I glanced out from my hiding spot underneath my dad’s gargantuan work desk, which he had built himself from reclaimed barn wood he salvaged, preparing to grasp the chance to enact my master plan. I saw my window of opportunity as my father took his business-man pacing to the kitchen, so I pounced from my crouching position to an odd curled-up ball on his swivel desk chair. As I spun around in circles on his carousel of nine-to-five doom, I extended my stubby right hand to the clay coil pot, aiming to steal the abundance of click-pens it held. I was filled with pride, as I grasped the fruits of my labor. Swinging my short legs down to dismount the chair, I made a miscalculation, and tumbled to the ground. Scared that he may have heard my intense fall, I made my great escape from my dad to the bathroom, where I sat criss-cross applesauce on the cold tile floor. There, I disassembled each pen, intent on getting what I really desired. After I had collected the tiny springs that I basically created my own action film for, I put each pen back together, and stealthily returned them to their aforementioned pot. From there, I connected the springs to one another using rubber bands from the pigtails I was wearing only moments earlier. When I finally finished, I clumsily put the spring bracelet around my wrist, feeling like a movie star for my uniquely amazing sense of fashion. Although I no longer consider myself to be a part-time professional pen thief, my senses of child-like wonder and ever-present creativity have only continued to grow over the years. Equipped with my admiration for art and design, I have always been able to see everyday objects as something more. I only recognized this as my calling to the field of architecture after I watched The Imagineering Story for the first time. This documentary highlighted the careers of various Imagineers who built and conceptualized the different Disney Parks around the world, and I knew immediately that I wanted to be a part of that someday. I began to see the aspects I loved about all of my hobbies seep into the art of architectural design. Studying architecture would require my math skills, which I currently use to calculate stitch counts in the knitting and crocheting patterns I make. I would have to put my creative mind to work, using my talents in art to come up with unique designs. And, with the declining state of our environment today, it would be essential for me to use what I’ve learned from recycling and creating my own paper to be sustainable in the future. But, most importantly, my true passion for architecture stemmed from the universes of possibilities within the field. I had finally discovered a creative outlet that I felt could allow me to explore my full creative potential while simultaneously providing the world with one-of-a-kind interactive structures that reflect who I am as a sustainable and constantly curious artist.

Community engagement is so vital to me because I have seen firsthand how it brings people together and strengthens relationships. Last summer, I was volunteering to help out with an art camp at my school. I had tons of fun with all the kids, but I immediately formed a bond with one little girl. She was one of the funniest people I have ever met, as she spent the entire camp showcasing her love for making friends. It was the third day into the camp that she came into the room in a particularly ecstatic mood. Curious, I asked her what she was so excited about. She then spent the entire day raving about how thrilled she was to have a daddy-daughter day with her father and worked tirelessly on a sculpture for him. At the end of the day, I walked her downstairs to meet him, where I witnessed something that made me almost flood the corridor we stood in with tears. As soon as she saw him, she sprinted to meet her father, who was wearing a military uniform and excitedly gave him the sculpture she had made. I swear his smile lit up the entire room, as I could see him holding in his tears. And, as she waved goodbye, I realized just how grateful I was to have helped her to create something so meaningful for her father. And, that experience is exactly why I will always appreciate the service opportunities I am given. I have also had the chance to form a community with new people through the volunteering I have done in the Engineering and Design Honors Program I am a member of. I was chosen to help out with a few Engineering camps to encourage young women to explore the STEM field in the future, and I was able to teach the children who participated so much about personal integrity as a woman pursuing technology and design. I saw an opportunity to be a role model to an extremely innovative group of young girls to create an environment where we were all able to embrace new learning opportunities. There were so many instances where the online programs we used would get confusing, or someone’s project design would get messed up, but the girls never gave up. And my biggest takeaway from the experience overall was that I can be inspired even when I am taking on leadership roles. To me, community is building relationships like these that bring meaning to our lives. It is getting to experience amazing moments like the beautiful reunion of a father and daughter. And it is stepping back from focusing on yourself and paying attention to the needs of others so we can build a world of mutual respect and love, where we can all be as selfless as possible. My greatest hope for our world is that we can learn to appreciate the bond we all have as human beings and put our differences aside to form a community of love with one another.

