopian vision for optimal mental health for the Black community is an available outreach and understanding just like what is given to others. I also would want these services to be free, no one should have to pay for help because they do not feel like themselves. Communities of color, Black people specifically have always been viewed as "violent", "feral", and other inhumane terms. As elementary as it sounds, words do hurt, and hearing these terms being used to a grandparent, father, mother, uncle, sibling, is hard and taxing on the mind. Not only that, but they have also always been viewed as tough and strong, to the point where they must uphold that at all times. This is not always society's fault either but due to the generational gap within the families. Because of the complicated history Black people have in the United States, older members were alive when rights were limited, slavery was ending, etc. Their advice will never be enough for a child in Generation Z, who has social media apps at their disposal to learn more than what their older counterparts are open to even being educated on. This creates a barrier within the family, meaning the child turns to other things instead of reaching out to a professional for these mental health issues, only making them worse. Advocacy is a big word in the sense that too much does too little. Overcompensating has become a big problem in the 21st Century, once you make a person of color the poster child for every mental health issue ever, it becomes just that, a poster and nothing else. The advocacy needed for mental health care needs to come directly to the communities of color, instead of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat. Community outreach is one of the most overlooked strategies. Most people just want someone to care enough to see more than just their appearance, but dig deeper and actually see their struggles. Constantly hearing to just "take a walk" when you're struggling is not doing much and it is most definitely not being effective in the way the person most likely wants it to be. Lastly, money is a large issue. In these communities, money can be tight because of the other bills that need to be paid, kids that need to be taken care of, sadly mental health care takes a back seat and collects dust while the other priorities are attended to. A large need is just meeting them where they are instead of neglecting them because they couldn't pay for the service anyways. Thus, the first step to advocating and showing love and care to these communities in terms of mental health is simply going there and supporting them financially if needed. I believe a big change would be seen if someone else prioritized their mental health for them.

Growing up as a black girl in a predominately white city, I have learned a lot about myself. I have realized that sometimes, people just don't know what is happening in the world because it "doesn't affect them." Instead of being hateful and calling people ignorant, I have begun to educate the uneducated. It took me a long time to tell myself that I was only doing harm to my own mental health, instead of helping others. I feel like I support equality and diversity just by being open about my experiences. This world is not perfect, and this world is full of injustices. I experience injustice on a daily basis. Yes, there are some injustices I will never feel, and because of that I keep an open circle. I have always been open to learning, because I believe everyone deserves the right to be heard. Giving everyone a voice is something I strive to do everyday. No one should feel fought against, we should fight for each other. I will fight for that everyday.

I am so thankful to have been trusted with leadership opportunities. Although those roles all play out in different ways, there are certain goals I have as a whole. I believe that everyone deserves the right to be heard. There seems to be a big gap in communication when it comes to society as a whole, but especially with younger people in my generation. I have said it to everyone I know: most of the time, people just want to be heard, people want an outlet where they can be themselves. I hope that with my place in their lives they feel heard, loved, and maybe a little more understood. Lastly, I believe that if one is given a leadership role, they should look to their own mentors for advice. I have turned to my mother, and lots of my other mentors for advice on how to handle situations. I have learned that it can be difficult to ask for help, and it can be a shock when you learn others struggle with the same things you do. I believe validation is the only way we are going to grow as a society, and I strive to be that light for someone.

said about women standing up for themselves, no matter what time period, but during the time when Black people barely possessed the right on the street, let alone choose a seat on the bus, that is a whole new category. Fearless is the word I use to describe her. Courageous is the word I would use to describe her. Strong is the word I would use to describe her. There are honestly too many words I could use. Rosa Parks did something no one was brave enough to do during that time, not because they were cowardly, but because they knew the consequences. Rosa knew the consequences yet she did it, for the good of the Black Community. In today's world we all think “what's so important about a seat on the bus, it's a bus it really doesn't matter”, but it was more than that. It was a status. It was about the acknowledgement that everyone is the same. I admire Rosa’s resilience. Not moving even though she was told. Not stopping when she was physically carried off of the bus. This story inspires me. As a black girl, I'm overlooked, I am stepped over, I am doubted. I am reminded by Rosa Parks that I can stand up for myself, I can stand up for myself, regardless of the consequences I can stand for what's right even if it's against societal norms. It's what is right, and I promise to stand up for that forever.

Change isn't easy. It's something we have to deal with, but not something we usually like to acknowledge is happening. When the pandemic came, I was so excited to get a couple of weeks out of school and have time to myself. Of course that's what everyone thought. The pandemic was amazing for about a month: I finished my homework in the record time of 15 minutes, stayed in sweatpants all day, got to focus on myself, facetime calls everyday with my closest friends, and food whenever I wanted. But of course, sometimes things we think are for the good are actually just major distractions. As the lockdowns began to get more intense, I could feel my sense of self crumbling. I began to cry a lot more and isolate myself in my room, away from my support system. When the world became more violent and complicated, I also began to question my worth. The year was very difficult for me. It took a lot of reflection and remembrance to remind myself of what was true. But because of that time I spent reflecting, I now better know how to take care of myself and how to love myself through the difficult times.

Telling someone who is struggling to "have faith" and "be hopeful", even with good intentions, sometimes seems like the most ingenuine phrase. This is how I felt a few months ago when my world flipped on its head. Living in covid times has not been easy for anyone, and definitely not someone like me who is immunocompromised. I had spent the entire past two years being incredibly paranoid and utterly concerned over getting detoured by the diagnosis of COVID-19. Like most people, I used all precautions; I wore my mask properly, socially distanced, and locked down for a good year. I stayed safe during the lockdowns in my town and I did not get sick. This abnormal year, I joined an a cappella group of amazing people. The rehearsals were not strict on mask wearing and at the end of the year I got COVID. It was a pretty mild case until my days of quarantine were technically over and the next thing I knew I was coughing up blood. My mom took me to the ER where I was transported in an ambulance to the hospital. I was immediately told I have a severe case of pneumonia and I was put on oxygen. I was terrified, all of my plans ruined, not to mention my lungs. The best thing I could do was hope and pray I would get better, only hope that this was just another thing I overcame, and it was. I still do not fully have my lung capacity, but I am at about 90% and I got out of the hospital in one night. Although the road to recovery has not been easy nor enjoyable, hope is the only thing I had and the only reason I got through.

