My mom had me when she was young and early into her military career. From the age of one, my family and I were moving about from place to place. The earliest memory I have was of us living in Japan. Even when we were back in the US, we still moved a good amount. The most trouble I had came from schools with prejudices against new kids and environmental change. Adaptation has become a key to my school experience as it has become my key strength today. I never had as much difficulty making friends until middle school, when I moved to Texas. Middle school is the place where people form meaningful bonds and assemble themselves into cliques. I had trouble integrating myself into this system. Most of the people I observed in school had been residing in Texas for all of their lives and found it strange that someone from another place would attempt to make friends with them. After some time people started to approach me based not on the fact that I’d just moved but rather the fact that I was a familiar person who’d been at the school for a couple of years now. With myself realizing that people weren’t all that bad, I made myself more approachable and friendly. At the end of middle school I had amassed a solid group of close friends, much more than I had at the start of when I moved to Texas. However, that didn’t last, as I moved to Mississippi half way through my freshman year. Relationships aren’t the only hard things to form when moving to new places, but also academics. It’s not hard to imagine how much my grades dwindled after my learning environment was changed several times. I recall one year in particular in which I attended three separate schools due to my moving around. While the teachers reacted kindly to the new student attending their class, it was still difficult not having a pre-existing connection with the teachers and classmates like the other students had. Problems had arisen not just from my new social environment, but as well as my new learning environment. Unsurprisingly, curriculums changed from school to school, causing me to have to adjust to a new one each time. It took me to the beginning of high school to have the skills to quickly adapt to a new environment. I would see any form of one subject and identify its differences and similarities to the subjects I was previously taught. Being a child of an active military member is no easy thing. Moving numerous times causes the given individual to have to adapt quickly otherwise be cast out or fall behind. This entire experience of being a “military brat” has given me strengths that would have otherwise not have developed. I can now learn in any environment and make friends with any person, two things that are vastly important in today’s society. Even today, as I prepare to do my study abroad in Japan next semester, I can be confident that I will adapt to whatever culture shock I experience.

My Mother had me when she was young and early into her military career. From the age of one, my family and I were moving about from place to place. The earliest memory I have was of us living in Japan. Even when we were back in the US, we still moved a good amount. The most trouble I had came from schools with prejudices against new kids and environmental change. Adaptation has become a key to my school experience as it has become my key strength today. I never had as much difficulty making friends until middle school, when I moved to Texas. Middle school is the place where people form meaningful bonds and assemble themselves into cliques. I had trouble integrating myself into this system. Most of the people I observed in school had been residing in Texas for all of their lives and found it strange that someone from another place would attempt to make friends with them. After some time people started to approach me based not on the fact that I’d just moved but rather the fact that I was a familiar person who’d been at the school for a couple of years now. With myself realizing that people weren’t all that bad, I made myself more approachable and friendly. At the end of middle school I had amassed a solid group of close friends, much more than I had at the start of when I moved to Texas. However, that didn’t last, as I moved to Mississippi half way through my freshman year. Being a child of an active military member is no easy thing. Moving numerous times causes the given individual to have to adapt quickly otherwise be cast out or fall behind. This entire experience of being a “military brat” has given me strengths that would have otherwise not have developed. I can now learn in any environment and make friends with any person, two things that are vastly important in today’s society, especially in academia. My academic goals include, becoming fluent in Japanese, a Bachelor's degree in International Studies with a focus in business, and ultimately achieving a degree in law. Getting to learn Japanese and be in Japan for a semester in college is my version of academic success. Coming out of college I’ll be attending Law school, during this period of time in which I’m studying to be a corporate trade lawyer I’ll be obtaining internships with the types of Japan-US trade companies I hope to work with. After I'm finished with all of my education I will be joining the military in order to create more connections when it comes to international affairs. Additionally, I hope joining the military will mold me into the best person I can be for myself and others. All of my accomplishments in; college, law school, and the military will amount to obtaining a career in corporate trade well suited to the personality I established growing up as a “military brat.”

I would describe success in my own life as achieving my own goals and being happy with where I'm at. Living in a society where one must make their own drive and passion to continue forth, I consider happiness to be one of the most important factors of today. That being said, it is my desire to pursue International Studies in order to become a global citizen and develop a career in corporate trade law. In a world that is rapidly changing it is important that people advance their knowledge and learn from other cultures. Learning different cultural values will help with my future legal relations with Japanese businesses and to become more aware of my American culture's influence on others. The better we understand other cultures the more we can step towards achieving global unification and stronger relations. My academic goals include, becoming fluent in Japanese, a Bachelor's degree in International Studies, and ultimately achieving a degree in law all at the University of Mississippi . Accomplishing all of this will allow me to be more than suited to become a corporate trade lawyer with enhanced global knowledge. Getting to learn Japanese and be in Japan for a semester in college is my version of academic success. Achieving these goals will make me happy and make me more in tune with what I want in my career. Coming out of college I’ll be attending law school. During this period of time in which I’m studying to be a corporate trade lawyer I’ll be obtaining internships and contacts from the types of companies I’ll be working with. Shifting more towards career success means getting at least one internship with a company that specializes in Japan-US trade. After I'm finished with all of my education I will have all of the qualifications needed to apply for positions as a trade lawyer in a company. I believe that it's the career that makes the person successful and the ability to have hobbies that make the person happy. Arguably, one can only be successful if they are happy with where they're at. In my 30s, I'll be a successful corporate trade lawyer with vast knowledge in Japanese culture and language, something that will make me more favorable in my career. In addition to working for a company involved in Japan-US trade, I also want to invest in the stock market and use the skills I’ll be gaining with my economics classes. Being in a position with a stable income doing something I enjoy and the ability to invest will be what I consider ultimate success. I would also love to have enough disposable income to be able to commit to my hobbies such as astronomy, writing, and gardening. Attending the University of Mississippi has allowed me to have in-state tuition. I work over the summers and do my best to apply to any scholarships that I fit the criteria for. I’ve also done my fair share of applying to jobs to work on the weekend during the school semester, however being in a town full of students needing jobs has made it increasingly difficult to obtain a job that works with my schedule of taking 19 hours worth of classes. That is where scholarships such as this one come in. I might not be the smartest nor the most misfortunate, but work towards my goals to the best of my ability.