When I first entered highschool, I didn’t feel like someone of importance. I had dreamed of becoming an Imagineer for Disney since I was about twelve years old, but I never truly believed in myself. My goal just seemed so out of reach, and as a highschool student, I had no clue how to begin working towards my future. And, the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t help, as my personal doubts were suddenly combined with a feeling of overwhelming hopelessness. That was until I met Mr. Ormiston in my introduction to pre-engineering class. His class was something I looked forward to in a time of such uncertainty, as he encouraged us to think outside the box creatively with our engineering, whilst also teaching us classic information about topics like civil and mechanical engineering. From building our own model V8 engines to creating bridges out of popsicle sticks, we really explored the many different facets of engineering. But, most importantly, I met a teacher who really believed in me. Mr. Ormiston is the one who encouraged me to join The Engineering Design and Honors Program at our school, where I have completed over 100 hours of engineering service projects thanks to his mentorship. And, I have been competing on his VEX robotics team for two years now, where I have learned tons about programming and robotic mechanisms. Throughout every competition and event, Mr. O, as we call him, exemplifies an inspirational positive attitude and encourages us to modify our robots throughout the day to make our design more efficient, intent on making sure we learn something from each round of the competition. He never gives up and has inspired me to implement his uplifting persistence into everything that I do. But, the trait I admire most about Mr. Ormiston is his ever-present kindness. I don’t think Mr. O realizes just how much all of his students appreciate how he greets us all in the hallways by name, or how he goes out of his way to help us with the various projects we work on. He always makes sure to encourage all of our individual interests and is always willing to contribute to our educational interests as much as he possibly can. I will soon be working towards getting my master's degree in Architectural Design, which I plan to one day use to achieve my dream of becoming an Imagineer. And because of my amazing teacher, I feel prepared and thrilled for my future in STEM. I’m so glad that I was able to meet Mr. Ormiston, and he is truly one of the greatest people I have ever met, as he inspires all of his students every day through his commitment to being a stupendous teacher and kind-hearted soul.

As a society, we are constantly on the move. With our minds fixated on what's next, increasing means of transportation has become essential. As I ride my bike down the street, the multiple cars that populate my neighbors' driveways seem to fade into the background. These motor vehicles are so popular that they have become a breed of their own in our everyday lives. With over 250 million gas-powered cars on the road in the United States alone, motor vehicle gas consumption has steadily increased over the years, as each one of those cars burns about 489 gallons of gasoline annually. And, for every single gallon burnt, we pollute the air we breathe with 20 pounds of greenhouse gasses. The reality behind these numbers is that we are rapidly destroying our environment with the cars we operate, and if we continue down this damaging path, we can begin to expect new normalities like iceless summers in Antarctica, constant flooding, and extreme heat waves. I’m not going to argue that the existence of cars isn’t vital. People have jobs, events, and many more places that they need to commute to daily. The true issue is the greenhouse gasses emitted from driving them that trap heat in our atmosphere, thus contributing greatly to increasing climate change. Over the last few years, I have found hope and inspiration in the creation of electric cars. The automobile market has been filled with an abundance of electric cars from various well-known manufacturers. And, we have the resources necessary for everyone to drive these electrically-powered vehicles. Given the fact that we are offered these options, look forward to the day that we switch over to clean energy when it comes to cars. By doing so, we would no longer be emitting toxic gasses into the atmosphere while driving. And, since we would be powering them electrically, our cars wouldn’t be burning gasoline, which is composed of limited fossil fuels. This is not even mentioning the fact that the production of these gasoline-powered machines would stop, meaning we would no longer be wasting fossil fuels to create products that will pollute our planet and eat up our nonrenewable energy sources. Overall, electric cars are environmentally superior in every way, and switching over to driving them could be the first major step our society takes in saving the earth.

