Authors today, especially the young ones, are writing more diverse books with various types of characters and settings. Diversified books are growing in popularity, and young authors are meeting the demand. Many authors today are writing with varied characters that make the book easier to relate with and make for a better reading experience. Kalynn Bayron, a young Black author, has achieved her goal of writing a diverse, more relatable version of the classic Cinderella fairy tale with her book Cinderella is Dead. People frequently ignore and disregard the lack of people of color as leading characters in popular literature. For example Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, The Lion, the witch, and the Wardrobe, and multiple other popular books specifically have white, usually male, main characters. Many of the books that do actually include any person of color, they are represented as a supporting character, for example ‘the black best friend’ trope. Kalynn Bayron was never represented in any of the fairytales as a Black little girl, she says “I didn’t have any representation in princess stories when I was a kid. There were no Black princesses at all.'' Only in the most recent books have there been any characters that are members of the LGBTQ+ community, and little to none of them are the main character. Cinderella is Dead has all different members of the queer community. It is very important for the readers that authors include these kinds of different and mismatched characters especially in todays literature because the world is becoming more diverse, and having queer characters help the kids that are a part of that community realize that they are not alone. You may have noticed that when reading a book almost all of the protagonists are men, even in books where the main character is a girl there are more men that help her along the way. While most think this is just in their head, studies have shown that more than 67 percent of books have several more men than women. It’s time that books and other works of literature include diversity and variety. Kalynn Bayron’s Cinderella is Dead truly helps diversify books and other literature by changing all of the previously mentioned aspects of books. To become a genuinely accepting and integrated society, we need more diverse and contrasting books.

Growing up with a parent struggling with addiction is a challenging experience that profoundly impacts a child’s life. My mother battled with addiction when I was very young, an ordeal that has significantly shaped my own mental health journey. Her struggle was a daily battle that often left me feeling helpless and anxious, laying a foundation of emotional stress that I continue to navigate today. Addiction, recognized by the medical community as a disease, has deep roots in genetics and environmental factors. For my family, being from a low-income background with a history of addiction heightened our vulnerability. This susceptibility has been a relentless source of anxiety for me, a constant fear that I might follow the same path. My mother’s addiction was not just a personal struggle; it was a familial crisis that infiltrated every aspect of our lives. Her moments of absence, the unpredictability of her moods, and the instability of our home environment all contributed to an ongoing sense of insecurity and distress. This environment of unpredictability and emotional volatility took a significant toll on my mental health. As a child, I often felt the weight of responsibilities far beyond my years, trying to care for my siblings and manage household tasks when my mother was unable to. The chronic stress and emotional neglect bred an early onset of anxiety and depression, conditions that have persisted into my adulthood. The lack of a stable and nurturing environment left me constantly on edge, always waiting for the next crisis to erupt. Moreover, the shadow of addiction looms large in our family, with both of my older brothers also grappling with drug dependencies. Their struggles have served as a stark reminder of the genetic and environmental factors that increase the risk of addiction. Witnessing their battles with substance abuse has been a painful experience, reinforcing my fears and anxiety about my own vulnerability. It’s a cycle that feels almost inescapable, a dark cloud that has hovered over my aspirations and daily life. Understanding addiction as a disease has been a critical step in my journey toward healing. Recognizing that my mother’s addiction was not a choice but a manifestation of a complex interplay of genetic predisposition and socio-economic stressors has allowed me to view her—and my brothers’—struggles with more compassion. It has also underscored the importance of seeking professional help to address my own mental health issues and break the cycle of addiction. In conclusion, my mother’s struggle with addiction during my childhood has profoundly impacted my mental health, instilling a deep-seated anxiety and fear of falling into the same patterns. The recognition of addiction as a disease, coupled with our family’s low-income status and history of substance abuse, highlights the multifaceted nature of this issue. While my journey is fraught with challenges, it is also marked by a commitment to understanding and overcoming these inherited obstacles, striving for a future where the cycle of addiction can be broken.

