Embodying selflessness is the essential connection between morality and undecided events. I've always been taught that a person who does good doesn't actively search for negative situations to fix but rather continuously stays a positive individual. Now, being almost 18, I've found that my selflessness has reflected those actions for years. I could go into several instances, but the moment that altered my perspective of helping was when I had to respond to a medical emergency. During summer I'm a camp attendant, where I help manage a group of kids in daily hikes and education opportunities. Being in Texas, I had extensive training in heat-related illnesses. This last summer was one of the worst in history with feel-like temperatures over the 100s for weeks. Our camp directors had aided in the protection against these illnesses such as cooling rags, monitoring hydration, and taking shade when possible. When given training to respond to medical situations, you always hope you'll never have to use it. Unfortunately, I did. It happened on one of our hikes, which was intended to be safer as it was shorter and more covered. The walk did provide better coverage, but the length of the trail became tiring halfway through. As it was a loop, going back wasn't any faster and we were forced to keep going. Several of the kids had run out of water, so I gave them some of mine to help. By this time, a girl had stated she felt ill. The head camp assistant and I had used the walkie-talkie to call it in with the director back at the main buildings. We continued walking, hoping to meet the director on the other side, but had to stop when another said she felt ill. We sent off the rest of the kids with a camp volunteer while the camp assistant and I stayed back with the two sick girls. Falling more ill, we realized one of the girls was suffering from heat stress. Even only halfway through, I gave up my cooling towel and all my water for the two. Fortunately, the director came in time with ice packs and a four wheeler, able to take them to cool off safely. The whole process lasted for 30 minutes at most but became a moment that altered my perspective of myself. I had put so much time and effort into my training that when an emergency happened I was able to quickly and appropriately respond. Though volunteering with my city's Advisory Council or school's environmental club is still rewarding, I will never devalue the help I gave those girls. Although not my favorite memory, it's become my most selfless.

If I could have everyone in the world read one book it would be 'A Monster Calls' by Patrick Ness. I first read this novel in middle school, but it quickly became my favorite. Ness's unique story built by exceptional craftsmanship, engaged both my empathetic and logical thoughts, something a book rarely does. During middle school, I suffered through finding my self-identity and what it meant to belong in the world. Though this novel tackles other ideas such as depression and grief, the core is a universal message; personal truth. As I had spent so long dedicating my mental well-being to academics, I had neglected the truth of my artistic side. This negligence altered both my physical and mental health, but I continued to push it to the side until reading Ness's story. Though I have little similarity to Connor, his story touched me deeply. I have a strong bond with my mom and the thought of losing her upsets me deeply. But in reality, the idea is something several people suffer through. Ness acknowledges this and addresses it continuously. By the time an author writes a character, their becoming is usually already decided. They've already written about their mother dying or the plot that drives them to find their morals, but Ness starts Connor's story from ground zero. We see Connor before his drive to do much of anything, and because of this, I've grown all that more responsive to his pathway of acceptance. His ending brought the realization that life isn't something to be taken for granted or pushed aside. After reading the novel I found a drive to find self purpose and my truth. This led me to several discoveries such as my love for entertainment and dance. Though everyone's story is different, everyone can relate to Connors's tale. 'A Monster Calls' has held great importance to me for several years and I believe it could be the same for others if only they read it.