I would describe success in my own life as achieving my own goals and being happy with where I'm at. Living in a society where one must make their drive and passion to continue forth, I consider happiness to be one of the most important factors of today. That being said, I desire to pursue International Studies to become a global citizen and develop a career in corporate trade law. In a world that is rapidly changing it is important that people advance their knowledge and learn from other cultures. Learning different cultural values will help with my future legal relations with Japanese businesses and to become more aware of my American culture's influence on others. The better we understand other cultures the more we can step towards achieving global unification and stronger relations. My academic goals include becoming fluent in Japanese, a Bachelor's degree in International Studies, and ultimately achieving a law degree all at the University of Mississippi. Accomplishing all of this will allow me to be more than suited to become a corporate trade lawyer with enhanced global knowledge. Getting to learn Japanese and being in Japan for a semester in college is my version of academic success. Achieving these goals will make me happy and make me more in tune with what I want in my career. Coming out of college I’ll be attending law school. During this period in which I’m studying to be a corporate trade lawyer I’ll be obtaining internships and contacts from the types of companies I’ll be working with. Shifting more towards career success means getting at least one internship with a company that specializes in Japan-US trade. After I'm finished with all of my education I will have all of the qualifications needed to apply for positions as a trade lawyer in a company. I believe that it's the career that makes the person successful and the ability to have hobbies that make the person happy. Arguably, one can only be successful if they are happy with where they're at. In my 30s, I'll be a successful corporate trade lawyer with vast knowledge of Japanese culture and language, something that will make me more favorable in my career. In addition to working for a company involved in Japan-US trade, I also want to invest in the stock market and use the skills I’ll be gaining with my economics classes. Being in a position with a stable income doing something I enjoy and the ability to invest will be what I consider ultimate success. I would also love to have enough disposable income to be able to commit to my hobbies such as astronomy, writing, and gardening. Attending the University of Mississippi has allowed me to have in-state tuition. I work over the summers and do my best to apply to any scholarships that I fit the criteria for. I’ve also done my fair share of applying to jobs to work on the weekend during the school semester, however being in a town full of students needing jobs has made it increasingly difficult to obtain a job that works with my schedule of taking 19 hours worth of classes. That all being said, my financial situation grows closer to needing to take out a student loan than I would have liked. It’s frustrating to do everything from; working, applying for scholarships, and doing my best to keep my grades up, all for it to amount to me still needing funds to continue my academic track. That is where scholarships such as this one come in. I might not be the smartest nor the most misfortunate, but work towards my goals to the best of my ability.

My mom had me when she was young and early into her military career. From the age of one, my family and I were moving about from place to place. The earliest memory I have was of us living in Japan. Even when we were back in the US, we still moved a good amount. The most trouble I had came from schools with prejudices against new kids and environmental change. Adaptation has become a key to my school experience as it has become my key strength today. I never had as much difficulty making friends until middle school, when I moved to Texas. Middle school is the place where people form meaningful bonds and assemble themselves into cliques. I had trouble integrating myself into this system. Most of the people I observed in school had been residing in Texas for all of their lives and found it strange that someone from another place would attempt to make friends with them. After some time people started to approach me based not on the fact that I’d just moved but rather the fact that I was a familiar person who’d been at the school for a couple of years now. With myself realizing that people weren’t all that bad, I made myself more approachable and friendly. At the end of middle school I had amassed a solid group of close friends, much more than I had at the start of when I moved to Texas. However, that didn’t last, as I moved to Mississippi half way through my freshman year. Being a child of an active military member is no easy thing. Moving numerous times causes the given individual to have to adapt quickly otherwise be cast out or fall behind. This entire experience of being a “military brat” has given me strengths that would have otherwise not have developed. I can now learn in any environment and make friends with any person, two things that are vastly important in today’s society, especially in academia. My academic goals include, becoming fluent in Japanese, a Bachelor's degree in International Studies with a focus in business, and ultimately achieving a degree in law. Getting to learn Japanese and be in Japan for a semester in college is my version of academic success. Coming out of college I’ll be attending Law school, during this period of time in which I’m studying to be a corporate trade lawyer I’ll be obtaining internships with the types of Japan-US trade companies I hope to work with. After I'm finished with all of my education I will be joining the military in order to create more connections when it comes to international affairs. Additionally, I hope joining the military will mold me into the best person I can be for myself and others. All of my accomplishments in; college, law school, and the military will amount to obtaining a career in corporate trade well suited to the personality I established growing up as a “military brat.”

My dream vision for myself is; a happy bilingual trade lawyer who aids in bridging the United States and Japan through international trade.

My mom had me when she was young and early into her military career. From the age of one, my family and I were moving about from place to place. The earliest memory I have was of us living in Japan. Even when we were back in the US, we still moved a good amount. The most trouble I had came from schools with prejudices against new kids and environmental change. Adaptation has become a key to my school experience as it has become my key strength today. I never had as much difficulty making friends until middle school, when I moved to Texas. Middle school is the place where people form meaningful bonds and assemble themselves into cliques. I had trouble integrating myself into this system. Most of the people I observed in school had been residing in Texas for all of their lives and found it strange that someone from another place would attempt to make friends with them. After some time people started to approach me based not on the fact that I’d just moved but rather the fact that I was a familiar person who’d been at the school for a couple of years now. With myself realizing that people weren’t all that bad, I made myself more approachable and friendly. At the end of middle school I had amassed a solid group of close friends, much more than I had at the start of when I moved to Texas. However, that didn’t last, as I moved to Mississippi half way through my freshman year. Relationships aren’t the only hard things to form when moving to new places, but also academics. It’s not hard to imagine how much my grades dwindled after my learning environment was changed several times. I recall one year in particular in which I attended three separate schools due to my moving around. While the teachers reacted kindly to the new student attending their class, it was still difficult not having a pre-existing connection with the teachers and classmates like the other students had. Problems had arisen not just from my new social environment, but as well as my new learning environment. Unsurprisingly, curriculums changed from school to school, causing me to have to adjust to a new one each time. It took me to the beginning of high school to have the skills to quickly adapt to a new environment. I would see any form of one subject and identify its differences and similarities to the subjects I was previously taught. Being a child of an active military member is no easy thing. Moving numerous times causes the given individual to have to adapt quickly otherwise be cast out or fall behind. This entire experience of being a “military brat” has given me strengths that would have otherwise not have developed. I can now learn in any environment and make friends with any person, two things that are vastly important in today’s society.

