I didn't plan on attending college until the middle of December during my senior year of high school. I grew up in a family where nobody had a degree. Although there were some struggles, my family was doing well and I assumed a degree was worthless. I also didn't think I had what it took to attend a university. I felt as if I would fail in the attempt to get a degree or fall into huge debt, so I pursued the HVAC trade. My grandfather worked with this trade and became the program chair for CPCC (Central Piedmont Community College). He unfortunately passed away before I could attend those classes, and when I finally did I realized just how hard it would be as a female. The work and classes were easy, but the way females are treated in the field forced me to look at other options. It was then that I took my first high school art class. In this course, my teacher slowly tried to convince me to apply to universities. He claimed that I had a passion that needed to be shared. I didn't believe him at first, but the more he talked about my potential career options the more I was convinced to at least apply. I anxiously applied to four institutions. To fill my time while I waited to hear back I would fill out essay scholarships and create more art. Since I didn't have intentions of going to college I only took classes I was interested in during my high school years, and I had only participated in a club once since my family didn't have the resources to help me pursue any more. I did work for the last 2 years and I hoped that was enough to fill in for extracurriculars. I was very fortunate and grateful to receive all four acceptance letters. I knew exactly what degree I wanted to work towards; a bachelor's in art with a K12 teaching licensure. I can proudly say that I am on track to graduate a year early (despite the hardships of Hurricane Helene). I am also the active treasurer for UNC Asheville's SNCAE (Student North Carolina Association of Educators). I am excited to continue helping my fellow students pursue what they love and encouraging them to reach for their dreams. I should also be stepping up in my SNCAE position during the spring semester of the 2025-2026 academic year. I will also be a PAL (Peer Advising Leader) for incoming freshmen from orientation through the fall semester of the 2025-2026 academic year. From my past hardships, I believe I can truly inspire others and become an amazing teacher. I struggled financially in the beginning, but I managed to pay off my first-year student loans entirely due to the Hurricane Helene refunds I received from UNC Asheville. One of my biggest concerns with a university was debt. I am incredibly grateful to have a solid standing with my financial aid and pay-off plan. I do hope to earn an MTA (Master's in Teaching Art) which could make it a bit more difficult to pay off my undergraduate debt. However, I am confident that I can find resources to keep me going and help the next generations in the ways I needed as a first-generation student.

The best teacher I've ever had was an art teacher. I had no plans of going to college, no passions, only a faint dream of becoming a teacher. When I was young I realized that education is the most important field of work. Without a teacher, you couldn't have any careers. I knew this, yet I didn't feel like I had what it took to teach a specific subject. That all changed when I entered Mr. Hester's art classroom during my junior year of high school. He saw potential within both my art and teaching skills that I'd never even considered. He urged me to pursue, if not anything else, art. He saw the talent and love that I possessed and noticed that I would push others to explore their own artistic interests and passions. He suggested I apply to colleges and major in both art and English or education. He mentioned possible career paths I could take, such as teaching art or becoming an illustrator. I didn't take his advice seriously at first. Since I am a first-generation college student, I didn't grow up seeing family members who had a degree, but they were successful enough to lead happy lives. It wasn't until I agreed to take another art class my senior year that I realized how much passion I had for producing art and helping others find that passion. I applied to four colleges. I was extremely nervous since I had not been in clubs or bulked up my high school resume. Although, I did get accepted to every school I applied to. I never understood what made people so nervous to open their application letters until I had some to open. I am grateful for where I am now, and I could never see myself doing anything else. I am now the treasurer for UNC Asheville's SNCAE (student North Carolina Association of Educators.) I do everything I can to convince other students to follow the path of an education licensure program. I know that there is a passion for teaching in every person, everyone wants to help other people find love for their favorite subjects. However, not everyone has what it takes to become a teacher. I can proudly say that I have what it takes and our program helps students figure out if they do as well. I know there is not a large financial reward to becoming a teacher, but the reward of impacting the next generation is worth it. I only hope that I can find the means to get myself through college and start my teaching career with a strong start, leaving behind the worries of large debt.