My favorite way to help people is by leading them. I am so thankful to have been trusted with leadership opportunities. Although those roles all play out in different ways, there are certain goals I have as a whole. I believe that everyone deserves the right to be heard. There seems to be a big gap in communication when it comes to society as a whole, but especially with younger people in my generation. I have said it to everyone I know: most of the time, people just want to be heard, people want an outlet where they can be themselves. I hope that with my place in their lives they feel heard, loved, and maybe a little more understood. Lastly, I believe that if one is given a leadership role, they should look to their own mentors for advice. I have turned to my mother, and lots of my other mentors for advice on how to handle situations. I have learned that it can be difficult to ask for help, and it can be a shock when you learn others struggle with the same things you do. I believe validation is the only way we are going to grow as a society, and I strive to be that light for someone.

Mental health has an incredibly terrible stigma. If you struggle with it, you're weak, but if you get help for it, you're even weaker. Growing up in a time where mental health struggles run rampant through teens, I have gotten to see a unique perspective. Inspirational speakers talking about anti-bullying while a kid is getting yelled at in the halls, principals on the loudspeakers urging the students to love everyone while minorities are getting slurs spewed at them, teachers hanging posters telling us that love is love while the LGBTQIA+ community is being discriminated against everyday. All of these are factors in the mental health of everyone, but teens have fallen victim to all of these scenarios and more. We live in a society that is, for lack of better word, fake. You're perfect until you're not, you say one wrong thing and are threatened with losing everything you ever fought to get. How is that fair to anyone? All anyone wants is for someone to listen first. Judgment is something that we all as humans do. I am not saying it's right, but it's a subconscious thought that we all have. Mental health struggles should be listened to first, and then taken on with an objective approach instead of someone telling them what they lacked twenty years ago, so what they are going through now is completely invalidated. We as a society owe everyone the chance to be heard. It doesn't matter if we don't agree with their lifestyle. Schools, workplaces, and community environments need to be better fit to help people first. I believe we would see a major difference in the world if people just knew they had a SAFE place they could go to.

Friendship to me means loyalty, love, and trust. Everyone has had a bad experience with a friend and everyone has longed for a connection. There is so much to say about a relationship that lasts more than just a few years. I have had my fair share of friendships, some that fell through. Something I have learned from all of those friendships that didn't necessarily work out: you cannot expect someone else to heal the wounds you haven't even attempted to tend to. As much as we want our friends to carry our weight, sometimes it's not possible and sometimes that hurts, but it makes everything healthier. Instead of dumping, a healthy communication is formed and, honestly, it makes everything more personal. Friendship to me is sticking together, despite the inevitable drama and disagreements, you don't leave just because things got a little rocky and complicated. You stay and you figure it out, but overall friendship is about love. When it is a real friendship you can feel the love they have for you and the care, it will pour out in actions and words. That is a real friendship to me.

Growing up my mother always told me that giving back is one of the best things we can do. There are no excuses. I used to think that where I lived impacted what I could do, but that is the most false statement. Volunteering has always been something my family did together, it was a bonding moment for us. I get to meet so many people every time I help somewhere new, and that is my favorite part. There are so many organizations locally that need help, some that are even run by my friends. Being close with people who also want to help locally is important. We can all serve together and that is what we do. We have made lifelong memories helping people together. Another way I act locally is being aware of the environment. It is a very overlooked problem, but being eco-friendly is one of the simplest yet helpful things we can do. Being aware of it is the first step.

Something I have learned about myself is the importance of independence. To be independent means to be aware. I believe that independence comes once someone genuinely decides to accept the world that they live in as well as all of its flaws, and instead learn how to take care of themselves in the chaotic world we live in. Something that also should be noted is that independence does not mean "fending for ourselves” like some tend to believe, I believe independence truly means relying on your own body to help you first, knowing yourself. Independence truly is such a mental shift. There are several landmarks of independence before people even turn eighteen years old. Personally, my first experience of learning to become independent came in fourth grade. My mother always packed my lunch, a very delicious one if I may add, but when I got into fourth grade she told me it was time to learn how to pack my own lunch. Of course, for a mere 20 minutes I was so excited for the floodgate of "opportunity" that was just opened. Candy, cookies and noodles everyday? What a dream! But I was quickly reminded that lunch is an important meal, and I am now responsible for partly taking care and thinking about what my body consumes. I am now a junior in high school and still have to be reminded that with independence comes responsibility, but I am learning...because learning about yourself is the most important part of life.

Being creative is such an outlet for me. I love the fact that I can pick up a piece of paper, and fifteen minutes later a beautiful piece of writing is produced. Whether that's a poem, random words, a song, something has been created. Creativity has become my life. I now have a new way of viewing life; not unrealistically, but optimistically. I love the fact that I can face a problem objectively, but subjectively solving it in a way that works for me. I love the detours my brain can turn onto, instead of shutting down and switching gears and reversing. I love my impact my creativity has on others as well as my compassion. Although something that I love about myself is not physical, it is in a sense because I create with my body. I believe that it is important to acknowledge the good things about your personality, body, or mindset. I enjoy my creativity. It is such a safe space for me, and it has gotten me through lots of difficult and scary times. Creativity is a privilege, something I don't take for granted, and something I will always use.

I live in a predominantly white area, meaning that all of my years in school: I was either the only black girl in class, or one of two. As uncomfortable as it was sometimes it made me stronger, it gave me something to overcome. I am not saying I was surrounded by racist people or anything like that, but I was surrounded by people that had different experiences than me and may never be able to relate to some of my issues. I had a lot of mental health struggles growing up because of this, not only was I the only black girl, but I was always one of the smartest people in my classes. Mental health has had a very crippling hold on me and many other students in the same situations. Communities of color, Black people specifically have always been viewed as "violent", "feral", and other inhumane terms. As elementary as it sounds, words do hurt, and hearing these terms being used to a grandparent, father, mother, uncle, sibling, is hard and taxing on the mind. Not only that, but they have also always been viewed as tough and strong, to the point where they must uphold that at all times. This is not always society's fault either but due to the generational gap within the families. Because of the complicated history Black people have in the United States, older members were alive when rights were limited, slavery was ending, etc. Their advice will never be enough for a child in Generation Z, who has social media apps at their disposal to learn more than what their older counterparts are open to even being educated on. This creates a barrier within the family, meaning the child turns to other things instead of reaching out to a professional for these mental health issues, only making them worse. Advocacy is a big word in the sense that too much does too little. Overcompensating has become a big problem in the 21st Century, once you make a person of color the poster child for every mental health issue ever, it becomes just that, a poster and nothing else. The advocacy needed for mental health care needs to come directly to the communities of color, instead of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat. Community outreach is one of the most overlooked strategies. Most people just want someone to care enough to see more than just their appearance, but dig deeper and actually see their struggles. Constantly hearing to just "take a walk" when you're struggling is not doing much and it is most definitely not being effective in the way the person most likely wants it to be. Lastly, money is a large issue. In these communities, money can be tight because of the other bills that need to be paid, kids that need to be taken care of, sadly mental health care takes a back seat and collects dust while the other priorities are attended to. A large need is just meeting them where they are instead of neglecting them because they couldn't pay for the service anyways. Thus, the first step to advocating and showing love and care to these communities in terms of mental health is simply going there and supporting them financially if needed. I believe a big change would be seen if someone else prioritized their mental health for them. That is how we change the world.