Directed by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft, Mulan aired in 1998 to be shown across the entire world for it’s representation of the Chinese culture and the tails of Hua Mulan. The story entailed a heroine who took her fathers place in the army as a man and helped the Chinese army triumph against the huns. Even though the story is unknown to have originated from fact or myth, the story gives light to the idea that a woman is just as good as a man even in war. Disney, the company that this was produced under, has transformed many minds on the advancement of gender and culture to this day. It has done so through movies and other artistic expressions. For a lot of the world, Disney has been an inspiration to women and men alike to focus on equality and the beauties of culture. The specific movie Mulan turns gender equality into a film that’s relatable and entertaining. Younger audiences who have not yet formed ideas about gender stereotypes would watch this film and pick up on the equality it serves. Through imaginative storytelling, this movie tells of a girl who was meant to be simply married off and perform normal women duties but instead sacrifices her life to save her father and nation. The film gives several examples of her reflecting on herself and deciding what’s right. This is an artistic choice on the movie writers part as even though she was born a woman, with her finding her reflection/ true self, she is able to help others. I first stumbled across this film in my early teen years. It was the first Disney film I’d seen that didn’t have a typical princess in ballgowns being wooed by princes. I related to the fact that Mulan found herself in the gritty armor and sharp swords of war rather than in the household. Growing up with this movie caused me to believe that not all women had to be traditional feminine princesses in order to be happy with themselves.

It is my desire to pursue International Studies in order to become a global citizen and develop a career in corporate trade law. In a world that is rapidly changing it is important that people advance their knowledge and learn from other cultures. Learning different cultural values will help with my future legal relations with Japanese businesses and to become more aware of my American culture's influence on others. The better we understand other cultures the more we can step towards achieving global unification and stronger relations. My academic goals include, becoming fluent in Japanese, a Bachelor's degree in General Business, and ultimately achieving a degree in law. Accomplishing all of this will allow me to be more than suited to become a Corporate Trade Lawyer with enhanced global knowledge. If accepted to the programs I've applied for in college, I will gain an opportunity to learn the basics of Japanese over the summer and in my junior year of college, study abroad in Japan. Getting to learn Japanese and be in Japan for a semester in college is my version of academic success. Achieving these goals will make me happy and make me more in tune with what I want in my career. Coming out of college I’ll be attending Law school. During this period of time in which I’m studying to be a Corporate Trade lawyer I’ll be obtaining internships and contacts from the types of companies I’ll be working with. Shifting more towards career success means getting at least one internship with a company that specializes in Japan-US trade. After I'm finished with all of my education I will have all of the qualifications needed to apply for positions as a trade lawyer in a company.

From elementary school to even high school teachers have brought up the fact that everyone learns differently. There are times I've had to completely access the way I study because of the development I've had. Focusing on your strengths can and will improve your grades, or so I've learned. I'm a visual-auditory learner. This means that both seeing things and hearing them make me learn them better. However, this doesn't just mean that seeing a teacher point at a slideshow and teach is the best method for my learning. Whatever is being shown to me has to be engaging or interesting in some way. I've had moments in class when I've found something uninteresting, in these moments, I decide to learn something later in my own way. Having to content with teacher that don't care about what they're teaching, its necessary to find one's own method of learning. When it comes to memorizing things, I'm always on top. In my recent psychology class we studied Kuepper-Tetzel 2016, which was a case study on the effect of listening to music and concentration. It was concluded that when the participant listened to music that was pleasing to them, they had the ability to concentrate more. This study has carried over to my academic abilities, being in part an auditory learner, I've found it effective to listen to music. Not just any music, but a specific genre. I feel that it's in this manner that hearing that music will make my brain concentrate more due to me listening to it typically when I study.

My mom had me when she was young and early into her military career. From the age of one, my family and I were moving about from place to place. The earliest memory I have was of us living in Japan. Even when we were back in the US, we still moved a good amount. The most trouble I had came from schools with prejudices against new kids and environmental change. Adaptation has become a key to my school experience as it has become my key strength today. Relationships aren’t the only hard things to form when moving to new places, but also academics. I recall one year in particular in which I attended three separate schools due to my moving around. While the teachers reacted kindly to the new student attending their class, it was still difficult not having a pre-existing connection with the teachers and classmates like the other students had. Problems had arisen not just from my new social environment, but as well as my new learning environment. Unsurprisingly, curriculums changed from school to school, causing me to have to adjust to a new one each time. It took me to the beginning of high school to have the skills to quickly adapt to a new environment. I would see any form of one subject and identify its differences and similarities to the subjects I was previously taught. Being a child of an active military member is no easy thing. Moving numerous times causes the given individual to have to adapt quickly otherwise be cast out or fall behind. This entire experience of being a “military brat” has given me strengths that would have otherwise not have developed. I can now learn in any environment and make friends with anyone, two things that are vastly important today.

Most people are familiar with the “pay it forward” idea, be nice to someone and they’ll in turn be nice to someone else. Be nice to a lot of people, and suddenly you have a group of people paying kindness forward. The world could become a much better place if people decided to commit to kindness everyday regardless of cultural and other differences. This is not an easy task because we all have biases that are formed from an early age. According to researchers from Northwestern University children as early as 4 years old can show cultural biases toward peers. Ultimately, teaching cultural sensitivity and inclusion from a young age can help with reducing prejudice and ultimately make it easier to promote kindness. Committing to kindness everyday can lead to public good. An act of kindness must start somewhere, it can be somewhere small too. Maybe one day you give somebody a shoulder to cry on, maybe another day you help the new person in your workplace regardless of how you feel about their cultural differences. This entire idea is simple, but can be difficult to practice for some people because of racial, cultural, religious or other differences. “Bias starts as early as preschool, but can be unlearned” (Amanda Armstrong in edutopia). It’s important in many cases to understand that we all have prejudice and that unlearning or adapting them to the current world can take time. But ultimately, it’s important to take the first step in teaching acceptance so that we may move forward in improving the world.

