Winston Churchill once didactically stated that "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." This assertion holds true in my own life, for like many I have experienced successes and failures. Yet, despite hardships that could have held me back, I have always persevered and I can see the results today produced by my efforts along my journey in life. The story of my life has not unfolded in the "traditional" manner. As a young girl of four years, I lost my mother. When I was eight years old, my father remarried, and life seemed to gain a normal traction again. However, this was only the calm before the storm. In quite the literal sense, I became another Cinderella, another victim to the evil stepmother trope. Life as I knew it morphed drastically as my stepmother plucked at the strings of my family’s formerly tight bonds. Slowly these bonds loosened. Something had to give, and alas it was the relationships between us that ruptured. More and more they deteriorated, so much so that in the form of disciplinary action I was confined to my room- which was stripped bare- for the majority of one summer. I could not go into the vibrant sun, see friends, visit family. There was no entertainment, no communication, no fun. My meager supply of food- my only sustenance- sat miserably on a single bookshelf. That was the culmination of many years of turmoil and changes in my life. A few weeks into my sixth grade year CYS stepped in, a manifestation of a guardian angel liberating me from my prison. I was on the verge of my twelfth birthday, leaving behind instability for the security provided by the shelter of my loving grandparents. Suffice to say, disruption interfered with many areas of my life, particularly in the area of education. Throughout the course of these harrowing experiences, I moved houses six times and schools four times. Learning to adapt and move on became my strength, and my character was fortified by this development. I had never truly been one dedicated to school, but I found that school provided means of escape. Soon I wholeheartedly delved into my education. For the last six years, I have lived with my grandparents. They immediately accepted me upon being notified of the urgent need of my removal from my father and stepmother. Both have unswervingly encouraged me, provided for me, and built me up. It is partly because of their influence in my life that I have been able to heal from my past and mature into who I am today as a person, student, and athlete. Now, I am ranked third in my graduating class of a little under 400 students. What had been planted as a seed during those years of tribulation sprouted when caring people liberated me from the pains of my past. I grew in patience and mental endurance, since I had to occupy myself with extremely little. My perspective on the simple things in life morphed from casual indifference to great appreciation, for one cannot discredit the emotional power that a basic blanket holds when they have gone without one for months. Resilience has played a key factor throughout my life, from my earliest years without a mother to today when I must every day employ the skills I have sharpened through experience and education. So, I can say that my greatest achievement is transforming from a traumatized and hurt pre-teen into a college-bound, tenacious young adult who is third in her class. But this is purely superficial and matters little in the grand scheme of life. My true greatest achievement is being the person I am today, a person whose character is not marred by her past anguish and scars; a person whose attitude does not reflect bitterness for what has happened during her formative years; a person whose new situation in life boasts a number of opportunities despite many components of her life having been rent apart. I have never allowed what occurred in my life and what transpired against me to limit me or my pursuits. Utilizing what I have learned about myself and my capabilities, I can confidently walk into whatever my future has in store knowing that I can overcome, for I am an overcomer.

Once when I was a young girl, I had a dream. This dream was like many others, a compelling blend of the reality of the waking world and the fantastical imagination of the sleeping mind. Dreams are powerful, for they can conjure up such crazy yet realistic scenarios even when there is little familiarity with a particular subject. At that point in my life, I had not yet entered the intriguing fandom of Star Wars. But since this franchise had so permeated society and had become such an integral component of pop-culture, I was at least familiar with the appearances of certain characters. Take Darth Vader for instance. In my dreaming state, I awakened and saw that I was still laying on my bed, still touched by the rosy hue of all my pink room accessories. Little did I know that this tranquility would soon be violently disrupted by none other than Darth Vader. My bedroom door swished open, clacking against the wall. I screeched in terror, huddling into the corner of my room with a childishly pink blanket clutched in my little fists as a shield. It would have been extremely useless if this scenario were real and not a figment of my sleeping mind. Clunk, clunk, clunk. His ominous, heavy boots treaded over my soft carpet. His characteristic inhale and exhale flooded my ears with fear-inspiring noise. And his arms, how horrible his arms were. His arms were stretched out in front of him, parallel to the floor. The worlds had collided. Darth Vader was a zombie! With this ghastly figure making its way towards me, all I could manage was another choked scream. But my savior arrived! My babysitter had charged up the stairs and burst through the threshold of my room. In her hands was a broom tightly gripped, ready for action. She quickly assessed the situation, jumped into combat, and commenced beating the zombified Darth Vader with her mighty cleaning tool. I stared at this strange scene from behind my blanket-shield. I thought, "Could this really be happening?" Yet here it was right in front of me: the battle of the century. I witnessed my sweet babysitter transform into a Jedi-class broom-wielder, and I was the spectator to the bristly demise of the evil sith. Peering back in my mind to this event, I can only imagine how bewildered I must have felt upon reentering the tangible world. There was no Darth Vader, no babysitter, no maniacal broom. Just the same old pink glow warming the room, fighting back the shadows of a late afternoon slumber. So strange was this dream that it has left a lasting impression throughout my life, leaving a residue of vivid images on my brain. Sweet dreams are not made of unicorns and marshmallows. Sweet dreams are made of good triumphing over evil in the form of a broom beating down a villain.

