One of the hard truths of life is that of suffering. It is present in everyday life, in every country. My family and I are not exceptions to this rule. Throughout my life, I’ve seen adversity come and go, and come back for more. I think that I realized what real suffering was when I was sitting in a hospital room, watching my father receive treatment for a persistent infection that had dominated years of his life. This painful infection resulted in much suffering and the loss of his right leg. But suffering is what makes us go. It makes us go to extreme lengths to avoid it, generating fields like medicine, engineering, and charity. To me, higher education means combining my loved and hated lived experiences with a new ability to help people like my dad. About eight years ago, my father faced a debilitating infection that led to extended hospital stays and eventually, amputation. I remember he was still really weak from the infection, which had claimed the majority of his energy most days. I love my dad dearly, and it hurts to see him suffer so greatly. During that recovery time, I would refuse to let him do practically anything besides the doctor-recommended desensitizing and exercise. I would make dinner, get my dad what he needed, and make sure he was taken care of. This period of my life still affects me because I see the discomfort and pain my dad still faces from the design of his prosthetic leg. He still has not found a leg that works effectively and painlessly. I want him to live the best possible quality of life, including being able to swim, run, and hike, so I want to design a better prosthetic that does not cause him pain daily. Working with my hands is always something I have loved doing, building and designing things. I figured it out through art club, ceramics, and, most especially, technical theater. Building sets and molding clay into pottery are things I love doing, and I want to combine those loves into something meaningful- biomedical engineering. When I go to college, I will join a lab or research group and begin my biomedical engineering experience in the field, to understand the impact of what I’m working towards. When I graduate, I will go into a career to help people, which is all I’ve ever wanted to do since my father’s amputation. My goals in the biomedical engineering field revolve around my dream to help create a better prosthetic or alternative for amputees. So many people’s lives are affected in drastic ways by the daily pain they endure, and though we can acknowledge that suffering is unavoidable in this life, it shouldn’t be so persistent. A higher education doesn’t mean the ability to make money- I can do that with any job. A higher education allows me to do what I really want to accomplish in my life. It means I can help create better options not only for the people I love but also for people across the world.

One of the hard truths of life is that of suffering. It is present in everyday life, in every country. My family and I are not exceptions to this rule. Throughout my life, I’ve seen adversity come and go, and come back for more. I think that I realized what real suffering was when I was sitting in a hospital room, watching my father receive treatment for a persistent infection that had dominated years of his life. This painful infection resulted in much suffering and the loss of his right leg. But suffering is what makes us go. It makes us go to extreme lengths to avoid it, generating fields like medicine, engineering, and charity. To me, higher education means combining my loved and hated lived experiences with a new ability to help people like my dad. About eight years ago, my father faced a debilitating infection that led to extended hospital stays and eventually, amputation. I remember he was still really weak from the infection, which had claimed the majority of his energy most days. I love my dad dearly, and it hurts to see him suffer so greatly. During that recovery time, I would refuse to let him do practically anything besides the doctor-recommended desensitizing and exercise. I would make dinner, get my dad what he needed, and make sure he was taken care of. This period of my life still affects me because I see the discomfort and pain my dad still faces from the design of his prosthetic leg. He still has not found a leg that works effectively and painlessly. I want him to live the best possible quality of life, including being able to swim, run, and hike, so I want to design a better prosthetic that does not cause him pain daily. Working with my hands is always something I have loved doing, building and designing things. I figured it out through art club, ceramics, and, most especially, technical theater. Building sets and molding clay into pottery are things I love doing, and I want to combine those loves into something meaningful- biomedical engineering. When I go to college, I will join a lab or research group and begin my biomedical engineering experience in the field, to understand the impact of what I’m working towards. When I graduate, I will go into a career to help people, which is all I’ve ever wanted to do since my father’s amputation. In 2024 and 2025, I volunteered over 25 hours at the women's center at Lakeview Hospital. I helped the nurses work through paperwork, gave hand massages to recuperating mothers, and witnessed an emergency C-section prep, including the lead-up and monitoring of the laboring woman. That is how I know I love helping people. My goals in the biomedical engineering field revolve around my dream to help create a better prosthetic or alternative for amputees. So many people’s lives are affected in drastic ways by the daily pain they endure, and though we can acknowledge that suffering is unavoidable in this life, it shouldn’t be so persistent. A higher education doesn’t mean the ability to make money- I can do that with any job. A higher education allows me to do what I really want to accomplish in my life. It means I can help create better options not only for the people I love but also for people across the world.

