I believe that my desire to become an elementary school teacher stemmed because of my brothers. At the age of 4, I became a big sister, and from there on, I have loved helping others around me. Whether it be doing small acts of kindness or aiding them in a subject they needed a little extra assistance in, it made me happy to know that I, no matter how minor the action, was making an impact. I decided that I wanted to be an elementary school teacher because I soon realized that I love working with kids. Even with their young age, I can honestly say that we can learn from them just as much as they learn from us. The biggest reason for wanting to be a teacher is because I wanted to create a safe, loving environment where the kids could learn and thrive. I wanted to help them see learning as something fun, rather than a chore. I feel that having systems that will boost their self-esteem is a great tool to have in the classroom. Another important value I have is that I believe that being outside is an amazing thing. I think there is so much they can learn from and admire from it. I love seeing them running around and making new friends. When I am a teacher, I am going to make sure on nice days we have the opportunity to sit outside and feel the breeze and the warmth of the sun as we learn. I want to be a teacher that goes beyond the expectation for the children, teaching in my eyes, is much more than just standing in front of the classroom telling the kids what to do. I want to personally help every one of my students. If you truly love what you do, your occupation should never feel like a job. It should be something that makes you excited for the day and inspires you to be the best you can be. We have an opportunity to help shape their amazing futures and we owe the kids to give them a bright education. We get to keep the hope alive, the hope that they can be anything they want, that fear and limit are in the brain, and if we keep trying at what we want, we will be able to achieve it someday.

June 21, 2022, the day my world stopped. The day I lost my grandpa. A week before summer had officially begun, I was driving in the car with my dad. We pulled up to my house and my dad said he wanted to talk to me. He looked at me and said “Poppy had a heart attack. He’s okay but he’s going to spend some time in the hospital.” My heart sank, this wasn’t his first one but both the conversation and the air in the car felt heavier. I carried that news with me the entire week, a constant thought consuming my mind while I was trying to sit in school and prepare for the upcoming finals. I didn’t tell anyone because saying it aloud made it real and I think deep down I knew this time was different. The day before his passing I made burgers on the grill while listening to his favorite music. I was waiting for my mom’s arrival so I could go see him. When I walked into the hospital room, I felt my heart tighten. There were a lot more machines and tubes surrounding him than at any time before. He was complaining about the nurse who was helping him, making jokes and laughing. When it was time to leave, I told him I loved him. I had no idea my life would change in a matter of hours. I knew something was undeniably wrong when I walked outside after my last final and was not met by my dad in his car but by a text from him. It read “I have to leave and can’t pick you and Aby up. Please take the bus or walk. I am sorry.” Later that night I walked in to my dad by the door, my mom on the couch. I tried holding back my tears as I looked at my brothers who were blissfully unaware of the news to come. This experience has impacted me in more ways than one. I became saddened when I saw others with their grandfathers and big accomplishments didn’t feel as great, it was almost as if there was a damper on them because I couldn’t share them with him. Some days are better than others. Certain songs remind me of him and I feel desolate but other times I listen to his favorites because it reminds me of the last day he was still here. Grief is a funny thing, there is no “black or white” handbook on how to deal with it. I started leaving him notes, I wanted to talk to him in the hopes he was listening from above. One of the notes read, “I always imagined you sitting in the crowd as I walked across the stage and received my diploma and as I walked down the aisle but I know that life doesn’t always go accordingly.” It was a hard pill to swallow. I thought of him constantly, I saw him in everything I did. I see him in the people and places he loved and in pictures that the sky paints. I frequently get asked why I love sunrises and sunsets so much, for one, it's a reminder that no matter what happens, the sun will rise and set as always. And for all 365 sunrises and sunsets, I see new beginnings and ways to make him proud. From getting into colleges, to paving my dream of becoming a teacher, he's one of the most important motivators in my life. How lucky I am to have had him in my life.