My blood was made from women who loved to teach. Yet, I cannot think of a single one with experience teaching in a school. My grandmother was a lunch lady, my mother the assistant director to a daycare. I've heard stories about the women before them. My grandmother inherited her love of cooking from her own mother whom enjoyed teaching the skill. My grandfather's grandmother was the same. My aunt enjoys spreading knowledge about the modern world, such as politics and climate change, to those who are unaware. But none of these people have gotten a degree. Something inside of me holds a passion for teaching. Ever since I was a young child I remember dreaming of becoming a teacher. For my fifth grade graduation we traced our bodies with a partner and decorated the outline to match what we thought we would look like as an adult. A short response to the prompt "who do you want to be when you grow up" accompanied this drawing. I wrote about becoming a teacher. Maybe it was the kindness my own teachers had shown me, or perhaps my love for knowledge. Maybe it is the inheritance of a long line of individuals that love to encourage others. Despite not knowing why I have this yearning to help others grow, I do have it. I just hadn't always pictured it as a reliable future. In order to become a teacher in a public school in the state of North Caroline you need to have a teaching license and bachelor's degree. Throughout my life I watched my family urge me that college isn't for everyone. None of my family members had gone and they turned out okay. I believed them and planned to find a job before considering college as an option. For a while I considered HVAC. It is a reliable job that pays well and doesn't require any form of college degree. It wasn't until December of my senior year in high school when I changed my mind. Throughout my life I look to the universe for signs of encouragement. When the college I had wanted to go to before giving up my dreams turned out to be the same college my best friend of seven years committed to I felt like that was one of the signs. However, I was still stuck in the mindset that college isn't necessary and comes with debt. It wasn't until my art teacher from junior year encouraged me. He had always loved my art and was a reliable person throughout the past year of my life. He knew I had a passion for literature and at first encouraged my to pursue a bachelor's in art and English. He wanted to me receive a higher education and encourage others while pursuing my passions. I spoke to him about the dream jobs I'd had. Illustrating books, writing novels, teaching. They all seemed incredibly realistic to him and he even encouraged me to pursue them all. I realized he was right and used his words along with the knowledge that I would have a close friend there, to help me apply for UNC Asheville. As I considered my future it all set in place. I would become a middle school art teacher. It would allow me to encourage the next generations and help them find the very same passion for knowledge and growth that I have. I could create the art that I love while impacting others. With this career I believe I can create an impact and achieve my dreams.

I love to binge-watch Netflix series as I relax in bed. I typically use the weekends to clean and relax which means finding the perfect shows to watch. A few common components go into finding the most binge-worthy series. These include the length of each episode, amount of episodes, and quality of the show. Overall Heartbreak High is definitely my favorite. First we should look into how long each episode should run for. For binge-watching it is really important to know how much time you have to spend. If you just have one night to watch You, you'll be out of luck. Each episode is around an hour long on average, taking a lot more time than some people may have. A show like On My Block has an episode length of around half an hour, taking half as long. It used to be easier to binge shows on Netflix because of their length, but now I find I don't have the time to do it anymore. Taking a weekend to watch the entirety of Stranger Things used to be a great use of a weekend, now it feels incomplete if I can't finish it in one sitting and created anxiety. 25-30 minutes is the perfect length to make an episode. It gives enough time within an episode to give stopping points and won't feel dragged out. This leads to the next component; how many episodes are in each season. Just like episode length, the amount of episodes can make or break the binge-ability of a series. Getting through an episode gives a sense of progress. It creates the sense of accomplishment. That being said, too few episodes can make a series feel dragged out, whereas too many episodes can feel repetitive. I hate watching shows like Supernatural where it has 15 seasons! It's too long and I feel like I'll never get through the whole thing. Shows that have around 2-5 seasons in total are perfect. You'll have seasons to look forward to while they are being released, but not too many as to discourage people from starting the series after it is complete. Speaking of complete, nothing is complete without quality. A show should have good plot points, character arcs, and diversity. Shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty feel washed out, have no character arcs, and isn't diverse with its themes or character types. There may be diversity in the ethnicity of characters. However, the race of each character is white or has whiter features such as light skin. I became bored of the show easily, despite my love for the book series. Every show should have themes that reach an audience and deep messages. Heartbreak High has longer episodes with an average length of 45 minutes each, but only has 8 episodes a season and there are only 2 seasons. There is a lot of diversity between the race, personality, and home lives of the characters in this show. It also dives into deep topics and addresses things many other shows wouldn't. It is one of the best shows on Netflix and continues to have me begging for another season. I'm hoping it will get 3 seasons in total, not dragging it out too far. I also don't want it to end here like Anne With an E, where we were left begging for more and denied continuation.

