Incoming college senior this academic year! After graduating, I plan to either be a nurse or art therapist. As for my interests, I love painting and creative writing. They allow me to express my creativity and to relax if I am feeling stressed. Finally, I'm a big WWE fan, which a lot of my friends find surprising due to my reserved personality. My favorite wrestlers include Becky Lynch, AJ Styles, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, and others. I am someone who cares about people's problems and does not judge or trivialize them. Obviously, I was taught to be kind to others, but what also shaped me to be that way is that in middle school, I dealt with depression and mood swings. Although it was due to teenage hormones, it still felt like a big deal to me. Unfortunately, my dad trivialized my issues. He said it wasn't a big deal and that other kids in the world have to deal with worse issues, therefore I had no reason to be depressed. That negatively affected me so much. That's why I'm going into healthcare, so I can be a shoulder to cry on for people who don't have a support system. To me, having empathy is when someone tells you about something negative that they are dealing with, and you fully support them and take them seriously. You do not judge them, trivialize them, or try to guilt them by saying that other people have it worse than they do. There's nothing worse than pouring your heart out to someone about a struggle in your life, and all they can do is belittle you for it, instead of being a source of comfort. Technically, the true definition of empathy is being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes and understanding what they are dealing with. But in my opinion, being an empathetic person just requires you to be there for that person and to not trivialize their situation, even if you can't totally relate to it. Believe me, I would be just as grateful to my dad if he chose to take my mental health seriously and not make it seem like a silly issue, even if he couldn't truly understand what I was going through. As a healthcare professional, being empathetic with patients is very important because like I mentioned previously, it truly hurts when you have no one to support you when you're struggling. Whether I become a nurse or art therapist, my patients will need me to be there for them every step of the way, in terms of treatment. If I choose art therapy, it will be especially important for me not to judge the mental health struggles that my patients are dealing with, because it will just make them feel worse, not better. The way I respond to them opening up to me can be the difference between them choosing to live another day (because they finally feel heard and supported), or choosing self-harm (because their struggles are not taken seriously). Finally, to ensure that my work is done through a human-centered lens, I will make sure to listen to each and every one of my patients with genuine care and empathy. They will put their trust in me to take their struggles seriously and to do my very best to make them feel better, so I want to honor that trust. Even if I'll have to work with some patients for longer, as long as I am able to make them feel better, I will be very happy. I am not going to be like some healthcare professionals who just want to go through as much patients as possible to make more money. I will make great use of the time I have with each patient, and hope that each of them walks away feeling heard and supported.

I love helping people in need. But what I love more? Helping children in need. I hate seeing young children suffering, because at their age, they deserve to have all the good things in life. Being able to help them fills my heart with so much joy and warmth, especially after seeing the smiles on their faces and happy tears in their eyes. That is why I felt so fortunate to participate in a program that my church was a part of, a few years ago. That program allowed me to be a light in many kids' lives, even those living on the other side of the world. The name of the program? Operation Christmas Child. It is an organization that prides itself on sending Christmas presents to hundreds of thousands of kids around the world, all while encouraging them to learn about God's love. So many children living in poverty do not get to receive gifts on Christmas (something that privileged kids often take for granted), so OCC made it its mission to bring hope and light into their lives by bringing them presents. What my church did was that we would go out and buy toys, toiletries, etc. and put them into special boxes. We would then pack them up and they would be shipped to kids around the world. Personally, I bought and filled my box with mostly toys because I know that kids love receiving cool toys as presents. After Christmas, we watched slideshows and a few videos of kids in Africa, Asia, and South America receiving their presents. I will never forget the sheer excitement on their faces when they opened them. Even though they were going through tough situations, at least their Christmas was made a bit brighter. Having that kind of positive impact on their lives makes me so happy. Since participating in Operation Christmas Child, I have become a more active member in serving my community (something I will admit I had a hard time doing in the past, due to not wanting to get out of my comfort zone and putting myself out there). To date, I have volunteered with organizations such as the Salvation Army, SickleCellMN (a local organization), and Feed My Starving Children. I have always wanted to be a part of organizations that have a focus on helping children who are struggling. Obviously, FMSC exhibits that by its mission to donate nutritious meals to children dealing with hunger in impoverished countries. As for the Salvation Army and SickleCellMN, although they aren't solely focused on kids, I was still able to help out a couple of them. Nevertheless, I feel very proud of lending my time and hands to volunteering with those three companies and knowing that suffering kids out there who need hope and light in their lives were able to receive it. BONUS: In the future, I want to continue helping the children in my community. However, I also hope to expand my generosity to helping children suffering from hunger, war, and poverty in developing countries. I was able to do it with Feed My Starving Children and Operation Christmas Child, but if possible, I would like to travel to some of those countries and help them in person (also to give every child I can a big hug and some reassuring words of kindness and hope).

I am Nora. I am an African American woman who was born to Nigerian parents. In addition to naming me Nora, they also gave me a Nigerian Igbo name/middle name that means "God is glorious" in the Igbo language. Even though I was born here in the United States and have had a lot of American influence and culture around me, I still have some Nigerian values and traditions that my parents have instilled in me, which shape the way I live my life. One example being the importance of education. They have always expected me to do well in school, finish university, and graduate with a degree so that I can get a good job. Throughout my life I had always complained about how stressful school was, but my mom would always reply with "This is for your future." I listened to her advice and now I am on track to graduating with my bachelor's degree in health sciences next year. Not only that, but throughout my K-12 education, I have always gotten high grades. I take my education seriously because I know that it will reward me in the future when I have a good-paying job. Other values my parents ingrained in me include being grateful for a great life, choosing my friends and potential boyfriends wisely, and never forgetting where I come from, which made me to be a well-behaved and respected young lady that I am today. Since preschool, I have always been an imaginative and creative individual. So, it only made sense for me to enjoy doing all kinds of art. From drawing to painting to creative writing, art is what fills my soul with joy. It gives me a chance to express myself however I want, which really helps if I'm feeling down. To date, I have created over 70 canvas paintings, a dozen drawings, and most impressively, wrote and published two novels. Of course, I plan to continue doing art in my free time and possibly incorporating it into a career as an art therapist. Just like how art helps ME feel better, hopefully using art on my patients as a healing strategy will help them feel better as well. As a person who loves making people smile, if my art-based mode of therapy can make a positive impact on someone's life, I will be so happy. Speaking of future aspirations, there is a fair number of things that I want in my life. Many people dream of becoming rich AND famous, but for me, only the rich part is enough. I'm a reserved person in real life, so constantly being in the spotlight isn't really my cup of tea. But being wealthy sounds really awesome. Like I mentioned before, I have created many canvas paintings and wrote two books. I hope to sell a lot of them to people and end up becoming rich from them. What is better than making lots of money doing what I love? Finally, although it may sound unattainable and outlandish, I want to get rid of wars. If I could have a meeting with the world leaders and advise them to settle their conflicts themselves (by a wrestling match, perhaps?), instead of sending innocent soldiers into battle as cannon fodder, I would 100% do so, as difficult as it may seem. It breaks my heart to see young men (and women) who are just living their lives and don't want to fight being thrown into an unnecessary conflict, while the leaders who actually want war sit back and relax. It has to end!

Firstly, I want to say that I am pursuing mental health and planning to become an art therapist. I want to give all my patients, especially the ones who feel like their mental health concerns are not being heard and taken seriously, the chance to talk about their struggles without judgment. I don't want them to feel ashamed of admitting that they are depressed, having lots of anxiety, etc. because for most of their lives, they were told that having mental disorders is a sign of weakness. Or that simply talking about mental health is a taboo in their family or culture. I know first-hand how disparaging it feels to have your symptoms diminished or even dismissed altogether due to cultural views on the topic, so I want my patients to feel validated when they talk to me. It is a sad reality that not all places in the world take mental health seriously. In places like Africa, Asia, and other non-Western countries, mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, and others are seen as being "weak" and they aren't considered actual illnesses that require the person suffering from them to be treated. In those places, only physical illnesses are taken with concern. This issue is further exacerbated when it comes to younger people. For example, most elders in those cultures don't believe that young people can have depression because they are at the easiest point of their lives and haven't experienced true struggle, therefore they have no reason to be depressed. Not only is that not true, but it is also incredibly insulting to the millions of teens and young adults who live with depression. Unfortunately, I had to experience not being taken seriously in regard to my mental health. During my middle school years, I was dealing with mood swings and feeling depressed almost every day. When I told my mom about what I was going through, she fortunately understood and tried her best to help me. My dad on the other hand, did not. Both are Nigerians, and in that culture, mental health is not taken seriously. He would always tell me that I had no reason to be depressed. Also, that I should be grateful for having food to eat, shelter, and a good life because a lot of kids in the world are suffering due to poverty, war, etc. I understand that there are people who have it worse than I do, but it doesn't make my problems any less important. Hearing my dad diminish my issues hurt me so much. Parents are supposed to listen to their kids and take them seriously, especially if they are going through something as serious as depression. Although I'm feeling better now, I will never forget how my dad didn't even try to help me feel better. As an art therapist, I want to positively impact the lives of my patients who have to suffer with mental health illnesses. Firstly (and most importantly), I will make sure to tell them that their condition is not a sign of them being weak. Instead, they are strong for recognizing that they have a problem and for choosing to get help. Secondly, I'll allow them to express themselves using any kind of art they want. No matter what they choose, no judgment will be passed on them by me. Finally, if they just need a hug or shoulder to cry on, I will be happy to provide that for them!

The time that I finally decided to listen to my mental health was during my sophomore year of college. Up until then, I had been taking classes that were very difficult for me such as Calculus and Organic/General Chemistry. Although I hated them, I decided to push through because my goal was to become a physician. Being a doctor was a dream that I've had since I was little, so I didn't want to give up. During spring semester, I found myself taking both General Chemistry II and Precalculus II. From the first day, it felt like hell. All the assignments, labs, exams, etc. (especially for Gen Chem II) were causing me to have daily headaches, stomachaches, body pains, and lots of stress. I couldn't even get 5 hours of sleep because I was up working on the mounting tasks. For the first month, I just sucked it up because I wasn't going to give up on becoming a doctor. Not only did I feel that I would be letting myself down by quitting, but I would be letting my loved ones down as well, since they were so excited to be finally getting the first doctor in the family. But one day, I decided that enough was enough. As the semester went on, the stress from all the work only increased. I wasn't going to be okay with dealing with the aforementioned symptoms every single day for the next 3-4 months. I realized that it was General Chemistry that was contributing the most to my ailments, so I talked with my professors about dropping the class. I explained how it was negatively affecting my health, and they were fully onboard with me withdrawing. One professor even told me that I should have dropped out earlier, and that class should never come before my wellbeing. That really stuck with me, because for almost my whole life, I would worry excessively about doing well in school and getting the highest grades, without caring much about my mental health. The very next day, I sent a petition to withdraw from General Chemistry II. Fortunately, it was approved. Since dropping that course, I no longer got the physical and mental stress symptoms that I had before. It felt like a stressful weight was lifted off my shoulders. At that point, I also realized that medicine wasn't for me. If I was dealing with that kind of stress at the undergraduate level of education, then medical school would be absolute torture for me, since it's 100 times as difficult. So even though I would be quitting on a dream that I had since I was a little girl, and that I would possibly be disappointing my family, with a heavy heart I decided to drop medicine and instead either go for nursing or art therapy. Instead of taking hard and STEM-focused classes, during my junior year I took more psychology and creative-based classes. In my senior year, I'll be taking classes such as Nutrition and Disease Pathology to prepare for either of those careers. Being a physician is a prestigious career with much respect, but nurses and art therapists are just as important, so I shouldn't feel bad for quitting. What I learned from that ordeal is that my wellbeing is always #1. Also, I should go for something that I will enjoy, not just what is "prestigious" or what will make me a lot of money. What's the point of having that kind of job if I will dread going to work every day? It's absolutely not worth it.

