I grew up as a Girl Scout since I was 8 years old and have been involved in my community and different areas in need until I graduated. Besides the traditional annual cookie sales where I learned about business and communication, my troop and I have helped foster kids, women shelters, breast cancer organizations, dogs, and countless other areas. For my Silver Award project, I created and operated a dog park during the summer in my community. I noticed my community lacking a space for dogs and dog owners to socialize together to alleviate stress and build a tighter community. After receiving my bachelor's degree in Business Management, I will be attending culinary school to receive my Associate's in Baking and Pastry Arts. As for right now, I plan to continue my mindset as a student for life to learn as much as possible in every aspect of my life. Shifting to my long-term goal, I plan to open my own bakery to not only bring sweetness and joy in other people's life, but to build a tighter community and help others in need. A person with a large audience should use their voice and power to bring a spotlight in areas and people in need. It's easy to get wrapped up in our problems, but there is a whole world that's gasping for a breath and a lifejacket. In the next 5 years, as I start creating and operating my small business, I plan to use my platform to bring awareness to areas in need. As of right now, I believe that a spotlight is needed in our nutrition and home, the planet. The western diet consists of large servings, hidden and unknown ingredients, as well as absurd amounts of sugar and grease that clog our arteries. The world needs to be awaken about the problem that the western diet has on our bodies leading us to invest in supplements, medication, and trapped in the wet sand of finances. Then, our beautiful, green home providing us fresh food and an abundant of oxygen is slowly dying. There's trash and plastic in the depths of the ocean that our species has thrown, as well as our modern technologies and industries polluting the air we breathe and causing global warming. The very home we live in is slowly dying affecting not only ourselves, but our families and those to come. We are trashing their homes when they haven't even been born yet and will not know how beautiful our world was if we keep living the way we are. Not only will I use my voice, but I will use products and technologies that are sustainable and earth-friendly to bring a movement and awareness to these problems and many more.

Meet Crockett! He's a pure Chocolate Labrador Retriever who will turn 6 years old in December. Crockett's favorite foods are cheese, peanut butter, and bananas. He loves to explore, meet new humans and dogs, and receive love through kisses or scratches in his belly. Not only is Crockett a sweet, adorable dog, but he is my best friend and loves to follow me around anywhere I go. Through all of the laughs, playtimes, and cries, he's always there and knows how to cheer me up and I will be eternally grateful that he's in my life.

"She remembered who she was and the game changed." Lalah Deliah's quote has followed me everywhere I have gone. There have been countless times where I was scared or doubtful about taking advancing classes, opportunities, and projects where I was afraid I wasn't enough. But when I read this quote, I remember all the great qualities and skills I possess that shifts my perspective to pursue the opportunity or project because they will help me grow. No matter what anyone says or what we think of others holding greater power and influence, it's not true because we also hold our own power that makes us unique and strong. It's okay to be scared but it's important to see the great qualities and skills that define you to overcome any challenges in your path.

There tends to be an unspoken pressure to blend in with Americans and forgetting your roots as one grows up. To speak English fluently, dress modern and elegantly, and have the latest items. How is it that the country where your family is pursuing their dreams is where their children avoid speaking their native language and forget the color that makes them unique? My childhood was a mix of blending into the American culture to later discovering the power and color that my roots behold. Ever since I can remember, I've always wanted to blend into America's culture. The language invaded my head and kicked out my Spanish fluency. Colorful dresses and listening to music or movies in Spanish weren't considered normal for me. But even though I wasn't a true Latina, I still rooted to those who were making a difference as I too wanted to follow them. I wanted to fight for equality and justice from the pay gaps that existed, the long, laborious hours involved, and the fear brought into the room wherever we went. The long cold stares and assumptions that we were the maintenance crew. A big motivator in my life was my family, who either had to drop out of elementary school to work or faced an abusive life. I remember the night where I discovered a different side of each of my aunts and uncles. I heard their stories and saw the glimpse of sadness in their eyes that completely changed my perspective and values. From then on I accepted and present that I come from a bloodline of hard work, agriculture, and color. Both sides of my family grew up working long hours on the farm or the factory. But they each possess a unique color that helps them fight the long days and fill the room with laughter, dance, and song to hold proud memories. My family, their experiences, and their strength inspire me to work hard and pursue my goals. I plan and am working to join the accounting crew where I represent the small group of Latinas and continue to learn more about my roots as they define the hard work that I'm willing to do. I'm no longer hiding behind a mask and I wish to start help others step away from their masks and change the stereotypes. We all hold so much color and strength in our roots that we can truly make a difference.

