Everything changed when my grandpa was diagnosed with lung cancer. Sometimes, I think that more things have changed around my grandpa rather than about him. He still makes us homemade pizza. He still feeds my brother and I sundaes that are much too big. Somehow, he still convinces the workers at Scheels to give us more minnows whenever we go fishing. Stubbornly, he lifts weights every day in which he feels good enough. Nothing about him ever changed except his perception of life. It was hard to see him so reflective about things that he would have regularly passed over. Whenever he comes home from chemo, he has another story about a nurse that was unconditionally kind and professional with his care. When going through something like this, those involved need a full support system. I am so glad that this did not stop with our immediate family and continued within the healthcare system. While having had my fair share of doctor's appointments and visits for various broken bones and surgeries, I have already been familiar with healthcare before my grandfather’s experience with lung cancer. However, being able to hear more directly about how a bad day can become better or more tolerable is an amazing privilege and position. Due to this experience and past personal experiences, I have decided to pursue a career in healthcare. Though I have not definitively decided if this is going to be in a branch of nursing or radiology, the positive experience that I have experienced and heard about through my grandpa make me sure of my career choice. I would love to be put in a position in which I would be able to make a struggling person’s life a little bit better. I would be able to aid people in faith and in health in whatever branch of health I chose. I am continually working on putting myself in the best position to achieve this with school, spirit, and, most importantly, health. I believe that I will be able to change many lives for the better and leave others with the same positive experiences that have so greatly affected me and my family by taking a small burden off of us. To do this for someone else would help me discover and strive towards me and my future goals in health. In this way, my grandpa’s lung cancer has helped me reach my goals and reflect on the way cancer has shaped my educational experience.

The Connections puzzles have been such an amazing contrast and addition to the other puzzles present in The New York Times games like Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Sudoku. In this way, all areas of problem solving are unlocked in these fun and intuitive games. For my own personally designed game of Connections, I am excited to convey my interests in a creative way. First, I am an active tennis player and enjoy participating in my high school’s tennis team. Because of this, I would include tennis-related terms in my puzzle (serve, return, ace, and love). On a different note, I would also like to include books of the Bible in my puzzle (John, Mark, Numbers, and Romans). Christianity has become a large part in my life over the last few years, and it is now a key part of who I am. The names of these books may also inspire some confusion within solving the puzzle due to their definitions and relation to other categories. I also am an avid cook and love to try recipes from different cultures around the world. Therefore, I would include varieties of food styles in my puzzle (Greek, Italian, Mexican, and Chinese). Last, as a native and resident of Colorful Colorado, I have loved being able to experience nature in all outdoor activities. In this way, I would include species of animal and plants that are native to Colorado and make up our biosphere (pine [tree], deer, aspen [tree], and bighorn rams). All in all, these categories share brief information about my interests and hobbies that helped me add to my own version of New York Times’ Connections.

As a high school student who is fully online, there are still so many nontraditional ways to support and love others in our everyday lives. Something I am passionate about is my high school tennis team. Ever since middle school, I have been actively making relationships, working with others, and dedicating my time to the team. I have loved volunteering at a recreation tennis program throughout the summer, as it has been a way for me to give back to those who began my personal tennis journey. This year, as a senior, I will be one of the two team captains of the high school team and look forward to using my role to reach out to others and make them feel comfortable and appreciated. That said, appreciation and support can come in various forms. Whether this be helping mom with dinner, driving a sibling to sports practice, or submitting a polite email to a teacher. Each of these actions can convey instances to make one’s life easier. In this way, I have taken such dedication into my consideration of career choices. I have chosen to enter the medical field. Though I have not picked a specific profession yet, I decided that it was the best way for me to reach and impact as many people as possible while also using my academic half to strive for my goals. I am so fortunate to be in the position that I am in and want to extend care to all who require help. Being in this position will let me impact someone’s life positively when they are in difficult or challenging times. I look forward to meeting all kinds of people and giving them precious, impactful memories of healthcare.

High school has been an unexpected journey for me, but it was a challenge that I was ready to take on! During the Covid-19 shutdown year, I was still in middle school. That next fall when everyone was heading off to school, my family found it best to pursue online schooling permanently. At first, I was extremely upset. After all, I had never had so much responsibility over my own education and understanding without being prompted by a teacher. Everything could go wrong! However, being fully online through high school has made me more comfortable with advocating for myself, asking questions, and building the successful lifestyle I want for myself. Because of this abnormal experience, I was forced to do things outside of my comfort zone and build understanding—along with relationships with teachers—virtually. It also gave me a “sink or swim” mentality. Expansively, this means that you get the grade you work for. It also excludes the element of peer pressure and class scheduling, which aided my development as a person in and out of the classroom. My experiences as an online student have better prepared me for my future goals, advancements, and dreams. While using this level of discipline in my studies, I have enabled and secured opportunities in my academic career that will help me engage in future possibilities. Ever since I had an appendectomy at eight years old, I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. Giving someone else the positive experiences I had with this scary situation drives me to pursue my goals in this way. I would love to leave someone with a positive memory of healthcare due to an impact I made. Because of the opportunities I have been given with online schooling, I was able to focus on my own learning strategies and improve my grades. With a 4.63 GPA (unweighted 4.0), I have put myself in a prime position to be accepted to a university that will help me enter a medical field. Though I did not realize it at the time, online school was a way for me to find what learning concepts work for me, which ones don’t, and what kind of position I want to put myself in. I am so incredibly grateful for this blessing in disguise that I was given. It has opened so many academic opportunities for me and will help me give back to others in the profession I will decide to pursue.

