Ever since I was in the fourth grade my favorite book as been, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. This children's literary classic really opened my mind as a young child. every since I could read I used books as an escape, so the hour a day when we split up into groups and read a book as a class was my favorite time of the day. Tuck everlasting was a story that can make anyone think, even young children. My favorite part of the book was when Winnie, the main character, has the decision for immortality and start a new life, or return back to the life she ran from and eventually die. Living forever seems like anyone's dream come true. However outliving everyone you love can have great emotional consequences. when jessie gives Winnie the vial of the spring water, asking her to wait until she turns seventeen to drink it and to find him. Winnie pours it out on a toad thinking that if she changes her mind she can always get more. Years later the Tucks returned to Treegap to find Winnie and discover that she has passed away. Although saddened by her death, Agnus is happy she did not choose immortality, but to live her life to the fullest. This book reminds me that to cherish the little moments in life you have to have limited time because time is what makes everything special. Though death may seem scary, you have to live you life to the fullest and that way you can make life unique.

Even though I was first hospitalized when I was 16 years old, I have struggled with my mental health for years. Like many people it took me a long time to realize I had a problem. Unfortunately for me and many Americans, I grew up in a small community that shunned any talk about mental health. This and several other factors lead to my suicide attempt in march of 2020. It was that day that I was officially diagnosed with major depressive disorder, an eating disorder, and auditory hallucinations. Thankfully under the right counseling and medication I am doing much better and am currently in my fist semester at William Woods University, working towards my bachelors in Social work, along with a minor in ASL interpreting. During my hospiltiazation I had many nights thinking about life in general, I don't know how to explain it, almost like my entire view on life had been flipped upside down, and inside out. Somehow I knew then that I wanted to live, but not just live I wanted to help other people, so that they wouldn't feel the loneliness I had, and they to could lead a very successful life. To become a Social Worker I knew I had to make major changes to my life. I had to attend my therapy sessions, take my medication daily, and set healthy bonderies with certain people. On top of that I had to start eating a balanced diet, and find healthy coping mechanisms. I won't lie to anyone and say it was easy. In some ways having an official diagnosis made me even more upset, like one word was going to define how I lived and was treated for the rest of my life. I had many relapses from the ages 16-18, another landing me in a hospital for ten days, where I was then diagnosed with PTSD. I began to think that I was simply not the person who could help anybody anymore. However when I was in inpatient the second time around I was able to have many conversations with my own social worker. She told me that when she was in collage she struggled with mental health, and some days could not even make it out of bed, but here she was in front of me helping kids and adults everyday get through some of the worst days they will ever experience. She went on to saying that the moment I stop fighting, and the moment i give up on myself was the moment I would never reach my goal. I soon came to realize that my diagnosis could not stop who I wanted to be, it only paved a different path to my destination. As I am enjoying collage life and the new experiences it has to offer I am also taking the time to get to know myself. I am more carful when it comes to picking my friends and I make sure I take time out of my day to take care of myself. overall I am trying to just have fun and figure myself out while I still have the time. To this day I am most thankful for my mental health team who helped me get to this point I am today, and alowing me to have the mindset to help others in the near future.

In high school, Personal finance is a class you are required to take before graduation. Like most people this was not the class I was looking forward to, because the topic seemed boring. however the first day in class I knew my teacher was really going to turn the topic around for me. Especially in small towns like mine, nobody ever talks to you about money. It is viewed as a sensitive subject, and I watched as many of my former classmates make several financial mistakes such as buying the newest iPhone despite their old one working just fine. I was also guilty of these practices, buying things I did not need only to throw them out later. However my first day of Personal Finance my teacher walked to the front of the room and sat a monster energy drink on the desk in front of her. she explained that on average a single can was worth three dollars, and to just pretend you bought one every single morning over a year your grand total would come out to 1,095. She then told each and every one of us that saving money did not have to make you miserable, but it should come with a few sacrifices. Personally loved the way she taught because her style was realistic. She taught us about easy apps such as Ibbota that had great coupons to use and to always think steps ahead of your financial situation. For example even if you think you money situation is good, you should always have something to fall back on. I am still glad I followed that advice because my first week into collage my car broke down costing me 900 dollars to fix. luckily I took her advice and had an extra account for emergencies.

My dream life to others may seem boring, but I was never the person to fancy a big extravagant life. Though, yes being rich would be nice and solve my financial problems I do not necessary view my dream life as "rich". After I graduate collage I want to be a social Worker. More specifically I want to work with kids, aiding them through major life changes and personal crisis. For years I have always had a passion for working with others. I think even if i made a positive impact on somebody's life than all of my work was worth it. Other smaller goals of mine is to be fluent in two or more languages besides my native language, and to travel the world. I want to immerse myself in numerous of cultures to better understand the world I live in. overall want to have a family. I want to be a wife, a mother and a good role model to the people around me. Even though my dream life does not seem very glamourous I am still growing and s=discovering things every day, and I find it more beneficial to build my dream life as I grow in experience.

"I have learned you are never too small to make a difference." That is a popular, and in my opinion most powerful quote spoken by Greta Thunburg. Greta is an 18 year old environmental activist who truly inspired me to start my own eco-conscious journey. Like most people I always thought that as one person I couldn’t do much to help the environment. However Greta showed me that that thinking was wrong. The summer before my Junior year of high school I embarked on a new start to become more environmentally friendly. The first step anyone can do is to do your own research. I found easy ways I could get started on reducing my carbon footprint. Such as switching to reusable shopping and ziplock bags, and carpooling or walking to my destination. I also stopped buying convenient products such as disposable water bottles and individually packaged items. Secondly the next step into my journey I did was inform the people around me. I started a small Instagram page informing people of the pressing crisis of climate change and ways they can help fight it. Of course it is not just up to the people to better the planet but the government and major corporations also have a huge impact on our future. Creating and signing petitions and talking to local government is a first big step in fighting climate change. A major accomplishment I have made was convincing my local church to bring in their recycling and scrap metal to take down to the recycling center, since our town does not collect recycling. In conclusion I believe everyone can make a difference and while my differences may seem small I hope that they have a snowball effect in the future.