Most people are familiar with the “pay it forward” idea, be nice to someone and they’ll in turn be nice to someone else. Be nice to a lot of people, and suddenly you have a group of people paying kindness forward. The world could become a much better place if people decided to commit to kindness everyday regardless of cultural and other differences. This is not an easy task because we all have biases that are formed from an early age. According to researchers from Northwestern University children as early as 4 years old can show cultural biases toward peers. Ultimately, teaching cultural sensitivity and inclusion from a young age can help with reducing prejudice and ultimately make it easier to promote kindness. Committing to kindness everyday can lead to public good. An act of kindness must start somewhere, it can be somewhere small too. Maybe one day you give somebody a shoulder to cry on, maybe another day you help the new person in your workplace regardless of how you feel about their cultural differences. This entire idea is simple, but can be difficult to practice for some people because of racial, cultural, religious or other differences. “Bias starts as early as preschool, but can be unlearned” (Amanda Armstrong in edutopia). It’s important in many cases to understand that we all have prejudice and that unlearning or adapting them to the current world can take time. But ultimately, it’s important to take the first step in teaching acceptance so that we may move forward in improving the world.

The most inspiring book I've read is actually a manga with the title of "Chainsaw man," by Tatsuki Fujimoto. I know a lot of people find manga to be childish and unreasonable in nature, but this book really impacted me. The plot revolves around a man enveloped in poverty and search for a way out for him and his dog. He is hopeful the entire time and does not give up on his dreams no matter how far he falls into debt with the Yakuza. After finding his father dead when he's in his early teens, he has to live alone and start his own business. The pictures and settings for this manga are realistic even though there are demons in the story. Seeing this character rise to the top after being so low on the social scale inspired me in many ways. Because if this fictional character can find his way out of debt, then I can find my way out of any hard situation. Throughout the story, the character remains true to his morals and kills no humans, even though his job is dangerous and life threatening. Proving that anyone can accomplish anything and still be themselves. I often worry that as I grow up, I'll have to change my morals or ideals to fit whatever environment I'm in. But Fujimoto's chainsaw man gave me hope that I'd have the ability to still be true to myself no matter what. Going through life as an adult is going to cause many hardships and moral-testing events to take place in my life. That's a fact that I've come to terms with through my high school years. But, just like the main character in chainsaw man, I will be true to myself and work hard for what I have.

1. All of these years I've been travelling the cosmos for the perfect reason for existing. In my travels I experienced a great many of people with different ambitions. Finding my own reason for existing was hard, but in the end I committed to one, being the recipient for this specific scholarship. I've spent years training for this moment that the scholarship would present itself on my Chromebook screen. 2. While I've explored new and exotic planets a many, I've looked forward to being an space cowboy exploring the very outer space. That's right, I'm going to be leaving this galaxy in search of another one. In this search, I'll be searching for another planet like earth for which humanity to thrive. Once I find a new planet for our generation, I plan to be the ruler of the planet. 3. I recall a specific moment in time when even the people of my home country told me I could not explore all of the galaxy much less find a new earth for humanity. Overcoming this social pressure to be a regular person at a desk job was nothing easy for me. My determination is something no one can take away.

"No matter how insignificant or stupid your goals may be, always strive to reach them." Being someone who's dream is to go to another country and work in one of the companies there, I've heard many times that my dream is very unrealistic and I should seek work in my home country. While my family has stayed within the western hemisphere of the globe, I seek to go the the eastern half. This would cause me to have to learn an entirely new language with different roots from my own. It would also cause me to find a way to pay for an expensive plane ticket. I've had this dream to work in Japan since I was a child. And to this day it comes as no surprise to me that people would criticize how random or extreme my dream was. I've had to ignore a lot of people who considered me childish in my goals. Amazingly enough, I've constructed my own college and high school classes around reaching my goal, from learning the basics of Japanese to exploring the culture. I know a lot of people in my school who have been known to have childish goals. For example, I have one friend who is an excellent artist who has been told by her own parents that being an artist if for children and it isn't a real job. People can say what they want about childish goals or career choices, but I believe that everyone has to do what makes them happy in the long run, and if that's travelling to another country or starting a career as an artist then so be it. Humans are beings with dreams, and it they cannot live them, then what's the point of being human at all?

Everyone has some kind of talent or practice they're good at and continue over the years of their life. For most people, this comes in the from of playing an instrument, getting all As in school, or giving inspirational speeches. For me, my valuable talent is the ability to adapt to almost any situation. This has been exemplified in my experience as a military child. Moving numerous times often causes children to have to adapt quickly otherwise be cast out or fall behind. I'm no different in this case, I can now learn in any environment I'm put in. Observing similarities from classroom to classroom, I've also gained the tendency to compare schools and base what I'm going to get out of them. In addition to this, I also developed people skills. Most of the people I observed in school had been residing in my state for all of their lives and found it strange that someone from another place would attempt to make friends with them. This inability to make real connections with friends occurred until later in my middle school career. With myself realizing that people weren’t all that bad, I'd made myself more approachable. Comparing schools leads to new perspectives and a view on how to act in the given environment. Along with my observational tendencies I’ve established a good attitude for making friends with people. None of this would've been possible without me adapting to my environments. It's through my adaptive talent that I hope to better myself in the future and gain a better understanding of the world as a whole.

With America's suicide rate of 13.42 per 100,000 individuals, there is an apparent need for friendly supportive people in this world. My favorite way to help others is to simple be there for them and provide support for anything they might be going through. With mental health problems on the rise in my country, many people lack someone to confide in and to help them through their journey called life. Being someone who was enveloped in the apathetic negative mentality, I know how important it is to have support around you. I only got out of my mindset with help from family and friends, this has impacted me and how I interact with people. Now, when I observe someone struggling with their problems, I offer to help. Most of the time these people feel isolated and hopeless, but giving them a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen can and will improve their feelings. Being a nice person isn't a hard thing either. People who have trouble emphasizing can always simply listen to other people's issues, or try to make them feel better. A lack of understanding for problems that don't affect people should never be a barrier in helping others. I am the kind of person who people call a good listener. I try my best to make people feel better about whatever they may be going through and invite them on various ventures. Sometimes just getting out of the house and doing something like going to the park can improve someone's mood. Today, I've developed a network of friends who I always lend an ear to, maybe even one day when I'm going through my own problems they'll be there to help me as I've helped them.

