I have aspirations to work in sports broadcasting, but I want to make sure any opportunity in media is open to me. This is why I declared the following for this semester: Film/Media studies major on the production track, Television/Broadcast arts certificate, and the Sports Studies certificate. This should cover any classes I want to take in order to gain experience in the ultimate goal of sports broadcasting while also not alienating too many options. While yes, I am keeping my options open, I never want to settle for my fallback plan unless I absolutely need to. In my first year, I've already done so much to build my resume to become the perfect fit for sports broadcasting. I joined the production staff of my school's late night talk show and earned the title of director for this season. I started taking the classes I need to graduate and within that, took an elective with a professor who is notoriously tough who ended up complimenting my thick skin at the end of the semester, and did indeed finish that class with an A. I know I've already taken a big leap towards my goal, but the work still needs to continue in my sophomore year. This semester, I finally get to fully embrace the director role in my show. I'm super excited to pass down what I've already learned working on the show to the incoming freshman, and in turn, test out my leadership skills in a production setting. Additionally, I've applied to be a production assistant for school sporting events, which would be a huge gain for both me and my resume. I'm possibly the most excited for my classes this semester, however, mainly because I'm lucky to even have two of them. The previous director of our show knew how much I wanted to get started on learning broadcasting skills, so when the Broadcasting 1 class filled up, he emailed the professor on my behalf to get me a spot. He cited how hard working I was and I got a spot in the class, as well as an additional course that I didn't need but would be beneficial to me. I'm so incredibly grateful for that, and I can't wait to prove why I deserved a spot in those courses. I'm dedicated to making sure I achieve the goals I have for my career. While yes, I have fallbacks ready, I'm very confident that I'm going to make it into sports broadcasting because of how dedicated I am to that goal.

Forming a connection with someone goes beyond having a conversation with them - you have to observe the way they act in order to truly get to know them. That’s the way I’ve formed my most important bonds, especially in cross country. I took note of the personalities of any newcomers before I even told them my name, and I used those observations to build a special trust with each teammate. No matter how big or small the squad is, I make sure I have some form of trust with every single person. This mindset came from my experience on the team in my first 2 years as the result of COVID. We didn't really get the chance for team bonding, and it honestly led to a very disappointing experience. That's why I made it my mission during my junior year to build an environment that encouraged our team to basically be a friend group that likes to race. From day one, I paid attention to the girls we were welcoming on the team. It wasn't hard to notice that all of these girls had extremely different personalities, and at first it seemed like it would be difficult to bring them all together. But I never shy away from a good challenge. There was one girl on my team who grew to trust me based on observations I made during her first week of training in the summer of 2022. In that time period, I took note of her bubbly personality and her positive attitude. She complemented the part of my personality that likes to joke around, and I was able to showcase my fun side because of her. That energy was a much needed spark plug to the team after a couple of down years. As the season went on, I noticed that girl wasn’t as outgoing as usual. I knew that something personal was going on, so I focused on trying to keep her spirits up. I made sure to crack a few extra dad jokes to make her smile and emphasized the fact that I believed in her, because I knew that’s what she needed. That girl ended up being the one to tell every underclassman my senior year that I was their team captain, long before my coach gave me the title. Now, I never needed some title to tell me whether or not it was my responsibility to lead; I always assume that I need to step up, no matter what. It did feel pretty good to know that my teammates looked up to me that way, though.

10 years from now, I'm walking into the studio of a major sports network with my daily to-do list: showcase my knowledge of the game I'm paid to know, establish my credibility in the broadcast journalism world, and continue to prove that those who doubt me are wrong.

For many years of my life, I was convinced that no one would ever take me seriously. I have a whole list of names of teachers and peers who have doubted me for various reasons. Some teachers have said that I wasn’t smart enough for their classes. Some peers have tried to make me feel inferior to them based on my GPA, test scores, and my interests. At first, I let them talk down to me. I let their words make me feel like I was lost. But when I figured out what I wanted my path in life to look like, I started embracing these words, and I’ve used them to grow stronger and keep pushing for what I deserve in life. I’m going to college to become a sports journalist, which is a male-dominated industry. Although plenty of women have forged their way into a high status in that field, I still believe that there's more work to be done. In college, my goal is to learn as much as I can about the ins and outs of broadcast journalism, level up my knowledge of sports even more, and start making a name for myself. I plan on leaving my home state of Florida to do so because I believe a fresh start will be the best way for me to stay focused on my to-do list. I’m fully ready for the pushback I’ll face as a sports-loving woman - it’ll be no different from what I face today. I know people will tell me that I don’t belong in a sports environment - I’m told that already. I know people will tell me that I don’t know enough about the analytic parts of each sport and that I just watch them because I think the men are attractive - I’m told that already. Honestly, I’ve heard the same misogynistic comments so many times that I don’t even bat an eye anymore. I’ve heard people tell me that I don’t belong in certain places so many times that the words have no negative meaning to me. What I’ve learned from the negative words that have surrounded me for years is that I love to prove people wrong. When my Algebra 2 teacher told me that I’d never do well in precalculus, I did well in precalculus. When someone tries to explain a sports statistic to me like I’m a five-year-old, I hit them with my knowledge from a lifelong obsession. No matter what it’s about, if someone doubts me, I’m going to show them why they were wrong about me. I’ve learned to twist the negative assumptions people make about me and make them into fuel for my goals. I hope that someday girls in the sports journalism world are more common. I hope that any girl that loves sports, in general, will be taken seriously and not told that they don’t know enough. Most of all, I hope that I’ll be a major catalyst in that change. I hope that I can inspire at least one little girl out there to stay on the path that she’s forging and to use her doubters as fuel to her fire. Everyone deserves to be taken seriously about their passions - and I hope to do my part to make sure that happens.