We all share the same rollercoaster path, but everyone goes through different depths, either high as the clouds or low to the earth's core. The common factor that influences the change of our lives are those that walk into our lives by either being a positive or negative influence. To choose one role model that influenced my life and shaped me into the person I am today is like choosing my favorite song. A difficult choice that no matter how many songs I narrow it down to and shuffle around, it's an arduous choice. My role model is every person who came into my life no matter how earth-shattering they left me when they walked out, and of course, those who remain by my side no matter the challenges. Every person was raised in different environments, and no person shares the same experiences or can live through everything. All of these factors shape each person's personality, perspective, and thoughts that can bring rare perspectives and explanations that can be eye-opening for the tiny world we see. With each person being different in their values and strengths, I admire and look up to how each person has something different compared to others. I will use my family and closest friend as examples. My dad is a very thoughtful and forgiving person that no matter the situation, he wants each person to thrive and not suffer. Then with my mom, she's realistic when it comes to any problems and knowledgeable with just about anything, just like any other mom. With my brother being a jokester, he can lift negative vibes in the room, such as when an argument has occurred or if unexpected news broke out. Also, my best friend is very determined when it comes to challenges and is very faithful. From the close few people I'm constantly surrounded with, they have vast differences that make them who they are, and I always admire their qualities whenever I see them demonstrate them with others. Many people can walk in and out of one's life, and I couldn't exactly say that a lot of people walked out on mine due to the small exposure I've known about others. But it has been a painful path from the experiences I've had with them and how they chose to leave. No matter how painful and numb they've left me, I still think the best of them from the qualities they had to the experiences we shared. Everyone goes through things either at the right or wrong timing, and it can affect the choices and decisions we make. I choose not to look at life from past experiences that I can no longer change. We can only look at the past as a way to improve in the future with our relationships and experiences. People can only make an impact on our lives only if we let them, and there's only a certain amount of time we know that they'll remain in our lives. I hold everyone as a role model because they can make an impact on my life in different and unexpected ways, and I'll always have something to improve and work on.

Three words: hard work, color, and smile. They go hand in hand where if one action is too heavy, then the balance is off. To have fun, one has to work hard for their dreams and goals. Once the work is done for the day, it's time to sing, dance, and bring color to our food to relieve the stress from a day's work. Let's not forget to invite friends and family because, without them, there wouldn't be any smiles or the sound of laughter to fill a room and create memories that we'll never forget. Whether it's days with my dad's side of the family in Mexico or my mom's side here in the U.S., the beliefs don't change. We all work hard throughout the day to celebrate and enjoy the night together to sleep without any regrets. But of course, we all make choices that can impact our entire life for the good or the worst. Some had to drop out as early as the 4th grade to help their family with the crops or start working because money was tight. Others faced an abusive life where you can see a glimpse of pain in their eyes when memories are brought up. Everyone's perspective of life is different where their beliefs and aspirations define their experience. Some say to never grow up, while others say to work hard that way you never have to worry. But the balance is thrown off where there can be too much joy or too much work in one's life, so the beliefs I shaped are to make sure there's a balance. Make sure to work hard enough that way at the end of the day, you know you deserve to live the rest of the night dancing your feet away and smile until you can't feel your cheeks anymore. You want to make sure you live a life where you don't have any regrets or missed out on anything, but at the same time, you want to be proud of the work you did, inside and outside your work occupation. All the achievements you received, moments of failure and mistakes, and all the smiles you brought into someone's life. Make sure that the day's work was effective and lean because either at the end of the day or on the weekend, color will be brought in to fill the room with smiles and laughter.

Crockett the Chocolate Lab loves to be a part of the family in any way he can by posing for pictures, jumping on the bed, and snuggle with a blanket. By sharing treats, peanut butter, and cheese, he'll remain by your side and gaze at you with his bright brown eyes.