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Probably the biggest question we had to face when we were younger, aside from deciding what we wanted for dinner. Some kids would say, a chef, or policeman, pilot, or construction worker, me on the other hand, I always dreamed about becoming a teacher. I believe that this desire stemmed because of my brothers. At the age of 4, I became a big sister and from there on, I have loved helping others around me. Whether it be doing small acts of kindness or aiding them in a subject they needed a little extra assistance in, it made me happy to know that I, no matter how minor the action, was making an impact. I think the biggest thing I have had to overcome with this aspiration, is people telling me that I will never make a sustainable living so I tell them what teaching means to me. I want to be an elementary school teacher because I soon realized that I love working with kids. I love how their brains work, and I admire the “I can do it” attitude they have. I love their creative, curious minds and seeing them smile because I truly believe that they light up the room. I love how they're honest and truthful yet still kind and respectful of others. I love that as the year goes on, you get to see the kids break out of their shells and each of their unique characters shine through. I love seeing them running around, making new friends and memories that will stick with them as they grow. Even with their young age, I can honestly say that we can learn from them just as much as they learn from us. The biggest reason for wanting to be a teacher is because I wanted to create a safe, loving environment where the kids could learn and thrive. I wanted to help them see learning as something fun, rather than a chore. I believe that encouragement and praise, respect for everyone in the room, and having teachers who truly have a desire to be there are essential for kids to learn. I believe that having systems that will boost their self-esteem is a great tool to have in the classroom. Another important value I have is that I believe that being outside is an amazing thing. When I'm a teacher, I'm going to make sure on nice days we have the opportunity to sit outside and feel the breeze and the warmth of the sun as we learn. I want to be a teacher that goes beyond the expectation for the children, teaching in my eyes, is much more than just standing in front of the classroom telling the kids what to do. I want to personally help each and every one of my students. I truly believe that if you wholeheartedly love what you do, your occupation should never feel like a job. It should be something that makes you excited for the day and inspires you to be the best you can be. We have an opportunity to help shape their amazing futures and we owe the kids to give them a bright education. We get to keep the hope alive, the hope that they can be anything they want. That fear and limit are in the brain, and if we keep trying at what we want, we will be able to achieve it someday. I want to be someone who betters the world and makes a positive influence on those around me.

The captivating love triangle in some television shows presents viewers with a choice between two characters, but for me, the decision was clear from the start: Belly should end up with Conrad Fisher. As Stephen Brewster said, "details are the difference between good stuff and great stuff," and throughout the series, Jenny Han elaborately embeds pivotal details that allows me to make the conclusion that Conrad is the better brother for her. To start off with why he is the better option, in season one, it is evident that Conrad has always loved Belly, he just didn’t know how to state it. Instead, he did little acts to show it, like winning her Junior Mint from the carnival and quitting smoking for her. This is also shown in the volleyball tournament, in which he let her hit the winning ball because he knew how much it meant to her. In continuation, Conrad doesn't care who she ends up with, he just wants her to be happy. That's the reason he didn’t mention Susannah’s cancer, he didn’t want it to be anyone else’s burden. But even going through his hardships, he tried his best to make an effort to make her happy. He “didn’t fight for her” and told Belly that he didn't still love her in the hotel, to take away pain, whether that be from Susannah’s condition or from her making the decision of which brother she wanted to be with. Jenny Han also establishes these details by creating parallels. For example, when Belly and Conrad are talking on the phone, the moon is missing its other half. But if you look up at the sky when they’re sitting next to each other, the moon is full, which symbolizes how they complete each other. Another parallel is when Conrad grabs his heart when something happens with him and Belly. For example, when she’s talking to him while taking out the trash and says, “just friends?” It references how Conrad told Jeremiah that his heart physically hurt not being able to tell her that he loves her. One last parallel is through specific car positions and a broken promise. Belly and Taylor made a pact to not get back with their first love, but Taylor ends up dating Steven. In the car with him and her, and Milo, it’s the same positioning as Belly with Jeremiah and Conrad in the car. I am not the only person who pays attention to details. Conrad doesn’t need to wait for Belly to tell him what she wants, he knows and anticipates it. For example, when they are all in the car, Jeremiah looks at Belly and asks her if she was cold while Conrad just handed her the sweatshirt. It is also seen when Conrad and Jeremiah go into the store to pick up snacks, Conrad got her favorite without even thinking whereas Jeremiah picked up the candy he liked and assumed she liked it as well. Conrad loves her effortlessly, like it's second nature. This is even shown when everyone is helping Conrad study for his final, Belly throws a hamburger to Jeremiah, and he fumbles the catch. Conrad on the other hand catches it with ease. I believe this foreshadows how the relationships would be: Jere would have to work harder to make it work and yet still fail. At the end of the day, you can’t ignore your heart’s desires. Through Han’s effective detail planning it’s evident that Conrad’s the better choice. There’s not a doubt in my mind that they will end up together.