One day, I hope to make an impact on my communities through the health and wellness lens. This makes the most sense because I am someone who plans to have a career in healthcare. Specifically, I want to become an art therapist due to my love of art (obviously) and wanting to use it to help people dealing with mental health issues. As an art therapist, both during and after my career, I hope to be known as ‘a healer sans pills’, meaning I want to be known as someone who was able to make people feel better without using prescription medications. I know it doesn’t sound so special, given that most therapists are not licensed to prescribe medications to patients with mental health issues, but my strategy will hopefully have a lasting and positive impact on my patients’ lives and also become more mainstream in the world of mental health treatments. Instead of prescribing my patients with pills, I plan to 'prescribe' them with art. Just as doing art helps ME feel better, it can also help patients dealing with depression, anxiety, anger, etc. to also feel better. They can choose to paint, draw, write, make music, or whatever they like. I can even do art with them so they can feel more connected to me as their therapist. I believe that mental health issues can be alleviated by art since it allows people to express how they are feeling through it. They are pouring their heart and emotions into their drawing, story, song, etc. and most likely won't be judged for the masterpiece that they come up with. Having those experiences may allow my patients to feel cathartic, which in turn, may help alleviate their mental health ailment. Additionally, all of that won't involve them putting a chemical in the form of pills into their bodies, which can alter it and bring about side effects. All in all, I will be having a positive impact on the mental health community by encouraging patients to get better in a more natural way. Me being a 'healer sans pills' can also have a positive impact on the environment within my community, and across the globe. As you may know, a majority of prescription medications (especially pills) come in those plastic orange containers. Plastic is already a big problem for our environment, so by adding millions more tons of it in the form of medicine containers will only exacerbate the issue. In the U.S., most of the population takes medications for different health problems, so that will definitely add up, especially factoring in prescription refills and some people taking multiple medications simultaneously. With my strategy of using art to treat mental health disorders, I won't have to prescribe any pills, thus not having to use the plastic orange containers, and therefore treating the environment a little better. It may not make a drastic difference, but it will still be something. Also, just like I mentioned before, I believe that art is a better way of dealing with mental health issues, so it's a win-win. I will be entering my final year of university this fall, and afterwards, I will work toward becoming an art therapist. Even though five years seems like very little time to use my 'healer sans pills' tactic to positively impact the environment, with enough drive in me and working relentlessly for my patients, nothing is impossible.

I thought that October 7th, 2024, would just be another day for me. Finishing up my lab report, going out for lunch, and relaxing by doing some painting after finishing my homework. But boy, how wrong I was. That day ended up being one of the worst days of my life, because I had fallen victim to a scam. That afternoon, I checked my emails like I always do. But that time, I saw an email claiming to be from someone working at Norton Antivirus. When I opened it to read, it said that I was charged about $200 for a service that I had supposedly signed up for. I didn’t remember signing up for anything, but I also didn’t want my account to be charged automatically, so I called the customer service number that was written on the email. A guy with an Indian accent answered (red flag!). I told him about what had happened, and he assured me that he would refund me my money, but he would have to get onto my laptop. Being very panicked, I allowed him to have access and control it from his end. But he proceeded to perform some sketchy actions, which caused me to receive more money than I was owed. The guy then told me that I would have to purchase a gift card from CVS and give him the code, in order to get his money back. I tried to argue that it wasn't my fault, but he continued to coerce me, and even threatened legal action against me if I didn’t do what he wanted. Being super freaked out, I asked my friend to drive me there. But being as smart as she is, knew that the Indian guy was a scammer. Thankfully, I didn’t go, and I just hung up on him. I thought the nightmare was over, but it wasn't. When I checked my bank accounts to make sure I still had my money, I saw that in one of them, the scammer had taken out $10,000, which was way more than what I had, causing it to be in the negatives. I felt that my soul had left my body at that point. I didn't remember giving him any of my banking information, but he must have gotten it somehow when he had access to my computer. Being scammed that day affected me in ways that I will remember for a long time. After seeing my bank account being drained, and the fact that the evil scammer had compromised my computer, I spent the day in a deep sadness, anger, panic, and worry. For a few days, I didn't eat properly nor want any contact with anybody. That event was one of the worst experiences of my life. Fortunately, I told my bank about what had transpired, and after about a week, I got my money back. I also completely reset my laptop so that the scammer would not have access to it anymore. I was one of the lucky ones, because many scam victims end up losing their money permanently, so I am forever thankful. With that experience came lessons to be learned. Firstly, I learned to never respond to suspicious emails claiming to be from a company, especially if it's a Gmail account. Most reputable companies don't use Gmail. Secondly, I should never let ANYONE onto my laptop, unless it's someone I know well, or a trusted company like HP or Best Buy. I'm grateful to have overcome that terrible event, and from now on, I will be very careful on the internet.

For most of my life, I had the goal of becoming a physician when I grew up. They had always allured me as a kid with the amount of intelligence they had and the respect they commanded in their white doctor's coats. This ambition lasted until my second year of college. By then, I realized just how difficult and stressful the path is to become a doctor. I had to take many classes that I absolutely hated such as calculus and chemistry and was dealing with a multitude of physical stress symptoms due to the large workload. Plus, as I went further in my college career, I gradually lost interest in medicine and was more into art and creativity. After experiencing a week of body pains, stomachaches, and headaches due to a large amount of chemistry homework I had to complete, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I couldn't take the stress anymore, so I left pursuing medicine. Now my healthcare career goal is to either become a nurse (most likely a registered nurse) or an art therapist (since art is my passion). That way, I wouldn't be wasting my college education, my bachelor's degree in health sciences would still be put to good use, and I will still be helping sick patients feel better, but I would also be doing a job that I will enjoy. Deciding to quit medicine was difficult for me at first, but it was the right thing to do for the sake of my health and sanity. Having an enjoyable job that I won't be dreading going to every day for the next 30+ years holds more value to me than how much money I will be making (although, money is still important to me, and I want to do something that will allow me to survive on my own). So even though nurses and art therapists don't make as much as doctors, I'm sure that I'll like it, since they aren't as stressful. As a Black woman, I am happy that I will be going into healthcare and adding to the field's diversity. Having people of different backgrounds in healthcare is very important for different reasons. Firstly, it provides motivation for children of disadvantaged backgrounds that they are just as capable of becoming doctors, nurses, etc. as anyone else. Having them see the representation whenever they go to the hospital will fill them with so much excitement, because they'll think "That doctor/nurse/etc. looks just like me! That means I can have that career too!" Being an inspiration to the next generation of BIPOC healthcare workers is something I am honored to do. The second reason is more important. It allows BIPOC patients to feel more heard and validated whenever they go to the hospital. I've read stories of patients feeling like their often-White doctors not taking their health ailment seriously, due to lack of effort or possibly covert racism. One example I've read about many times is of Black pregnant women complaining of labor and childhood pains, but the doctor fails to take adequate action to make them feel comfortable. As a result, most of them suffer or even die. Also, Black and Hispanic newborn babies are more likely to die after birth than White babies. Having medical professionals of different races can allow patients of all races to feel closer to their doctor or nurse (especially if both are the same race) and more trusting of the healthcare system. As a Black nurse or art therapist, I hope to make positive impacts in my patients' lives.

A Black leader who has inspired me to be who I am today is my college student success coach Dr. Ali. Ever since I started my first year of college, not knowing where to go, what to do, and generally just feeling very nervous about how the whole experience was going to be like, she has helped guide me along the way. She gave me advice on what classes to take when, how to interact with others and make new friends (since I am very shy and introverted), and that it's okay to ask for help if I need it, no matter if I am a novice freshman or more experienced senior. She truly understood how big of a change I was going through from being a dependent teenager in high school to being a pretty much independent young adult in college. She is also a mother to university-aged children, so she has first-hand experience on how nerve-wracking the changes can be. Dr. Ali's kindness and willingness to help those who are vulnerable has inspired me to the same thing me in my life. Whether it be me giving advice and helping incoming freshmen (now that I am entering my junior year), or helping others out in the world, I give credit to her for being such a great role-model for me and other young people. Another way that Dr. Ali inspires me is through her resilience. She doesn't let any obstacles that she may encounter bring or keep her down. She knows that hardships are part of life, but what truly matters is how you handle them. She has lived through the Civil Rights period in the 1960s, and a few years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. But even with those obstacles that she had to endure in her life, she doesn't let them make her miserable or to have a negative outlook on life. In fact, she is quite a joyful and positive person. That is definitely a testament to her resilient nature. When we meet with her every month at school for HealthCORE, she always shares words of wisdom with us about school and life, such as how to succeed in our academics, taking some time for self-care and relaxation, choosing a career that we feel is right for us and not caving in to familial or societal pressures, and most importantly, to keep on working hard, being resilient in the face of difficulties, and to not give up on our dreams. I take her advice to heart because I truly respect her and what she had to go through to become the woman she is today. Resilience is a very important quality to have because it will lead to great things for those who possess it, and a fantastic example is my success coach Dr. Ali.

My mental health is important because it most definitely influences how I physically feel every day. Even though physical health and mental health are separate dimensions of health, and that other factors such as pathogens, lifestyle habits, and the environment affect how I physically feel, they are both interconnected because how I am faring mentally, emotionally, and spiritually can really have a big effect on my physical health. If I am feeling happy and relaxed with no stress, my digestion process will move along more smoothly, I will sleep better, and I'm more likely to eat better, which in turn will be beneficial for my body. In contrast, if I am dealing with mental health issues such as excessive stress, depression, anxiety, or excessive anger, then it may cause noticeable harm to my body. For example, stressing out too frequently leads to increased cortisol (stress-hormone) levels. Having too much cortisol in my body contributes to health issues such as weight-gain, headaches, muscle pains, and even more serious diseases like heart disease and stroke. That is why it is very important for me to maintain a positive mental wellness as much as I can, because along with the other factors I listed, it is a major determinant of how I feel physically on a given day. There are a few strategies that I employ regularly to help keep my mental well-being at optimal levels and to cope with any negative emotions that I feel: 1. Going outside: I consider myself a nature fanatic, so whenever I have the time and the weather is nice, I like to take that opportunity to go outside, where I will go for long walks, ride my bike, or just sit in the grass. Whatever I choose to do, I make sure to really take in my surroundings. I love listening to the birds chirping, feeling the warmth of the sun or the nice breeze against my skin, smelling the scent of the grass and looking up at the blue sky. These sensory tactics that I engage in help me to temporarily forget the stressors that may be consuming me at the moment, or if I am feeling sad or anxious, being out in nature helps me to find inner peace. Unfortunately, I am not able to do this year-round, as in winter, it's too cold, snowy, and depressing for my liking to enjoy being outside, but in the warmer months, I take advantage of it to the max, which really helps me mentally. 2. Exercising: I like to do cardio workouts because the intensity helps me to temporarily forget about any emotional pain, and instead focus on the physical "pain" that I experience at the moment. I also enjoy the rush of endorphins that come after I'm done. This is very beneficial, especially if I am feeling sad because the endorphins make me feel like I'm top of the world, which is definitely a mood booster. 3. Watching funny videos/shows: They say laughter is the best medicine, which is 100% true in my opinion. If I'm ever feeling any negative emotion like sadness or stress, watching African comedy on YouTube or shows like the Big Bang Theory makes me laugh a lot. They really help to lessen the emotional pain that I feel and to distract my mind from any negative thoughts.