Readers like me have been earnestly waiting for a question like this! Before BookTok, it has been increasingly difficult to find out what books are worth the hype, which aren’t, and which documents may include triggering subjects that I may want to avoid. However, there is so much information to be found on BookTok that excludes spoilers and any details to the plotline. There is always new content that gets me excited for new books and writing ideas of my own. Ideally, I would originally include more popular books on my personal bookshelf. This would involve the Twilight series and A Dog’s Purpose series. While both movie adaptations to these books stayed true to the initial story, I was able to better envision the events occurring. It would be impossible not to mention Cassandra Clare, who has created an entire network of Shadowhunters with her creative and heart-wrenching stories! While there are many different and controversial opinions on how to read the series based on publishing order and fictional timeline, I found it much easier to understand when reading in the fictional timeline. This being, starting with the Infernal Devices series instead of the Mortal Instruments series. Then again, the Infernal Devices series was most relatable and entertaining to me due to the love triangle that was not filled with any malice. I would also like to acknowledge Colleen Hoover because of her monumental spread of fame with the help of BookTok. Hoover has also had many controversial opinions regarding her books, but there is no argument concerning her writing talent. She takes on many touchy topics within her writings such as poverty, substance abuse, relationships, marriage, and healing from loss. This within itself is enough to show that Hoover is trying to spread awareness with her books. This has allowed her to be seen by various audiences and show others that they are not alone in their struggles. Some of my favorite books of Hoover’s are Ugly Love, Confess, and November 9 with Verity being my least favorite (as I am not a fan of thriller/horror genres). In total, these titles have greatly affected the BookTok community. Literature is a beautiful thing to share and reflect on. It shows the author’s emotions as well as evoking emotions from the reader. This especially includes Colleen Hoover and the subjects she tackles. By making light of these difficult situations and presenting them in a relatable way, she can reach and relate to many readers and affect them each separately. It is one of the most beautiful things about literature when every person can read the same passage and take something different from it based on what their goals are, what they have been through, and their personalities. In conclusion, BookTok has made such an individual impact on my life as well as the lives of readers all around the world.

My name is Mycah Bisceglia, and I am currently a high school student living in Colorado. One of my earliest medical memories occurred when I was eight years old and was brought in for emergency surgery when I was told that I had to receive an appendectomy. Even at this age, I was not a stranger to injuries and had many experiences with various doctors for things like sicknesses or broken bones. However, experiencing my first surgery made me realize that I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. The skilled professionals surrounding me and assuring me that everything was going to be okay filled me with admiration, respect, and most importantly—trust. Growing older, I realized I wanted to be this figure for someone else. While I have not definitively decided what branch of medicine to engage in, I have heavily educated myself in nurse anesthetics. In short, this profession includes aiding a certified anesthesiologist through the surgical process through maintaining optimal physical levels for a safe procedure. In this way, the patient’s life and well-being would be entirely in the hands of both the nurse anesthetist and the anesthesiologist while facing life-threatening situations. What I find intriguing about the job is that I would have the opportunity to enable and strengthen trust with my patients while guiding them through difficult and scary operations. This would help me create personal bonds with others along with making their lives easier in difficult times. A common complaint with health industry interactions is the insensitivity or fear factor. For my surgery, the surgeons, nurses, and professionals around me did an amazing job of making me feel safe, respected, and protected. Still, I know not everyone has had the same experiences I did. To make a difference, I aim to treat every patient uniquely while catering to their individual needs. As everyone is different, it will take an extra effort to learn about the person and how they would like to be treated or what calms them down. I intend to make additional effort to learn more about my patients personally, so I am more able to help them professionally. By taking this extra leap, I should make the experiences of families going through a hard time more bearable and stress-free. In total, I aim to make a difference by showing others that they are heard, well cared for, respected, and secure while needing the help of surgical professionals.

