I am currently enrolled at Northwest Career College and studying to be a pharmacy technician. For a long time, I thought that going to a traditional college was the best path for me. It began in high school when I decided on Wildlife Biology as my major. My plan was to use that degree to help save endangered species. While I love animals and I genuinely want to save all the creatures that inhabit our planet, I have become less and less committed to the degree. I lost the spark that the 16-year-old me had. Thankfully, COVID-19 came around and caused a global pandemic. After being forced to take a semester off, I was able to rethink what I really wanted to do. During this time, I remembered how much I liked graphic design and everything art-related. This led to the decision to switch to an art degree. This choice allowed me to accelerate my college career. After being in community college for longer than usual, I was finally enrolled in a State college. However, there was still something missing. I didn't have a clear vision of what I wanted to do. Did I want to teach? Work for a design company? Did I want to go independent? The path was not clear. Since I was not certain about what I wanted to do with an art degree, I had to rethink for a second time. Did I see art as a real career, or was this just a hobby? I will always love art, but I realized I didn't want it as my career. After a lot of thinking and reflecting, I have come to the conclusion that art was not the best path. I want to paint landscapes and create silly designs to relax and unwind, not as a career. So not only did I drop the art major entirely, but I decided to rethink my schooling altogether. To be honest, I never considered a trade before. I don't know if it was just age or because they don't put enough emphasis on trades when people consider higher education. One thing I did consider was getting a certification. After a lot of careful research, I learned that there were many certifications that offer just as much benefts as a college degree. Among that list, pharmacy technician stood most. In a way, Northwest Career College had chosen me for their pharmacy technician program. They were awarded the Best Trade School in Las Vegas by the Best of Las Vegas award. I had reached out to them hoping to get more information and the next thing I knew, I was enrolled as a new student preparing for orientation. I always knew that I liked being part of a team. I also knew that I wanted a career that benefits the greater good. I have been balancing work during this time, and the work ethic I developed will help me tremendously. Trust, focus, and accountabiliy are essential in this field. Everything I have developed during this journey fall perfectly in place with pharmacy, and I know that I will do great in this field. Being able to do what plays most to my strengths while cultivating a life I am satisfied with is how I define success. I will achieve that success because I know what I offer. I don't need to tell anyone, I just have to show it. The pharmacy community is close, once you are seen, that follows you. I am proud to have made this choice and I am looking forward to the opportunities awaiting me.

These past two years went by in a blur, especially when it came down to college. In 2019, I thought that I had finished everything I needed to do at community college but got sidetracked. I was unable to pay and wasn't prepared and ended up declining admission to the University that had accepted me. The months after went into rethinking my game plan, which led me to change my major. However, this came with a spike in art supplies and time-consuming assignments. Not to mention I was working a part-time job at the time. By the time I neared my last semester, I had a greater variety of state colleges to pick. Luckily I love listening to music and had plenty of songs to listen to while working on all those projects. Here is just a few that stood out that sum up how I felt this past year. I call this playlist "Keep It Going" by Mikey G "Learn to Walk Again" - Bad Wolves "All I Want" - A Day to Remember "Rise Up" - Skillet "Famous Last Words" - My Chemical Romance "TRIALS" - Starset "In The End" - Black Veil Brides

An art degree wasn't my first choice when I was choosing what to major in. However, I've always had a little thing for drawing and people always told me I was good at it. It was only about two years ago that I decided to change my major and pursue art. With that decision, thanks to the pandemic which gave me time to take a step back and think, I felt more motivated to learn and commit more to my academic goals. This was especially a win since 2019 when I was admitted into Humboldt State University to pursue a career in Wildlife Biology but while getting ready I realized that I didn't properly complete what I needed to do in community college and ended up not going. But even before then I still liked art and music I just never gave much thought to pursuing either up until recent years. There is a myriad of benefits to having art and music in everyday life. Each genre of music has a culture to it and gives insight to ones different from our own. Art is the same way. It communicates with people in a way that goes beyond words through images, sounds, and even movements. Messages can be sent when words alone aren't enough. Both subjects can express love, anger, sorrow, excitement, really any kind of feeling. This is why some songs stand out more than others and why others are remembered years after being released. Examples include Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, Don't Stop Believin' by Journey, Bad Romance by Lady Gaga, and Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi. Mixed with the sounds from one to various instruments with the lyrics, music has the power to influence our thoughts, emotions and memories. Some songs remind me of summer break, others remind me why I should keep going, and we all have listened to that one song we didn't realize was inappropriate until we got older. The same can be said about works of art. With all of the styles and movements that we learn about throughout history, we get an insight into all the periods and get a glimpse of what the people before us were experiencing. In the Gothic Period, to give an example, there became newfound freedom of artistic expression since people were moving away from the church and the subjects became more diverse since many were pushing away from conformity. If we fast forward a few centuries and look at styles such as Neoclassicism (1750 - 1850), we can see that the works were drawn from classical elements. The discovery of ancient ruins at that time reignited a passion for all things past while giving a "modern" twist. It's very easy to go on about all the things that make art and music relevant but the overall point I'm trying to get across is that they both reflect upon what we're thinking. Music has a way of reflecting thoughts we have difficulty interpreting by ourselves and art is really good at reflecting what people were going through at a given period of time. No matter what changes ensue, we will always have art and music to get us through it and help future generations understand our time. These modes of expression have their way of connecting us in ways words alone can't do and tell the story of times that have long passed.

For a long time, I thought I knew what I wanted. Growing up I had a lot of aspirations for what I wanted to be and do but the problem was that I never knew how to get there and it didn't feel like I had support from the people I was supposed to trust most. For most of high school I was dead set on going into wildlife biology, which sounded like a neat profession at the time. However, as the years went by I began to lose interest. When it was time to transfer, I realized that I wasn't as prepared as I thought and had to withdraw my application. When COVID-19 came, it gave me time to think about what I wanted and made me rediscover art. After some research, I changed my major to Studio Arts and made a plan. Not only was I back on track to transfer, but I was also excelling in my classes again and found an interest that I could wrap around my fingers. I still haven't decided what I will do though I have some ideas and have a clearer vision of what I want to do. I know that I don't want to piggyback on the idea of just being an artist; I want to help others find themselves through art. I don't know where this path will take me but I know it'll bring me closer to the happiness I am seeking and that is all I can ever hope for.

I have a lot going through my mind throughout the day, and lots of those thoughts aren't always the happy kind. However, the one thing I can count on to make me feel better is music. I love listening to music. I'm not sure what it is, but when I listen to a song, I feel like I'm not alone. Even if the song doesn't have lyrics, it's just so soothing sometimes. Not only that but it also makes me feel as if there is light during times where I only see darkness and having a few go-to songs with poignant lyrics is enough to help me keep my head up. One example here is an excerpt from the song Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance, which goes, "I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone." A lot of days go by where I wonder if it's all worth it, if I should keep going or if I should give up but the fact that I'm still here and trying must be a sign. This is why that piece of the song is so significant for me because it stands true. Now I can go on and on with every song I've ever thought of and explain why I like it but this essay is about the simple pleasures in life and it's safe to say that music gives a lot of people pleasure. Whether that's through Spotify or a collection of CDs, simply having some music to listen to is more than enough to put a smile on my face.