Each time I step out onto my home soccer field at Gonzaga Prep, I am bold. To others playing the game of soccer is not a risk, but after a season ending knee injury, to me it is. After months of rehab I am confident and courageous and take that field with my entire heart, knowing my seventeen best friends will back me up. I show my abilities to a take risk for the entire school as I step out and do what I love. I am brave and no longer afraid of a career ending injury, I am Bold.

After spending a long day at St. Thomas More school, the elementary and middle school I attended for ten years, I walked over to my grandpa's house. He lived in the backyard of my school, sharing a fence with the school property. There were four different sets of playgrounds but I always chose to play on the firetruck, alone or with friends, just so I could look into the window and see my grandpa smile toward me. Each day as I walked to my grandpa’s house I wondered what we were going to draw. Besides from being a dentist my grandpa was an artist, but only for his grandchildren. Him and I bonded over a drawing as little as a hippo or a sculpture as large as a spaceship. I stood in awe each time he drew, it brought me peace at such a young age. I copied every drawing he drew. As both our pencils hit the paper, I followed him, line by line or curve by curve in the silence of his home. After my grandpa passed, I no longer drew. I did not enjoy drawing alone, yet others may believe it is peaceful. To find peace I would sit outside my lake cabin, just as my grandpa did every summer day. Although I no longer drew I still loved looking at art and putting new pieces together. But starting freshman year of high school I had to take an Art class. It was mostly drawing which I was not a fan of. I did the assignments but never found much joy in the class. I only enjoyed laughing with my friends as we accidentally colored outside the lines. One assignment, we had to design a building, my building was like no other, the landscaping and exterior designing was as well designed as a professional. I began to watch house flipping shows, and interior and exterior designing shows as they were very intriguing. I would download apps on my ipad and begin creating houses from ground up. I took every detail into consideration even though I was just designing houses for fun. In the process of remodeling the lake house, my parents ask for the interior design advice before making any purchases. Whether it is the shade of paint, the design of the wood floors, the color of the curtains or the style of door knobs, they know I have an eye for interior design. In the future I hope to graduate from either Baylor University or Texas A&M - commerce with a major in interior and exterior design and a minor in business. I plan to start a business and open a company where I will build and flip houses on pieces of land in Texas or Washington. I will hire onsite architects and landscapers as I grow a business. At clients' requests, I will design their dream houses where they can begin creating their lives to a place they will eventually call home.

After spending a long day at St. Thomas More school, the elementary and middle school I attended for ten years, I walked over to my grandpa's house. He lived in the backyard of my school, sharing a fence with the school property. There were four different sets of playgrounds but I always chose to play on the firetruck, alone or with friends, just so I could look into the window and see my grandpa smile toward me. Each day as I walked to my grandpa’s house I wondered what we were going to draw. Besides from being a dentist my grandpa was an artist, but only for his grandchildren. Him and I bonded over a drawing as little as a hippo or a sculpture as large as a spaceship. I stood in awe each time he drew, it brought me peace at such a young age. I copied every drawing he drew. As both our pencils hit the paper, I followed him, line by line or curve by curve in the silence of his home. After my grandpa passed, I no longer drew. I did not enjoy drawing alone, yet others may believe it is peaceful. To find peace I would sit outside my lake cabin, just as my grandpa did every summer day. Although I no longer drew I still loved looking at art and putting new pieces together. But starting freshman year of high school I had to take an Art class. It was mostly drawing which I was not a fan of. I did the assignments but never found much joy in the class. I only enjoyed laughing with my friends as we accidentally colored outside the lines. One assignment, we had to design a building, my building was like no other, the landscaping and exterior designing was as well designed as a professional. I began to watch house flipping shows, and interior and exterior designing shows as they were very intriguing. I would download apps on my ipad and begin creating houses from ground up. I took every detail into consideration even though I was just designing houses for fun. In the process of remodeling the lake house, my parents ask for the interior design advice before making any purchases. Whether it is the shade of paint, the design of the wood floors, the color of the curtains or the style of door knobs, they know I have an eye for interior design. In the future I hope to graduate from either Baylor University or Texas A&M - commerce with a major in interior and exterior design and a minor in business. I plan to start a business and open a company where I will build and flip houses on pieces of land in Texas or Washington. I will hire onsite architects and landscapers as I grow a business. At clients' requests, I will design their dream houses where they can begin creating their lives to a place they will eventually call home.

