It all started as a requirement, but I found purpose. I recently graduated this year from high school and I was apart of the AVID scholars program at my high school for all 4 years. As part of that program we were required to do 20 hours of community service every semester. I did all sorts of things. I volunteered at a Christmas tree farm. I volunteered at a local food bank several times. I helped at several different church events, helping with set up or clean up. I babysat for free or dog watched. I cleaned offices and nurseries. I even volunteered at a local elementary school to help host game night or serve at the concession stand for their dance night. But then it dawned on me in my senior year. These acts matter. My mom loves free stuff. She saw a sign for a free festival at a community church. We went. They were giving out free sneakers, food, clothes, jewelry, and fun stuff like rides, popcorn and snow cones. We had so much fun and couldn’t believe how touching the entire event was. I needed a new pair of shoes at the time. It finally hit me how significant community service really is. I was doing it as my requirement for high school but I began to see how meaningful it was for those you could help. I started doing my own community service once I graduated. Moms that I knew were struggling, I offered to babysit for free. I helped watch a dog for a week so a family, who couldn’t afford boarding, could enjoy a vacation. I came back to clean toys in the nursery of a local church I volunteered at when I realized I had been the only person doing that job. A friend of ours, who takes care of a special needs adult child, was so overwhelmed at home so I started volunteering to help deep clean her home. But one of the things I’m most proud of is spreading the gift of volunteering. I organized a group from my church to go down to a local food bank to help box up can goods for our community. Most of the group had never done anything like this before. And many of them had such a good time that they now have their own passion and drive to give back to our community. Community service is the glue to our community. We need each other. I’m excited to keep this momentum going and hope to one day give back in a bigger way.

Towards the end of my 8th-grade year, I was informed that I had 2 weeks away from school. I was so excited and overjoyed. Then I was told that the rest of my classes would be online. At this point, I was just so happy because I didn't have to sit at a desk for 8 hours but I could do that in my bed. I could go somewhere for lunch instead of getting the suspicious food served in the cafeteria. But little did I know what sequence of events would spiral from this. "A new type of the flu called Covid-19 has spread across the nation taking lives as it spreads," said the man on the TV. My in-person 9th-grade experience was "canceled" because of this pandemic; I was virtual my entire 9th-grade year. But at the time I was really happy. I could be on my phone during class, I wasn't under the watchful eye of a teacher, and I thought everything was great. Because I wasn't getting that daily or even weekly social interaction with people but my family, my mental health took a severe drop. I became more anxious about other people, I isolated myself from my family, and everything took a turn for the worse. Due to my bad mental health, I was unable to go back in person for my 10th-grade year. I was so paranoid and scared of people that I physically couldn't do it without having an "episode". After a lot of healing, I was able to go back in person for my 11th-grade year. My 2 weeks went way better than I expected but I still struggled in the friend department. After a couple of more days, I became more familiar with people in my classes and soon enough we became friends. Those friends introduced me to other people, I started getting involved in different clubs and finding more friends on my own; everything was going back to normal for me. Now that I'm in my senior year, I still have some of the friends I had last year, I still participate in school events, and I still join clubs etc. Even though it took me 2 years to get back into school, it was a nessecarry step. Not only has it helped me grow as a person but I met some amazing people along the way. Being a new kid will always be hard but can always be overcome.