I often feel the weight of existence holds me down in my bed as I begin to wake up. Most days it feels impossible to get up, yet I manage. In the summer this weight is lifted and I feel free to do whatever I need. However, during the school year it is a constant battle to stay awake, focused, even just alive. I think of the grades that my life seems to depend on and the money I need to provide in order to get the education for my career. It is constant stress that affects not only my mental health, but physical state. I find myself with fatigue, nausea, stomach aches; all due to stress. It becomes hard to focus on the things I need. In order to get through the school days I create a routine. The therapy I was lucky to get in middle school provided me with a few useful tools when it comes to treating my mental health. A routine was needed in order to help my brain feel organized. I wake up, ride the bus to school, attend classes, go to work, and come home to eat and sleep. It repeats in a loop. This makes me feel like a zombie or a performer who goes through life without feeling the life surrounding me. However, it is all I can do to stop the constant weight from keeping me down. On the weekends I find it much easier to get up. I go to work Saturday mornings, come home with time to relax by doing something I love, clean, and eat. Sundays are a day of rest for me. I avoid making plans on these days because they help a lot. I get to catch up on sleep and read or paint. Then the school-day-loop comes back. I believe college will be different, but maybe it won't. All I know for sure is that using my tools gets me through the week and my days of rest give me the reset that I need to make it through the next week. I also attend concerts every once in a while to give myself something to look forward to and have fun with. I can lean on my friends and family whenever it feels like I have too much weighing me down and I am grateful for them. I can already feel the summer seeping into my skin as weight lifts off of my shoulders. I have yet to take final exams and yet I feel more free than I have all year. I feel confident in my future and have made a lot of progress along my journey.

Conrad and Jeremiah are very different characters. The boys are shown as foil characters and as someone who both loves the books and indulges in the show I have seen the boys for who they truly are. As for which team I am, that must depend on if we're picking for Belly or personally. For the sake of this essay I'll choose for Belly. In the series Conrad is shown as mysterious, cold, but caring and sensitive. He often hides his feelings although they are clearly there. He cares so much about Belly that he believes he does not deserve her and tends to self-sabotage. He also acknowledges their age gap and realizes that she may not be ready for a relationship with him when she has so much to learn about herself. He also takes into consideration his own problems such as grief and resentment towards his family. He looks out for not only the relationship between them, whether romantic or platonic, but their lives as individuals. He drives to her just so they can visit the beach every once in a while. He attempted to take her to prom even though he hadn't wanted to and knew it would be hard for him. Although, this does create a rift between the two when he explodes in anger. Jeremiah is a direct contrast to this. He often wears his emotions on his sleeve and gives Belly attention constantly when she is around. However, he thinks of himself before anything else. When finding out Susannah's cancer has returned he is furious with Conrad. He ruins Belly's ball and is angry with everyone without considering if Conrad had reasons to not tell him. All he thought of was himself. Farther in the relationship throughout the books we see that when they break up he is immediately with another girl and does not tell her. He breaks their trust and her heart over meaningless sex that he knew would affect her. The fact that he didn't even mention it made that ten times as worse. In the books Belly ends up with Conrad. However, in the show a lot has changed. Cam Cameron is still an important character, along with an aunt and cousin that hadn't even existed in the novels. We could have a change in the ending if the author thought it would be right, but it wouldn't be. Conrad is clearly better for Belly in so many ways. He treats her as an individual and wants to be with her for all of the right reasons. Belly has always wanted to be with him from the beginning and he makes her happier. She knows deep down that he is the one, she has just be hurt from discouragement for so long. I am one hundred percent on team Conrad.