Growing up, I had many setbacks and that did not change as I started high school. I have not experienced the best health throughout my life, which is difficult in itself, however, I was raised by a single mom, and had three siblings. I moved houses, along with all my siblings, when I was around nine; moreover, my mom was always working and busy. Because of this, when I was nearly 13, she moved in with her boyfriend, who lived much closer to both of her jobs, leaving my sister and me with our 15-year-old and 17-year-old brothers. Both of my older brothers were out of the house with friends or girlfriends, oftentimes leaving my sister, Summer, and me alone or filling the house with older teens with whom we were unfamiliar. My mother has had to work extra hard, even resorting to having extra jobs and cleaning houses on the side, to pay for all my medical expenses and all the necessities my siblings and I could need. Moreover, my father has never been present in my life and has never provided any kind of child support. This has all taken a significant toll on my mental health. Mental health encompasses our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. In recent years, the cases of mental illness have skyrocketed up to 21% in the U.S. alone. That is around 52.9 million people. Studies show that that is a 13% increase since the year 2013. Even 20.9% of adolescents, ages 12 to 17, have experienced some kind of major depressive disorder. That is 1 in every 5 teenagers. I, along with many of my friends, have experienced significant mental health struggles as a queer adolescent girl growing up in a rural Texas town. For me, everything grew to be too much last year, in the summer of 2021, and I regrettably tried to end my life. In the end, my brother and sister managed to find out and called my grandma. I then stayed in the hospital overnight as well as spent the next week in a children's mental health center. I had never been separated from my family for that long, so that week was the most difficult of my life. I've been working on improving my mental stability for the past year, and I've made real progress My past issues with mental health have inspired me to gain an interest in psychology and psychiatry. This interest has developed further, into a goal or a dream. I want to help all people experiencing mental health problems and become an advocate for the mentally ill. I hope to someday create an organization to promote mental wellness and assist those who need help. I plan to continue my education at Sam Houston and major in Biomedical science. I hope to one day become a pediatric psychiatrist.

Everyone assuredly has his or her own history and unique experiences, which is what individualizes each person. However, with completely unique lives, naturally comes completely unique setbacks and obstacles. Everyone who has lived has struggled, yet no one knows or understands exactly how these stresses will affect anyone else mentally or emotionally. As a result, no one is exactly the same, including twins who have shared the same family, attended similar classes, and shared many of the same experiences. As a twin myself, I recognize how similar, but also how different, we are. I also understand how much of a strength it is. My sister has consistently been there for me and has always selected me above all others. She's constantly been there to explain things I don't understand or to support me emotionally or otherwise. Summer, my twin, has been and forever will be my most significant strength and my greatest opportunity. I know she will undeniably stand by me, as I will stand by her, through whatever life has in store for us. In fact, she has already stood alongside me through my most difficult times. Growing up, I had many setbacks and that did not change as I started high school. I moved houses, along with all my siblings, when I was around nine; moreover, my mom was always working and busy. Because of that, when I was nearly 13, she moved in with her boyfriend, who lived much closer to both of her jobs, leaving my sister and me with our 15-year-old and 17-year-old brothers. Both of my older brothers were out of the house with friends or girlfriends, oftentimes leaving Summer and me alone or filling the house with older teens with whom we were unfamiliar. This was something that really affected how I learned and how I completed my schoolwork. We learned to wake ourselves up for school, and we typically had to walk to our nearby grandparent's house for progress reports and any other paper that we needed to get signed. Despite this, we both prevailed, as we are in the top 20% of our class and joined both National Honor Society (NHS) and Healthcare Occupation Students of America (HOSA) as an officer, the historian, and the parliamentarian. Since then, my sister and I have moved into our grandparents' house and are still presently living with them. They have both provided immense help and support, but Summer has remained the sole reliable and constant thing throughout my lifetime. Undergoing all the hardships of life could break anyone, but we still prevail. We still exist and are still learning and growing into independent and honest people. Many people say that minor trauma causes people to become stronger, but I don't think that is accurate. Trauma, of any type, only hurts us, instead, we merely prove we were resilient enough to overcome the heaviness the whole time. Just like any teenager, carefully preparing for college and applying for scholarships, I have my own, unlike any other, story. My story is what has built me into the intellectual and ambitious person I am today. My hardships sufficiently prove that I am tenacious and devoted and that I will always have the determination against life’s difficulties.

