Hello, My name is Isabella Munga I am 17 years old and I am from Greensboro North Carolina. I am a first-generation American on my father's side he is from Kenya. I have been raised by strong women throughout my life and up until first grade my life was perfect I had a great mom and dad and I had no worries until my father was falsely imprisoned this has been my reasoning for wanting to become a lawyer. My family has always struggled financially and that is why I cannot financially afford to go to college but I am applying for as many scholarships as I can to hopefully achieve my dream of becoming a district attorney. I am planning on growing my current saving in a mutually funded bank account and stocks so that I can expand what money I do have but while I am in college I plan on also working so that I do not have to take out any loans currently my goal is to have no student loans for college.

1. To get a college education is to open yourself to all of the opportunities of the world, my father is from Kenya and moved Continents so that I would be able to have a bright future and would have the honor of attending a college in the United States. College means the culmination of all the hard work my mom and dad put into first bringing me into the country, passing the citizenship exam, struggling with discrimination for their accents and lack of English skills, and all the money and love they poured over me in order to foster me. Getting into college validated everything they did to make sure the next generation does better than them. They want me to live comfortably and not worry about stability and uncertainty. 2. A typical week outside of school included running JROTC staff meetings where we are currently working alongside veterans at a hot dog store to raise money for the VA society. Then I spend time on Whatsapp taking to my family overseas. I host a club for mental health for females at my high school that gives an open forum for students to talk about their struggles and success so that we can all uplift each other. During the weekends I work two 8 hour shifts to help my parents with bills and give myself spending money throughout the week. 3. I feed my curiosity in school by asking questions even when I second guess how it may sound to others me it is better to ask them to wonder. I feed all of my curiosities through trying to learn by myself first and asking for help along the way.

In JROTC in high school my teacher showed me by forcing me into leadership positions what I am capable of leadership. Regardless of the messy circumstances of my life that I am capable of leadership and I will determine how I am perceived by others. In JROTC I stayed at school after classes ending every day working on drill, doing service-learning, or physical fitness training, this has been consistent throughout high school but it began because I did not want to be home before my mom since my brother left it was the first year I’d have to be home alone. I was drawn to JROTC because of the rules and regulations, my Sargent and Major have helped me become a leader by putting me in leadership positions throughout my high school career. I have made sure that Ec students have been able to be involved in the program as well as helped the program become more diverse. I have managed the social media account for Jrotc since freshman year as well as helping plan events for Jrotc such as military ball, award ceremony, and color guards. For college, I will be studying Political science my career will be a lawyer in criminal law. My plan for college is to also be in Rotc and actively enlist in the military to become a part of JAG. I plan on being the change for my country I want to eventually become involved in politics. I know that I am comfortable leading and that I want to be the change for my country, I am confident that I am capable of this and these small leadership positions have given me the confidence to apply to a pre-law program that I was accepted into this is one of the many steps to my long term goal of being a lawyer and through learning leadership skills I have been able to make this step.

I am 17 years old and two years ago in my classroom, a group of my fellow peers all told me how they had been molested, raped, or assaulted. This is because they felt safe with me but what did I know about how to help them? I was 15 years old and barely knew how to do laundry so I knew that to help them I would need to think out of the box. I decided to make a club for mental health awareness split between men and women students this way both male and female students would be able to relate the most to each other. In this club, I invited members of my community that had experience in topics that we discussed to aid not only me but everyone involved on how to grow and heal. In this, I found the most practical solution for helping not only myself but everyone with their mental health was to acknowledge their past and then help them find ways to grow and learn from their past. I believe that the help your mental health is to acknowledge their feelings but also find reasonable ways for them to move past stress or trauma for me I meditate as well as cry when I need to. I have learned that bottling emotions only push them into a pressure cooker that will eventually explode and when that happens you not only hurt yourself but others that you love. My goals for the future are to become a lawyer to make sure that the law does not punish those for their addiction but rather reforms them. I want to first become a lawyer then a judge then a district attorney so that I can make sure that all people are treated fairly under the law and that those struggling with mental health and drug abuse are reformed because with most mental illnesses drug abuse can follow. I want this so that they may become anything they want to be and are not crippled with an illness out of their control so they may be a part of society as anyone else. I want the government to no longer punish those who just needed therapy to be properly medicated or rehabilitated but to give them the help that they need to better society as a whole.

