Make a to-do list everyday! This is scientifically proven to make yourself more motivated. It also helps you break down big things into small things and input time management techniques. This helped me work 30 hours a week, while being in 6 classes (3 APs), and 15 clubs, while keeping my high GPA.

I've always believed in the importance of learning and education, and not just because I am such a curious cat that I learn about every topic I can get my hands on. Education is what sets you up for success, it is how you learn what fields you like and don't. This is why I think higher education is important because it prepares you for the world, especially as jobs requiring higher education are rapidly outpacing jobs not requiring it. Because employers are not only looking for background education in the field but also the dedication that attending college takes out of a person. However, this isn't always the opinion I had of school. Now my 4.145 GPA shows that I am a good student but what can't be shown on a transcript is that I have almost failed 6 years of math in my life: 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th-grade maths. Every single year I struggled with connecting concepts and figures. I would break down in class and it even affected my comprehension of AP Physics 1 and 2, which I was required to take. I would struggle for months over the problems until I finally picked myself up and asked for help and was able to get at least a low B. Because I will and always have struggled with asking for help. It is only my determination, drive, and motivation taht eventually guilt me into doing so. And thanks to that determination I was able to do many other things as well. I will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia next Fall. I’ve always loved learning new topics and hope to have the best opportunity available to learn as much as possible, and I am very lucky to be accepted to this school. However, because of the quality of this school, it is not entirely affordable for me to attend, a dual major, and attain a master's in the way I want to. I want to become an entrepreneur in a scientific or engineering field, and this education would grant me that ability and opportunities. If I am granted this scholarship, I would be able to fuel my education in not only funds but time. Because I plan to work for my education, this scholarship will allow me to take the time that I would’ve spent working for my education funds to study, or explore internships, or build relationships with professionals that would fuel my future instead. I plan to succeed by continuing to use time management, communication, and decision-making skills, but this scholarship would empower me to do better, and pave my future path. My parents were both the first in my family’s history to receive college educations, both in Computer Sciences, and I hope to make them and my family in Puerto Rico and Mexico proud by being the first to receive a graduate degree. Every day I work to secure my future by meeting new people, searching for new scholarship opportunities, and succeeding as much as I can in my classes and clubs. Because not only is me attending university for myself but I do it for others: to make my parents proud, for the people I can help with my college education one day, and for my future children which I can fund good education for them.

People often say their body is a temple. And I have always thought that was pretentious. Not everyone has the opportunity to eat only clean, healthy, organic, and other buzzword foods. Clean, or rather healthy, living means living a balanced and happy life. This means doing everything in moderation: exercise, healthy/unhealthy food, stressful situations, and relaxing times. All of these have a place in a person's balanced life. This is why I say everything in moderation. Eating too much or too little food can develop into bad habits or even an eating disorder. Too little exercise can lead to health risks, such as diabetes, etc. Too much exercise can lead to unbecoming and unsafe choices, such as sacrificing diet, taking performance-enhancing drugs, etc. Being in a stressful situation every day can lead to many health issues, both physical and mental, such as acid reflux, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, etc. But taking it easy every single day can lead to laziness and declining health. It is always better to try and do everything in moderation and choose the healthy choice, but we must take a break and indulge ourselves once in a while. A dessert once a day, a day off, choosing an unhealthy meal once or twice a week. I personally maintain a healthy lifestyle in a few ways. But first some background. I work 20 hours a week to afford to go to the stressful, and academically rigorous school I attend. This is a stressful situation. I have chosen to spend more on the meal plan my school offers because I have always struggled with gaining the motivation to cook a healthy meal. And I clean when I can, but as stated previously I don't have much time available. This is what leads me to the first factor of my clean living habits: time and stress management. I have bipolar disorder and anxiety, as well as a stressful day-to-day so I have learned that I have to be organized with time. I plan out my day so that I can have breaks because they are important to keep my stress levels down and keep me working efficiently. Now onto number two: my eating habits. I used to live in a single-parent home so cooking would often involve me heating something up from the freezer, even if it was a slightly healthier option. So, I often struggle with eating enough or too much when that couples with my IBS and pickiness over food. So, I have chosen to pay for my school's meal plan so I can not worry about that and eat healthily prepared meals. Thirdly, I try to keep my mental state clean by living in an organized environment and making sure to monitor the effectiveness of my medications. This is all so that I can avoid a breakdown like I used to have. Breakdowns are exactly what they sound like and often lead to a total collapse of my carefully crafted plan to live a healthy and balanced life. And finally maintaining a good exercise routine. I won't say that I am a gym rat but I always make sure to exercise at least once a day by walking. I live a pretty active lifestyle where I am on my feet all day at work and am in charge of intaking shipments. So, walking for at least 30 minutes a day not only helps relax me but also helps burn off extra calories that I accrued during the day.

I want to change the world using what I have, will have, and know. I want to create a sustainable business or make a business sustainable to model it can be done.

People often say their body is a temple. And I have always thought that was pretentious. Not everyone has the opportunity to eat only clean, healthy, organic, and other buzzword foods. Clean, or rather healthy, living means living a balanced and happy life. This means doing everything in moderation: exercise, healthy/unhealthy food, stressful situations, and relaxing times. All of these have a place in a person's balanced life. This is why I say everything in moderation. Eating too much or too little food can develop into bad habits or even an eating disorder. Too little exercise can lead to health risks, such as diabetes, etc. Too much exercise can lead to unbecoming and unsafe choices, such as sacrificing diet, taking performance-enhancing drugs, etc. Being in a stressful situation every day can lead to many health issues, both physical and mental, such as acid reflux, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, etc. But taking it easy every single day can lead to laziness and declining health. It is always better to try and do everything in moderation and choose the healthy choice, but we must take a break and indulge ourselves once in a while. A dessert once a day, a day off, choosing an unhealthy meal once or twice a week. But I say that as someone in a situation where I can choose these options. As someone who can afford the higher-priced organic foods, who has someone or the time to cook for me, who can take the time to take a day off. One of the reasons obesity is so prevalent in the US is because the impoverished can't afford these healthy choices. Which is what influences my opinion that making healthy choices includes doing what you can with what you have, making the right choice if you can, and living a balanced life. I personally maintain a healthy lifestyle in a few ways. But first some background. I work 20 hours a week to afford to go to the stressful, and academically rigorous school I attend. This is a stressful situation. I have chosen to spend more on the meal plan my school offers because I have always struggled with gaining the motivation to cook a healthy meal. And I clean when I can, but as stated previously I don't have much time available. This is what leads me to the first factor of my clean living habits: time and stress management. I have bipolar disorder and anxiety, as well as a stressful day-to-day so I have learned that I have to be organized with time. I plan out my day so that I can have breaks because they are important to keep my stress levels down and keep me working efficiently. Now unto number two: my eating habits. I used to live in a single-parent home so cooking would often involve me heating something up from the freezer, even if it was a slightly healthier option. So, I often struggle with eating enough or too much when that couples with my IBS and pickiness over food. So, I have chosen to pay for my school's meal plan so I can not worry about that and eat healthily prepared meals. And finally, I try to keep my mental state clean by living in an organized environment and making sure to monitor the effectiveness of my medications.

People often say their body is a temple. And I have always thought that was pretentious. Not everyone has the opportunity to eat only clean, healthy, organic, and other buzzword foods. Clean, or rather healthy, living means living a balanced and happy life. This means doing everything in moderation: exercise, healthy/unhealthy food, stressful situations, and relaxing times. All of these have a place in a person's balanced life. This is why I say everything in moderation. Eating too much or too little food can develop into bad habits or even an eating disorder. Too little exercise can lead to health risks, such as diabetes, etc. Too much exercise can lead to unbecoming and unsafe choices, such as sacrificing diet, taking performance-enhancing drugs, etc. Being in a stressful situation every day can lead to many health issues, both physical and mental, such as acid reflux, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, etc. But taking it easy every single day can lead to laziness and declining health. It is always better to try and do everything in moderation and choose the healthy choice, but we must take a break and indulge ourselves once in a while. A dessert once a day, a day off, choosing an unhealthy meal once or twice a week. But I say that as someone in a situation where I can choose these options. As someone who can afford the higher-priced organic foods, who has someone or the time to cook for me, who can take the time to take a day off. One of the reasons obesity is so prevalent in the US is because the impoverished can't afford these healthy choices. Which is what influences my opinion that making healthy choices includes doing what you can with what you have, making the right choice if you can, and living a balanced life. I personally maintain a healthy lifestyle in a few ways. But first some background. I work 20 hours a week to afford to go to the stressful, and academically rigorous school I attend. This is a stressful situation. I have chosen to spend more on the meal plan my school offers because I have always struggled with gaining the motivation to cook a healthy meal. And I clean when I can, but as stated previously I don't have much time available. This is what leads me to the first factor of my clean living habits: time and stress management. I have bipolar disorder and anxiety, as well as a stressful day-to-day so I have learned that I have to be organized with time. I plan out my day so that I can have breaks because they are important to keep my stress levels down and keep me working efficiently. Now unto number two: my eating habits. I used to live in a single-parent home so cooking would often involve me heating something up from the freezer, even if it was a slightly healthier option. So, I often struggle with eating enough or too much when that couples with my IBS and pickiness over food. So, I have chosen to pay for my school's meal plan so I can not worry about that and eat healthily prepared meals. And finally, I try to keep my mental state clean by living in an organized environment and making sure to monitor the effectiveness of my medications.

People often say their body is a temple. And I have always thought that was pretentious. Not everyone has the opportunity to eat only clean, healthy, organic, and other buzzword foods. Clean, or rather healthy, living means living a balanced and happy life. This means doing everything in moderation: exercise, healthy/unhealthy food, stressful situations, and relaxing times. All of these have a place in a person's balanced life. This is why I say everything in moderation. Eating too much or too little food can develop into bad habits or even an eating disorder. Too little exercise can lead to health risks, such as diabetes, etc. Too much exercise can lead to unbecoming and unsafe choices, such as sacrificing diet, taking performance-enhancing drugs, etc. Being in a stressful situation every day can lead to many health issues, both physical and mental, such as acid reflux, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, etc. But taking it easy every single day can lead to laziness and declining health. It is always better to try and do everything in moderation and choose the healthy choice, but we must take a break and indulge ourselves once in a while. A dessert once a day, a day off, choosing an unhealthy meal once or twice a week. But I say that as someone in a situation where I can choose these options. As someone who can afford the higher-priced organic foods, who has someone or the time to cook for me, who can take the time to take a day off. One of the reasons obesity is so prevalent in the US is because the impoverished can't afford these healthy choices. Which is what influences my opinion that making healthy choices includes doing what you can with what you have, making the right choice if you can, and living a balanced life.

For the longest time, I didn't know what was bothering me. Why the smallest things make me feel like the world was crashing down around me. Why I would feel down one day and then up another. Why I would hear people who weren't there calling my name. Why I would get so overwhelmed I would snap and start uncontrollably sobbing. Why I couldn't even watch some comedy movies because they would make me cringe into hiding in a dark space. \Why the list goes on. All of these things affected the way that I acted. I avoided activities because they scared me. I was always sleep-deprived or sleeping too much. I would drive only certain ways and beg my mom to take me places I didn't feel I could go. I can not go out not dressed perfectly. I would avoid certain sources of media and people. Every math teacher hated me for my tears of frustration. And even this list goes on. All I felt was shame. I always felt like I was two different people, the person I tried so hard to be and the person I actually am. So, when I found out I had anxiety and bipolar disorder, I felt relieved. I finally knew why I felt the way I felt but was it too late? I had avoided friendship and let relationships die because I couldn't deal with them. Every summer I would lose track of people from the school year and have to start over. And when you have an August birthday, always makes for a sad party. Or when I would become so upset "randomly" that I would blow up on random people and ruin the chance of a new friend before I even got it. This made me become angry for a very long time and avoid making friends, which also made me naive. It made me believe that everyone has an explanation for why they do bad things, and I do still believe that to some degree but people would make fun of my foolishness by trying to steal my things, telling me things that weren't true, and coming too close for comfort to me. So, I learned that that isn't the case for everyone. I only started to get medication a few months ago, and I feel as if I am faking for attention some days, but my journey has taught me that everyone deserves help and no one should be ashamed to ask for it. But it took me a long time to ask for help. And I continue try and keep changing my habits. Getting back into doing things I should: showering, brushing my teeth, brushing my hair, and exercising regularly. I even started eating more balanced meals.

