At first, a flower shoots up confidently and grows taller, but as the seasons change, the petals start to die until they’ve all fallen off. Despite this, the seeds and petals of the flower will regrow. My life growing up was just like a flower: the more I aged, the more problems I developed. The cycle of death and rebirth has been the hallmark of both my general life and athletic experiences. When I was five my dad abandoned my mom and I, leaving us heartbroken. When I was eight my mom was diagnosed with Kerticones, intensely hindering her vision and her independence. Although I was young, this was a really rough patch in my life because it was hard to adjust to only having one parent supporting me while trying to help my mom balance her new lifestyle. Because I was the only girl in my elementary school who had a single disabled parent, I was relentlessly bullied. Many of them could not understand what it was like to be me every day. To lift my spirits, my mother encouraged me to start playing sports, giving me something to look forward to. As I tried different sports, I fell in love with softball and was playing on a competitive travel team by the time I was nine. This was the first rebirth: I felt like I was blossoming for the first time again. Through softball, I rehabilitated my fragile sense of self into strong confidence. In the eighth grade, I decided to try out for a high school softball team, making varsity at thirteen years old. I was exhilarated, and I was preparing for the best season yet. However, my expectations were shattered once the season started and the experience I had imagined myself having for so long died because of mistreatment from the coaching staff. That season broke me inside and made me question if I was even good enough to keep playing. It all came crashing down as I felt all my flower petals fall off at once. I had to make a change, so I transferred high schools, being forced to acclimate to a completely new environment all over again. I didn’t know it then, but transferring would eventually be the best decision I have ever made. This year, my new high school offered a powerlifting team for the first time. I knew nothing about the sport, but I tried out anyway because I knew my strength. After learning more about the sport, I was so excited when I made the team. However, after trying out, I discovered that I was ineligible for the team because I was a first-year transfer student. This shattered me again, feeding my fears of being deeply unwanted. All I wanted was to be included in a team that loves and cares about each other. Knowing this, my powerlifting coach gave me a chance to be the manager, so that I could still be included in all of the team practices and events. This gave me the courage I needed to continue on and give powerlifting a chance. That season as manager showed me what being a part of a team is really about. It’s not about being the best or being able to compete, but rather supporting your teammates and developing relationships with the people around you. That season I realized that powerlifting was the sport for me and the people on my team were going to support me no matter what. Stepping on the platform for the first time was extremely nerve racking, but also exciting at the same time. After completing my first meet I knew this is where I was meant to be. Over the last four years I have found myself again and overcome so many things, but most importantly, the flower inside of me has bloomed again. 2. Volunteering is something so broad and different in so many ways. Volunteering makes us better people while helping those around us who need it. A way I have volunteered my time is participating in Mount Carmel Academy's annul Mission Drive. This is to try and raise money for the Carmelite Order overseas in the Philipines, the Feed Jesus program in New Orleans, and to contribute money to our school's "Paths" program which is for students who want to attend Mount Carmel, but have trouble affording it. Most people see this as a waste of time and wonder why they even bother doing it. However, I participated in this in 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. Your main objective in this is to raise over $100, but to make as much money as you can over the course of 3 weeks. At first when I started trying to make money, I struggled. I did not realize at first what the big selling items where and what was going to make me the most money. After the first week of the charity drive in 10th grade, I had only raised roughly $40 and considered giving up. Then that day I got home from school and my mom was watching a baking show and they where making Oreo balls. So, I learned the recipe and in my first batch I made 50 Oreo balls and took them to school with me the next day. To my surprise, they sold out with in minutes. Once someone had tried them, the word about them spread fast. I kept making more until the end of the Mission Drive. I ended up raising $400 that year. Although I was not the top seller that year, I learned what worked and what the people liked while raising a substantial amount of money for people in need by just selling treats at school. However, the following year I was prepared. Over the course of those 3 weeks my junior year, I was able to raise almost $2,000 to be donated after dedicating 50-70 hours of my time. I thought since I had worked so hard this year and made a lot of money for these organizations, I would be the top seller for sure this year. However, on the day they announced who got 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place at mass, I was not the one called to the front of the gym for 1st. I recieved the award for 2nd place and I felt like the biggest failure of my life. Over time my feelings subsided about what happened. Over time I was also able to realize not everything is about winning and I felt that I had lost sight of this. The main goal was to raise as much as I could to help these people who needed the money. This year, I approached the Mission Drive with a different mind set, that no matter how much I raised my priority was to make money for the people in need and I raised almost $1,000. Over the course of the last three years I have been able to raise a total of $3,300 for different organizations all by selling Oreo balls at school. This exemplifies volunteering can be unique and different and you will still always learn something.