From the young age of 7, there wasn't a doubt in my mind what I wanted to be when I grew up: a teacher. Aside from the fact that I need to continue my education to achieve my dreams, I believe college can implement many things for someone and provide a variety of opportunities. Although college is not for everyone, I am excited to embark on this adventure because I will learn valuable information that will help me succeed not only in my career but also in life in general. I will be able to endeavor and do new things, and meet new people. I have a chance to make a new name for myself, discover the journey of independence and embark on the journey of the unknown and change that will come alongside it. Being a first-generation college student has its challenges. Between the piles of different colleges reaching out to me, and my school's guidance counselors coming to talk with us about college and the processes we had to go through, I felt very overwhelmed and stressed. I felt as if I knew nothing and that I had so little time to complete everything. So to take matters into my own hands, I attended all the financial aid seminars and the college readiness presentations. I started developing a guideline for my search for colleges and then I looked into and recorded different colleges that piqued my interest, and what they had to offer me. My next step was to keep a well-organized binder that was strictly for my college papers, it had broad information that every college required and then as you went further into the book, there were different sections for each college. Eventually, I started planning college trips and organized a whole list of questions I could ask to get further information that would ultimately help me decide between my options. Although they did not go to college, I am so grateful that I had the help of my parents to do this with me, who would go with me to every talk and drive 14 hours to take me to the college I was looking at. My dad gave very helpful advice, which was to go to the local community college, complete 2 years there and then transfer to the school of my choice. This is important to me because I will be paying for my education, as the cost of college does take its toll, and I do not want my parents to have to go through that. I hope that my techniques and work will help me aid my younger brothers in their journey if they decide to go to college.

From a very young age, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. In terms of a specific career, I figured out that I wanted to be a teacher in the first grade, in which I loved the idea of helping others out. But in general, I wanted to be someone who worked hard for the goals in my life, to contribute myself into doing good things, and to be someone that makes my parents proud as well as myself. My parents taught me so much and provided me with the ability to look up to them as my biggest role models. In particular, I learned from my dad that you need to work hard in life, nothing is just given to you because you want it. He taught me that everything I do, I should do with my best effort, not just the bare minimum. He used to tell me all the time "if you strive for perfection, you will obtain excellence". I learned my determination and my work ethic from him. With his advice, I got accepted into the National Honor Society as well as the National Technical Honor Society. My mom taught me how to put others first and how to be considerate. She taught me my empathy, consideration for others, and kindness. Without my parents, I wouldn’t be where I am today, and I am forever grateful that I grew up with such strong examples of what I should aspire to be and the character I have because of it. Growing up and still in current times, I have been described as being compassionate, kind, and self-sacrificing in which I always try to put others before me. In my high school, I am involved in the service club and Natural Helpers, which is a club that I had to be nominated by my peers and teachers to get into it. On weekends, I like to donate my time to give back to the community, which I learned from being in Girl Scouts from the age of 5. I believe it was an essential part of who I am today. Some of the community service events I have done recently include beach and community clean ups and