I held my favorite faded blanket close, as the screen in front of me flashed different colors that evoked fearful nausea in my stomach. Sitting with my parents, I felt absolute terror for the first time in my life, a terror that replaced the pure excitement I could barely seem to contain earlier in the night. It was Christmas Eve, and I couldn’t stop running around and dancing like a maniac, so my parents decided to sit me down with my siblings to watch a Christmas movie. Sounds like harmless family fun, right? Well, let me tell you that my first experience with The Muppets' Christmas Carol was anything but that. The issue I had wasn’t with The Muppets Characters themselves, but rather with Michael Cain as Ebenezer Scrooge. That's right, I was scared of one of the only humans in the movie rather than the unearthly puppet creatures that horrified all of my close friends. I only lasted for about half an hour of the film before I burst into tears. Of course, my parents were beyond confused when I explained between sobs that I was scared of an elderly man in a robe, but no matter how much they tried to explain to me that he was just an actor, I couldn’t stop the sobs from escaping my mouth. It was then that I made a vow to myself: I would never watch the Muppets' Christmas Carol ever again. Clutching to the same faded blanket last night, I felt an overwhelming sense of joy within me as the beautiful colors on the screen flashed before me. Sitting alone in my room, I felt inspiration within me to create. I decided to treat myself after a long night at work by watching my favorite movie of all time: The Muppets' Christmas Carol. That’s right; after lots of convincing years ago, my parents finally got me to sit down with them once again to give the movie another chance. I expected the same menacing man to scare the pants off me, but this time, I was instead met with a sense of wonder. Scrooge didn’t seem to affect me, as I focused on the unique designs of the different Muppets Characters. And, as insane as it sounds, that was the moment I realized I wanted to be an artist. The fact that Jim Henson was able to express his creativity through something as odd as puppets completely captivated me, and inspired my journey of discovering my distinctive hobbies like making my own paper, crocheting, and knitting. And, after advancing my skills, I have been able to create a Knitting and Crocheting Club at school, while also holding events to teach others how to make their own recycled paper. I also crochet bandannas dogs at local animal shelters, and I run my own mitten business in the winter. So, last night, when I turned on my favorite movie for the third time this month, I felt the same feeling of wonder that I always do when experiencing the film, which was combined with pure gratitude for helping me to discover myself and only slight fear of Michael Cain wearing a nightcap and a scowl.

Each year we waste about 85 million tons of paper. That’s equal to roughly 2 billion trees annually! Sadly, deforestation is one of the biggest environmental issues we are facing today, and 42% of the trees we are killing are used for paper production. Upon learning this, I decided to implement waste reduction into my everyday life to live a more sustainable life. Specifically, I taught myself how to make my own paper using my old homework, receipts, and other scraps around my house. To do so, I rip up all the used paper into smaller pieces, putting the shreds in one large bin. I then fill the bin with water, making sure to soak all of the scraps. Next, I blend the water and paper to create pulp, which I put into another bin of water. And finally, I dip a mold into a bin of water and pulp, pull the mold out of the mixture, and lay it down on a piece of cloth, flipping it over and using a sponge to squeeze all the water out of the new paper so to transfer it from the mold to the textile. When I am done, I am left with my own unique pieces of paper! I now use these as opposed to printer paper or notebook paper, as it is much better for the planet. I even learned how to create sketchbooks using my recycled paper, old cardboard, and scrap embroidery thread! These are such fun crafts, as I get to decorate the covers and also fill them with my art and ideas. Just last year, I discovered that my school wasn’t recycling the large amount of paper we waste each day. This frustrated me, as I realized that all of the blank sheets of paper I saw people throw away due to minor rips or marks they contained were polluting our environment. So, I decided to turn my at-home hobby into something that could benefit the environment on a larger scale. I contacted a teacher at my school who I began meeting with to brainstorm ideas to make my paper-recycling hobby into an activity we could implement in our school community. And, after much discussion and planning, I was able to begin holding events a few times a month to teach other girls to make their own paper, and soon enough we were making a substantial dent in the amount of paper the school was wasting. Everyone always seems to have a lot of fun learning how to make their own paper, and many don’t even know it is a possibility. I am proud of myself for not only realizing the importance of living a sustainable lifestyle but also for turning my unique hobby into something super enjoyable that benefits my community.

