I have lived in a low income community my whole life, again and again finding myself grateful for the community I have lived in because it has made me more human. and I’ve been part of my community's YMCA Youth and Government program for the past three years, which teaches high schoolers how to write legislation and debate it in a government based session. It brings students together from all across the state of Washington to debate what they believe needs improvement in our state and country's legislature. I have loved being a part of this program, and prompted me to go for a career in government. This past year we all met again at our state's capital to debate our ideas. My school had four members part of this club this year, and learned about what each of our bills meant to us. My friend and I collaborated to create an act that repeals a recent state law, House Bill 1660, that prohibits schools to charge students who qualify for free and reduced lunch for school sponsored events. At a glimpse this legislation seems it greatly helps lower income students and helps them be more involved in school activities, and it can for students who attend high income schools. For lower income schools, where the majority of their student body qualifies for free and reduced lunch, it devastated them. My school is part of those who lost thousands of dollars in what would have been ticket admissions, ASB cards, food sales. Over 80% of our student body qualifies. So, we decided we needed to bring awareness to House Bill 1660. Our legislation was sound and well written, and we believed that everyone who read the bill and heard our statements would agree that it does more harm than good. I debated the bill in the House of Representatives chamber, and was determined to get our points across. I talked about how much money our school and others with similar demographics lost thousands of dollars, how schools have lost funds to keep extracurriculars and school events, and how ultimately it puts lower income schools farther behind. For 20 minutes I gave additional information as to why it harmed schools, why many qualifying students don’t find many benefits with this bill, and constantly repeating how eliminating a schools source of income does not help its student body. For 20 minutes I realized that many students, the same age as me, with the same passion for government as me, truly did not understand the consequences it has on low income schools, because they go to a higher income school in a higher income neighborhood. No matter how many times I shared facts and real experiences of what happened due to the legislation, they had already made up their minds. Because that one kid at their school seemed to have benefited from it, it must be true that all low income students benefit from it. I was frustrated, upset, impatient, but most of all disappointed that they could not hear the real experience of it from a low income student. It felt like a set back, that I couldn’t convey what others in my community agreed with and constantly had to work around it. But after some time I learned that it isn’t over. This next school year I will have to find new and creative ways to fundraise for our school, clubs and sports, but I won’t stop fighting against this bill. I will debate it again next year and continue to speak as to why it doesn’t work for my community.

My first dream as a kid was to be a princess. I loved how they wore pink, but also were able to help all the people they ruled over. My next dream was to become a teacher, because I loved school and seeing my friends. Since then I’ve had many more dreams and wishes, but I have come back full circle to my first realistic dream. I want to be a teacher again, but also pursue a career in politics later in my life. As a junior in highschool, I can’t imagine that my highschool career will be over in two years. I still like school despite my increasingly challenging classes because of the new experiences and memories I get to make, and because I genuinely like learning. After finishing college and getting a job for a few years, my wish would be to go back to college to obtain a masters degree in history or to learn a foreign language. It would be a lie to say that it wouldn’t be necessary to go to a four-year college to get a sustainable wage, but I want to pursue a higher education because I think one of the most powerful things a person can have is education and knowledge. Becoming a teacher would allow students to form their own opinions on past events and for them to be able to reflect and compare them to the present. After years of teaching, I would like to run for office locally, and later statewide. Sharing the demands and concerns of those in my community and participating in events. My reason to pursue a higher education is to better myself in order for me to help others. Part of the reason I like school is because of the extracurriculars I am in. For sports I do bowling, cross country and long distance in track. I’ve come to love running, the sport, and the team that I get to be a part of. We have made it to state for the past two years despite COVID, with the goal of making it back this upcoming season in cross country. I’m also involved in my school’s concert, jazz, and marching band. Since I was 5 years old I have loved creating music, and I have stuck with it, now playing flute and piccolo. This past year I have been able to be involved in the student council, with the hopes and ideas to revive the student body this next year. Within my community I volunteer at my church and am a part of a YMCA program, Youth and Government because I enjoy getting to learn about local, state, and national government, and being able to debate others' bills. I love each activity I do because of the memories I receive, the people I meet, and that I get to enjoy my passions with others. I previously mentioned that my first realistic dream was to become a teacher because I liked seeing my friends. As I am older, I still enjoy school for the same reasons, but my passion is educating people. As a teacher I would be able to teach kids, offer them support and a safe space, and make a difference in their lives. As a politician I would want to improve other’s lives, bring awareness to local issues, and restore the people’s faith in government. I want and need a higher education because it is my life’s goal to help others. Even if my career goal changes, my main purpose has and always will be to make someone’s life better.

