I was 10 years old when Taylor Swift released her iconic album '1989'. It feels like yesterday when I remember sitting in the passenger seat of my mom's 2004 Volkswagen Passat as the wind blew through my hair on our sunset drives. Quickly, 'Style' became our anthem, its catchy melody spinning in the car's CD player and resonating in our hearts, creating an everlasting connection. Back then, 'Style' was simply a song I loved for its infectious beats and addictive rhythm. It was a magical portal that effortlessly transported me to a world of teenage dreams and carefree moments. I would sing along with all my heart, belting out the lyrics with gusto, while my mom would smile and join in occasionally, sharing those magical musical moments that brought us closer together. Now as I navigate adulthood and find myself miles away from the familiar streets and comforting presence of family, ‘Style' continues to hold a special place in my heart. I play the song in my earbuds during my sunset walks, cherishing the memories of those long country drives with my mom. Even though circumstances have changed, and life's responsibilities have taken me on a different path, I am determined to maintain the traditions and closeness my mom and I shared. 'Style' serves as a reminder of the unbreakable bond we forged during those sunset drives, and it fuels my determination to keep our connection strong, no matter the distance between us. No other song can replace that heartwarming feeling that ‘Style’ gave me and my mom. As we welcomed other family members, mainly my grandmother and cousin, on our sunset drives, ‘Style’ remained a family favorite. Those drives turned into cherished family bonding moments, and the familiar tune of the song echoed with laughter and love, weaving beautiful memories into the fabric of our lives. As I look back on my younger self, relishing in the joyous melodies of 'Style' during those carefree drives, I am filled with gratitude for the lasting impact that music can have on our lives. Taylor Swift's song not only brought us immense joy, but also became a symbol of love, strength, and the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child. The essence of 'Style' accompanies me wherever I go, reminding me of the enduring connection with my family, and through its timeless magic, it will continue to shape my journey through life.

The friends I've had throughout my life have taught me valuable lessons about myself and the world. And although some of those friendships ended because we grew apart or because we had disagreements, each one taught me the values I seek in a friend and what friendship means to me. In my experience, friendship entails an equal and honest partnership. This means that friends should listen to and value each other's emotions and feelings. I feel that amongst men, friendships lack emotional support. We are social animals and resisting our emotions isn't a healthy way to make friends. Another thing I think friendships should include is honesty and loyalty. A healthy friendship requires mutual trust, and a friend should never feel that the other is going to backstab them. There are many friendships in which I compete with my "friends," and they are competing with me. Competition beyond games or sports in friendships causes some conflicting feelings and in my case, lots of stress. Overall, I believe that friendships are a valuable part of our society. Our friends teach us new things and encourage us to move forward. They make us laugh and enjoy life. And I believe that being a good friend entails honesty, loyalty, and empathy.

Growing up, my mother would always show me the importance of being green. She'd take me all over nature, from deserts to forests, and from oceans to mountains, just teaching me to value nature. As I got older, I began to notice and watch people who destroyed our environment, people filled with laziness and anger as they threw their trash into the oceans. It made me resentful and angry, and although I do everything I can now to preserve our environment, it'll never be enough until corporate change happens. The impact I plan to leave on the world is to invent new recycling technologies that will be able to recycle nearly everything into some sort of usable material. The first step I need to take to get there is to go to college where I would study physics and chemistry, there I could have the resources and the knowledge to start trying to develop new technologies using chemistry. I'd try to tackle plastics first by developing them into different forms of carbon, such as graphite or even coal. Once I graduate, I'd go and start a recycling company. To do this, I would also pursue some education in business. Once I gather all the money and equipment, I'd start to collect trash from beaches, parks, and other natural places. I'd recycle them first into a new form of energy to power the machinery, so that my facility would become self-sufficient. Overall, my plan for leaving an impact on the world is to help protect our home so that we can use it for years to come. Although this will take a lot of work, I feel that it is necessary to figure out ways to reverse our horrible decisions. I will achieve this goal, one step at a time.