My name is Mycah Bisceglia and I am currently a high school student living in Colorado. At eight years old, I was brought in for emergency surgery when I was told that I had to receive an appendectomy. Even at this age, I was not a stranger to injuries and had many experiences with various doctors. However, experiencing my first surgery made me realize that I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. The skilled professionals surrounding me and assuring me that everything was going to be okay filled me with admiration, respect, and most importantly—trust. Growing older, I realized I wanted to be this helping individual for someone else. I believe that my Christian faith will help me in achieving this goal by reminding myself what I am truly striving for. In short, this is a chance to give back to others and give someone the same positive and life-altering experience that I had with surgery all while spreading the love of the Father through these works of service and action. Personally, I aim to maintain a high GPA to be accepted into bachelor’s programs and accelerated degree options to achieve my goals. Academics are a top priority for me and will propel me towards top programs and colleges. While I am toying with the idea of going to medical school, I have focused on keeping all my options open as I decide the next steps I want to take for the college stage of my life. Ultimately, my main goal is giving my patients the most pain-free and trustworthy experience while growing my identity in Christ in all that I set my mind to. While John Young put so many others before himself in the war, I hope to make similar sacrifices for others around me in need of help.

How was the world created? From a scientific standpoint, it seems almost impossible that a planet would be created with every natural resource we need to survive on a whim. In fact, the probability is so low that it could be considered impossible... unless there is a superior being involved. Scientifically, this is how I would rationalize my strong belief in God. Even so, my faith comes before the influence of science and its arguments. Science and God have become something of competitors. They are used as ways to discredit each other. Still, with a being as awesome, omnipresent, and superior as God, there is no competition. Science can be used to undermine or discredit the Bible, though this all comes down to faith. For example, in the very beginning of the Bible, God creates the entire world and all its contents in seven days approximately four thousand years ago. Scientists would argue differently, saying that relative dating would age the Earth billions of years old and was generated by the big bang. But what if God made the Earth in its original form with age? Instead of creating it in the age it was, what if He made our object of studying and determination of its age older? After all, Adam and Eve were not created at an infant stage. They were originally created as fully mature adults. If God can do that, why would it be any question what He can do with His planet? Scientific evidence has also shown proof of a great flood, Jesus Christ as a historical figure, and the drying of the Euphrates River (which are all prophesied and written about in the Bible). This cannot be noted off as a coincidence due to the consistency and accuracy the Bible has given. Science is only the way to express and share God’s world with others in an academic and universal form. Though, this is often not enough to convince someone to believe in Christianity. Faith is something that must come from the Holy Spirit and the heart. Believing with my full self that God has created the universe just the way he intended it has shaped my view on science and how it impacts me. Being able to bring this Christian view to the field of STEM is so important to me and others who I may be able to reach. In this way, I would show others the world in the lens God wanted it to be viewed and positively impact this field. In conclusion, I believe that God created the universe and all that is in it. Some may say it alters my perspective on science, and I would completely agree. There is so much to be learned about the world in the way God intended for it to be observed without community bias or standards!

Are you happy to be alive? Sure, there are difficulties throughout our time on Earth, but most people would not trade in the good things that have happened to them due to a few negative aspects. But what if you couldn’t make that decision? Whether you were perfectly happy and healthy or were born with a disadvantage like Natalie, the decision is not up to you. In fact, your life lies in the hands of someone who has never met you and has been conditioned to think of you as “parasitic” and “unworthy” of life in extreme cases. This was the case for over a million aborted babies in the United States alone. Adding onto this topic, I try to actively live out my faith every day through my beliefs of pro-life. Worshiping comes in many forms, but I focus on putting my full effort into everything I do for Him. This also includes asking for strength, confidence, clear-mindedness, forgiveness, and guidance in topics such as these. God also says to love others for Him and through Him (relates to 1 John 4:12 and 4:16). Pro-life is the belief that all unborn babies deserve the gift of life. Therefore, with the widespread option for a mother to deny her child this gift, it is even more crucial to remind others that God’s love extends to all—even those who are not present in the world yet. My faith has greatly impacted my career path and future. I have decided to enter the medical field, which will give me access to many people to help, advise, and care for. The branch of medicine that interests me the most is sonography. This directly relates to the topic of abortion because of the way sonographers are involved in a mother’s first look at her baby. Being able to give a mother this gift of her child is something that I wanted to be a part of in my career through God’s way. However, this gift may be unexpected or even unwanted for some mothers. In my career, I intend to help my patients understand the miracles that they are a part of with their babies. Or, aiding their development as a mother by introducing them to God’s values and virtues for their life. Being so close to expecting mothers would aid my fight for pro-life and its extensive moral values. As mothers, it is our sacred duty to protect the lives of our children and see them as God sees them. In this way, I can personally better understand the way Natalie’s story has touched so many people within her short life. I would undoubtedly claim that she was happy to be alive and that her mother chose to protect her. All in all, my faith has greatly impacted my career choices and more strongly aided my support of pro-life.