As the world develops, we as people do, too. The human mindset grows as the human species gets older. We find new ways to make our lives easier or smoother, to give us more comforts and luxuries and to distract ourselves throughout our daily lives. But every person finds that at times that is not enough to turn away from the question, “What is the purpose of our life?” The day after the 2016 presidential election, I was a 6th grader surrounded by students and teachers alike who were shocked by the results. In my social studies class, my favorite teacher had given us a commiserating talk just as the rest of my teachers before had. I was fearful of the next four years for my family. Out of all the things I remember him saying, it is, “I know all of you will do better in the future.” That was when it hit me. I cannot be idle in my future, I have to improve the circumstances that I and others face. All for the sake of the people I care about. I am lucky enough that my parents always had enough money to feed and clothe me, and later my sister. We weren’t rich or by any means middle class, but we were able to afford the luxuries of having technology in both rooms of our apartment. For each to have cars and to have stable paying jobs. As I’ve gotten older I continue to see how grateful I should be for everything that was handed to me. However, I’ve also seen how flawed this society is. We continue to ignore the growing poverty and homelessness issues and continue to buy from those who have enough money for centuries. I have seen first hand the bias people have toward any minority, the looks given and the faster steps taken away from them. The hatred and greed that causes war and deaths of innocent lives for the sake of political gain. People are to blame for every single one of these issues. Despite every flaw that people have, I hold the belief that there is always good in every person. During the past year, I was forced to acknowledge the question, “What is the purpose of my life?” It wasn’t a revelation nor a sudden realization, but over time I began to craft my answer that ultimately stems with one main goal: My purpose is to help make others lives better. My goal is to educate young people of history and its past mistakes, and to be elected within the state government. Not to pursue my own desires, but to represent the minority of people and to regain the trust of people within government. No matter what obstacles I encounter, as long as I am alive I will continue to pursue my purpose. My inspiration may have stemmed from the people I care about, but I work to ensure that I can at least make one person's life better.

I quit learning how to ride a bike when I was seven. I quit learning how to swim when I was eight. I quit gymnastics when I was eleven. I was a quitter because it was easier to give up rather than admit I wasn’t perfect at something the first time I tried it. I was embarrassed at my failure even if it was normal to fail. A few years ago my dad sat me down and gave me another one of his lectures. One of his many lines was: “It’s easy to quit, but it’s harder to keep going.” It was simple, just like how he talks simply to make sure he doesn’t mispronounce any words. It has stuck with me since. The summer before my ninth grade year, I was met with expectations for myself. At the time I wasn’t much of an athlete, or extroverted, or one to step outside their comfort zone. I joined cross country because I knew one of my friends was joining. Starting off, I was pretty slow. One of the slowest on the team, and I felt ashamed of myself for that despite it only being a couple of weeks since running. I wanted to do better, but at the same time I wasn’t sure if I could do it. I told my dad about it, and he said the same line he said to me a few years prior. I had two options: to give all my effort, knowing that I might not meet my goals, or to quit without knowing if I could. I choose the first option. I began giving in full effort, even though it was hard. Days I woke up sore or when it was hot I contemplated skipping, thinking it’s just one day. But I kept going, with my dad's words replaying in my head on my way to practice, doing warm-ups, through the workout, and cooling down. This past February I was slower than when I first started. I worried that I wouldn’t get back to where I was, that I wouldn’t progress any further, but I continued with my dad’s words in mind. At my last meet of the season in April we had to run on a track for the state meet, a big difference from the season before. It would be a lie if I said I enjoyed it, but for all 12 laps I kept repeating what my dad told me. I finished a few seconds faster than I had last season. The past year I’ve found myself wanting to quit far more than I ever have in my life. It is hard to keep going, staring at a screen for hours within a room, going a year without seeing any friends, being separated from family, fearing the uncontrollable, trying to stay optimistic in a tragic time. I continue to chant that quote because it is better knowing you tried and failed rather than quitting without failure.