Starbucks has a special place in my heart. The special place it holds is really not related to the fall collection of flavors but more about the brand of Starbucks. It started when I was in middle school. I went to school that didn’t have busses in downtown Nashville. So if my mom couldn’t pick me up I would have to ride the city bus. There was a Starbucks on my way back from the bus stop. Other kids talked about Starbucks coffee like it was a rite of passage for being cool or growing up. So one day I tried it. It was bitter at first— a strong drink for a seventh grader. But in time it became a song of pride and freedom as I came home with my lattes and smoked bacon sandwiches after school. The adrenaline of ordering trumped the bold flavors. I didn’t have to beg my mom to take me, I could just grab it myself on the walk home from the bus stop. It was a huge power move. I began to ask for Starbucks gift cards as birthday and Christmas gifts to fuel my new found live of freedom. Nowadays it’s more of a comfort crave. My mom and I will stop in for a coffee on days we volunteer together. Or a great place to meet friends or study. Or I may treat my little sisters to a strawberry drink on a weekend where I get paid. I still haven’t mastered the art of ordering but I appreciate the menu change each season so I have an opportunity to try new drinks. Otherwise I still with an iced caramel coffee with a double smoked breakfast sandwich year round. Oh and I love the viral list of secret combinations to try for new Starbucks flavors. Starbucks is just a part of my life. In all honesty, I’m not really a seasonal fan. Starbucks is just as good in every season. I get the same joy every time I set foot in its establishment no matter the time of year. The store decor and seating is so edgy. The colors and branding just make you feel so good. After ordering Starbucks you just feel like you are the king of any place. I don’t know if it’s my history from childhood or the coffee or the double smoked breakfast sandwiches but Starbucks certainly has a permanent place in my heart.

My favorite K-pop group is Twice. I first became aware of K-pop when I was in middle school. Twice has such catchy songs that I couldn't help but get up and dance. It inspired me to exercise for the first time in my life out of enjoyment. I dance every day to K-pop and other genres as part of my daily routine. It is a part of my life. K-pop itself brings people together even if you don't speak the language. About a year ago I went to a Korean festival in my local town. They have it every year but I had never heard of it nor been to it before. Since I was in my K-pop element, I knew all the songs. They had a huge crowd of people dancing in synch to the K-pop songs being played on a loudspeaker. It was so invigorating. I would have never imagined doing that before. Most genres of music in America just don't match well with choreographed dance moves. You have line dancing but most of those songs are very old and out of touch with today's generations. K-pop is a new refreshing way to approach music in a group. It just never gets old and Twice is the best to ever do it. A friend at my school is who recommended it at first. I then became more obsessed with it than they were. I started learning the dance moves to all the songs in the living room. My mom and siblings would join in because it was so fun. I was listening to BTS, Got7, Stray Kids, Exo, Red Velvet, Mamamoo, NCT, NCT127, Ateez, Everglow, MonstaX, Girls Generation and Pentagon. If you get their albums they usually have lots of pictures and trinkets. It's much different from American artists. There is just a whole phenomenon that is so different than what I was used to with typical American artists. There is a general wholesomeness of K-pop artists and all the fun dancing and songs. It's so lighthearted and pure. It's a whole different mood. Most of the general music on American radios is too vulgar, depressing, angry or evil sounding. K-pop gives a refreshing take to all of that. And it's nice to challenge yourself to learn the dances. The most special part of it all is the community of K-pop fans. If you meet someone who loves K-pop you instantly have a friend. You can do the dances together, sing the songs together or share fan cards. It has opened my eyes to a happy part of life.

I originally was interested in it when I was a kid because of Youtubers. They made it very interesting and my mom wouldn't buy the game for me. By the time I was in middle school and I could download the game I couldn't wait to try out some of the things I had been watching on Youtube. So it was mostly due to peer pressure and influence when I started playing. But I began to love it. The best part is building the whole living quarters. I get to live in a fantasy world and live out all my dreams. I can't build a house in real life, have six dogs or fight zombies or creepers in my actual world. Once I get the bare necessities like a house then I like to expand. I create a farming system, get animals and just create until my heart is content. Then I can go out into the different areas to explore and come back to my home if I remember the coordinates. The challenge of survival is fun as well. It's like a fun way to experience life without it affecting you. I'm not sure who created the animal sounds when they are dying but it sounds so sad and I tear up when they get killed. The minecraft world is just so special to me. Recently I stumbled upon a new level in the depths of Minecraft when I was digging below. It had a big creepy warden and I was extremely terrified because I had no idea that level existed below. My generation group up with Minecraft and it's just something very special to our hearts. I hope it lasts for a long time so I can show my grandkids in the far future.

