My anxiety and communication issues prevent me from doing what I want with those I love. I grew up in a family of 6, as the only daughter whose job was to do the typical gender roles for my family: cooking, cleaning, etc. I didn’t have the joys of going outside and playing with my friends or leaving my home without an escort trailing me everywhere as my brothers did. I didn’t get the same experience to become social with those outside of my own family, which had started to affect how I viewed myself as a girl who was extremely sheltered and couldn't survive in the real world. When I was younger, I would wonder whether being the only daughter was worth it for me; I would think that if I was a boy I wouldn’t have to hold in as many burdens for my family and could go out without being weighed down by the notion of having to be protected. I had asked my parents questions about why I couldn’t have been different gender, thinking it would’ve been easier if I wasn’t holding the responsibility for my safety when I went to school with every member of my family; they never had an answer that felt satisfactory to me. On that note, I don’t place any blame on how my parents raised me, knowing that was the cultural move in this country and the one that my parents grew up in. However, my upbringing with how I viewed myself wouldn’t be resolved for many years. My experience growing up ultimately made me wary of becoming more social as I got older. Throughout my high school years, I was a quiet person who couldn’t answer a question without checking people’s expressions to see if I said the right thing; I would sit in the back of the class to become invisible because I couldn't stand being called on as if I had done something wrong. For a while, I didn’t know the reason why I acted like that; I always thought that I did better being on my own since I was used to it at home and the only person that I had to compare myself to was myself; what I didn’t know was that this was affecting the relationships I had with friends, which affected my social skills down into college. I didn’t see my issues as being issues; they became my way of life for a long time, but they didn’t allow me to be the person I wanted to be. I wanted to be the one who was an overachiever who joined so many clubs and had many ambitions that I didn’t have enough free time to think about my worries all the time. Things started to change as I left my hometown for college. Because mental health wasn’t a talked-about subject in my high school, I didn’t have much idea of what I was going through or any remedies to move forward. It was when I got to college that the freedom from home and my old life allowed me to take a look at how the issues I was facing were affecting me. In my freshman year, I would go downtown on my own and take in the sights; I would absorb the colors of the flowers lining the buildings and the scaling of the skyscrapers. I would see the L trains move past me and think, I want to come here with someone to witness this with me. At that time, I was still dealing with socializing with others, so I knew that I needed to get past the problems I was experiencing. I would go online and research how to build those skills; I would watch shows where the main character was like me and take notes on how they overcame theirs. The day came when I would test what I learned. My school had an abundance of clubs, so I would join some to make conversation with others; I would start a talk but I didn't know how to keep it going, so the talk would end there. In the end, I took that step as a big one and didn’t let the length discourage me from trying again with another student. However, I knew my issues ran deeper than just not being able to talk to others; my past had a way of reminding me what I didn’t have. It was then that I talked with my counselors about how my issues would keep me too comfortable being alone and how I wanted to join back into society. She would give me reassurances that I wasn’t alone in my struggles and gave me a few pamphlets on communications skills. She knew of my attempts at the clubs and encouraged me to continue that journey, but to also research some more to find additional options. She told me to allow space for myself to grow and not be a critic of my own life, as I was still growing and making mistakes. She allowed me to have that space to become the person who wanted to join clubs and make those connections. I’m still allowing myself to grow at my pace; it hasn’t been an easy road, but I’ve gained new friendships and am teaching some methods that have helped me with them. My own experiences have defined who I grew to be, but I’m still changing to be who I want to become; in that way, I’m mentoring others with anxiety to find ways to cope and still live their lives their way.