My mom had me when she was early into her military career. From the early age of 1, my family and I were moving about from place to place. The earliest memory I have was of our apartment on base in Japan. Even when we were back in the US, we still moved a good amount. The most trouble I had came from school with childhood prejudices and environmental switching. Adaption became a key to my school experience and it has become my key strength today. A strength that will not only follow me into the classroom, but also into the real world with things like job interviews and meetings. Moving numerous times causes the given brat to have to adapt quickly otherwise be cast out or fall behind. This entire experience of being a brat has given me strengths that would have otherwise not have developed. I can now learn in any environment I'm put in. Observing similarities from classroom to classroom, I've also gained the tendency to compare schools and base what I'm going to get out of them. For example, some schools have a heavy emphasis on student expression and have a lot of student posters everywhere for clubs, groups, and opportunities. Other schools with a heavy emphasis on student learning might have posters with winners of academic competitions or posters illustrating what school can do for your future. Comparing schools leads to new perspectives and a view on how to act in the given environment. Along with my observational tendencies I’ve established a good attitude for making friends with people. The isolation I faced in the past has made me more than ever want to make new friends and network, two things that are vastly important for the world we live in today.

Teamwork and encouraging people to create a better environment for people overall makes a community stronger. There have been many global movements around the world started by people who've seen a problem and acted on it. Being involved in one's community is being involved in the betterment of the future for you and everyone around you. I have done quite a few things for my community. Many of the things I've done have stemmed from me genuinely wanting something to be cleaner, healthier, or easier for the people around me. I live in a community that lives very close to a beach. This beach, over the years, has sustained lots of damage from careless individuals and oil spills. There's not a lot that I as a high school student can do, but I do what I can for my beach. Once a week I'll venture to the beach with a group of people and pick up the trash that has accumulated on the beach. This activity has not only helped the beach, but also has given people a better understanding on caring for our beach as they watch a group of high school students pick up trash. I am helping raise awareness and creating a cleaner beach in the process. In addition to helping with the trash on my beach, I help with the recycling in my school. Joining the recycling group within my school has given me an understanding on the my school lack of recycling. Noticing this, I've taken up being the person in all of my classes who reminds people to recycle instead of simply toss everything in the trash. I'd like to imagine that recycling inadvertently helps my beaches by giving people habits that carry on to outside of school, where they decide to either recycle and put trash in proper bins or litter. In the future, I will be someone with legal experience. It's in a legal manner that I'll be capable of helping my beaches. I will be able to investigate the legalities of littering in my state and maybe even promote the placement of more garbage cans along beaches. While I am just one person, organizing an executing plans to help our beaches will hopefully empower others to do so as well. Together with my community I can create the clean environment I'd always wished for.

It's the simple pleasures of life that have made me more capable and have a healthier lifestyle. In the morning, I listen to my favorite songs while performing Tai Chi. This is to exercise my body and mind in the morning. In this time to myself I can focus on how I want my life to be in the future. Being by myself and thinking without distractions is something so important to me that I wake up two hours early. A lot of people drink coffee in their mornings, but I drink hot chocolate. A lot of people say that this is silly and childish, but it makes me happy to have something sweet in the morning to start my day off. And my hot chocolate isn't the fanciest, it's the cheapest hot chocolate out there. Because that's what I drank in my childhood and it continues to remind me of such. Reminiscing while drinking hot chocolate is one of my most comforting tasks. The last thing I'd like to mention is walking my dog once a week. My dog is very old and the exercise does him really well. It makes me immensely happy to give my dog an experience that no one else does. The warm sun on his fur excites him so much that he watches for me to grab his leash from the hook on the wall. Simple pleasures make a person who they are. We as humans need these small things to fulfill our daily need for a task that isn't purely for the purpose of work. The small things I do such as stretching in the morning, drinking cheaply made hot chocolate, and walking my dog don't ass anything to my life. But that's why I do them, because they only make me happy.

A lot of people tend to confine the act of giving to special events like birthdays or Christmas. But giving to people is more than that. Giving includes material things as well as simple acts towards one another. For me personally, I give kindness to people on the daily. Something which, I believe is just as important as giving something material. I am nice to everyone when I first meet them no matter how they might appear to me. I also treat random strangers with kindness. I've helped people carry grocery bags to their car, held the door open for large families, and offered my seat on public areas to others who needs it. These are simple acts that don't really contribute in a great way to people, but it puts them in a better mood and helps them. Most of the time, a good mood gives people optimism and makes them pay it forward. Give enough people a reason to pay it forward and you have an overall nicer and better society. But it has to start somewhere, and that's where I come in. When I was in a bad place in my life, it's the easily executed nice tasks people performed for me that made it better. It made me see the light in the world. If I can brighten someones day and maybe be the one who drags them out of the apathetic hole, then that's something I intend to do. Giving is important for it's contribution to individuals and the rest of society.

What I hope to leave my country (The US) with is long lasting ties with one of our strongest trading partners, Japan. I plan to do this via learning Japanese and establishing a career in international business. In doing do, I will increase trade between the two nations and give each country more opportunities to invest back into their own communities. Japanese-US trade is something personal to me. It's been the type of career I've been wanting since I was 13 and I plan to live my dream. In college, I'll be entering an international business program as well as a summer program for learning Japanese. I'll also get the chance to study abroad which will help me network with Japanese companies. Along the way, I'll be able to broaden my cultural horizon and establish for myself a new perspective on the world. After school I'll have my foot in the door for working with the type of Japanese-US trade companies I want. In this manner, I will be the most capable business women I can possibly be. Trade is very profitable for the US. Without it, the US would be incapable of providing it's citizens with the world we have today. Increasing that trade with my efforts will give the US more money to invest back into the civilian economy, helping more people and inadvertently giving back to my community.

I personally think the best way to live a long happy life is to do things that either make you happy and put you closer to your goals. Our daily life today is filled with methods to entertain ourselves. While these seem fun in the moment, they add nothing to our lives and will only put us back in the future. A lot of people find what they do for a living to be boring, depressing, or unfulfilling. But life doesn't have to be that way, instead, you can looks for meaningful jobs and activities. An example of this working in real life comes from my own experience. At the age of 14 I had given up all hobbies and decided to focus solely on school work. This made me tiresome and restless in the classroom as well as at home. I had entered a depressed apathetic state as I had nothing I felt like I was actually working for. Then I started swimming, swimming was something I'd enjoyed in the past and I thought I'd give it a try again. After just a week I could feel myself gaining happiness back. I felt more capable and more driven with my school work. Hobbies and activities that make you happy are necessary in our lives. It can be the smallest of things, things like golfing every weekend, or finishing one book each two weeks. It honestly doesn't matter what it is, as long as it is for you and helps you. Maintaining you most favorite hobbies will make you happier in the long run.