Suffering is present in everyday life, in every country. My family and I are not exceptions to this rule. Throughout my life, I’ve seen adversity come and go, and come back for more. I think that I realized what real suffering was when I was sitting in a hospital room, watching my father receive treatment for a persistent infection that had dominated years of his life. This painful infection resulted in much suffering and the loss of his right leg. But suffering is what makes us go. It makes us go to extreme lengths to avoid it, generating fields like medicine, engineering, and charity. To me, higher education means combining my loved and hated lived experiences with a new ability to help people like my dad. About eight years ago, my father faced a debilitating infection that led to extended hospital stays and eventually, amputation. I remember he was still really weak from the infection, which had claimed the majority of his energy most days. I love my dad dearly, and it hurts to see him suffer so greatly. During that recovery time, I would refuse to let him do practically anything besides the doctor-recommended desensitizing and exercise. I would make dinner, get my dad what he needed, and make sure he was taken care of. This period of my life still affects me because I see the discomfort and pain my dad still faces from the design of his prosthetic leg. He still has not found a leg that works effectively and painlessly. I want him to live the best possible quality of life, including being able to swim, run, and hike, so I want to design a better prosthetic that does not cause him pain daily. Working with my hands is always something I have loved doing, building and designing things. I figured it out through art club, ceramics, and, most especially, technical theater. Building sets and molding clay into pottery are things I love doing, and I want to combine those loves into something meaningful- biomedical engineering. When I go to college, I will join a lab or research group and begin my biomedical engineering experience in the field, to understand the impact of what I’m working towards. When I graduate, I will go into a career to help people, which is all I’ve ever wanted to do since my father’s amputation. My goals in the biomedical engineering field revolve around my dream to help create a better prosthetic or alternative for amputees. So many people’s lives are affected in drastic ways by the daily pain they endure, and though we can acknowledge that suffering is unavoidable in this life, it shouldn’t be so persistent. A higher education doesn’t mean the ability to make money- I can do that with any job. A higher education allows me to do what I really want to accomplish in my life. It means I can help create better options not only for the people I love but also for people across the world. That is how I will serve my community.

One of the hard truths of life is that of suffering. It is present in everyday life, in every country. My family and I are not exceptions to this rule. Throughout my life, I’ve seen adversity come and go, and come back for more. I think that I realized what real suffering was when I was sitting in a hospital room, watching my father receive treatment for a persistent infection that had dominated years of his life. This painful infection resulted in much suffering and the loss of his right leg. But suffering is what makes us go. It makes us go to extreme lengths to avoid it, generating fields like medicine, engineering, and charity. To me, higher education means combining my loved and hated lived experiences with a new ability to help people like my dad. About eight years ago, my father faced a debilitating infection that led to extended hospital stays and eventually, amputation. I remember he was still really weak from the infection, which had claimed the majority of his energy most days. I love my dad dearly, and it hurts to see him suffer so greatly. During that recovery time, I would refuse to let him do practically anything besides the doctor-recommended desensitizing and exercise. I would make dinner, get my dad what he needed, and make sure he was taken care of. This period of my life still affects me because I see the discomfort and pain my dad still faces from the design of his prosthetic leg. He still has not found a leg that works effectively and painlessly. I want him to live the best possible quality of life, including being able to swim, run, and hike, so I want to design a better prosthetic that does not cause him pain daily. Working with my hands is always something I have loved doing, building and designing things. I figured it out through art club, ceramics, and, most especially, technical theater. Building sets and molding clay into pottery are things I love doing, and I want to combine those loves into something meaningful- biomedical engineering. When I go to college, I will join a lab or research group and begin my biomedical engineering experience in the field, to understand the impact of what I’m working towards. When I graduate, I will go into a career to help people, which is all I’ve ever wanted to do since my father’s amputation. My goals in the biomedical engineering field revolve around my dream to help create a better prosthetic or alternative for amputees. So many people’s lives are affected in drastic ways by the daily pain they endure, and though we can acknowledge that suffering is unavoidable in this life, it shouldn’t be so persistent. A higher education doesn’t mean the ability to make money- I can do that with any job. A higher education allows me to do what I really want to accomplish in my life. It means I can help create better options not only for the people I love but also for people across the world.