My favorite anime series is Dragon Ball. Although Dragon Ball Z is arguably a classic and even the most popular Dragon Ball installment, I tend to favor the more recent films and shows more. Examples include 'Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F,' and 'Dragon Ball Super.' I just like the way that the newer animation looks, especially how vibrant and intense the different Saiyan forms look compared to in 'Dragon Ball Z.' Speaking of Saiyans, another reason why 'Dragon Ball' is my favorite is because of how intense it is. Obviously, there is a lot of fighting involved, but it's what usually precedes the fights that I take particular interest in: the Super Saiyan powerups that Goku and Vegeta go through. They way that they scream and hype themselves up before going Super Saiyan Blue, Rosé, and the all-powerful Ultra Instinct sends chills down my spine and hypes me up as well, because I know that the upcoming fight is going to be one for the ages. Another reason why I like Dragon Ball so much is because of the family aspects that it sometimes includes. Both of the main characters Goku and Vegeta have wives and children, whom they love very much and are willing to protect at all costs. One scene I remember was when the villain Beerus shoved Vegeta's wife while she was yelling at him. Vegeta saw that and was so angry that he went Super Saiyan and began fighting Beerus. This shows that even though their primary duties are to save the world and fight supervillains with their Super Saiyan powers and angry personalities, they are still softies deep down who will do anything for their families. That is how people in real life should be like. It's totally fine to be tough and intimidating at times, but when it comes to your loved ones, being kind and nurturing is the way to go, and Goku and Vegeta exemplify that. Lastly, the rivalry between the more serious Vegeta and the laid-back Goku is iconic in my opinion. Even though they are on the same team and fighting for the same cause, they would often butt heads. Oftentimes, it was one-sided with Vegeta directing most of his anger at Goku and referring to him as "Kakarot." But even though they would often bicker and compete with each other, at the end, they appreciated and even complimented each other's abilities. This is another important lesson that us humans in the real world can learn from them. You don't have to like everyone you work or interact with, but it's important to be able to put your differences aside and work together if you need to accomplish a common goal. All in all, Dragon Ball is my favorite anime obviously because of the action and fantastical sequences, but also because it has some important lessons that we could learn and incorporate into our lives. No wonder it is one of the most well-known and beloved anime shows.

My unique contribution will be that when I become a doctor (and hopefully a successful author and artist), I will use the wealth that I amass to set up a business focusing on getting mental health services to people around the world, with a priority on places with no definite mental health care or those that do have them, but they are expensive. I will hire therapists who will be willing to volunteer and work with clients around the world at a little bit lesser price than the cost of a psychologist or psychiatrist. If I have the money and resources to do so, I could also hire therapists from different countries who will be willing to visit disadvantaged countries and work with people there. Essentially, my business will be international instead of domestic, to ensure that everyone in the world suffering from mental health disorders feel understood and can get the help they deserve. Another core value of my new business is that it won't incorporate using medications to treat mental health problems. I believe that medications are not always necessary and can sometimes do more harm than good. For example, people on antidepressants often report having strong withdrawal symptoms if they stop taking it, so they're essentially hooked on it indefinitely. Instead, what I will do is fund art, music, and exercise programs that people can engage in which may provide them with some distraction and a way to cope with whatever they are dealing with.

Since I was in kindergarten, I have always known that would go into the medical field when I grow up and that I would become a primary care doctor. I have always cared about the well-being of my fellow human beings, and whenever my loved ones weren't doing well both mentally and physically, I would offer my best advice of how they can feel better. With that kind of caring attitude, I figured that a career in the healthcare field would be great for me. Although people would sometimes tell me that I am too caring and trusting toward people, and should be picky about helping others out, I believe that being caring and promoting the well-being of others is better than being selfish. Another reason why healthcare is my calling is because as a Black woman, I feel that it is my duty to give a voice and equal opportunity of care to my fellow Blacks and other disadvantaged groups. It is well-known that people of color don't often receive the same amount of respect and service in different sectors of society, and healthcare is certainly one of them. BIPOC patients are more likely to have their health issues and concerns trivialized or outright dismissed by their healthcare providers and not given the proper treatments for their ailments. As a result, it can increase the likelihood of worsening symptoms or death in BIPOC patients. A notable case is with Black women and pregnancy/childbirth. They are more likely than White women to suffer complications during pregnancy and childbirth often due to their doctors not taking their concerns seriously or believing that they are being dramatic when trying to express their problems. Black babies also have a higher infant mortality rate than White babies as a result of the difference in the ways their mothers were cared for. All of these statistics on how BIPOC patients are sometimes treated by the people who are supposed to be putting in effort to make them better makes me very upset. Everyone deserves an equal amount of respect and being taken seriously when they have a health issue to be resolved, and their race should not be the reason why they are refused treatment and could die as a result. This is especially true for the health of pregnant women and their babies. As a Black woman doctor, I will ensure that all my patients are able to talk to me about any of their problems without the fear of being turned away or judged because they all deserve optimal healthcare. Also, even though I am not going into women's healthcare specifically, if a pregnant woman (especially a Black woman) ever needs to talk to me or receive treatment, I will do my very best for her because both her and her baby deserve the best.

I consider myself to be a very imaginative and creative individual. I always try to look for the creative side of things instead of being logistical all the time, because I think it can get boring at times. Stemming from my highly creative mind, I love to write and make art, because that is how I express myself best. I have even written and published two novels during my high school years and created lots of canvas paintings. Another thing about me is that I'm a wrestling fan and adore watching the WWE. My favorite wrestlers include Becky Lynch, AJ Styles, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker. That is a little snippet into my interests. I will be going into my third year of university at the University of Minnesota during the 2024-2025 school year. My academic goals are to graduate in the Spring of 2026 and receive my bachelor's degree in the Health Sciences. From there, I plan to attend medical school for four years. My professional goal is to become a primary care doctor. But I do understand the tremendous challenges that it will take, and so far in my journey, I have felt a lot of stress. That is why if I feel that I cannot continue on that path, I may become a physician's assistant, occupational therapist, or some other occupation. I really need this scholarship because the school I am attending has really high tuition costs. I could work to pay it, but it would require me to basically work full time, and on top of the grueling coursework and classes, it would cause me so much stress. I also don't want to put my dad through the trouble of having to work long hours just so he can be able to pay for it. Despite the fact that he's at the retirement age now, he still continues to work for 12 hours just so he can be able to pay for my tuition. Winning this scholarship will help tremendously in relieving him the burden of having to work so many hours for his age, and I won't be compelled to drop out due to the high costs. So far, my dad has been paying for my education, but I also plan to fill out as much scholarships as possible and hope that I will receive some financial aid, so he won't have to cover everything. Lastly, I will work part time during summer to cover smaller costs such as my food and accommodations. Listening to heavy metal music has helped me release any anger that have built up inside me during my teenage and young adult life, especially when I feel extremely stressed and frustrated with school. I am not a person who is able to keep a cool head when I get very angry or stressed and I admit to expressing those emotions in less than appropriate ways at times. Obviously, I can't express those emotions in the ways I am used to in public, so hearing the intensity and lyrics of different heavy metal songs and the intense emotions that the singers convey is kind of like me releasing how I feel through them, without drawing negative attention to myself. Even hearing the singers say some swear words sometimes accurately explains how I am feeling and some of the words I wish I could scream out loud but can't. All in all, heavy metal music is a great stress reliever and anger management technique in my opinion, and I definitely recommend it to everyone because life can get very frustrating, and we all need to release our pent-up anger in a healthy and safe way.

My favorite show to watch on Netflix is the 'Magic School Bus' (the original version). When I was younger, I used to watch the show all the time on a cartoon network called Qubo, but a couple of years ago, the network became defunct, so I was not able to watch it anymore. It was one of my favorite cartoons of all time, and even now as a young adult, I still like to watch it from time to time. You guys should definitely free up your weekends, go on Netflix, and watch 'The Magic School Bus' with a bowl of popcorn and your favorite soft drink while comfortably sitting on your couch or bed. The first reason is because of its content and plotline. As most people who have watched the show may know, it is very educational, focusing on different aspects of science such as astronomy, the human body, ecology, the water cycle, and lots of others in also a fun way. The eight students: Carlos, Ralphie, Tim, Arnold, Phoebe, Wanda, Dorthy Ann, and Keesha, together with their wild and upbeat teacher Miss Frizzle, teach the audience about different scientific topics using daily field trips (which Arnold always wishes he stayed home from school today) and lessons that both kids and adults can understand. From traveling inside the human body, to exploring the ocean, and everything in between, there is sure to be hours of enjoyment while providing teachable moments. Another good reason more has to do with the nostalgia aspect. The show originally aired from 1994-1997, so for those who were kids during that time, they would watch it as part of their television education sessions. Unfortunately, as with a lot of shows, it didn't run for long, so a lot of 90's kids had to say a bitter-sweet goodbye to such a popular, fun, and educational show. Luckily, it is now available on Netflix, so for all of the adults who were around for its original run (and also for kids and teens who may have heard about the show and would like to watch it), they can fortunately revisit their childhood by watching all of their favorite episodes on Netflix to their heart's delight. So, for those of you with young kids or teenagers who want to relive their childhood, or you just want to relive the nostalgic moments of the 90's, binge-watching the Magic School Bus on Netflix will be an absolute treat for you! A couple of years ago, there was a 'Magic School Bus' spinoff show released on Netflix called 'The Magic School Bus Rides Again.' I have not watched it but does sound interesting. However, the OG version will always be the best!

To be honest, when I read the text, I was surprised that it was painting Millenials and Gen-Z in a positive light. I loved when the writer described us young people as kind and polite (even too kind and polite at times LOL). I have never heard any older group of people referring to young people as kind and polite, because most of them don't see us that way, especially those who are under 30 years old. They tend to think that youngins are rude, disrespectful to elders, spoiled, entitled, and other stereotypes. Of course, some people are like that and I have personally seen some examples at school and out in public. However, those few individuals do not represent the whole population of young people. They are only a few drops of water in the lake. I have seen more young people being decent people who want to help others, spread kindness, and possibly the most well-known aspect being advocates for different social issues that concern them and wanting to make the world a better place. These traits also apply to me as a Gen-Zer. So to hear that someone feels that we are kind and forgiving, especially from an older person, makes me feel a little better about being part of the generation. I also read from the text about how we have accepted the burden of the worsening society with grace and are not one to complain too much. There are a multitude of things that have gotten worse as time went on. Past generations did not have to deal with not being able to afford a home or even an apartment after graduating from school because they could purchase one with even a minimum-wage job, having to pay an arm or a leg to receive medical care, inflation, worsening global warming and pollution, the world becoming more dangerous, and lots of other issues that are too many for me to list. Millennials were the first generation that had to face these issues when they started in the 90s and 2000s, and then Gen Z has had to follow suit with extra salt rubbed into the wounds. It just seems like as time goes on, the quality of society is diminishing for one reason or another. I feel bad for Generation Alpha and subsequent generations for the problems that they will have to live with. Although we have it pretty bad, we still try to look on the positive side of things because just dwelling in misery will not fix anything and it will make us think that life isn't worth it (not a reference to suicide). We are known for our activism and wanting to do something about different issues that currently affect our generations and the world as a whole. Older people may believe that we are too into it, but it's much better than sitting back and letting the world go down in flames. Lastly, us being the change in the world will greatly benefit future generations and they will thank us for stepping up. As parting words, I would like to thank whoever wrote the text above for their positive comments about Generation Z and Millenials. We rarely ever hear anything good about us, especially from older people. It's almost all about how young people are not doing anything useful for society, not wanting to have real jobs (because according to them, we all want to be Instagram or TikTok influencers even though that's not true), and are just too soft and sensitive for their liking. Although that could be partly true, it doesn't apply to all of us. Some of us actually want to go to school/college to receive an education, get well-paying but sustainable careers, and are pretty resilient. I know that older generations did not have the technology that we have nowadays, and had a "harder" life than we do, but I wish that they did not have such negative opinions of us because it's not our fault. They were the ones that improved the quality of living for us (which we are grateful for). I also don't like how generations put down the ones after them just because of preconceived stereotypes or believing that they are superior. No generation is better than the other; we are all equal because we are all humans. If we could learn to work together as a cohesive unit instead of being rivals based on age, then we could improve the quality of the world.