Growing up, I had many setbacks and that did not change as I started high school. I have not experienced the best health throughout my life, which is difficult in itself, however, I was raised by a single mom, and had three siblings. I moved houses, along with all my siblings, when I was around nine; moreover, my mom was always working and really busy. Because of this, when I was nearly 13, she moved in with her boyfriend, who lived much closer to both of her jobs, leaving my sister and me with our 15-year-old and 17-year-old brothers. Both of my older brothers were out of the house with friends or girlfriends, oftentimes leaving my sister, Summer, and I alone or filling the house with older teens with whom we were unfamiliar. My mother has had to work extra hard, even resorting to having extra jobs and cleaning houses on the side, in order to pay for all my medical expenses and all the necessities my siblings and I could need. Moreover, my father has never been present in my life and has never provided any kind of child support. This has all taken a significant toll on my mental health. Mental health encompasses our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. In recent years, the cases of mental illness have skyrocketed up to 21% in the U.S. alone. That is around 52.9 million people. Studies show that that is a 13% increase since the year 2013. Even 20.9% of adolescents, ages 12 to 17, have experienced some kind of major depressive disorder. That is 1 in every 5 teenagers. I, along with many of my friends, have experienced significant mental health struggles as a queer adolescent girl growing up in a rural Texas town. For me, everything grew to be too much last year, in the summer of 2021, and I regrettably tried to end my life. In the end, my brother and sister managed to find out and called my grandma. I then stayed in the hospital overnight as well as spent the next week in a children's mental health center. I had never been separated from my family for that long, so that week was the most difficult of my life. I've been working on improving my mental stability for the past year, and I've made real progress My past issues with mental health have inspired me to gain an interest in psychology and psychiatry. This interest has developed further, into a goal or a dream. I want to help all people experiencing mental health problems and become an advocate for the mentally ill. I hope to someday create an organization to promote mental wellness and assist those who need the help. I plan to continue my education at Sam Houston and major in Biomedical science. I hope to one day become a pediatric psychiatrist.

Growing up, I had many setbacks and that did not change as I started high school. I have not experienced the best health throughout my life, which is difficult in itself, however, I was raised by a single mom, and had three siblings. I moved houses, along with all my siblings, when I was around nine; moreover, my mom was always working and really busy. Because of this, when I was nearly 13, she moved in with her boyfriend, who lived much closer to both of her jobs, leaving my sister and me with our 15-year-old and 17-year-old brothers. Both of my older brothers were out of the house with friends or girlfriends, oftentimes leaving my sister, Summer, and me alone or filling the house with older teens with whom we were unfamiliar. My mother has had to work extra hard, even resorting to having extra jobs and cleaning houses on the side, in order to pay for all my medical expenses and all the necessities my siblings and I could need. Moreover, my father has never been present in my life and has never provided any kind of child support. This has all taken a significant toll on my mental health. Mental health encompasses our emotional, psychological and social well-being. In recent years, the cases of mental illness have skyrocketed up to 21% in the U.S. alone. That is around 52.9 million people. Studies show that that is a 13% increase since the year 2013. Even 20.9% of adolescents, ages 12 to 17, have experienced some kind of major depressive disorder. That is 1 in every 5 teenagers. Another 50% of teens experience some type of dissociative disorder, which has a great effect on their mental health. My past issues with mental health have inspired me to gain an interest in psychology and psychiatry. This interest has developed further, into a goal or a dream. I want to help all people experiencing mental health problems and become an advocate for the mentally ill. I hope to someday create an organization to promote mental wellness and assist those who need the help. My organization would be named MHM (Mental Health Matters). This organization would support those in need and would fund different programs to prevent the deterioration of mental health. To do this, it would put efforts into stopping poverty, assault, abuse, and any of the other main contributors to mental health.

