Social media has been around throughout my generation's lives and has impacted us greatly. I am very passionate about discussing the cons of social media. I have never had social media platforms, including in high school. While it was hard at times not to have it, because everyone else had it, I did feel that my mental health and self-esteem were not as low as many individuals I know who were on the apps. Social media is intentionally addictive and it capitalizes upon the most vulnerable and underdeveloped brains, mainly teenagers. This is a concern because this is an important time for youths' brains to develop, and instead, they are getting drawn into technology. It also messes with the youths' sense of reality and self-growth because they believe their real life and their social media life are interchangeable. We must create a solid line between the virtual and real world. In doing so we can prevent lots of insecurities. One way to do this would be by having influencers admit that the photos seen online are edited and not realistic. That is one possible solution to combating the insecurities made by looking at social media. Another issue is how invasive social media is. Every time a person gets on social media, it uses an algorithm to keep you engaged and if people knew the amount of private data stored on users, even teens and kids, it would scare every adult and child. When someone likes a post, skips a post, uploads photos, and follows people it is giving the company vital information about that person. This is considered personal data and the social media apps plug your data into the algorithm and create posts that will keep you engaged. With that, it is easier for scammers to get ahold of your data by hacking social media. Now aside from the online issues caused by social media, there are loads of effects on individuals' mental health. One example of the mental health issues that are cause for concern is the proven side effects that happen to teens, teen girls especially. Many studies are showing that teen girls feel insecure, depressed, and anxious because of FOMO. FOMO is the fear of missing out and social media provides more opportunities to feel left out because you can see posts of friends hanging without you. Feeling insecure is also very common because teen girls will compare themselves to these unrealistic images online. Overall, social media creates unrealistic and dangerous societal standards and feelings. When an individual is on social media, they constantly compare themselves to others and this causes loads of self-doubt and low self-image. The reason that suicide and mental health issues have been prominent is partially to blame on social media. This is not only because of the reasons I previously mentioned but there is also bullying and harassment. Another thing of concern is that we as a society are losing our abilities to communicate. I believe social media is partly to blame for the lack of communication skills and the fact that people can not have something to do because of the ability to interact with people without even having to talk. Social media has greatly affected connecting with people in real life and we need to focus on the real-life relationships, not the online ones.

I am an upcoming sophomore at Rhodes College and have had a passion for music since I was little. Throughout my life, I have used music as an outlet. I participated in choirs, including the Allstate choir, and in high school I was the chamber choir president. I am a very passionate music lover and performer, and I have always been interested in how the human brain and music work together. Music is important to society because music is a language that connects everyone in the world. It can change the way you perceive things and affect your emotions. I am constantly listening to or singing music, no matter what my emotion is and I am fascinated by this. What makes the music so moving? Is it something about the tones and pitches? I want to learn the answers to these questions and more. This is why I am focusing on both of these in my academic life. I am declaring as a Music and Business major with a minor in Music. I believe I would succeed in the music industry field because not only am I an active musician, but I am creative, resourceful, a hard worker and I am passionate. At Rhodes, I am involved in many activities through both school and outside of school. First, I am on a music scholarship at Rhodes college and am involved with Rhodes Singers. We rehearse four times a week and have performed all over Memphis, Tennessee. This has been an amazing experience and I am looking forward to continuing my time in choir for the next two years. I am also an active member in “Lipstick on Your Collar” which is Rhodes college female acapella group. I am the only freshman who made it this current year and have found it to be a creative outlet. I get to create my own voice part and am applying to be the music director for next year. On top of the performance groups, I am taking voice lessons that are helping me build up my skills and repertoire. My last in school activity is REP, I mentioned this earlier, but I have been involved the majority of my freshman year and am planning on continuing it. It is one of the most empowering music activities I have done. I feel like I am making a difference in the children I am teaching lives through music and I can’t express how I feel knowing I am bringing music to their lives. Outside of school, I sing in my church's contemporary band. I did it during my highschool years, but now I sing with them during the summers. It has become one of my favorite parts of summer. As I mentioned earlier, music is such an important part of society because it is one of the few things that can bring people of all backgrounds together. Music brings people together and holds memories. For me, I have always loved R&B, because this is the music genre I grew up on because my dad would play this genre throughout my childhood. It is very nostalgic for me to listen to. Music brings people joy regardless of the emotion you feel. Music brings out the most raw parts of individuals which is what makes it so important.

I am hoping to go into the mental health/psychology career path for many reasons. One of my goals is to help people with mental health illnesses and improve their lives. This is important to me because I have seen firsthand how impactful mental illness is on people. I have worked with homeless shelters and even got to shadow in a mental health facility which showed me how important proper care is. That is why I want to go into this career. I want to improve and motivate people suffering from mental health issues and help them learn that they are not alone. I have witnessed family members suffering from substance abuse, gambling disorder, and even bipolar disorder. These illnesses are significantly impactful on the individual and the people in that person's life. I want to help these people overcome their illnesses so that they can live their lives without feeling owned by their mental health issues. In the end, we as a country are experiencing a mental health crisis and I want to help aid the individuals suffering. No one should have to feel like they are crazy or unlovable due to their mental issues they can't control. I hope to help individuals grow forward and achieve the life they hope to have.