One Starbucks fall drink that I love is the Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino. Just looking at it makes my mouth water, but when I get to drink it, it does wonders for my taste buds. The drink consists of regular milk, ice, and sweet mocha sauce that is blended to create the base. The mocha is then topped with whipped cream, a drizzle of the sweet mocha sauce, and Oreo cookies that are crumbled. Lastly, the bottom of the cup contains some of the whipped cream and chocolate sauce that had seeped down from the top. So even after you finish the beverage, there will be a sweet treat waiting for you. Each component of the drink reminds me of something related to the fall season or events relating to fall. The ice reminds me of how fall is when it starts to get cold after six months of warmth from spring and summer. But although it's cooler in the fall, it's not as freezing as in winter, so I can still enjoy ice in my drink for a bit longer. The sweet mocha sauce reminds me of the sweet nature of autumn. A lot of beautiful things happen, most of them being in nature. The once-green leaves of the trees that marked the spring and summer turn into different colors such as red, orange, yellow, and brown. Unfortunately, those leaves do fall off the tree and will have to be raked, which can be an annoying chore, but it's all worth being able to witness the beauty of the multicolored leaves. It is an absolute dream to sit outside with a warm and comfy sweater, feel the crisp, fall breeze against my skin, and watch the leaves fall off the trees all while drinking my Starbucks Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino. Now that is sweet! The Oreo cookie crumbles add a bit of crunchiness to the beverage and represents the crunching sound that the leaves make on the ground when I step on them. I love that sound and it reminds me that fall is upon us. Finally, the whipped cream reminds me of the light nature of autumn and that it's a season where we shouldn't take life too seriously (or the other seasons for that matter because we shouldn't have to worry so much about life). Once in a while, everyone should leave behind their worries and stresses, go out into nature, and admire the magnificence of fall (grab an MCCF while you're at it!). Tasting the sweet and light whipped cream along with the rest of the drink will definitely calm you down. I wish that Starbucks sold the Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino year-round so that I could enjoy it whenever I felt like it, but I guess that only being able to buy it during autumn is what makes it so special. It perfectly fits the fall aesthetic and allows me to add some sweetness during the season.

I used to struggle with communication, but nowadays, I am much better at speaking up for different things. For the most part, I'm able to ask my parents about things that I used to be terrified of doing, and if anyone at school pressures me to do something I don't want to do, I refuse. Being able to communicate is an essential life skill, and it's good that I am working on it. As for leadership, I still have work to do, but I can develop that skill if I put in the effort. I also see myself as being resilient. Every day, I don't let small inconveniences upset me. People often criticize my generation (Gen-Z) for being too sensitive and easily offended. That's not true for me. I have been taught by my parents to have thick skin because the real world doesn't revolve around me, and it will be a pain for me if I'm not resilient. So that's why I try to brush off any insignificant comments that people say to me and to not take everything as offensive, because they likely aren't. My selflessness is shown in the way that I sometimes abandon my feelings and well-being to listen to those of others and try to make them feel better. I don't like seeing those I love suffering, so I do what I can to brighten their mood. But when I am not happy, I tend to bottle it up to not "burden" others. I know that it's not healthy to do, but I am just the type of person to take care of others first before myself. I'm currently in university pursuing my bachelor's degree in health sciences and my goal is to become a physician once I complete school. Medicine is an extremely difficult career path to take, and it requires lots of focus and drive. I have that quality because I know what I want for my future, and I won't let anything stop me. My first year of college didn't go as expected in terms of performance and grades, but will that obstacle cause me to quit? Of course not. I just have to learn and keep going in the years to come. No doctor in this world has made it through university and medical school without failure, so I shouldn't beat myself up. I am determined to finish this journey that I've started, no matter what gets thrown my way. In terms of work ethic, I always make it my goal to accomplish whatever tasks I have for a particular day. Whether it's school, home, or personal-related, I have things I want to get done daily, so I utilize a hardworking ethic to complete them, and not get distracted by other factors. My future goals include finishing school to pursue my career as a doctor, spreading my two novels to more readers so that I can become an internationally recognized author, and becoming a billionaire. I am pursuing a bachelor's degree because it ensures security in finding a career. Even if I decide to switch majors or even careers, my degree will allow me to, as most well-off jobs require just a bachelor's. Also, it's nice to 'flex' the fact that I attained a bachelor's degree, especially in health science/medicine. Finally, leadership means being the path that others can follow, but they are also able to carve out their own. Being a great leader means guiding your followers and offering them advice of wisdom, but NOT controlling them. That's what makes people admire you the most as their moral compass.

The first positive impact I want to have is to promote more tolerance, kindness, and acceptance in the world, especially towards people who look different, act different, and are from a different country or culture. Since the beginning of humankind, we have been more accustomed to spending time with those who we share similarities with and building connections with them. That in turn brought about the formation of tribes and nations. Unfortunately, those groups have not gotten along with others from other groups and that has caused racism, discrimination, and even wars to happen throughout history. Despite all of us being human beings who bleed the same, we tend to harbor negative stereotypes and even hatred toward those who are we do not share any connections with, making us one of the few species of animals who harbor hate toward our kind. That is why I want to help encourage more acceptance by demonstrating it in public so that more people will hopefully follow in my footsteps. If I meet someone who is of a different race, religion, nationality, or ethnicity than I am, I will welcome them with open arms, and try to strike up a friendship with them if they want that. I also allow open myself up to learning about their way of life to learn about other cultures that are different from my own. I know that it may seem unlikely for one person like me to influence the whole world into being more accepting, but it isn't impossible. One drop of water can contribute to a lake, so by being kind to someone, I could influence the next person to do the same, and then another person, and eventually, a lot of people will follow my lead. Another impact I want to have is helping alleviate hunger and poverty, especially in third-world countries. According to the World Food Program, more than 783 million people are experiencing hunger in the world, most of them being in poverty-stricken nations. The fact that so many people cannot even find food to eat every day to survive while developed countries have so much food that food waste is a growing issue is unacceptable to me. I will admit that I have been guilty of throwing away food that I don't want to eat anymore and wasting a lot of water due to several reasons, but every time I do, the feeling of guilt overcomes me. I wish that I could give it to a homeless person, or even to a hungry/thirsty child in Africa (but I obviously can't do the latter, as they would expire before it reaches them). I also feel guilty that my family can afford as much food and water as I desire, while others cannot even eat bread or drink clean water. That is why I have a goal to take part in a venture that distributes food, water, and other necessities to those in need one day when I become rich. I cannot bear to read stories and watch videos of young kids and families suffering due to hunger and thirst any longer, so when I get that opportunity to make a positive impact on their lives, I will take it in a heartbeat. I also hope to motivate other well-off people to do the same thing, because being greedy and selfish with resources is not what humanity is about. If we all help our fellow humans in need, then the world will be a better place.

Last year during my freshman year of college, I had to face a huge failure that has had a significant impact on me ever since. One of my classes was Pre-calculus II, and at the beginning of the course, I was doing pretty decent. But as we got to the harder topics, my grade started to go down significantly and then the unthinkable occurred: I got an F in the class. I was shocked at first but then thought that I could bring it back up by the end of the semester if I studied harder and learned to understand the subject matter better. Unfortunately, the class was simply too hard for me and I ended up failing it by the end. That was the first time in my entire academic career that I had finished a course with a failing grade. From the very beginning, I have always passed my classes, so having this bad result obviously affected me a lot. I cried for days, stressed about the fact that I would have to take it again sometime, and believed that I did not belong at UMR and is not cut out to become a doctor in the future, because according to me, doctors never fail at anything. But the biggest impact was that the failure affected my performance in other classes. I was not able to focus well because of all the negative thoughts going through my mind. I was lucky to even pass them once the term ended. I ended up dropping Pre-calculus II from my records because I have one chance to drop a class during my time at the University of Minnesota Rochester. But even though the failing grade is not technically part of my UMR transcript, I can't deny the fact that I did fail a class for the first time and it will forever be ingrained in my mind. I am old enough to know that failures are a part of life and that every single person has had to experience a few in their lives. Even the rich and famous people of our world have failed many times before getting to where they are now; that I do know. But what I have learned recently from failing academically is that even if you have been a straight-A student, or have been getting good grades for most of your years at school, you are not immune from failing at some point. Everybody has that one subject that they are not proficient in and it can show in their results. But what is important for me to know is that my future job will not look at every single grade I had in school and refuse to hire me just for having one F. My future patients will not ask what grades I got in college, because being able to even work as a doctor means that I rose above my failures, passed medical school and residency, and was able to achieve that position. Finally, I have learned that my grades don't determine my intelligence, nor do they determine my destiny in life. I can still achieve all the goals that I want as long as I work hard, keep pushing, and allow myself to fail sometimes but instead of running away, I learn from them and improve the next time. That's what really matters.

In terms of my physical health, some lifestyle changes I have made is instead of only being active for about 10 minutes, I bumped it up to 20-30 minutes. I typically put on workout videos on YouTube to follow along to, which is a great alternative since I don't have monthly gym memberships. I like to do aerobic exercises so that I can burn calories and if I am feeling full and bloated, the intensity will help relieve it. In addition to cardio, I also do some strength workouts here and there in order to become more toned and build a little bit of muscle so that more calories will be burned even after the workout session is over. Engaging in these habits have prevented me from gaining too much weight and being sedentary the whole day. I also feel myself getting stronger day by day, and that is the reason why I was able to increase my cardio activity. Also, as cardio works the heart and strength works the muscles, this exercise regimen is of course doing some great benefits to my body. I am also trying to improve my physical health by cutting down on my sugar intake. I will admit that I eat too much sugar than is recommended each day, and I know that it is not doing me any good. Sugar can contribute to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other ailments. Being young currently, I most likely won't experience all of those effects, but if I retain these habits into my 30s and later, then they will come to bite me. The first step is to decrease my soda intake. Every day, I drink at least one can of soda, whether it be Pepsi or Mountain Dew. I just crave it so much that it is hard for me to go even one day without drinking it. I would combine it with my meals or drink it alone. After I finish, I often feel sick and bloated due to the sugar and carbonated nature of the soda. As of now, I am doing a decent job at not drinking it every single day. Instead, they are replaced by green tea or water. On the days where I do drink soda, I try to make it last the entire day, or even several days, instead of downing a whole can in one sitting. Secondly, I would like to cut down on other sources of sugar like pastries, juices, ice cream, etc. I just have to take it one step at a time, and not to deprive myself completely. Finally, I have been making progress on my mental health by decreasing my unhealthy anxiety levels. The main catalysts for the "anxiety overdrive" are taking risks and doing things that I have never done before. For the past 18 years, I've been living in my own little bubble, and always wanted things to be a certain way. The moment I had to get out of the comfort of that bubble is when the anxiety flared. But recently, I've been challenging myself to break out of my comfort zone and do more things that require some degree of risk. In order for me to live a fufilling life with no regrets, I have to do things that I've never done before. Yes, it may not always go well, but I will learn from that mistake and grow as a person. Besides, it's better to explore new adventures and make mistakes then to miss out on life because you want to stay in your comfort zone.

One technology that inspires me is virtual reality (especially the one that you wear over the head and it comes with hand controls). This technology has made a lot of things possible that we never thought would happen in years. Virtual reality allows you to be transported to another world entirely, and being able to interact with what is going on makes it look so realistic. In addition to providing hours of entertainment with all of the games and activities included, virtual reality technology can also be able to make the world a better place. One example is simulations that allow people to practice certain skills needed in order to pass an exam or for their future. The ones that I often think of are ones where you can simulate being a doctor or surgeon and you practice performing different surgical or medical procedures. As it has been becoming more common for virtual reality to include that software, more medical students take advantage of them to study for a practical that they have. I feel that it is a more effective way to study rather than reading through written notes because you are obviously performing the said action (okay, you're not actually doing it, but it is close to being realistic). If you make any errors, then it might tell you what you did wrong and you will know what to avoid when you take the exam for real. How this kind of technology benefits the world is that with more future doctors, nurses, surgeons, and other medical professionals having the opportunity to get some almost realistic practice of the craft that they will be going into, it will decrease the likelihood of mistakes when they are actually treating their patients. Of course, they still have to pass graduate school and their training period, but this technology adds an extra layer of "protection." A bonus is that it's great for refining skills that may be lost over time. I hope that this technology becomes free and mainstream one day so that medical students (myself included) will be able to use it for practice.