"It found every scrap of paper along the street – theater throwaways, announcements of dances and lodge meetings, the heavy waxed paper that loaves of bread had been wrapped in, the thinner waxed paper that had enclosed sandwiches, old envelopes, newspapers. Fingering its way along the curb, the wind set the bits of paper to dancing high in the air, so that a barrage of paper swirled into the faces of the people on the street. It even took time to rush into doorways and areaways and find chicken bones and pork-chop bones and pushed them along the curb... The wind lifted Lutie Johnson’s hair away from the back of her neck so that she felt suddenly naked and bald, for her hair had been resting softly and warmly against her skin. She shivered as the cold fingers of the wind touched the back of her neck, explored the sides of her head. It even blew her eyelashes away from her eyes so that her eyeballs were bathed in a rush of coldness and she had to blink in order to read the words on the sign swaying back and forth over her head." - The Street by Ann Petry From the sunny atmosphere of Rosshalde to the rain in Shawshank Redemption, weather has always correlated to the overall character identity within a novel. In this case, The Street by Ann Petry demonstrates how an author takes these factors to excellently plot build Lutie Johnson's experience. Petry uses imagery, personification, selection of detail, and figurative language to inspire a harsh and violent storm and its relation to the main character. A main portion of the excerpt is the ideology of the storm personifying itself to "become" a character. Just like any bully, the storm pesters the citizens and constantly invades personal space. For instance, when related to Lutie Johnson, it "rushes doorways", grabs her collar, and uses its cold fingers to pester the back of her neck. Within this text, the personification of cold fingers becomes one of the most important details. The fingers introduce one of the first prohibitors to Lutie's comfort both physically and emotionally. Stressed about finding a new building, Lutie's determination proves her persistence in tracking one down. Unrelenting of her confidence, the storm follows and becomes a barrier to her strength. By creating this storm the author builds Lutie's character identity, as her desperation is elevated to perserverance. Just as Lutie had faced the storm's physical ill will, she also endured the figurative emotional conflict. Though we, as the reader, are unaware of the true internal conflicts we can infer what they are. As stated earlier, the author chose to personify the weather to the point it becomes its own character- a bully. To reference this figurative man vs. man conflict are the objects chosen to directly impact the citizens' trip down the street. The "theater throwaways, announcements", "heavy waxed paper that loaves of bread had been wrapped in", and "thinner waxed paper that had enclosed sandwiches, olf envelopes, and newspapers" are all a part of the man vs. man conflict, almost to the point of man vs. self. Everything the people are pestered with is a product of their own urban design and litter. In correlation, Lutie's conflict with the physical is amplified by her struggle. Her conflict becomes a response to the urban city where she lives and vice versa. The storm becomes the representation of Lutie's inner turmoil and its growing force. By demonstrating the importance of detail and all the various forms of figurative language, Petry can tell us Lutie's relationship with where she lives and her personal characteristics.

The fundamental question of the text was “What makes Millennials- Gen Z so excited to be a part of life?”. The answer is simple as a Gen Z- I’m excited about the possibilities that my generation will bring. There seems to be so much negativity when we discuss our planet and its dying resources, economy, and social structure. Being Gen Z, or a "screen-ager" as older generations call us, has allowed me to see the positives. When I go on TikTok, I don’t see our Amazon being destroyed by corporate greed, instead, I see the efforts my generation has brought forth to save the Amazon. Yes, I see people wrongly incarcerated, inflation rising, and mental illness killing loved ones, but I also see the advocacy to make these things better. Every time I stumble upon someone’s voice on the internet, it becomes my hope for the possibility of a better future. I didn’t grow up contaminated with the internet; I grew up educated by it. My generation grew up with Bill Nye being our idol, taking his lessons to heart. We grew up seeing how spiteful our world was to each other and realizing how wrong that was. I never once stared at a person with hate, as empathy was at the forefront of how we grew up. Such empathy translated to the actions we have today. Instead of hiding or becoming naive about our environment and past actions, we accept that we must change it. Other generations may not believe the hardships Millennial- Gen Z has gone through, but our own belief is strong enough. I may not receive respect and courtesy in response to my statement, but blaming one another gets old. Being scornful of each other doesn’t get anyone anywhere and Millennial- Gen Z is one of the first to realize this. That’s why I’m excited to be a part of this world.

2. My message left at the top of the mountain would be the quote, “In nature, nothing exists alone” by Rachel Carson. Carson, being the first environmentalist to inspire me, is an important part of my interest in nature. Her book Silent Spring led me on a discovery of advocacy and law in our environment, allowing me to further educate myself. Her work in environmental pollution has inspired many of my speeches in debates about still prevalent issues such as CAFOs and industrialized runoff. Her work became the beginning of addressing such issues and continues to hold modern importance. Because of her immortalized significance, this quote represents the connection between progression and relevant ecological issues. The quote directly states that our actions become consequential towards nature and vice versa. By creating this connection it enables the understanding of our economic, social, and health systems. Unfortunately, Human nature has led to several ecological disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and, in relation to Rachel Carson, DDT. These events have led to the uncovering of corporate responsibility that resulted in negative impacts, something that Rachel Carson brought to public attention. By planting this quote on the mountain, the legacy of Carson’s actions are forever memorialized.