During the summer of 2021, I had a very interesting conversation with my youth group's leadership team. We were talking about change and one of my fellow leaders asked what it means to grow and what the whole point of it is. I gave her the usual answer: "It means to change as the circumstances of your life change and adapt to them. It means striving to be better no matter how good you think you are It is important because you only have one life and you get to choose what track your life takes on." She then asked me if I thought I had grown in the past year and changed at all. It hit me that I have not grown as much as I should have in the past year. I started to realize that I've been stuck in the same place and I have been dwelling in my faults. I used Covid-19 as an excuse to box myself in my own space and not try anything new. I pictured myself at age 50 looking back to my younger years and living in regret of all that I did not do. After the fear subsided, a feeling of motivation arose. I was motivated to do more and try my best in everything. I wanted to make dangerous goals and actually achieve them. I decided that I would try as many new things as I can and dare myself to picture my future as big as I could. I know that It is not as easy as it seems and there will be challenges on the way. I would rather work through the challenges than regret the things that I did not do. The first step to growth is being honest with yourself with where you truly are right now. It is not worth it to be prideful about your faults. The truth is not meant to discourage and shame but it is meant to motivate to do better. That is what it did for me. I saw that I was not at the best place in my life, but I have hope now of how far I can get. In the next few years, I see myself taking risks, making goals, and making an effort with everything that I do. Ever since that realization, I have made sure to surround myself with people who do not allow me to make excuses. They push and encourage me to do better every day. I have also made many goals and plans for the next few years. I have also pushed the people around me to be better and encouraged them to do their best in everything. I cannot wait for what the future has in store for me and I am excited to take risks.

(1) For as long as I can remember, I have always loved to help the people around me. Beyond anything else, that is what brought me joy and fulfillment. Through serving and caring for the people in my life I have been able to experience a fraction of what God does for mankind. It is through these moments that I can see the work of God in my life. I know in the future I will be helping as many people as I can. By becoming a traveling doctor, I can go around the world and care for people that need my help as a doctor but also as a human being. Getting a college education means gaining the knowledge and abilities to potentially care for all of those people. As a first generation student, getting a college education is a very big accomplishment for my family and me. My parents came from Ethiopia when I was 5 years old because they knew that it was important to prioritize education. We have been through a lot of hardships and challenges as a family throughout the past twelve years, but through it all our hope in God for the future has not faltered. My college education would be a testament of the grace of God in my life. (2) Sunday is a good example of a typical day in my life outside of school. On Sunday mornings, I wake up at 6:30 am. I usually take most of my morning time to do my hair routine since having curly hair takes a lot of time. My sister and I help set up for and attend my Youth's Sunday Service. After that I volunteer at my church’s Children's Ministry. Sundays are the days I make and have lunch with my family. After I have family time, I usually read a book or knit one of my projects. On some Sundays, I take out my painting kit to do some free styling painting and sketching. Since Sundays are the transitions into the next week, I take some time to review the past week in order to make the goals and a set schedule for the next week. I take a nap on most Sunday afternoons because for some reason, Sunday afternoon naps are the best naps to take. My family and I go on walks when it is warm out and we just spend most of the time together. We have a summer tradition of getting ice-cream every Sunday after going to a water park. (3) I would like to think that I am a pretty curious person. I have a quiet personality so asking questions out loud is not my strong suit. When I discovered that I could look up any question that I had online, I was very amazed. Since English is my second language, I have had trouble with the definitions of many words. I did not like asking questions out loud so I used our shared family laptop often to search the definitions of words that I did not know. Over the years I have used the internet to feed my curiosity for things pertaining to the medical field. In the summer of 2017, my aunt was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. I understood by the way my parents reacted that it was not a good thing, but I was not too sure what breast cancer was. I did the only thing I knew how to do which was look up all of my burning questions. "What causes breast cancer?" "What is the treatment for cancer?" "What does it mean for cancer to be in the 4th stage?" "How does stage 4 breast cancer get cured?" I looked for a solution by reading article after article after article. Through that process, I got curious about the medical field. After my aunt passed away, I decided that I was going to work hard to make sure that other people especially women and children who were going through the same thing would have all the help they can get to recover and get cured. I decided that I am going to become a traveling oncologist. In school I love to ask questions. I have gotten better at speaking up during classes to my teachers and peers. I challenge myself to listen and make an effort to learn during the school day.

I am Kena Demie. I was born in Ethiopia and I have been in the United States for the past 12 years. During my time here I have learned so many different things. I am thankful that I have been able to see the world this much but I would love to travel. I am involved in my church's youth ministry. I have been a leader for the past four years. I love engaging with the youth and spending my time and energy towards them. I enjoy drawing, reading, knitting, taking walks, cooking/baking, and spending time with my family and friends. My educational goals are to become a traveling oncologist. This would combine the two things that I am very passionate about. I have been wanting to be an oncologist for years because I would love to help people specifically women and children who are going through the pains and sufferings that cancer brings. I also love to travel. I love the thought of seeing many different cultures and helping people around the world. An obstacle that I have faced is adapting to the American way of life as a immigrant who came to the United States at five years old. I was born in Ethiopia and my family wanted to move to the United stated because they knew that education was one of the most important treasures that one can have. I had a hard time adjusting to the language, cultures, and overall way of life because in Ethiopia things were different. The technology here was nothing like I have ever seen before. I was fascinated but at the same time I was scared because I felt alone. Over time I made friendships, gained mentors, and I have fully adjusted to the way of life here while holding on to my Ethiopian identity at the same time. This obstacle has taught me that education is the key that opens the door to many opportunities. My parents gave up their whole lives in Ethiopia for the sake of my education. They sacrificed a lot and that taught me that I need to fight to get the best education and do my best in everything. Another thing that the obstacle has taught me is that change is inevitable. When change occurs, we all have two choices: hold on to the past and try to go back to the way things were or we can move on and keep looking ahead. One thing about life is that it goes on. No matter what happens, life goes on.