Currently, I am graduating high school with an associate's degree and a high school diploma at the age of seventeen, which I can acknowledge that not many teens my age have had the opportunity to do, so I consider myself very lucky. I managed to rush through and complete my education very quickly and began high school classes when I had still been in middle school, and this has affected my life completely. I have met many inspiring educators who have given me life-changing opportunities and have guided me to a place in my life where I can realize just how important the education system is to a child when you are surrounded by mentors who want the best for you and do everything in their power to make sure that you get every opportunity to accomplish your goals and dreams. Teaching can affect so many lives and inspire a change in people, and this is what has inspired me to want to make an impact on society as a whole. My goal is to get a major in psychology and minors in English and film, so I can work on bringing perspective, acceptance, and an open-minded view to the media because society is constantly learning about how people are through television and literature, even if it is a thirty-second video on TikTok or YouTube. Media has become such a huge part of our daily lives, and I want to teach people to understand other humans by introducing accurate psychology and representation through tv shows, movies, and books. Many people also want to have stories to show the world, and I want to help people make that happen and overcome the hurdle of not having the opportunity to showcase their work to a wide audience. Currently, I am working on getting my dream job as a publisher and producer/director by furthering my knowledge of human behaviors, mindsets, filming, and literature through my education. Unfortunately, I have been put through the wringer to get where I am now. I have had to constantly move all of my life due to my father being in the army and then later moving for other government jobs, and then when he went back to finally get his college degrees. We have also constantly struggled financially and lived in horrible places, and last year I had to live in a hotel for my entire junior year. I managed to push through anyway because I have always thrived under pressure and I have a knack for adapting to constant change. I always managed to find a solution to whatever problem I was facing at the moment by sheer determination and drive for my goal of having a stable life in the future. Not only that but I believe that the universe puts people in situations that they can handle, so I knew that no matter what, I had the strength and ability to get through my obstacles no matter how horrible it got. Then I could learn and grow from those experiences and later help other people get through them too, or simply so I could have a better understanding of what other people are going through as well. Not only that but if I had no hardships or could not get through them, how else would I answer your last question?

Pressure. So much pressure. But they can handle it. They can do this! They have done this all their life, What’s another day more? They can handle their assignments. Essay, essay, quiz, study, test, essay, quiz, quiz, assignment, project, test. Week after week. Day by day. There are fewer assignments, but why is it still hard? They aren’t trying enough. Procrastinating too much. Do they really belong here? Everyone is so much smarter than them. A after A. No a B. Just a C at this point and they will be satisfied. Why must their worth be determined through a letter grade? A number grade? A GPA? A score? Why must their interests be beaten into a dead horse? If they struggle then they're a lost cause that won’t surpass, And yet the reflection of the failing grade is on their worth and not the class. They tried so hard only to receive a punishment insulting their intelligence. Clearly, they do not work hard. They are not responsible. It is their fault they cannot learn and regurgitate information. The pressure keeps building up. The looks are too much. Are they attractive, or are they not? What defines attractiveness anyway? Averageness? A symmetrical face? They paint their face. They go on runs. They raise their weights. To yield no results. They smile brightly but the picture is all wrong. So instead they don’t and their mood is off. It’s confusing now, do they smile or not? They don’t look good either way, So they are lost. They shift focus onto other things. Their perception of the mirror is all sorts of wrong. A crooked smile, a wonky face. Huge thighs. Skinny arms. A pimple here, a zit there, and their face is just gone. They go on long runs. Lift too heavy weights. Clearly all of their work previous has gone to waste. They skip some meals and gorge on chips into the late hours of the night. They cry and scream and yell as they curse their appetite. Why must all of their work not show for anything? Better yet, why must their worth be deemed on looks at all? Are happiness and personality not important after all? The pressure is gone, but with it are a majority of their feelings. They tried to grin and bare it easily. Turns out it was easier said than done. Now all that is left is an eclipsed sun. All the energy is far gone. They now fake their smiles for so long. Their biggest critic is themself, After years of pressure from family and others. Suddenly happiness has become important When all these years they had to ignore it To appease their parents, friends, and society. They struggle to find their true identity. Apparently, there is something wrong. However, it is not with them, but with society as a whole. Standards that are far too high to reach. Expectations that often they cannot meet. Being forced to be strong and independent to a fault, They felt that they could not ask for help at all. So now they hide away. I go to smile another day.

Ever since I was a little kid, I have gone through a plethora of hobbies from soccer to rock climbing, painting to pottery, choir to playing the guitar. A lot of them I, unfortunately, have not continued or kept up with, but there has been one consistent hobby that has stuck with me during my entire life. This hobby has stuck with me throughout it all, and I love to do it in my free time. I would absolutely love to continue it as a job, and this hobby is writing. I am proud to say I am a great writer, and I have my teachers, my friends and family, and my A+ essays to back me up on this, but that is not the only reason I love writing. I have always had a creative mind, and often times I would use it as an escape from everything going on around me. Writing helped me feel like I actually had some control in my ever-changing life which really helped me through thick and thin. Life has not been easy to me, granted it could have been way worse, but I want to make it somewhere, and writing helps inspire and motivate me to get my life in check when I'm feeling down in the dumps or unmotivated to do anything. The reason I enjoy it is because I finally get to take a breather and float away. I get to actually use all of the neverending ideas that flow through my brain on a day-to-day basis and create something people can connect and relate to, where they can feel things, and also escape from the pressures that life puts on everyone. It makes my day when I see people enjoy my writing and it makes me feel better knowing I made someone laugh or smile reading my stories. My favorite hobby is a much needed outlet, and I would love to have it as a side job in the future. Writing amazing books people can read in their offtime sounds amazing, but I also want to teach English to high school students. Mostly, I want to give them a much needed outlet that I had growing up, and I want to try and inspire students through something I very much enjoy doing whenever I feel up to it. I know how to write and I know many people struggle putting their thoughts onto paper, so if I can just help them learn how to write an essay I'll be satisfied. Maybe not like I can completely fulfilled my teaching and inspiring duty and dreams, but knowing I taught them a useful skill will make me feel confident I haven't left them completely unprepared for the world. Writing is a way to connect to the world, and this hobby of mine can become so much more if I let. I really hope this dream of mine can happen. Actually, I know it will.

I have struggled with mental health for longer than I can remember. It is incredibly hard to deal with some days while other days it is almost like it's not there. There are plenty of ways to deal with mental health, and not every way works for every person, so you have to actually figure out what works for you. For some, sleeping more until you feel well-rested is a great way to improve your mental health. Personally, I have a horrible sleeping schedule. I go to sleep around three in the morning and wake up at six because I have school, and then on weekends I will sleep in until the afternoon. Oversleeping doesn't help, so if that is a problem then I would suggest sleeping less and adding alarms. Give yourself things to do, learn a new hobby or something so you give yourself a reason to get up out of bed. Exercising and having a healthier diet also work for some people, I don't do it, but some of my friends do. You can also work on saying positive affirmations to yourself on a daily basis, even if it does sound a little bit cheesy, but I have been doing this one for years and it definitely boosts my mood up. Some examples are just simply saying, "I look awesome today." "I'm almost through the day." "I got this!" Lastly, I would suggest helping others around you. I know from personal experience that when I'm having a not-so-great day, and I notice someone else isn't either, me simply telling them something nice makes their day which also makes me feel better. You can also just help people when you notice they need some assistance.