As a black woman, overcoming adversity is something that I learned how to do at a shockingly young age. Racism and getting picked on have always been a part of my life from as long as I can remember, and both issues only got worse when I moved from my hometown in Maryland, to my new home in Ashburn Virginia at the age of 10 years old. When I moved to Ashburn, I noticed a lot more white people in my classes, and a lot less people that looked like me. I noticed things like people wearing Donald Trumps "Make America Great Again" hats, or anti - black lives matter bumper stickers of the cars I would see driving. Moving here also exposed me to a lot more things like microaggressions, getting called slurs, and things like my curly hair or my african last name getting made fun of. Through all these challenges though, I've learned mountains worth of knowledge and wisdom. I've learned how to deal with bullies, and how to make them stop, rather than submitting to their harsh words. I've learned how to not let these ugly words get to me, but instead to love myself and all the parts of me white people love to pick on. And mostly, I've learned how to treat other people around me and in my community. Getting picked on as a kid taught me to treat others how I would want to be treated, and it taught me how to be a good friend. In order to protect the hearts of the kids and my peers around me in spaces like school, clubs, work, etc, I try to make my community a brighter place to be in ways like smiling at strangers, complimenting my friends, and showering my loved ones with affection. Spreading kindness and positivity in a community is one of the best ways to promote a happy and healthy space for people to be in, which in turn makes the people living there more joyful throughout the day. It also can have a ripple effect, and the people who's day I try to make better can then try and do the same thing for someone else. All in all, I can only be thankful for the hardships and challenges that my race and gender have both exposed me too. I say this because although these have been pretty big challenges throughout my life, they've taught me even bigger lessons and given me the strength and wisdom to carry on despite the harsh words I still get to this day, and try to be a positive light for others. I hope whoever is reading this can only be inspired to do the same.

My educational goals are to graduate college with good grades and a strong degree, so I can continue to move forward in my life. An obstacle I faced, is being a black woman in predominantly white area and school, and trying to excel and move forward despite the doubts and stereotypes placed on me by my peers and teachers. Being one of few - if any black women in all my classes and general surroundings, showing others what I can do in the classroom and reflecting how much I really know is usually something I have to try twice as hard to do compared to my white counterparts. The silver lining however, is this drive and determination to succeed and prove those around me wrong has shown me the value of work ethic, and how important it is to never give up, but to keep trying. Ultimately I am thankful for my blackness and the lessons it has taught me, as it made me a stronger and more driven woman today.

This is a loaded question with many answers for a black woman like me. The social justice movement of 2020 definitely made a great impact on both me and my community. As for me personally, the movement put a lot into perspective and showed a lot of peoples true colors around me. Seeing who spoke up about the injustices and who chose to stay silent showed me who really cares about my community's safety and well being - their silence spoke volumes. It also presented me with new friends that I met at protests or that I met online as they fought for my cause. The movement also helped me understand more about my community and what we go through together everyday. It formed a stronger sense of family across all black people since we're the only ones who truly know what its like to be black in america, and all that comes with it. For my community, it gave us the strength to keep going and marching and protesting to get what we deserve - justice. It gave us a voice for other communities to not only hear, but to join in on which then bridged a divide between different communities, for us to all come together for whats right. It also did make some genuine change, many statues of past slave owners or "national heros" that were actually racist were taken down. Some, not all, but some police officers who murdered black people were held accountable, and will face consequences for what they did , and even those who did not get sentenced will feel the wrath of the angry public avenging the victims out in the world. After this movement, I think people in general are also more careful and cautious as to what they say and do whereas before, many racist or insensitive comments or actions were said and done everyday - not to say this doesn't still happen, but people are more aware. Although its sad and unfair that movements and marches need to be had in order to reach these milestones and successes, all these positive effects go to show that there is progress being made, and maybe one day, it'll all be worth it. All in all, Im grateful to be able to be a part of such a community that gets to strike such change, and I can't wait for more positive change to come.