For the longest time, I didn't know what was bothering me. Why the smallest things make me feel like the world was crashing down around me. Why I would feel down one day and then up another. Why I would hear people who weren't there calling my name. Why I would get so overwhelmed I would snap and start uncontrollably sobbing. Why I couldn't even watch some comedy movies because they would make me cringe into hiding in a dark space. Why the list goes on. All of these things affected the way that I acted. I avoided activities because they scared me. I was always sleep-deprived or sleeping too much. I would drive only certain ways and beg my mom to take me places I didn't feel I could go. I can not go out not dressed perfectly. I would avoid certain sources of media and people. Every math teacher hated me for my tears of frustration. And even this list goes on. All I felt was shame. I always felt like I was two different people, the person I tried so hard to be and the person I actually am. So, when I found out I had anxiety and bipolar disorder, I felt relieved. I finally knew why I felt the way I felt but was it too late? I had avoided friendship and let relationships die because I couldn't deal with them. Every summer I would lose track of people from the school year and have to start over. And when you have an August birthday, always makes for a sad party. Or when I would become so upset "randomly" that I would blow up on random people and ruin the chance of a new friend before I even got it. This made me become angry for a very long time and avoid making friends, which also made me naive. It made me believe that everyone has an explanation for why they do bad things, and I do still believe that to some degree but people would make fun of my foolishness by trying to steal my things, telling me things that weren't true, and coming too close for comfort to me. So, I learned that that isn't the case for everyone. But when I was looking for explanations I became interested in psychology which led me to my first science fair project on psychology which led me to my second on environmental science. Which I learned I loved because I believe that everyone should leave the earth a better place than when they entered it, even if that is the dregs of my anxiety telling me to do no wrong. I became very interested in research and am now going to major in it in college along with business administration. So that one day I can change the world in one small way with my research. I only started to get medication a few months ago, and I feel as if I am faking for attention some days, but my journey has taught me that everyone deserves help and no one should be ashamed to ask for it. But it took me a long time to ask for help, and I am still learning how to take care of myself. But I try to help others when I can, by comforting them and reassuring them.

I’ve always liked science, it's obvious by what I chose to involve myself in, and it’s always come from a place of loving to learn. But until my junior year I didn’t plan to go into the field, I thought I would follow my plans of being a fashion designer, or an architect when I moved onto that dream, but it wasn’t until I did the science fair for the second time that I realized I wanted to be a researcher. I’ve always loved researching information and collecting data. I would collect data on what percentage of people in my class liked vanilla versus chocolate ice cream, and things of the sort just for fun, and because I loved the process. So, when I first joined the science fair I created a project based around Psychology that I could survey people for, I did do that, but I didn’t love it; I enjoyed it. But in my next year of doing the science fair, I decided to do a project on the environment. I have always loved the environment and studying it. Learning about the water cycle was my favorite thing, I had a rock collection, I even learned facts upon facts about different types of insects even if I was disgusted by them, and I’ve always been the one to recite: reduce, reuse, recycle. Continuing with the narrative: in my junior year and my second year of doing the science fair, I decided to study if wax worms could digest polyethylene and how best they could do it, forgoing my previous squeamishness for the sake of satisfying my curiosity. And I loved it. I loved tracking the data, and taking notes, and seeing my hypothesis disproved, and the theory that they could digest it reaffirmed and thinking of applications & implications. This is what made me realize I wanted to be a researcher in Environmental Sciences, I wanted to find and test ways to help the environment, after diagnosing problems, and exploring curiosities. I was so interested, and I realized I always had been. So, I tried to pursue that interest further: I joined my school’s environmental club, I signed up for the AP Environmental exam sans the course, and I began to take a deeper dive into what I could research and do in the field. It was because of this project and my passion I was able to place 3rd in my county’s regional competition and realize how far I wanted to pursue this path. I plan to utilize my degrees to start a business that can help the world and I hope that I can use my science education and innovative abilities to do so.

Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are? Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are. ....But I do know what a star is. It is a burning ball of gasses forged by intense pressure that creates intense heat from nuclear fusion. Not that is a fact people commonly care about, it isn't even one that I cared about until very recently. I like to think of my aspirations as stars. Small in retrospect, but large and intense when viewed directly. I have wanted to be many things in my life. In fact, I have wanted to be so many specific things in my life that I can recite them to you: Age 5 - 12: Fashion Designer and Entrepreneur Age 12 - 15: Environmental Engineer/Architect and Entrepreneur Age 15: Public Defender Age 16: .......[*a state of confusion on the path my life was taking and the state of my future] Age 17: A scientist and entrepreneur Now, obviously, there is a linking connection between most of these careers. That being that I have always wanted to create a business out of doing what I love, but there is a less obvious connection between them: sustainability. Ever since I was a little girl I have had this worry for our planet. I don't know if it was nature or nurture. But my love of sustainability has grown inside me like a great willow tree reaching for the clouds. When I wanted to create a fashion business, I wanted it to be out of reused and recycled materials. When I wanted to be an engineer, I wanted to do it to create sustainable and eco-friendly housing on a large scale. When I wanted to be a public defender, it was because of a tangent I want on about tree laws. And I want to be a scientist so I can discover or invent something that will help change the world of sustainability and the world for the better. I’ve always liked science, it's obvious by what I chose to involve myself in, and it’s always come from a place of loving to learn. But I haven't always loved it. But until my junior year I didn’t plan to go into the field, I thought I would follow my plans of being a fashion designer, or an architect when I moved onto that dream, but it wasn’t until I did the science fair for the second time that I realized I wanted to be a researcher. I’ve always loved researching information and collecting data. I would collect data on what percentage of people in my class liked vanilla versus chocolate ice cream, and things of the sort just for fun, and because I loved the process. So, when I first joined the science fair I didn’t love it; I enjoyed it. But in my next year of doing the science fair, I decided to do a project on the environment. I have always loved the environment and studying it. And I loved it. I loved tracking the data, and taking notes, and seeing my hypothesis disproved, and the theory that they could digest it reaffirmed, and thinking of applications & implications. This is the perfect career for me. Because once I complete my degree, I can utilize all the research and entrepreneurial skills to build a company that will work for the people. And not for just their money. To help people and make waves.

Ever since I was a little girl I've had big dreams. Starting my own business. Writing a successful novel series. Creating a successful comic character. Discovering something that will change the world! But when I was small I didn't exactly have the ability to receive a business loan, write in grammatically correct sentences, publish literary works, or do lab research. But I hung those ambitions in frames of my mind palace, to drive me to do them. So, I would continue to dream, plan, and look into the future until I was finally able to gain more freedom in high school. As I not only learned to drive but got a relatively well-paying job where I could fund my passions, rather than relying on the few times my mom would acquiesce to my requests. Because of my dreams and my imagination as wild as the deep jungles described in fiction, I have been able to achieve success. I am always praised for my imagination, my out-of-the-box thinking, my originality, my creativeness. So, that is the quality I admire in myself the most: creativity and ingenuity. I first discovered the value of this ability in my elementary art class, when my teacher would praise me for being able to replicate the style of art we were studying (as best a 7 year-old-child could) and add my own flair into the piece. I then discovered its true usefulness in my math class when I realized that instead of learning the equations in class I would often work them backward from similarly solved problems. I apply this quality of innovation everywhere. I use it in my creation of designs for clothing I want to create, and in the illustrations of them. I operate it in my understanding of difficult subjects. I employ it in my creation of projects for everything I do: in my state winning Business Plans/Presentations for DECA, my internationally qualifying science fair project, my engineering class projects that often win best in creativity, my fundraising projects for Relay for Life, my creative writing, and various other projects I could continue to list until I reach this essay's word maximum. This quality is what I am praised for, what I am known for, what drives my success. Not that I don't do the traditional things that steer success. In that metaphorical car, I seat my hard work, time, practice, and positivity. But when all else fails: when I feel unmotivated and time-crunched, it is also always my original idea that cushions the fall of my failure. I know this quality will help me in the future because every day I am bursting with ideas and solutions from the mundane: the cracks in the sidewalk, the little actions of strangers, the dust in the wind. I am just constantly full of visions that will help fuel my creative passions and scientific pursuits.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved to learn, and I would sit in my classes absorbing all the little facts and big histories like a sea sponge. Then when I was able to find someone I trusted to listen, I would regurgitate everything I retained until there weren't any words left for me to say. So, when I go to school and learn, I learn because I like to, even if I'm not particularly interested or appealed towards a subject, and focus on doing well but not to the point I come to hate the class. It is why I only receive above-average grades on my transcripts versus the flawless ones my friends do. Therefore, it has always been one of my greatest dreams to attend a university where I could continue to receive a good education in subjects I am interested in. However, the number of subjects and variety of them would border on insane if I were to study them all at the same time. So, I only plan to major in my two most beloved topics (once I can plan out my schedule): Environmental Science and Business. But I have also realized in the past few years that I would like to receive a graduate degree in a STEM topic as well. No one in my family has received a graduate degree before, in fact, my parents were the first to ever receive undergraduates in their families. Consequently, the topic had never crossed my mind, as at the time, and even now, I am unsure about what STEM topic I wanted to major in. In view of all the things I have ever wanted to do with my life, continuing to grow and learn ranks first, and just one step down with that is the desire to change the world for the better. Ever since I gained confidence in myself, I have found the desire to assist people often overpowering my common sense and my responsibilities. "Let me make this presentation for you, and help you on this project because of my related experience." "Of course, I'll volunteer at your event! I can do my homework another time." "I'll do fine in my math test, let me help you with your schedule, I know a few things." So, it's repeatedly that I find myself in situations helping with causes or other people, and I've found that I am able to help people most when using knowledge to my advantage. This is due to my retainment of seemingly useless information at all times, which comes is useful on too many occasions to be anything less than a premonition of future success. Whether it is helping underclassmen with scheduling, aiding the members of my clubs to succeed, assisting peers in extra-curricular projects, or creating experiments and presentations on information for them, I have decided how I want to change the world. I want to use all my knowledge to create something new. I haven't deduced what yet: whether it is an incredibly innovative product/service, a revolutionary business idea, or an influential campaign. That is what I want to do. And, in my heart of hearts, in the cabinet where all my daydreams reside, I hope that I can inspire someone else to take initiative to do the same. I hope that people will one day look at me, and become inspired to reach their potential. I know there are so many people out there in the world, that just haven't found their spark yet, or don't have anything to burn for the beautiful flame of success. I hope to not only be that figure that a little Hispanic girl looks up to and decides they want to do something with her talents as the figures that represented me and my struggles did to me. But I hope to be able to help that success by breaking down walls that stand in the way of my people.

I believe I best display the passion (and stubbornness) that Drew had because of how I am able to apply myself to the activities that people share their excitement for with me, especially when said interests overlap with mine. I am most passionate about environmental science, business, fashion, writing, and service. Which is quite a large range of things, and why I am involved in quite a few things, and even other activities outside those sectors, but I don't want to turn this essay into a list so I'll attempt to be brief. Ever since I was a little girl, I was always obsessed with recycling, speaking to plants, and collecting rocks and geodes because I have always seen the planet as a thing of beauty and mystery when untainted by man-made products. Thusly, I have always wanted to save it, which I do by applying sustainability knowledge wherever I can. I do this by choosing to intertwine it with my business passion and all four of my DECA Business Plan Events on the topic. I do this by doing two research studies on the topic: through biodegradation of plastics and hydroelectricity. I do this by keeping myself informed on environmental topics and practicing sustainable practices not only with myself but with my environmental club peers. I even do this by intertwining it with my Relay for Life fundraising by doing a collection drive for second-hand clothing and accessories to sell to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. Of course, I love business, as I am the North Gwinnett HS DECA Executive Vice President of Competition, have been in Marketing courses since I was in the sixth grade, and have signed dozens of petitions to create an AP Business course. My love for it stems from my dreams of entrepreneurship, which would involve me being able to create an enterprise, help customers, and manage employees. But through DECA I have also been able to have an outlet for my love for helping students because I became an officer of competition to help students like me (when I was younger) who couldn't attend conferences or weren't sure of themselves for outside and uncontrollable factors. It's why I go to school every day and am passionate to help prepare competitors in new ways, offering events our club usually doesn't, and helping our members out in every single way I can. My desire to help students discover their own passions and overcome challenges is why I love my position in leadership roles, either in my Vice President of Young Authors' CLub position where I assist members and our President, or my President Position for our school's Rho Kappa chapter where I create and offer service opportunities, or as an assistant for my teachers when I assist with activities in TSA or the Science Fair from experience. I've done many more things in my life because I think it's better to have tried valiantly and failed than to have never tried at all.

I've always believed in the importance of learning and education, and not just because I am such a curious cat that I learn about every topic I can get my hands on. Education is what sets you up for success, it is how you learn what fields you like and don't. This is why I think higher education is important because it prepares you for the world, especially as jobs requiring higher education are rapidly outpacing jobs not requiring it. Because employers are not only looking for background education in the field but also the dedication that attending college takes out of a person. However, this isn't always the opinion I had of school. Now my 4.145 GPA shows that I am a good student but what can't be shown on a transcript is that I have almost failed 6 years of math in my life: 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th-grade maths. Every single year I struggled with connecting concepts and figures. I would break down in class and it even affected my comprehension of AP Physics 1 and 2, which I was required to take. I would struggle for months over the problems until I finally picked myself up and asked for help and was able to get at least a low B. Because I will and always have struggled with asking for help. It is only my determination, drive, and motivation that eventually guilt me into doing so. And thanks to that determination I was able to do many other things as well. I will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia next Fall. I’ve always loved learning new topics and hope to have the best opportunity available to learn as much as possible, and I am very lucky to be accepted to this school. However, because of the quality of this school, it is not entirely affordable for me to attend, a dual major, and attain a master's in the way I want to. I want to become an entrepreneur in a scientific or engineering field, and this education would grant me that ability and opportunities. If I am granted this scholarship, I would be able to fuel my education in not only funds but time. Because I plan to work for my education, this scholarship will allow me to take the time that I would’ve spent working for my education funds to study, or explore internships, or build relationships with professionals that would fuel my future instead. I plan to succeed by continuing to use time management, communication, and decision-making skills, but this scholarship would empower me to do better, and pave my future path. My parents were both the first in my family’s history to receive college educations, both in Computer Sciences, and I hope to make them and my family in Puerto Rico and Mexico proud by being the first to receive a graduate degree. Every day I work to secure my future by meeting new people, searching for new scholarship opportunities, and succeeding as much as I can in my classes and clubs. Because not only is me attending university for myself but I do it for others: to make my parents proud, for the people I can help with my college education one day, and for my future children which I can fund good education for them.

