Hi, my name is Mackennah Flippin, to my friends I’m known as Kennah. I have not had the easiest life but I’ve always tried to make the best of it. My parents got divorced when I was around 2 years old, and my mom and my dad remarried to other people when I was 3 and 4 years old. My family has always been dysfunctional but we love and care about each other so much. My mom and my stepdad ended up getting divorced when I was 14, My mom, sister, and I moved away to a different house. My two older brothers stayed behind and came to visit us. I am now a high school senior and I just moved to a new town with my mom. It’s just her and I, and it’s been incredibly hard to love during my senior year. Although I’m learning to enjoy my new school and my new friends, I still miss my hometown. I think what’s making the move easier is that I have some amazing teachers who understand that I’m going through a hard time right now. When I graduate this year I plan on going to college to get a teaching degree. I’ve known that I’ve always wanted to help people, I just didn’t know how, and all of the teachers I’ve had have helped me know that this is the right decision. The first place that you can make a difference in someone’s life is in the classroom. I want to impact my future students by seeing the world in a different light, and I want them to know that there is someone out there who knows what it’s like to struggle. Becoming a teacher is the best way I know how to help the future generation. They’re going to need guidance that parents cannot give them, and I want to be one of the people who help influence them into being the best version of themselves. I want to make a positive impact by being a positive role model in these young kinds of lives. I want to see this next generation be excited about learning, and I want to change the way that they learn. Some of these kids will be at a disadvantage due to social issues such as poverty, divorced parents, etc. I want to show these kids that even when life throws you down and beats you up, you can still come back and make something of yourself. I want to show this new generation that life can and will get better.

The one book that I would want everyone in the world to read would be The Heros of Olympus: The Son of Neptune. This is because this book is so beautifully written, it has funny characters, witty banter, and an adventure. The book starts with the well-loved character Percy Jackson who has amnesia and is on a journey to get his memory back. The only thing he remembers is a girl named Annabeth, and he wants to find his way back to her because he feels like she is important to him. This book takes you on a journey through California, a Roman Camp named Camp Jupiter. It is full of demigods from the Roman Gods/Goddesses, the state of New York, Alaska, and a few more states. This book is full of mystery, humor, heartbreak, and genuine joy. Reading this book would change anyone's life, due to its ability to draw the reader to the characters and make them invested in their story. Everyone in this book has at least one secret that ends up being revealed, there is heartbreak and shock throughout the whole book. There are so many plot twists that leave you gasping and just utterly shocked. The Son of Neptune is a spin-off of the original Percy Jackson series and is the second book in The Heroes of Olympus series. The main character Percy Jackson is relatable to all upcoming seniors in high school. He struggles with dyslexia and must navigate through perilous times trying to regain his memory and find his way back home. That is relatable since being in high school can sometimes feel scary and unfamiliar. It was as if while reading the book you had a friend you could lean on. I recommend this book to everyone in the world, especially if they are into adventure, fantasy, and mythology.

I have always wanted a career that would help people. I've always enjoyed helping people and ever since I was a little girl I've always tried to help in any way I can. I have four siblings and I'm the youngest, watching them grow older and make mistakes has made me realize that I should do the best I can and always do my best to be kind. I'm about to start my senior year of high school and I'm honestly not one hundred percent sure if I have always been the nicest person, but I know that I have always tried to improve myself. I just recently decided on going to college to be a teacher, I have always wanted to do something to change the world and I feel the best way I can do that is by nurturing the minds of students that need someone to help and guide them to be better people. I plan on making a positive impact on the world by changing someone else's world. I know that teaching high school juniors history might not seem like I would be making a difference, but if someone can give these future kids a chance to learn how to love school again, then I feel like that would make a difference. I don't want anyone to be left dissatisfied by school again, students should not hate waking up in the morning and hate going to school because they do not feel respected. It is sad to me the way people treat students like they're less than adults just because of their age, when I become a teacher I will treat my students like the soon-to-be adults that they are, and I hope that makes them want to be better people. As a future educator, I want to inspire kids to follow their passions and interest. I believe that if you empower and motivate students throughout their educational journey then they will believe in themselves to make a difference within the world. To make a positive impact as an educator you have to give your students the power to believe in themselves and the power to believe that they can change the world. The only way to make an actual change in the world is by giving the younger generation everything we never had. They have to be willing to want change, and that is where we come in. We help them make a positive change by changing the way we see them and we make a change by respecting them as people, we have to stop seeing them as children that don't know anything. The younger generation is how we make change, but we first have to change our attitudes and give the respect to them that is earned.