A few years ago in middle school, I was unfortunate enough to deal with depression and anger issues. Around that time, I was also going through puberty, so I thought that it was normal to be having those kinds of emotions since my hormones were out of whack. That is why I left it alone and refused to seek help. However, as time went on, I noticed that my sadness and anger were growing worse. Almost every day, I woke up feeling down and getting out of bed was the last thing I wanted to do. But even after I was able to get out of bed, doing other tasks such as eating, getting dressed, and going about my day would still be difficult. The weight of the sadness on my mind was too much, that it kind of affected my physical actions. I would not even want to talk to anybody at home and would be locked away in my room for most of the day. The only days that I would not be sad would be when we went out, whether it be grocery shopping, to the park, or to an amusement park. The happier mood would last only about as long as the event itself, and then the sadness would return. As for the anger aspect, I would sometimes wake up feeling angry for no particular reason, or something would set me off during the day; even something trivial. I would often lash out at my family, stomp around loudly, yell, slam doors, and throw temper tantrums. Sometimes, the anger would get so bad that I would want to hurt myself or others because I wasn't thinking straight. Luckily, I barely hurt anyone else; I would resort to punching a pillow or giving myself a slap or bite. I know that hurting myself is not good, but I didn't do it to the point where it got serious. Also, it's better than harming another innocent person. Unfortunately, as time progressed, my mood swings and depression became worse. One day, I just felt like I could not take it anymore and that my life was not going to get any better, so I made the harrowing choice to try and harm myself to the point that I almost died. I actually went through with the plan, until fortunately, a voice came into my head and told me not to do it; that it was not worth it. I heeded the advice and stopped what I was doing. I then summed up the courage to talk to my parents about what had happened, and then they signed me up to go talk to the doctor about my mental health. Fortunately, I was able to get better, and now at 19, my depression and anger problems have gone away. But imagine what could have happened if I had not listened to that voice in my head and proceeded with committing suicide, and also if I had not decided to tell my parents. That is why it is very important for people struggling with mental health issues to seek out someone to talk to that will believe and support them, no matter who it is. It could well be the very thing that saves your life.

One time that I demonstrated tenacity was during my first year of college. During the first semester, I took general chemistry and it was one of the most harrowing experiences of my college career. There were three milestone quizzes that we had every month and they were one of the biggest factors that determined whether students would pass the class or fail it. To pass them, we were required to get an 80% or better. If not, you could retake them up to two more times to get a better score. But if on the third attempt, a student gets below 80%, then they have officially failed the milestone, which will take a major hit to their overall grade in the class, thus putting them at risk of failing. For the first two milestones, I was lucky enough to get above 80%. Unfortunately, I did not pass the third, meaning that I would have to retake it. A few days later, I took my second attempt, but I received a 69%. I went back to my dorm room and straight up burst into tears. I had to call my mom to comfort me and she said that it was not the end of the world. Eventually, I was able to calm down, but after a while, I began to panic because I realized that if I retook it one final time and could not get my desired score, I ran the risk of failing the class, especially because the other assignments we did were difficult, and getting A’s on them were rare for me. Also, my grade in the class was already at a C-, so not doing well would take a hit to it. But despite that bleak outlook, I managed to rise and prove my doubts to be incorrect. I decided that the “failing” path was not the path that I would continue to go down. Right after I had failed my second attempt, I went home right away to review what I got wrong and looked through my notes the “right” way. I also went to pretty much all of my professor’s office hours. I was determined to pass that last chance that I had, and nothing would get in my way of accomplishing that goal. That class cost me hundreds of dollars, so I wasn’t going to fail and throw that money down the drain. Even while I had other homework to do, and experiencing bouts of headaches and bodily discomforts, I pushed through because I knew that it would all be worth it once I passed. Fortunately, when I did take that last attempt, I passed! I even got a much better score than I expected; 97%! I was so proud of myself, and at that moment I realized how wanting something so bad and doing everything I can to get it will pay off in the end. By the end of the semester, my grade was at a B which meant I had passed chemistry. I learned that it is never too late to try and make a change for the better. Reflecting on why you failed and the actions you can take to remedy those habits is the key to accomplishing your goals. Even if you are just "inches" away from failure like I was, radically turning your habits around will save you and the results may even be better than you expect. Just think about the rewards that will come from your hard work and determination, and that will surely motivate you.

I was born in the United States, but a few weeks before my parents had me in 2003, they left Nigeria and decided to come here. They could have stayed back and given birth to me since the due date was approaching, but they wanted to give me (and my brothers) a better life in the U.S. My mom and dad worked as hard as they could; flying from Nigeria to France, where they were stuck and since they couldn't speak French, they were not able to get food and had to sleep in the airport for one night before being able to get back on the plane and finally settling in the U.S. Then, after enduring the naturalization process, they finally became citizens. A few weeks later, I would be born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Being a first-generation American of Nigerian parents allowed me to feel a sense of appreciation that they were willing to sacrifice a lot to make sure their children would live in a country with lots of opportunities, including getting a good education. That is one reason why I decided to take advantage of it by majoring in the health sciences. It is one of the most high-demand and rewarding careers with a great salary. Also, my mom had wanted to become a doctor, but since she wasn't born in the U.S., she wouldn't be able to complete the required schooling. Instead, she became a registered nurse. As a token of gratefulness for her sacrifices, I will become a physician in her honor. Obviously, I'm also doing it because I want to, but me being a doctor will surely make my mom proud of me and know that her coming here was the right choice.

My name is Nora and I am currently 19 years old. For the 2023-2024 school year, I will be in my sophomore year of college at the University of Minnesota Rochester. I am currently majoring in the health sciences/pre-med and am working toward graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Health Science (BSHS). After completing my undergraduate education, I will attend four years of medical school. The field of healthcare that I am going into is family medicine. After completing all of my schooling and residency, I will establish my career as a family/primary doctor. I am choosing to enter this path for different reasons. The first reason is a pretty obvious one; the high salary. Primary care physicians can make upwards of $209,509 to $272,975 in my home state of Minnesota. That is more than enough money needed to live a relatively modest and decent life. With that kind of money, not only will I be able to afford a regular-sized house, and a decent car, and be able to pay my bills without trouble, but I can also set some aside for personal luxuries and some vacations. Finally, I will not have to worry about any financial troubles throughout my life and will be able to provide a good life for my kids. The second reason is that family medicine is more "well-rounded." Unlike doctors such as cardiologists, neurologists, dermatologists, and others, family doctors deal with a wide array of people and issues. They commonly work with entire families, but can also work with individual adults, elderly patients, and sometimes children and teens. As for health issues, their jobs are mostly to perform routine checkups and tests, manage different medical problems, and sometimes give immunizations. I would be pretty bored if my medical career revolved around only dealing with treating heart problems, skin conditions (some of those are undesirable to look at in my opinion), or only administering anesthesia to people undergoing surgery. My practice would allow me to work with a diverse spectrum of health problems, and I will be able to use a variety of skills that I learned in school. Plus, since I am not focusing too much on one particular thing, the job itself will not be too stressful and hard for me. If I am not sure about a problem with a certain body system or organ, then I can communicate with one of the specialists and they may be able to figure it out. Now, I am not saying that I won't put effort into trying to treat my patients' issues, but if it is too hard for me to solve, then I will have other colleagues to seek help from. Lastly, becoming a family doctor doesn't require as much schooling and training as specialists and surgeons. Medical school is typically four years while residency is closer to three or four years. Given the fact that undergraduate education for a health science major can be pretty stressful all in itself, it is a bit of a relief that the amount of schooling after that is not very long. Yes, it will still be difficult and stressful at times, but at least the light at the end of the tunnel will come sooner. Besides, since primary doctors are not always dealing with more serious health issues, then years of schooling aren't that necessary anyway. The icing on the cake is that despite going to school for less time, the pay is still pretty on par with more specialized fields which is a win-win for me.

My dream Barbie Dream House would be located high up in soft clouds of gold. It would be located in a realm beyond Earth because I want it to be as close to a "perfect" world as possible, meaning no pollution, climate change, war, poverty, and people with a negative aura. The house itself would be perched on an especially soft and golden cloud to symbolize how majestic and special it truly is. In terms of what it looks like on the outside, it would have a futuristic appearance. I am very interested in all things future-looking, and one of my biggest dreams is to live in a place that is more advanced and technological. It would either be an advanced-looking mansion, or more skyscraper-like, just as long as it has a futuristic appeal to it. Since my favorite color is pink, a majority of the exterior would be pink (just like the original Barbie House), but it would also have some touches of gold and silver to complete the look and blend in with the golden realm. In addition to the house, I would also add a mini amusement park with all of my favorite rides, games, and waterparks. That way, if I ever get bored, then I could enjoy myself at the park for free and for as long as I want. The bonus is that I would invite my good friends often so that we can have fun together. The interior would include the standard rooms such as my master bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, etc. but would also include some other special rooms. I would also have a gym, a movie theater, a gaming/arcade room, and a hot tub. One special feature I would have would for one be my very own fast food restaurants. I would have a Mcdonald's, Arby's, Noodles and Company, Jimmy Johns, and Apple Bees. There would be special machines that can make some of my favorite foods efficiently and well. Whenever I have a hankering for a burger, french fries, noodles, or whatnot, I would simply go into the appropriate restaurant room, and on a screen, I would select what I would like to eat and then the machines will start preparing it for me. I would not have to pay a dime for the food, and the ingredients would never run out. It sounds unrealistic, but this is a Barbie Dream House after all! Lastly, I would have a wrestling ring in one designated room. I am an avid WWE fan, so it would be cool to invite my favorite WWE wrestlers to come to wrestle in the ring while I watch. On some occasions, I may even spar with them. Regarding the designs and colors of the interior, I would want the wallpapers and any posters to be of hypothetical futuristic cities, WWE superstars, or a nice nature landscape. I wish that the Barbie Dream House concept was real and that I could live in a house like what I described above, but I just have to use my wild imagination!

I do not want to sound selfish or self-promoting, but I would want the world to read the first book that I wrote titled '4 Wrestlers, 4 Royalties, 1 Country. It has plotlines and events that most people can relate to. Not only will readers connect to my characters on a relatable level, but they may also laugh, get a little angry, or even cry. The first reason, like I said before is because they can relate to some of the events that happen in the story. I do not want to give too much away in terms of what happens and its outcomes, so I will just summarize what the underlying message is. The first example is that if you were raised in a single-parent household (specifically a single-mother household), then you will relate to all four of my main characters. If you are someone dealing with a long-term illness but will not let it control your life, you may relate to my character Sedona. If you ever experienced something that changed your life, then you may relate to Irene. Finally, just being a part of a family where everyone has their own personalities, struggles, interests, and stories but also being united as one unit is something that a lot of people can relate to. When reading this book, if you relate to any of the plotlines, then you will be able to see yourself in my characters. The second reason is that it will arise different emotions in the reader. The book has moments of joy, romance, sadness, and anger. Depending on what chapter you are on and what is going on in the story, you will feel different emotions and may even imagine yourself being in the characters' places. That will ensure an immersive experience from the beginning to the end, which will make for an enjoyable read. As a first-time author, that is what I want the most for my readers.