Community engagement is so vital to me because I have seen firsthand how it brings people together and strengthens relationships. Last summer, I was volunteering to help out with an art camp at my school. I had tons of fun with all the kids, but I immediately formed a bond with one little girl. She was one of the funniest people I have ever met, as she spent the entire camp showcasing her love for making friends. It was the third day into the camp that she came into the room in a particularly ecstatic mood. Curious, I asked her what she was so excited about. She then spent the entire day raving about how thrilled she was to have a daddy-daughter day with her father and worked tirelessly on a sculpture for him. At the end of the day, I walked her downstairs to meet him, where I witnessed something that made me almost flood the corridor we stood in with tears. As soon as she saw him, she sprinted to meet her father, who was wearing a military uniform and excitedly gave him the sculpture she had made. I swear his smile lit up the entire room, as I could see him holding in his tears. And, as she waved goodbye, I realized just how grateful I was to have helped her to create something so meaningful for her father. And, that experience is exactly why I will always appreciate the service opportunities I am given. I have also had the chance to form a community with new people through the volunteering I have done in the Engineering and Design Honors Program I am a member of. I was chosen to help out with a few Engineering camps to encourage young women to explore the STEM field in the future, and I was able to teach the children who participated so much about personal integrity as a woman pursuing technology and design. I saw an opportunity to be a role model to an extremely innovative group of young girls to create an environment where we were all able to embrace new learning opportunities. There were so many instances where the online programs we used would get confusing, or someone’s project design would get messed up, but the girls never gave up. And my biggest takeaway from the experience overall was that I can be inspired even when I am taking on leadership roles. To me, community is building relationships like these that bring meaning to our lives. It is getting to experience amazing moments like the beautiful reunion of a father and daughter. And it is stepping back from focusing on yourself and paying attention to the needs of others so we can build a world of mutual respect and love, where we can all be as selfless as possible. My greatest hope for our world is that we can learn to appreciate the bond we all have as human beings and put our differences aside to form a community of love with one another.

I glanced out from my hiding spot underneath my dad’s gargantuan work desk, which he had built himself from reclaimed barn wood he salvaged, preparing to grasp the chance to enact my master plan. I saw my window of opportunity as my father took his businessman pacing to the kitchen, so I pounced from my crouching position to an odd curled-up ball on his swivel desk chair. As I spun around in circles on his carousel of nine-to-five doom, I extended my stubby right hand to the hand-made clay coil pot, aiming to steal the abundance of click-pens it held. I was filled with pride, as I grasped the fruits of my labor. Swinging my short legs down to dismount the chair, I made a miscalculation and tumbled to the ground. Scared that he may have heard my intense fall, I made my great escape from my dad to the bathroom, where I sat criss-cross applesauce on the cold tile floor. There, I disassembled each pen, intent on getting what I desired. After I had collected the tiny springs that I created an action film for, I put each pen back together, and stealthily returned them to their aforementioned pot. From there, I connected the springs using rubber bands from the pigtails I was wearing only moments earlier. When I finally finished, I clumsily put the spring bracelet around my wrist, feeling like a movie star for my uniquely amazing sense of fashion. Although I no longer consider myself to be a part-time professional pen thief, my senses of childlike wonder and ever-present creativity have only continued to grow over the years. Both of these attributes are why I stand out from those around me, as I am always using my innovative mind to brainstorm unique ideas full of whimsicality. And, just like when I was in my pen-thievery days, I am persistently stubborn in achieving every goal I set for myself. Specifically, it has been my mission for the last few years to revive the dying arts of knitting and crocheting in my community. I wanted to not only provide people with my creations but also to give them the chance to experience the pure bliss that can come from learning how to partake in yarn art themselves. Persistent on providing those around me with access to my eccentric hobby, I have spent my time beginning my own annual mitten business, founding and leading a Knitting and Crocheting Club at my school, selling goods to make money for charities like St. Jude’s Children's hospital with said club, and creating bandannas for rescue animals at my local animal shelters during my summers. And, what has led me throughout this amazing journey of unique opportunities is my ambition to take initiative in becoming a leader who turns her passions into something that her community can enjoy. In the future, I only plan to continue spreading art of all forms to the world around me. To do so I will always view the world with a creative lens and share my vision and ideas with others, whilst putting in the hard work and effort that it takes to put all of my quirky plans into motion. And, once my ideas become a reality, I will be a leader, and make sure that I am making a positive impact in my community throughout every endeavor I embark on.