Ever since I was a child I was part of a military family. For me, this meant changing schools every now and then along with the location in which I lived. Before middle school, everything went well. I had friends, I was doing well in school, and I was overall happy with where I was at. But, that all changed at the start of middle school when I moved to a new area. Middle school is the place where people start to recognize that they have defined friend groups as well as, prejudices again certain people. Unsurprisingly, I became the "new kid" at every school I went to. I went from having some friends where I went to having no friends. And not only had the social field gotten harder, but also the academic field. Me building a basis of say math in one school was hard to transfer over to a new school. I fell behind on my grades and stayed inside often. At some point in my high school career I finally decided to change that. During high school I became more outgoing, more adaptive to different environment, and more capable. I made a solid group of about 10 friends because my people-skills had gotten better. I began making As instead of Bs and Cs on my assignments. Everything really turned around for me but only because I decided that change needed to happen. I'm very proud of my ability to adapt to my surrounds because not everyone can do that and that's a skill that'll help me into the future.

Hiromu Arakawa was the first female manga author I'd ever read. She told a story of a perilous journey about a coming to age boy who had immense power. This novel was something very inspirational to me in my middle school years, I myself was an aspiring author at the time and didn't observe a lot of female authors in the kinds of novels I really enjoyed. Manga is often attributed as a male dominated field and I therefore thought that as being a women I couldn't make any impact on that kind of writing. But that all changed when I read Hiromu Arakawa's Full Metal Alchemist, after reading her book, I saw that a career was possible for me in that field even though I was a woman. To this day I actively seek out woman authors in Manga because I think they are something very special. I also practice my writing and drawing skills along with that, because I know for sure that I can make it in this world as a woman into manga writing.

There is no substitution for doing the research work behind investing in something. I've learned the value of doing a heavy amount of background investigating before buying anything. Many things I buy or invest in have a background of either success of failure. But that distinction doesn't represent a whole product, it's also necessary to look into the people involved as well as the resources. in everyday life we see the importance of reviewing products before we buy them. On simple websites like Amazon, a very basic review system provides customers with the necessary information. From this information, they determine the trust-worthiness of the product; has the company always delivered? Does the product always break within a week? Ideas that come with online buying also come with investing. With investing you must look into every aspect to ensure that what you are buying is what you want. I've taken this idea of going research to heart by seeing it through in anything I buy. Sometimes it takes days for me to do research to satisfy what I need. I haven't bought any product that was faulty because of this. I will continue to do heavy research into everything before I buy it for the rest of my life.

Today people have build robots that can actually communicate with humans the same way a normal human could. AIs are being built to do jobs that endanger humans as well as jobs that nobody wants to do. AIs are also being built adaptive, which makes them overall more useful in human everyday life. With artificial intelligence not only do these machines have the capacity to do human related work, but also the capacity to learn. Learning AI learn things that are hard to teach, and are therefore always adapting to their environment. With this in mind, an AIs speech ability can and will become the source of both human entertainment and possibly even therapy. 10 years from now we could have mentally ill people with a AI companion that could comfort them about their issues. Or on the other side of the coin, we could have AIs on a stage telling jokes or giving speeches on various topics. One example of integrating AIs into our society comes in the form of a movie. Blade Runner 2049, while a rather dystopian story, provides some ideas of how we could use AIs in our society. In this world, we are given the perspective of K, an officer of the law who is an AI. He is able to solve almost any case and provides only good to society. He also has a companion who's name is Joy. Joy brings him happiness and comfort as she is programmed to. Joy helps him through his journey of trying to find himself and mainly acts like a real person. The idea of AI can be scary, imagine having robots around us doing things that are typically done by humans. But the thing is, AIs can have many more benefits than disadvantages if used and programmed correctly. I'm excited to see the future come to life with AI helping people in their everyday life.

I keep a growth mindset by constantly setting an achieving goals for myself. Ever since I was small I'd follow through with any goal I made, no matter how unrealistic it was. I personally need goals just to get out of bed in the morning, maybe my goal is to type an essay that morning, or maybe it's to practice tai chi. Either way keeping goals for myself not only makes me into a better person, but also makes me a more productive person. Except I don't just have short term goals, but also long term as well. My college goals are so vastly important to me that I will do anything to achieve them. I want to become a corporate trade lawyer for Japanese-US trade companies, that very fact drives me to take and commit to extra clubs, classes, and programs. I've completed applications for 3 very rigorous special programs in my college for learning Japanese and taking higher level classes. I've also submitted over 100 essays over the past two months just because I want enough money for college to have virtually no student debt well into my career. Maintaining my need to have goals maintains my need to grow.

One of my favorite hobbies is gaming. See when people read that sentence, what they visualize is a young child starring at a screen for 7 hours a day while their brain turns to much. This was just not my experience. My experience with gaming is not unique, many people go through their teen years doing gaming without the negative aspects that are often expressed today. At the age of 15 I expressed a strong interest in sandbox games like Roblox or Minecraft. In the world of those games, I could make anything, be anything, and best of all, meet any kind of person. I would join many different communities online that shared my passion to create. It was one of the best things ever to be able to express myself via online. Along with my freedom to express myself in a new manner, I've also gained a newfound appreciation for culture. Every time I meet someone new I have an opportunity to look into their lives and ask them their perspective on various topics. And this doesn't just include people who live in the US, but also around the world. In fact, I've gained such an appreciation for culture that I've decided to major in international business in college and take Japanese language classes. With all of this, I'm also preparing to have a career in the legal field in international business. All of my scholarly achievements will allow me to become a corporate lawyer for Japanese-US trade companies. This career has become my entire passion, but this wouldn't have been realized if I didn't meet so many people around the world. Today gaming is still an integral part of my life. I've built a community with 50 people in it from the bottom up. Every weekend I get online to game with my friends. My expression of myself and thinking skills have also expanded with me trying new games with puzzles and problems to solve. I'm also very much preparing my passion to be a corporate trade lawyer for Japanese-US trade companies. I will continue to follow my interest in gaming, and with that, technology and it's place in culture.

