To ask avid readers their favorite book should be a crime. How could I possibly choose a favorite in a sea of possibilities? Alas, I will admit there are books that stick with me days, months, and even years after I turn the last page. One such book is "It Ends With Us" by renowned author Colleen Hoover. I walked into a Barnes & Noble like I would any other day I get the chance and scoured through countless stacks of books. When I picked up "It Ends With Us," I expected yet another happy young romance novel. I got home, cracked open the book to the first page, and my perspective on abusive relationships was forever changed. The main character, Lily Bloom, meets the dashingly handsome neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid in the first scene of the book. Ryle immediately showing signs of violence should have been a sign for Lily and readers alike to avoid falling for otherwise such a perfect man. Hoover details Lily's history of watching her mother experience an abusive relationship with her father. Lily swore she would never fall in love with someone like him. She breaks her oath the second she rationalizes Ryle striking her. The difference between "It Ends With Us" and any other story of an abusive relationship is the reader falls in love with Ryle at the same time that Lily does. Judging the victim of an abusive relationship is so easy when you don't feel the love within a relationship. A quote from the book that stayed with me is, “There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things.” "It Ends With Us" does not glorify abusive relationships but educates and inspires others to recognize the warning signs so the cycle ends.

At age fifteen, I became responsible for not only my duties as an employee but also a manager. Coworkers who were years older relied on me to train and educate them on the inner workings of a business. Quickly, I learned the essential quality of leadership and discovered what encouraged my fellow coworkers to listen to me. I listen deeply to what others have to say and use their input to the best of my ability. Despite being a natural leader, I take pride in being a team player. Competing as an athlete for many years taught me the importance of collaboration and being able to communicate effectively with others. I am also a hearing impaired individual. In my silence, I realized that physical hearing was not the only way to absorb information from the world around me. A slight change in facial expression or communicative movement of someone’s hands showed me precisely what they meant or how they felt. Being visually in tune with my surroundings proved to be the most valuable tool in my communication arsenal. A combination of lip-reading and picking up on visual cues supplemented my lessened hearing. Listening is more than just developing a basic understanding of what someone else is saying. Listening is taking into account circumstances and social cues within a conversation. When everyone else in the room missing the most important part of what someone is trying to say, I am the person who notices. My personal experiences as a manager and hearing impaired individual make me a more compassionate person and a better listener.

My entrepreneurial mind formed at a young age. My family dinner table turned into a conference room. From advertising ideas to profit and loss comparisons, we worked around the clock to make our small business successful. Each summer when other children ventured off to summer camp, I rushed to the boat rental counter. I did not mind missing out on conventional childhood experiences if that meant I could learn more about business, a subject I found captivating. Unsurprisingly, my experiences ingrained the values of hard work and ingenuity into me. Growing up in a small, rural town in Western Maryland with few opportunities drove me to branch out and create my own opportunities. Instead of sitting by and accepting that my high school offered little to business or finance-related courses, I took this absence as an opportunity to reach out to my local community college. By enrolling in classes like personal finance through dual-enrollment, I took my first step towards furthering my financial knowledge. After taking a few of these classes, a passionate fire lit within me. I knew I needed to find a place to provide me with the business knowledge I sought. I want to find my niche with those who share the same passions as I do. Business-minded individuals challenge each other to fill a need in competitive markets. I want to be a part of the next wave of innovation. The excited little girl sitting behind the desk at her parents’ business is ready to take on the challenge of making her impact on the world of business.

Volunteerism remains one of the most integral parts of my life. As a current high school senior at Northern Garrett High school, I have spent the last four years attempting to make the most beneficial impact on my community possible. My involvement in the community through a variety of projects has left a lasting impact on me as a person. I want to utilize this opportunity to create an everlasting impact on both the local and global communities. For the last three years, I have participated as a guide for the Deep Creek Lions Club’s Blind Skier Program. This program allowed me to share something I love, skiing, with those who would not have otherwise had the opportunity. I see some of the same kids return year after year, and I have formed a great relationship with many of them. There is nothing in the world that brings me more joy than seeing my actions have a positive impact on others. At Northern High School, I notice an absence of a volunteerism-based organization. I took this as an opportunity to found and develop the very first volunteerism club at the high school. Through this club, I have promoted and shared my love for volunteering in the community. This past May, we completed a restoration of the Oakland Rotary Park by planting trees and cleaning up the playground area. We also completed projects like writing letters to the elderly who reside in nursing homes. For this upcoming semester, we plan on hosting a clothing drive to donate coats to the local children who do not have winter coats as well as raising funds for women’s shelters. Through Rotary, I cultivated a community of high school students who were just as passionate about volunteering as I am.

As someone who struggles with anxiety and bulimia nervosa, I constantly find myself trapped with my thoughts. When I tell people I go on a run to relax, they look at me like I am crazy. To me, there is nothing more freeing than running on a crispy, clear day and feeling the cold air rush into my lungs. The angry, self-deprecating thoughts leave my head after every step I take. I am left with the sound of upbeat music in my ears and the feeling of soft grass under my feet. When I return from my run, I feel refreshed, focused, and ready to tackle any task that comes my way. Another one of my favorite activities to improve my mental state is reading. Getting lost in another world for hours at a time lets me forget about what I was fretting about. I get the chance to live a thousand lifetimes in one. I can fall into the familiarity of a favorite book. I will never tire of reading about Elizabeth Bennet falling in love with Mr. Darcy. The same goes for familiar television shows. Rewatching some of my favorites lets me relax and unwind without feeling any sort of pressure. Academics, work, extracurriculars, and sports can cause immense amounts of stress. Finding time for myself is a difficult task. However, making time for mental health and talking to others about the struggles I am facing is necessary.