Each year we waste about 85 million tons of paper. That’s equal to roughly 2 billion trees annually! Sadly, deforestation is one of the biggest environmental issues we are facing today, and 42% of the trees we are killing are used for paper production. Upon learning this, I decided to implement waste reduction into my everyday life to live a more sustainable life. Specifically, I taught myself how to make my own paper using my old homework, receipts, and other scraps around my house. When I see people wasting paper in the world around me now, it makes my entire being bubble with frustration. Why in the world would you take a perfectly good piece of paper, make a singular, minuscule mark on it, and then proceed to throw it away because you "messed up". So, you can probably imagine the pure fury I felt when I discovered that my school not only does not recycle but has recycling bins located throughout the building regardless. It is all an elaborate scam that plagued every corner of my brain for weeks until I eventually decided to take things into my own hands. I made my recycled paper at home, why couldn't I start doing it at school? So, I decided to turn my at-home hobby into something that could benefit the environment on a larger scale. I began holding events a few times a month to teach other girls to make their own paper, and soon enough we were making a substantial dent in the amount of paper the school was wasting. And, through holding these events, I was able to learn so much about myself. If there is one thing that defines me most, it’s my persistence to make the world a better place. I know when I need to step up and make a change in my community. And, recycling paper has specifically helped me to discover how much I love to create through sustainability. So, I want to explore the field of architecture with this in mind, either to become a landscape architect or to design structures that are built with environmentally-friendly materials. I value my creativity so much that I can implement it in the environmental endeavors I embark on. And teaching and organizing the events also helped me to unlock the leadership qualities that I possess. I have since been inspired to continue being a leader in everything I do. I am so passionate about the green industry because I know it is the perfect outlet for me to combine my leadership abilities with my unique ideas and love for the planet. No matter where I go in my future, I will always recognize the issues my community is facing and work my hardest to come up with solutions to them by being the environmental agent of change that I am.

Each year we waste about 85 million tons of paper. That’s equal to roughly 2 billion trees annually! Sadly, deforestation is one of the biggest environmental issues we are facing today, and 42% of the trees we are killing are used for paper production. Upon learning this, I decided to implement waste reduction into my everyday life to live a more sustainable life. Specifically, I taught myself how to make my own paper using my old homework, receipts, and other scraps around my house. To do so, I rip up all the used paper into smaller pieces, putting the shreds in one large bin. I then fill the bin with water, making sure to soak all of the scraps. Next, I blend the water and paper to create pulp, which I put into another bin of water. And finally, I dip a mold into a bin of water and pulp, pull the mold out of the mixture, and lay it down on a piece of cloth, flipping it over and using a sponge to squeeze all the water out of the new paper so to transfer it from the mold to the textile. When I am done, I am left with unique pieces of paper! I now use these as opposed to printer paper or notebook paper, as it is much better for the planet. I even learned how to create sketchbooks using my recycled paper, old cardboard, and scrap embroidery thread! This is such an enjoyable craft, as I get to decorate the covers and also fill them with my art and ideas. When I see people wasting paper in the world around me now, it makes my entire being bubble with frustration. Why in the world would you take a perfectly good piece of paper, make a singular, miniscule mark on it, and then proceed to throw it away because you "messed up"? So, you can probably imagine the pure fury I felt when I discovered that my school not only does not recycle but has recycling bins located throughout the building regardless. It is all an elaborate scam that plagued every corner of my brain for weeks until I eventually decided to take things into my own hands. I made my own recycled paper at home, why couldn't I start doing it at school? So, I decided to turn my at-home hobby into something that could benefit the environment on a larger scale. After planning and gathering materials with a teacher, I began holding events a few times a month to teach other girls to make paper and soon enough we were making a substantial dent in the amount of paper the school was wasting. And, everyone always seems to have a lot of fun learning the skill, as many don’t even know it is a possibility. I am proud of myself for not only realizing the importance of living a sustainable lifestyle but also how amazing it is to stress the importance of caring for our environment to the community around me.