I'm not sure if I can categorize my skills and say that there is a distinct best one, but one of my strongest skills is definitely singing. I have sang my whole life, but I do firmly believe that there is a difference between singing and really perfecting one's musical craft. At a young age, I began being trained in a theatrical way. I acted in many shows and the vocal instructor always taught me neat tricks in order to sing properly. Even when I stopped acting I still carried those tricks along with me. Now that I sing in an a cappella group and the highest choir in my school, I have a new vocal instructor who focuses on my voice personally and listens to how I learn and teaches me in that way. I go once a week, I also sing daily. All these practices ensure that on a daily basis I am trying my best and not staying stagnant in my craft, but always striving to get better. Not only is singing a talent, it is a passion. I want to continue music in college and become the best I possibly can. I want to make a difference with my music for as long as I can, I know I can do it. I already am.

Sunsets. Something so simple, and something I never have to ask for but are provided to me everyday, makes me very happy. There is something so peaceful about looking outside of a window and seeing the sky painted with the most beautiful pigments of orange, pink, purple, blue, red, and yellow. It makes my heart swell. I love documenting them on my phone, I keep an album in my phone of all the sky photos I have. My mom knows exactly what I'm doing when I run out to the back deck in the evening with my phone, the pretty sky just has to be admired. An additional smile is had when I go on a drive to watch the sunset. I love driving- by myself, with my friends, it doesn't matter - but when I go out and follow the sky it relieves me of all of my worries. I like to put on my music, roll all the windows down and go on the backroads of my town to see the sun slowly fall as the moon takes its place. It is the most tranquil experience and gives me so much joy. Yes, I find happiness and relaxation in a lot of other things, but something that I never asked for, something that I didn't have to try for, something that I know God created to make people smile, are sunsets. I will continue to admire and enjoy them for the rest of my life.

I believe as humans, we flock to people who think like us. It's not something that's usually intentional, but I do personally see myself forming relationships with people who have the same hobbies, values, etc. Something I value more and more as I grow up is my mind. I try to check in on myself a lot and give myself reflection time, I try to develop a mindset that is healthy. In this time that we live in, mental health is so overrated yet so overlooked. My experiences with mental health have definitely made me more cautious of who I let in my life, who I listen and look up to, and what I want to do in the future. Mental health has impacted every part of our world. Why don't we just talk to people more and insert our opinions less. I want everyone to feel loved and listened to. Everyone deserves that. That is how I show empathy.

There is something so tranquil and simple about hobbies. Nothing is formal, judged, or rushed, instead it's personal to one person and cherished to them. My hobbies are no different. Something that resulted from the confines of the 2020 quarantine, was the collection of vinyl records. I have always loved music, there is something more I hear in the sounds that is so unexplainable. Being able to physically touch the music is such a magical thing. On my 15th birthday, my mother gifted me with a Victrola Record Player. Not just because of how it looked, felt, or cost, but because it opened up a whole new world to me. A world full of beautiful sounds: a melodic piano, a chord of a guitar, the orchestral beauty of violins. I was so elated. My mom also gifted me with two albums to start my collection. That day, they were on repeat. My grandmother sat on my bed and sang along to the older tracks she also knew and loved, and my mom stopped in to dance with me to the upbeat tracks. Now - every chance that I get - I collect more. Whether that's from bookstores, websites, or record stores downtown - my favorite shops to attend. It's cool, feeling surrounded by people who also want to expand their collections, who adore music as much as I do. I love sitting in my room, putting a record on. I believe songs sound more raw and personal on vinyl than they do through a phone speaker, even through a car. It's a sound that carries through my space and paints the walls with emotion. But it's just a record player,. That's the beautiful thing about hobbies, they become so much more than what was originally intended.

It's crazy to me how sometimes the simplest pleasures are sometimes the hardest to remember, the most difficult to appreciate, the most overlooked. As humans, we want the big gestures, the ones that will be ingrained in our heads forever. But simple pleasures are ingrained in our heads, they are just so routine that we forget about them. I love that I am reminded of my simple pleasure often, because of how consistently they occur. One of the simplest pleasures that I enjoy are clean sheets. Yes, taking them off and putting them on my bed when it is tightly snuggled to the wall is difficult, but so worth it. There is nothing like getting in bed after a long day and the sheets that give you comfort for your slumber are fresh and clean, maybe even warm. Another simple pleasure that may be too specific to be relatable has to do with my Spotify. Even though my Spotify is ad-free, I used to have to shuffle through my favorite songs until I found the one I wanted to listen to. The best thing was when I pressed the shuffle button once and my favorite song would come on. I did nothing for that to happen, but it was always so exciting and made me very happy. My last simple pleasure that makes me very happy is candles. I could talk about candles forever. They are so pleasing in every way: their appearance, their packaging, and of course their smell. I possess so many candles, and during the cool seasons we light them in our kitchens. The array of different holiday smells spreading to the entire house melted away all of my worries very fast. Simple pleasures warm our senses daily, I dare you to look for them more.

So many songs have had such a huge impact on my life, but one that comes to my mind immediately is Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. The song never fails to make me cry. Not because of a driving beat, loudly belted notes, or powerful dynamics...but because of the lyrics. I can relate to the lyrics because I love hard. I am someone who loves people as deeply as I can, and I'm constantly afraid of things changing. The premise of the beginning is saying how they took their love with them to the mountains , but nature - a landslide - took them down to the bottom. The chorus says they've been afraid of changing because they built their life around them. This statement hurts, but it is so relatable. The chorus ends by saying they're getting older too. I am afraid of getting older because everything that comes with it…the change, but that's how it goes. This song is an ode to change, something we all have to deal with but something none of us want to experience. That is why this song will always stay close to my heart.

I love love. There is something so easy and so simple to loving someone. Everyone deserves to be loved and cared for, so that is my goal. My mom has always told me that you love inside and then out. This means that you show your love to your family first, inside of the house, and then to everyone else. Showing love in the house has shown itself to be as easy as doing the dishes without being asked, or sitting at the dinner table to talk even though I'm not hungry. Not only does that show love, it also increases peace. I love my friends so much. I would do anything and everything for them, but they would also do anything and everything for me. My friends don't require much, I just love spending time with them. My love language is in fact quality time. When I notice a friend is struggling, I will make a care package of some sort and make sure they feel as loved as possible. In life, I just try to love. It's the greatest force in our world, and one that isn't used as often as I would appreciate.