As the whole world was focused on one sole thing, each person of the billions of people that inhabit earth battled through different realities. Every child, teenager, and adult was impacted differently yet, we all had to make sacrifices and adjustments in ways we never thought we would ever have to make. As a high school senior when the pandemic first took place, to currently, as a college freshman, I battled issues that changed my relationship with myself. With hopes that as soon as the 2-week quarantine was over, we would return to our lives as if COVID never existed, yet, we still don't know when that will take place. It would be a lie to say I wasn't enjoying the extended quarantine. There was joy from binge-watching movies and shows, sleeping whenever I wished, and finally completing the tasks I had set back so many times. But the time spent away from my life brought consequences and light to things I hadn't paid attention to before, such as binge-eating, anxiety, and residing in my head. The nights alone watching TV wasn't as relaxing as thought out, as instead, they brought heaviness and guilt-wrecking shame. I had the TV covering the sounds of the refrigerator door, containers, and drawers. My jaw was constantly working by chewing down cereal, pistachios, cashews, cookies, or anything interesting in the house. Every bite I was taking in was so satisfying that all I kept repeating was: "One more, and I'm leaving." Yet every bite brought pressure to my stomach, and soon enough, it felt like it was going to explode. Going to bed was heavy, not only because my stomach was heavy, but every feeling, bone, and organ in my body was heavy. My mind was filled with endless thoughts and regrets about if only I hadn't binged and how I needed to change. My heart seemed tight and was ready to tear from the constant guilt and shame, and my arms and legs were numb as I finally saw what my mind was trying to tell me, I was a monster. Then it seemed like one night of this nightmare wasn't enough where my actions kept occurring for weeks. At times there were successes where I didn't binge-eat for a couple of days or sometimes I stopped before it got out of hand, and it wasn't because I gained some willpower. I just didn't want to get caught by my family, but they soon started noticing how the food supply was dropping in such a short amount of time. I remember how all that was on my mind was how my actions were affecting my family. My actions of binging was wasting their money where once I would have to start wearing actual clothes, I would have to purchase new ones. I traumatized myself with those thoughts that all I wanted to do was cry and lay on the couch for eternity. It seemed impossible to stop that sometimes, I had to lock myself in my room to stop what I was doing and think of what I was getting myself into before it was too late. Instead of filling myself up with food, I filled myself with endless articles about nutrition, what my diet should consist of, food disorders, and so much information about my body. I learned so many things about how I should change my relationship with food and my body because to this moment, I feel a drastic change. A change where heaviness doesn't come around often, there isn't pressure with food, and feelings aren't always so negative.

There's nothing more exhausting than constantly living in your head and playing back every action that has caused feelings of guilt and shame. As an anxious, overthinking binge eater, it's easy to say that tomorrow will be a new day, and soon the flaws will disappear. But that's easier said than done because that next day, it's the only thing that's on my mind tempting me to perform the forbidden act. At the start of quarantine, I binged every night to whatever I had set my eyes on or craved throughout the day. It may have been satisfying that moment, but as soon as it was over, I felt my stomach ready to burst, my jaw hurting from the non-stop chewing, and the feeling of guilt arising. Going to bed was heavy, not only because my stomach was heavy, but every feeling, bone, and organ in my body was heavy. My mind was filled with endless thoughts and regrets. My heart seemed tight and was ready to tear from the constant guilt and shame as I finally saw what my mind was trying to tell me, I was a monster. At times there were successes where I didn't binge eat for a couple of days or I stopped before it got out of hand, and it wasn't because I gained some willpower. I just didn't want to get caught by my family, but they soon started noticing how our food supply was dropping in such a short amount of time. I remember how all that was on my mind were how my actions were affecting my family, and that's when instead of filling myself with food, I started filling myself with knowledge and ways to get myself out of my head. My experiences and battles I fought helped me be a better person for myself and body, and it would be an honor to help others escape their mind and battle their negative feelings. What I have done and want to keep doing is help others feel less lonely by being there for them no matter the time or place.