participating in the Polar Plunge in which I raised over $500 to send someone to take part in the Special Olympics. For the past three years, I have organized a safe Halloween room in my school and created games for the kids to play. I received many compliments from parents for the creativity of the room and praises for making the room more than just handing out candy to the children. I have also become an assistant coach for elementary-level kids as a volunteer with my father to teach the kids new information and make it, to the best of our abilities, a fun experience for them. It truly warms my heart when I see someone happy so I try to give back to others whenever I can, whether that is exchanging a simple simple, donating school supplies, giving them winter supplies or collecting nonperishable food for them. One of my favorite things to do around the holidays is go to stores with my little brothers where we each pick out our own basket filled with toys we then give to children who aren't as fortunate. If someone is having a bad day or is in a disheartening situation, I hope that doing these acts, maybe it will bring light into their day

To feeling of being forgotten is something I would never wish to anyone. A lyric that resigns to me from Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘GUTS’ album is from the song “the grudge”. She sang “And we both drew blood, but man, those cuts were never equal”. From the moment I heard this song, I immediately got attached to it. I cried the first time I heard this song because it embodied all the feelings I had losing my best friend. We had been friends since first grade, 10 years. It was the kind of friendship that came out of nowhere, but came with the feeling that we were in it together for the long haul. She was my courage, she stood up to people for me because I didn’t have the heart to stand up for myself. Her family became mine, and mine hers. I would always joke that she held the title for my parents’ “favorite child”. She was there through my highest highs and my lowest lows - the passings of my childhood dogs, my elderly neighbor, who was like a grandmother to me, and my grandfather. She was there supporting me when my sister had to move upstate with her mom. We could face anything the world through at us as long as we had each other. Then last year, in the beginning of March, everything changed. It started out as little things, things like not waiting by my desk after the bell in social studies and then the slow recession of her responses in messages. One day I decided to take the initiative and text her to see what was wrong. She replied with a long paragraph back and ended it by saying “I’m not mad at you, and I obviously still love you”… We took the bus together to go to an out-of-school program and even after our conversation, things still felt out of place. I texted her again in hopes that it could repair what was slowly crumbling in front of me. She then said that she didn’t think we needed to talk everyday, that she felt like some things I was saying were just unnecessary conversation. A piece of me broke but I was willing to do anything to fix the friendship. So I decided that to give her some peace and quiet, like she wanted, I would wait for her to start up the discussion. That way it would eliminate the “useless information” and not have me talk so much. I waited and waited but the conversation never started up again. By week two of that process, I became so nervous and anxious because I didn’t know how to pick things up again, I didn’t know what she wanted to hear anymore. I didn’t understand how I was so insignificant, so forgetful to her. I spent my bus rides looking at the window crying, and I believe she knew that and simply did not care enough to say anything. Some nights cried myself to sleep. When I would see her or even heard her name, I got this gut wrenching feeling, one that tore me apart. Here in front of me was this girl who knew all my secrets, who I truly believed my kids would call “aunt”, who I thought I had forever with. I get notifications about memories reels from previous years, when she pops up, I still wonder how everything ended the way it did. I learned a valuable lesson that those who really love you stay, no matter what. She may have lost a friend, but I lost a soulmate.