Growing up in Florida, trips to Walt Disney World happened often in my childhood. Whether we visited the parks, shopped at Disney Springs, or even just hung around the resort, every trip was special in its way. One of my favorite things my family used to do at Disney was resort hopping - we usually dedicated at least half a day of our trips to exploring the hotels on the Disney Property. It may seem unconventional, but to us, it’s usually a highlight of our trips. When we go to Disney World, my family doesn’t tend to spend money on one of the fancier Disney Resorts. We mostly stay at the cheap All-Star Resorts, along with Pop Century and Art of Animation. Occasionally we’ll stay in the slightly more expensive moderate hotels such as Coronado Springs, but that’s the fanciest we’ll go. Instead of paying to stay at the expensive resorts, we just use the free transportation to go explore them. We’re still able to see the beauty of the various themed resorts and eat at their restaurants without having to pay a large sum of money for a room. Disney World puts a lot of time and attention into theming their resorts, and it shows. Every resort, no matter where it falls on the pricing scale, has all the right details that make it just as interesting as its theme parks. They’re all unique in their way, and no two resorts look the same. From the Monorail running directly through the Contemporary to the animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, there’s always something special about each resort that makes it stand out from the rest. The best part is that there’s ALWAYS something new to find, no matter how much we visit each one. When we visit during different holidays such as Halloween and Christmas, we always like to see what kind of decorations each resort puts up. It keeps the activity exciting, and my family and I continue doing it visit after visit. I know that resort hopping isn’t a super common activity amongst the average Disney-goer - it’s an activity that only the biggest Disney fans tend to partake in. That’s the element that makes it fun for me. The fact that my family and I do something so unconventional frequently means the world to me. We’ve never been the type of family to do anything just because it’s the safe and popular option. If something looks fun to us, no matter what it is, we’re doing it. And if our idea of fun is walking around Disney Resorts, we’re doing just that. It’s one of those things that I know I’ll miss when I’m away from home. Even though it seems so trivial, the memories from exploring different Disney Resorts are ones that I never take for granted.

When I attended the Eras Tour on April 14th, 2023, I thought about myself in third grade. I thought about the girl who was belittled by many for being the smart, awkward kid and the girl who turned her nose up at popular things just to seem unique. I thought about the girl who swore she’d never become a Taylor Swift fan because she was “too basic” for the girl who listened to 90s rock in the backseat of her dad’s car. Most of all, I thought about the girl who was secretly obsessed with the Bad Blood music video for MONTHS when it first came out. When 1989 came out, it was just another album I had to roll my eyes at. I “HATED” Taylor Swift. She was the artist all of the mean girls at school obsessed over, and if I liked her, then they’d think I was trying to copy them. I couldn’t do that. I had to be different. So when I developed an obsession with her song Bad Blood, I had to conceal it. No one could know that I watched the music video 10 times a day, memorizing every second and every line. No one could know that I related to the story of someone close to you turning against you, even as a third grader. Making friends used to be difficult for me. I’d meet someone who I thought would like me for me, but then they’d quickly get annoyed by my personality and start pushing me away. I tried to figure out what my problem was; I figured it was my fault since I never saw anyone else get treated the way I did. I felt so alone until the day someone showed me the music video for Bad Blood. For the first time, I didn’t feel alone in my struggles to keep friends, because I saw Taylor Swift sing about the same thing. But wait, I thought I hated her? Turns out, it’s hard to keep hating someone that you can relate to. It’s hard to keep hating someone who made you realize that you don’t have to sit there and do nothing about how poorly you get treated. From the moment I heard the song, Bad Blood became an anthem for staying strong and standing up for myself. Changes weren’t immediate; I still have my struggles with being the temporary pushover friend, but I have improved significantly. For every failed friendship, I’ve found someone who loves me for all of my flaws and strengths, and I’m incredibly grateful for every single one. I still wasn’t fully hooked on Taylor Swift - I achieved Swiftie status during my freshman year. But even when I didn’t like all of her music, Bad Blood was a favorite of mine. While I have formed connections to many of Taylor Swift’s songs, very few have a stronger personal meaning than Bad Blood. For me, it’s an anthem of strength and knowing my worth, which is going to be super important for staying on track with my ambitions.