A meaningful life lesson that I've learned is that hard work always pays off. While this is one of many clichés, it holds. In my early years, I always excelled at math, it was not hard for me to pick up a new skill. I could easily solve equations and find variables, I was even placed in advanced math classes from 6-12 grade. As I progressed into 8th grade I found it harder for me to understand new lessons, this became an obstacle when I sat down for my first math test in 8th grade and could not answer any of the questions. For the first time in years, I passed math with a C. When I transitioned into 9th grade it had only gotten worse. I was placed in the advanced math class, however, I was not doing very well. My teacher was not very helpful and when I'd ask questions she'd respond with "Why are you not understanding? I just showed you how to do it?" This would often leave me embarrassed and not wanting to ask for help. For the next two years, I passed my advanced math classes with a C. When I approached my senior year I knew these habits had to change because I would soon be going to college, and maintaining my grades was a must. In my senior year, I decided to take statistics, this was one of the harder classes and I knew this from the beginning, but it was the last required class I needed on my transcript for the Psychology pathway. On our first day of class, it would be difficult. Luckily I had learned a bit about statistics during my AP Psychology class so I knew some of the information. I also had an advantage because I knew a friend in the class and we were both struggling, so we decided to team up and work together. Working together paid off, especially when it came to tests. We had aced almost every test that we were given during the semester. By the time finals came we were very confident in our skillset and expected an A out our final exam. My friend and I worked hard to make sure that we understood the lessons ourselves as well as making sure the other person understood as well. We helped each other with minor mistakes that we may have missed and corrected them immediately to make sure we didn't miss them on the test. When we finally took the exam we wished each other good luck and prayed for success. We got the grades back the same day and we both passed with an A. We were both excited, but I was ecstatic because it was the first time I had passed math with an A in 5 years. I was so proud of myself for working hard to achieve a goal that seemed untouchable at the time. When I received my grade I realized that hard work does pay off. I was able to work through an obstacle that I struggled with for years and pass math with flying colors. This lesson has shown me that I can make it through almost anything with hard work. Your mind has to be set on achieving your goal so that you can push yourself to success. This lesson has motivated me to push myself during my first year of college and it even helped me to pass my first college math final. So while it may seem like a cliché hard work does pay off.

On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was maliciously murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin. For 9 minutes and 29 seconds Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd's neck. While Floyd was screaming for his mother saying that he could not breathe, Chauvin continued to keep his knee on George Floyd's neck. After 9 minutes and 29 seconds George Floyd took his last breath, he was taken away from his 5 year old daughter Gianna Floyd. George Floyd's murder along with many others such as Breonna Taylor, spiked uproar within the black community regarding racial injustice. The Black Lives Matter movement spread all across the country, including in my city, Middletown, Delaware. In early June my city had 3 rallies to protest the racial injustice that African-Americans have faced since the beginning of time. On June 7th, 2020 I went with family and friends to my first ever protest. I was told by my father to make sure I packed water and a mask in case the police used pepper spray to subdue us. Walking to the rally I saw so many members of my community coming to support the Black Lives Matter movement, people of all races. When I reached the center of the rally there were so many supporters, so much love. Even the Middletown Police Department joined us in the fight for racial equality. Our lead pastor started the rally with a speech and moved onto a prayer to protect us all during the protest. We marched up and down the streets of Middletown for 5 miles chanting "No Justice, No Peace." At the end of the march we said another prayer, for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other African-Americans who have died because of racial proifiling. This protest was peaceful yet very effective, we were able to spread our message throughout almost the entire city. While this was a serious occasion, I had experienced something so beautiful. To see the whole community come together as one and fight for the Black Lives Matters movement was amazing. We walked and chanted together for over 2 hours in the blazing 80 degree weather to protest the death of black lives all over the world. This event definitely changed me for the better, even though I had previously recognized the racial injustice that was happening, I was truly able to see how it really affected the black community. For our community as a whole this was an unexpected but successful event. Everyone came together as one and regardless of race, we all stood together to fight for this issue. After this event in 2020 Delaware has made a conscious effort to ensure that black people are not being mindlessly killed. In fact in 2021 our police officers have decreased the rate of black deaths significantly. The event of George Floyd's death has forever stregthened me and his impact on our community will forever bring us together.