From The Office, I resonate with Kevin the most. He likes to eat, he likes math, and he has good ideas but when he executes his ideas it comes out rude. I think he is just misunderstood. He isn't good at social interaction and he comes off as off. But I feel that he just isn't able to communicate to the best of his ability and therefore is extremely misunderstood. The Office also taught me that everything you may want to say, you shouldn't say. It is very easy to offend others or get penalized if your comment isn't neutral. I have that problem. How I thought I was going to say something, well it came out a totally different way. Many of us have different environments we were raised in and different experiences so that shape us and it plays a part in the way we interact with each other. If we learn to appreciate each other more it will lead to more laughter and good times. But as with The Office, sometimes our differences get in the way and we but heads or have big emotions that lead to changing the rest of our lives. So many crazy decisions are made out of raw emotions. It's not until someone passes away or like when The Office ended that we can all step back and really appreciate the value that we each possessed.

I plan to attend college to obtain a bachelor's degree and hopefully a master's degree in Speech Pathology. I also want to master American Sign Language and one other language. I suffer from high-functioning autism and severe anxiety. I wasn't diagnosed until 6th grade. All the time before that I didn't understand why I experienced the world differently. It was so stressful to try to hide who I was and try to hold it together to be who others wanted me to be. When I finally was diagnosed I could finally take a breath. By that time my anxiety and depression had spiraled so 7th grade through 10th grade was spent in and out of hospitals, seeing many therapists and on different medications. Thanks to God I am doing much better and am ready to pursue college. I got my inspiration for being a speech pathologist when I was in second grade. I didn't know then that I wanted to be a speech pathologist but looking back I realize it started in second grade. I only went to that school one year because we moved to a new area after that. However, the school had a program where the special needs contained class had recess with the traditional classes. There was a boy in that class who was nonverbal. Some of the other kids would bully him so I would stand up for him and play with him during recess. He couldn't speak but I paid a lot of attention to him so I started to figure out how he felt and notice what he might want to say. To this day, it still brings tears to my eyes thinking about him and I always wondered what happened to him but I can't even remember his name. So when I was looking for a possible major, a speaker came to our school. They did a presentation on speech pathology. As soon as I heard about it, I lit up and thought of that boy from second-grade recess. I knew that I had finally found the career for me. I hope to obtain the necessary degrees to become a speech pathologist and own my own business one day. I want to work with other disabled individuals and help them find their spark in life by opening up their communication. I want to be patient with those who can most benefit from some patience just as I have needed it from day to day. I understand what it is like to have an invisible disability and I want to show others that together we can accomplish a lot.

My dream job is to own my own business. I am going to go to college to become a speech pathologist. I was inspired by a boy I met in the second grade who was nonverbal and we shared a silent language on the playground when I would see him. I also want to learn American Sign Language to boost my ability to work with clients who may be deaf or nonverbal. I have high-functioning autism and for me, a dream job is working for myself so that I can set things up the way that works best for me. Having a structured routine, that I design, can create calm and comfort in my day. Scheduling the right number of clients, with needed breaks, can help me not get overwhelmed. As a high school student, I have tried to get jobs and sometimes the employers don't sympathize with me. I have attention issues and slow processing so sometimes I just don't hear everything that is said. On one hand, you want to be independent and not tell people you have a disability but then they lose patience with you because they notice certain things are off with you. They don't want to work with you and be patient to get through whatever you are struggling with. But if you tell people you have a disability to get them to sympathize with you then they treat you as if you are a child or like you aren't smart. It is a tough lose/lose scenario. Because I am high-functioning, most people can't tell that I am autistic. When they find out I get all the doubting questions like "Are you sure" or "You are smart so how can you be autistic?" It is heartbreaking. You can't be yourself but you are trying to be yourself. That is why I want to work a career with others who also have disabilities and work in my own office so I can set the limits that are best for me. The qualities that are best for me are a calming environment, patience, written information and equality. I don't want to work anywhere fast-paced, busy, or loud. I like to have things printed out or written out in some way because when presented orally I may miss key points due to slow processing. I need patience for when I don't understand or freeze up. And I want a place where others who have disabilities feel welcome. It would be nice to be in a location that has a food section or at least have food options within walking distance because it may be a challenge to manage time to get lunch.

