My name is Michael Hubbard. I am 21 years old and am paying for college all on my own. My family has never been well off, and as a result, I've been scrounging for change to pay for my schooling. Recently we ran into some issues that have drained me financially, and more are popping up every day. I've been going to college to be an attorney, mostly because I want to make a difference in the lives of people who aren't given a voice. As a young man, I was always a fan of Johnny Cash. In his song "Oh, Bury Me Not", he says "Let me be easy on the man that's down, Let me be square and generous with all... Make me as big and open as the plains, And honest as the horse between my knees, Clean as a wind that blows behind the rains..." As a young man looking for a career to pursue, this line influenced me greatly. In the world we live in today, it seems the poor and downtrodden are on every corner, and for every poor and downtrodden man, a corrupt man seeking to take advantage of their situation for their own benefit. Sadly, many of these corrupt men are in our own courtrooms. On the same token, my family has run into its own fair share of corrupt officials and lying lawyers. I realized an area where I can make a difference for many people through these experiences. As an attorney, I want to be a voice for the poor and the downtrodden. I want to be able to represent those who don't have it good. I want to be able to represent those who aren't well off, like my family. I want to provide justice for people who haven't seen it. I want to give them a voice they can rely on, one that they can trust. There's an old joke that goes, "how do you know a lawyer is lying? When they open their mouth". In response to this, I always tell people, "I want to be a lawyer, not a liar". I want to be an honest voice for the poor and the downtrodden, one that can change the courtroom climate by representing those who are more often given no voice. I believe that I have been called to this duty to represent those who don't have a voice, to represent those who cannot represent themselves. I want to make a difference by bringing a change to a broken system, and I believe that can be done by providing those without representation what they sorely lack and desperately need.

I've been a dog lover for as long as I can remember. I've had three dogs save my life and my mother's life literally and figuratively. The first was a Samoyed named Nikita. A strange man came into our yard and tried to hurt my mother and I. Nikita took him down and kept him there until the cops came to get him. The other dog that saved my life was a Labrador Retriever named Lady. Again, I was a child and was with my mother when a strange man was following us home. We got home and he ran at my mother. She opened the door and out came Lady, who took him down. He ran off, but was later caught. She stood in front of me as he ran away. The last dog to save my life and the most recent was my Goldador named River. I was in a dark place for a while and did not see a way out. We got River from a shelter and brought her home as a very small puppy, just barely old enough to have been separated from her mother. After Lady died, I ended up back in that dark place. River came in and was the most loving dog one could ever meet. Whenever I had a panic attack, she was there to help me. Whenever I was dissociating, she was there to help me. When I was anxious, she was there to help me. She has also helped my father in his injured state. After a car accident that shattered his ankle, he struggled to walk and heal. The whole time, River kept him safe and was there by his side the entire time. She would even wake up when he did to guide him in the dark. After my mother had her surgery, River was there to comfort her and make sure she was safe. She's still with us today and still takes care of us when we need it, but she has gotten to the point where arthritis has taken her joints. Where she once comforted and guided us, now we comfort and guide her. She takes expensive medication to help her aching joints. It may be expensive, but she's my old girl and I would do anything for her. Overall, dogs have been there for me and my family where other people haven't. I learned to walk by holding on to Nikita and following her. I was protected by Nikita and Lady. River was there when no one else was and kept me and my family comfortable. Dogs have always been a major part or my life and I couldn't imagine a world without them.

As a divergent thinker, sometimes I need to go outside the box for my studying. One method I use is I set up flashcards, record audio of myself reading them, and then listen to that audio while I do my day to day tasks, repeating what's on them to myself. I can also pause the audio to answer my own question. It really helps me solidify concepts and information. I also use these flash cards the traditional way, but prefer to have them recorded and played back to me. I also like to try using metaphors and comparisons for remembering information. For dates, I associate them with animals of different sizes. For instance, June 5th, 1808 would be labeled "ferret" in my head, while July 20th, 1889 would be labeled "elephant" in my head. The bigger the animal, the sooner the date. This method has always worked for me regarding dates, and has helped me to pass many a test.

"The world owes nothing to any man, but every man owes something to the world" I always took this to mean that we have a responsibility to be good to our fellow man. We have a responsibility to do the right thing. This relates to the career path I've chosen. I want to do good by the people who struggle every day. I want to do good by the people who seek closure in their greatest tragedies. I can bring that change.