"You throw like a girl." Heck yeah, I do, and I could probably throw harder than most boys my age. I have played softball for eight years and grew up on the taller side of young females in my classes. I stood out from the rest and loved competing against the boys in my class, whether it'd be football, tag, racing, or dodgeball, I took any chance to go against someone who thought they'd easily win because I was a girl. My athleticism and height at a young age earned me a reputation on the playground, and I was known as the fastest kid at recess (one of my most outstanding achievements to this day). Society doesn't praise female student-athletes' strenuous hard efforts and the ability to balance such a lifestyle as much as they do for male-dominated sports. Women have fought for their equality for so many years, and still today, there are discriminatory beliefs that are tied to sexist stereotypes. As someone who plays a female-dominated sport but is less appreciated by the sports community, softball has always been an entertaining sport, but was always compared to baseball, the more well-known male-dominated sport, with a pro league (MLB), and many more opportunities after college. The issue is that softball college athletes are so talented in their skills that we should have the opportunity to continue our passion, just as Pro Baseball players do, and many other male-dominated sports with pro leagues. Being a female student athlete has been so challenging, and there have been many times when I doubted myself and my abilities to accomplish my goals. There have been many times when men and boys have discouraged me or told me that I was not strong enough to play, that I was too weak, and that I was too timid. There were moments when I wanted to quit and leave everything behind. I continued facing these challenges as I grew older and realized that I needed to gain muscle and become stronger if I wanted to reach my goals and stand out. I need to change my priorities and become a versatile student-athlete from which a program could benefit. Softball has brought me to so many different places, and I have met so many amazing people through it all. It has taught me to be strong, to be resilient, and to be confident. This game has been through all my ups and downs, and it has knocked me down more times than it has lifted me up. But those are the moments I have learned from, and I have grown from in such ways that I am now continuing my education through a softball scholarship to a Division 1 University. In the world of male dominance and stereotypical views of female athletes, I have earned and gained my respect for my hard work and discipline throughout my journey.

The moment I watched Tron Legacy, I knew I wanted to be part of that futuristic world. The iconic blue light clashing with the red, and the sounds that tickled my brain while watching sparked my passion for technology. When I first watched Tron, I was unaware of the many words and sayings they referenced in the movie. I remember asking my father every 10 minutes, "What's that?" "What did he say?" "What does that mean?" But that didn't matter to a 7-year-old me when I saw the pulsing lights and discs that held your life hostage. Who knew that wanting to be inside a computer game would be a lifelong journey of picking through the parts of an Xbox 360 or my grandmother's Wii console? That moment shared with my dad wasn't only the beginning of my interest in technology but also shaped my future career choices as I advanced through school. Technology evolved as quickly as I grew up, and being able to experience the innovations from the beginning motivated me to dig further into the technological world. Khan Academy and their new JavaScript and Python programs were the biggest spark in my first steps into basic programming languages. I began creating simple 2D art pieces in JavaScript with the help of Khan Academy, and it also aided in my math skills as it required me to think and visualize the coordinates of points and shapes. I took summer camps and online courses that were cybersecurity-oriented and achieved a few certificates as well. All these experiences and moments led me to become a cybersecurity specialist in the near future. As I went through high school, my priorities and goals changed drastically. As a student-athlete, my goal was to acquire all my graduating credits and commit to a college through its softball program. These new goals took me off course from my technological passions and hobbies, but I still managed to participate in my school's engineering and AP computer science courses at the same time. The challenges I faced during this time allowed me to become better skilled in communication, teamwork, and time management as I juggled dual-enrollment courses. My school's courses allowed me to find time to enjoy creating small gaming programs and designing real-world objects through the software provided. Now, I am finishing up my last semester of high school, with all the fantastic opportunities given to me for the next four years. I want to strive to make an impact in the ever-evolving network of technology and innovate new software and systems to ensure that our information is always secure. I want to experience the movie scene of panic and coolness of the smartest person in the room, coding away to mitigate a malfunction in the system.

STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Rollercoasters for marbles out of foam, airplanes out of printer paper, saving eggs from the second-floor drop, creating the tallest tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows. Making a boat out of aluminum foil to hold the most amount of pennies, racing makeshift toy cars with classmates, and getting excited for our next experiment. Watching Tron Legacy and being in awe of the futuristic elements, the sounds of computers, and feeling immersed in a computer system. These experiences over the years have continued to feed my passion for STEM as I continue on my path to college. Going into my first few years of Elementary school, I was a part of my school's STEM team, a team made up together to solve problems not by fixing things to what it was before but through creating new solutions. Five completely different minds were trying to come together to create a solution within the 10 minutes that were quickly counting down. Even with prior practices and attempts with our teacher, it was always the most challenging part. However, it was so rewarding when we accomplished it together. Working as a team meant that we needed to let everyone have a voice to speak, even though we each had a job to be responsible for, it did not exclude the fact that it required all of our minds and ideas. STEM taught us to be team players, and allowed us to express our ideas without the fear of judgement, it allowed people to create and build iconic structures that still stand today. STEM was a gateway to so many opportunities that I have picked up throughout my academic and athletic years. With STEM being a vital part of today's industries and future solutions to the world's problems, I strive to be part of that change and impact. Especially in the technological industry, where I plan to have an impact in the future. With so many new software programs and automated services that have been implemented into society today, it is evident that there will be even more opportunities to advance and improve upon those programs. As someone who will be pursuing a bachelor's degree in Computer Science in the fall and would love to minor in cybersecurity, the future of technology is evolving at rapid speeds. I would love to be part of the evolution of future technology with a focus on ensuring that future technology is secure from black hat hackers, viruses, and malware. I hope to be able to be part of the future of cybersecurity, especially because it will include the use of artificial intelligence. I want to be able to integrate and innovate new solutions for systems and software to ensure that our devices are top-notch, secure all around, and cannot be penetrated by outside elements with ill intent to do damage. The future of STEM has so much potential, and I hope to make a valuable impact on technology. I'm grateful to my teachers for encouraging me to take part in STEM and can't wait for my passion to grow even stronger as I get closer to making an impact on our future.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP* My screeching alarm wakes me up for the 300th time this week, here we go again. Wake up, finish classes, practice, homework, eat, sleep, and repeat. Being a student-athlete is not for the weak; we're always told to keep up our academics first because "the 'student' in student-athlete comes first!" but also, "You're never going to get better if you don't practice!" It's ironic that these phrases are always being said, but deep down, you know they don't understand the actual challenges of being a student-athlete. Time has always been precious to human beings; we can never make more of it or go back to it. Gambling and juggling between multiple things in life is challenging nonetheless. As student-athletes, we know the situation we have put ourselves into and our priorities. It gets so mentally and physically tiring; sometimes, it becomes too much, and we can't take it anymore. Mental health has become an essential subject during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Many adolescents suffer from mental health issues, and specifically, student-athletes seemed to have struggled the most against mental health. High school students must have the skills to manage time, school work, jobs, money, sports, school activities, and family. Many of these factors and influences cause stress to the body and mind. This causes our mental health to deteriorate, leading us to forget to take care of the most important thing that carries us each day, which is our body. During my junior year, I can vividly remember the pressure and stress I felt trying to reach my academic expectations and sports goals. I would have mental breakdowns every Wednesday night, and my mental health was deteriorating every single minute. I felt so alone and frustrated with myself that I would forget to eat, or I would stay up all night, letting my thoughts haunt me till sunrise. This was the worst decision I made in this situation. I didn't get enough sleep, and my body didn't get enough rest to recover fully, putting me at risk for injury or making injuries worse. Soon, I made the decision to completely put my priorities on taking care of my body and mind first. I began to meditate and found inner peace for the first time. I realized that I needed to lower my expectations and stop comparing myself to others. "Comparison is the thief of joy," so I removed all social media from my phone, taking a step back from what others would think of me and finding my own path of success, which I did. I began to get multiple offers from different levels and schools in softball and continued to pass all my dual enrollment and AP classes that year. My body was stronger and healthier than ever, and my performance academically and physically improved as well. The biggest lesson I learned being a student-athlete is to prioritize your body's health. It is difficult to perform under a distressed mind in any given situation. Finding the coping strategy that fits your needs and personality will lead you to great success through determination and discipline. Additionally, don't rely on motivation itself; your discipline will get you through the challenging part, and being mentally sound will ease the voices in your head. Don't worry about what others may think of you because it's just high school; we are teenagers facing so much adversity together.

Playing under the lights standing in the outfield, a "ting" of the bat goes off soon, and a bright yellow ball comes my way. The crowd yells and cheers as I run for the ball, but they're not cheering for me; no, they're cheering for the girl who hit the ball so far to me, the ball I clumsily laid out for. Watching the ball pass my glove, another cheer from the crowd erupts louder than before. The game ends, and a wave of anger and disappointment accompanies me on the ride home. As a 10-year-old who had competed in many sports before, I couldn't understand why I was so upset about this particular night. I worked hard during practices and attended hitting lessons, but my dad made me realize I was missing something. I was missing the drive and ambition to want to practice on my own to personally become better and move away from the crowd if I wanted to become better. My road to personal development became essential to me in so many ways. The most significant factor was that I had decided to continue playing softball at the collegiate level. In college, student-athletes are recruited because of their consistency of skills, so once they go in, they are already prepared. Training on my own and understanding the fundamentals of my body and mind is part of my personal development. However, the road to personal development wasn't an easy walk. As I got older, I realized that I was my worst critic, but not in a positive way. Even in school, I held the highest expectations for myself, always striving to get the highest grade or trying to be at the top of my class and achieve all the awards. I mentally and physically challenged my body during the day, and at night, I would bring myself down, killing my mental health and depleting my love for the sport. This cycle sometimes helped increase my drive or ambition, but with perseverance and discipline, there was no backing out. Fortunately, my parents supported me in pursuing this sport and helped me build discipline, respect, and gratitude. My hitting/throwing coach was my mentor throughout my softball career. He was guiding me through the mental and physical nitty-gritty of the game and helping me build confidence on the field. As I continued to train for softball, I gained opportunities that helped me improve my skills and stay consistent. My teammates and coaches pushed me to be the best version of myself on and off the field. One thing that kept me going is the fact that softball requires you to fail, fail, and fail. Without failing and stepping out of my comfort zone, I would never break out of the bad habits or improve myself because failing causes a person to make a mistake, and these mistakes show areas that need to be worked on. In shorter terms, learning from mistakes is the most significant part of softball, making quick adjustments to stay consistent, mentally and physically prepared. With the aid of my family, friends, teammates, and coaches, I have continued training to be the best student-athlete version of myself!