My favorites are One Punch Man and Silent Voice. Silent Voice is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. The main character was bullied because she was deaf but one of her bullies got to bond with her 10 years later through learning sign language. They tried becoming friends but it was awkward. She was suicidal but he saved her. In saving her, he got hurt. It is based on a true story and in the original story he dies. It is so beautiful and brings me to tears every time. It is also part of the reason I started learning American Sign Language and why I plan to pursue a career in speech-language pathology. In One Punch Man, it is just a good comedy and action show that is a feel-good series that I enjoy. It has really good music, it's encouraging and I just enjoy watching it because it's so light-hearted. I just never get tired of watching them, I could watch them every day. There is another series that is pretty good called Record of Ragnarok. It is about a battle between gods and humans. I like it because it is a good balance of action, comedy and emotion. It's primarily full action but they throw in the perfect amount of comedy and emotion to break up the action.

The Millenials Gen Z will not be the greatest generation. Most of the Millenials Gen Z are not smart. Half of us will carry the entire generation. The other half may not make it. There are so many kids in my high school who don't want to go to college. They all want to be rich but don't want to work. So many women want to have a baby as a teenager. It is really sad. So much is wrong with the world and our generation has no ambition to be better than a couch potato. The music of our generation is really sad. We are struggling as a generation to even be female and male because of all these pronoun options that don't make much sense. But there are some of us, such as myself, who are striving to be the superheroes of the world. I work hard to get ahead, to be involved, to give back. At my church when they host volunteer days to give back, I am the only teenager who shows up with all the adults to work. It's more popular to be pregnant and on drugs as a teenager today than to have a job and be associated with a positive movement. We are not the Greatest Generation 2.0, but a few of us will carry the generation until someone greater is available to pass the baton to.

I learned that the smallest steps make the greatest difference in a story. That is a recurring theme in many books I’ve read. In one story I’ve read, a lady was near an explosion. She felt the wind gust from the explosion. She just happened to notice someone in an off colored cloak that was clean even though there was just a huge explosion of dust. She remembered that one tiny detail that allowed the investigation to be solved at end of the book. It was the tiniest detail. But it was the actual answer to the mystery. It’s about focusing on the smallest details. Smiling at someone to make them feel wanted. Being kind or welcoming to someone or handwriting a letter could save someone from taking their life. A hug could change someone’s life. The smallest thing could be the most special thing to a person at a particular time in their life. And because we just don’t know what people are going through, we just have to give our all in the most purposeful way. That’s why I changed my future career goal. I originally wanted to choose a safe choice like a career in mathematics or finance or science because I love numbers and I’m good at math. But then I wanted to do pharmacy because it makes a lot of money and you deal with math and science. But my heart kept telling me that wasn’t good enough. Then at a career fair at my high school, we heard a speaker about speech therapy so I looked into it. I knew instantly that speech pathology was my tiny way of making a huge impact on others. I have sisters who are on the autism spectrum. I, myself, am also a high functioning autistic person. My youngest sister had to have speech therapy when she was younger. Today, her vocabulary is of someone much older than her age. But when she was 2 and under, she didn’t speak. I was extremely fascinated in the process of giving someone the gift of communication. Just like the tiny rudder on a huge ship that guides the ship left or right, communication is so small but it moves huge mountains between us as humans. I have a huge emotional connection to those who are disabled or deaf or just different in a way that they need support. When I was in elementary school, before I knew I was autistic, we had a program where we integrated with the special needs class at recess. And there was this boy who was nonverbal. No one would play with him. But he and I would smile at each other. And we started playing together. Over time I was able to figure out things he felt or figure out what I think he might want to say. It was something that stayed with me for a long time and I look forward to hopefully having huge impacts with my future patients as a speech pathologist after I finish college.