Art is a magnificent form of self-expression that serves as a window into the souls who fill our world with their innovative and provoking pieces. These creative souls serve as a light to our society, shining incandescent beams of the whimsicality that makes our world so unique. Personally, the trait I admire most about myself is my ever-present ambition in my willingness to succeed, which I use to spread this message. Ever since I discovered the alluring arts of crocheting and knitting, it has become my dream to form a group of people who share equally in my passion. Intent on creating my circle of yarn enthusiasts, I went to the administration at my school to create a Knitting and Crocheting Club. I knew that by doing so, I would not only open up new opportunities for myself but more importantly, for a group of fellow artists so that they could shine through their skills and talents. After I met with the administration, I formed a leadership team, created a list of materials, came up with various projects, and calculated a rough budget. Then, I formed a leadership team consisting of my two extremely creative friends and myself, and we all worked together to complete each task with care. After doing so, we presented our plan to the administration, and were approved to become an official club! Now, we are a fully-formed group of amazingly talented women who create art to better the community around us. Just recently we were able to sell our creations to build our club fund and make a donation to St. Jude’s Children's Hospital. And, we are now making hair accessories to be used in makeovers for nursing home residents and creating lace to be hung up throughout our school, as it is used as a symbol of unity in our community. As for the future of the club, we are working on a program in which we will spend our lunch times engaging with the nuns in our community by crocheting with them. In my free time, I love to reach out to local animal shelters, and I have found joy in crocheting bandanas to be sold at fundraisers and worn by the rescue animals. I relish the feeling I get when I see photographs of animals wearing my bandanas, as each smile I put on their owner’s face serves as a reward for my hard work. What has led me throughout this amazing journey of unique opportunities is my ambition to take initiative in becoming a leader who turns her passions into something that her community can enjoy. I choose to use my miscalculations to my advantage, as I discover new aspects of my personality by learning from them whilst appreciating the creativity that has always been within me. When beginning each new challenge, my persistence acts as a shimmering star, guiding me to strive for improvement. In my stubborn nature, I spend little time celebrating my victories, as my mind is a rocket shooting through the sky, always aiming higher at planets of possibility. And, as for what lies ahead, I plan to use my persistence to push myself past the barriers of doubt and become a successful entrepreneur as a woman in STEM. Not only will I be an architect for structures, but the architect of my life, continuing to weave together my opportunities into a distinctive future that reflects the aspects of my personality I admire most.

I can confidently say that I don’t particularly enjoy dirt. Its thick and cakey existence is enough to make me feel nauseous. Yet, my favorite memories seem to stem from times in which I was so coated in mud that I could easily be mistaken for a prize pig at a county fair. I remember blistering summer mornings spent in my family cottage when I would wake up at the crack of dawn to scurry outside just so I could be the first of my siblings to find my grandma. On the mornings that I won the race outside, I would be greeted by her with a warm smile and an invitation to hop into the passenger seat of a tattered golf cart. We would take the cart over to one of my grandma’s multiple gardens. And, for hours, we would dig in the dirt, as I continuously adjusted the oversized pink gardening gloves she had loaned me. I remember when I picked up those same gloves from her box of belongings after her funeral. I can confidently say that at that moment, I missed being covered in mud with my best friend. With my grandma, time didn’t exist. It was just me and her in her garden. Without her, I see time passing by me all too soon. After she passed, I felt overwhelming guilt, as I feared my memories with her were beginning to grow foggy. I would wear her pink gardening gloves when I missed her most, and take note of how they fit me perfectly, reminding me of how long it had been since she would help me pull them up in her garden as a kid with a smile plastered on her warm face. The day she passed, I felt nothing but cold in my frozen state of denial. As time went on, my family still visited our family cottage each hot summer, yet I never grew used to the empty patch of dirt that once was home to her flourishing garden as well as my happiness. And, for a long time, I let my joy remain buried there refusing to let it grow in her absence. But, eventually, I knew it was time to allow myself to heal and to grow as a person just like my grandmother would have wanted. With her as my inspiration, I have worked hard to become a woman in the engineering field one day. She always stressed the importance of being an independent woman in the world who paves her way. With her, I’m ready to break through the barriers and make the STEM field a place where women like myself can thrive confidently. She has also inspired me to always make a conscious effort to preserve our environment. Before her death, she had planned to convert fully to solar panel energy, and she always used to recycle and compost. I now follow in her footsteps by running a paper recycling initiative at my school, where I teach girls to use their old homework and scraps of paper from my school to make new paper of my own. Losing my grandma taught me to engage with my community whilst keeping her memory alive. And most importantly, she has taught me to serve others with an empathetic heart and attentive mind.