I am 17 years old and two years ago in my classroom, a group of my fellow peers all told me how they had been molested, raped, or assaulted. This is because they felt safe with me but what did I know about how to help them? I was 15 years old and barely knew how to do laundry so I knew that to help them I would need to think out of the box. I decided to make a club for mental health awareness split between men and women students this way both male and female students would be able to relate the most to each other. In this club, I invited members of my community that had experience in topics that we discussed to aid not only me but everyone involved on how to grow and heal. In this, I found the most practical solution for helping not only myself but everyone with their mental health was to acknowledge their past and then help them find ways to grow and learn from their past. I believe that the help your mental health is to acknowledge their feelings but also find reasonable ways for them to move past stress or trauma for me I meditate as well as cry when I need to. I have learned that bottling emotions only push them into a pressure cooker that will eventually explode and when that happens you not only hurt yourself but others that you love.

I am 17 years old and two years ago in my classroom, a group of my fellow peers all told me how they had been molested, raped, or assaulted. This is because they felt safe with me but what did I know about how to help them? I was 15 years old and barely knew how to do laundry so I knew that to help them I would need to think out of the box. I decided to make a club for mental health awareness split between men and women students this way both male and female students would be able to relate the most to each other. In this club, I invited members of my community that had experience in topics that we discussed to aid not only me but everyone involved on how to grow and heal. In this, I found the most practical solution for helping not only myself but everyone with their mental health was to acknowledge their past and then help them find ways to grow and learn from their past. I believe that the help your mental health is to acknowledge their feelings but also find reasonable ways for them to move past stress or trauma for me I meditate as well as cry when I need to. I have learned that bottling emotions only push them into a pressure cooker that will eventually explode and when that happens you not only hurt yourself but others that you love.

I am 17 years old and two years ago in my own classroom, a group of my fellow peers all told me how they had been molested, raped, or assaulted. This is because they felt safe with me but what did I know about how to help them? I was 15 years old and barely knew how to do laundry so I knew that to help them I would need to think out of the box. I decided to make a club for mental health awareness split between men and women students this way both male and female students would be able to relate the most to each other. In this club, I invited members of my community that had experience in topics that we discussed to aid not only me but everyone involved on how to grow and heal. In this, I found the most practical solution for helping not only myself but everyone with their mental health was to acknowledge their past and then help them find ways to grow and learn from their past. I believe that the help your mental health is to acknowledge their feelings but also find reasonable ways for them to move past stress or trauma for me I meditate as well as cry when I need to. I have learned that bottling emotions only push them into a pressure cooker that will eventually explode and when that happens you not only hurt yourself but others that you love.

I am 17 years old and two years ago in my own classroom a group of my fellow peers all told me how they had been molested, raped, or assaulted. This is because they felt safe with me but what did I know about how to help them? i was 15 years old and barely knew how to do laundry so I knew that to help them I would need to think out of the box. I decided to make a club for mental health awareness split between men and women students this way both male and female students would be able to relate the most to each other. In this club I invited members of my community that had experience in topics that we discussed to aid not only me but everyone involved on how to grow and heal. In this I found the most practical solution for helping not only myself but everyone with their mental health was to acknowledge their past and then help them find ways to grow and learn from their past. I believe that the help your mental health is to acknowledge their feelings but also find reasonable ways for them to move past stress or trauma for me I meditate as well as cry when I need to. I have learned that bottling emotions with only push them into a pressure cooker that will eventually explode and when that happens you not only hurt yourself but others that you love.

Hello, My name is Isabella Concetta Muthoni Munga I am from Salisbury North Carolina My dad is a man of many talents but most recognized for his success in sales and my mother is a teacher for children with learning disabilities as well as autism and special needs. When I was in elementary school I found out that my father was sent to prison where he would spend 9 months away from me and my brother because of a false accusation and corrupt justice system. My goal in life is to be a lawyer to make sure that the law is practiced fairly and served with justice. My father, though he is free will never get the time back that he missed over a false accusation that lead to his imprisonment where he was ultimately released based on lack of evidence. My life's mission is to make sure that everyone sees justice no matter who they are rich or poor, black or white, young or old we all deserve justice without corruption. I want to make my country better and I will do that through the justice system.