High school is a transformative period in every student's life, serving as a stepping stone toward adulthood. I find myself reflecting on my high school experience with a mix of nostalgia, growth, and gratitude. Over the past three years, I have encountered numerous challenges, cherished memorable moments, and forged lifelong friendships. I still have my senior year left and I have a mix of fear and excitement as I go into it. I am scared to leave my friends and go to college, but I'm also excited to start a new chapter in my life. Throughout my years in high school thus far I have embraced a diverse range of subjects, from mathematics to literature to history, each offering its unique set of challenges and rewards. From engaging in classroom discussions, I cultivated a passion for knowledge and intellectual curiosity, especially for history. The guidance and support from dedicated teachers not only expanded my academic horizons but also instilled in me the importance of perseverance and hard work. Beyond the confines of the classroom, I eagerly sought opportunities to explore my passions and develop new skills through extracurricular activities, and even though I was scared I still put myself out there and embraced the fear. Whether it was joining my high school wrestling team as a manager or joining a plethora of clubs, these experiences have allowed me to discover hidden talents, cultivate leadership qualities, and build a strong sense of camaraderie among my peers. Engaging in these extracurricular activities has not only enriched my high school experience but has also taught me the importance of time management and teamwork. The friendships I forged during high school so far have been a cornerstone of my experience. Meeting individuals from diverse backgrounds, sharing laughter, and navigating the highs and lows of teenage life together created a strong support network that I will cherish forever. These people that I care so much for, have taught me empathy, the importance of listening, and the value of collaboration. High school is a melting pot of personalities, and interacting with a diverse array of individuals has broadened my perspectives and fostered a sense of inclusivity. My closest and best friends are people that I have met through high school, they teach me so much about myself every single day. I feel as if I would truly be lost without them and I don't believe that I would be where I am today if I had never met them. High school provides a fertile ground for personal growth and self-discovery. I have encountered numerous obstacles along the way, ranging from academic setbacks to broken friendships. However, these experiences are teaching me resilience and the ability to bounce back from failures. I'm learning the value of setting goals, developing effective study habits, and embracing a growth mindset. Moreover, my high school presents opportunities for self-reflection, and ways of helping me understand my strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations, thereby paving the way for future personal and professional endeavors. My high school experience thus far has been a transformative journey filled with growth, challenges, and cherished memories. The academic pursuits, extracurricular involvement, personal growth, and friendships that I have cultivated helped shaped me into the person I am today. As I prepare to embark on the next chapter of my life, I carry with me the people and memories we have created so far. I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences that high school has provided me. High school may be drawing to a close, but its impact will forever remain etched in my heart and mind.

My perfect fit for one of the four Hogwarts Houses would be Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs believe in loyalty, hard work, patience, honesty, and friendliness. Helga Hufflepuff saw these traits as important virtues and believed in always helping those in need. Hufflepuffs strive to always be friendly, kind, honest, and open; this is because they never want anyone to feel alone or unwanted. I always strive to be kind to everyone and make them feel valued and important because I know what it is like to feel unwanted and invaluable. Being a Hufflepuff means that you keep your word and do what you say you will. Honesty is a major value of mine because I dislike being lied to, and I don't like lying to other people. I enjoy making new friends because it helps me learn about how other people's brains work and how they think; it also helps me learn about myself and how to be a better person. Being a Hufflepuff doesn't mean that I am always a kind and honest person, but it does mean that I always try and instill these values within myself and within the people I surround myself with. Hard work is something that I am not afraid of, I believe that working hard means that you appreciate the outcome a lot more. When you work hard, you put your blood, sweat, and tears into it and you gain more from the experience rather than using shortcuts to make the work easier. I believe that patience and hard work go hand in hand. You cannot be doing hard work and have little patience, when you work like that it makes it difficult to get anything done. Being patient can be challenging but it does make a difference in your life. It makes it less stressful when trying to complete the task you are working on, and it even makes communication better. I am in Hufflepuff to learn more about myself, others, and the world. I value the same things that Helga Hufflepuff did as well. I will always try to be patient and understanding, I always try to work hard, and I always try to be kind, loyal, and friendly. Being a Hufflepuff doesn't mean that we are the weakest of the four houses, we just value friendships and honesty more than ambition or bravery. Hufflepuffs are kind, resourceful, hardworking, kind people that often get seen as weak or soft. My perfect fit is Hufflepuff because I am not afraid to be a kind, loving, and open-hearted person that will do anything to protect the ones that I care for and love.

Taylor Swift has played a significant role in my life, ever since I was a little kid. As I grew up and changed, I noticed that her music did too. "Wildest Dreams" has helped me get over the only guy I have ever genuinely liked. In the song, Taylor sings "He's so tall and handsome as hell, he's so bad, but he does it so well" and I felt as if she was speaking to me. Taylor Swift has always been a big part of my life, she's just so real and relatable. Taylor makes me feel like my problems aren't insignificant and her music makes me feel seen. The album 1989 didn't have that big of an impact on my life when it first came out, and that's probably because I was only 8 years old in October of 2014. But now 1989 is such a big part of who I am, every song on this album speaks to me but "Wildest Dreams" just holds such a special place right now. Part of me feels like this song is helping me get over this boy and the other part of me feels like this song is healing my soul from everything I have been through. "Wildest Dreams" puts everything I've been feeling about this guy into words, he always talked about how he'd drive us around and how pretty I am. We always talked about our dreams together and how we wanted to stay together during college. He always told me how good I looked in dresses and how he wouldn't ever leave me. But just like how in the song Taylor was broken up with, so was I. Taylor Swift is so real with her music, and it makes it seem as if she's living your life next to you. "Wildest Dreams" shows the stages of a relationship and how to heal after it ends. She doesn't force bitter ideologies on you either like most other artists would while writing breakup songs. The lyrics "And his voice is a familiar sound, Nothin' lasts forever" hit so hard because they are my reality right now. I cannot get his voice out of my head and Taylor is right because nothing does last forever. I didn't expect us to stay together forever because we are only seventeen, but it would've been nice to have him in my life for a little while longer. I hope he does see me in his wildest dreams, as Taylor would put it.