Online gaming has become a worldwide phenomenon, and for good reason. The ability to be anyone you want in a fantastical world would be alluring to anyone, however this fantastical reality offers up its own dangers that last far longer than the game itself. Online gaming can be as detrimental to its users mental health, and with a global audience, the danger only increases. Online bullying, harassment, and volatile treatment of women have been known to occur in theses fantastical worlds. The real danger here is that in the real world we know whose responsible for what, but in an illusionary former, who takes accountability? The quote above highlights several important points that acknowledge the dangers of online gaming. The first being an acknowledgement that the online gaming world has a different set of social norms than reality, “The phenomenon of people within online gaming forums discarding social the common accepted social norms…” The second point that should be acknowledged is how these differences in online social norms versus realities social norms, still affect people on and off screen. As someone that has gamed online since they were a child, the things people have said to me and about me, with no knowledge of me as a person is astounding. From a female perspective, the way I get talked to absolutely disgusts me, to the point that I no longer play as female characters, and I never use my headset when playing online because I don’t want to deal with the backhanded compliments and sexist remarks. I started gaming in elementary school, and I would use my Uncles World of Warcraft account, and that was my first introduction to the online gaming world. At this time I played as a female character and my uncle would supervise me and whenever people would make comments about me being a terrible gamer, or say things like “of course she sucks she’s a girl,” or “If she’s bad at gaming it just means she’s better at other things,” my uncle would just tell me it was part of the territory that came with gaming as a women. As I have now grown up I have decided that behavior is completely unacceptable and I call it out whenever I see it. As I play as a man in every game I play I get more respect from the other players and this had discouraged some of the online harassment that I see, although I still see it often. In an online world, it’s up to the people using the game to police the harassment of other players, and it’s our responsibility to make gaming enjoyable for everyone. I never want to make anyone uncomfortable I’m a world that’s supposed to be a break from reality, and I try my best to make a FairPlay environment when I can.

Adaptability is a characteristic that isn't inherent, its developed. This characteristic is grown through tough times, rapid changes, hard decisions. At one time or another, we've all fallen into hard times, and these times are where we experience our opportunities to grow. My grandmother was hit by a semi truck at 45 mph, as she was turning out of a parking lot. This woman has been my greatest strength and biggest supporter since I was a kid. As a child, I was moved around constantly, I changed addresses almost every six moths for years, I've had to say goodbye to friends knowing I'd never see them again, I've never had a childhood bedroom, theirs no door with little markings detailing my height through the years, but as long as I had my grandmother I never cared too much. The day that she got hit by a semi truck, I felt my life crumble. this woman that had always offered me comfort and support, who heard me rant and rave about my challenges in life, who made me a cup of tea on the bad days, and celebrated my accomplishments on the good on ones, was almost taken away from me. I knew she might not leave the hospital, and if she did leave the hospital, I knew she'd never be the same. Up until that point in my life, I'd been able to adapt to any challenges life through at me, because I had her strength behind me, but the when they wheeled her out of the hospital with insurmountable damage done to her body, I knew that she couldn't give me strength anymore, she needed mine. For months after that, I did my best to support her. I moved in with her, cooked, cleaned, helped manage her medications, was a shoulder to cry and a therapist when she needed one. Initially, I thought I would never be able to take care of the women that never needed or asked for a hand, but the ease to which I stepped into the role surprised me. On the best days she was my friend again, and on the worst I privately cried about how such a strong woman could be brought down by events she couldn't control. Throughout those months, I watched her gain both her strength and independence back, and I feel honored to have been the one by her side through the hard times, as well as the good. This experience taught me that adaptability comes from strength. I would never have been able to become the caretaker my grandmother needed if I hadn't had the strength to take on her pain. I would never have been able to adapt into her caretaker, supporter, and sometimes counselor, if I stayed complacent in my previous role of the struggling granddaughter. Im proud that I inherited my grandmothers strength, I'm happy that she grew back her spirit, and I'm grateful that she was not taken from me that day, and instead she learned how to rely on someone besides herself, and I learned how to adapt to who she needed to be.

My dad enlisted in the Air Force after 9/11 because he felt like he finally had a purpose in protecting this country. I was born three months later in December of 2001. My dad didn’t raise me, he’s missed every birthday, Christmas, Halloween, doctors appointment, almost everything. Even though my dad sacrificed my childhood to pursue his dreams, I’m glad he did. My dad has done so much to serve and protect his country, and he truly goes the extra mile for the people he works with and not only can he stand by the work he’s done, the people he works with are proud to stand with him. Though I can’t say I fully understand everything he’s done and contributed, I know he’s sacrificed a lot and done more than anyone will ever know. In watching my dad struggle and sacrifice to make this country a better place, I feel like I’ve become more empathetic and humble. The struggles in my life seem less, when compared with having the weight of the world on his shoulders. In my own career, I hope to be as selfless as my father. I know I can never come close to what’s he’s sacrificed, however I still feel called to humanitarian aspirations. My dream, is to research the relationship between humanity and the planet and the impact we have on ecosystems, in hopes of finding ways to better the ecosystems and inform people about this amazing planet we reside on. In addition, I hope to inspire others with the beauty of our planet and show them how were all connected. Though my dad was never an ecologist, he would send me presents from his tours, candy from Afghanistan, sand from Iraq, etc. These small gifts showed me at a young age the world is wide and it’s full of adventure, and I hope one day I can show people that theirs a while world out there waiting for them, the same way my father was able to show me. My father inspires me everyday with his selfless pursuit of trying to change the world for the better, and I hope I can follow in his footsteps and do the same. Though our pursuits in life are different, our aspirations remain the same; we want to help make the world a better place by showing people how connected we all are. No matter where on the planet you are, what you do connects us all, and everyone is important.

I’ve lived with my uncle most of life and for as long as I can remember he’s been an alcoholic. My aunt, his ex wife, is addicted to cocaine and I’ve spent almost as much time with her. My uncle would have entire months out of the job, relying on family and friends to make ends meet. He’d drink sun up to sundown, and we spent a lot of time hiding in our rooms because random strangers were partying downstairs. Growing up, my cousins and I thought this was normal for a long time, it was t until we were finally allowed over friends houses that we saw cabinets filled with food, rooms that were clean and not littered with bottles, and people that smelled clean. Over time, I started understanding that the way my uncle and aunt lived was not a life I wanted to lead. I strived to be better than what I came from, and I carefully avoided drinking and drug, because I’ve always been scared I’ll end up the same way my uncle did. Living in my uncles shadow and seeing the way his vices haunt him has taught me that our struggles in life define us if we let them. I may not be able to control a lot, but I can control myself and the way I handle the things that happen to me.