I believe that my desire to become an elementary school teacher stemmed because of my brothers. At the age of 4, I became a big sister and from there on, I have loved helping others around me. Whether it be doing small acts of kindness or aiding them in a subject they needed a little extra assistance in, it made me happy to know that I, no matter how minor the action, was making an impact. I decided that I wanted to be an elementary school teacher because I soon realized that I love working with kids. I love how their brains work, and I admire the “I can do it” attitude they have. I love their creative, curious minds and seeing them smile because I truly believe that they light up the room. I love how they are honest and truthful yet still kind and respectful of others. I love that as the year goes on, you get to see the kids break out of their shells and each of their unique characters shine through. I love seeing them running around, making new friends and memories that will stick with them as they grow up. Even with their young age, I can honestly say that we can learn from them just as much as they learn from us. The biggest reason for wanting to be a teacher is because I wanted to create a safe, loving environment where the kids could learn and thrive. I wanted to help them see learning as something fun, rather than a chore. I believe that encouragement and praise, respect for everyone in the room, and having teachers who truly have a desire to be there are essential for kids to learn. I believe that having systems that will boost their self-esteem is a great tool to have in the classroom. Another important value I have is that I believe that being outside is an amazing thing. I think there is so much they can learn from and admire from it. I love seeing them running around and making new friends. When I am a teacher, I am going to make sure on nice days we have the opportunity to sit outside and feel the breeze and the warmth of the sun as we learn. I want to be a teacher that goes beyond the expectation for the children, teaching in my eyes, is much more than just standing in front of the classroom telling the kids what to do. I want to personally help each and every one of my students. I truly believe that if you truly love what you do, your occupation should never feel like a job. It should be something that makes you excited for the day and inspires you to be the best you can be. We have an opportunity to help shape their amazing futures and we owe the kids to give them a bright education. We get to keep the hope alive, the hope that they can be anything they want, that fear and limit are in the brain, and if we keep trying at what we want, we will be able to achieve it someday. The things that are now and always be my biggest motivating factors in my life are being someone my siblings can look up to, someone my parents can be proud of, and the responsibility to myself to put my best efforts forward. I want to be someone who betters the world and makes a positive impact on those around me.

I believe that my desire to become an elementary school teacher stemmed because of my brothers. At the age of 4, I became a big sister and from there on, I have loved helping others around me. Whether it be doing small acts of kindness or aiding them in a subject they needed a little extra assistance in, it made me happy to know that I, no matter how minor the action, was making an impact. I decided that I wanted to be an elementary school teacher because I soon came to the realization that I love working with kids. I love how their brains work, and I admire the “I can do it” attitude they have. I love their creative, curious minds and seeing them smile because I truly believe that they light up the room. I love how they are honest and truthful yet still kind and respectful of others. I love that as the year goes on, you get to see the kids break out of their shells and each of their unique characters shine through. I love seeing them running around, making new friends and memories that will stick with them as they grow up. Even with their young age, I can honestly say that we can learn from them just as much as they learn from us. The biggest reason for wanting to be a teacher is because I wanted to create a safe, loving environment where the kids could learn and thrive. I wanted to help them see learning as something fun, rather than a chore. I believe that encouragement and praise, respect for everyone in the room, and having teachers who truly have a desire to be there are essential for kids to learn. I believe that having systems that will boost their self-esteem is a great tool to have in the classroom. Another important value I have is that I believe that being outside is an amazing thing. I think there is so much they can learn from and admire from it. I love seeing them running around and making new friends. When I am a teacher, I am going to make sure on nice days we have the opportunity to sit outside and feel the breeze and the warmth of the sun as we learn. I want to be a teacher that goes beyond the expectation for the children, teaching in my eyes, is much more than just standing in front of the classroom telling the kids what to do. I want to personally help each and every one of my students. I truly believe that if you truly love what you do, your occupation should never feel like a job. It should be something that makes you excited for the day and inspires you to be the best you can be. We have an opportunity to help shape their amazing futures and we owe the kids to give them a bright education. We get to keep the hope alive, the hope that they can be anything they want, that fear and limit is in the brain, and if we keep trying at what we want, we will be able to achieve it someday. The things that are now and always be my biggest motivating factors in my life are being someone my siblings can look up to, someone my parents can be proud of, and the responsibility to myself to put my best efforts forward. To achieve my goals, I babysit, and coach elementary-level kids, and have been going to H.B. Ward Technical Center since 2022 till present times.