A difficult time in my life was when I was in middle school. I hated to wake up every day and go to a place that felt like torture. My grades were fine and I was on the same path as the rest of the students, but I just felt out of place because I was the only one that seemed to hate it. As life moved on I realized that school was not as bad as I thought it was. Around seventh or eighth grade I started to feel better about life and school. I think that this was because of the people I surrounded myself with. My pastor said to surround myself with people that will bring me up rather than tear me down. I found a few great friends who I still talk to today. I also started to hang out with my grandfather more. My grandfather is probably the most important person to me because I felt most happy when I was with him. I worked with him in his upholstery shop the summer between seventh and eighth grade and that was an amazing time in my life. This is probably where I realized that I wanted to work with tools for a living. When the summer was over he gave me some money but I did not feel like taking it. I was just more thankful that I was able to spend so much time with such an amazing man. My grandfather passed away in 2018 and life has never been the same since. When he passed away, I had to do so much growing up so fast that it was overwhelming. This was also around the time that my parents decided to become divorced. This was also a tough time because my whole family was being split up and I would not be able to see my father every day. As high school started, things started to look more promising. I took college level classes all four years that I was in high school and graduated with an associate of arts degree. I took some of the hardest classes I could like Calculus I, Psychology, and Chemistry II. I graduated high school with a GPA of 4.51 and tried out engineering college for a semester but realized that it was not the career I wanted to pursue. It took me some time to find a school but I eventually found a great trade school that was only 30 minutes from my house. I think this skilled trade will be best for me because it is always a needed field. I have already learned so much from the month and a half that I have been at the school and I still have a year left. My grades are amazing and my class is currently only 6 people, so I can learn a lot by having more chances to be hands-on. To overcome the adversity I worked hard, studied hard, and surrounded myself with the best people I could find.

I plan to pursue an education in the Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning field. I am pursuing this trade because it is in very high demand and I know of a lot of people who could use help with their heating and cooling systems. Of all the local schools that I've researched, the one that I am currently attending is the best option for me. After I finish with my last quarter at New Castle School of Trades(NCST), I plan to immiediately start working in the field. This will likely be somewhere local and small since I will not have much experience. It will also be beneficial to start somewhere smaller so that they can train me to work in the actual field rather than in a simulated field within a classroom. After I gain some experience with the smaller company I would like to work in the commercial HVAC field. There are many more benefits to working in a larger scale company. A difficult time in my life was when I was in middle school. I hated to wake up every day and go to a place that felt like torture. My grades were fine and I was on the same path as the rest of the students, but I just felt out of place because I was the only one that seemed to hate it. As life moved on I realized that school was not as bad as I thought it was. Around seventh or eighth grade I started to feel better about life and school. I think that this was because of the people I surrounded myself with. My pastor said to surround myself with people that will bring me up rather than tear me down. I found a few great friends who I still talk to today. I also started to hang out with my grandfather more. My grandfather is probably the most important person to me because I felt most happy when I was with him. I worked with him in his upholstery shop the summer between seventh and eighth grade and that was an amazing time in my life. This is probably where I realized that I wanted to work with tools for a living. When the summer was over he gave me some money but I did not feel like taking it. I was just more thankful that I was able to spend so much time with such an amazing man. My grandfather passed away in 2018 and life has never been the same since. When he passed away, I had to do so much growing up so fast that it was overwhelming. As high school started, things started to look more promising. I took college level classes all four years that I was in high school and graduated with an associate of arts degree. I took some of the hardest classes I could like Calculus I, Psychology, and Chemistry II. I graduated high school with a GPA of 4.51 and tried out engineering college for a semester but realized that it was not the career I wanted to pursue. To overcome the adversity I worked hard, studied hard, and surrounded myself with the best people I could find.

I feel that a lot of my happiness probably comes from my friends and the activities that I do. The friends that I have chosen to be around are all people that do not bring anybody down. I try to surround myself with these types of people because they make me feel included in everything that we do. The activities that I do around my community also help me to feel happy. I am a part of my school's marching band and play the most important drum, the biggest bass drum. Playing that drum brings me happiness because I am so experienced and disciplined with that drum that I can have fun while playing. Most members of the band seem too focused on their music to have fun. Since I have practiced so much with and without the rest of the drumline, I can focus on the other things, such as how much fun I am having. When I was in eighth grade, we had an after-school practice to march around the track. That day, it was pouring down rain. Everybody that I have spoken to about that experience has told me they had a miserable time. On the other hand, I remember that experience as a pleasant one because I knew what I was doing and could just experience being a part of a marching band. Now, I do not mind when we have to do things in the rain. The church is also something that makes me happy. Being a part of a group that is close and extremely welcoming is an experience like no other. Since the day I walked through the church's doors, I have felt welcome and happier. I feel like these experiences have had made me see the positives in many different negative situations.

