I want to pursue higher education because both of my parents are immigrants. They both came to America with the sole hope of being able to provide a life for their future children that would be better than the lives they had back in their respective home countries. Both of my parents went to college, having to work several jobs throughout to support themselves and I want to pursue higher education as well because I want to use the opportunities my parents have so graciously given me. The extracurricular I would consider myself most passionate about is martial arts: I have been in kickboxing for about 4 years now and before that, I did taekwondo for 5. I absolutely love martial arts and I love being able to learn new skills and watch myself progress. While I know that it is not the most conventional sport and a majority of colleges in the U.S. do not offer this sport, I do still envision myself continuing this sport throughout my time in university. I am also the co-founder and co-president of my high school's first medical book club. I started this club with my friend to get students passionate about medicine. In this club, students gather to read a medical article or case study and go over key terms and concepts. However, the main purpose of this club is for everyone in the club to discuss what we have read. This encourages an open medical discussion which provides students with an outlet for their love for medicine and science. This club has also helped those who are new to the science/medical field and gives them a safe space to sort of "dip their toes in" and get exposed to various medical topics in a low-pressure environment. I volunteered at my local library as a shelf organizer during my freshmen year in high school which was my first real volunteer experience. I was able to discover new books, meet different people from my neighborhood and help them pick out books, and got familiar with the library staff. I was very passionate about this volunteer opportunity because ever since I was really young, my mother would take me to this library every week to pick out books which helped spark my love of reading. I loved volunteering there because it gave me a chance to give back to the institution that helped me as a kid. For the last two years, I have been working as an intern for the Brooklyn Public Library system and have been creating virtual content for them. I would consider myself most passionate about helping others. From my volunteer experiences to my desire to pursue medicine, I want to dedicate my life to making the lives of others better.

A woman in my life that I admire is my mother. When she was only 17 years old, she moved from Soviet Russia to American with her parents. She knew nothing about the language and culture of this strange new foreign land and as crazy as she is, decided to take English as a minor in college to help her learn the language. Throughout her time at university, she worked 3 jobs to support herself and her parents but still managed to make excellent grades. She is a mother of two and has a full-time job now and I can only imagine how she does all of that all while keeping a smile on her face and keeping everyone around her happy. She has impacted me by teaching me never to settle and to always set out to achieve anything I set my mind to, no matter how difficult I may perceive it to be. She does everything with patience, kindness, and compassion which has taught me that the attitude you have towards others is what really gives a woman her power, not how "pretty" she is. In my eyes, my mother is the most beautiful woman on this planet but not only because of the way she looks but the way she carries herself. She is graceful but has this firey drive that always keeps her striving to improve herself. I plan on pursuing medicine which is a field dominated by men and I want to do my part in breaking that barrier and I hope to see more female doctors and more respect towards the already existing female doctors. I will, like my mother, be kind to those around me even if they condescend and underestimate my abilities because she taught me that what makes people the maddest is not being mean to them but succeeding where they thought you would fail. All in all my mother is a remarkable woman and I plan on using her lessons to help myself grow into a remarkable woman as well.

These photos were taken by my friends and family and posted on Instagram (hence the words over one of the pictures) during and right after I finished my first official kickboxing fight in September 2019. I had to endure months of gruelling training leading up to this fight and it was one of the most challenging things (both physically and mentally) I have ever done. All my hard work and support from those around me paid off though and I ended up winning!