My favorite athlete to cheer for on Team USA is Simone Biles. She is an amazing gymnast who has impressed the world with her talent, but what makes her truly inspiring is her strength and courage both in competition and in life. Simone’s skills are incredible. Watching her perform is like seeing someone push the limits of what gymnastics can be. But more than that, she showed great bravery during the Tokyo Olympics when she openly talked about her mental health struggles. She made the tough choice to step back from some events to take care of herself. That moment showed me that even the best athletes face challenges, and it’s important to prioritize your well-being. I admire Simone because she teaches us that success is not only about winning medals or being perfect. It’s also about being honest with yourself and having the courage to make hard decisions. She inspires me to work hard, stay focused, and take care of myself no matter what life throws at me. Cheering for Simone means cheering for someone who stands for real strength, resilience, and honesty. She is more than just an athlete — she is a role model. That is why I will always support her on Team USA.

My “Connections” Puzzle: How Ambition and Drive Work Together The New York Times’ Connections puzzles are fun because they challenge you to find groups of related words in a jumble. I decided to create my own puzzle focused on something important to me—ambition and drive. I wanted to show how different ideas that help people succeed connect with each other. My puzzle uses sixteen words, and they can be split into four groups of four. Each group fits into one of these categories: Ambition and Personal Drive, Leadership and Support, Planning and Strategy, and Motivation and Mindset. The first group is Ambition and Personal Drive. It includes goal, drive, strive, and achieve. These words show the personal push you need to reach success. You start by setting a goal, then you use your drive to keep going, you keep striving through hard times, and finally, you achieve what you set out to do. The second group is Leadership and Support. It has leader, coach, mentor, and team. Success isn’t something most people get on their own. Leaders guide, coaches help improve, mentors give advice, and teams work together. This group shows how important the people around us are. The third group is Planning and Strategy, which includes mission, plan, vision, and focus. Having ambition isn’t enough—you need a plan. A mission gives you a reason to work hard, a plan lays out how you’ll do it, vision helps you see the bigger picture, and focus keeps you from getting distracted. The last group is Motivation and Mindset with inspire, motivate, discipline, and success. These words describe the attitude and habits that help you keep going. Inspiration and motivation give you energy, discipline helps you stick with it, and success is the result. Putting this puzzle together made me think about how all these things work together in real life. Ambition and drive aren’t just about wanting something—they involve planning, getting help, and keeping a good mindset. Success is a mix of many parts, not just one. I hope my puzzle helps others see how important it is to have a clear goal, work hard, and lean on others when needed. That’s the kind of connection I wanted to show.