Talent is a complicated thought in my head. Something I think I have talent in, may just be in my own head, but I know one of my primary talents is definitely singing and songwriting. I have sang my whole life, but I do firmly believe that there is a difference between singing and really perfecting one's musical craft. At a young age, I began being trained in a theatrical way of music. I acted in many shows and the vocal instructor always taught me neat tricks in order to sing properly. Even when I stopped acting in high school, I still carried those tactics along with me. Now that I sing in an a cappella group and the highest choir in my school, I have a new vocal instructor who focuses on my voice personally and listens to how I learn and teaches me in that way, and amazing directors who have taught me so much. I go once a week, I also sing daily. All these practices ensure that on a daily basis I am trying my best and not staying stagnant in my craft, but always striving to get better. Not only is singing a talent, it is a passion. I want to continue music in college and become the best I possibly can. I want to make a difference with my music for as long as I can, I know I can do it. I already am.

Growing up as a black girl in a predominately white city, I have learned a lot about myself. I have realized that sometimes, people just don't know what is happening in the world because it "doesn't affect them." Instead of being hateful and calling people ignorant, I have begun to educate the uneducated. It took me a long time to tell myself that I was only doing harm to my own mental health, instead of helping others. I feel like I support equality and diversity just by being open about my experiences. This world is not perfect, and this world is full of injustices. I experience injustice on a daily basis. Yes, there are some injustices I will never feel, and because of that I keep an open circle. I have always been open to learning, because I believe everyone deserves the right to be heard. Giving everyone a voice is something I strive to do everyday. No one should feel fought against, we should fight for each other. I will fight for that everyday.

Self-care is a word that people constantly groan and roll their eyes at. Is it because they see wealthy influencers promoting their routines daily on social media, or is it because they have lost practice in taking care of themselves? The reality is that self-care is whatever you want it to be, because it’s just taking care of yourself. I will admit, my physical self-care has not been great of the past year, and I’m working on changing that because I know I need to. It’s difficult to change habits, but it is rewarding when they change. I love my skincare routine. I haven’t been doing it as often recently, but it’s an amazing routine that I enjoy. There’s something about washing the day off that’s really fun to me. As for my mental self-care, I try to journal and read my Bible to unwind. I have also been trying to get into reading more books again, and that’s helped tremendously. I used to be a huge reader and I miss that. Self-care impacts my life because it gives me something to look forward to. It reminds myself that I have one body, and if I don't take care of it then I won’t have that body for too long . It’s an important reminder, and I shouldn’t and won’t take it for granted.

Love. Such a commonly used word, but I feel like the true emphasis of it has been lost. It's a word we all throw around so commonly: "OMG, I love him", "She's so in love with her", "I'd love to!". But what does it mean in context to society? We live in a world that is simply broken, shattered in so many ways. A world that is tired, and doesn't feel that there is much hope left. There is hope, I just feel people aren't showing. The impact I hope to leave on the world is love. I want everyone to feel loved. Whenever family members would ask about my career plan, I would always tell them the same thing: "I really don't know, as long as everyone feels safe, accepted, and loved." The goal is to love. I write music. I am very proud of the pieces I produce because they always mean something to me, and I hope one day, they can mean something to others. I believe music brings us together, and I plan on continuing that belief, because everyone deserves to be heard...and everyone deserves to be loved.

Confidence is a word so easily misconstrued. A word that became the goal of young girls, the catastrophic end of teens, and the teachings of older generations. I grew up thinking confidence meant thinking you were better than everyone else, thinking you had it all…wow was I wrong. In my head, confidence is the simple act of knowing you are enough and not settling for less. I also believe that confidence comes in different forms, everyone struggles with how they feel about themselves differently. Gaining confidence should not look the same in every person. I have always been told that I was confident. An anonymous person even told someone that I was the reason they had courage to be themselves and become confident. That was a lot of pressure, because even though I appeared confident on the outside, I was very insecure about every single part of me on the inside. I was always so shocked when people would say that the best part of me was my confidence. In a way it was flattering, but in more ways it was embarrassing. I felt fake. My mom still has to tell me to look up when I’m walking, instead of looking at the invisible footprints on the gravel. My sister still has to remind me not to apologize in every sentence. I still have to remind myself that I am enough. It’s difficult, and I am still learning what it means to be confident, but I believe the first step is surrounding yourself with people who will call you out when you’re being too hard on yourself. It’s hard growing up in a world like this and always liking yourself, doing it by yourself is impossible.

There is something so tranquil and simple about hobbies. Nothing is formal, judged, or rushed, instead it's personal to one person and cherished to them. My hobbies are no different. Something that resulted from the confines of the 2020 quarantine, was the collection of vinyl records. I have always loved music, there is something more I hear in the sounds that is so unexplainable. Being able to physically touch the music is such a magical thing. On my 15th birthday, my mother gifted me with a Victrola Record Player. It was the best gift I got. Not just because of how it looked, felt, or cost, but because it opened up a whole new world to me. A world full of beautiful sounds: a melodic piano, a chord of a guitar, the orchestral beauty of violins. I was so elated. My mom also gifted me with two albums to start my collection. That day, they were on repeat. My grandmother sat on my bed and sang along to the older tracks she also knew and loved, and my mom stopped in to dance with me to the upbeat tracks. Now - every chance that I get - I collect more. Whether that's from bookstores, websites, or record stores downtown - my favorite shops to attend. It's cool, feeling surrounded by people who also want to expand their collections, who adore music as much as I do. I love sitting in my room, putting a record on. I believe songs sound more raw and personal on vinyl than they do through a phone speaker, even through a car. It's a sound that carries through my space and paints the walls with emotion. As my collection got bigger, the music appealed to more than just me. When my sister returned to college, she would come hangout in my room to dance in the mirror to the fun sounds. It became a binding agent, a community builder in the four walls of our home. But it's just a record player, just a hobby. That's the beautiful thing about hobbies, they become so much more than what was originally intended. It's now a point of conversation, and I can't wait until my collection baskets are full, so I can go buy more.

I am so thankful to have been trusted with leadership opportunities. Although those roles all play out in different ways, there are certain goals I have as a whole. I believe that everyone deserves the right to be heard. There seems to be a big gap in communication when it comes to society as a whole, but especially with younger people in my generation. I have said it to everyone I know: most of the time, people just want to be heard, people want an outlet where they can be themselves. I hope that with my place in their lives they feel heard, loved, and maybe a little more understood. Lastly, I believe that if one is given a leadership role, they should look to their own mentors for advice. I have turned to my mother, and lots of my other mentors for advice on how to handle situations. I have learned that it can be difficult to ask for help, and it can be a shock when you learn others sturggle with the same things you do. I believe validation is the only way we are going to grow as a society, and I strive to be that light for someone.