My favorite book right now is Anne Frank because she was a kid who was going through the same struggles as I was when I was in high school. She was trying to be heard against parents who didn't see her as anything more than a kid; her teachers saw her as a nuisance, and her sister thought she wasn't serious and made fun of her. All Anne wanted to do was be heard and have a voice that many like hers were being ignored. If I had read this book when I was younger, I would've felt seen to speak up against the people who put me down because I was quiet or the teachers who thought I was an easy target for them because I kept to myself. I wanted to be seen in my own way and that was to be as a person with as many feelings and emotions as an adult. Nevertheless, it would be years before people take me seriously even in my young adult phase. Anne had that spark about her that made me keep reading as I saw parts of her life within me as if my own story was being through her eyes. When she spoke of being mature beyond her age, I believed she unlocked a cheat code that explained all those feelings that I had when I wasn't seen. When I would remember listening in on my parents complain to each other about how isolated I made myself to become, but remembering how I felt comfortable being so as I can stay with my thoughts and question the unknown. Anne Frank's diary has placed many of her feelings into a story of which many young people like her can reflect on and be seen as she is with us.

I went to a low-income high school, one that seems small compared to the selective high schools of Downtown, but one that tried to include all races and ethnicities into a community where money became tight for learning. My high school had over 2,000 students and the principal wanted to add more each year for us to get more funding from the state government; but, the obstacle here was that classes became overcrowded and now some students couldn’t learn without materials that our school always quickly ran out of too fast. Our textbooks were always outdated and the chemistry labs were usually videos of previous labs done when they had the materials to conduct them. Our school eventually got bigger with more funding and resources to include kids like me to have a good education to rival other schools in the city. I’m now in my college years and I’m helping students who were once I understand their education path and lead them to a diploma. I’m working with high schoolers at my college to get on a path that I’ve been on to compete for the best schools in the country. I’m doing this because I understand how difficult it can be to have such low resources and still be expected to fight for the top spot when there weren’t any top resources in my area because of my circumstance. This is why when I graduate, I hope to create a not-for-profit company that would place people of all backgrounds on a path that wouldn’t be determined based on race or location but placed on skills and hard work. Being an engineer, an African American woman of STEM, I strive to help those who need it the most.

One of the most debated topics in America is how to provide affordable healthcare to the masses. While many focus on accessible health insurance, I believe the answer lies in inaccessible healthcare providers. Nurse practitioners often go unappreciated and unrecognized for their versatility and value in the medical profession. Growing up in a large city, riddled with crime, the closest hospital was always busy and can only be accessed for people with expensive life insurance. My parents would usually have to rely on over-the-counter medication to combat certain illnesses. This is when my passion for medicine first took form. Minimal medical care was not a concern until my father went to the hospital for a severe heart attack. These were the result of overall stress. Because my father had not been to the doctor in years, the flare-up was highly aggressive. It took months to get the disease under control and get him on preventative medication. When I decided to go to college, I knew I wanted to help people like my father. I chose to become a nurse practitioner because I can practice medicine without charging a fortune for my services. Nurse practitioners are particularly beneficial in rural communities where hospitals and doctors are limited or non-existent. These are the areas I plan to serve. I am grateful to be considered for this scholarship opportunity, and should I be selected, I will use it to advance my medical education.

To Your Eternity is beautiful. Not because it is a masterpiece, but because it is a journey. A journey about an empty shell. A journey that delves into the brutal yet alluring qualities of human life. A journey filled with both joy and pain. The show starts with one of the most beautifully condensed episodes, giving a taste of what it has to offer. Its emotional soundtrack compliments the intention of every scene, leaving a memorable impact for viewers. The subtle themes brought into the show only compliment the uniqueness of the story; What is the meaning of life and death? What makes humans, humans? To Your Eternity is not something you simply watch but feel. For me, it's a philosophical adventure to see what lies in my life through a shell living out its own.