I always hoped that I could be a leader, but it wasn't until I received a senior letter this previous year that I realized I'd been. When I say a leader, I don't mean just the position but the act of leading. Because I've had a few leadership positions: Red Cross Club President and Founder, DECA Club Executive Officer of Competition, Rho Kappa Club President, Young Authors' Club President, and Science Fair Student Facilitator. But in this letter I had a member from my DECA club confess to me how much I helped them in competition and with general life problems with my knowledge and experience. Which is how I've always hoped to lead. I've always loved using all the knowledge swarming around my brain like a cloud of bees to help people. Which is why so many of the boys in my classes call me an insufferable know it all. Every leader figure I've ever looked up to has been smart and creative and innovative in its own way. This is why that's one of the qualities I have always tried to emulate. But not only that, I always try to be compassionate. Because telling someone a fact without compassion is just being insensitive and the know it all people think me to be. I try to be a leader in everyday life by implementing these qualities of compassion, creativity, and wit. It's why on my first ever state Technology Student Association Conference when the officers weren't up to the task I stepped up and helped handle everything. I always made sure to keep everyone on time, keep track of everyone, make sure everyone stayed safe, and organized group activities. But that was because I had experience as a leader and the knowledge that could help. It's how I became my Rho Kappa club President even though I was first elected into a club with no President position. When I became an officer of this club, I was left a club in shambles, and when the officers backed away from the challenge I stepped up. I organized all meetings, recruited most of the club members, and organized all activities. This was one of my biggest learning experiences as a leader, because it taught me to step up even if others won't. Which upon advice I've been given by my marketing teacher, is exactly what leaders are and do. But that advice also goes against one of the most difficult decisions I had to make as a leader: stepping down from my position. When I first founded my Red Cross Club, we ran into many problems: trouble with finding/losing advisors, trouble with finding a base of operations, trouble with dedicating time to the position, trouble with recruiting, trouble with club officer drama, and a million other little troubles that kept on building. Every day and night I'd try to work to salvage the club. But I slowly began to realize instead of empowering me, the club was slowly draining me. Which is why I made the executive decision to pass down the Presidency position to my most trusted officer and hardworking friend. It was the hardest decision I had to make: to give up on something I loved. But I realized that the club and I were doing nothing for each other: my methods were not bailing out our sinking ship, and I was slowly going down with it. So, to give my club a chance I had to move on. And I learned that there is always a right person for the job, and it can't always be me.

I can't say I have been involved as much as I would like to be in community service activities. Because it's often that when you think of community service it often calls to mind the imagery of volunteering for a local government office or an organization that seeks to inspire change. Now, I have been involved in a few larger service organizations. For one, my DECA club does paper, food, and other drives to collect resources for local people in need. I helped with that by creating drive boxes/promotional materials, donating myself, and volunteering to ask for donations at public events. I also involved myself in the Drew Caymol basketball tournament that collects funds through a basketball tournament for local senior scholarships to honor a passed student, by finding a $600 sponsorship from Main Event and lending some of my time. I even was the president and founder of a Red Cross club in my community where I fought to attain more volunteers and facilitate local service opportunities in the organization. I was even involved in Relay for Life where I previously raised $100 in candy sales. But these large organizations aren't all there is to community service. Community service can include mowing your neighbors' lawn, pet or babysitting, or even just being an advocate for an issue important to oneself. My favorite community service involvements aren't always the biggest or longest duration activities. I think one of my favorite activities that I got to experience was when my teacher recommended me to give feedback on an Ethnic Studies course syllabus my local school district wanted to implement. I was one of few students that got to take a peek into this new course and advise teachers on my perspective as a student over a short zoom session. I also enjoyed being able to help AP Seminar and Science Fair students by giving feedback on their projects and papers upon my teachers' requests with my experience. This is because I love to help people with my knowledge and experience in academic subjects. For example, I ran a clothing, shoes, and accessories drive for Relay for Life where I collected items and will resell them to raise funds for the organization. And even though this isn't a traditional way to raise funds, I was incredibly happy my club advisor approved it because I could combine my love for marketing products, fast fashion awareness, and community service into one. And was able to collect over 400 pieces and raise over $300. In addition, I have also had the pleasure of being a student volunteer for my own elementary school where I read to first graders and kindergartners and helped them with spelling and reading. But one the things I think will have the most impact, on this scale, is when I worked as a lifeguard and helped with clinics to help other lifegaurds improve their skills. Activities like these have taught me how to incorporate different passions and activities into different methods of helping the people around me. I don't think if I had joined DECA I would've known how to run my own service drive. I don't think if I involved myself in the Ethnic Studies course feedback, I would've been able to give proper feedback to students. And I don't know if I had done Relay I would've known the importance and the how of combining different, seemingly unrelated passions. And even though none of these may have made the biggest impact, barely a drop in a lake. I know that these drops will ripple out. Because I joined Relay for Life and committed myself to collect clothing to raise funds, I saved dozens of pieces from being thrown away or being donated to wasteful and for-profit places like Goodwill. Because I helped some students with their school work, one day they can then help others. Because I started Red Cross Club, there will be the opportunity for my good through that organization in my community because of it. Because of my fundraising from Main Event, some other lucky students will be able to attend college, with just a little less worry. Because I read to some small children, they might want to read more and grow into an educated individual. Because I helped improve the lifeguarding skills of different individuals a life could be saved. All of these things are small drops in a large lake, but they ripple out. Kindness is free, and you beget what you give in the world. So, I know even though I may not have started a world-changing charity, or saved a life, or raised $10,000. I know I made an impact, and that is what brings me joy. Because I believe in doing what you can, even if it isn’t much.

I’ve always liked science, it's obvious by what I chose to involve myself in, and it’s always come from a place of loving to learn. But until my junior year I didn’t plan to go into the field, I thought I would follow my plans of being a fashion designer, or an architect when I moved onto that dream, but it wasn’t until I did the science fair for the second time that I realized I wanted to be a researcher. I’ve always loved researching information and collecting data. I would collect data on what percentage of people in my class liked vanilla versus chocolate ice cream, and things of the sort just for fun, and because I loved the process. So, when I first joined the science fair I created a project based around Psychology that I could survey people for, I did do that, but I didn’t love it; I enjoyed it. But in my next year of doing the science fair, I decided to do a project on the environment. I have always loved the environment and studying it. Learning about the water cycle was my favorite thing, I had a rock collection, I even learned facts upon facts about different types of insects even if I was disgusted by them, and I’ve always been the one to recite: reduce, reuse, recycle. Continuing with the narrative: in my junior year and my second year of doing the science fair, I decided to study if wax worms could digest polyethylene and how best they could do it, forgoing my previous squeamishness for the sake of satisfying my curiosity. And I loved it. I loved tracking the data, and taking notes, and seeing my hypothesis disproved, and the theory that they could digest it reaffirmed and thinking of applications & implications. This is what made me realize I wanted to be a researcher in Environmental Sciences, I wanted to find and test ways to help the environment, after diagnosing problems, and exploring curiosities. I was so interested, and I realized I always had been. So, I tried to pursue that interest further: I joined my school’s environmental club, I signed up for the AP Environmental exam sans the course, and I began to take a deeper dive into what I could research and do in the field. It was because of this project and my passion I was able to place 3rd in my county’s regional competition and realize how far I wanted to pursue this path. I plan to utilize my degrees to start a business that can help the world and I hope that I can use my science education and innovative abilities to do so. But not only that, I plan to create a diverse company with different voices and opinions, because that's how you truly improve ideas: with different points of view. Often its that people think that their idea is the best idea, but its input from others that make an idea great.

I am the only girl of a set of 4 siblings. Or to be specific, I am the only child in my set of siblings who isn’t allowed to be loud, rambunctious, rude, and expressive. My older brother was dismissive and often forgetful of me due to us being step-siblings. My younger brother is rude and hateful towards me when I try to show affection. And I am resentful towards him because he always seemed to receive more attention due to his acting out, yet when I showed other troubling behaviors as a young child my mother chose to focus on him and disregard my wants and emotions because he needed more attention. And my youngest brother, I love him, but we don’t know each other very well. I am his loving overbearing big sister, and he’s my little baby brother. But outside of when our dad brings us together, we don’t speak. So, he returns to his mom, our dad, and our older brother and lives his life without me. So, I was often left alone and unprioritized. My dad too busy taking care of his wife and their sons, and my mom too busy taking care of hers. So, I was often quiet, and untalkative. Especially since every time I did try to speak and express myself my parents would shut me down or not even regard me in the first place. So, I was resentful. When I entered my pre-teen phase, I was resentful towards them and hateful towards my situation. Of course, I stayed silent, I knew self-expression would cost me. But then as I grew, I realized that my family did not determine who I needed to be. I didn’t need to be quiet and respectful like the daughter my father wanted. I didn’t need to be attentive and submissive to my mothers. And I certainly didn’t have to stand being put behind my brothers just because my issues weren’t as important. So, I began doing things I wanted to. Of course, I was still hesitant: I never attended any events outside of school for my favorite club in middle school because I knew parents wouldn’t waste the money on me. I still take ages to trust adults and strangers because I expect the worst of them. But I decided to do the things I wanted to do. I joined a STEM program. I participated in my favorite clubs and made my mom agree even if I suffered for it later. I pursued what I wanted to, and not what was expected of me. So now, I express myself freely in school, at work, and in public because that is when I feel most free. I disregard most people’s opinions and expectations because I know that I can never be what everyone wants me to be. And I make room for myself when none is provided because I deserve a spot with the utmost respect towards others. I plan to double major in business administration and environmental science so that I can make a company that cares. Many people say “if you can't beat them, join them,” and I will and then I will change the way corporations operate from the inside. By setting an example so that people can appreciate what a free market can truly mean. So that I can pursue my passions for helping others and entrepreneurship at the same time.

For the longest time, I didn't know what was bothering me. Why the smallest things make me feel like the world was crashing down around me. Why I would feel down one day and then up another. Why I would hear people who weren't there calling my name. Why I would get so overwhelmed I would snap and start uncontrollably sobbing. Why I couldn't even watch some comedy movies because they would make me cringe into hiding in a dark space. Why the list goes on. All of these things affected the way that I acted. I avoided activities because they scared me. I was always sleep-deprived or sleeping too much. I would drive only certain ways and beg my mom to take me places I didn't feel I could go. I can not go out not dressed perfectly. I would avoid certain sources of media and people. Every math teacher hated me for my tears of frustration. And even this list goes on. All I felt was shame. I always felt like I was two different people, the person I tried so hard to be and the person I actually am. So, when I found out I had anxiety and bipolar disorder, I felt relieved. I finally knew why I felt the way I felt but was it too late? I had avoided friendship and let relationships die because I couldn't deal with them. Every summer I would lose track of people from the school year and have to start over. And when you have an August birthday, always makes for a sad party. Or when I would become so upset "randomly" that I would blow up on random people and ruin the chance of a new friend before I even got it. This made me become angry for a very long time and avoid making friends, which also made me naive. It made me believe that everyone has an explanation to why they do bad things, and I do still believe that to some degree but people would make fun of my foolishness by trying to steal my things, telling me things that weren't true, and coming too close for comfort to me. So, I learned that that isn't the case for everyone. But when I was looking for explanations I became interested in psychology which led me to my first science fair project on psychology which led me to my second on environmental science. Which I learned I loved because I believe that everyone should leave the earth a better place then when they entered it, even if that is the dregs of my anxiety telling me to do no wrong. I became very interested in research and am now going to major in it in college along with business administration. So that one day I can change the world in one small way with my research. I only started to get medication a few months ago, and I feel as if I am faking for attention some days, but my journey has taught me that everyone deserves help and no one should be ashamed to ask for it.

It's often that when you think of community service it calls to mind the imagery of volunteering for local government or an organization that seeks to inspire change. Like my DECA club's paper, food, and etc. drives to collect resources for local people in need. I've helped by creating drive boxes/promotional materials, donating myself, and volunteering to ask for donations at public events. I also involved myself in the Drew Caymol basketball tournament that collects funds through a basketball tournament for local senior scholarships to honor a passed student, by finding a $600 sponsorship from Main Event and lending some of my time. I even was the president/founder of a Red Cross club in my community where I fought to attain more volunteers and facilitate local service opportunities in the organization. Even now, I'm currently involved in Relay for Life where I've raised over $100 so far. But these large organizations aren't all there is to community service. My favorite community service involvements aren't always the most spectacular activities. One of my favorite community service activities was when my teacher recommended me to give feedback on an Ethnic Studies course syllabus my local school district wanted to implement. I also enjoyed being able to help AP Seminar and Science Fair students by giving feedback on their projects/papers upon my teachers' requests with my experience. I love to help people with my knowledge and experience in academic subjects. For example, I'm currently running a clothing drive for Relay for Life where I collect items and resell them to raise funds for the organization. Activities like these have taught me how to incorporate different passions and activities into different methods of helping the people around me. Which is the whole point of community service: doing what you can with what you have.