Change isn't easy. It's something we have to deal with, but not something we usually like to acknowledge is happening. When the pandemic came, I was so excited to get a couple of weeks out of school and have time to myself. Of course that's what everyone thought. The pandemic was amazing for about a month: I finished my homework in the record time of 15 minutes, stayed in sweatpants all day, got to focus on myself, facetime calls everyday with my closest friends, and food whenever I wanted. But of course, sometimes things we think are for the good are actually just major distractions. As the lockdowns began to get more intense, I could feel my sense of self crumbling. I began to cry a lot more and isolate myself in my room, away from my support system. When the world became more violent and complicated, I also began to question my worth. The year was very difficult for me. It took a lot of reflection and remembrance to remind myself of what was true. But because of that time I spent reflecting, I now better know how to take care of myself and how to love myself through the difficult times.

I am a goal oriented person. I set daily goals for myself and make sure they are achieved, but when it comes to big picture goals… I tend to focus on them quite a lot. I would like to graduate high school in the top 15% of my class. I know class rank doesn’t always matter, but to me it shows how I maintained my academics for four years and I believe that is something I should be proud of. As for my career, if I could pick any job, i would be a recording artist. I would love to share my music with the world, but I understand how unrealistic that could sometimes be. I would love to help people. No matter what that looks like, helping people is my goal. When it comes to my personal life, I want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I know how important it is to take care of myself, especially as I get older and gain more independence. I want to trust myself to make the right choices, and I believe I will be that person soon.

I believe as humans, we flock to people who think like us. It's not something that's usually intentional, but I do personally see myself forming relationships with people who have the same hobbies, values, etc. Something I value more and more as I grow up is my mind. I try to check in on myself a lot and give myself reflection time, I try to develop a mindset that is healthy. In this time that we live in, mental health is so overrated yet so overlooked. My experiences with mental health have definitely made me more cautious of who I let in my life, who I listen and look up to, and what I want to do in the future. I am a Christian. I grew up in the Bible, reading about putting all of your cares and issues into God and waiting for His timing. His will be done. While this is true, I believe that needing external help from a professional is completely valid and not appreciated enough especially in the Christian faith. I know many people who struggle with their feelings being put off by a pastor, youth leader, or a parent. I don't believe it's fair for any authority figure who has been put in a position of trust in someone else's mental struggles to say what they do or do not need. It really isn't up to them, and using our faith in that is supporting them in their choices of what they need and praying with them in the rough season. Yes, God is everywhere and is always working, and He can work through the therapist, the counselor, the people he has placed in the lives of people struggling with their mental health. I am a part of Gen Z, the generation with the worst stigma. The generation that struggles the most. My friends are also a part of Gen Z meaning that we deal with things in the same way sometimes. I see my circle of friends as a very mental health centered group. Not in a way that's overbearing or irritating, but in a way that is loving and considerate. My friends check up on me randomly, bring me gifts, and I do the same. We do this because we know what we are all going through, and we want to make it just a little bit easier if we can. No one should go through anything alone, and that is the goal I have with all of my relationships. When it comes to the future, I don't know. I have always told everyone I have no idea what I want to do, but I just want to help people. I am still trying to figure out exactly what that means, but growing up in the stages of not knowing how acceptable it was to be open or how much I could say, I do not want anyone else to go through that. I just want to be a vessel, a part of the bigger puzzle of people who are helping break the stigma around mental health. I have been told to take a walk. I have been told my feelings were not valid. I have been told to not talk about my feelings or struggles. I don't want people to go through that. I want the whole world to know that mental health should be embraced, because when it's not embraced, it gets released in bad and unhealthy ways. I want everyone to feel the warmth of support, the comfort of care, and the glow of love.

It's crazy to me how sometimes the simplest pleasures are sometimes the hardest to remember, the most difficult to appreciate, the most overlooked. As humans, we want the big gestures, the ones that will be ingrained in our heads forever. But simple pleasures are ingrained in our heads, they are just so routine that we forget about them. I love that I am reminded of my simple pleasure often, because of how consistently they occur. One of the simplest pleasures that I enjoy are clean sheets. Yes, taking them off and putting them on my bed when it is tightly snuggled to the wall is difficult, but so worth it. There is nothing like getting in bed after a long day and the sheets that give you comfort for your slumber are fresh and clean, maybe even warm. Another simple pleasure that may be too specific to be relatable has to do with my Spotify. Even though my Spotify is now ad-free, I used to have to shuffle through my favorite songs until I found the one I wanted to listen to. The best thing was when I pressed the shuffle button once and my favorite song would come on. I did nothing for that to happen, but it was always so exciting and made me very happy. My last simple pleasure that makes me very happy is candles. I could talk about candles forever. They are so pleasing in every way: their appearance, their packaging, and of course their smell. I possess so many candles, and during the cool seasons we light them in our kitchens. The array of different holiday smells spreading to the entire house melted away all of my worries very fast. Simple pleasures warm our senses daily, I dare you to look for them more.

I'm not sure if I can categorize my skills and say that there is a distinct best one, but one of my strongest skills is definitely singing. I have sang my whole life, but I do firmly believe that there is a difference between singing and really perfecting one's musical craft. At a young age, I began being trained in a theatrical way. I acted in many shows and the vocal instructor always taught me neat tricks in order to sing properly. Even when I stopped acting I still carried those tricks along with me. Now that I sing in an a cappella group and the highest choir in my school, I have a new vocal instructor who focuses on my voice personally and listens to how I learn and teaches me in that way. I go once a week, I also sing daily. All these practices ensure that on a daily basis I am trying my best and not staying stagnant in my craft, but always striving to get better.

Motivation is a complicated thing. It is something we always strive to have, but sometimes it doesn't come when we want it or need it. Waking up before the sun rises is a complicated thing for me, and I know a lot of other high schoolers struggle with it as well. My bed is one of my main sources of comfort, it is so hard to leave. Something I pride myself on is my bedroom. It is just like me: busy, intricate, detailed, and personalized. Something I have a lot of in my room are lights. I have pineapple string lights hanging from my bed, bulbs hanging from my ceiling, and fairy lights hanging on the walls. The first thing I do every morning is turn those lights on. I'm not a fan of the big bright lamps, although my mother persuades me everyday to turn it on, I like mood lighting better. Turning on those small, intricate lights every morning, to me, feels like an invitation. A request to make today mine, just like how I have made these lights a part of my routine. It also gives me something to look forward to every night when I get home. The darkness of my window is overshone by the beautiful shine my lights give off before I even open my door. It's small, it is not a typical motivator, but it is personal to me. I highly recommend mood lighting, it's a smile I get to have every morning.