It's a million-dollar question to every child, teen, and student about what they want to do with their life. There tends to be an air tightening pressure and it can feel like there's a deadline to meet, but the actual pressure is whether we'd be successful and happy in our life on what we decide to dedicate our lives. It can appear like there's a lead here, at times over there, and sometimes it's nowhere. However, it isn't said enough to enjoy the moment when the future seems blank or like there are a million paths available because it only takes one choice before all the opportunities are narrowed down. When our future seems blank, we tend to take in as much information wondering whether the path we're planning could be the one. With the grant, I'd be learning a variety of skills through the many paths around me to discover my purpose and learn more about myself and the world. Currently, I'm an accounting student who's still discovering which branch of accounting to pursue, which takes time to learn whether it's a good fit. During my time in school, I plan to pursue different titles, such as a minor in Spanish and another language that's to be determined. Also, I plan to travel abroad to learn about different cultures, history, architecture, and food. There's so much in the world that can seem impossible to do or nonexistent, but it's not until the opportunity is available to us that it can open a whole door to different things. It all seems endless right now, but it's not something I'm afraid of, it's something I'm ready to conquer and see for myself with my own eyes. The world of pressure would be greatly relieved if I had the opportunity to pursue the available opportunities to continue my education and open my mind.

It's easy to assume and dream that nothing can go wrong in life when all that needs to be accomplished is to finish school, get a job, and start a family. It's all easier said than done if there was such a thing as a perfect life and pure happiness. As everybody knows, life can throw huge curveballs in different parts of one's life. Sometimes it doesn't have to throw anything because one can already be suffering from things alone, like time. I've suffered from this obstacle alone myself very often in different aspects of my life, and most of the time it's when summer has started or there's a long break from school where I'm left feeling like an hour is more like a day passing by. Education surprisingly has formed a strong role in my life because I can never be disappointed in the act of trying new things and learning from my mistakes. I'm well known to be independent and strong, and most of that is due to the disappointments I've experienced in my life from my relationships with my family and friends, or when obstacles occur leading to impactful changes. Then, the effect it can have on me tends to create a larger hole from the familiar feeling of disappointment that's hard to track from when it was first created. It's easier to hide it or try to fill that hole with new things I've learned and discovered to not be lost in myself, but in the ways other lives have made an impact in different aspects. There are a variety of authors and artists that share their perspectives and can transport you somewhere that can change your view or help you discover something. Inventors and scientists create and continuously improve on their inventions to help society be efficient and combat diseases or problems. Many people have left an impact in the world demonstrating the culture, history, and obstacles faced that can help others find what they're looking for. It's impressive to see how far we've advanced and improved throughout the years, and it's even more remarkable to know that I'm not alone or different from the things I've conquered or still trying to move on from. I want to continue to learn not only to try to fill that hole up but to learn how to fill it up in the right way. Education doesn't only have to be logic, it's wisdom as well, that one gains throughout the years after all the curveballs they've been thrown.

We all share the same rollercoaster path, but everyone goes through different depths, either high as the clouds or low to the earth's core. The common factor that influences the change of our lives are those that walk into our lives by either being a positive or negative influence. To choose one role model that influenced my life and shaped me to the person I am today is like choosing my favorite song. A difficult choice that no matter how many songs I narrow it down to and shuffle around, it's an arduous choice. My role model is every person who came into my life no matter how earth-shattering they left me when they walked out, and of course, those who remain by my side no matter the obstacles we go through. Every person has been raised in different environments, people, and no person shares the same experiences or can live through everything. All of these factors shape each person's personality, perspective, and thoughts that can bring rare and interesting perspectives and explanations that can be eye-opening for the tiny world we see. With each person being different in their values and strengths, I admire and look up to how each person has something different compared to others. For example with those closest to me, my dad is a very thoughtful and forgiving person that no matter the situation, he wants each person to thrive and not suffer. Then with my mom, she's realistic when it comes to any problems or issues and knowledgeable with just about anything, just like any other mom. With my brother being a jokester, he can lift negative vibes in the room, such as when an argument has occurred or if unexpected news broke out. Also to add to the list, my best friend is very determined when it comes to challenges and is very faithful. From only the people I'm constantly surrounded by, they have vast differences that make them the person they are, and I always admire their qualities whenever I see them demonstrate them with others. Many people can walk in and out of one's life, and I couldn't exactly say that a lot of people walked out on mine due to the small exposure I've known about others. But it has been a painful path from the experiences I've had with them and how they chose to leave. No matter how painful and numb they've left me, I still think the best of them from the qualities they had to the experiences we shared. Everyone goes through things either at the right or wrong timing, and it can affect the choices and decisions we make. I choose not to look at life from past experiences that I can no longer change, we can only look at the past as a way to improve in the future with our relationships and experiences. People can only make an impact on our lives only if we let them, and there's only a certain amount of time we know that they'll remain in our lives. I hold everyone as a role model because they can make an impact on our lives in different and unexpected ways.