My favorite thing about Disney is all of the magic and fantasy in the movies, books, and TV shows. From the Disney Princess franchise to the Disney Fairies, and even some of the shows and movies on Disney Channel, Disney XD, and everything in between, pretty much every film and show within the Disney universe has some elements of magic and other fantastical elements that cannot occur naturally in real life. In my opinion, that is what makes the company stand out from all the others, and that is why it is still very popular among society even almost a century after the first film was released. My favorite Disney "series" is the Disney Princess franchise, and I especially enjoy watching the older films such as "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty." I do also enjoy the newer ones like "The Princess and the Frog", "Mulan," and "Moana," but the older ones have more magic in them and they give me a sentimental feeling of the 1950s and 1960s (even though I was obviously not alive during those eras). What Disney's themes mean to me is that it shows that not every aspect of movies and TV shows has to be rooted in reality and that even as an adult, it is totally okay to suspend yourself in make-believe and magic from time to time. The real world is so obsessed with growing up and maturing as fast as possible. It is also not very accepted or even allowed to have a big imagination and to be fascinated with fantasy because it could "interfere" with being a "productive" and mature adult. But for me, I feel that there is nothing wrong with being a child at heart and that having a big imagination can actually be more beneficial in life than just being a mindless robot. Yes, I do agree that adults should be more mature than children in order to progress in their lives and to be useful at their jobs, but that does not mean that they can't enjoy "childish" things once in a while. To quote author Carroll Bryant, "Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional." Every human will advance in age, but how their personalities and maturity are like is totally in their control. Despite being a 19-year-old student in college, I am not ashamed to love watching Disney movies and enjoying all of the magic that is in them. They give me a feeling of nostalgia for how simple and carefree my childhood was, help to relieve any stress that I am having, and allow me to escape the complexities of reality for a while. A little magic and fantasy will not have any effect on my maturity and my ability to live in the real world as an adult.

I have lived long enough to experience how harsh society can be toward people who are at a disadvantage, so without a doubt, I feel that society seriously needs to change how it responds to it. There is a multitude of struggles that those people have to endure, sometimes daily, and the way that the governments and society as a whole treat them is despicable. It is most likely not the individual's fault that they are in the situation they are in. It could even be due to corruption and unfairness within the society in question. However, even if it is through their decisions and actions, society should be trying to improve their lives and give them the support they need, not humiliating them or giving them worse treatment just because they aren't like others. The job of the government of a country, state, or city is to give its citizens a good-quality life and to make any necessary changes to its structure if a majority of the population is not faring well. I am all for citizens working hard and being accountable for their actions, but if there is a noticeable problem in society, then something has to be done to improve it instead of giving those already at a disadvantage a harder time. The United States is a prime example of how society treats individuals who are poor or at a disadvantage poorly compared to others and uses humiliation tactics to respond to the problem instead of getting to the root cause and attempting to remedy it appropriately. One example is homelessness. There are cities in the U.S. where homelessness is rampant, but instead of making the effort to improve the housing market or providing any support, they would resort to humiliating tactics such as kicking them out, charging them (even though they don't have money to begin with), or preventative measures such as making benches and other spaces "anti-homeless." Another example is college. Going to a four-year college can cost an arm and a leg, and unless you get lucky with another route, that is pretty much the only guarantee to having a well-paying job in the future and being able to pay bills on time, having food on the table, and overall having a sustainable life. This kind of structure is why a lot of average citizens are not living on enough to support themselves or their families. Lastly, there is the very expensive healthcare costs. If someone is sick or injured, then they have to decide whether to get treated for hundreds or thousands of dollars or to suck it up so they won't have to cough up their money. Quality healthcare is not something that only the rich should be able to have. Instead, it is a universal right that should be provided equally to all. All in all, I feel that the United States dramatically needs to change the way it treats poor and disadvantaged people. They did not choose to have that kind of life, and with all of the difficulties that they have to go through, the last thing they need is to be ridiculed or treated with disrespect. As the richest country in the world, and the supposed "land of the free," the American government and society should work to provide all citizens with a decent life. This also applies to the world as well. As a collective human population, we should not shun those who are less fortunate but instead work together to dig them out of the rubble of life's struggles.

My name is Nora Obikwelu. I am an African-American woman who is of Nigerian descent. As it is well known by now, minorities, especially African-Americans do not always receive the best treatment or equality in the United States due to all sorts of reasons related to racism and stereotypes. I have never experienced any mistreatment or inequality in opportunities solely due to my race, so I cannot completely speak on the issue. But what I have experienced due to my identity is insecurities. One example is my hair and overall appearance. My natural hair texture is 4C which is considered to be very "kinky." Since I was a child, I would always "relax" my hair to make it straight because I was so self-conscious of my natural texture and did not like to go out with it. I always thought that if I did, someone would make fun of it (even though it's probably not true). Also, seeing other ethnicities with their luscious, straight hair made me envious, so I wanted to emulate them by straightening my own. As for my appearance, there were times I wished that I had lighter skin because I felt that my naturally dark skin made me look "dirty" and ugly. Fortunately, I have learned to accept myself more as I have gotten older. But I do know that self-acceptance is something that some Black women have trouble with, and that is due to society's "rules" on what beauty looks like. In the future, my career path is to go into medicine and become a physician. The primary reason is due to my love of helping others feel better and to promote overall well-being, but another reason that is sometimes brought up in discussion is due to the few Black women doctors in the United States. According to Fortune.com, Black women comprise less than 3% of U.S. doctors. And to add salt to the wound, a lot of Black women do not receive adequate medical care due to their race and their (probably White) doctors not taking their issues and conditions seriously. The doctors may not completely understand the problem that they are dealing with, or they may simply harbor racial biases. No one should ever have to be ignored or even die from their medical conditions just because their doctor did not take the time to understand and provide the best medical care for them, especially if it has to do with their race and identity. That is why as a Black female doctor, not only will the U.S. add one more to its records, but more Black women will have the chance to be heard, taken seriously, and properly treated for any health condition that they may be suffering from.

In terms of beliefs, my experience with depression and anxiety a couple of years ago has reinstated my faith in "a light at the end of the tunnel." While dealing with those problems, I sunk so deep into a "hole" that I thought that I could never get out of. Pretty much every day, I would be either sad, angry, or anxious and it would pretty much ruin my day. At that time, I thought that those emotions will stick with me for a long time and that there was no hope of me getting better. That mindset affected my faith in things getting better after a while. My mom tried to convince me that this will not last forever and that I should have hope, but I couldn't bring myself to believe her. Fortunately, a couple of years later, I found myself to be feeling a little better. The depression was pretty much gone, and the anxiety had died down. Despite my previous doubts, things did end up improving and my negative experiences certainly did not last for a very long time. Because of that, my faith that problems do get better was back. It just takes some time and patience. My mental health struggles have made a difference in my relationships with my loved ones, both positive and negative. With my family, I will be honest and say that it was not the best at the time. I was so afraid of telling them about what I was struggling with due to their Nigerian background, and mental health disorders being stigmatized in that culture. I was afraid that they would give me a lecture about other people in the world being worse off than me and outright dismissing my problems as trivial. Bottling up my emotions like that not only affected my already negative mental health, but my physical health as well. I would silently get angry at my parents sometimes because of my preconceived notions of how they would react if I told them that I was dealing with depression and anxiety. My relationship with them improved later on because I summed up the courage to talk to them. All in all, I learned that I shouldn't assume that people will react a certain way if I tell them about a problem I am dealing with, and just bottle up my emotions. It will just do more harm than good. Finally, my mental health experiences are one reason why I want to become a physician in the future. Although they do not specialize in treating mental health disorders, that does not mean that I should not at least offer some sort of emotional support if one of my future patients is going through a mental health struggle in their life. I love helping people, so becoming a doctor and having the opportunity to make a positive impact on other people's lives would be a tremendous honor. I was not fortunate enough to receive any medical treatment while I dealt with my issues, so I would like to provide that opportunity to others.

My dream version of my future self is to be a woman who does not wait for opportunities and chances to pass me by, whether it's as small as having the opportunity to learn something new or if it is something deeper such as something that will make me better than I was yesterday.

My motive for pursuing a career in medicine is my passion for helping others. Of course, that is the reason why a majority of people choose to go into healthcare, but my case is something much deeper than just providing the standard "see a patient, diagnose them, and then treat them with medicine" approach that most people go for. What I want to do is to listen attentively to the needs of my patients, take their problems seriously without treating them like they are no big deal (especially when it comes to mental health), and try my very best to provide warm care and treatments so that they can go back to being themselves. Every human being deserves optimal health, so I want to be able to provide that for my future patients. Another thing is that one major problem in the healthcare industry is improper diagnoses of health conditions. Although the main cause is negligence on the doctor's part, it can also be due to the patient suffering from symptoms that are not widely recognized, which makes it hard for doctors to place them into the correct disease category. Because of that, they may end up misdiagnosing it or dismissing the patient altogether. This issue has happened to my dad before. He has to deal with pain in his head, and despite going to the hospital many times to figure out what the problem is, no doctor has been able to do so. Having my dad silently deal with an unrecognized condition makes me feel bad. If more medical symptoms were recognized and more research was being done to discover and learn about them, then there would not be so many people suffering in silence. This is why when I become a physician in a few years, I want to make a difference by being there for my patients. If they are dealing with symptoms that are not widely recognized in the world of medicine, then I will do research and learn all that I can about those symptoms. My ultimate goal is to accurately and correctly diagnose my patients so that they will receive the right treatment options. The last thing I want is for someone to become even more sick or even die at my hands due to negligence or error. Everyone deserves to have their voices and concerns heard, to be taken seriously by the healthcare professionals whose jobs are to care for them, and to receive the best treatment possible for their ailments. Hopefully, I will also be able to figure out my dad's condition, so that I can prescribe the necessary treatments and/or procedures to be done.

Once upon a time when I was in 7th grade, I dealt with a bout of depression. At one point, it got so bad that I contemplated suicide because I absolutely could not take the sadness and pain anymore. I thought that if I just ended it right there, then everything would be better. But after I had reconsidered, and went up to my room to calm myself down, that was when I realized that I was close to making the worst decision of my life. While I was dealing with that serious depression episode, my mind was clouded. Because of my clouded mind, it caused me to not operate like I normally would. Luckily, my mind cleared and I made the right choice in the end. But that moment was a testament to what kinds of things may happen if my mental health is not of top quality. My mental health is extremely important to me because I need to have the right state of mind in order to function in my daily life. That may sound a little extreme, but I am just the kind of person who needs to be in the right state of mind in order to complete my daily tasks. For example, I sometimes suffer from a bout of anxiety, anger, stress, or depression. On certain days, I am not able to get out of bed, eat, work out, concentrate on schoolwork, or even have fun in my life because my mental health is out of wack. My mind gets filled with so much negativity, and it makes doing anything positive very difficult. Luckily, those "bad" days are not as bad as in 7th grade, and I no longer feel suicidal. But these are prime reasons why my mental health and mental wellbeing are very important to me. Every day, I try to take care of my mental wellness in several different ways. The most common tactic I use is listening to different genres of music, depending on how I strive to feel in the end. If I want to feel relaxed, I listen to synth-wave and chill-wave music. They have a calming, futuristic effect, and that really helps me to calm down. On the other hand, if I want to get my energy up, I will blast some rock or rap music to get hyped up. They are good for days when I am feeling sad or tired, and they always wake me up fast. Another way I employ is that if I am feeling stressed, I will get rid of the stressor completely, or at least put it away for a while and focus on something else. This is most commonly used with schoolwork. At times, assignments can get very overwhelming for me, and can even cause me to go insane. If I ever feel that way, then I abandon the assignment for 30 minutes, and either watch a funny video on YouTube, go outside for some fresh air, or go get something to eat. By the time I come back to the assignment, my mind is clear, and I can start afresh. Although being on top of my homework and doing well in school is a top priority of mine, I absolutely cannot abandon my mental health just because of that. My philosophy is that health always comes before grades. Besides, if my health is bad, then it would virtually be impossible for me to do well in school. That is why I worry about how I am feeling first, before worrying about my GPA.

I love math because it opens up doors to new inventions, discoveries, and knowledge about the world I live in that I never knew before. Since historical times, inventors, mathematicians, and other notable individuals have used math to change the world. For example, the Ancient Egyptians used mathematical equations to help them build the iconic pyramids that are in Egypt; including the infamous Great Pyramid of Giza. Math has also brought about a lot of the technology that we currently enjoy. Without it, we might as well be still living in the Stone Age. Math is the reason why I am even able to have the technology that is allowing me to type this essay right now. Even though math has been pretty hard for me during my years of school, I will admit that I appreciate it a lot. If I didn't take the time to learn different math concepts, then I probably would not know most of the other subjects and information that I currently known now. My favorite math topic to learn about is geometry, although algebra, calculus and trigonometry are okay as well. When I took Algebra I (in 9th grade), Geometry (10th grade), Algebra II (11th grade), and Precalculus I (12th grade), I passed all of them with A's. But the grade itself was not the most important aspect of taking math. It was the vast array of skills and knowledge that I gained from it. Since I plan to become a medical doctor as my future career, my math skills will surely come into play. I will apply math to my daily routine every day. Whether it is measuring the dose of a medication or interpreting medical research, math will be a vital skill to my profession. Again, math may be a hard and complex subject, but it is totally worth immersing myself in it, and learning as much as I can.