It may sound redundant or overused, but I admire Rosa Parks. There is always something to be said about women standing up for themselves, no matter what time period, but during the time when Black people barely possessed the right on the street, let alone choose a seat on the bus, that is a whole new category. Fearless is the word I use to describe her. Courageous is the word I would use to describe her. Strong is the word I would use to describe her. There are honestly too many words I could use. Rosa Parks did something no one was brave enough to do during that time, not because they were cowardly, but because they knew the consequences. Rosa knew the consequences yet she did it, for the good of the Black Community. In today's world we all think “what's so important about a seat on the bus, it's a bus it really doesn't matter”, but it was more than that. It was a status. It was about the acknowledgement that everyone is the same. I admire Rosa’s resilience. Not moving even though she was told. Not stopping when she was physically carried off of the bus. This story inspires me. As a black girl, I'm overlooked, I am stepped over, I am doubted. I am reminded by Rosa Parks that I can stand up for myself, I can stand up for myself, regardless of the consequences I can stand for what's right even if it's against societal norms. It's what is right, and I promise to stand up for that forever.

Keith Haring is a favorite artist of mine. His art that sticks out to me is "Untitled (Dance)". It is so simple, yet so moving. Seeing people do such a mundane thing, all the same, yet all differently speaks volumes.

Growing up my mother always told me that giving back is one of the best things we can do. There are no excuses. I used to think that where I lived impacted what I could do, but that is the most false statement. Volunteering has always been something my family did together, it was a bonding moment for us. I get to meet so many people everytime I help somewhere new, and that is my favorite part. There are so many organizations locally that need help, some that are even run by my friends. Being close with people who also want to help locally is important. We can all serve together and that is what we do. We have made lifelong memories helping people together. Another way I act locally is being aware of the environment. It is a very overlooked problem, but being eco-friendly is one of the simplest yet helpful things we can do. Being aware of it is the first step.

What brings a community together? What makes people feel things? What evokes all different types of emotions from people? These are questions I have always had, and continue to try and answer through music. I grew up with music all around me. My mother, grandmother, and sister are all singers, showing me from an early age how powerful a song can be. The church I first attended was a gospel powerhouse. When they sang, they sang to God and I could feel it in every fiber of my body. I always wanted to be able to sing like that, to be able to make people things. Now - ten years later - I feel like I am doing that. I don't entirely credit my choice to pursue music past tedious elementary and middle school choirs to my family, because eventually we all have to make our own choices- that's just how life goes right? There is a point in the schooling system where one has to choose what they want to focus on. Whether it's a sport, a club, a talent, eventually one has to be pushed to the front while the rest fall victim to the backburner of our minds. I was a dancer for my entire life, but studio dance was very taxing on my body and I soon had to quit because of it. During my time in dance I was always singing, always learning how to be better at it, and I knew that's what I wanted to do. So, I joined the choir at my school and picked up my keyboard and a songbook. I began writing my own original songs and it was the most therapeutic feeling I have ever had, being able to put my words onto paper in a way that felt so natural and indirect, yet so unexplainably raw. Music became my safe space, but my music also made other people feel safe. Music is so underacknoledged in society, but it is one of the most present forces. You walk into stores and music is playing, you watch a movie - music is playing, you go to a sporting event - music is playing, music is everywhere it is the soundtrack to our lives. We cultivate soundtracks for our lives, playlists to fit any and every scenario, we send people songs to tell them we love them, we play people music to remind them we are thinking of them, we bid farewell to our lost ones with music, and we welcome new extended family into our lives with music. But when it comes to encouraging people to learn about music, it is all of a sudden irrelevant and unimportant. Creativity is crucial to society. It is an expression and an outlet for people. Music is an outlet for people. It's so special because it comes in so many different genres, so there is always something for someone. There is a reason trends exist, they come and they go leaving no real impact on the world, but music has been around all throughout history, having such a deeper meaning and lots of influence. Music makes us who we are, and when words are lost, there will always be a song to describe it for us.

Mental health has an incredibly terrible stigma. If you struggle with it, you're weak, but if you get help for it, you're even weaker. Growing up in a time where mental health struggles run rampant through teens, I have gotten to see a unique perspective. Inspirational speakers talking about anti-bullying while a kid is getting yelled at in the halls, principals on the loudspeakers urging the students to love everyone while minorities are getting slurs spewed at them, teachers hanging posters telling us that love is love while the LGBTQIA+ community is being discriminated against everyday. All of these are factors in the mental health of everyone, but teens have fallen victim to all of these scenarios and more. We live in a society that is, for lack of better word, fake. You're perfect until you're not, you say one wrong thing and are threatened with losing everything you ever fought to get. How is that fair to anyone? All anyone wants is for someone to listen first. Judgement is something that we all as humans do. I am not saying it's right, but it's a subconscious thought that we all have. Mental health struggles should be listened to first, and then taken on with an objective approach instead of someone telling them what they lacked twenty years ago, so what they are going through now is completely invalidated. We as a society owe everyone the chance to be heard. It doesn't matter if we don't agree with their lifestyle. Schools, workplaces, and community environments need to be better fit to help people first. I believe we would see a major difference in the world if people just knew they had a SAFE place they could go to.

In the past few years, I have found myself sitting more in my feelings, reflecting on paper, and asking myself harder questions instead of going to outside sources. Something I have learned about myself during these times is that I'm incredibly self-aware. My body responds physically to my mental thoughts. Whenever I am nervous, I get pains in my stomach, whenever I'm sad I get headaches, when I have anxiety I get nauseous. This is a common thing, but it has helped me evaluate my feelings and get them under control faster because I am able to sense them faster. In a different sense, being self-aware has helped me talk to other people in serious settings easier. I go to therapy, and being able to tell my therapist my thoughts in a more productive and cohesive way has shown to be quite beneficial. I am very proud of my progress with myself so far and I know it will continuously get better.

Sunsets. Something so simple, and something I never have to ask for but are provided to me everyday, makes me very happy. There is something so peaceful about looking outside of a window and seeing the sky painted with the most beautiful pigments of orange, pink, purple, blue, red, and yellow. It makes my heart swell. I love documenting them on my phone, I keep an album in my phone of all the sky photos I have. My mom knows exactly what I'm doing when I run out to the back deck in the evening with my phone, the pretty sky just has to be admired. An additional smile is had when I go on a drive to watch the sunset. I love driving- by myself, with my friends, it doesn't matter - but when I go out and follow the sky it relieves me of all of my worries. I like to put on my music, roll all the windows down and go on the backroads of my town to see the sun slowly fall as the moon takes its place. It is the most tranquil experience and gives me so much joy. Yes, I find happiness in a lot of other things, but something that I never asked for, something that I didn't have to try for, something that I know God created to make people smile, are sunsets. I will continue to admire and enjoy them for the rest of my life.