There's nothing more exhausting than constantly living in your head and playing back every action that has caused feelings of guilt, shame, and anger. It seems like everything is connected where if one thing goes wrong, it heightens the guilt, shame, and anger that can be a never-ending cycle to go through. As an anxious, overthinking binge eater, it's easy to say that tomorrow will be a new day, and sooner than you know it, the flaws will disappear. But that's easier said than done because that next day, it's the only thing that's on my mind tempting me to do the forbidden act leading me to lower my self-esteem and willpower. At the start of quarantine, with no one to distract me or having anything to look forward to, that's when I binged every night whatever I had set my eyes on or craved throughout the day. It may have been satisfying that moment, but as soon as it was over, I felt my stomach ready to burst, my jaw hurting from the non-stop chewing, and the feeling of guilt arising. Going to bed was heavy, not only because my stomach was heavy, but every feeling, bone, and organ in my body was heavy. My mind was filled with endless thoughts and regrets about if only I hadn't binged and how I needed to change. My heart seemed tight and was ready to tear from the constant guilt and shame, and my arms and legs were numb as I finally saw what my mind was trying to tell me, I was a monster. Then it seemed like one night of this nightmare wasn't enough where my actions kept occurring for weeks. At times there were successes where I didn't binge eat for a couple of days or sometimes I stopped before it got out of hand, and it wasn't because I gained some willpower. I just didn't want to get caught by my family, but they soon started noticing how the cereal, nuts, and cookies were dropping low in supply in such a short amount of time. I remember how all that was on my mind was how my actions were affecting my family. My actions of binging was wasting their money, and once I would have to stop wearing sweatpants and start wearing actual clothes, I would have to donate and purchase new ones. I traumatized myself with those thoughts that instead of filling myself with food, I filled it with articles and advice from other people going through similar things. I researched, read, and communicated with a variety of people to help me get through each night and to start viewing food differently. Although I can't fully bid goodbye to my binging, I still try each day to avoid sinking into the endless pit. This obstacle of my life helped me realize how there wasn't enough awareness about the variety of mental and physical health problems occurring before the pandemic until now, where people had no choice but to learn about themselves. There was already enough stress going on with finances, supporting our own families, education, and so much more, that adding anxiety and isolation to it just made things feel thousands of times worse. Something big like the pandemic shouldn't have to occur to realize how people aren't what they appear from the outside as they are from the inside. I appeared mature, responsible, and determined on the outside but on the inside, I felt like a mess and failure. In the future, I plan to offer help and create more awareness where one shouldn't have to dig deep to discover what's going on with them. Physical and mental health services shouldn't be limited to those financially well or too deep in the pit where they don't have any motivation to climb out. One can never say they learned enough because new things are always being discovered every day. That is why by creating awareness, there should be constant research occurring and being shared with the world to aid those in need. Part of my goal is to help those by feeling understood and discover something new about them from a reliable source. Although it can feel overwhelming, scary, and can sometimes leave the feeling of abandonment or unwelcome from one's own family, it shouldn't have people feeling alone or a monster like I did. I want to change that by creating a welcoming, affordable, and weightlifting shelter offering services in person, online, and via calls or text. It shouldn't be challenging or shameful to seek help and find the right resources to get better. Change is barely starting, and I plan to be a part of it by leaving no person mentally battling against themselves alone.

To lose patience is to lose a battle, and the battle I wasn't willing to lose was with myself. Although it may seem confusing about how baking connects with my battle, it's what kept me sane and out of my mind where I could've had a permanent residence alongside my neighbors, anxiety and depression. During quarantine, I took the time to accept, cope, and improve my battles by baking where I made a variety of desserts and loaves of bread that required my patience and research abilities to improve my abilities like with the biscuits shown that required of me.