Learning is important to me because that is how we are able to acquire new skills, discover more about the world around us, and to advance forward every day. Just like with almost any other living thing on planet Earth, humans are extremely fortunate to have the brain and capabilities to acquire new knowledge and skills into their daily lives. From the time we are born, we learn new things every day. When we are newborns, we learn how to cry, suck, and eat. As young kids, we learn how to talk, read, write, and tie our shoes. As teenagers, we learn more complex topics, express feelings in a mature way, and to be more independent. Then as adults, we learn how to work a full-time job, take care of family, manage relationships, and how to move forward in life. When we go to school, we learn a multitude of different subjects and skills that are essential to living a good life. Some of those include: reading, writing, math, time management, failing and getting back up, and advocating for yourself by asking for help. Without the human capability to learn these valuable skills, the world and life as we know it would not be the way it currently is. Everyone would be dumb, and would not have a single clue of how to function daily. That is my reason why learning is a very important thing that every living thing should be open to experiencing. I obviously have learned several skills and knowledge during my K-12 education. But just because I am now finished with that kind of structural education, does not mean that learning will stop for me. I plan to learn all kinds of new things during my time in the university, and even throughout my adult life as well. In my 4+ years of college, I will be learning all of the information and skills needed to become a successful medical doctor; such as chemistry and math. Once I go on to medical school and residency, the learning will be more kinetic and hands-on. When I finally do become a doctor, then I will still be learning new information. I will be learning about my patients and their needs, the types of medications that I will be prescribing, medical equipment and their functions, and how to improve every day. As an adult in the real world, I will continue to learn valuable skills like finances, relationships, managing stress and having a balance, political issues, and my worldly surroundings. I hope to never lose my desire for learning because it is an experience that is treasured in my heart. I light up every time a new skill or information gets saved in my mind. That is one of the best feelings ever. One more thing that I would like to mention is that a lot of people seem to think that learning only takes place at school and when you are a child. Although it is true that you learn a bulk of new information and skills during that time, the learning experience doesn't end in adulthood. Adults still learn a lot of new things every day, and that is very beneficial to their lives. No matter how young or old you are, you are never too old to learn.

How I will maintain my nutritional health is by first making sure that I am eating a full breakfast, lunch and dinner. I obviously cannot function well on an empty stomach, so I need to make sure that I eat a sufficient amount of food every day. They also say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so I will make sure to eat a larger breakfast in the morning before I head off to my classes. With enough food in my stomach, I will be more alert and focused in my classes. As for lunch and dinner, I will also make sure to eat enough food to keep me satisfied for a long time. Finally, I will ensure that the foods that I choose to eat are healthy, and will make me feel good all day. I will incorporate fruits, vegetables, protein, whole grains, healthy fats, and dairy into my diet. I will maintain my physical health by getting at least 7 hours of sleep every night and getting 30 or more minutes of exercise every day. People my age need a sufficient amount of sleep each night (7-9 hours) in order to remain alert and function throughout the day. Getting any less than that can be detrimental to my health. It is especially important during the school year, because if I want to stay awake and do well in my classes, then I must be fully rested. So at night, I will turn off all of my electronics at 10:00, and go to bed on time. As for exercising, I will put on some workout videos on my laptop to follow along to, and will also walk to places in my city if it is safe to do so, as opposed to taking a car or bus. Even though it doesn't sound like much, walking can actually do wonders for my body and health as a whole. Finally, I will look after my mental health by getting rid of my stressors once it starts to get too much. That means if my assignments are starting to overwhelm me, I will put them away for some time, and focus my mind on what I enjoy. That way, my mind will be cleared, and I will be able to get back to them with stronger focus. I will also advocate for myself and receive help from a school counselor, professor, or therapist if I am having issues with my mental health. I cannot keep my struggles bottled up inside because that will lead to more harm than good. Besides, they won't bite me, and will instead be very happy with me for wanting to talk to them about my struggles. I had a lot of trouble prioritizing my mental health back in high school because I was afraid that if I took a day off from school, then my grades would fall, and I would lose focus. That was a dangerous mindset to have. So that is why as I am starting my freshman year of college this fall, I will take care of my mental health, and to get help when I need it.

Eating healthy is important to me because I am protecting myself from health problems that may show up in the future. Starting now that I am young to engage myself in healthy eating habits will drastically lower the risk of me developing diseases and health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, tooth decay, and heart disease. These are terrible conditions that I really don't want to have to battle in my life. They are caused by the excess consumption of unhealthy foods, due to the fact that they have high amounts of sugar, fat (specifically, saturated and trans fats), salt, and little to no nutritional value. That is why I try my best to incorporate more fruits, vegetables, protein, and dairy into my diet, so that my body will remain healthy and I will be free from health problems for the rest of my life. Another reason is to avoid getting overweight or obese. I am aware of the fact that carrying too much extra weight may lead to all kinds of health problems and difficulties (both physically and mentally). Examples include: depression, stress on joints, difficulty breathing and getting around, eating disorders, and low self-confidence. Although that is one part of it, my other part goes beyond that. In our society, individuals are often made fun of, insulted, and called "lazy" if they are overweight or obese. Other people are basically repulsed by them, and they don't find them attractive enough to date. Finally, they often suffer from depression, confidence issues, and even suicidal thoughts because of how others may view them. That is the last thing that I want to deal with in my life; I want my life to be happy and healthy, and not having to worry about other people bullying and insulting me. But in order to do that, it starts with me eating healthy foods. Although I will admit that I do not always have a clean diet, I try my best to incorporate at least one healthy food into my diet every day. Even with this small change, I still experience notable differences in both my physical and mental health that are positives. For my physical health, I notice that my stomach doesn't upset me after I eat, I am able to have smoother bowel movements, my skin feels better, and I am less likely to develop a cold. In terms of my mental health, I feel more confident, my mood is happy overall, and I do not have the guilty feeling associated with eating something unhealthy. These are the phenomenal benefits of changing my eating and lifestyle habits in general, and I am glad that I started while I am still young and healthy. One more thing that I would like to say is that as I am currently in my first year of college, it is especially important that I eat healthy foods every day. Not only will it keep me disease-free, and from gaining too much weight (hence the term "freshman-15", which describes how college freshmen can gain 15 pounds due to unhealthy foods being offered at institutions), but it will also help me with my academics. I will have much better focus, energy, and willpower to get all of my assignments done and pass my exams. I will try my best to avoid going out to restaurants too frequently, and stocking my shelves with processed foods. Instead, I will make it a priority to purchase more fruits, vegetables, proteins, whole grains, and dairy products. My body, mind, and good grades will thank me.

My favorite Disney character is Princess Tiana. She is the main character in the movie "The Princess and the Frog", and is the first and only Black woman to be a part of the Disney Princess lineup. The first reason why Princess Tiana is my favorite is because of the her history-making. As I stated before, she is the first and only Black woman to be inducted into the line of Disney Princesses. All of the other princesses who came before her were White, such as Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora (from Sleeping Beauty), and Ariel (from The Little Mermaid). But once Tiana became a part of the lineup, she basically shattered glass ceilings. Her induction also opened the door for other princesses of color to enter. Notable examples include: Moana, Pocahontas, and Mulan. As a Black woman myself, this kind of representation is much needed in our society. Every race and ethnicity should have the chance to be showcased in media; whether it be in a TV show or movie. It is especially important because kids who dream of becoming something, such as an actor, astronaut, doctor, athlete, etc. will be more motivated and determined to stick to that goal if they see someone that looks like them rocking that same career. The kids will know that they are capable of achieving that same goal if they work hard and never give up. They won't allow their race or ethnicity to determine their fate in life. Instead, their mindset and grit will be the deciding factor. The second reason why I love Tiana is because since "The Princess and the Frog" came out in 2009, the lesson in hard work and not giving up to achieve your dreams has not lost its value. Even in the year 2022, that lesson is still very important for everyone to hear. Almost everyone in the world has some kind of goal or dream that they want to accomplish. Unfortunately, most of them lack the motivation and discipline needed to do so. That is why the message of the movie is so important to hear. An added bonus is that since a lot of young children love the movie, it is a great platform for introducing the concept of working hard for your dreams, and that anyone is able to fulfill them; no matter their race, gender, or ethnicity.

The change that I would like to see in my community of Farmington, Minnesota is no more homelessness. Even though Farmington is not a big city like Minneapolis or St. Paul, there are still a number of homeless people. Whenever I drive through a certain traffic stop that is located near some stores, I would see homeless people holding up signs and walking toward drivers, hoping that they would give them some money. I also see homeless families with young children sitting by the road side, looking sad and desperate. I would give those homeless people a couple dollars once in a while, but inside, I knew that it wasn't enough. That is why I want the Farmington city council to address that issue, and do something about it, so that I won't have to be driving past poor homeless people on the roads who are so desperate to receive money to survive. Absolutely no human being deserves to be homeless and suffering. The change that I would like to see in the United States of America is an improved education system. Obviously, it is not the only country with a broken system. But being a highly developed nation, surely the education that is given to its population of children would be top-notch, and would ensure that they learn all of the important information and skills to survive and live comfortably in the real world. Unfortunately, that is not the case for some reason. There have been multiple pleas to the Government to improve the curriculum, but so far, no action has been taken. For my 12 years of public education, I feel that I didn't learn enough life skills that would help me in adult life. Money skills, the process of buying a house or car, fixing minor/major problems, and cooking were not a priority. Although I did have economics and cooking classes, they didn't leave a lasting impact on me, and I forgot all that I learned as soon as I was done. I am sure that this is true for almost all students who went to public schools as well. What is scary is that most of those students enter the adult world pretty much clueless of how to function properly. So if the government wants to prevent that from happening, they should make the effort to change the public school curriculum, and make it mandatory that schools teach their students more life skills, as opposed to more "useless" information. I know that parents could always teach their children those skills, but with their stressful and busy lives, they don't always have the time. Plus, since kids are forced to attend school anyway, that experience should be used wisely by being taught the important stuff. Even though I have already completed public school, I still hope that in the future, kids will be taught everything that they need to know in school, so that they can grow up fulfilled and prepared to take on the world. The change that I would like to see in the whole world is no more wars. All of the wars in history has had very bad or even catastrophic effects. Those wars did not only effect the countries that were fighting in it, but they also had impacts on the whole world and history as we know it. For example, World War II had 40 - 50 million total casualties, which is an astronomical number of people lost. Wars have also brought about horrible events that impacted the lives of innocent people, such as genocide, displacement, destruction, and poverty. I am not really calling myself a pacifist, but I do believe that wars are not a good way to solve worldly problems like disagreements between countries, territorial disputes, and hostility. There are many more mature and diplomatic ways to solve these problems that don't have to involve fighting, deaths, and the firing of nuclear weapons. I am so sad that in the year 2022, we have not learned from the past, and that there are still wars going on in the world; most famously the Russia vs Ukraine war. Hopefully, future generations will have enough common sense to not solve every worldly problem with war. It is not worth it. Going back to my local community, I try to make a difference by making donations. Whether it be donating money to charity, clothes to organizations like Goodwill or the Salvation Army, or donating my toys to the Operation Christmas Child organization, I use the plentiful blessings and resources that I have in my life to donate to other people who are not fortunate enough to have that same luxury. It absolutely breaks my heart that people who deserve basic human necessities such as food, clothes, shelter, and gifts on Christmas are not able to have them because of their poverty, living conditions, or simply who they are. On the other hand, I am fortunate enough to be able to have all of these in surplus. Sometimes, they get too much, that I make the poor decision to waste or throw them away. But that bad habit changed when I slowly realized that there are lots of people in my community that need those necessities, and that throwing away the ones I don't need is a very bad idea. That is why I started donating the material items that I no longer needed to people who need it a lot. Not only will I be getting rid of something without letting it go to waste, but I will be making a huge impact in the lives of others. There is nothing I love more than seeing people's faces light up when they receive something that the rest of us take for granted.