The phrase "patience is a virtue" always bothered me. That phrase is defines patience as "a good quality to be able to tolerate something that takes a long time" (writingexplained.org). Because patience isn't a good quality, it's a necessary quality to get anywhere in life. It's almost possible to do things like get a job, buy a car, or even get through your college career without a shred of patience. For me, my serving of patience-needing-situations occurred during high school. Being a military child I moved frequently, and with that, had a constant change of schools. I found that every time I moved and had to start anew, my grades dropped. This could've been due to a variety of things, like having no friends, having an entirely new environment, or people treating me as the "new kid." The amount of patience I needed to have was immense with having to dive into a completely new world each time I moved. And this was all during my teen years, the most confusing unstable years of anyone's life. I had to learn patience through these experiences and because of that I am a more capable person today. I can do things like deal with anyone no matter who they are, or wait for a ridiculously long processes like getting tax returns or getting paperwork for a passport. Simple things, but people who are more patient towards those kinds of things are often seen as the most likable people in their community. So, being patient is not a virtue, it's rather, an integral part of our society.

If achieved accordingly, 10 years from now I will have little to nothing to pay in student loans, and have a job as a corporate lawyer for companies specializing in some kind of US Japan trade. I know this sounds like a huge goal, but I have a plan for all of it. Becoming what I want to be is the one way I can be sure that I will be happy in the future. I've been applying for many scholarships, some of them in my picked College and others around the internet. I'm determined to get as many as possible so that I don't end up like those people who go into debt because of loans. Everyday I check my email for new and upcoming scholarships and apply for them the day of. Going into college I'll be entering an international business based program. What this means is that I'll be learning Japanese all of my college years, then in my junior year of college I'll be spending a semester in Japan. Doing so will allow me a glance at the culture I want to work so closely with. I wish to create networks along the way and tie myself to prominent US Japan based companies. After getting a degree in Business with an emphasis in Economics, I'll be going onto law school. Law school will be a big change in my life and even now I'm preparing for it. Reading up on how to write the best essays and looking at what to expect. Obtaining a law degree and already having a business degree will make me one of the top candidates for companies looking for corporate lawyers. Me knowing Japanese would be a cherry on top. All of my efforts are towards looking great for companies.

I gazed up at the twinkling stars as the floor crumbled below me, slowly drifting off into a subtle nothingness I began to recall the event that'd shaped me as a person. Your life really does flash before your eyes in these situations. I pictured my childhood, in a flash I saw myself trying almost every sport until I found swimming. I saw myself working hard and falling into a slight depression from my college level classes in high school. And most of all, I saw what was yet to be, myself an Business major with a talent for economics.

I began with a subtle beginning. My mother raised me all by herself, but despite that, I still held good grades in school. It was hard not having someone there at my sporting events but I think I gained a sense of independence from those experiences. From elementary school to middle school I had a strong leaning passion for math. English was hard because every time I'd get used to a class I'd have to move to a new place. I was a military brat and because of that I had trouble maintaining friends. A lot of things changed once I moved to Texas and began middle school there. For one thing, math became more difficult and English became my best subject. I was beginning to be able to see patterns in literature that no one else was. I also built a network of friends. A lot of people began to not only recognize my name but also my face. I was doing overall better in classes and began to actually plan for the future. I wanted some English based career that involved having a network of people. At the age of 14 I moved from Texas to Mississippi. This realistically shattered me, I had to start completely from scratch. It took me a while to recognize that networking and making friends was not as hard as I thought. I joined the IB program at my school and would conversate with other members. I became one of the best people in my College English course. I am independent, hard worker. While I learned to do things on my own I also learned the value of teamwork. Going into college I'm going to be majoring in English, my favorite subject. I also want a law-based career with a network of people.

You cannot choose who you are nor who you like. Everyday, people are being rejected by society for not being ‘normal’. The entirety of life you are told to be and act one way, you are taught that this is the only way to live. But the reality is that the way someone is cannot be defined by others perspectives on them. You cannot force a person to be one gender or like one type of person. People are dynamic, they change, they grow. Feeling like one gender one day might change in a year. Liking males might be something one discovers about themselves later on. Self discovery is vastly important in our growing world. The duration of growing up includes doing things traditional to your gender. If you are a male, you act like one and you like girls. If you're female, you act like one and you like boys. This is a world that we must get out of. Say you are different. Say you are a female that likes other females, or you are a man that feels like a female. You will feel out of place. Even if you switch between genders or preferences you might seem indecisive and judged because of it. Being someone attracted to more than one gender has changed my perspective on a lot of things. People around me would often get confused on how I could not pick one. They thought ofme as indecisive. In addition to this I never felt completely attached to being feminine. I'd feel different every week or month. For me, I lived my teen years with this abnormality of not being the same as everyone else. But I got through it with supportive friends and even some family. Not everyone has supportive people around them. Some people are in countries that do not allow them to express themselves, some are stuck in a religion that depicts that they should be normal. Either way, some people just don't have the possibility to be their true selves. The majority of people will view you as different and negatively unique. They might outcast you for your preferences. I can only imagine how others in other countries feel about this subject. While America is very progressive, it's still not fully accepting. During teen years, one might feel extremely judged just because of who they are. Parents, teachers, or friends have the possibility of putting someone down because of their prejudice. Many teens and children might feel stuck in their situation, unable to find help or an outlet. Lots of children and teens everyday are falling into depression because no one accepts them. Throughout my journey of a legal-based career, I’ll be the one supporting everyone as much as I can. One person who understands you is enough for a lot of people. I can be that person. Even if I don’t do something directly related to helping people, being an esteemed legal professional will give me the opportunity to do more than what's expected of me. Equality is more than just skin color, it extends to gender and gender orientation.

One of the main things that fuel me to go forward are my goals. I set goals for everything no matter how small. One day it might be to master a song on my keyboard, they next it might be to write 2 more pages of my novel. Either way, without goals I would be directionless in my actions. This also directly ties into my hobbies. My hobbies are things that I both enjoy doing and that would add to bettering myself. As previously states, I write books and learn to play songs on my keyboard. I also do things with my friends. I've joined several online communities for online gaming and often play with people around the world. In my opinion, one of the most important things to life is happiness. And for me, the only ways to achieve happiness are to practice my hobbies, maintain my friends, and achieve my goals. It's important to be aware of your progression through life. Have the things you've been doing make you sad? Happy? Because they should always be making you happy. Happiness if my fuel to life as it is for a majority of people. I've had points in my life we're I've fallen into a perpetual state of sadness, at those points are when I gave up on the small things. I didn't write that day or didn't practice my keyboard. Consistency is key to having a healthy life. Keeping up my hobbies and achieving the small and big goals I set for myself are the ways I deal with everyday life.