Thwip! Thwip! This is the well-recognized and warmly beloved sound of ingeniously manufactured "spider"-webs being released from technology crafted by Peter Parker's own nerdy hands. But this Peter Parker isn't just any of the Peter Parkers, for this particular embodiment is manifested in the being of Tom Holland. Tom Holland is my favorite actor to have taken on the persona of high school nerd Peter Parker and friendly neighborhood hero Spiderman. His personality refreshes the character with a more youthful vibe and appearance, and the situation of his character as being under the tutelage of Tony Stark adds more depth to the character of Peter Parker and the events in his life. The opportunity of being an unofficial Avenger, at least in the earlier movies, allows for the "friendly neighborhood Spiderman" to be tested even more, and each time Holland's Peter Parker manages to make things right. His boisterous personality and humorous quips to friends and foes alike create joy in viewers, and his balance of school life and relationships with his side job of superhero-ing evokes admiration in fans. He is the personification of daring, tenacity, compassion, loyalty, and selflessness. Spiderman has always been an inspiring figure, and the way in which Tom Holland represents the teenage hero is spot on, in my opinion, and truly brings the character to life.

Serving others is a valuable investment not only to those who receive the service, but also to the one who serves. Volunteer experience is an eye-opening opportunity to make this very kind of investment. To volunteer is essentially saying that the service and the people who are served are more worthy of the time, money, and energy that is spent by the ones who chose to serve. It is placing a higher value on a cause other than oneself and one's own pursuits. It is a physical manifestation of caring. In the past few years of high school and even a little in middle school, I have enjoyed each chance I have had to volunteer my time for my church, my community, and my school. For my church, I joined two mission trips, one going to Athens, Ohio and the other to New York City. It was in these places that I engaged myself in serving local residents through home service projects, food services, and simpler but no less valuable acts of kindness. From this experience, I caught a glimpse at how serving individuals who didn't expect to be served can evoke a smile and light-heartedness. I value the ability to lighten the load for those around me, and I strive to continue this throughout my life. Bringing light into dark situations can make such a great impact, and I love being a part of that. In my community, I served two different weeks at a summer day camp for younger kids at Powdermill Nature Reserve, a branch of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Among my responsibilities, I assisted the adult camp leaders with monitoring the campers in the classroom and out in nature, prepared nature-related arts and crafts projects, and set an example for how to appropriately appreciate plants and animals. In this particular volunteer experience, I was investing in the future generation not only with my time, but with how I acted. I had to set an example for interacting, behaving, and being responsible. I aspire to always illustrate a good image, whether it occurs in my athletic, academic, volunteer, or professional experiences. In the present and in the future, no matter where I am or what I am doing, I desire to be someone people can look up to as someone with admirable character. Furthermore, I have volunteered for activities in my high school including cleaning up the campus, creating holiday cards for older individuals in a local nursing home, and visiting the district's elementary schools to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday with the kids. For each of these activities, I worked as a team with other students to accomplish our mission to beneficially affect the surrounding nature and community. Teamwork and communication are vital to so many things in life, and I always celebrate the opportunity to practice these skills because I know how advantageous it is to possess both assets in my future career and life in general. The core values I reflected on are only a brief list of all the various attributes and qualities I have developed and gained an appreciation for since volunteering. Using these past experiences and the future ones I am sure will come, I can better prepare for my future and continue to work toward my goals.