For the longest time, I didn't know what was bothering me. Why the smallest things make me feel like the world was crashing down around me. Why I would feel down one day and then up another. Why I would hear people who weren't there calling my name. Why I would get so overwhelmed I would snap and start uncontrollably sobbing. Why I couldn't even watch some comedy movies because they would make me cringe into hiding in a dark space. Why the list goes on. All of these things affected the way that I acted. I avoided activities because they scared me. I was always sleep-deprived or sleeping too much. I would drive only certain ways and beg my mom to take me places I didn't feel I could go. I can not go out not dressed perfectly. I would avoid certain sources of media and people. Every math teacher hated me for my tears of frustration. And even this list goes on. All I felt was shame. I always felt like I was two different people, the person I tried so hard to be and the person I actually am. So, when I found out I had anxiety and bipolar disorder, I felt relieved. I finally knew why I felt the way I felt but was it too late? I had avoided friendship and let relationships die because I couldn't deal with them. Every summer I would lose track of people from the school year and have to start over. And when you have an August birthday, always makes for a sad party. Or when I would become so upset "randomly" that I would blow up on random people and ruin the chance of a new friend before I even got it. This made me become angry for a very long time and avoid making friends, which also made me naive. It made me believe that everyone has an explanation to why they do bad things, and I do still believe that to some degree but people would make fun of my foolishness by trying to steal my things, telling me things that weren't true, and coming too close for comfort to me. So, I learned that that isn't the case for everyone. But when I was looking for explanations I became interested in psychology which led me to my first science fair project on psychology which led me to my second on environmental science. Which I learned I loved because I believe that everyone should leave the earth a better place then when they entered it, even if that is the dregs of my anxiety telling me to do no wrong. I became very interested in research and am now going to major in it in college along with business administration. So that one day I can change the world in one small way with my research. I only started to get medication a few months ago, and I feel as if I am faking for attention some days, but my journey has taught me that everyone deserves help and no one should be ashamed to ask for it.

For the longest time, I didn't know what was bothering me. Why the smallest things make me feel like the world was crashing down around me. Why I would feel down one day and then up another. Why I would hear people who weren't there calling my name. Why I would get so overwhelmed I would snap and start uncontrollably sobbing. Why I couldn't even watch some comedy movies because they would make me cringe into hiding in a dark space. Why the list goes on. All of these things affected the way that I acted. I avoided activities because they scared me. I was always sleep-deprived or sleeping too much. I would drive only certain ways and beg my mom to take me places I didn't feel I could go. I can not go out not dressed perfectly. I would avoid certain sources of media and people. Every math teacher hated me for my tears of frustration. And even this list goes on. All I felt was shame. I always felt like I was two different people, the person I tried so hard to be and the person I actually am. So, when I found out I had anxiety and bipolar disorder, I felt relieved. I finally knew why I felt the way I felt but was it too late? I had avoided friendship and let relationships die because I couldn't deal with them. Every summer I would lose track of people from the school year and have to start over. And when you have an August birthday, always makes for a sad party. Or when I would become so upset "randomly" that I would blow up on random people and ruin the chance of a new friend before I even got it. This made me become angry for a very long time and avoid making friends, which also made me naive. It made me believe that everyone has an explanation to why they do bad things, and I do still believe that to some degree but people would make fun of my foolishness by trying to steal my things, telling me things that weren't true, and coming too close for comfort to me. So, I learned that that isn't the case for everyone. But when I was looking for explanations I became interested in psychology which led me to my first science fair project on psychology which led me to my second on environmental science. Which I learned I loved because I believe that everyone should leave the earth a better place then when they entered it, even if that is the dregs of my anxiety telling me to do no wrong. I became very interested in research and am now going to major in it in college along with business administration. So that one day I can change the world in one small way with my research. I only started to get medication a few months ago, and I feel as if I am faking for attention some days, but my journey has taught me that everyone deserves help and no one should be ashamed to ask for it.

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My favorite scientific discovery is the discovery that wax worms can biodegrade polyethylene because that newly discovered fact is what got me into research. I did the science fair in my high school junior year by further exploring this topic and its investigation and it was what finally compelled me to study environmental science. I don't know if there is more to say than that because that is the simple truth of it.

Whenever I think of someone I admire from history I draw a blank because my passions, interests, and aspects of people I admire in specificity are constantly changing. As a toddler, I looked up to my parents as small children do, and their ability to exceed the poverty our family has been born into for generations. I've since moved on from admiring my parents most. As a small child, I looked up to the heroes in my comics. I admired their dedication to people, their strength, and their intrinsic goodness. But that was before I realized how black and white the world truly isn't. I've since moved on from admiring Superman, Captain America, and Wonder Woman most. As an elementary-schooler, I looked up to artists and free spirits, people I wanted to emulate and be. Those who had the courage to pursue their dreams, to expose themselves to the world, and let people judge them without care. Things I'd never consider doing without having the urge to hide in my closet away from my intrusive thoughts, others' intensive stares, and the world as a whole. I've since moved on from admiring Georgia O'Keefe and Coco Chanel most. As a middle-schooler and young high-schooler, I looked up to the brave and the bold, figures who would explore, research and build, even at their own risk. The people who founded their own path despite the struggle and dangers, are things I still struggle with. I've since moved on from admiring Marie Curie and Amelia Earhart most. Now, I admire the Buddha's calm and wisdom, traits I'd like to acquire, but as always “One moment can change a day, one day can change a life, and one life can change the world,” so, I will move on from admiring Buddha most. This is why I want to create change in the world. I want to be and model the change, by being environmentally sustainable and putting sustainability out into the world. I’ve always liked science, it's obvious by what I chose to involve myself in, and it’s always come from a place of loving to learn. But until my junior year I didn’t plan to go into the field, I thought I would follow my plans of being a fashion designer, or an architect when I moved onto that dream, but it wasn’t until I did the science fair for the second time that I realized I wanted to be a researcher. Continuing with the narrative: in my junior year and my second year of doing the science fair, I decided to study if wax worms could digest polyethylene and how best they could do it, forgoing my previous squeamishness for the sake of satisfying my curiosity. And I loved it. I loved tracking the data, and taking notes, and seeing my hypothesis disproved, and the theory that they could digest it reaffirmed and thinking of applications & implications. This made me realize I wanted to be a researcher in Environmental Sciences, I want to find/test ways to help the environment, after diagnosing problems, and exploring curiosities. I was so interested, and I realized I always had been. So, I tried to pursue that interest further: I joined my school’s environmental club, I signed up for the AP Environmental exam sans the course, and I began to take a deeper dive into what I could research and do in the field. I plan to utilize my degrees to start a business that can help the world and I hope that I can use my science education and innovative abilities to do so.

I find the lesson of the importance of savings one of the most significant ones my family has ever learned. If one is able to save, they should. I know it's often that people "Live for today, and survive to tomorrow" and spend their money so that they can enjoy it. But my belief systems make me believe that one should enjoy what we're given and keep into consideration the possibility of it being taken away so that we can appreciate it more. And prepare for that day. For example, my mom saves and she has been able to recover from multiple financial situations, such as when a tree almost fell on our house, lightning struck our house when people have damaged her car and more. And she has always been able to recover. Meanwhile, my dad once told my mother that he doesn't save unless he's saving for something, and he has been less lucky. When he hit hard times he had to trade down his car and sell multiple electronics to get by. I love both my parents but just by example, I've found that the importance of saving, with a balance, of course, is important to maintain a stress-free life and prepare for any future problems. This is why I set $50 aside for savings from each paycheck.

My favorite piece of art is "Girl with a Pearl Earring" painted by Johannes Vermeer from 1665. It depicts a young girl with what has been revealed to be wearing a probably fake pearl earring, from the way it hangs in the depiction, either turning towards the viewer, or glancing at them over her shoulder. I don't know why I am drawn to the painting, whether its the way the girl looks at the viewer, or my love of pearls, or my curiosity of the story behind the painting, or maybe even just the colors. But whenever I think of that painting, I feel a sense of calm come over me. I set this painting as my background and profile whenever I feel it is appropriate and hope to one day see it at the Mauritshuris in the Netherlands. My favorite piece of art has been the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" that depicts a young 16-year-old made from the artist's staff, since I was 16 years-old. I don't know why, but something draws me in about it, in the same way many art pieces call to others like a siren song for inexplicable reasons. So, I invite you to view the painting online: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/1665_Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring.jpg/800px-1665_Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring.jpg And perhaps understand my fascination with the simplistic and domestic artwork.

Children are often raised on fairy tales, and comic books, where the villains and heroes are clearly defined. One side is good, one side is bad, and it's clear through whether someone smiles or scowls which one they are. This obviously influenced, me, and what must be generations of children's perspectives. When I was a kid, I thought my mom was the villain and my dad the hero, because I had to live with my mom all the time and she was always yelling at me, or blaming me for my brother's behavior, or denying everything I wanted from toys, to food, to spending time together. And when I went to my dad's house, we would spend time together and he would say I was his favorite daughter, even if I was his only daughter, and he would never get mad at me. My mom was always the one yelling, and arguing and my dad just went about in a resigned sort of way. Until I learned what my dad was really like: with how he treated his mom, why his wife is so possessive of him, and why his friends slowly drifted away from him. I'm not going to do what he did, because that would be violating both of my parents' privacies, but when I learned what it was from my mom at age 10, and my dad said it was true, I learned that everything is not black and white. There are no true heroes and no true villains. Everything is just a series of different shades of grey, some darker than others, some with more colors hidden underneath the surface, and some that have been through change.

Most people believe that if they are going to change the world, they have to be a political leader, or start a global organization focused on eco-positivity, or organize a march on Washington, discover something that will change how recycling is done, or even travel the earth in search of answers. Most people believe that small things don't make a difference. That one drop of water in the ocean is nothing. That it doesn't matter if they don't recycle one bottle, or they throw away one shirt or decide to not use reusable bags when shopping. But every bit of water in the ocean was a drop of water once, and every little bit counts. One water bottle unrecycled every week is over 50 a year, 56 water bottles could've been have been reused to make almost 6 new shirts of recycled material. One shirt thrown away for every person in a high-rise apartment is 10,000 shirts. And each plastic bag unused is one less chance of a sea creature choking and dying on a plastic bag. So, even if I'm just a 17-year-old girl, I try to do what I can. I use reusable bags when shopping, I recycle what I can, I'm informed about how to recycle nontraditional objects and environmental subjects, I give away or resell my old clothing, and I try to buy only what I need to avoid waste. As a normal 17-year-old girl this is what I do. But as a young researcher, I have done a science fair project on utilizing Waxworms digestion to biodegrade polyethylene and am currently investigating the use of Internal Waves in hydroelectricity. I hope to join a team one day and further investigate the subject. Because together, every drop of water can create a bucket of change.

I don't like to make it seem as if one solution can be applied to every problem, every situation, every person that falls into the category I'm talking about. Especially with mental health, there'll never be one solution, practice, or piece of advice, that'll help everyone. Mental health varies from people struggling with stress, to those dealing with genetic problems, or those with mental disorders. Even within each category of problem there are different subcategories, different presentations, even different intensities, effects, and symptoms. But, if I were to give a singular practical solution to those struggling, I would say this: "If you think you have a problem or if you feel as if you're struggling don't ignore it, don't minimize it. Find someone you can trust, or someone that can be objective, whether that's a friend, family member, or doctor, and talk to them about it. Make sure you can take all the time you need, talk to someone about it, and get the opportunity to receive the help you need." I would say this to others because I feel like I needed to someone to say this to me. Ever since I was a kid, I've struggled with seeing or hearing things that aren't there, or paranoia, and overwhelming thoughts and emotions, but I never said anything. I would just let it build and build until I was breaking down in class. I felt like there was no one I could trust, not my parents, not my brothers, not my teachers that didn't know what to do with me, but as soon as I went into high school, and I made a connection with my counselor, I began to feel better and get the help I needed.

My favorite book is "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Alan Bradley. I actually don't know why this is my favorite book, as the series that well and truly got me addicted to reading is the "Lunar Chronicles" by Marissa Meyer. I usually prefer Science Fiction, Fantasy, rewritten Fairy-Tales, and even action. In fact, I read the over 300 book collection of the rewritten fairy tale category at my middle school by the middle of seventh grade. Those are the genres I read, the ones I write and even daydream about being transported into. But, one day I was looking through the small set of books that my mom kept on a wooden chair in her room, and I saw the title. I asked my mom if I could borrow as I had already read all the books I had checked out from the public library, and she didn't have time to take me to get more, so she said yes. The book is a faded green hardback, about a young British girl interested in Chemistry trying to find out what killed the man her family found unresponsive in the garden one morning while avoiding her 2 sisters and other suspicious characters' attempts to stop her. I don't know what attracts me to the book as I am not, particularly in its 1950's British-countryside setting, or able to relate to having only a father or any sisters. But every single trip I go on I try to take this book to re-read again. Which I suppose I like it so much because I never get tired of re-reading it, unlike other titles of which I have never opened the covers after setting it down.

