In today's world, it is typical to suffer from financial setbacks, especially as a teenager. From debt to bankruptcy, financial losses can harshly hinder one's growth as an adult and result in a lack of motivation to continue. However, bits of advice from experienced adults can often become the groundwork for most teens as they become more responsible and handle their wealth. These pieces of advice can alter one's life for the greater good and help avoid debt as a teen. They encourage teens to make proper financial decisions and can reduce the effect of capital loss as an adult. One piece of advice that positively transformed my life was from my dad, who advised me about managing my wealth flow. Although it seemed negligible at the start, it altered my life and reduced my financial stress. He recommended that whenever I receive money, whether from a job or as a festival gift, I save 50% of it in a bank account and forget about that money. When I require the finances for my education, it will have grown to a significant amount that will aid my schooling. As a 12-year-old boy, that advice seemed unreasonable, but I still followed it. Today, with less than two years to my college education, I believe it was the best decision I made. For the last four years, I have prioritized my future over the present and followed the 50% saving advice. When I received my birthday money, I killed my desire for spending it all at once and prioritized my college education. Similarly, when I received money from my relatives, I deposited half of it in the bank. Quickly, the money added up and can pay for a small fraction of my college, reducing the stress of an enormous college debt. While insubstantial compared to the entire college expense, small savings can add up and aid a teen in their journey as an adult. For me, these savings have changed my perspective on savings accounts which I had believed were unreasonable given the low-interest rates. However, I quickly found out that not spending all the money at once results in long-term benefits that one's future self can enjoy. Small financial decisions can help one overcome financial losses that otherwise could overwhelm an individual. Even as a junior in high school, I seek more financial advice that can alter my life and help my future self. Whether as substantial as the advice I received at the age of 12, I wish to become a financially responsible adult with minor college debt and banking experience and one who continues to save.

Trapped in our house, ridden by fear, we forget the world around us in this global pandemic. We forget the environment surrounding us and sometimes our peers that make up our communities. To avoid this, we need to be involved in our neighborhoods to take care of the dying environment and help arrange events bringing people back together. Not only have people alienated themselves from others since the pandemic began, but have also reduced their social circle, negatively affecting their social and physical health. Volunteering to help the environment and organize community events will initiate a positive change, advancing both society and humanity. Firstly, starting from the community, we need to volunteer to help clean, maintain and develop the nature that provides for us. Taking care of nature only benefits humans as we enjoy cleaner air, cleaner tourist spots, and more biodiversity. I have joined national organizations like Excel to help provide me with opportunities to help initiate changes in helping my surroundings. For example, Excel provided me with the opportunity to volunteer to plant trees at a local park. Although tiring, it was crucial for the environment and to overcome deforestation. Not only did I feel more of a rush in self-esteem, but felt accomplished in doing my part for the environment. If more individuals feel similarly about helping the environment and starting a change in society, we can overcome the crucial issue of global warming. I want to see a change regarding volunteering for the environment and using intrinsic motivations to drive one forward. By my love for the environment, I am willing to spend even more time volunteering for the environment so future generations can enjoy the benefits humanity today enjoys. Similarly, I want my peers all around the globe to help support local organizations and do their part in maintaining the environment. Granted helping the environment is already an enormous change, but directly helping one's peers adds to the greatness of humanity. During the pandemic, many were quarantined in their houses for months, weakening their social circles, only to never return to normal. Even as the pandemic calmed, many had distanced themselves from others and didn't want to alter their new comfort zone. However, they don't realize not interacting with people in their community only hinders their social health, causing mental and physical problems. To solve this, we need to volunteer to organize and help with events that will get our community together, bonding people once again. I have volunteered at parades in my community to help bring people back to normal before the pandemic and help them restart their social circles. At my school, I also help tutor students who have learning gaps due to the pandemic and aim to help eliminate those gaps. Helping every community return to normal is essential, and individuals should volunteer together to create a difference so all can grow together. Just like how I dedicate part of my life to helping others, I wish for a change where everyone spends a small amount of time volunteering for others or the environment. Helping the environment sustain itself against mankind provides us with the resources that we need to prosper. Helping each other during times of distress binds communities together and creates a sense of unity that every community needs. Even volunteering on a smaller scale is important enough to make a significant difference that alters every nation for the greater good.