We each tend to and care for a place we call home, whether it be a house, townhouse, apartment, trailer, or maybe even something else. But what about the home for our homes? Nature, or the environment, is the host of our dwellings. Even if there is an absence of trees, as may happen in a city setting, nature is still there. It is present in every inhale of fresh air. It is present in every ray of sunshine. It is present in every puddle of rain. We may live in places that close us off from these things, but the outside world cannot be ignored for it is what sustains the very lives we cherish. So, it only makes sense that we must nurture what nurtures us. It is a mutualistic relationship. For my part, I have volunteered to participate in various activities to do what I can to advocate for and protect nature. On two separate occasions, I volunteered at Powdermill Nature Reserve, an operation of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. It was there, during two different weeks in two separate summers, that I took part in cultivating an appreciation for nature in younger generations. My responsibilities were to assist the adult day camp leaders with monitoring the children in the classroom setting and the nature trails, preparing nature-related arts and crafts projects, and demonstrating through my example how people should respect plants and animals. In turn, the campers gained a sense of wonder for the environment and some of its processes, and it is hoped that they, too, will someday advocate for nature in their own ways. By doing this, I invested at least eighty hours of my summer vacation to not only treasure nature for myself but to instill the same sentiment in the generations of tomorrow. Furthermore, I engaged in scholastic activities to promote the stewardship of the environment. I joined my high school's Science National Honor Society during my sophomore year, and now as a rising senior I have participated in two annual campus cleanups sponsored by this society. During these events, I worked with several other society members to scour the grounds of our school and to eliminate litter. As a result, the surrounding nature was able to shine as it was meant to without the fetters of carelessly-strewn trash. With regard to the message I would plant on a flag at a mountaintop, I would say "You are enough. Keep going." I feel that in this day and age, so many people need to hear that they are enough. For those who struggle with mental or physical health issues, relationship struggles, family conflicts, stress, anxiety, or any other challenge, it seems like all they can see are the walls of a very tall valley. The sun can't reach in, so they cannot see a way out. Chill winds may blow through whispering hideous falsities, making the valley walls higher and the peaks unreachable. The struggle is real. Making it to the mountaintop, whether a physical or figurative one, is difficult and taxing, but the reward is so great. For those who struggle with whatever they struggle with, to finally stand on top and finally conquer what they had to conquer is paramount to reaching the summit of their mountain. They've made it that far, which in itself is a marvelous victory. But everything would be a waste if they were to stagnate atop that peak. There are always higher or greater mountains to climb, so we each must recognize who we are, what we have accomplished, and how we must persist.

"Spartans on three! One! Two! Three! SPARTANS!!!" Yeah, that was not something I imagined I would be saying, or rather screaming like a banshee, alongside ten or so other hyped-up girls. As an introverted, quiet, slightly timid high school sophomore, interacting with my extroverted, loud, obviously self-confident peers was quite something. But that was all part of my tennis experience and personal development. By becoming part of the tennis team, I learned to emerge from my figurative shell and engage with strangers, many of whom are now closer friends. Tennis is a community, and my tennis team is an even closer community to me. In this community, I have improved my socialization skills and have since applied them whenever meeting new people at summer camps or in brief encounters. I no longer feel so suffocated when faced with a new situation with new people. And as this skill continues to grow, the future will not be so scary because I will be armed with greater confidence cultivated through tennis. Furthermore, by joining the tennis team and committing myself to the sport, I have bettered my capacity to persevere despite inside or outside influences. In many of my matches, I am the one ahead in the score, so I feel secure and self-assured. But for those times when I am not that person, my inner "voices" start belittling me and whispering my failures to me. And then there are those matches where the family, friends, or team of my opponent are giving more vocal support or even cheering when I am the player who makes a mistake. It is in these moments that I am harshly stung and burned. It is in these moments that I feel like the world, and even myself, is working against me. And it is in these moments that I have to choose to either give in to those disturbances or to let them roll off like water off a duck's back. Today, I am not perfect in this. But I can say that I have progressed. And I am determined to press forward and to strengthen my attitude and mental fortitude. With these improvements, I can go to my future matches and not allow myself to be shaken. For many people my age, the discovery of a personal passion took place years ago during their childhood years. But for me, it was only during my freshman year of high school that I finally discovered my true passion: tennis. Through the years as a child and up through middle school, I took little stints into various activities. I tried my hand at gymnastics, competitive swimming, soccer, baton twirling, trumpet, and French horn. Nothing lasted. Tennis was different, however, and I have been passionately pursuing it these past few years and it is something I actually desire to continue doing throughout my life. Tennis taught me how to be truly zealous for something and how that feeling feels. So for the future, I will keep playing tennis because I love doing it and I will be able to identify the things that I genuinely enjoy. Tennis has truly been the experience of a lifetime, and the lessons and qualities I have gained from taking part in this sport make the experience all the more valuable.