Throughout my education, I have been silenced by my peers and my teachers. I have ADHD, and because of my lack of focus, lots of my teachers ostracized me and labeled me as a distraction. I had to be separated from the rest of the group, was ridiculed by my instructors, and even blamed for things I didn’t do. My classmates viewed me as a “slacker” and never took me seriously. Even with having perfect grades and being selected to participate in my 8th grade leadership group, my peers and teachers continued to silence me in collaborative projects. This didn't stop me from putting my thoughts and opinions out there, and I participated (and continue to participate) in numerous school clubs, student councils, and most importantly, creative writing. Creative writing built up the confidence I needed to speak my mind and not let myself be silenced or shushed. I wrote poetry and stories illustrating my emotions to be a channel for me to be honest. Using writing, I continue to live honestly and stay true to myself and my own opinions. I always make sure that not only am I being heard, but I am also being understood and acknowledged. Since I started high school, I have been more honest with everyone and myself. I have felt so much better since I have been speaking my mind and not bottling up my emotions. Overall, despite the fact that I have been consistently silenced, I found a tool I needed to communicate my thoughts and build up my confidence. Being more true to myself helped me become a better student, a harder worker, and a better person overall.

Growing up, my mother would always show me the importance of being green. She'd take me all over nature, from deserts to forests, and from oceans to mountains, just teaching me to value nature. As I got older, I began to notice and watch people who destroyed our environment, people filled with laziness and anger as they through their trash into the oceans. It made me resentful and angry, and although I do everything I can now to preserve our environment, it'll never be enough until corporate change happens. The impact I plan to leave on the world is to invent new recycling technologies that will be able to recycle nearly everything into some sort of usable material. The first step I need to take to get there is to go to college where I would study physics and chemistry, there I could have the resources and the knowledge to start trying to develop new technologies using chemistry. I'd try to tackle plastics first by developing them into different forms of carbon, such as graphite or even coal. Once I graduate, I'd go and start a recycling company. To do this, I would also pursue some education in business. Once I gather all the money and equipment, I'd start to collect trash from beaches, parks, and other natural places. I'd recycle them first into a new form of energy to power the machinery, so that my facility would become self-sufficient. Overall, my plan for leaving an impact on the world is to help protect our home so that we can use it for years to come. Although this will take a lot of work, I feel that it is necessary to figure out ways to reverse our horrible decisions. I will achieve this goal, one step at a time.

Since I was little, my life goal has been to have my own business one day. I used to pace around my kitchen daydreaming about owning my business, what it would look like, and most importantly, what kind of owner I would be. I always wanted to be a businessman so that way I could help my community, greed has never been a factor in wanting to pursue this career goal. My ultimate dream business would be to own a recycling company, due to my intense value for the environment. My mom would take me to forests, deserts, beaches, lakes, rivers, and anything else that related to nature. The environment has a special place in my soul, and I would want a business or non-profit where my only goal would be to preserve and protect our environment and our home.

A simple pleasure that is meaningful to me is the rain. Being born and raised in Oregon, the rain is a part of my life, it is a symbol of home. The pitter-patter sound rain makes when it hits the ground will always relax me. The smell of freshly rained concrete reminds me of when I was a little boy playing outside with my neighborhood friends, knowing that it was time to go inside soon. The rain on my windshield reminds me of the night drives I took with my mother, just me and her. The rain always made me feel like I was not alone, that even when my mom was at work and school almost every single day and I had to stay with my grandmother because I lived in a single-parent home, the rain was always there for me. The rain is meaningful for me because it humbles me. It makes me remember to be grateful for the little things I often look over. I know that compared to Salem, Stanford doesn't get that much rain. But I'll always be reminded to be grateful when it does.

One investing tip I take seriously is to watch the volatility of certain stocks. When I first started investing, I bought stocks with high volatility without truly understanding what it meant. Because of this, I lost a lot of money in stocks and eventually stopped investing. Around seven months later, I purchased stocks from companies I already knew were established, again not understanding volatility, I bought stocks in Ford, GE, and Toyota. These companies had a low volatility score when I purchased them, and I ended up making a profit from them. After doing some research I understood how volatility worked, and why certain companies had a higher score than others. Although I like to take risks on start-ups with a high volatility score, I have been sticking to companies that have a lower score for the most part. This has helped me understand investing a lot. Overall, the investing tip I've taken to heart is to watch the volatility scores of stocks. And although it took me some trial and error to understand volatility, learning from my mistakes and learning about stocks made me a better and smarter investor.