Everyone has a story. And it's that story, good or bad, that can help change another person's life whether it is minor or drastic. What I hope to accomplish, is to be thought of as reliable, honest, trustworthy, and good-natured. There will be many times during my life when I will move on from a job, from school, from a career, moving on to new friends, and in some cases leaving old ones behind. I hope that when those people think of me, and the past and experiences I had with them, that they smile. Starting with high school, I would like to be remembered as the girl who could make anyone feel better about themself. One of my biggest goals amongst my friends, and people in my life is to brighten their day and make them feel good whether it's from a simple compliment, pep talk, or just something funny or inspiring I said to them. I have always been told that I have a gift for making people smile, which feels great to hear. I also want to be remembered for being trustworthy. To me, that is one of the most important values in a friendship or any relationship with anyone. In high school, I feel that finding a true trustworthy friend is very rare. I've had several friends that have gone behind my back and said unkind things, or done things to sabotage the friendship I had with them and that has always been a deal-breaker for me. Because of that reason, I have always held the values of honesty and trust dear in my heart and promised myself that, no matter how hard it was, I would always keep those traits present and, hopefully, in turn, be remembered for it. A lot of people want to be remembered for their GPA, intelligence, looks, or their athletics, but those things only go as far as helping yourself. These things also don't help you in the long run, as far as a career and future relationships go. To my future, past, and present coworkers, bosses, teachers, and classmates, I want to be remembered for being reliable. This is very important to me as well because as a student, friend, classmate, and coworker, being unreliable can cost you that job or relationship you have with those people in your life. I've made it a point to always be on time, be trustworthy, honest, diligent, and reliable. Because of this, I have grown to have a great relationship with my boss, teachers, and other people that I have professional relationships. My teachers and bosses always tell me how reliable I really am, and for that reason, I have even earned the label as a "star employee", with the job that I have now. For this, I hope to continue to be remembered for my good work ethic and reliability. I want my story to be, a story of a girl who could make people smile because of how good-natured and sweet she was. I want to be known and remembered for my honesty, and how reliable and trustworthy I am. These are all qualities that some of my truest friends and some of the most good-hearted people I know have, and these people inspire me to have these qualities as well. I want to be remembered as a girl who could make people feel good, and in the grand scheme of things, I would like to just be remembered as a good person. If people think of me and smile, then I know that I have done a good job.

Mental health is something I feel has always been taboo, both growing up in my family household, as well as in society. I grew up not understanding how to talk about how I felt and if I felt pain or stress, I was expected to be strong enough to overcome those feelings on my own. I remember worrying I would get in trouble if I were crying. This difficult subject has since led to how I interact with my work, relationships, and career pathways now. It was only a few years ago that I was driving alone on my way to a girl's weekend where I was so overwhelmed by stressors in life that I had thought of driving off of the road. This was the first time thought of this nature had popped into my head. Minute after minute of driving, I had a sinking sensation. I felt there was a bit of truth to the thought and was overcome by feelings of sadness, anger, and confusion. I was so scared and alone with this thought and was worried. I cried hysterically, while still driving the winding mountain roads to the girl's weekend. I couldn't stop crying and I couldn't understand why I was so affected by this thought that I would never want to actually want to act upon. I'm not sure what happened next, but all of a sudden I felt a little rational again. I asked myself, "Is this reason to call the suicide prevention hotline?" After some deep breaths and a few more minutes of sitting in my idling car on the side of the highway, I called up a friend. How lucky am I to have friends whom I feel I can reach out to with this sort of thing? I didn't understand what was happening, but I knew I was going to be able to be calmed down by a friend. So, I called her up and I told her everything. She was so respectful and understanding. What meant more to me than anything at that moment was that she trusted me. She had confidence that I was telling her the truth when I said "I think it's just a crazy thought and I could never do that to my loved ones or myself." Her trust in me made me feel safe in talking about the truth. She made me understand the importance of taking taboo subjects off the table and communicating with the ones you love. This interaction has since shaped how I approach talking about mental health with my friends. I am not afraid to share this experience or ones like it. I am open and honest about the resources I use to maintain a level of stability and healthy behavior around stress. I think that more people have suicidal thoughts or ones like it than they're willing to admit. I have known people from my community who also act on these thoughts. I hope that one day access to normalizing mental health and therefore making people feel safe in talking about it will one day be. When we have compassion and empathy towards those dealing with mental health issues, we can take one step closer to making them feel heard and safe. Some people don't have a support system as I do, and this is why I want to serve people as a nurse in my future career. It is so important to have a health care system that approaches a person as a whole and not only treats injury or illness, but physiological treatment can go a long way as well. I hope to take my compassion for people into this new career path to make everyone feel safe when interacting with me.