To begin, I can't say I've had too many bad experiences with the American Education system, but what I can speak to is the imbalance of resources available to gifted students, versus the non-gifted students. I believe a problem with the education system includes the lack of community between higher-level students and other peers, which is only made worse by the allocation of resources to these students. I enrolled in my high school's STEM program, which only takes students from the two highest levels of middle school math class, in my freshman year of high school and I have truly seen the difference between the groups. I am truly blessed to have access to the two additional, and many advanced/varied classes my STEM program offers, but in our place on the main building's third floor, our group is sheltered with resources. Our students have first dibs on the bigger Engineering lab of the two in our school (which are both on our floor), a computer lab, two workspace classrooms, more enthusiastic teachers, and an award-winning counselor, among other things. Yet, in my program's and my first year, "the basement" in the newer building languished as rats and leaks roamed free. In addition, students in our STEM program are more likely to be club officers/leaders, receive scholarships, and do better in outside activities (mostly due to their hard work and dedication due to the care given to them. As they have a counselor that has fewer children to focus on and special consideration from our administrators that want to bring prestige to the school. But it's almost always about money in our school, as only 11.4% of our student population needs to receive free/discounted lunch. And some of the neighborhoods that lead into the school are posher than things in movies, in fact in one of my few non-STEM program classes, my seatmate's family owns a private jet. So, it is intrinsically advantaged in the school system to those with more money and time to spend on our school stores' snacks/lunches, extra-curricular trips, school supplies, and school work. It is also often that these kids are more likely to be in advanced classes already because of their lack of responsibility to take care of the house, or siblings that children with constantly working parents would have. For the education system to improve that the school system should implement multiple practices. But the main one would have more government spending be allocated towards giving opportunities to other learners students, such as career fairs, alternate pathway training, etc, which has been successful in schools in my home state, outside of the traditional academic success. I believe this would continue to benefit students that are focused on academic and extra-curricular activities within the school while raising an equal opportunity to students that maybe don't usually have access to resources similar to this, or are not interested in such a lifestyle.

Whenever I think of someone I admire from history I draw a blank because my passions, interests, and aspects of people I admire in specificity are constantly changing. As a toddler, I looked up to my parents as small children do, and their ability to exceed the poverty our family has been born into for generations. I've since moved on from admiring my parents most. As a small child, I looked up to the heroes in my comics. I admired their dedication to people, their strength, and their intrinsic goodness. But that was before I realized how black and white the world truly isn't. I've since moved on from admiring Superman, Captain America, and Wonder Woman most. As an elementary schooler, I looked up to artists and free spirits, people I wanted to emulate and be. Those who had the courage to pursue their dreams, expose themselves to the world, and let people judge them without care. Things I'd never consider doing without having the urge to hide in my closet away from my intrusive thoughts, others' intensive stares, and the world as a whole. I've since moved on from admiring Georgia O'Keefe and Coco Chanel most. As a middle schooler and young high schooler, I looked up to the brave and the bold, figures who would explore, research, and build, even at their own risk. The people who founded their own path despite the struggle and dangers are things I still struggle with. I've since moved on from admiring Marie Curie and Amelia Earhart most. Now, I admire the Buddha's calm and wisdom, traits I'd like to acquire, but as always “One moment can change a day, one day can change a life, and one life can change the world,” so, I will move on from admiring Buddha most.

I don't like to make it seem as if one solution can be applied to every problem, every situation, and every person that falls into the category I'm talking about. Especially with mental health, there'll never be one solution, practice, or piece of advice, that'll help everyone. Mental health varies from people struggling with stress, to those dealing with genetic problems, or those with mental disorders. Even within each category of problem, there are different subcategories, different presentations, even different intensities, effects, and symptoms. But, if I were to give a singular practical solution to those struggling, I would say this: "If you think you have a problem or if you feel as if you're struggling don't ignore it, don't minimize it. Find someone you can trust or someone that can be objective, whether that's a friend, family member, or doctor, and talk to them about it. Make sure you can take all the time you need, talk to someone about it, and get the opportunity to receive the help you need." I would say this to others because I feel like I needed to someone to say this to me. Ever since I was a kid, I've struggled with seeing or hearing things that aren't there, or paranoia, and overwhelming thoughts and emotions, but I never said anything. I would just let it build and build until I was breaking down in class. I felt like there was no one I could trust, not my parents, not my brothers, not my teachers that didn't know what to do with me, but as soon as I went into high school, and I made a connection with my counselor, I began to feel better and get the help I needed.

The biggest problem facing the world right now, and has been for a long time, is a lack of open-mindedness. So, many problems in the world could be worked towards a solution if just people listened to one another. If people would listen and accept facts on climate change. If people would hear perspectives on freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom to petition the government. If people would open their minds to acceptance of life experiences outside of their own. But for now, for the majority of the time before, and in the foreseeable future, people will continue to argue over small things and disagree with others based on their people group, and stop facts from getting out because nobody wants to be wrong. And the world will continue to crumble. Because the biggest problem facing the world right now, isn't climate change, or freedom of peoples, or lack of education, its the monster that lurks behind all of these things, the gas that fuels them: a lack of open-mindedness and ability to accept that one can be wrong. When humans evolve to be open-minded we can do great things. We can educate people about the problems and elucidate them. We can learn to get along and communicate. We can solve our problems. But until the majority of people stop resisting, we will have to rely on those bright few who do the right thing and choose to fight for individual causes.

My favorite hobbies include clothing design and creation, reading, writing, drawing, learning new languages, and skateboarding. Ever since I was a little girl I've been a creative kind of gal, in fact for nearly half of my life I thought I would attend Savannah College of Art and Design for fashion design because I loved it so much. But, since I discovered environmental science I've realized that I want to dedicate myself to the betterment of worldwide sustainability. But I am a creative person. I've even tried to incorporate it into my school life, by becoming the officer of a Young Authors' Club, joining a French class, and using every opportunity to incorporate creativity into my school projects. Everyday, I take what could be boring and add pizzazz, I dress like I could be dying each day, and anything that can add a figurative or real dash of glitter in my life does have it. I use creativity in my solutions and problem solving, and that is what differentiated me. Creativity is my defining trait, and even if I can't talk about everything in an infinite list of how I apply it. I hope it applies to you like glitter applies itself to everything and you can understand my love for it.

I am the first in my family's history to be born above the poverty line. My mom was born in Puerto Rico, and not in a rich area. My dad was born in one of the worst places in Chicago and both of his parents came from Mexico for better opportunities. So, of course, they are very conscious of money of financial decisions in their own ways. But I have to say that the best piece of financial advice was from my mother when I was all of eleven years of age, or at least somewhere around that time. She told me, after complaining about the way my father spends his money, that it is better to save for the worst-case scenario, rather than spend like the worst-case scenario is going to happen. This basically translates to her telling me that I should save for anything that could happen so that I am prepared. Overspending every day like someone or something is coming after me to take all my money is not a smart idea. Recently as I have become depressed I have become more prone to overspending, but I understand that this is a problem, rather than a solution because of this lesson my mother has taught me. Especially as a approach the financial ruin of myself know as college.

One of the most basic answers for why I would like to study Environmental Sciences at Georgia Tech is because it is one of the best schools to study this major on multiple lists and articles. I want to have the best education possible so I can help solve Georgia’s environmental problems and study its environment because I could go to other colleges that have better environmental sciences majors out of state, but then I wouldn’t be further from solving problems in my state. The so-called Peach state is truly more the state of forests, because despite its urbanization approximately 70% of the state's land is covered in forests, and I love how we can build around natural life and co-exist with it. That’s why I have such an interest in mycelium styrofoam-like products, eco-positive architecture, reuse of products, and other such topics that intertwine modern urbanization with the fauna and flora of the land so that both man and forest can thrive longer. I want to study and research solutions to problems we have and find answers to the questions we don’t know yet relating to the environment, and I want to do it in my backyard. With its problems and its beauty; Georgia Tech can provide that to me with its resources, location, and interests, such as the green roofs I’ve recently been researching. The more complex answer or why I would like to study Environmental Sciences at Georgia Tech is because I can learn from people experienced in what I’m interested in researching and exploring, and it's in my home, my state of Georgia. The state that I love to hate with its sweltering summers, no-snowfall winters, streets filled with crossing deers, and the wild array of plant life.

If I had a $1000 I'd put all of it into savings for college and then celebrate by spending $200 of my own bank account.

For the longest time, I didn't know what was bothering me. Why the smallest things make me feel like the world was crashing down around me. Why I would feel down one day and then up another. Why I would hear people who weren't there calling my name. Why I would get so overwhelmed I would snap and start uncontrollably sobbing. Why I couldn't even watch some comedy movies because they would make me cringe into hiding in a dark space. Why the list goes on. All of these things affected the way that I acted. I avoided activities because they scared me. I was always sleep-deprived or sleeping too much. I would drive only certain ways and beg my mom to take me places I didn't feel I could go. I can not go out not dressed perfectly. I would avoid certain sources of media and people. Every math teacher hated me for my tears of frustration. And even this list goes on. All I felt was shame. I always felt like I was two different people, the person I tried so hard to be and the person I actually am. So, when I found out I had anxiety and bipolar disorder, I felt relieved. I finally knew why I felt the way I felt but was it too late? I had avoided friendship and let relationships die because I couldn't deal with them. Every summer I would lose track of people from the school year and have to start over. And when you have an August birthday, always makes for a sad party. Or when I would become so upset "randomly" that I would blow up on random people and ruin the chance of a new friend before I even got it. This made me become angry for a very long time and avoid making friends, which also made me naive. It made me believe that everyone has an explanation to why they do bad things, and I do still believe that to some degree but people would make fun of my foolishness by trying to steal my things, telling me things that weren't true, and coming too close for comfort to me. So, I learned that that isn't the case for everyone. But when I was looking for explanations I became interested in psychology which led me to my first science fair project on psychology which led me to my second on environmental science. Which I learned I loved because I believe that everyone should leave the earth a better place then when they entered it, even if that is the dregs of my anxiety telling me to do no wrong. I became very interested in research and am now going to major in it in college along with business administration. So that one day I can change the world in one small way with my research. I only started to get medication a few months ago, and I feel as if I am faking for attention some days, but my journey has taught me that everyone deserves help and no one should be ashamed to ask for it.

One of the most basic answers for why I would like to study Environmental Sciences at Georgia Tech is because it is one of the best schools to study this major on multiple lists and articles. I want to have the best education possible so I can help solve Georgia’s environmental problems and study its environment because I could go to other colleges that have better environmental sciences majors out of state, but then I wouldn’t be further from solving problems in my state. The so-called Peach state is truly more the state of forests, because despite its urbanization approximately 70% of the state's land is covered in forests, and I love how we can build around natural life and co-exist with it. That’s why I have such an interest in mycelium styrofoam-like products, eco-positive architecture, reuse of products, and other such topics that intertwine modern urbanization with the fauna and flora of the land so that both man and forest can thrive longer. I want to study and research solutions to problems we have and find answers to the questions we don’t know yet relating to the environment, and I want to do it in my backyard. With its problems and its beauty; Georgia Tech can provide that to me with its resources, location, and interests, such as the green roofs I’ve recently been researching. The more complex answer or why I would like to study Environmental Sciences at Georgia Tech is because I can learn from people experienced in what I’m interested in researching and exploring, and it's in my home, my state of Georgia. The state that I love to hate with its sweltering summers, no-snowfall winters, streets filled with crossing deers, and the wild array of plant life.

When I enrolled in high school, I also enrolled in my high school’s new STEM program in which students would take 2 additional classes a year, as well as more advanced classes for freshman through junior year. So, in my sophomore year my STEM class and I were the only sophomore class in our whole school to be taking AP Physics 1, and I was horrid at it. I had always struggled with connecting concepts with equations, as well as with memorization, and this class was all 3 rolled into 1. My first semester left me sobbing in class, failing tests, and with the incessant need to quit my STEM program to avoid a failing grade and next year’s AP Physics 2 course. So, I asked the teacher for help, which I am never one to do, I paid closer attention in class, I did the homework and extra worksheets, and I made study guides and I managed to pass the first semester with a B. But, as the second semester of the course came, I was beaten once again into the ground by that course, I was flying low with a grade alternating between 35 and 50 in the class and was constantly 2 days away from telling my counselor I wanted to quit my STEM program with all my friends and favorite teachers because of this course. So, I gave up trying to learn the way the teacher taught me and I worked backward through problems and found different materials not provided by the school system I once again brought a failing grade to a passable B. I learned from this that I should not give up when things become difficult as I wanted to do, because there is always another way for me to do things.

Kindness is free, that is something I repeat to myself often. Or that simply goes through my mind at random intervals. It costs nothing to be kind, to smile, to introduce yourself, to offer a sincere compliment. But being generous often calls to mind donating money and community service. I can't say I have been involved as much as I would like to be in community service activities. Because it's often that when you think of community service it often calls to mind the imagery of volunteering for a local government office or an organization that seeks to inspire change. Now, I have been involved in a few larger service organizations. But my favorite community service involvements aren't always the biggest or longest duration activities. I think one of my favorite activities that I got to experience was when my teacher recommended me to give feedback on an Ethnic Studies course syllabus my local school district wanted to implement. I was one of few students that got to take a peek into this new course and advise teachers on my perspective as a student over a short zoom session. I also enjoyed being able to help AP Seminar and Science Fair students by giving feedback on their projects and papers upon my teachers' requests with my experience. That is what generosity means to me. Not only the big things but the small ones, that take up small seconds or hours of someone's time. Whether it's starting an organization, donating a lump sum, picking up litter, or saying hello. In this day and age, kindness if generosity in any form.

The most common strategy I use when I study is to simply drill things into my brain until they are stuck with me till the end of time and its new dawn. I do this by repeatedly writing and reciting the same information multiple times. I first set myself up for success by listening and taking shorthand notes in class, focusing on the teacher. I then go back and copy every detail from the PowerPoints provided onto paper. And in the final step, I separate my notes into sections before rewriting them: general notes, vocab, and equations. I then recite this final version out and read it over, as well as any other books/videos that I can get my hands on before the test/assignment. I also often go out of my way to find interesting ways to learn the content, such as watching Ted-Eds or doing the most on my projects so I focus on the content.