I found myself gazing at the meteor-like blisters that had freshly formed on my fingertips, my mind burning with the intensity of the task before me. With my favorite blue crochet hook in hand, I clumsily intertwined the strands of vibrant green together, my tool of choice weaving through the string like a shooting star. I could almost feel each stitch glowing like a celestial body of fascination exploding in my sky. Even in my struggle to entwine each stubbornly-knotted strand of sage-green yarn into a bracelet, the feeling of pure glee within me completely outweighed any feeling of frustration. Giddy with determination, I dedicated my entire night to completing that bracelet, which I wore around my wrist with pride. In the years that followed, its fibers began to fray, and the hooks that had once been a tool in giving them life became distressed with stars of worn metal poking through the surface. While the distressed appearance of my hook—my shooting star—reflected my constant efforts to improve, I felt inspired to share my advancing talent with my community. I decided to give others the opportunity to gain the same joy from creation by establishing a Knitting and Crocheting Club at my school. I was able to create a leadership team, with whom I worked to get our club approved and to hold monthly knitting and crocheting events to gauge interest among the student body for our future organization. Now, we are a fully-formed group of amazingly talented women who create art to better the community around us. Just recently we were able to sell our creations to build our club fund and make a donation to St. Jude’s Children's Hospital. And, we are now making hair accessories to be used in makeovers for nursing home residents and creating lace to be hung up throughout our school, as it is used as a symbol of unity in our community. In my free time, I love to reach out to local animal shelters, and I have found joy in crocheting bandanas to be sold at fundraisers and worn by the rescue animals. I relish the feeling I get when I see photographs of animals wearing my bandanas, as each smile I put on their owner’s face serves as a reward for my hard work. Throughout my journey, I think my biggest challenge has always been my own fears. Scared of failure, I used to hide my talents, creativity, and leadership skills from my community, uncertain I could even make a significant difference. But if I have learned anything, it is that sometimes failure can be good. I can recall the black hole of mistakes and tangled yarn that seemed to engulf me with each new project I began. I realize that my jagged granny squares taught me something more valuable than a perfect project: the only true path to failure is one that I never begin traveling. I choose to use my miscalculations to my advantage, as I discover new aspects of my personality by learning from them whilst appreciating the creativity that has always been within me. When beginning each new challenge, my persistence acts as a shimmering star, guiding me to strive for improvement. In my stubborn nature, I spend little time celebrating my victories, as my mind is a rocket shooting through the sky, always aiming higher at planets of possibility. And, I can confidently say that I will continue to serve my community through my art and innovative ideas!

I found myself gazing at the meteor-like blisters that had freshly formed on my fingertips, my mind burning with the intensity of the task before me. With my favorite blue crochet hook in hand, I clumsily intertwined the strands of vibrant green together, my tool of choice weaving through the string like a shooting star. I could almost feel each stitch glowing like a celestial body of fascination exploding in my sky. Even in my struggle to entwine each stubbornly-knotted strand of sage-green yarn into a bracelet, the feeling of pure glee within me completely outweighed any feeling of frustration. Giddy with determination, I dedicated my entire night to completing that bracelet, which I wore around my wrist with pride. In the years that followed, its fibers began to fray, and the hooks that had once been a tool in giving them life became distressed with stars of worn metal poking through the surface. While the distressed appearance of my hook—my shooting star—reflected my constant efforts to improve, I felt inspired to share my advancing talent with my community. I began my year by beginning my own mitten business in the winter, from which I was able to make money from my goods to finance my ever-present yarn obsession! But, more importantly, I was able to prove to myself that the community around me valued my art, which brought about such a sense of pride and happiness within my heart. So, from there, I decided to allow others to gain the same joy from creation by establishing a Knitting and Crocheting Club at my school. I was able to create a leadership team, with whom I worked to get our club approved and to hold monthly knitting and crocheting events to gauge interest among the student body for our future organization. Now, we are a fully-formed group of amazingly talented women who create art to better the community around us. Just recently we were able to sell our creations to build our club fund and make a donation to St. Jude’s Children's Hospital. And, we are now making hair accessories to be used in makeovers for nursing home residents and creating lace to be hung up throughout our school, as it is used as a symbol of unity in our community. In my free time, I love to reach out to local animal shelters, and I have found joy in crocheting bandanas to be sold at fundraisers and worn by the rescue animals. I relish the feeling I get when I see photographs of animals wearing my bandanas, as each smile I put on their owner’s face serves as a reward for my hard work. I can recall the black hole of mistakes and tangled yarn that seemed to engulf me with each new project I began. I realize that my jagged granny squares taught me something more valuable than a perfect project: the only true path to failure is one that I never begin traveling. I choose to use my miscalculations to my advantage, as I discover new aspects of my personality by learning from them whilst appreciating the creativity that has always been within me. When beginning each new challenge, my persistence acts as a shimmering star, guiding me to strive for improvement. In my stubborn nature, I spend little time celebrating my victories, as my mind is a rocket shooting through the sky, always aiming higher at planets of possibility. And, I can confidently say that these opportunities have allowed me to discover the confidence and ability to lead within me through my passion.