I feel that I would be most interested to go into a trade such as carpentry, welding, or electrician. I have always wanted to work with my hands and provide something to my community. I feel any of these three trades could be the way to work with my hands for a career. I have always watched my dad always know how to fix things and make all kinds of things. He made the dresser that I have had in my room for around fifteen years. I would also like to provide people with quality work that is made to last. My pastor is a woodworker and he makes a bunch of crafts and wooden things for people. He is also quite happy with his life, possibly because he has a job that he loves. I watch plenty of YouTube videos of people making cool things such as guitars, robots, and simple crafts. I feel that one or all of the trade skills listed previously would help me to possibly be able to make a lot of cool things for myself and the people around me. I have always stopped to watch people try and fix things around me. I love seeing how things work and always try to figure out how some things work. I worked with my grandfather one summer at his upholstery shop. At first, I thought I was just hanging out with my grandfather and helping him, but actually, I was being taught how to use tools and how to work at an actual job(in addition to learning how to do some actual upholstery). This was my first real job experience, and I think it has shaped my mind to want to work with my hands. Though I just did a lot of the tedious work, I felt like I was working one on one with an actual customer. I have always been around my grandfather even when he worked as the upholster for a car detailing shop. I was allowed in his workspace and could always run around and learn things. These memories could be a part of why I like to work with my hands. I have taken two classes on drafting in high school. These classes could be helpful to me and my life because they teach me how houses are constructed(how to install plumbing, electricity, and much more). I have come to appreciate all kinds of architecture and have even designed an entire house of my own. If I were to be able to build this house in real life, I would be extremely proud of myself. My drafting teacher is one of the only teachers that have inspired me into a type of career. The background from this class could aid me if I were a skilled tradesman that helps to build houses. Overall, I feel like I want to work with my hands for a career. The trades I listed before are the three major options that I have for a trade job. The background from my drafting class and working with my grandfather will be a huge factor as to why I choose this profession. I feel that I could be happy and have a stable financial situation if I were to have one or all of these skills.

I was once told that those who find the will to educate themselves will not need to worry about their financial situation. I was given this advice by my grandfather, who had worked in upholstery. I can assume that he learned this from some mistakes, based on his financial situation. Currently I am a senior attending Steubenville High School. I also am taking college classes by way of Eastern Gateway Community College. I could have chosen not to take these college level classes. The only reason I am taking these rigorous classes is because I know that if I obtain a head start on all of my education, I will hopefully end up with an excellent financial situation later in life. I am currently taking calculus, which is the hardest math offered by my school at a college level. I feel this class will be the most helpful to me because of what I would like to do for a living. The calculus that I am taking requires me to apply myself outside of the classroom and apply all the math classes that I have ever taken. This is by far the hardest class I have ever taken but I know that once I succeed in this class, college will hopefully be easier and I can set myself up with better chances of making a good financial situation for myself. Obtaining a head start in my career was probably one of the best decisions I could have made before high school. I worked with my grandfather one summer and I did not realize this at the time, but working with him was actually teaching me how to operate and work a real job. He taught me so much about life, and I never knew it.

I am currently undecided on what trade I may be going into, but it would probably be either an electrician or welder. My plans after I become educated in my trade would be to work for my community, and perhaps eventually, make my own business. A time that I struggled with in my life was around middle school. I never felt like coming to school, and when I did, I faked being sick to avoid class. This ended around when I entered 7th or 8th grade, when I realized how much potential I had in life. My work ethic was quite poor back then, but now I am taking some of the hardest classes offered by my high school via Eastern Gateway Community College. Around the time I did not like school, I would not have wanted to do any extra work or any extra-curricular activities. Now, I am looking for ways to fill my time when I am not doing music or participating in church activities. The switch from hating school to wanting to do great in school was probably because of my friends and my grandfather. If I did not have the friends that I did, I may still hate school and have poor grades as a result. When I worked with my grandfather over the course of a summer, I felt that I was happier because I was spending time with him and learning a lot in the process.