I go to school and learn, I learn because I like to, even if I'm not particularly interested or appealed to a subject, and focus on doing well but not to the point I come to hate the class. Therefore, it has always been one of my greatest dreams to attend a university where I could continue to receive a good education in subjects I am interested in. However, the number of subjects and variety of them would border on insane if I were to study them all at the same time. So, I only plan to major in my two most beloved topics (once I can plan out my schedule): Environmental Science and Business. But I have also realized in the past few years that I would like to receive a graduate degree in a STEM topic as well. In view of all the things I have ever wanted to do with my life, continuing to grow and learn ranks first, and just one step down with that is the desire to change the world for the better. I have often found the desire to assist people often overpowering my common sense and my responsibilities. This is due to my retainment of seemingly useless information at all times, which is useful on too many occasions to be anything less than a premonition of future success. Whether it's helping underclassmen with scheduling, aiding the members of my clubs to succeed, assisting peers in projects, or creating experiments/presentations on information for them, I have decided how I want to change the world. I want to use all my knowledge to create something new. I haven't deduced what yet: whether it is an incredibly innovative product/service, a revolutionary business idea, or an influential campaign. That is what I want to do.

Whenever I try to pinpoint why I do what I do the way I do it, it always comes down to one phrase: It is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. This is why I always want to do everything at once: every club, every activity, every class. I have a few things that stop me from doing so: 1. Time is limited and the only thing you truly have in this world 2. Kindness is free 3. It is better to leave something improved when you finish encountering it 4. No matter what you do, you cannot do everything (this one is from personal experience) These all influence how I interact with people and the world. Why I choose to believe I'm lucky and focus on the good things that happen rather than the bad. Why I choose to do the few activities I can. And why I choose to put 110% into everything I do. I chose to participate in my school's Relay for Life organization not only because I thought it would be fun, or it would make my teacher happy, but because it is the right thing to do to put more out into the world than you are taking from it. I chose to start a Red Cross Club, not only because I wanted to get some volunteer hours, but because I wanted to share my passion for the cause with others. I chose to become a DECA officer not only because it would look good on my resume, but because I always wanted to help those in the club that were struggling with funds, transport, and the content. I chose to join my high school's STEM program, not only because it would give me more advantages over others, but because one day I know I can and have use(d) the skills I learned in the program to help others. And I choose to double major in Business Administration and Environmental Science because I want to make the world a better place in the only currency people understand to be valuable now: money. Because if you are sustainable and profitable to a cause at the same time, as long as people buy, they are supporting that cause. I can't say I have many deep relationships, but I always try to be polite and treat others as I would want to be treated in every situation. So, I have many friends and I hope to have more. I could continue to talk about why these values influence the many things I do, but that list would be much longer then this essay would allow. So let me say that when I chose to do TSA, Environmental Club, Rho Kappa, Young Authors' Club, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, French Honor Society, and the many other clubs I did, on top of my sales lead job in the mall. It stems from my passion and zealous for life, as well as my hope for the future.

I can't say I have been involved as much as I would like to be in community service activities. Because it's often that when you think of community service it often calls to mind the imagery of volunteering for a local government office or an organization that seeks to inspire change. Now, I have been involved in a few larger service organizations. For one, my DECA club does paper, food, and other drives to collect resources for local people in need. I helped with that by creating drive boxes/promotional materials, donating myself, and volunteering to ask for donations at public events. I also involved myself in the Drew Caymol basketball tournament that collects funds through a basketball tournament for local senior scholarships to honor a passed student, by finding a $600 sponsorship from Main Event and lending some of my time. I even was the president and founder of a Red Cross club in my community where I fought to attain more volunteers and facilitate local service opportunities in the organization. Even now, I am currently involved in Relay for Life where I previously raised $100 in candy sales. But these large organizations aren't all there is to community service. Community service can include mowing your neighbors' lawn, pet or babysitting, or even just being an advocate to an issue important to oneself. My favorite community service involvements aren't always the biggest or longest duration activities. I think one of my favorite activities that I got to experience was when my teacher recommended me to give feedback on an Ethnic Studies course syllabus my local school district wanted to implement. I was one of few students that got to take a peek into this new course and advise teachers on my perspective as a student over a short zoom session. I also enjoyed being able to help AP Seminar and Science Fair students by giving feedback on their projects and papers upon my teachers' requests with my experience. This is because I love to help people with my knowledge and experience in academic subjects. For example, I am currently running a clothing, shoes, and accessories drive for Relay for Life where I am collecting items and will resell them to raise funds for the organization. And even though this isn't a traditional way to raise funds, I was incredibly happy my club advisor approved it because I could combine my love for marketing products, fast fashion awareness, and community service into one. I even set up a spirit night for Relay for Life at a local Rita's and contacted all schools in the area to be more traditional about fundraising. Activities like these have taught me how to incorporate different passions and activities into different methods of helping the people around me. I don't think if I had joined DECA I would've known how to run my own service drive. I don't think if I involved myself in the Ethnic Studies course feedback, I would've been able to give proper feedback to students. And I don't know if I had done Relay I would've known the importance and the how of combining different, seemingly unrelated passions. This is what I hope to do in the future, because once I get my degrees in environmental science and business administration I plan to open a business that promotes sustainability so that I can continue to help my community by promoting green life choices.

For the longest time, I didn't know what was bothering me. Why the smallest things make me feel like the world was crashing down around me. Why I would feel down one day and then up another. Why I would hear people who weren't there calling my name. Why I would get so overwhelmed I would snap and start uncontrollably sobbing. Why I couldn't even watch some comedy movies because they would make me cringe into hiding in a dark space. Why the list goes on. All of these things affected the way that I acted. I avoided activities because they scared me. I was always sleep-deprived or sleeping too much. I would drive only certain ways and beg my mom to take me places I didn't feel I could go. I can not go out not dressed perfectly. I would avoid certain sources of media and people. Every math teacher hated me for my tears of frustration. And even this list goes on. All I felt was shame. I always felt like I was two different people, the person I tried so hard to be and the person I actually am. So, when I found out I had anxiety and bipolar disorder, I felt relieved. I finally knew why I felt the way I felt but was it too late? I had avoided friendship and let relationships die because I couldn't deal with them. Every summer I would lose track of people from the school year and have to start over. And when you have an August birthday, always makes for a sad party. Or when I would become so upset "randomly" that I would blow up on random people and ruin the chance of a new friend before I even got it. This made me become angry for a very long time and avoid making friends, which also made me naive. It made me believe that everyone has an explanation to why they do bad things, and I do still believe that to some degree but people would make fun of my foolishness by trying to steal my things, telling me things that weren't true, and coming too close for comfort to me. So, I learned that that isn't the case for everyone. But when I was looking for explanations I became interested in psychology which led me to my first science fair project on psychology which led me to my second on environmental science. Which I learned I loved because I believe that everyone should leave the earth a better place then when they entered it, even if that is the dregs of my anxiety telling me to do no wrong. I became very interested in research and am now going to major in it in college along with business administration. So that one day I can change the world in one small way with my research. I only started to get medication a few months ago, and I feel as if I am faking for attention some days, but my journey has taught me that everyone deserves help and no one should be ashamed to ask for it.

What fuels my life is my unending curiosity. I know they say that "curiosity killed the cat" but I feel as if my quest for new knowledge gives me life. I have the personal motto, "It is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all" because I want to be able to experience as much as possible. This is why I joined 15 clubs in school, took extra classes, and am constantly learning about new topics through reading. However, it is sometimes difficult for me to accomplish this because of the anxiety that seems to hold me back in some ways when I so want to do something. But besides that, I am constantly learning through new experiences, which is why I want to pursue internships in college. It is why I am learning Chinese and Spanish on Duolingo. And it is why I always attempt to improve my drawing and writing skills every time I am able.

Kindness is free. That is something I try to remember in everything I do. Whether it's picking up litter or helping a friend with understanding a topic, it's an integral part of how I try to practice everything in my life. Kindness can be small things or large things like donating blood or volunteering, but in the end, it is our time that we donate and what truly makes it matter. Because the only thing we can never get back is time, so the fact that we can spend a little on others means a lot. Because we waste time on millions of inconsequential things and yet being empathetic is one of the most valuable things of all, in my opinion. I also try to to keep in mind that there are so many things we don't know about people and what they're struggling with, so always hope that people can be better tomorrow.

My favorite hobbies include clothing design and creation, reading, writing, drawing, learning new languages, and skateboarding. Ever since I was a little girl I've been a creative kind of gal, in fact for nearly half of my life I thought I would attend Savannah College of Art and Design for fashion design because I loved it so much. But, since I discovered environmental science I've realized that I want to dedicate myself to the betterment of worldwide sustainability. But that doesn't mean I don't still enjoy my hobbies, I love to keep busy and all of these things help me relax. I've even tried to incorporate them into my school life, by becoming the officer of a Young Authors' Club, joining a French class, and using every opportunity to incorporate creativity into my school projects.

I’ve always been interested in searching, exploring, and researching new topics. I love to learn in my high school and middle school education, where I’ve been mostly free to choose my classes. I've taken courses from topics on Art to Engineering and Sciences to Marketing. Therefore, I’ve always looked forward to University and learning as much as possible. But, everyone has to choose a focus, so I hope to become a researcher, whilst also being a fashion entrepreneur and author of fantasy novels. Even though this is a large focus, I hope I can accomplish it. I work hard to maintain my high GPA and score well on the SAT so that I could be applicable for the Zell Miller Scholarship from the state of Georgia. But even with that money, I will still be paying out of pocket for rooming, food, school materials, and all the hours that Zell Miller won't pay for. Of course, I have a plan so that I can pursue my education. I'll transfer to a retail location near to University and continue my retail job whilst in University, then after freshman year living on campus I will be able to apply to be a Resident's Assistant which will pay for my housing, and the majority of my food, and hopefully, I will be able to become a paid research assistant to give me experience and tuition money. But with even all these, and the excels I've made to plan out for college I still have the challenge of affording my coveted graduate degree for my career plans. I hope you will consider me for this scholarship as I work hard in my current and towards my future careers.

I plan to double major in engineering or science and business management, this is because I have always wanted to start my own business that can help the world in some way. I have always wanted to start my own business, as I stated before, but I never was quite sure in what sector I would want to go into. So, I began exploring that in the creation of my manuals when competing in Entrepreneurship events. I was able to explore my interest in architecture when I created my first ever manual in Start-Up Business Plan on eco-positive housing communities. I was then able to deepen my knowledge and passion for writing and publishing when writing a manual on an eco-positive publishing company for young authors. And I was able to redirect my passion in eco-positive architecture towards eco-friendliness and engineering on what the world already has to reuse by repurposing some elements of my first manual into an Independent Business Plan on eco-friendly renovations. This has not only has redirected my excitement for exploration into a few sectors I have become knowledgeable on, but it has also helped influence the direction I want to take in life. These manuals helped me decide that I want to go to the Georgia Institute of Technology and taught me how to apply myself so that I was able to get in. It has helped me decide that I want to pursue a career in Environmental Sciences and Engineering, coupled with business. And it has given me access to connections and networks I never would have had before to help me succeed in my academic and professional life. I plan to use all this knowledge to build myself a tower on which to climb to success.

I have the following things on my bucket list: 1. Learn Spanish 2. Learn Mandarin Chinese 3. Write and publish a book 4. Graduate with a master's and a doctorate degree 5. Travel to Japan 6. Start my own sustainable fashion business 7. Set up a scholarship 8. Do environmental research 9. Relearn tae kwon do Of course as a high school student, I haven't completed any of these yet, but I am in the process of starting them. I am 1. Teaching myself Spanish with workbooks and Duolingo, and 2. Doing the same for Mandarin. I am 3. In the process of writing a fantasy book about myths and space. I am 4. Enrolled to start at the Georgia Institute of Technology for Business Administration and Environmental Science in the fall. I am 6. Teaching myself sewing techniques and constantly drafting new designs in my sketchbooks. While also creating a business plan. And I am 8. Creating a research plan to study internal waves for independent study. I hope to have finished my book by the end of my freshman year of college and to have begun my independent research. I also plan to begin tae kwon do lessons this summer if possible. I have so many things I want to do in life, and this is just the short list. But I have a whole life time to do them, so I am only focusing on things within my grasp right now.

I often don't take the time to take a day to relax in the traditional way because what many people will see when I relax is stress. I am relaxed when I have something to do, it's often when I am left alone with nothing to fill my time, I am left unfulfilled and stressed from the opportunity that I could be missing. So, I often fill my time with things that are productive to myself. Many of my hobbies fall under this, except for my primary method of relaxation: listening to music and pacing around. I love to listen to music and imagine story ideas for myself to write down later, it relaxes my brain because it forces me to focus on the story while the rest of my body is in motion. But besides that I also love to listen to youtube videos on different educational topics or cartoons while I draw, write, or sew. These things make me feel productive but also relax me from the input blending together into what can only be described as TV grey static in my mind.