In recent years I have lost my great-grandfather. Growing up, I was always close with him, whether we were collecting eggs or learning to play cards, he always had something to teach. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 after surviving back surgery and a heart attack. Papa was one of the most capable people I have ever met and survived so much. One thing about him is, he has suffered a laborious life. He was married at the age of 17 and discontinued his education. Because of this, he was forced to work manual labor jobs that took an enormous toll on his health. His loss was devastating to most of my family, especially my great-grandma. My great-grandma was always very close to me, and it broke my heart to see her so alone. She married my great-grandfather when she was 16, and they have been together ever since. Witnessing her devastation and being exposed to my great-grandpa’s diminishing health, has forced me to consider the future. I don’t want to be forced to overly exert my body to the point at which my loved ones did, forcing me to become interested in higher education. I have always been interested in college, but never have I been so determined to succeed in graduating with a degree.

Everyone assuredly has his or her own history and unique experiences, which is what individualizes each person. However, with completely unique lives, naturally comes completely unique setbacks and obstacles. Everyone who has lived has struggled, yet no one knows or understands exactly how these stresses will affect anyone else mentally or emotionally. As a result, no one is exactly the same, including twins who have shared the same family, attended similar classes, and shared many of the same experiences. As a twin myself, I recognize how similar, but also how different, we are. I also understand how much of a strength it is. My sister has consistently been there for me and has always selected me above all others. She's constantly been there to explain things I don't understand or to support me emotionally or otherwise. Summer, my twin, has been and forever will be my most significant strength and my greatest opportunity. I know she will undeniably stand by me, as I will stand by her, through whatever life has in store for us. In fact, she has already stood alongside me through my most difficult times. Growing up, I had many setbacks and that did not change as I started high school. I moved houses, along with all my siblings, when I was around nine; moreover, my mom was always working and busy. Because of that, when I was nearly 13, she moved in with her boyfriend, who lived much closer to both of her jobs, leaving my sister and me with our 15-year-old and 17-year-old brothers. Both of my older brothers were out of the house with friends or girlfriends, oftentimes leaving Summer and me alone or filling the house with older teens with whom we were unfamiliar. This has all taken a significant toll on my mental health. While I have acquired the help I need through my family and friends, I know that not everyone has the same support system. This was something that really affected how I learned and how I completed my schoolwork. Despite this, we both prevailed, as we are in the top 20% of our class and joined both National Honor Society (NHS) and Healthcare Occupation Students of America (HOSA) as an officer, the historian and the parliamentarian. Since then, my sister and I have moved into our grandparents' house and are still presently living with them. They have both provided immense help and support, but Summer has remained the sole reliable and constant thing throughout my lifetime. Undergoing all the hardships of life could break anyone, but we still prevail. We still exist and are still learning and growing into independent and honest people. Many people say that minor trauma causes people to become stronger, but I don't think that is accurate. Trauma, of any type, only hurts us, instead, we merely prove we were resilient enough to overcome the heaviness the whole time. Just like any teenager, carefully preparing for college and applying for scholarships, I have my own, unlike any other, story. My story is what has built me into the intellectual and ambitious person I am today. My hardships sufficiently prove that I am tenacious and devoted and that I will always have the determination against life’s difficulties. My past issues with mental health have inspired me to gain an interest in psychology and psychiatry. This interest has developed further, into a goal or a dream. I want to help all people experiencing mental health problems and become an advocate for the mentally ill. I hope to someday create an organization to promote mental wellness and assist those who need help.

