The best back-to-school tip I have to offer is to buy a pencil box. I know it sounds childish, especially as you get older; a tacky pencil box? No one would want to be caught dead pulling one out of their bag, but believe me, it's worth it. Think about how many pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers, gluesticks, protractors, and so on that you have lost or broken by simply dropping them into your bag. Think about how much time you waste scrounging around, looking for SOMETHING to write with, and coming up empty-handed more than not, because it seems as though as the school year goes on, you lose more and more writing utensils. This can be remedied quickly with a simple pencil box. It is large, and has a distinct plastic shape, making it much harder to lose in the mess of your bag or misplace over time. Even more, it's easily recognizable if you leave it behind, because really, who else would use a pencil box? It's a genius and underrated tool, and is one I highly recommend when going into the school year.

Misfits are usually new students, adopted, nonathletic, members of the LGBTQ+ community, quieter, bookworms, harbouring a mental illness or physical issues; and unfortunately for me, I check all the boxes and then some. Having been to four schools in the last three years, officially adopted just over two, and having recently moved cities and started a new school, I definitely feel like a misfit. I've eaten lunch alone, spent time in the classroom and group challenges alone because of my quieter and school-focused nature, and already feel singled out surrounded by those of such great athletic ability and closed-minded views. I've struggled with mental illness my entire life, and being pushed back into the closet sexuality wise and having to hide my mental struggles again with no one to turn to make me feel like an outsider. I still do, but being an outsider again has helped me; being a misfit shaped my dreams. I've had frequent time alone, time to indulge and use my intellectual abilities to delve into different worlds of interest, time to research and find things that fascinate me. The things that made me a misfit also influenced my dreams. Things from the past that haunt me; the abuse, abandonment, my illnesses; they helped shape my academic, career, and albeit odd personal interests, which translated into my dreams for the future. I was always asking the question why, obsessed with figuring out why my brain was the way it was and why people around me did the things they did. With my growing questioning and my spare time from being shunned, I developed a deep interest in human behaviour. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I pour out all the ideas and feelings I have into writing and art. Being alone, harbouring feelings and memories I feel as though I can never let anyone know, I had to find an outlet for my frustration, and an outlet to bring myself comfort and inspiration in the loneliness. I would love to be a writer; to have my work known, to have people connect with my stories and relate with my characters, to find themselves in my words. I want to share messages through my work; whether poems, stories, songs, I want to reach others and connect with them in a way that makes them feel they aren't alone. On the flip side, I want to investigate and research, to unlock more knowledge on the human mind and use that knowledge in a way to help other people - to save them from hardships and feeling as horrible as I do some days. This dream has pushed me to more than what it originally was, as I now wish to use the behavioural knowledge I gain to use in law and investigation. This dream is a bit far-fetched - being a forensic psychologist isn't something that's really the norm, but being someone who isn't the norm, I feel that the job would be a perfect fit. Being a misfit has fuelled my dreams; even if I don't have a support system for my ambitions, being the odd one out has made me push harder to achieve my goals. I want to make something of myself, to achieve things that others around me may assume that I cannot, to aid and finally connect with others. I want to further the message about being a misfit, that being different isn't some horrible thing to be. If I wasn't who I was, if I wasn't out of the norm, I would have none of the interest I have today. I wouldn't be so invested in writing, I would've dropped my passion in the arts and likely gone to sports or done nothing at all; I wouldn't have my ultimate interest or goal in life. The whole idea of being a forensic psychologist, the notion of criminology, and studying human behaviour would cease to exist in my mind entirely if I was not a misfit. Even though there are hardships and low moments, I wouldn't trade being a misfit for the world, and I hope others feel the same. Even if we're odd or different, we should be proud to be who we are. I'm a misfit, but what makes me a misfit propels me to do great things; it motivates my passions. To anyone else who's a misfit, you're not alone. We're all misfits one way or another; take it from a semi-stable adopted queer, I know.

Music has played the role of a life-jacket; it keeps me afloat and has pulled me back to the surface of reality, keeping me alive. Music has played the role of a mirror; sometimes I love what I see, or in this case, hear, and in others, it can drag me down. Music has been like a diary - it expresses my feelings and thoughts, and helps me release my energy. Music has been an inspirer and like the steady blow of wind or streaming of water. It brings forth new things in me; new emotions, new ideas, new viewpoints. In that case, music also helps change me; like a life jacket it brings me up, like a mirror it can bring me down; but as a dairy, it helps me express and understand myself. It is something I have a love relationship with, I couldn't survive or be who I am today without it. I grew up listening to 90's pop and rap, 80's through early 2010's rock, and during my growing years, I got so deep into broadway that today I could pull out a whole performance I learned. More recently indie and alternative have taken control of my playlists along with a splash of Korean and modern rock. Every step of my life I had music, and it helped me along on my journey and in my growth. Every time I needed comfort I had music, I had the songs and the messages the artists were trying to send. Music has helped me accept myself. Hearing songs about girls liking girls, boys liking both, or each liking both - I realized that there wasn't anything wrong with me and that others felt the same. I felt less alone and more accepting towards myself. I was able to express my love and feelings in a non-comformative way with prideful queer lyrics. Music has taken on many roles and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. But, for right now, music has played the reoccurent role of a savior. It's given me life, feelings, and emotions that I don't usually express. It's made me feel like a person after everything that's happened; music has helped me realize myself and helped me grow. Music has given me acceptance and so many experiences. I owe everything to music. I don't go a day without music; if you were to see me walking the hallway or doing schoolwork I'd have my headphones playing one of my many playlists, volume as loud as my ears can take. There is no definite role music has played; it's taken on too many forms and responsibilities in my life. But, the one certain role it has always played, like earlier, is the love and savior of my life.

The failure I'm most thankful for in my life was my failure to realize how little I had mattered to my biological parents, and how much everything seemed to overly matter to me. It was a mistake on my part and something I personally qualify as a failure. I realize now, but my failure to realize then influenced my life heavily and has shaped who I am today, and who I plan to become in the future. I spent so long pondering why they had left, why things were the way they were, but I wasn't ready to accept nor realize the blatant fact that they hadn't cared. This led to bitterness, the thoughts being a constant distraction and ring in my mind as they continued to pull me down. This affected my school and social life. I could no longer enjoy activities I used to love, I was disconnected from my friends, and my grades were slipping. That failure of the mind made ME feel like a failure as if it was my fault they were gone. Over time I began to realize my mistake; I realized that I still cared when they never had. The realization of my failure pushed me forward and made me progress as a person. I'm not saying I've completely overcome the past, but my realization of failure helped me inch forward in life, bringing my mind from the past to the present. This allotted room for recovery and reflection rather than the nitpicking that had been taking place in my mind. The failure itself had a negative impact, but the realization of the failure led to positive growth in my life. My grades have pulled back up, I'm able to enjoy time with others, and I have more dreams and plans for the future now than I've ever had. I'm pushing myself to not make the same mistake twice, to let myself grow and change, and to not let my mind hold me back. Although this may seem a misconception or mistake to some, to me this was a failure. I failed the realize that there was nothing wrong with me and that I was holding on for so long to something that didn't matter. I failed to realize that they never truly cared. The realization and the failure itself was pivotal in my life, and no matter how much it hurt to realize it, I'm thankful it happened.