"Think globally, act locally." These words have had a great effect on not only my personal life but my dreams for the future. Being immigrants from Nigeria, my parents never had much of anything, but what they kept with them at all times was their religion. This set of basic moral values helped them raise a family through hard times, and helped build their own religious community. I was raised in an environment where charity played a major role in my everyday life, giving food to the homeless was our family activity. For the longest time, I thought that I was doing the best for my community, working at homeless shelters through my mosque, doing volunteer programs through my mom's work, and heading the recycling program at my school were all the things I did to prove it. My perspective on what community really was all changed though, when my mom traveled to Nigeria in order to teach kids basic educational skills. I realized that my own little bubble was not the only place where giving back was relevant. There was a whole world out there that required aid, and the amount of aid I have given in my community was minuscule in comparison to the amount of aid needed in the world. I asked myself, why did people help only those in their immediate vicinity, instead of helping those who are truly in trouble on the other side of the world? The answer came from my US history teacher, who recited a quote from one of Roosevelt's speeches during World War II, "If your neighbor's house is on fire, you don't think about how much the water is going to cost, you just put out the fire." This was my moment of enlightenment, as I realized people tend to give to others they can relate to or sympathize with in some way. For example, we gave food to homeless people in our own community because we knew it was easy to fall into financial hardship due to the recession. People are hesitant to give aid to others that are foreign and far away because they will never be able to see the direct result of their actions. If I give a sandwich to someone who is hungry they will smile, but if I put money in an envelope and send it to someone far away I won't get the same amount of satisfaction. This is the reason why I am so interested in technology because it breaks the communication barrier that separates people of different origins, nationalities, and locations. I want to be a part of this new era of technological advancement, and be able to make a difference in the way people interact with each other on a global basis. By doing this, I will not only be able to live up to my parent's example but utilize my own strengths towards helping people act on a more global level.

"We make a living from what we get, but we live by a given life." - Winston Churchill I think local community service is an important element in my future. I think that everyone should be better than they found in the world. Community service is a major part of my life. I am currently participating in a program called Candlelighters. Candlelight therapy is a useful program for cancer patients and their families. As part of the candlelight program, I saw many children dying of cancer. When I was doing community service through a girl scout, I thought it was embarrassing - everyone was not as lucky as I am - it's why I would like to give back to the community by doing various community service actions Thanksgiving basket is for those who can not afford it. After helping with the planning of some community service activities, I built a good work ethic and completed my part and/or activity work within the time. My community did a lot of things for me. To repay my community is the least I can do. Living in the area where I live makes me of today. My community is a fairly small community that everyone knows everyone, spreads both hands, and greets each other with a gentle heart. By growing up in this community, I understood how to become a caring, caring, and knowledgeable person. The other aspect is that all taxpayers are the way I can go to school without having to pay for my book or anything else. Since it does everything for me, I think it is important that it will give back to the community; it is people of the community or people of the community. I need something to return to me. By giving back to my community, other kids can do the same things I did and share the same love