A song that inspires me is "Don't Be So Hard On Yourself" by Jess Glynne. I have loved Jess Glynne for a very long time, and her songs have alwasy spoken to me in different ways. This song specifically has been such an inspiring song during hard times. Although the song is upbeat and has a dance feel, the words are what make the song. The song begins by saying "I came here with a broken heart that no one else could see, I drew a smile on my face to paper over me, but wounds heal and tears dry and cracks they don't show, so don't be so hard on yourself no." These lines mean the most to me. They mean that eventually all the hurt won't show and it is just a temporary feeling, and being hard on yourself is not helping, I try to listen to this song often or whenever I'm struggling because it reminds me of what is true.

Friendship to me means loyalty, love, and trust. Everyone has had a bad experience with a friend and everyone has longed for a connection. There is so much to say about a relationship that lasts more than just a few years. I have had my fair share of friendships, some that fell through. Something I have learned from all of those friendships that didn't necessarily work out: you cannot expect someone else to heal the wounds you haven't even attempted to tend to. As much as we want our friends to carry our weight, sometimes it's not possible and sometimes that hurts, but it makes everything healthier. Instead of dumping, a healthy communication is formed and, honestly, it makes everything more personal. Friendship to me is sticking together, despite the inevitable drama and disagreements, you don't leave just because things got a little rocky and complicated. You stay and you figure it out, but overall friendship is about love. When it is a real friendship you can feel the love they have for you and the care, it will pour out in actions and words. That is a real friendship to me.

I live with my grandmother. She was a big part of raising me and an even bigger part of who I am today, and as I get older... she does too. Now, she is fully functional and everything like that, but she does have many health issues and some days are better than others. So I have learned my grandma's medical routines just to make sure she is reminded that I care and I can help when or if she needs it. On top of helping my grandma when needed, I occasionally help with another older lady. Sitting with her has made me realize how much they just want someone to hear them. It's very similar to when we are young, people don't necessarily take every word seriously or every word to heart. The more I sat there, the more I could tell that's what she needed, to reminisce. I care for elderly people, because I want to be listened to as well. I have no issue trying to improve their lives because - even if they don't know it they are improving mine as well.

I keep a growth mindset by trying to change my thoughts constantly from what is happening around me. Being stagnant in your mind is a very real feeling, and I know everyone has been there at least once. It makes me feel sad, looking around and feeling like nothing is changing is no way to live, but the battle starts within unfortunately. Change is something I often frown upon, I like routine, but when it comes to thoughts I try to change them often. My mind is unique in that it loves to reminisce on the most embarrassing moments during the worst times. I have to remind myself that the past has, well, passed and to stay present, I am not good at that and it is a constant battle. A growth mindset is reminding oneself that it is okay to learn from mistakes, and it only means they will not be mistakes next time.

As cliche as the old mantra is, good things do in fact come to those who wait. We live in a society that admires speed, and short-term gratification. It can be difficult to resist joining that mindset, and I will admit that I fail most of the time. Patience is very underrated. It is a subconscious feeling that is not tapped into very often because of the want and selfishness we all have as humans. Something that I did not learn on my own, and definitely have not mastered yet is the human nature of waiting. When you see a long line of people, every other person is complaining, and saying how this should be faster, how they have things they need to get done. In a public setting, that is in no way respectful to anyone around you. Patience is important to me because I want to be respectful, I want to pause my own urge for the sake and mental health of others around me.

I live in a predominantly white area, meaning that all of my years in school I was either the only black girl in class, or one of two. As uncomfortable as it was sometimes it made me stronger, I am not saying I was surrounded by racist people or anything like that, but I was surrounded by people that had different experiences than me and may never be able to relate to some of my issues. I had a lot of mental health struggles growing up because of this, not only was I the only black girl, but I was always one oof the smartest people in my classes. You may be asking why I would struggle with that, but I didn't like how different I was, so I made myself seem the same. I begged my mom to straighten my beautiful, curly afro and buy the clothes from the stores my other white friends went to. It wasn't until a reading exam I purposely failed that I realized I was different for a reason. I was put on this Earth to be myself and I should be so happy about that, Now, I am in highschool and I am still one of the smartest in my class, but I'm not trying to hide that. No more dumbing down.

Telling someone who is struggling to "have faith" and "be hopeful", even with good intentions, sometimes seems like the most ingenuine phrase. This is how I felt a few months ago when my world flipped on its head. Living in covid times has not been easy for anyone, and definitely not someone like me who is immunocompromised. I had spent the entire past two years being incredibly paranoid and utterly concerned over getting detoured by the diagnosis of COVID-19. Like most people, I used all precautions; I wore my mask properly, socially distanced, and locked down for a good year. I stayed safe during the lockdowns in my town and I did not get sick. This abnormal year, I joined an a cappella group of amazing people. The rehearsals were not strict on mask wearing and at the end of the year I got COVID. It was a pretty mild case until my days of quarantine were technically over and the next thing I knew I was coughing up blood. My mom took me to the ER where I was transported in an ambulance to the hospital. I was immediately told I have a severe case of pneumonia and I was put on oxygen. I was terrified, all of my plans ruined, not to mention my lungs. The best thing I could do was hope and pray I would get better, only hope that this was just another thing I overcame, and it was. I still do not fully have my lung capacity, but I am at about 90% and I got out of the hospital in one night. Although the road to recovery has not been easy nor enjoyable, hope is the only thing I had and the only reason I got through.

If I were a highly infliuential figure, I would mainly stand for fairness. In all honesty, it seems that kindness has lost all substance and now the definition is nothing but a blurred mess. Fairness, or justice, has become an avoided term, a word that now has been affiliated with riots, violence, and hate. In my mind justice can be as little as helping someone up when they fall down. The dictionary term for justice is "just behavior or treatment". Everyone deserves to be treated like a person. Something I have learned from my sixteen years on this Earth is that people don't require much, most people just want someone to see them as a human. I would stand for that. Seeing everyone and going the extra step in knowing them deeper. This is so important in this world and I try to remind myself and everyone that most problems can be solved with simploy just listening. That is what we need, and what I wouold stand for.