My favorite hobbies include playing keyboard, reading, and gaming. All of these things make me the person I am. And, these are the kinds of hobbies I'd been holding onto for a while. In a way, things things are my outlet for my daily stressors in life, they help me think about things in a different light as well as guide me through any problem I might have. I've been reading since I was young. I was always that person in every class who'd have some book in their hands. I think the world of possibilities that was open with any book is what attracted me to reading. Authors knew best how to make characters relatable but still in entertaining positions. I found myself often relating to the main character in a lot of these novels. I picked up keyboard during my junior year of high school. It was somewhat of a spontaneous decision to start playing a new instrument. I practically begged my parents to let me get a keyboard and attend lessons. I found the piano itself very beautiful, but seeing as my parents were not going to buy a grand piano anytime soon, I settled for a keyboard. Gaming is one of my only hobbies that I actively do with friends. In my early teen year I played simple games like Minecraft or Roblox. It wasn't until I was 15 that I started making online friends and gaming with them. Gaming helped me make new friends and find out more about other people. I often attribute the amount of friends I have now with my hobby of gaming. With all of my hobbies I also have the possibility to create. I can write music, books, and game code. All of these things make me who I am.

There are many ways anyone can relax. For many it's a stroll in the park or a dip in the pool, but for me it's watching my favorite show and hanging out with my friends. Whoever said that relaxation has to be without technology has never experienced levelling up with your friends or finding a character you really relate to in a show. These two tasks cause me little to no stress in the process of doing them. But even though these are my two favorite ways to relax, there are still more way to accomplish a calm attitude. For example, I may read a manga or book to pass the time. While this is contrary to my previous claim that technology was my main medium for relaxation, it's still related. In a way, books and shows are one of the same. In both, you dive deep into a world carefully constructed to provide entertainment. Mental health is an important thing, without it, we would surely not be as capable as we are. With acknowledging the fact that not every has the same method of relaxation, we should also accept this fact as well. What one person finds stressful another person may find comforting. For me, that means that the same technology that give people stressors is the technology that help me through my troubles. When looking for an outlet for stress, consider all possibilities, because you never know what new helpful thing you might find.

Everyday we see both diversity and adversity in our commonplaces. Not everyone is represented equally in media and online. Someone's online presence can amount to more than anyone thinks. Usually, when people feel like they are different, they might feel inclined to post about it online. It wouldn't be a lie to say that a lot of the world's population today is comprised of people who post constantly about their identities online. For me, the most support I give to people who are LGBTQIA+ involves my online activity. I provide support and attempt to relate to teens that feel like they're not helped in their current environment. It's not often that I do this in real life, because people tend to express themselves less in real life. But when I do see somebody expressing themselves in a positive way, I make sure to give them a compliment. It's not just online that compliments make an impact on people, but also in real life. And if anyone of my friends were to be going through some kind of adversity, I'd make sure to give them support through their journey. You may not have sympathy for everyone, but at the very least, you can emphasize.

From the age of five years old I lived only with my mother. This was due to the fact that my parents had divorced and my father felt the need to go live elsewhere. At the time, my mother was in a very rigorous course in school and struggled to be there for me on a daily basis. In addition to this, I also had no brothers or sisters to keep me company. What I did have, was my dog named Milo. Being alone taught me a lot of things. It taught me independence, it taught me self-sufficiency, and most of all it taught me to create my own happiness for myself. There is no substitution for having people around you, I did have some prominent friends. For example, the children next door, but still, I did not play with them very often. All of this together caused me to be a little more reserved at school and at social gatherings. Introversion was a huge challenge to face in my early childhood. While I was reserved I was still good in a school group setting, many people favored me for my skills in organization. Skills that I acquired from being so self-sufficient. It took me mostly all of my high school career to overcome my challenge of being more reserved. But, once I'd done that, I felt more empowered than ever. It was as if accomplishing something I'd always wanted made me more capable. In a way, living in a single parent household did set me back, but after I was able to overcome my challenges I found myself to be a more overall capable person. Not only that, but it molded me into a person who was both independent had a good team player, two things that are highly valued in today's working society. I would not have don anything differently if given the chance, afterall, finding myself is what led me to becoming who I am today.

I love nature for the untapped beauty it holds. The average day for me often involves me stuck in some building doing work. Being outside in the fresh air and trees comforts me when I'm done with a busy day. There is no substation for relaxing in nature. From a young age my own father took me hiking and camping. We'd hike for a long distance and find the nicest spot to set up camp. On those outings, he'd teach me the ins and outs of nature. Things like, how you could get safe drinking water, or what plant you could eat vs not eat. Those experiences not only taught me survival tactics, but also to appreciate something that I typically do not see in my daily life. Nowadays, I still frequently venture out into new or old areas that are purely natural. I find the best spots to be those without buildings or man-made structures. Oftentimes, the farther you get from civilization, the prettier the stars are at night. This is due to the lack of light pollution blocking out the night sky's magnificence. I love greenery and I love the stars, two things that mix well on any nature based outing.

For me, being independent has always been a requirement. I've always favored independence because I didn't like being the kind of person who was dependent on everyone else. From an early age I'd do small things such as set my own alarms for waking up, or getting knowledge online for school help. However, independence as a literal term has more of a intricate meaning. Being independent is often seen as being alone and self-sufficient, while this might be the case for some people, it is not the case for me. For me, being independent was always the best way to utilize my actions. While some may say that independent people are not favored in a group setting, I find the truth to be quite the opposite. Every group needs a series of people, some of those being typical leaders. Independent leaning people make great leaders, I hope that one day in my future, I too may be a successful leader in the legal world. Being dependent on others is not a bad thing. In fact, a lot of how the world functions today depends on people working together in large groups. What is bad is an overreliance on others. For example, depending on someone to do everything for you like household chores or giving you answers for the late homework assignment. With a combination of being independent and a team player, you can be the best person possible for any job thrown at you.