In today's world, many overlook the importance of virtual safety. Not only is public service in real life crucial, but with the increase of hackers and scammers online, the internet is becoming a dangerous place for the elderly and children. Seniors citizens with cognitive disabilities are often repetitive targets for fraud, destroying internet safety. According to ncoa.org, over 92000 older victims were scammed in 2021 alone. Therefore, my career as a cybersecurity manager will help prevent internet fraud and malicious activities. By detecting scams and internet viruses, I will attempt to transform the internet into a secure zone for the elderly, saving them over 1.7 billion dollars. Not only will this positively affect the aged, but it will also encourage the new generation to fully utilize the benefits of the internet and help make a change in society. They would be able to pursue their careers online without threats from hackers and contribute to the growing world wide web. Indirectly, they will be helping make the world a better place through virtual contributions. While benefitting individuals financially, my career will also benefit them emotionally. Most acknowledge that scams lead to wealth loss, however, many don't realize that economic loss leads to cognitive distress and health problems. For example, when my nine-year-old sister accidentally clicked on a fraud link to obtain free in-game currency, her Roblox account got hacked, and she lost all her valuables. At first, it looked like a short-term loss for my sister, but soon we realized she was undergoing mental trauma and couldn't sleep. Her recovery period took almost a week, and even long after, she occasionally cried about that instance. Nevertheless, I could only imagine how suffering a financial loss of thousands would be if a small loss like a gaming account could result in a lack of sleep and even mental trauma. While helping secure the internet, I will also be an active part of my community aside from my career. I will help organizations in planting trees, clean public parks, and even help organize community events. I will continue to volunteer at parades and public libraries and tutor in my community. Giving back to my community would be one of my primary goals aside from achieving my dream job as a cybersecurity manager. I will continue to push myself to do better for the world around me and help the environment. By continuing to be a member of nationwide organizations like Excel and the Red Cross at my high school and moving forward, I will ensure I leave an impact on society. By being part of these organizations I will build a social circle enthusiastic about helping the environment and moving forward together. Finally, with the help of my career and the hard work I am willing to put towards my community, I hope to make the world a safer, more enjoyable place for people of all ages. By gaining support in my community, I wish to create an active group that enjoys helping individuals in need and pushes them toward success. Not only will I have an impact in the physical world, but also the rapidly growing virtual one where I strive to protect the vulnerable from cyber attacks and scams. I believe being a positive impact in my community is crucial since it benefits my peers but also brings the best out in me.

Math, a subject of long history and importance, compels an individual to wonder how numbers can represent how the laws of physics work or how most theories are provable by using math. Since 6th grade, I was intrigued by math right after I learned about fractions and decimals. Knowing that 3/5th of a pizza was greater than 4/16th really fascinated me. I started focusing on math and connecting it to real life. I talked to my parents about compound interest and loans, making them surprised. Not only did it give me extra allowance that month, but it made me curious to learn more and take advanced math classes. The biggest turning point in my journey with math, however, was when I took AP Physics. I was astonished by the laws of physics, and knowing that you can use math to prove all of them, made me feel enchanted. I started doing well in both my Pre-Calculus and Physics class, helping shape my identity and influence my character. I began learning topics on my own, including parallax, logarithms, and even some derivations. It helped me grow academically and as an individual. Therefore, I believe my relationship with math is far from over, and taking AP Calculus BC next year will only make it more intense, making me appreciate math even more.

Whether an individual takes notes by technologies like Microsoft Word, or uses old fashion ways like bullet lists and highlighting, effective study strategies are essential for academic success. Some study strategies I use to finish my work, stay on task and achieve academic success are that- I do a shuffle for different subjects and which subjects I should study for a day. Furthermore, I take notes manually and use old ways such as highlighting, underlining, bubbling to prioritize information. This technique helps me review the material most effectively, and the shuffle decides the subject I work on that day. I usually like to visit a subject back within 24 hours of learning new materials, so I could use repetition to my advantage and seal the information for the future. This note-taking and revising method helps me remember the crucial information and demotes procrastination so I don't overwhelm myself in the future with the stress of upcoming due dates. This way, I manage my time effectively and ensure I achieve the academic success I fought for while working continuously on future assignments and goals.