I have always felt insecure about my appearance, which has made my confidence plummet in the last few years, especially when I am surrounded by the beautiful women in my family and my friend group. And then I notice what social media depicts about how women should look or act, which makes me feel even more insecure. See, I believe in the power of words. Compliments make my whole day, and insults ruin my whole week. I will admit that I am sensitive, but sensitive of my insecurities. It's hard to be a woman when your mother tells you that you're beautiful, your twin sister is telling you that you need to eat more, and your guy friend tells you that you need to work out more. Seeing Sabrina Carpenter on stage, confident and in charge without being cat called or harassed has given me a shield of sorts to guard myself. The beauty of her music and lyrics are that they flip the script. She highlights the injustice and misogyny of a traditional patriarchial system with lyrics like "I showed my friends [a picture of you] and we high-fived / sorry if you feel objectified", showing how woman are often not seen as human beings by the media, causing humans to create unrealistic standards and expections of what a woman should look like. This objectification of a human being is where a majority of my insecuirty comes from: how my body should look. Carpenter's lyrics aren't just entertainment, they are important. And although insults still ruin my day, they no longer stay with me. Progress is the betterment of humanity, and I have made some progress in my insecurities and self doubts, because I now have the knowledge that I can look like whatever I want if I am healthy and have the confidence to be so.

The movie that has had the most significant impact on my life is Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein (2025). It is not only one of the most accurate Frankenstein adaptations in film history, but it also explores the novel's concepts, such as the purity of the soul, with a beautifully quiet contemplation. After watching the movie for the first time, I understood loneliness through Elizabeth Harlander. Her quiet disposition and appreciation for the little things of science, like insects and beetles, as well as her previous occupation in convent life, are a representation of a pure but imperfect soul. Instantly, I found myself in awe of her. I understood her plight, her loneliness. Her loneliness was not due to a lack of friendship or human connection, but rather the loneliness of searching for something and never finding it. I very much understand Elizabeth's quiet demeanor and search for purity and beauty in an otherwise dark and unloving world. Her costuming is essential to her portrayal in the film, especially in scenes of certain emotion. Most of her costumes reflect her love of insects. There are several bug-inspired dresses she wears, primarily composed of blue fabric and bright green, with some geometric design. During her first introduction to Victor, she wears a feathered headdress that resembles broken or clipped wings. These could represent the constraint of marriage, especially since it is immediately clear that both Victor and Elizabeth gravitate towards one another. Elizabeth is surrounded by those who love her, both romantically and familially, such as her uncle and the Frankenstein brothers. In the scene where she 'breaks up' with Victor, her costuming is red, representing his mother, or, rather, that she is leaving him as his mother did. Elizabeth's first encounter with the creature is unguarded, and at first, Elizabeth is veiled and ethereal, something the creature had never seen before. It is when she removes her veil and gloves and offers an outstretched hand to the creature that he first sees the moment of kindness. I want to be like Elizabeth in her quietly kind way. Frankenstein (2025) has made me more aware of the little beauties in life, of the little things in science, in symbolism, in meaning. Every day now, I contemplate the simplicity of it all, not just existence, but also reason. I don't think my reason is to examine movies or the quality of movies, but I know I can appreciate that so many people took time out of their lives for their passion of making movies with a meaning as beautiful and pure as Frankenstein (2025).

