Benjamin Franklin once noted that "an investment in knowledge pays the best interest." Truthfully, I've never been too keen on that kind of banking; school up until the past year has always had a bittersweet taste. I loved seeing my friends and teachers, but the homework and course load was always difficult to keep up with. I would wake up in the morning, yawn, and get into what was increasingly a slow, painful trek through mountains of paper and books. I yearned for the day when I would be free of school, and although I worked hard and loved many of the lessons, I lost vision of what I was there for. Then, as is becoming increasingly cliche, COVID-19 hit. Schools were closed for what we were first told was an "extended deep clean period." Two days turned into two weeks, two weeks turned to two months. At first, I was relieved in a way: I wouldn't have to deal with end of year exams, or homework, and I would have plenty of free time to actually learn important skills, right? Very wrong. I soon realized that I not only miss my friends, but I actually missed having a real education. I miss being immersed in the history of the world. I missed engaging in discussions on Faulkner, Fitzgerald, and Shakespeare. I miss working out complex physics equations in the classroom. This recent pandemic has shown me the true value of education: it can't be distilled into a mere Zoom call, or a Google Classroom assignment. I now long for the opportunity to safely venture into the realm of real life learning, despite its difficulties. I'm glad that I have gained this mindset, and look forward to seeing the college world through such a lense.

The small business world is not just a community I sympathize with: I am very much a part of it. Take for instance, my friend and I. We want to change the apparel industry. Using sustainable methods of apparel manufacturing, such as recreating recycled clothing by using environmentally safe materials and stains, cofounder Mayerly Soto and I have launched Paved Wave Boardriding and Apparel. As of right now, we've built a following on social media, developed a brand identity, and promoted our products and lifestyle using advertising and graphic design. We have deals in the works to get our items into local shops in the Tennessee area, and our website has heavy traffic. Our goal, ultimately, is to have a company which, for perspective, is akin to a hybrid between Quicksilver and Supreme and caters to the longboarding and surfskate lifestyle. We are enthusiastic about helping the planet, and we promote using less fossil fuels by longboarding instead of driving. I plan to continue this work in while enrolled at whichever I college I end up, and to use the business and legal skills I will learn there to grow the business. In addition, and as I have mentioned in my bio, I have another in-depth experience in the small business community. Moving from California to Tennessee, my father managed to purchase a historic building in the downtown Dickson area. It was certainly a fixer-upper: complete with ancient junk piled to the ceiling, a sort of mini storage center out back, and rotting floor and stairs, the shop took several years to fix up. I helped every step of the way, from demolition to rebuilding, and eventually graphic design and helping serve customers. For the first half of the year after we opened, the shop did very well. However, COVID-19 struck down our success and we plunged into a difficult several months. Our family persevered and explored various solutions, and have thus continued to survive to this day. Despite the trials and hardship that come alongside starting a business, I am thoroughly undaunted. I have learned that no matter how bleak the odds seem, no matter how few sales you get, there is always an upside. I believe that through determination and ambition, as well as with the help of my community, I can accomplish anything that I set out to do. And I'm setting out to change the world.

The object in the first picture is a screen printer. The "PWB+A" and "PAVEDWAVE" logos are my first attempt ever at branding. It's how my friend Mayerly Soto (see second) and I are planning to change the world: using sustainable methods of clothing manufacturing, such as recreating recycled clothing and using environmentally safe materials and stains to promote cutting fossil fuel consumption by longboarding. The third image is after two years of demolition and preparation on my family's small business, which I played a role in starting. The fourth is us learning family history on Terceira Island, Portugal.