Mental health has been a large part of my life for the majority of it. I personally have had my own struggles along with several other members of my family. Many people, including both of my parents and my grandparents, suffer from depression, anxiety, BPD, OCD, and so many more mental health issues. I personally also suffer from a few of these myself. This has majorly shaped my relationships because I truly never believed anyone would be able to love me the way I am. I always believed that I was broken, and no one would be able to love someone as broken as myself. I was always taught never to tell anyone what was wrong with me and to never speak about my personal struggles, so I found it hard to connect with anyone. I felt alone. I went to therapy, got medicated, and I really thought that I was going to be fixed, but the effects of my medicine became weaker, and I got worse. Through all of this, I struggled with my own self-image and my own views of love. I tried changing myself to fit the ideals of boys who wanted nothing more than my body, and that left me feeling emptier inside than before. That changed when I met my now boyfriend, Jonas. We have been together almost a year now, and these past ten months have been some of the best I've ever had. Though my anxiety is still bad sometimes, and my panic attacks still occur, I don't hate who I am anymore. I used to want to change so badly, but now I understand that I am who I am. I'm not broken. Jonas taught me that I am able to be loved the way I am, and I should not have to change for anyone, even myself. Through my journey, I learned that just because you're a little different doesn't mean you're broken. Everyone is different in their own way, and you have to be able to accept yourself the way you are because there are some things you just can't change.

To shake up connections in the villa, the islanders will play a game of "Ranked & Exposed". This challenge would need to occur towards the middle of the season, around episode 5 or 6. For this challenge, islanders will each go into the Beach Hut one at a time. Whilst in the beach hut, they will be asked to rank their fellow islanders. The islanders will vote on these ranks: most loyal, biggest flirt, most likely to leave their partner, biggest snake, biggest attention seeker, biggest ego, most childish, most attractive, most likely to recouple at the next bonfire, and weakest couple. After everyone votes, they are not allowed to discuss their decisions with anyone else. That night, there will be a large, restaurant-style dinner provided by the Love Island crew, and the islanders will get dressed up and have dinner together. At the dinner table, a screen will be set up to reveal all the results. It will show the most voted for in each rank, and the average percent that voted for them, though they will not be told who voted for them. After each reveal, the islander voted for the rank is allowed to give their own comments regarding how they feel about the ranking, and other islanders are allowed to comment whether they voted for them or someone else and why. At the end of the night, another surprise will appear, a new bombshell will enter the villa.

Ever since I was born, my parents have never had stable finances. They were both extremely young when they had me, my mother being 20 and my father being 23. Because of me, my parents got married and dropped out of college. My father began working full-time at Shaw Industries, and my mother became a stay-at-home mom. From then on, my parents got by making the bare minimum. After my father's own dad passed away, he began spending unfathomable amounts of money on hyperfixations he had to attempt to fill the void left by his father's passing. This led to him digging himself into a terrible financial hole that he was unable to pull himself out of. He spent years buying for himself everything he wanted, no matter the cost and the situation he would put his family in. This led to my mother having to go back to school to get her cosmetology license in order to make money herself in order to help our situation. However, this did not do all we needed. It got to the point where we had to sell our house and move in with my grandmother. Even still, bills weighed down on my family. My brother and I rarely got clothing or toys, and when we did, we would have to get them from Goodwill. We were eventually able to pull ourselves out enough to get back our house. Things were good for a while; however, my father's old habits caught up to him, and his spending got worse. We continued to remain in debt, and when I turned 16 and got my license, I was unable to get a car. Now, as I am approaching my senior year, I am reflecting on all of the decisions my parents have made financially. What I have experienced and learned will greatly impact how I plan my future. I plan on working two jobs in college, one for money and one for experience. I desire to support myself, unlike those around me. I plan to get enough scholarships or even take out student loans if I have to, to ensure my parents do not have to spend any money on my college, and I plan to work as a lawyer until retirement. My goal for the future is to be able to live comfortably and not have to worry about money the way my parents did. I plan to use what I have learned from this experience to better myself and push myself through school.

To me, ensuring "everyone has a voice" is what it means to be a leader. As a leader, it is your job to make sure you hear those affected most by what you are attempting to do. When disregarding people's views, it makes them less engaged. As Barack Obama once stated, "When all voices are being heard, when people know they are being included in the political process, that makes a country more successful." For hundreds of years, women and people of color lacked a political voice. They were put down and were treated unjustly simply because they were not white or they were not men. To ensure "everyone has a voice" means to ensure that everyone is heard, no matter how ridiculous their ideas may sound to you. It also means to listen to them because there are some areas where you have no experience. An example of this is men speaking on the right to abortion, for they are not the ones who carry a baby. See that? I used my voice as a young woman, and you listened, whether you agreed with my belief or not. I incorporate this value into my daily life and leadership roles religiously. I have been appointed to multiple leadership roles in my high school. I was the captain of my volleyball team last year, I am the Vice President of the International Thespian Society at my school, and I am the Vice President of the National Honor Society at my school. I am the Vice President of Outreach with my school's Engage Chapter, and I am a founder and the secretary of my school's debate club. I have many leadership roles to tend to, and my job for each of the clubs is to ensure everyone's voice is heard. I have to take into consideration their schedules, their abilities, and their passions whilst I plan our community service activities. I also make sure I take in their suggestions and recommendations as to what would benefit our communities and clubs. I also use this in my daily life to gauge the opinions of others. For example, I always ensure I gather the opinions of my other family members prior to making decisions regarding dinner. I have already listed my leadership roles, but I have yet to list my civic roles. I am a part of my school's Engage Chapter, so that includes participating in model Government. I was hand-selected along with 7 other students out of everyone in my entire school to participate in the "We the People" program. Through this, I was able to go on multiple trips to model Government conventions, and even had an all-expenses-paid trip across landmarks in U.S. history. We visited New York City; Washington, D.C.; and Philadelphia. That was one of the most influential opportunities in my life and encouraged me to pursue my law degree in college. Organization: We The People Date: June 22, 2025 - June 29th, 2025 Contact: ethan.smith@murray.k12.ga.us