I had always wanted a dog. Their wagging tails, cheerful demeanors, and loyalty are just a few of the things that make a dog man's best friend. I was in fifth grade when a new family member joined our family. It was a normal weekday and my family of four was gathered around the kitchen table eating dinner. Me and my brother had always wanted a dog, while my mother always refused to get one despite our constant begs. So, you can probably imagine our surprise when my mom showed us all a shih-tzu-terrier mix on Craigslist for sale that one fateful night. "So, should we get her?" she asked. Of course, we excitedly agreed. That weekend, we went to Manoa to visit her and it was love at first sight. When we first saw her, she was running around the yard with her brother playing and having a great time. She was the last of her litter to be given away, as her brother was being kept by the owners. After talking to the owners and playing with her, we decided to take her home. And just like that, there were now five members of the Yonemori family. Her original owners named her "Holly Noel," as she was born on Christmas Day. Her birthday thoroughly matches the day she was born, as she was truly the gift that my family needed the most. However, we decided to change her name to "Coco," referencing the different types of chocolate and her corresponding black, brown, and white colored coat. This all occurred in 2014 when I was still in elementary school. Time has flown by since, as she is now turning 10 years old this Christmas. Coco has brought immense joy to our family ever since the day we brought her home. Whether that be her goofy little underbite that always manages to make us smile or how she runs around the yard with her treat in her mouth after being bathed, every moment with her feels special. Now that I am in college, I realize just how much of an impact she has had on our lives. Months pass without seeing her, and the immediate joy I feel when I see her head sticking out the car window when I am being picked up from the airport is evidence of our bond. Overall, Coco has made such a strong, positive impact on me and my family that none of us could have ever imagined. Currently, I am an operations & technology management major at the University of Portland. This major is quantitative, combining the fields of operations management and information technology into one. In the future, I hope to use this degree to help make the world a greener and more environmentally friendly place. As a member of Generation Z, I have grown up seeing the effects of climate change all around me, whether that be fires and droughts in my home state or environmental disasters worsened by climate change around the world. As a result, I feel compelled to do something to create the world that I envision for myself and everyone around me. My ideal job would be being a data or business analyst for a company that is focused on renewable energy, though I would also love to work within the sustainability department of any company. Being in this type of position interests me because I want to help businesses use analytics and various technologies to make business processes more efficient and sustainable.

To make mental health care more affordable and accessible, I would expand the availability of technology that aims to provide mental health support. As the world becomes more technologically advanced, mental health continues to worsen around the world. While visiting a mental health professional in person would be ideal, some do not have the luxury of having a mental health professional nearby. To combat this problem, we should continue to develop virtual user-friendly mental health apps and platforms. Therapy, counseling, and mental health resources should not be difficult to find, so making these things more widely available online is a solution that many would find useful. Possible examples of virtual mental health help include virtual therapy sessions and AI-powered chatbots. To make these programs available to those with financial struggles, the government should provide financial support. The United States is already facing a mental health crisis, and if we do not take action, there will be large costs for everyone involved. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the American government to tackle this problem now by funding mental health care programs. Everyone deserves affordable and accessible mental health care, so expanding access to mental health resources via technology would be a great way to jump-start this initiative.

"No one in life knows what they are doing." These were the words uttered by my advisory teacher on a warm Friday morning. We were discussing life secrets as a part of our advisory lesson when he made this bold claim. He went on to tell us about his high school and college experiences, including hanging out with a detrimental crowd, failing classes, and switching his major one too many times. But that conspicuous opening statement had never left my mind. Ever since I was young, I had never known what my dream job was. When asked about their dream job, most kids had an answer that popped into their minds immediately. "An astronaut!" "A doctor!" "A policeman!" Then there was me, who always replied with an "I do not know." Upon hearing my teacher's words for the first time, I felt immediately reassured. After all, I had always felt unsure about myself and my future throughout my entire childhood. Everyone around me had always seemed to know what they were doing, so realizing that others had no clue either was something that I desperately needed to hear. With this realization came the motivation to have somewhat of an idea of what I wanted my future to hold, causing me to go on a journey of introspection and researching. It has been a few months since I have heard his bold words, but I have worked hard and managed to make progress since then. Attending a four-year university, studying economics, and becoming an environmental economist are all recent goals that I have produced for my future. Although I am still quite unsure of what I am doing, I now feel more confident that I may have more of an idea in the future.