I've been told that I have an innocently gullible positive attitude, and it's true I won't deny it. But that is only because I see how wonderful people are becoming. We say that the earth is destroyed and people are actively destroying it. And that is true. But when I look and listen to my peers I only see the way that they are disgusted by the actions of selfishness from the older generation and the way they seek to change the world. The younger generation is more interested in open-mindedness and changes than most generations before and that is why I am hopeful for a better tomorrow. Because every day a new person does one thing to change the world in a small way. And even though that might seem like a single drop of water on a dry crop yield, with the way millions of people are continuing to do one small good thing, that drop becomes a river that rages with the power of a million good souls. This is what makes me hopeful for the future, the goodness of the new generation and the knowledge that the next will be better than the previous. We are making strides in environmental welfare, gender equality/acceptance, and considerance of others. I don't know what else to say on this because there is nothing else that can support my beliefs but my nature of believing in others till proven wrong.

I don't like to talk about my talent, except in jest, because I often feel as if I don't have any, like many self-conscious teens. However, something I love to do and feel as if I'm good at doing is sewing and designing clothing. I practice by sketching out every design I can think of when I have time. I try to practice when I have time by creating new pieces. I still do make mistakes, like last week when I broke my sewing machine by pulling an elastic fabric through too tightly when sewing. Or when I seem to constantly make the same mistake of sewing the sleeve inside out on the first try every time. But, I've made accomplishments, I made my own prom dress, and I've come a long way from the sloppy-looking dresses I used to hand sew for my doll. I try to leave my comfort zone of ability constantly by sewing the outlandish things I design, and drafting and redrafting my patterns. One day I hope to begin my own sustainable fashion line with myself as the designer, but for now, I continue to practice every chance I get with the sale fabric from Joann's.

I’ve always liked science, it's obvious by what I chose to involve myself in, and it’s always come from a place of loving to learn. But until my junior year I didn’t plan to go into the field, I thought I would follow my plans of being a fashion designer, or an architect when I moved onto that dream, but it wasn’t until I did the science fair for the second time that I realized I wanted to be a researcher. I’ve always loved researching information and collecting data. I would collect data on what percentage of people in my class liked vanilla versus chocolate ice cream, and things of the sort just for fun, and because I loved the process. So, when I first joined the science fair I created a project based around Psychology that I could survey people for, I did do that, but I didn’t love it; I enjoyed it. But in my next year of doing the science fair, I decided to do a project on the environment. I have always loved the environment and studying it. Learning about the water cycle was my favorite thing, I had a rock collection, I even learned facts upon facts about different types of insects even if I was disgusted by them, and I’ve always been the one to recite: reduce, reuse, recycle. Continuing with the narrative: in my junior year and my second year of doing the science fair, I decided to study if wax worms could digest polyethylene and how best they could do it, forgoing my previous squeamishness for the sake of satisfying my curiosity. And I loved it. I loved tracking the data, and taking notes, and seeing my hypothesis disproved, and the theory that they could digest it reaffirmed and thinking of applications & implications. This is what made me realize I wanted to be a researcher in Environmental Sciences, I wanted to find and test ways to help the environment, after diagnosing problems, and exploring curiosities. I was so interested, and I realized I always had been. So, I tried to pursue that interest further: I joined my school’s environmental club, I signed up for the AP Environmental exam sans the course, and I began to take a deeper dive into what I could research and do in the field. It was because of this project and my passion I was able to place 3rd in my county’s regional competition and realize how far I wanted to pursue this path. I plan to utilize my degrees to start a business that can help the world and I hope that I can use my science education and innovative abilities to do so.

I’ve always liked science, it's obvious by what I chose to involve myself in, and it’s always come from a place of loving to learn. But until my junior year I didn’t plan to go into the field, I thought I would follow my plans of being a fashion designer, or an architect when I moved on that dream, but it wasn’t until I did the science fair for the second time that I realized I wanted to be a researcher. I’ve always loved researching information and collecting data. I would collect data on what percentage of people in my class liked vanilla versus chocolate ice cream, and things of the sort just for fun, and because I loved the process. So, when I first joined the science fair I created a project based around Psychology that I could survey people for, I did do that, but I didn’t love it; I enjoyed it. But in my next year of doing the science fair, I decided to do a project on the environment. I have always loved the environment and studying it. Learning about the water cycle was my favorite thing, I had a rock collection, I even learned facts upon facts about different types of insects even if I was disgusted by them, and I’ve always been the one to recite: reduce, reuse, recycle. Continuing with the narrative: in my junior year and my second year of doing the science fair, I decided to study if wax worms could digest polyethylene and how best they could do it, forgoing my previous squeamishness for the sake of satisfying my curiosity. And I loved it. I loved tracking the data, and taking notes, and seeing my hypothesis disproved, and the theory that they could digest it reaffirmed, and thinking of applications & implications. This is what made me realize I wanted to be a researcher in Environmental Sciences, I wanted to find and test ways to help the environment, after diagnosing problems, and exploring curiosities. I was so interested, and I realized I always had been. So, I tried to pursue that interest further: I joined my school’s environmental club, I signed up for the AP Environmental exam sans the course, and I began to take a deeper dive into what I could research and do in the field. It was because of this project and my passion I was able to place 3rd in my county’s regional competition and realize how far I wanted to pursue this path. I plan to utilize my degrees to start a business that can help the world and I hope that I can use my science education and innovative abilities to do so. Currently, I am researching utilizing internal waves to harness hydroelectricity, and I want to develop that further and make more similar innovations. I want to be able to use technology to help people because I have hundreds of ideas on things to study and innovate. So, I want to be as educated as possible so that I can help people and the environment. Because maybe I might change my mind and go into environmental engineering, or biomedical engineering, but ultimately I love environmental sciences because I can help a cause.

I love to design and create clothing. Ever since I was a little girl I have been sketching designs on the margins of my classwork, in countless notebooks, and dreaming of runways. I just love to express myself in what I wear because I believe every outfit tells a story and expresses who someone is. There isn't any particular reason I enjoy it, in fact, many times I'm quite annoyed by the process. But I suppose most impatient children are annoyed that their art doesn't appear exactly as they imagined it with no effort. But whenever I figure out how to create a pattern or stitch something correctly, or gaze upon my finished product, I am overrun with joy. Even if a piece didn't come out as I hoped. Or my mom doesn't think me capable. Or I feel contempt and impatience with myself over my own failures. I continue to dream, and draw, and design, and develop my pieces. For the longest time, I never used any of my supplies because I was so filled with these thoughts. Full of the fear of failure. Full of regret and guilt over wasting supplies on a project gone awry I hadn't even started yet. But once I got over these things I finally was able to enjoy myself. Even though the things I make right now aren't as complicated as I want them to be, I've learned that they are great for practice, so one day I will be able to bring my wildest dream to life. Certainly, as I am working on my prom dress, on thrift flips, and small accessories, I am on my way to that goal. I am on my way to that dream. And even if this isn't what I end up pursuing as a career, I find it peaceful to pursue it as a hobby.

I find the lesson of the importance of savings one of the most significant ones my family has ever learned. If one is able to save, they should. I know it's often that people "Live for today, and survive to tomorrow" and spend their money so that they can enjoy it. But my belief systems make me believe that one should enjoy what we're given and keep into consideration the possibility of it being taken away so that we can appreciate it more. And prepare for that day. For example, my mom saves and she has been able to recover from multiple financial situations, such as when a tree almost fell on our house, lightning struck our house when people have damaged her car and more. And she has always been able to recover. Meanwhile, my dad once told my mother that he doesn't save unless he's saving for something, and he has been less lucky. When he hit hard times he had to trade down his car and sell multiple electronics to get by. I love both my parents but just by example, I've found that the importance of saving, with a balance, of course, is important to maintain a stress-free life and prepare for any future problems. This is why I set $50 aside for savings from each paycheck.

I am the only girl of a set of 4 siblings. Or to be specific, I am the only child in my set of siblings who isn’t allowed to be loud, rambunctious, rude, and expressive. My older brother was dismissive and often forgetful of me due to us being step-siblings. My younger brother is rude and hateful towards me when I try to show affection. And I am resentful towards him because he always seemed to receive more attention due to his acting out, yet when I showed other troubling behaviors as a young child my mother chose to focus on him and disregard my wants and emotions because he needed more attention. And my youngest brother, I love him, but we don’t know each other very well. I am his loving overbearing big sister, and he’s my little baby brother. But outside of when our dad brings us together, we don’t speak. So, he returns to his mom, our dad, and our older brother and lives his life without me. So, I was often left alone and unprioritized. My dad too busy taking care of his wife and their sons, and my mom too busy taking care of hers. So, I was often quiet, and untalkative. Especially since every time I did try to speak and express myself my parents would shut me down or not even regard me in the first place. So, I was resentful. When I entered my pre-teen phase, I was resentful towards them and hateful towards my situation. Of course, I stayed silent, I knew self-expression would cost me. But then as I grew, I realized that my family did not determine who I needed to be. I didn’t need to be quiet and respectful like the daughter my father wanted. I didn’t need to be attentive and submissive to my mothers. And I certainly didn’t have to stand being put behind my brothers just because my issues weren’t as important. So, I began doing things I wanted to. Of course, I was still hesitant: I never attended any events outside of school for my favorite club in middle school because I knew parents wouldn’t waste the money on me. I still take ages to trust adults and strangers because I expect the worst of them. But I decided to do the things I wanted to do. I joined a STEM program. I participated in my favorite clubs and made my mom agree even if I suffered for it later. I pursued what I wanted to, and not what was expected of me. So now, I express myself freely in school, at work, and in public because that is when I feel most free. I disregard most people’s opinions and expectations because I know that I can never be what everyone wants me to be. And I make room for myself when none is provided because I deserve a spot with the utmost respect towards others. And I’ve always been interested in searching, exploring, and researching new topics. I love to learn in my high school and middle school education, where I’ve been mostly free to choose my classes. I've taken courses from topics on Art to Engineering and Sciences to Marketing. Therefore, I’ve always looked forward to University and learning as much as possible, especially so with my newborn confidence. There are many topics I am interested in, which is why I'm going to be double majoring in Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and Business Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology. I will use my creativity, my confidence, and my experience to succeed.

Ever since I was a little girl I've had big dreams. Because of my dreams and my imagination, I have been able to achieve success. I am always praised for my imagination, my out-of-the-box thinking, my originality, my creativeness. So, that is the quality I love about myself the most: creativity and ingenuity. I first discovered the value of this ability in my elementary art class, when my teacher would praise me for being able to replicate the style of art we were studying (as best a small child could) and add my own flair into the piece. I then discovered its true usefulness in my math class when I realized that instead of learning the equations in class I would often work them backwards from similar problems. I apply this quality of innovation everywhere. I use it in my creation of designs for clothing I want to create, and in the illustrations of them. I operate it in my understanding of difficult subjects. I employ it in my creation of projects for everything I do: in my Business plans competitions for DECA, my science fair projects, my engineering class projects, my fundraising projects for Relay for Life, my creative writing, and many other projects. It's what I am praised for, what I am known for, what drives my success. Not that I don't do the traditional things that steer success. In that metaphorical car, I seat my hard work, time, practice, and positivity. But when all else fails: when I feel unmotivated and time-crunched, it is also always my original idea that cushions the fall of my failure. I love this quality about myself because it makes me who I am and I am just constantly full of visions that will help fuel my creative passions and scientific pursuits.

1. I deserve this scholarship because when I sleep I have almost exclusively recurring dreams. In my most common dream I a scientist working on a Jurassic Park style project in a maze on a small island between the fork in two rivers. But then people are becoming dinosaurs all of a sudden, and I'm running with those transformers with the egg baby of someone who died with dyed hair. 2. I would like to occasionally traveling to places like Narnia, Oz, or Neverland. Which reminds me of this dream I had where I was running from this murderous man with a pumpkin head through a forest (on Halloween of course). And so, I bake him into a pie somehow, but then I don't like pie so he revives himself and continues to chase me after no one eats it. 3. I'm very clumsy so I often bump into things or roll my ankle walking barefoot. I always tend to bump into this same display table at work with my shin repeatedly until there was basically a permanent bruise. Eventually the table was moved. I once had a dream where I bumped into it, and when I woke up I accidently slammed my head into the wall.

Ever since I was a little girl I've had big dreams. Starting my own business. Writing a successful novel series. Creating a successful comic character. Discovering something that will change the world! But when I was small I didn't exactly have the ability to receive a business loan, write in grammatically correct sentences, publish literary works, or do lab research. But I hung those ambitions in frames of my mind palace, to drive me to do them. So, I would continue to dream, plan, and look into the future until I was finally able to gain more freedom in high school. As I not only learned to drive but got a relatively well-paying job where I could fund my passions, rather than relying on the few times my mom would acquiesce to my requests. Because of my dreams and my imagination as wild as the deep jungles described in fiction, I have been able to achieve success. I am always praised for my imagination, my out-of-the-box thinking, my originality, my creativeness. So, that is the quality I admire in myself the most: creativity and ingenuity. I first discovered the value of this ability in my elementary art class, when my teacher would praise me for being able to replicate the style of art we were studying (as best a 7 year-old-child could) and add my own flair into the piece. I then discovered its true usefulness in my math class when I realized that instead of learning the equations in class I would often work them backward from similarly solved problems. I apply this quality of innovation everywhere. I use it in my creation of designs for clothing I want to create, and in the illustrations of them. I operate it in my understanding of difficult subjects. I employ it in my creation of projects for everything I do: in my state winning Business Plans/Presentations for DECA, my internationally qualifying science fair project, my engineering class projects that often win best in creativity, my fundraising projects for Relay for Life, my creative writing, and various other projects I could continue to list until I reach this essay's word maximum. This quality is what I am praised for, what I am known for, what drives my success. Not that I don't do the traditional things that steer success. In that metaphorical car, I seat my hard work, time, practice, and positivity. But when all else fails: when I feel unmotivated and time-crunched, it is also always my original idea that cushions the fall of my failure. I know this quality will help me in the future because every day I am bursting with ideas and solutions from the mundane: the cracks in the sidewalk, the little actions of strangers, the dust in the wind. I am just constantly full of visions that will help fuel my creative passions and scientific pursuits.