Diversity within a group builds strength. In order to build a perfect trio to face some supernatural threat, you must first decide which characteristics are a priority. In this instance I believe we need an individual that can fight with physical force, a person who is incredibly strategic, and a person that is equipped to keep the group alive and together. The characters I'll consider consist of a wizard, artificer, ranger, paladin, mage, rogue, fighter, two bards, and a cleric with a mother's instinct. To begin we should look for the individual with the most physical strength. In this case that would be Steve, Lucas, Eleven, and Nancy. To properly assess their strengths and weaknesses I'm comparing them to their DND classes. Canonically our most powerful class is the paladin. However, I've decided that Mike has too much emotional baggage to be compared to the rest of our characters. He hasn't exactly led our group of characters in a long time and lets his emotions get the best of him. Clerics are often the next strongest for combat due to their shield proficiency and ability to deal major damage. AKA Lucas who is also highly intelligent and uses his emotions to his advantage. Next we have the fighter, Nancy, who are good for combat but don't necessarily have extending qualities. Nancy is a great character, she has a pretty good motherly instinct and has amazing aim. Finally we have Eleven, or mage. She is extremely powerful and can defeat pretty much anything. However, her power comes with a cost. In order to defeat larger/more difficult opponents it takes a lot of her energy and she often becomes very weak and I'll post battle. If something were to happen it's possible she could use her powers at full capacity and end up too hurt to continue. For these reasons I have to go with Eleven. (Assuming she has her powers in this instance) She may lose a lot in the end but nobody has as much initial power as her. The next person I'd look for has to be smart. Intelligence comes into play when you need to use the most strength and are in a time crunch. Anything could happen. For this person I'd consider Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Will. These are our ranger, inventor, paladin and wizard. Since I've already chosen Lucas and explained away Mike as an option I will continue with Will versus Dustin. Dustin is an inventor who always figures out the threat before it even comes to their attention. He's incredibly resourceful and can make what they need in little time. Will is also incredibly intelligent and can figure out a threat a mile away. However, he is fragile and his connection to The Upside Down is a con. Dustin is the obvious choice. He also doesn't have a ton of emotional baggage and is hilarious. A great comedic relief to support the gang. Finally, we need a person who can support the group emotionally, watches out for collective intent and can fight. Steve is the "babysitter" of the group with major mom instincts. He's highly socially intelligent and cares a lot. However, he isn't the best at combat. Sure he can fight Billy but he wouldn't have as great of a chance against something supernatural. Nancy is the absolutely perfect person for this. As a fighter she is prepared at any time and always willing to go into combat. Not to mention her perfect aim. She cares and will support whatever notion the group decides but can lead if needed.

In the future I see my art bloom, but not for myself. Instead I find that it has spread through small hands with love and passion. Their tiny eyes sparkle with pride and confidence. As for me, I am guiding the eyes and hands. I watch as my art is taken into consideration, but molded and created as something entirely new. The ideas, emotions, messages pour out onto the media they use. In this room everything is inclusive and encouraging. For me an education means paying it forward. I don't always focus on myself when taking things into consideration because the world is so large. Instead I put myself into the world and focus on what I can do to help others around me and the world that provides for me. My goal is to teach my passion for art to the future generations in middle school. I wish to learn in order to teach others and help the world grow as a whole. I believe in sustainability and hope, a better future with bright young individuals who can be inspired to take charge of what they love. I also hope to encourage artistic expression, but overall create a safe space for these individuals. As a child in the North Carolina education system I struggled. I grew up in a single-income household of four with a parent who just barely graduated high school. A few teachers encouraged me to go off to college and strive for big goals in life. However, I couldn't see past my current life. It was hard to believe I could accomplish things. As a child I was known to create art as often as possible. It was something I enjoyed doing, but not something I could ever consider pursuing. That is until my junior year of high school where I found my passion. In my art class I realized I had a chance to do something I loved and work hard to grow within my skillets. My teacher encouraged my progress and eventually suggested career paths for me. It wasn't until December of my senior year that I realized he was right. I could find an art career that would be attainable and realistic. I began to apply to colleges and think of what specific career I wanted to pursue. He suggested I pursue illustrations or teaching and I realized teaching was for me. I wanted to help others the way he helped me. I am now very hopeful and use my passions to drive the ambition I have to meet my goals and help others.

