Just like Jackie Cazares, I have a love and passion for animals. I have always admired the beauty of animals and have a heart for expanding my knowledge about them and helping injured animals. I was ten years old when Max, my pit bull, died in my arms. I've had Max since he was a baby. I bottled fed him, trained him to do tricks, and grew a mental and emotional bond with him. He was there for me in many ways no one else could and was always my shoulder to cry on as a kid. I came home from school on a beautiful day only to discover my mom panicking and yelling at me to get into the car quickly. I started to panic. I didn't know what was happening, but after she brought Max into the vehicle with us, I noticed he was not moving much, and his heart was beating slowly. My mom, not explaining to me what was happening, rushed as fast as she could to the emergency vet clinic; my heart was beating what felt like a thousand miles an hour as I was looking down at Max, watching him struggling to breathe in oxygen. The moment we got there, he died right in my arms. My whole world fell apart that day, and I cried for months, mourning his death, not knowing what caused it, and still, to this day, I don't know what caused him to die. Everything happened so fast that it was hard to process through my little brain. I even wondered if the nightmare was absolute or if I was dreaming. I remember praying every single night, wishing I'd see him again. Sadness then turned into a deep depression, but after a year passed by, I was happy because I knew that Max was no longer suffering anymore. Because of my experience with his tragic death, my passion for helping injured animals, including exotic animals, grew more and more. My little heart was so passionate about helping animals that I started bringing dog treats to school in case I ever found a stray dog wandering around. Max will always be in my heart and never be forgotten. The saying " A dog is a man's best friend" is very true because although I may not be a man, he made a little girl smile and laugh on any bad day.

Happiness was really hard to find in the family I grew up in. it was not the best family, nor did I have the best parents growing up with, but I will tell you how I found happiness and what makes me happy. As a child growing up, I didn't have the best childhood and my dad was very abusive and always drunk when he came home late almost every night. I was rarely happy in the family that I grew up in but as the years gone by, I found my happiness through the lord Jesus Christ along with my Grandparents. I learned to figure out who I am and what makes me happy as a person. By the age of my early teens i realized how productive I was and what made me happy was helping other people and i still help family and friend's eve strangers to this day! i enjoy giving people advice about topics i am aware of or know about and personal advice Aswell. what makes me happy the most is spending time with family, doing my favorite hobbies which include: painting, drawing, sleeping... who doesn't love a good nap? and lastly hanging out with my best friend since the 6th grade.

Hi, my name is Michelle Perez, and I would like to share what joy means to me. I came from an abusive family and didn't have the best mother and father; I don't have many good memories from my childhood. As I grew up my mom was very manipulative and made feel like that, I could not achieve anything in life. Eventually I moved with my grandparents in Snyder Texas to get away from my mom and horrible sister, the schools here are not that great I preferred my old school in Lubbock. My grandparents are a blessing to be in my life because they have loved me unconditionally no matter the mistakes I have made. I learned a lot of things living with my grandparents and one of them is joy. to me joy is spending time with the people you love and having a good time. joy is making memories that will last a lifetime. How I seek joy is just living life to the fullest and challenging yourself to things you never knew you could do. joy is feeling happy in the inside and out, and family is what makes life so joyful, despite the negative situations you are in with relatives, you can't replace family.