There are many ways to live a long, healthy life such as eating healthy and working out, but I believe the best way is to put emphasis on mental health. Stress and depression weaken your immune system and can lead to other medical complications later in life. By taking time to meditate, do yoga, and simply relax, we can lengthen our lifespans. Even getting enough sleep can be incredibly impactful. It's that simple! By creating a healthy mind, a healthy body will follow. Our physical and mental states work in tandem to keep us alive and thriving. When we feel good about ourselves we are more likely to make better choices for our bodies. It is when we are stressed, sad, or overwhelmed that we 'let go' and turn to unhealthy choices that can shorten our lifespans such as binge eating or not eating at all. I personally take time to reflect on my mental state regularly and focus on what I can do to improve it. Often these things include more beneficial activities such as going to the gym or eating a good meal. I have noticed in my own life that the more I take care of my mind the stronger my body becomes and how much my overall health increases. That is why the best way to live a long, healthy life, is to take care of our mental health first.

Being patient is so very important to me because I understand that not every person processes information at the same pace. We must all be conscious of the time that it takes other people to understand concepts and accomplish tasks if we want them to also be patient and understanding when we also need time. When I am patient I find that I am kinder and perform better than when I am rushing through my day not giving others the time they need. Being patient allows me to connect more with others because I can slow down and be present with them at their own pace. Having a brother with mental disabilities taught me that to show love I must be able to also show patience instead of getting frustrated and giving up. We get so upset when others are not patient with us so we must ensure that we provide the same compassion to everyone else no matter if they are family, friends, or strangers.

There are so many people in the world and every single one of them is unique in their race, gender, sexuality, and beliefs. In my community, I see all of these people and I make an effort to show them the love and support that I would anyone else. I work hard to promote equality and diversity by being an active member of my high school's Academy Inclusion Club which holds events to promote equality within the LGBTQ+ community. I also support the LGBTQ+ community by attending pride festivals and prayer services held to spread awareness and honor lives lost to hate crimes. I am also a member of the Asian Culture Club so that I can learn about all kinds of traditions and holidays that so many people celebrate. I make efforts to talk to my friends as well as pursue independent research in order to understand the struggles of minorities and the contributions I can make in my day-to-day life such as having conversations with my family about prejudices they may have inherited from their own parents.

I commit time every week to service in my community. One of the ways that I do this is through peer tutoring at my school in which I help students struggling in their classes and motivate them to succeed. Rather than belittling them or making them feel as if they are incapable of getting good grades, I work to empower my peers, helping them understand their work and their worth. I encourage them to continue seeking assistance where they need it because progress is not a journey they need to make alone. I also work to encourage those around me as team captain of my high school's varsity swimming and diving team. As a team captain, I make it my full responsibility to spread teamwork, positivity, and motivation throughout every practice. Being a student-athlete is not easy and it is so important that athletes feel successful in order to perform successfully. Even after a race, if someone did not perform as well as they intended, I make an effort to be there and encourage them to know that they are still valued and that their journey is not over. While everyone needs encouragement at some point, no one kind of encouragement works for everyone. Since every person is different, I work to understand each of my teammates. I give pep talks to the team as a whole and meet with them individually to encourage everyone in the unique ways that they each require. I want to see those around me succeed so I am willing to put in the effort to support and encourage everyone that I can.

I am drawn into math by the sense of control it provides me with. With all of the chaos of society, I know I can always turn to math to be formulated and consistent. Math can be complex but even in its most confusing problems, I can trust that there is a solution. Math has allowed me to understand the inner workings of nature and society that most people might not even know are connected. Growing up, math skills came to me easily. I excelled in math classes and it gave me the confidence to take harder classes and apply myself more. When I reached high school I began to struggle with math because it was not as simple as it used to be. Rather than being deterred, I was sucked in even more. When I reached a question I did not know the answer to I did not give up. I studied and asked for help as much as I could to finally understand the formulas and solve the problems. Being able to overcome my struggles with complex math made me love it even more. I want to know how the world works and how math unites us. Learning calculus and physics was so exciting because while they were so different, the math was the same. I was in shock discovering that by measuring a skidmark at a car assident scene you can use math to tell how fast the cars were traveling and whose fault the accident was. Math connects everything and I want to be connected with everything through it. I am so deeply fascinated by the ability to use math to discover truths of the past and also make predictions about the future. I am pursuing an electrical engineering technology degree so that I can understand even more and use math to help others. I want to learn how energy and math come together to create life. My desire to learn and help others stems from my relationship with math. Every time I learn a new formula and how to use it I realize even more how calculated everything truly is. We use math every day without even realizing it. I see others often ask in classes "is this really going to ever help us in the real world?" so I have made it my personal mission to find the ways in which math is not only beneficial but vital.

I am inspired by solar panels. I think that the idea of using the sun, which powers nature, to also power our cars, houses, etc. is absolutely incredible. We are digging down into the earth for fuel when instead we can reach towards the sky, taking in the sunlight, which is sustainable and clean. In taking greater advantage of solar energy we can preserve the planet's resources and ensure a brighter future for the next generation. There are so many ways to improve energy usage as long as we take the time to learn about the technology necessary. I want to pursue a career in Electrical Engineering Technology for this specific reason. I have a desire to learn about the workings of electricity and the technology used to harness it so that I can improve my community and the world's usage of renewable energy. Technology is made to grow and improve so I plan to be a part of that growth as an advocate for the planet. Growing up, I have always been entranced by the notion of solar panels, wind farms, and water turbines. I never understood why there were not more of these technological wonders out in the world when it provides such a reliable source of energy. These creations are built to help us and sustain us, so of course, I feel compelled to understand and improve upon them. In all of the bright futuristic scenes shown in Sci-Fi movies, there is no smog or sludge. They are beautiful, clean, bright cities. That kind of future is possible with sustainable solar energy and I want to have a direct impact on reaching that goal. I want to ensure that my descendants are able to live in a world free from the fear of global warming, or running out of natural gas. There is so much potential in solar energy as long as we trust the technology to provide for us. Not only do I trust that technology but I want to immerse myself in it as fully as I can.