To begin, I can't say I've had too many bad experiences with the American Education system, but what I can speak to is the imbalance of resources available to gifted students, versus the non-gifted students. I believe a problem with the education system includes the lack of community between higher-level students and other peers, which is only made worse by the allocation of resources to these students. I enrolled in my high school's STEM program, which only takes students from the two highest levels of middle school math class, in my freshman year of high school and I have truly seen the difference between the groups. I am truly blessed to have access to the two additional, and many advanced/varied classes my STEM program offers, but in our place on the main building's third floor, our group is sheltered with resources. Our students have first dibs on the bigger Engineering lab of the two in our school (which are both on our floor), a computer lab, two workspace classrooms, more enthusiastic teachers, and an award-winning counselor, among other things. Yet, in my program's and my first year, "the basement" in the newer building languished as rats and leaks roamed free. In addition, students in our STEM program are more likely to be club officers/leaders, receive scholarships, and do better in outside activities (mostly due to their hard work and dedication due to the care given to them. As they have a counselor that has fewer children to focus on and special consideration from our administrators that want to bring prestige to the school. But it's almost always about money in our school, as only 11.4% of our student population needs to receive free/discounted lunch. And some of the neighborhoods that lead into the school are posher than things in movies, in fact in one of my few non-STEM program classes, my seatmate's family owns a private jet. So, it is intrinsically advantaged in the school system to those with more money and time to spend on our school stores' snacks/lunches, extra-curricular trips, school supplies, and school work. It is also often that these kids are more likely to be in advanced classes already because of their lack of responsibility to take care of the house, or siblings that children with constantly working parents would have. For the education system to improve that the school system should implement multiple practices. But the main one would have more government spending be allocated towards giving opportunities to other learners students, such as career fairs, alternate pathway training, etc, which has been successful in schools in my home state, outside of the traditional academic success. I believe this would continue to benefit students that are focused on academic and extra-curricular activities within the school while raising an equal opportunity to students that maybe don't usually have access to resources similar to this, or are not interested in such a lifestyle.

Whenever I think of someone I admire from history I draw a blank because my passions, interests, and aspects of people I admire in specificity are constantly changing. As a toddler I looked up to my parents as small children do, and their ability to exceed the poverty our family has been born into for generations. I've since moved on from admiring my parents most. As a small child I looked up to the heroes in my comics. I admired their dedication to people, their strength, and their intrinsic goodness. But that was before I realized how black and white the world truly isn't. I've since moved on from admiring Superman, Captain America, and Wonder Woman most. As an elementary schooler I looked up to artists and free spirits, people I wanted to emulate and be. Those who had the courage to pursue their dreams, to expose themselves to the world, and let people judge them without care. Things I'd never consider doing without having the urge to hide in my closet away from my intrusive thoughts, others' intensive stares, and the world as a whole. I've since moved on from admiring Georgia O'Keefe and Coco Chanel most. As a middle schooler and young high schooler I looked up to the brave and the bold, figures who would explore, research and build, even at their own risk. The people who founded their own path despite the struggle and dangers, things I still struggle with. I've since moved on from admiring Marie Curie and Amelia Earhart most. Now, I admire the Buddha's calm and wisdom, traits I'd like to acquire, but as always “One moment can change a day, one day can change a life, and one life can change the world,” so, I will move on from admiring Buddha most.

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My favorite piece of art is "Girl with a Pearl Earring" painted by Johannes Vermeer from 1665. It depicts a young girl with what has been revealed to be wearing a probably fake pearl earring, from the way it hangs in the depiction, either turning towards the viewer, or glancing at them over her shoulder. I don't know why I am drawn to the painting, whether its the way the girl looks at the viewer, or my love of pearls, or my curiosity of the story behind the painting, or maybe even just the colors. But whenever I think of that painting, I feel a sense of calm come over me. I set this painting as my background and profile whenever I feel it is appropriate and hope to one day see it at the Mauritshuris in the Netherlands. My favorite piece of art has been the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" that depicts a young 16-year-old made from the artist's staff, since I was 16 years-old. I don't know why, but something draws me in about it, in the same way many art pieces call to others like a siren song for inexplicable reasons. So, I invite you to view the painting online: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/1665_Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring.jpg/800px-1665_Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring.jpg And perhaps understand my fascination with the simplistic and domestic artwork.

The biggest problem facing the world right now, and has been for a long time, is lack of open-mindedness. So, many problems in the world could be worked towards a solution if just people listened to another. If people would listen and accept facts on climate change. If people would hear perspectives on freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom to petition the government. If people would open their minds to acceptance of life experiences outside of their own. But for now, for the majority of the time before, and the foreseeable future, people will continue to argue over small things and disagree with others based on their people group, and stop facts from getting out because nobody wants to be wrong. And the world will continue to crumble. Because the biggest problem facing the world right now, isn't climate change, or freedom of peoples, or lack of education, its the monster that lurks behind all of these things, the gas that fuels them: a lack of open-mindedness and ability to accept that one can be wrong. When humans evolve to open minded we can do great things. We can educate people about the problems and elucidate them. We can learn to get along and communicate. We can solve our problems. But until the majority of people stop resisting, we will have to rely on those bright few who do the right thing, and choose to fight for individual causes.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've grown up on superheroes. I've dressed in super costumes for what must be the majority of my Halloweens, and gotten so many action figures and comics that it is a problem. The most impactful show I've watched was my first viewing of My Hero Academia. Before watching I mostly liked heroes because they were what my parents liked, what my brothers liked, what was one TV. But once I began watching that show, I was hooked on superheroes: they were all I could draw, all I could write, all I could dream about wanting to be. But, it impacted me because it allowed me to expand my interests into the world of Science Fiction more, and eventually science. This show motivates me to discover new things, because I want to emulate quirks, and advance our society. I want to go "Plus Ultra!"

Most people believe that if they are going to change the world, they have to be a political leader, or start a global organization focused on eco-positivity, or organize a march on Washington, discover something that will change how recycling is done, or even travel the earth in search of answers. Most people believe that small things don't make a difference. That one drop of water in the ocean is nothing. That it doesn't matter if they don't recycle one bottle, or they throw away one shirt, or decide to not use reusable bags when shopping. But every bit of water in the ocean was a drop of water once, and every little bit counts. One water bottle unrecycled every week is over 50 a year, 56 water bottles could've been have been reused to make almost 6 new shirts of recycled material. One shirt thrown away for every person in a high rise apartment is 10,000 shirts. And each plastic bag unused is one less chance of a sea creature choking and dying on a plastic bag. So, even if I'm just a 17-year-old girl, I try to do what I can. I use reusable bags when shopping, I recycle what I can, I'm informed about how to recycle nontraditional objects and environmental subjects, I give away or resell my old clothing, and I try to buy only what I need to avoid waste. As a normal 17-year-old girl this is what I do. But as a young researcher I have done a science fair project on utilizing Waxworms digestion to biodegrade polyethylene and am currently investigating the use of Internal Waves in hydroelectricity. I hope to join a team one day and further investigate the subject. Because together, every drop of water can create a bucket of change.

I have had two clear goals in my mind for the future: to start a business and to help someone or something in my career. I have wanted to be an entrepreneur since before I knew the word and was doodling the logo and brainstorming the name for the boutique, or restaurant, or airline I wanted to run when I was 5. So, I pursued this by starting small businesses selling shaped erasers, handmade jewelry/accessories, or even candy in my classrooms. Not only that, I tried and still try to learn all I could about business and all its aspects. I have been in marketing classes for every year in middle and high school, and I fell in love with the subject there, and not just because of my passion for entrepreneurship. But because of the varied topics and use of the knowledge I've learned. I have tried to pursue my passion for starting a business in more extra-curricular ways as well. For example, I have been in DECA (a marketing club) since the sixth grade and for the past four years I have done a manual event relating to designing a business plan. And for the past three years I have won top 3 all three times I entered my entry (a 20 page business plan and 15 minute presentation) into the State Conference, been first twice, and even been top 16 the one time I have been able to compete at the International level. But even if I wanted to start a business, I have never wanted to start one for my own benefit, I have always wanted to do something to help. Whether it was my dream at age 6 to start a spa to help people feel at peace, or my goal to create a boutique using recycled materials at age 10, or create eco-positive homes at age 13. I have always wanted to do something to help using my own skills. This is why I will be going to the Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall to pursue business and engineering as double majors so that once I graduate I can jump into creating things that can assist people. I am unsure in which way I will do that as of right now, whether it is through eco-positive technology, accessible architecture, information technology, or something I haven't thought of yet. But I know that that is what I want to do.

Children are often raised on fairy tales, and comic books, where the villians and heroes are clearly defined. One side is good, one side is bad, and its clear through whether someone smiles or scowls which one they are. This obviously influenced, myself, and what must be generations of children's perspectives. When I was kid, I thought my mom was the villian and my dad the hero, because I had to live with my mom all the time and she was always yelling at me, or blaming me for my brother's behavior, or denying everything I wanted from toys, to food, to spending time together. And when I went to my dad's house, we would spend time together and he would say I was his favorite daughter, even if I was his only daughter, and he would never get mad at me. My mom was always the one yelling, and arguing and my dad just went about in a resigned sort of way. Until I learned what my dad was really like: with how he treats his mom, why his wife is so possessive of him, and why his friends slowly drifted away from him. I'm not going to what he did, because that would be violating both of my parents' privacies, but when I learned what it was from my mom at age 10, and my dad said it was true, I learned that everything is not black and white. There are no true heroes, and no true villians. Everything is just a series of different shades of grey, some darker than others, some with more colors hidden underneath the surface, and some that have been through change.

My name is said from the first syllable in "mer-maid," then what shines down from the sun (ray), and finally the last syllable from the maya people of which I have relations to: Mireya. My dreams are painted in images of fantastical realms with magic or technology far surpassing today's, of which I write, draw, and read about. These dreams bleed into curiosity so I research what I can on the world around me. Or explore the opportunities of my community through clubs, courses, and new friends. And I languish in my lack of time to express myself in words.

I don't like to make it seem as if one solution can be applied to every problem, every situation, every person that falls into the category I'm talking about. Especially with mental health, there'll never be one solution, practice, or piece of advice, that'll help everyone. Mental health varies from people struggling with stress, to those dealing with genetic problems, or those with mental disorders. Even within each category of problem there are different subcategories, different presentations, even different intensities, effects, and symptoms. But, if I were to give a singular practical solution to those struggling, I would say this: "If you think you have a problem or if you feel as if you're struggling don't ignore it, don't minimize it. Find someone you can trust, or someone that can be objective, whether that's a friend, family member, or doctor, and talk to them about it. Make sure you can take all the time you need, talk to someone about it, and get the opportunity to receive the help you need." I would say this to others because I feel like I needed to someone to say this to me. Ever since I was a kid, I've struggled with seeing or hearing things that aren't there, or paranoia, and overwhelming thoughts and emotions, but I never said anything. I would just let it build and build until I was breaking down in class. I felt like there was no one I could trust, not my parents, not my brothers, not my teachers that didn't know what to do with me, but as soon as I went into high school, and I made a connection with my counselor, I began to feel better and get the help I needed.

My favorite book is "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Alan Bradley. I actually don't know why this is my favorite book, as the series that well and truly got me addicted to reading are the "Lunar Chronicles" by Marissa Meyer. I usually prefer Science Fiction, Fantasy, rewritten Fairy-Tales, and even action. In fact, I read the over 300 book collection of the rewritten fairy tale category at my middle school by the middle of seventh grade. Those are the genres I read, the ones I write, and even daydream about being transported into. But, one day I was looking through the small set of books that my mom kept on a wooden chair in her room, and I saw the title. I asked my mom if I could borrow as I had already read all the books I had checked out from the public library, and she didn't have time to take me to get more, so she said yes. The book is a faded green hardback, about a young British girl interested in Chemistry trying to find out what killed the man her family found unresponsive in the garden one morning, while avoiding her 2 sisters and other suspicious characters attempts to stop her. I don't know what attracts me to the book as I am not particularly in its 1950's british-countryside setting, or able to relate to having only a father or any sisters. But every single trip I go on I try to take this book to re-read again. Which I suppose I like it so much, because I never get tired of re-reading it, unlike other titles of which I have never opened the covers after setting it down.

I am the first in my family's history to be born above the poverty line. My mom was born in Puerto Rico, and not in a rich area. My dad was born in one of worst places of Chicago and both of his parents came from Mexico for better opportunities. So, of course they are very conscious of money of financial decisions in their own ways. But I have to say that the best piece of financial advice was from my mother when I was all of eleven years of age, or at least somewhere around that time. She told me, after complaining about the way my father spends his money, that it is better to save for the worst case scenario, rather then spend like the worst case scenario is going to happen. This basically translates to her telling me that I should save for anything that could happen, so that I am prepared. Over spending everyday like someone or something is coming after me to take all my money.