I am at the age where I am preparing to leave home and become more independent. For me, this means going to college, which is extremely expensive. This is particularly difficult for me because of my health. As a child, I always had poor health and even developed allergy-induced asthma. My health has only deteriorated further over the years, forcing me to require multiple costly prescription medications as well as making me unable to perform many manual tasks. Moreover, my sister Summer, being the person she is, will be insistent in making sure I am taken care of during college. However, as a fellow college attendant, Summer will have her own expenses to worry about, causing her to unavoidably have to work harder to take care of both herself and me. If I am able to obtain scholarships it will allow me to attend my classes without worry over finances. This would make things significantly less challenging for me as well as my sister. As I am unable to exert myself physically, I have always taken my intellect extremely seriously. I need to acquire an adequate education in order to secure a career that is not physically demanding or at odds with my allergies. If I receive the money this scholarship may provide, it would truly make an immense difference for not only myself and my future, but for my sister as well. As I stated before, I have not experienced the best health throughout my life, which is difficult in itself, however, I was raised by a single mom, and had three siblings. My mother has had to work extra hard, even resorting to having extra jobs and cleaning houses on the side, to pay for all my medical expenses and all the necessities my siblings and I could need. Moreover, my father has never been present in my life and has never provided any kind of child support. This has all taken a significant toll on my mental health. While I have acquired the help I need through my family and friends, I know that not everyone has the same support system. Since the time in which I got help, I have made it my goal to help those in need. I have been doing this through community service and participating in the HOSA (future health professionals) Mental Health Awareness project. It was through this group that I was inspired to take an interest in psychology and now desire to become a psychologist to help others who are suffering.

I am at the age where I am preparing to leave home and become more independent. For me, this means going to college, which is extremely expensive. This is particularly difficult for me because of my health. As a child, I always had poor health and even developed allergy-induced asthma. My health has only deteriorated further over the years, forcing me to require multiple costly prescription medications as well as making me unable to perform many manual tasks. Moreover, my sister Summer, being the person she is, will be insistent in making sure I am taken care of during college. However, as a fellow college attendant, Summer will have her own expenses to worry about, causing her to unavoidably have to work harder to take care of both herself and me. If I am able to obtain scholarships it will allow me to attend my classes without worry over finances. This would make things significantly less challenging for me as well as my sister. As I am unable to exert myself physically, I have always taken my intellect extremely seriously. I need to acquire an adequate education in order to secure a career that is not physically demanding or at odds with my allergies. If I receive the money this scholarship may provide, it would truly make an immense difference for not only myself and my future, but for my sister as well. As I stated before, I have not experienced the best health throughout my life, which is difficult in itself, however, I was raised by a single mom, and had three siblings. My mother has had to work extra hard, even resorting to having extra jobs and cleaning houses on the side, to pay for all my medical expenses and all the necessities my siblings and I could need. Moreover, my father has never been present in my life and has never provided any kind of child support. This has all taken a significant toll on my mental health. While I have acquired the help I need through my family and friends, I know that not everyone has the same support system. Since the time in which I got help, I have made it my goal to help those in need. I have been doing this through community service and participating in the HOSA (future health professionals) Mental Health Awareness project. It was through this group that I was inspired to take an interest in psychology and now desire to become a psychologist to help others who are suffering.