Through shaded eyes, I view the world in all of its modesty. For as long as The only time in which the colors come into the world is summer. With warm rays of sun, the sweet scent of grass, and the sound of cicadas. For a while, I will feel alive and hopeful. But seasons change, and fall is just around the corner. The colors begin to fade from the earth, seemingly taking my hope along with it. I focus on the plants that have survived the changes with what little hope is left. Then winter comes. It freezes and chills me to the bone. My body is stuck in bed as if it were a heavy icicle moved only by excessive force. If I manage to get out of bed, I am a zombie. I lack so much energy that my body turns on “autopilot mode.” I do not remember much when this happened. I get through the days existing simply to exist. Spring will come, melting the ice. I will begin to regain strength slowly, but I won’t feel alive. Instead, I will feel hopeless because the warm weather should cure my pains and yet it does not. Eventually, the summer does come back. I am whole again. I am happy and full of the energy I lost throughout the rest of the year and it is all okay again. The cycle repeats in a loop. I have always felt this way, at least for as long as I can remember. A few years ago I began talk therapy. It helped immensely to have someone who understood what I was saying and in turn, they told me ways to prevent the seasonal depressive episodes from being as harsh as they are. I showed progress within myself but also in the grades I received at school. I finally found the means to hope for a better life and stable career. I drummed up a passion for art and realized I needed to be an art teacher. I could help students who struggle with their mental health as well as teach and express something I am passionate about. However, that requires a lot of money. Throughout my childhood, I watched as my mother struggled to take care of me and my siblings with a single income. I would avoid asking for things and as soon as I could get a job I did. That being said I no longer have access to therapy as easily. During COVID they had to discontinue their practice to focus on health. This left me searching for a new one. Then they stopped taking the health insurance that got me such low prices. So, I stopped going. I am not struggling as much as I had before since I now have the tools to cope. But it's hard. I can feel the cycle trapping me slowly, but I am doing my best to persevere. In college, I would have access to free therapy provided by my university. I will do anything to get there, and I am so close to it since I am already enrolled. I have come so far, and I am proud of my growth.

The room was filled with blue lights. A singing woman is pulled out onto the stage in a clamshell, a boy with a yellow fish puppet next to her. My classmates immediately went silent, something unheard of in a first grade classroom. As the actors and actresses danced around the stage I felt magic fill the air. I decided right then and there that it was the place for me. Once I arrived home I ran to my mother excited to tell her all about this wonderful place. She explained to me that it was a school for adults. I was crushed by the idea of waiting so long for something I loved. I then realized she was the same age as the other adults I saw. I asked her why she wasn’t there. She sighed, remembering the rejection letters she received not too long ago. Then she told me about the expenses of college and the struggle for people who grow up low-income to attend one. She claimed that all a degree would get you is debt. I was crushed. I didn’t understand why so many people would pay so much for nothing. I decided to ask my grandparents, both of them had not attended college either. They had the same story about debt and told me about their jobs and how they didn’t have to get a degree in order to work. After that I decided I no longer favored college. I had always wanted to be a teacher, but I could change that. Instead I would plan to work in the trade field. For years I felt this way. In fact, it wasn’t until December of my senior year that I changed my mind. I saw my friends getting their college letters, scholarships, grants, and have plans to pay off debt without being stuck in it for too long. I still had a passion for teaching, but now it is joined with a passion for art. My dream to be an art teacher and support future generations can only become real if I attain a degree. By attending a university I will not only make my dreams come true, but I will be teaching my family that it is possible to do what you love and come out financially stable. My goal is to receive enough financial aid in order to prove this for myself and for them. I'll do anything to meet my goals, even if that means eating nothing but buttered noodles for the next four years.