Growing up, I didn’t know God. With a mother and father maintaining opposing views, I felt lost when asked about religion. My mother possessed a strained relationship with the Catholic Church, while my father deemed himself an atheist. Me on the other hand, I had no clue what to believe. I hoped that there was a big man in the universe watching over me, but my father’s views begged me to differ, while my mother fostered my path to Christianity. After years of church every Sunday, I thought I believed in God, but I had no relationship with him. Throughout my younger years, I would attend church frequently just because of an obligation I felt; however, I possessed multitudes of questions regarding my true beliefs. In seventh grade, my grandmother passed away due to cancer, and I could not fathom how such an almighty man could take my beloved Me-maw. My grandma, “Me-maw,” was the person I could tell anything to, call whenever I was bored, watch Judge Judy when my parents were working - my best friend. I could only wonder, What did I do wrong? I had prayed every night that she would survive, but it didn’t seem to matter. Struggling to accept my Me-maw’s fate, I chose to neglect religion, simply because I did not want to believe in someone who I thought hurt me. Searching for ways to fill the empty voids that I felt existed within me, I found myself at Younglife club. At first I was attending in hopes of meeting new people or having something to do on a Monday night, but listening to the talks at Younglife slowly intrigued me. Leaders would speak on their own struggles with Christianity and how they grew a relationship with God, but I still found myself questioning religion, refusing to be hurt again by a man I could not even talk to. Continuing to attend numerous Younglife camps and clubs, I became fascinated by the beautiful people and places that God created. Going to the camps enthralled me to be surrounded by people who were filled with so much joy from trusting God. Because of this, I learned the beauty of blind faith. Trusting in God without proof that he was "real," I learned that the whole point of Christianity is to believe in something without needing physical proof. Putting my entire trust in God, I began seeing changes in my life. Stress left my body once I began praying every night, and I no longer felt alone in my struggles. Throughout high school, I was a member of Younglife and attended camp every year. When it became time to select a college, I chose Texas Christian University, as I felt attending a Christian university would provide me with the strength I would need to get through college. Maintaining my relationship with God throughout the next four years of my life is my top priority. I am not worried about being somewhere new because I have faith that wherever I end up, God has a path for me. As far as my future career, I aspire to be a lawyer who will change the world. While Me-maw's passing was hard for me, my Me-maw always taught me to remain positive and open minded in all situations, and I am sure she is proud of the woman I am becoming. Her advice will resonate with me for the rest of my life. With Me-maw looking over me and God by my side, the future is looking incredible for me.

For nearly the first seven years of my life, I dreaded breakfast. After waking up from eight-hours of blissful sleep, my body craved luxuries such as ice cream and cookies - but found itself confined to bacon and eggs. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” my Me-maw would remind me as I grimaced at the syrup-engulfed french toast she would place on the low coffee table, which would later become my haven to speak freely of my criticisms for the ‘most important meal of the day.’ Determined to change my close-minded attitude of breakfast, Me-maw began cooking me ‘breakfast for dinner’ on the nights I spent at her house as we conversed over which ads on T.V. were the best, pondered whether someone was guilty in crime shows, and argued over which of us was ‘smarter than a 5th grader.’ As my bond with Me-maw became stronger from late night television and her heartfelt story-telling, my feelings towards breakfast also grew. The warm comfort of over-easy eggs and tender steak smothered in A-1 sauce carved a new place in my heart for breakfast as Me-maw prepared my five-star dish on the nights I slept over, making my nights with her some of my most cherished memories. Devouring numerous plates of steak and eggs over the next few years, despite my previous reluctance to the first meal of the day, I learned the importance of an open mind. At an early age I began debating my fellow students over whether they presumed Obama would win a second term, their opinions towards LGBTQ+ rights, and if they believed in a God or not. Just as the runny egg Me-maw fried me would trickle over the steak, new ideas and opinions would flow through my mind. I became enchanted with the idea of knowing every person's opinion on infinite matters, so that I could chisel out an unbiased opinion of my own. Remembering the late nights where Me-Maw instilled in me that everyone deserves respect, I became a master of listening, and I came to the profound realization that the world needed more of them. It seemed so simple to me to maintain an open mind - until I grew up. When I was a child who lacked access to the world of social media, I could have never grasped why some people would devote their time to bickering with strangers through a screen rather than heeding to the opinions that every individual has a right to. It seemed elementary to me that people could hear out one another; however, my twelve year old self was harshly proved wrong as I scrolled through plethoras of hateful Instagram comments. Social media is supposed to encompass freedom of speech, but at what cost when someone will always be there to tell you that what you believe is wrong? As social media platforms dominate today’s society, I remind myself to preserve my open mindedness despite the millions of anonymous users begging me to only believe in the values they project. While being open-minded has allowed me to hear others out without criticisms, it has more importantly molded me into the person I am and formed the opinions I hold. I have the ability to listen to others while passionately conveying my own feelings as well - which most adults can not even say for themselves. The world has never been more polarized, and recalling memories as simple as breakfast for dinner reinforce the importance to give every idea, item, and person a chance before forming a belief. Me-maw made sure that I knew at an early age the significance of an open mind, and I find the comfort of luscious egg yolk with juicy steak and salty A-1 sauce to bring me back to simpler times where people could listen to and appreciate people’s beliefs.