Authors today, especially the young ones, are writing more diverse books with various types of characters and settings. Diversified books are growing in popularity, and young authors are meeting the demand. Many authors today are writing with varied characters that make the book easier to relate with and make for a better reading experience. Kalynn Bayron, a young Black author, has achieved her goal of writing a diverse, more relatable version of the classic Cinderella fairy tale with her book Cinderella is Dead. People frequently ignore and disregard the lack of people of color as leading characters in popular literature. For example Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, The Lion, the witch, and the Wardrobe, and multiple other popular books specifically have white, usually male, main characters. Many of the books that do actually include any person of color, they are represented as a supporting character, for example ‘the black best friend’ trope. Kalynn Bayron was never represented in any of the fairytales as a Black little girl, she says “I didn’t have any representation in princess stories when I was a kid. There were no Black princesses at all.'' Only in the most recent books have there been any characters that are members of the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and more) community, and little to none of them are the main character. However in Kalynn Bayron’s Cinderella is Dead there is not only properly represented queer characters, but there are also no shortages in skin color diversity. Cinderella is Dead has all different members of the queer community, including multiple lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters. It is very important for the readers that authors include these kinds of different and mismatched characters especially in todays literature because the world is becoming more diverse, and having queer characters help the kids that are a part of that community realize that they are not alone. You may have noticed that when reading a book almost all of the protagonists are men, even in books where the main character is a girl there are more men that help her along the way. While most think this is just in their head, studies have shown that more than 67 percent of books have several more men than women. Cinderella is Dead has numerous female characters that don’t have love interests and are just as complex and elaborate as the other characters. Nearly all of the most popular literature is comparable and non-diverse. From the story line, the characters' races and sexuality, to the romance and characters' genders, books are so similar. It’s time that books and other works of literature include diversity and variety. Kalynn Bayron’s Cinderella is Dead truly helps diversify books and other literature by changing all of the previously mentioned aspects of books. To become a genuinely accepting and integrated society, we need more diverse and contrasting books.

Sexism in Marvel Cinematic Universe     As the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s infinity franchise continues to be vastly popular, and the Marvel Universe continues to expand, people are becoming increasingly aware of the unfair treatment of the women employed in the cast and crew. However, several individuals believe that there is no problem with Marvel’s treatment of women.  The population that is conscious of the MCU’s misconduct towards women claim that the company does not show equal representation of women in its media as it does of men. Marvel slut-shamed their most popular superheroine, there is a substantial lack of main characters that are female, and the ones that are included, however strong the character may be, are sexuallized and largely used to add a romantic interest to the main male hero of the movie. As of 2018 Black Widow was the only recurring female superhero that was a part of the Avengers and was constantly in a, so called, fling or love affair with another one of the Avengers. Another example is the severe lack of merchandise of the female character, as opposed to the immeasurable amount of merchandise for the male counterparts.  As recently as 2019 the MCU released its first movie that is female-led. Stated by Yamato, Jen. 'Captain Marvel' and Marvel's Long History of Women Problems, it is explained that the funding and  story writing was not as high quality, as of that, that was put into other movies produced by the MCU. It is also pointed out that there are only two, out of more than fifty, female-led comics-to-big screen projects. Many have also brought attention to fact, as it is present in Hornaday, Ann. Marvel’s Black Widow gets the spotlight she deserves, only to have it stolen from her by her co-star, Scarlett Johansson has been working as the widely popular Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, for over a decade has, as usual, gets pushed aside for another character, even in the, as of 2021, Black Widow movie.  The sexulization and disregard of the Marvel women is not a good influence on young minds. As it is expressed in “Women's Rights and Sexual Harassment," one out of every six women in America have been victims of rape, and even more have been subjected to domestice vilolence. What effect does it have on  little girls - because, yes some girls really like superheroes - to see some of the strongest women, in a world of superpowers and magic, only being used to add romance and, as some would say, used as eye-candy? What impact will it have on the little boys, who see their favorite characters, the people they look up to, their heroes, using the women around them as supporting characters or only the love interest to the strong - usually white and overly muscular - superheroes?      I believe that instead of the way Marvel has been handling the accusations of sexism, by just denying them and continuing to overlook the women, they should take responsibility for it by changing the way they sexulize and side cast their female superheroes. I have heard many Marvel supporters claim that these women have the right to wear sexual uniforms and act the way they do, just as modern women have the right to do so. While I think this is true of real women, I would argue that this does not apply to these characters, because they are created and designed, therefore their personality traits and uniforms are not their personal choice but forced upon them by their creators.