The best way to live a long and healthy life is to do what makes YOU happy. Happiness if a virtue that few have and many wish they could buy, and while the saying "you can't buy happiness" is true with money comes comfortability. I want to live my life making conscious choices in what I eat, making sure I for taste and health. I don't want my food to just fuel my body but also boost my spirits through eccentric taste. I am only 17 but I have traveled to London, Nairobi, and Capetown and the happiest people I have seen were those who put themselves first. As you age you realize that you need to make yourself happy whether that be by journaling or traveling by yourself you have to look in the mirror and love who you see to be able to go through life happily. To be happy is easy but to stay happy is to have a mindset of change to improve yourself and your situation in every stage of life, rolling with the punches and when possible stopping to smell the roses.

Angie Thomas' The Hate You Give, a key symbol that is found within the book is the harry potter wand. This wand is discussed when Starr and Khalil are driving home reminiscing about their childhood memories before life had changed. This wand that Khalil denied having was a symbol of purity and childhood innocence. This wand is not something that is mentioned many times but it is what Starr looks for on the day of Kahlils funeral. This wand represents who Kahili was. A boy. A kid.Someone who did not deserve to die over a hairbrush. The central theme is that society stereotypes black men to justify the racism and gun violence that is used against them. At the time of the shooting Khalil was being pulled over for a routine traffic stop while waiting for the cop to write a ticket Khalil reached into the car to grab a hairbrush and give reassurance to his friend. At that moment that same kid Starr fought over who was most like Harry Potter and still harbored a childhood crush was shot and killed. In this story, Starr is not Only fighting the troubles of living double lives one at a rich majority white school where she tones Code switches to fit in and another where is the oddball out in a culturally rich impoverished Neighborhood. In the end, Starr does not find justice through the courts for Khalil but she does find Inner strength and power to fight. This novel shines a light on how dynamic these police killings are and the true meaning behind the “Black Lives Matter” movement, it offers a new perspective to not see the Victim of this violence as innocent or guilty but as a person.

I woke up every morning to the sound of African beats flowing through the house with the smell of rice and beans cooking. I looked around to the vibrant world that was my home. My parents never had talked to me about race or my disability, my dad is from Kenya and my mom is from New York. I was told by my father to be a strong African woman though my dad never identified with African American culture and race was never discussed in my household. My mom was born in New York with my grandmother being from Sicily, Italy and my grandfather being from Puerto Rico. When I was in the second grade my mom told me that when I was born I did not have all my nerve endings in my right ear and so my teachers would need to wear a microphone so I could hear them. That same year my math teacher who refused to wear her microphone told my mother who has a bachelor's degree in special education that I needed to be moved to the special education classroom because I did not perform well in her math class. Years later I would look back to this experience and think about how fast my teacher was to write me off and push me into a different class for her own convenience. But being a biracial woman in the south this would not be the last time I'd be singled out for my differences from others. Being a biracial woman has always been tough for me from my middle school classmates shaming me for having a white mom. In my freshman year of high school, I chose to join JROTC. My teacher Sergeant First Class Robinson has also been a major influence in my life. He has helped me with everything from school to home life to finding a job. He has been the teacher to go above and beyond for me. Regardless of the messy circumstances of my life that I am capable of leadership and I will determine how I am perceived by others. I was drawn to JROTC because of the rules and regulations, my Sargent and Major have helped me become a leader by putting me in leadership positions throughout my high school career. I have made sure that Ec students have been able to be involved in the program as well as helped the program become more diverse. I have managed the social media account for Jrotc since freshman year as well as helping plan events for Jrotc such as military ball, award ceremony, and color guards. For college, I will be studying Political science my career will be a lawyer in criminal law. My plan for college is to also be in Rotc and actively enlisted in the military to become a part of JAG. I plan on being the change for my country I want to eventually become involved in politics. I want to change this country so that no family will have to deal with the harm that false imprisonment has caused for my family. This is why I have decided to go into criminal law. My story has caused me to want to be the change in my country, through the judicial system.