To be independent means to be aware. I believe that independence comes once someone genuinely decides to accept the world that they live in as well as all of its flaws, and instead learn how to take care of themselves in the chaotic world we live in. Something that also should be noted is that independence does not mean "fending for ourselves” like some tend to believe, I believe independence truly means relying on your own body to help you first, knowing yourself. Independence truly is such a mental shift. There are several landmarks of independence before people even turn eighteen years old. Personally, my first experience of learning to become independent came in fourth grade. My mother always packed my lunch, a very delicious one if I may add, but when I got into fourth grade she told me it was time to learn how to pack my own lunch. Of course, for a mere 20 minutes I was so excited for the floodgate of "opportunity" that was just opened. Candy, cookies and noodles everyday? What a dream! But I was quickly reminded that lunch is an important meal, and I am now responsible for partly taking care and thinking about what my body consumes. I am now a junior in highschool and still have to be reminded that with independence comes responsibility. An ongoing battle I believe is crucial in life.

Being creative is such an outlet for me. I love the fact that I can pick up a piece of paper, and fifteen minutes later a beautiful piece of writing is produced. Whether that's a poem, random words, a song, something has been created. I love the fact that I can face a problem objectively, but subjectively solving it in a way that works for me. I love the detours my brain can turn onto, instead of shutting down and switching gears and reversing. I love my impact my creativity has on others as well as my compassion. Although something that I love about myself is not physical, it is in a sense because I create with my body. I believe that it is important to acknowledge the good things about your personality, body, or mindset. I enjoy my creativity. It is such a safe space for me, and it has gotten me through lots of difficult and scary times. I love myself more and more everyday, but a reminder here and there is always necessary.

The only thing you can control is your reaction to the problem. This is something so significant that is written in my notes, jornal. and ingrained in my head. I have always had an issue with wanting control over everything. I don't like to feel that I can't have an effect on the outcome of my personal situations, but unfortunately, that's how life goes sometimes. Controlling the controllables is crucial in life. Personally, I tend to stress myself out to the point where I become physically sick, and as I get older it seems to get a bit worse because the problems seem to get larger and more impactful on my life. I pride myself in being emotionally aware, but sometimes I feel that is a blessing and a burden. I tend to overanalyze my feelings and then spiral into impulsivity and disappointment. Something I try to focus on is compartmentalizing my thoughts so I know what I can control. Once the controllable things are taken care of, life becomes a little more simple.

My favorite book is Violent Ends by Various authors. Looking at the title alone of course it seems a bit off-putting, and it is a difficult book to read. It is a book about a school shooting, but every chapter is a different perspective or background piece that is important to how the shooting occured, and to how the book ended. From the perspective of the actual gun, to an encounter 8 years ago, it all makes sense once reading all of the stories. Since the book is written by several different authors, no two chapters are going to have the same style. For example, one chapter could be written in prose, while another is a letter. I appreciate the thoughtfulness that went into each chapter, as someone who loves to be kept on the edge of their theoretical seat. If looking into the book at an even deeper level, I like looking into the mental aspect of it all. Since the book is written from all different perspectives showcasing different people, their minds are on blast for how they dealt with this tragic event. Seeing how they thought made me also reflect on how I hopefully would and how I realistically would react after an event like this. I also appreciate that they show all sides of the shooter's life, not just going right in painting him as a murderer first, but showing his home life, love life, made it even more difficult to read when you hear about all that he did. I have read Violent Ends about ten times, and it will forever be a book that I recommend to all audiences, there is so much to take away from that sombering story.

If I would have mentioned mental health and it's crippling effects to a group ten years ago, their response to me would be wildly more contrasting than if I mentioned it now. But sadly, that is only if it is mentioned in a broad setting, a "community" that has caucasion people, members of the upper class, etc. Mental health, in my opinion, is one of the most overlooked dilemmas and issues in the Black community right now, and has been for awhile. My utopian vision for optimal mental health for the Black community is an available outreach and understanding just like what is given to others. I also would want these services to be free, no one should have to pay for help because they do not feel like themselves. Communities of color, Black people specifically have always been viewed as "violent", "feral", and other inhumane terms. As elementary as it sounds, words do hurt, and hearing these terms being used to a grandparent, father, mother, uncle, sibling, is hard and taxing on the mind. Not only that, but they have also always been viewed as tough and strong, to the point where they must uphold that at all times. This is not always society's fault either but due to the generational gap within the families. Because of the complicated history Black people have in the United States, older members were alive when rights were limited, slavery was ending, etc. Their advice will never be enough for a child in Generation Z, who has social media apps at their disposal to learn more than what their older counterparts are open to even being educated on. This creates a barrier within the family, meaning the child turns to other things instead of reaching out to a professional for these mental health issues, only making them worse. Advocacy is a big word in the sense that too much does too little. Overcompensating has become a big problem in the 21st Century, once you make a person of color the poster child for every mental health issue ever, it becomes just that, a poster and nothing else. The advocacy needed for mental health care needs to come directly to the communities of color, instead of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat. Community outreach is one of the most overlooked strategies. Most people just want someone to care enough to see more than just their appearance, but dig deeper and actually see their struggles. Constantly hearing to just "take a walk" when you're struggling is not doing much and it is most definitely not being effective in the way the person most likely wants it to be. Lastly, money is a large issue. In these communities, money can be tight because of the other bills that need to be paid, kids that need to be taken care of, sadly mental health care takes a back seat and collects dust while the other priorities are attended to. A large need is just meeting them where they are instead of neglecting them because they couldn't pay for the service anyways. Thus, the first step to advocating and showing love and care to these communities in terms of mental health is simply going there and supporting them financially if needed. I believe a big change would be seen if someone else prioritized their mental health for them.

My dream life contains many things. Firstly, I am happy. I would not need to put up a front and a fake smile. I would be living in a rise in New York CIty, beautifully lit and has a perfect view of the sunrise at night. I would love to be a recording artist and performer. I'm already a songwriter, and being able to produce music from a studio with professionals is something I have always wanted.I would not have to worry about my money and would be able to travel the world with this job, that being something I have also wanted to do. In regards to touring, I would have a team made up of people I trust but are also my employees. I would go on a worldwide tour, this would allow me to travel as well as meet new people and experience new cultures. I am very passionate about my music and would love for it to be what I do full time.

Impact. This is a difficult word to describe considering that any footprint on the world leaves one. Positive impact is also subjective, what with the different avenues of necessities in the lives of others. I am a bold advocate for civil rights, mental health, etc. I use my social media platforms as a source of education and safe space for people who are looking for a judgement free area to ask questions, and further their education. I follow social media accounts that keep up on current events, and I use their topics as a baseline and plan on what to post and educate about. I also try to remind everyone - as well as myself - that the world we live on is not perfect, and will never be perfect, so we must treat it with kindness and care as well as eachother. I have a large hand on kindness challenges in my school as well, because everyone deserves to feel loved and cared for.