2020 has come to an end so this is possibly my last answer of the year. I started out in 2020 just like every other year thinking that everything will turn out to be perfect. But we know that it was nowhere near the case and would never be. Junior year was extremely stressful for me and I felt like I would be stuck in a cycle full of drama and nonsense. Classes were getting harder and I would just lose interest. If seniors get senioritis, do you think juniors could also get junioritis? I had to cut some friends out of my life because they were toxic and took the trust I had for them for granted. When we first started our quarantine, I basically shut down. I was depressed all day and all night just waiting for the days to go by and to go back to school. I began to lose weight because I just didn’t care about anything. And then when we got the news that schools would be closed for the rest of the school year and I would have to end the year at home, I’m sure you all know how I felt. When the new school year was about to begin (the senior year for me), I learned that my parents decided that I would do the first quarter at home. I disagreed with them and got into arguments with them cause I thought they didn’t understand me. You would think I’m lying if I told you that I initially HATED online school, but today I’m actually thankful. I’m thankful for my parent's decision and I’ve actually gotten so used to online school it won’t feel as exciting if I go back face to face. By the way, I have decided that I will do this second semester (my very last semester of high school) at home. I really like that I am able to get a bit more sleep, focus on my eating habits, mental health, and also have a bit more time for school assignments than when I am in person. When I started senior year in August, my independence grew and my responsibilities increased. I know I’ve talked about this a million times already but I will summarize. I am in my 4th year of the Early Childhood Education program at my school because I want to become an elementary school teacher as a career. My high school has a child care center for all the teacher's kids and I would volunteer there all the time as volunteering is required to be part of the program. However this year because of the pandemic, the number of people in the classroom/child care center became restricted and our teacher told us that we would need to find another local child care center to finish our volunteer hours. In September, I found the local child care center near my home and began volunteering as I was trying to gain more volunteer hours to be granted my CDA at the end of this school year. I go there 4 days a week while on Friday afternoons I go to school to volunteer at their child care center and also visit my favorite teachers at the end of my shift. A couple of weeks ago, I finished all my required hours but I still volunteer in both places because the kids already see me as their teacher and it would not be fair to them if I just mysteriously disappear. I’m hoping that I can sometime turn this volunteer position into a part-time job soon. In conclusion, 2020 was the year in which I began to mature after a not so good junior year, and my responsibilities/independence increased

People believe that the environment and the people you surround yourself with are important in someone's life. If we surround ourselves with bad influences we tend to become rebellious and uncaring of our futures. However, being around good influences makes us respectful and want to strive to succeed. I learned a lot through everyone in my life and the environment I was in which shaped me into who I am, My parents had the biggest impact on who I am today. They've taught me right from wrong and introduced me to life itself. When I was seven they separated, so I lived with my mom the majority of my life. My dad on the other hand wasn't around until my high school years. Growing up it was always just me, my mom, and my two younger siblings. She supported us a lot throughout our lives. Seeing her overcome many struggles raising three kids while keeping food in the house, a roof over our heads, and clothes on our backs showed me she was a very strong person. She always told me being independent builds a strong person and that's what she raised me to be. My dad also helped me become an independent person. He was an example of why I need to be independent. He wasn't there for us financially or physically. He showed me that it is better to depend on yourself rather than others because no one is dependable nowadays. Even though we've had our downs, he was one of the people that taught me to always love and cherish the people around me because you never know what tomorrow brings. Ever since then I have always lived in the present and was always there for people. Not only did my parents have an impact on who I am but where I was raised shaped me too. We always stayed in communities and schools where I was a minority. My mom was always afraid of us getting in trouble or being directed in the wrong direction. However, being an African American in a majority white community came with its problems like racism. When I was in the fifth grade I was told I was stupid and wouldn't succeed in life because I was an African American female. Being judged and being told you can't do certain things because of your skin color hurts sometimes. I believed the person who told me that but I was once told, "No one can tell you anything about your color that will change who you are or whether you succeed or not. Success comes from your motivation to succeed in life. Black is beautiful and no one can tell you it's not." Ever since I was told that no one could tell me anything about my race or color. I grew tough skin and no one could take that away from me. Although living in these communities had its downs, I made some good friends that had a positive impact on my life. I met my best friend in eighth grade and we've been close ever since. He's turned me into the loving and caring person I am now. When things went downhill he always saw the positive sides of things and the good in people. For the past seventeen years of my life, I have been transformed into a strong, independent, loving, and caring person. Although I've had people doubt me and try to motivate me in a bad way, they've made me wanna prove them wrong by wanting to succeed in life. If it wasn't for the people I surrounded myself with I wouldn't be the person I am today.