Pursuing a higher education means more to me than just earning a degree. It means being accepting by the community, those in my dorm, those on my soccer team, the professors, those in the cafeteria, etc. In the future I will strive to help all those in the community feel welcomed. My goals are to open up a sports medicine clinic and start a business. I will be the leader and demonstrate to the coworkers how to be accepting of everyone in the community. Growing up I was always into sports. I did every sport imaginable, from softball to soccer to cross country, even to golf. I grew up in a basketball family, both my parents played beyond their years and still play pickup here and there. There was a lot of pressure on me to be the best on the team, I would practice hours, daily. At age 6 I started playing soccer, I always played for fun. My hobby was soccer, but my sport was basketball. In basketball I was pushed to the limits, by my parents and coaches. Many tears were shed day in and day out. I played soccer to relax myself, I was always smiling. My parents did not understand soccer. Therefore, they would never punish me after a bad game, it was within myself where I strived to help myself grow. I fell in love with soccer in high school. I always had fun, there was never pressure on me because it was just for fun. I had the best teammates, we were undefeated until the championship game of the state playoffs. I was good tactically at playing the game, but I was a better teammate. I always encouraged others, I welcomed the underclassmen, I set long term and short term goals for myself and within our team, I was a leader and role model. From then on I knew I wanted to be the leader in the future, not to be in control, but rather to help lead those in positive ways in their lives. I hope to remain in sports education and start a business that allows me to teach younger generations the importance of finding love on the field, within oneself. I am passionate about helping others find love in the game as I did. To not feel the pressure and show others what it means to have multiple families, on the field and in one's home.

Growing up my parents took me and my brothers to church every Sunday. We attended a private elementary and middle school so that religion could be taught to us. I always prayed before I ate, and before I went to bed. I must admit, it was a habit. Praying is never a bad thing, but as I look back on it now, seven year old me never knew who God really was. She was taught in grade school that he died on the cross to save us, and that you can always talk to him when you need help, but she never understood truly who he was. In the beginning of high school my parents began to fade away from the church. They no longer believed it was good for us to go because of their personal experiences they had been through. I attended a private Jesuit high school, Gonzaga Preparatory, and was still going to church every Friday and had religion class daily. I started and ended my day with prayer, but once again I never fully knew who God was. My junior year of high school, during a soccer game, I took a blow to my knee. I was out for my entire season. Soccer, my passion, my deepest love, my safe zone, it all was taken away from me. I was always taught that God was in charge of everything that happens, so I blamed him for taking away the love of my life from me. Not a day went by when I was not mad at God for making me suffer by watching my teammates play the game I loved, when I had to sit on the sidelines and cheer them on with a fake smile on my face. A couple of months went on, but I was still stuck in a dark hole, I was holding onto a burden. Through my school I attended a retreated called Search. Where we practice the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatious. During this retreated I got to take time to myself and process everything that has happened to me over the past months. My peers and leaders on the retreated shared their stories of when they were struggling, they too were holding onto a burden and felt as if no one was listening. In the time I realized I was not alone. God sent me friends to surround me and show me love during a time when I needed it most. Just as he sent Jesus 12 disciples. After that retreat Covid hit, the world was broken, but God's light still shined in me. I realized for the first time all the good in our world. I turned the negatives into positives. I read the Bible daily and noticed how it spoke to me. I began to go to church on my own and thank God for giving me this path of life. For the first time in 17 years I finally knew what it meant when people told me that everything happens for a reason. I knew even in darkness it is possible to create light.

As we lost the state championship soccer game in penalty kicks I was wrapped around my powerful, strong, and loving teammates. Together we are one, my team and I may go through adversity and hardships together, but it is how we respond to those situations that make us stronger. I am strong, I need to be there for my teammates as they are always there for me. Not one woman can get through it on their own, but together we can. In todays society woman are taken down, especially in social media. Together we must fight back and be the leaders to the younger generation of girls who are looking up to us. Alex Morgan, best female athlete, now a mother. She was told to quit soccer and take care of her child, Morgan did not listen, she is strong, women can do both. She strives on and of the field, as a mother and a wife. But Morgan did not realize that on her own, her team made her strong. Her teammates took care of her child on the sideline, her mother in the stands. Together us women must stand tall, we are brave, we are strong. Not one alone, but together.

A quote that sticks out to me is “motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you going” by Jim Ryan. This quote sticks out to me because motivation is a tool to help one achieve success and is the way someone can start new goals. In the end discipline is how one will achieve their ultimate goal. For example, I love soccer. What keeps me motivated is the fact that I get to play in college and that essentially I am getting paid to play the sport I love. I must still be disciplined with my workouts and diet in order to maintain my success. I cannot get off track by being influenced by others who have negatives impacts on me. I must practice what I preach because I am a leader and others look up to me as their role model.