The one person who has always supported me my entire life is my father. He has assisted me mentally and financially throughout my academic and personal endeavors. He has always made it very clear to me that no matter what I choose to do he will always be behind me supporting me. As I work towards my dreams and achieve my academic goals I keep what he has done and said to me in my heart. I plan to honor him by writing about him and the impact he has had on me. I also hope to be able to get a good career to make him proud and financially compensate him at least to a degree. His support has reminded me that I am capable of doing whatever I want and being whoever I want to be. I shouldn’t have to change myself or do anything that I don’t want to. He himself was not able to achieve all of his dreams which is why he encourages me to do so. Due to his support I have worked harder to achieve certain goals and pushed myself to do the things I want to do without fear of being judged or stopped from living my most authentic life. I will build on his support by continuing to use it as a positive energy that propels my future. I will use his support as a reminder that I always have somebody in my corner and that no matter what I do I will achieve my goals. It also encourages me to continue working hard and to work even harder in every aspect of my life. It helps me build onto my own independence and reminds me to not let anyone or anything hold me back. I will use his support as a power tool. My father is a single parent and his undying support has been very impactful to me because of it. I never had a mom to help with bills or take care of me and my brother, my dad did it all by himself and we continue to live a good and stable life because of it. His hard work, love, care, and dedication to us has encouraged me to be the best that I can be. It serves as a reminder that no matter what I can achieve my goals. If he did it so can I!

In my life making a positive impact and being a positive person has always been important to me. I have seen the cruel truths and injustices in the world and that has only furthered my drive to make the world more positive. In my life there are many things I have done and will continue to do to make the world a better place. I have never been one to shy away from conflict or back down when I know something isn’t quite right. My younger brother was diagnosed with autism at a very young age and since then it has impacted all of our lives. I have seen the way he has been treated differently and it makes me sick to my stomach to think that people could treat him so terribly due to something that he has absolutely no control over. In public if I heard people speak ill of him or make any jokes meant to demean other people who faced the same challenges I made it my mission to stand up and tell them that it was the wrong thing to do. I continue to do this every day, if I hear negative words towards anybody or any marginalized community I always say something. If you allow negativity to spread throughout the world and do nothing to combat it the world will become a more toxic place. As authors have said before optimism is most powerful when you must fight your inner pessimism and I believe this statement to be very very true. I am going to college for a communications degree where I will learn many people skills and knowledge that comes with writing and speaking about certain subjects. Through this degree I intend to get a good job that allows for me to use my voice in a positive way that helps impact the world in a good way. Through my own personal voice and through my writers voice I can express positivity and encourage other people to become more positive. If people don’t use their voices to make a change than a change will never happen. It takes awareness to make change and through my voice I believe I can spread the message of positivity and encourage others to do the same. I will do this by speaking kindly about all people and encouraging less negativity especially towards specific groups that face it deeply.

Olivia Rodrigo has over 40 songs, and two insanely popular albums. Her popularity isn’t for no reason however, and I can proudly say that I am a big time fan. Throughout the years her music has carried me and made me feel seen. While it is hard to pick only a couple lyrics from her discography I feel as if these ones best represent me and the impact that Olivia has had on my life. In her song making the bed Olivia writes, “I’m so tired of bein’ the girl that I am every good thing has turned into something I dread”. This lyric specifically has a deep connection to me. At so many points in my life I have felt sick and tired of the person I was, I desperately wanted to change myself in every way possible. I would change how I looked, how I acted, anything I could just to make myself feel better. Furthermore I have felt at so many points that every good thing I’ve had has rotted and become nothing. If I am too excited or I want something too badly it quickly goes sour and turns into something I never wanted. I have had this experience happen with relationships throughout the years, both romantic and platonic. Another set of lyrics that I feel very connected too are in the song pretty isn’t pretty, “you fix the things you hated, and you’ll still feel so insecure”. This lyric to me means that no matter how much you change and alter who you are if you don’t actually love yourself you’ll never be a secure person. I have tried endlessly and tirelessly to change every detail about who I am to become someone who was more likable or desirable. No matter what I did though I never felt different inside at the end of the day, because I wasn’t doing it for me. The third and final lyric of Olivia’s that I feel truly connects with me is in lacy, “My stomachs all in knots you got the one thing that I want”. This song and this lyric in particular are an ode to feeling insecure and wanting to have what someone else has. My own personal insecurities and desire to be a different person is what led me to feel this way. I desperately wanted to have the same life as other girls who possessed certain traits or did certain things or even looked a certain way. Today, I can confidently say that I have shifted from that insecure young girl to a confident young woman. However, without Olivia’s music and the knowledge that came with it that I was not alone I never would’ve been able to work through those emotions and heal myself.

Ever since I was young I’ve been absolutely infatuated with Sabrina Carpenter. From watching her on the Disney channel, to listening to her older music, and now to fighting for tickets to her concerts. I vividly remember loving her in girl meets world so much that I tried to copy how she spoke and acted. Her confidence was effortless and something that I desired deeply. Her music also had, and continues to have, a deep impact on me. Whether it was “Feels like loneliness”, “Vicious”, or “Sharpest tool” I have been able to connect to her music throughout her entire career. I was a small girl who thrived off the open book that is Sabrina, who learned confidence and self worth from her songs. Now I’m that same girl and only slightly different. Her music makes me feel empowered in who I am, it gives me the confidence to stay true to who I am, and makes me feel less alone in situations I couldn’t quite put into words. She is able to take the thoughts form my brain and create impactful and powerful songs to listen to; not only does Sabrina and her career have an impact on me but on every other girl who grew up with her.

When I was younger I was a very withdrawn child. I didn't like to push myself out of my comfort zone or do anything that I found ‘scary’. This included many things like public speaking or even more casual things like getting water, asking to go to the bathroom, or trying to start a conversation with someone. When I started high school I found myself compelled to join the cheer leading team and since my freshman year I have been a part of the Stevenson cheer program. Joining cheer leading did not just make me more athletic but it completely changed my perception of myself, the importance of confidence, and the world as a whole. I became more outgoing and I wasn't afraid to stand up and let my voice be heard. Since then I've found myself in many different situations where I realized just how important using your voice is. It can change somebody's entire life. This encouraged me to try and find a way to use my voice and speak out more for those in need, which led me to discovering the field of communications. Communications is a vast field and there are a lot of job opportunities and doors that can be opened. This also encouraged my decision to pursue a communications degree because I like the freedom that comes with it. When I discovered that I could make money and a difference at the same time I knew that it was what I wanted to do. I could change people's lives while also providing myself with a stable career. My passion for this is why I want to pursue this field so aggressively, and getting a good education is a big part of that. I want to complete my bachelors degree in communications at Washington State University, apply for work study jobs and internships, and get a stable degree in the communications field. With financial aid my goals are going to be easier for me to achieve. Overall, I developed confidence through a lot of self reflection and work and now I want to use my voice to speak out and to those who can't or won't speak for themselves.