My name is Miracle Achebe. I am a student at City Chicago college completing an associate’s degree in science and planning on transferring to a four-year college or university. My educational aspirations consist of acquiring a bachelor’s degree in any biological or health science that would assist me in pursuing a medical career as a doctor. On the other hand, my career vision is to one day be able to provide affordable health care to marginalized communities in the United States. However, I am certain that if I do not complete my college degree I could never have the opportunity to achieve my career goals. I decided that I will attain a career as a doctor since my passion has always been assisting others and trying to improve their quality of life. Therefore, I think that pursuing such a career will provide me the opportunity to help improve the community's health quality conditions and learn about their medical needs. After becoming a certified doctor, I want to specialize in oncology, the study of cancer, and add my knowledge to the cancer research field. Furthermore, I want to contribute back to underserved populations in the U.S. that struggle every day to sustain a family, and who do not have as much access to medical assistance as other privileged groups. The first health project I want to accomplish throughout my career as a doctor is to establish a free clinic where affordable medical regardless of the patient's immigration status. The diverse health services would include free doctor consultations, low-price or free medication, and nutritional classes to prevent the presence of diabetes or heart disease. I also intend to provide an interpreter for patients in case they do not speak English and establish a financial assistance program to help patients who are not able to pay for any type of surgery that needs to be performed. The second biggest career goal that I want to accomplish is to establish a non-profit organization where I can create internships for medical school students around the U.S., and allow them to travel to isolated communities around the world to provide free medical services. I also want to provide nutrition education to support these marginalized communities, especially indigenous groups from Latin American countries. This will help contribute to the physical development of kids and offer a solution to malnutrition. I know that all of my goals will remain dreams if I do not complete my medical degree. Therefore, I am committed to working hard in school and looking for opportunities that could help me make my goals a reality

It may seem odd, but my choice is: “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” Depending on how you take it, it has different meanings. If you look at it slightly pessimistically it equates to most of the days you have had experienced are a waste. If you look at it optimistically I am telling you to be happy. Pessimism and optimism are partly situational meaning this quote can help someone in a difficult situation. If you tell a depressed person their entire life has been a waste it may not be a good thing, but the way it's phrased makes them feel there is a way out of their neverending sorrows. “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” A day without a positive thing is a day wasted, but if you add that thing but will not be wasted. Also, there is nothing wrong with telling a happy person being happy is great! My fourth-grade teacher exposed me to this quote I remember the day thoroughly. I was crying my heart out for one reason or another and she told it to me. At first, I thought she was telling me to be happy and that's what my purpose in life should be. I'm not sure why but I just stopped crying it may be because someone actually cared about me being happy or it may be because I finally found a purpose in life. Later that night I reflected on it more thoroughly and found a much deeper meaning- If you don't add positive things in your life will always feel like a waste. I've repeated this quote many times to multiple different people, they all seemed to take it to heart.

What inspires me is knowing that people have my back in anything that I want to do. I’m 20 years old, so I don’t have much experience in anything, but I always had big dreams to go to the best colleges for engineering when I was younger. And I’m a female who grew up with three boys; and yet, no one ever told me that couldn’t do it; they never said ‘no you're a girl, or no one in your race could make it.’ They always praise me for thinking big and helped in my studies or my projects. these people were my friends, teachers, parents, and mentors that didn’t see me as anything less than what I put in. I won my first school science fair in 6th grade and went on to have my science teacher explore more science opportunities for me because he believed that I could achieve more. I went to Kenwood Academy for high school, joined their Biomedical Program for the next three years, and won my White Coat. Now, I wasn’t always in this position. I had a hard time when I felt like an imposter; like I wasn’t the straight-A student some people made me out to be. I didn’t believe I deserve their praise for a good grade when they didn’t know how close it was to a failing mark in school. For a time afterward, I had burnouts, especially as a senior in high school, when colleges start to matter. I talked to my counselors about those days and they helped me start thinking about the little things that matter to me. Anything like enjoying a small club, or doing a homework problem; all to ease my mind when it came to grades and colleges. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who didn’t stop my progress when I didn’t understand the meaning of slow down. thank you to those who didn’t judge me for what the nation judge people like me for. And thank you to those who didn’t stop seeing me when I hit a setback and needed time to reevaluate who I was doing all my achievements for. I couldn’t have made it this far without support.