One new technology that I am excited about is biodegradable plastic and plastic refining. Plastic has plagued our planet since its mass production after WWII in the 1950s and 1960s. It covers our lands, fills our oceans, and even dwells in our blood and our organs. There is no debate that plastic is a problem in our society, and biodegradable plastic and plastic degrading help solve this epidemic. Plastic degrading is the process of placing plastic waste in a furnace and breaking the plastic down until it turns into different products such as diesel, gasoline, and petroleum. Although converting plastic into gas does not reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it does reduce the need for fossil fuels such as oil. Melting plastic into gasoline or diesel ensures that we're using 100% of plastic's potential, not letting it go to waste after one use. I am excited about this new technology because I am passionate about sustainability and reducing plastic waste will benefit all of humanity. I am also incredibly excited about biodegradable plastic. Unlike plastic degrading, biodegradable plastic relies on nature to break itself down. Although most biodegradable plastics are made from plant materials, such as fatty acids, natural oils, and plant fibers, the biodegradable plastics I am most excited about are those that are still made from petroleum oil. These plastic don't reduce fossil fuel use, but they allow for biodegradable plastics to be used in places such as the food industry and medicine. These plastics are made from oil, but they can be broken down in water, or even degrade permanently through bacteria and fungi. I am excited about these plastics because they will change plastic waste by allowing it to biodegrade without removing single-use plastics. This way, supporters of plastic use can still have their plastic products and opposers of plastic can know that these products are not permanently hurting the Earth. Overall I am excited to see how society's innovation and technology can solve a problem that people in history did not foresee when creating plastic. My passion for sustainability and recycling is eager to watch these new technologies unfold and help free our planet from this massive problem. Biodegradable plastic and plastic degrading are the technologies that we are going to depend on in the future. In conclusion, I am excited about these because they solve an issue that I am passionate about.

One thing I am passionate about is music. Playing and creating music has been an activity I've been doing for as long as I can remember. Growing up, my mom always had instruments in the house, and she always played them. Watching her play the piano, the guitar, or even the drums, I sat down and I tried to replicate what she played. Over time I learned how to play these instruments fluently because I discovered my passion for playing music. Now, my mom and I play songs together, and it has created a lot of meaningful memories for me. My guitar has been my escape from the world, where nothing else matters but me and my guitar. It's as if the notes create a protective force field around me. Music has been how I translate my emotions into something powerful and has helped me deal with grief, loss, stress, and depression. When I'm playing music, I feel like my mind opens up, that there are no restrictions to myself. It is the only time where I feel like my mind is free. I believe that playing music is an activity where I flourish, because of how it makes me feel, because I am passionate about it and because it creates unforgettable memories with the people in my life who matter most.

I have had many friends over my life, and they have all taught me wonderful things about myself and about the world. And although some of those friendships ended because we grew apart or because we had disagreements, each one taught me the values I seek in a friend and what friendship means to me. In my experience, friendship means an equal and honest partnership. That means that each friend should listen and value each other’s emotions and feelings. I feel that especially amongst men, that friendships lack emotional support. Humanity was built on the ability to socialize, and resisting our emotions in friendships isn’t a healthy way to have a friend. Another thing I think friendships should include is honesty and loyalty. Every friendship should be built on trust, and if one friend constantly feels like the other is going to backstab them then these friendships aren’t healthy either. I have had my fair share of friendships where I am competing with my “friends” and they’re competing with me too. Competition beyond games or sports in friendships causes some conflicting feelings and in my case, lots of stress. Overall, I believe that friendships are a valuable part of our society. Our friends teach us new things and encourage us to move forward. They make us laugh and enjoy life. And I believe that being a good friend entails honesty, loyalty, and empathy.

Although I have a lot of love for classic literature, my favorite book will always be Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Even though the whole series of Scott Pilgrim will have a special place in my heart, I will always love the first one the most because of the memories I have with that book. I had a rough summer in 2019, which started when my grandmother was diagnosed with a life-threatening autoimmune disorder and had to be in the hospital for a month. When my grandma was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy (an autoimmune disease where the body releases an antibody into the kidneys and causes the kidneys to swell and scar - eventually causing kidney failure), I spent almost every single day at the hospital with her. Although it was bleak, I enjoyed spending time with her. In the hospital, I watched the movie adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim series and loved it. I did some research and found that the movie was a way for the author to explore different possibilities than what he wrote in the books. Wanting to see what the original story was, I ordered all six books and asked my mom to bring them to me at the hospital. The first book will always be my favorite because I cannot forget the emotion I felt when I opened it. I felt excited and felt a tingling in my fingers as I turned the pages. Reading that book allowed me to transport back and forth from my real-life situations to a world full of fighting, drama, and love. That book was there for me when it seemed that the universe was against me, and that is why it will always have a huge part in who I am as a person.