Last year, I volunteered at a hospital's Birthing and Women's Center. I got to meet patients recovering from childbirth and surgery, offering them comfort through hand massages and conversation. It was a fantastic experience, hearing newborns cry for the first time and talking with the women about the joys and silliness of motherhood. However, there was one shift that made me rethink my future, because at the time, I wanted to work as an OB/GYN, delivering babies and helping women directly. That shift, the air was heavy, and the nurses all had red eyes and tearstains. A picture of a rose was placed on a room's door, indicating that a baby had been stillborn or passed. I remember the HUC telling me that I would be cleaning out the hot closet where they kept the memory boxes for the lost babies. These boxes were organized by gestation period, ranging from 10 weeks to full term. The 10-week boxes were the smallest, gift bags with little knitted hats, while the full-term boxes were file boxes. These boxes contained hand molds, sheets, gloves, and books with titles like "We Were Gonna have a Baby, but We Had an Angel Instead." I must have cried in that closet for two hours, sifting through mourning boxes and taking inventory for more. But in a small way, I helped the women's center's nursing community. They were grieving too, and it wouldn't have helped them to have to sort through a hot, messy closet that served only as grim reminders of what had happened. I knew then that I wanted to help because I had never felt more helpless in my life. After I cleaned the closet, I had several discussions with the HUC and nurses, talking about how unfair it all is. I want to help progress women's health, which is still leaps behind what it could be. Women's conditions are still drastically underdiagnosed, leaving women in pain, shame, and confusion. Endometriosis, a common condition where cells in the lining of the uterus, like endometrium, begin growing outside of the uterus. This condition causes extreme pain, with endometrial cell growth turning into cysts. The average woman with endometriosis will live with this condition for 7-12 years without a diagnosis because the technology to diagnose this condition without invasive procedures does not yet exist. I want to help create a health community where women are not embarrassed to seek help and where the technology for diagnosing endometriosis is less invasive and more accurate. Women should be helping women, and that is why I want to be a woman in STEM.

Last year, I volunteered at a hospital's birthing and women's center. I got to meet patients recovering from birth and surgery, offering them comfort through hand massages and conversation. It was an amazing experience, hearing newborns cry for the first time and talking with the women about the joys and silliness of motherhood. However, there was one shift that made me rethink my future, because at the time, I wanted to work as an OB/GYN, delivering babies and helping women directly. That shift, the air was heavy, and the nurses all had red eyes and tearstains. A picture of a rose was placed on a room's door, indicating that a baby had been stillborn or passed. I remember the HUC telling me that I would be cleaning out the hot closet where they kept the memory boxes for the lost babies. These boxes were organized by gestation period, ranging from 10 weeks to full term. The 10-week boxes were the smallest, gift bags with little knitted hats, while the full-term boxes were file boxes. These boxes contained hand molds, sheets, gloves, and books with titles like "We Were Gonna have a Baby, but We Had an Angel Instead." I must have cried in that closet for two hours, sifting through mourning boxes and taking inventory for more. But in a small way, I helped the women's center's nursing community. They were grieving too, and it wouldn't have helped them to have to sort through a hot, messy closet that served only as grim reminders of what had happened. I knew then that I wanted to help because I had never felt more helpless in my life. After I cleaned the closet, I had several discussions with the HUC and nurses, talking about how unfair it all is. I want to help progress women's health, which is still leaps behind what it could be. Women's conditions are still drastically underdiagnosed, leaving women in pain, shame, and confusion. Endometriosis, a common condition where cells in the lining of the uterus, like endometrium, begin growing outside of the uterus. This condition causes extreme pain, with endometrial cell growth turning into cysts. The average woman with endometriosis will live with this condition for 7-12 years without a diagnosis because the technology to diagnose this condition without invasive procedures does not yet exist. I want to help create a health community where women are not embarrassed to seek help and where the technology for diagnosing endometriosis is less invasive and more accurate. Women should be helping women, and that is why I want to be a woman in STEM.