My goal in life is to travel to my origin country of Nigeria. I was born in the U.S., and for a long time, I have wanted to visit Nigeria. The reason is because almost all of my extended family lives there, and I never got to see them in person. I cannot go through this life without visiting them, because the last thing I want is to lose them to death without even meeting and chatting with them. I could always call or text, but reuniting with my family in person would be a dream come true.

What excites me the most about college is finally being able to take courses and to learn information that will be important and essential to my future career. I plan to pursue a career in medicine, and have decided to become a doctor. But in order to achieve that goal, I will have to learn a lot about the anatomy and physiology of the human body, diseases and disorders, and how to prescribe medicine. The university that I will be attending will be able to provide me with that essential learning experience because it is the best one in Minnesota for prospective medical students to go to. Unlike in high school, I won't feel that I am wasting my learning experience. During high school, the curriculum was pretty much set in stone for students, meaning that they had to take certain classes, even though it may not be related to the career or path of study that they wanted to pursue in the future. Don't get me wrong, history, geometry, algebra, and language arts are important concepts, but they should be taught in lower grades. By high school, most students know what they want to do, so they should only be taught the lessons and skills needed for their particular interest. On the other hand, college allows me to choose my major, and I will be taught only the essentials. That will be a good use of my academic time. Another reason why I am excited for college is the opportunity to forge my own path and starting a new chapter of my life. I finally get to break away from the strong hold of my parents, and to start being an independent young woman. For all of my teenage-hood, I have yearned for autonomy and the ability to make my own decisions, and now I finally have that opportunity. Although college is an exciting time for many students, it still comes with its own set of challenges. In addition to being structured differently than K-12 education, it is harder, more stressful, and scarier. That is why it is very important for college students to prioritize taking care of their physical, mental, and spiritual health. Although doing well academically is also a must, health should always be #1. As for me, I always try to take care of my health amidst the challenges of school. If I am not in good health, then I can't function properly. I maintain a healthy body by working out every day, trying my best to eat good foods, getting at least seven hours of sleep, and getting some rest if I am not feeling well. As for the mind, I listen to synth-wave and chill-wave music (which helps me to relax and forget my problems at the moment), do some writing or journaling, coloring, and watching funny videos on YouTube (they say laughter is the best medicine, so I try to make myself laugh if I am feeling sad or stressed). Finally, I maintain a healthy soul by praying. Since I am a Christian, I would pray to God if I need His help with a difficult situation in my life. Knowing that He is always there to guide and help me if needed, gives me great spiritual comfort. With all of these skills and habits at hand, I should be able to get through my years of college without too much difficulty.

In 2018, I made the decision to take the steps needed to help treat my depression; without having to take antidepressants. For much of my 7th grade year, I sadly had to deal with a bout of depression and anger issues. Going through puberty and mood swings were a significant cause of them, but also problems such as constantly butting heads with my parents, stress at school, and a poor outlook on life were also to blame. Almost every day, I would wake up either sad or angry, and I would take out my emotions on the people I loved by yelling, swearing, and slamming doors. My depression became so bad that on some days, I even contemplated suicide. I just couldn't take the struggles of living life anymore, and just wanted all of the pain to be over. After talking to therapists and doctors, they recommended that I take an antidepressant. Although that sounded like a good idea, my mom warned me of the risks and side effects. I then chose to treat my depression by engaging myself in healthy habits that I enjoy, such as watching comedy videos, listening to music, coloring/drawing, and going outside in nature. Doing all of that truly helped, and now, I no longer suffer from it. I'm also grateful for never getting into medications, because they would've really messed with my brain, and I would be dependent on them for possibly the rest of my life. In December of 2021, I made the decision to begin working out and to incorporate at least one healthy food into my diet. I always knew that being active and eating healthy was very important, but I barely ever did it, because I didn't think it would affect me all that much. I continued to live a sedentary lifestyle, and I would eat junk food while watching TV or scrolling around on my iPad. But one day, that mindset changed when I started gaining weight in my stomach area, and I wasn't feeling at my best overall. My self-confidence diminished, and I could not look myself in the mirror without feeling repulsed at what I saw. That was the moment I decided that I couldn't continue like this anymore; I seriously had to make some lifestyle changes. During my school winter break, I used the extra time that I had to put on some workout videos and follow along. I would incorporate cardio and toning workouts for abs, legs, and booty. Each of those videos were only 10 minutes long, but they made a significant impact in my physical well-being. After every workout session, I would feel so happy and energetic for the rest of the day. Another habit I began to adopt was eating something healthy sometime during the day. Whether it be a piece of fruit, a vegetable, or a protein bar, I made it my priority to incorporate one healthy food into my diet. Making these changes has stuck with me up until now, and they have done wonders for me in terms of my weight, appearance, and confidence. Finally in 2022, I made the decision to not let any unnecessary anxiety and stress to take over my life anymore. Previously, I would feel anxious and stressed for even the little things, and that really took a toll on my health. I even became physically sick at times when it got too much. But by taking care of myself, and not letting trivial problems ruin my life, my anxiety and stressed has fortunately decreased; all without taking medications.

Clean living is important to me because I want to live to be 100+ years old. That may sound like a lot of years, but there are people in this world who were fortunate enough to live for that long, and that is due to the fact that they likely lived a clean and healthy lifestyle. Another reason is because I want my organs, cells, and tissues to continue doing their jobs to help my body function properly. Engaging myself in unhealthy habits can prevent the components of my body from effectively doing what they are made to do, and that can cause me to develop a disease, or to have a premature death. Those are the last things I want to happen to me, so that is why I try to make clean living a priority. I think of clean living as two different atmospheres. The first one is engaging in healthy habits, and it mostly influences your physical health and wellbeing. Common habits include: eating healthy foods, getting physical activity, and getting adequate sleep. Doing these are very important if you want your body to keep on doing what it's supposed to, and if you want to lower your chances of getting sick or dying early. I incorporate healthy habits into my life by doing at least 30 minutes of exercise every day (or if I am not feeling so energetic, even just 5 or 10 minutes of physical activity is enough for me), and adding one fruit, vegetable or protein food into my diet. I have maintained this habit for about a year now, and I can say that I have felt the positive effects. I am not overweight, I don't get sick all that often, and overall, I feel great physically. Starting young to live a healthy life will surely carry on into old age, and I may not have any problems with my body. The second category of clean living is engaging in clean and "pure" activities. These habits are more for your mental and emotional wellbeing. Examples include: learning to relax and not giving yourself unnecessary stress, practicing abstinence/sex with protection, not smoking, and remaining substance free (no drugs or alcohol). As for me, I try to relax my mind by listening to synthwave and chillwave music, taking a nap, coloring, or going outside to get some fresh air and to enjoy the wonders of nature. I also refuse to take part in casual sex (in fact, I will remain a virgin until I get married), smoking, doing drugs or drinking. These activities will destroy my organs, brain, and morality. Being a teenager, it can be especially challenging because peers will make it sound like it is cool to do all of those things, and they may even make fun of you if you refuse. But despite that, I will still stick to the values that I believe in. Besides, I care more about my own future than what my peers think. Teens don't always know better, so why should I take dangerous risks that I know will have a negative impact on me, just because they think it's "cool" or to fit in with them? It's not worth it. Even though it may be difficult for me to live healthily on the daily, I still try to keep that lifestyle as a part of my life, because I want to live a long and disease-free life. I want to be 80 years old with no health problems, moral corruption, and regrets, and that starts now that I am young.

My mom always likes to tell me about her experiences of attending university in both her home country of Nigeria, and here in the U.S. She always talks about the struggles, triumphs, and determination that she had to experience throughout those 10 years of higher education. At first, she studied Law and attended a law school in Nigeria in order to become a lawyer. But when she immigrated to the U.S., she believed that her law degree would be pretty much useless because no one would want to hire her as a lawyer, due to being a Black woman. That is why she made the decision to switch from Law to Nursing. She went back to university and attended nursing school to get her Bachelor's degree in Nursing. But that journey came with a whole list of struggles. She was 30+ years old with three kids already to take care of, she had to go to work, and the course material and stress was so hard on her that every day, she would go to the library and cry for 30 minutes before beginning her study session. She also didn't have the chance to spend time with her kids often because right after going to school, she had to go to work right away. But despite having to go through all of those struggles, my mom still persisted, and now in the year 2022, she is working as a registered nurse, and is making almost $100,000 per year. If she had given up on her higher education, she may be working two or three jobs; trying to make ends meet. She will probably not be able to spend much time with her kids at home, because after working at one job, she will have to drive to her second or even third job. Thankfully, she is not doing that, and our family is able to live a comfortable life because of her hard work. Hearing my mom's higher education story really made me to realize just how important it is to receive. Receiving education after high school; whether it be going to a 2-year, 4-year, or trade school or university increases the chances that I will have a comfortable life free of financial hardships, poverty, and unemployment. Simply entering the real world with a high school diploma or no diploma at all makes a person less likely to find one sustainable job that will give them a good life. They will end up having to work extra hard in life just to be able to afford to pay bills and buy necessities. I never want to be like the latter, so that is why I will attend university for four years, then go on to attend medical school, and complete my residency program. I will work as hard (and as smart) as I can, and will be determined all the way. I will not take the easy way out when things get too challenging, because in the future, I will regret it deeply when I am working two or three jobs and not making a decent salary. I understand that higher education comes with more stress and work, but fighting through it until the very end will be totally worth it. My future self will thank me. Besides, if my mom can come from a foreign country and attend university with three kids, while going to work at the same time, then I can too.

In January of 2019, my family and I were going out to eat at the Old Country Buffet restaurant. We had been there several times, so driving there was no problem. But one day that all changed. As my mom was about to make a left turn at the usual traffic light, she accidentally missed her way and ended up entering the I-35 freeway. When I realized what had happened, I immediately went into a panic. My heart was racing, I was breathing shallowly, feeling so dizzy, and practically hyperventilating. Before that time, I wasn't really afraid whenever my parents would drive on the freeway, but this particular moment was different because we didn't know that freeway. We were very much lost. Thankfully, my mom was able to use her GPS to get us out of that situation, but that day forever burned in my mind. Since then, I have been suffering with anxiety. Whenever I have to go somewhere new or drive on a freeway, I get so panicked because I imagine myself missing my way and getting lost. The anxiety can start as early as a few weeks to a month before I am supposed to make the trip. On the day itself, the anxiety is 10 times worse. Fortunately, 90% of the time, I end up not getting lost on the road, thanks to the GPS. Even though I rarely get lost when I have to drive to somewhere new, the amount of anxiety and panic that I feel leading up to that event is just too much for me. I can not spend the rest of my life feeling that way, so that is why in 2021, I made the decision to not let my anxiety of going to new places to take over me anymore. When I grow up, I want to travel the world, and I have a list of countries that I would like to visit. That is why I forced myself to face my fears by driving myself to unfamiliar places (with the help of my GPS, of course). Doing that over a period of one year gradually reduced my anxiety, and now I can drive to new places without feeling so panicked. I just had to do it because I must not die without traveling internationally and experiencing other cultures that are different than my own. I would feel so much regret. Another challenge was learning not to let life's obstacles knock me down forever, and to push through until the end. There are several events that happened to me where I felt like quitting when it became very hard, but I instead chose to be determined and complete it. An example was when I was writing my first novel. I had to endure several obstacles, such as having to rewrite multiple drafts, editing, publishing it to Amazon KDP, and marketing it to potential readers. Some of these were so bad that I was a thread away from scrapping the project altogether. That would mean throwing away my dream of writing and publishing a book. But I still chose to push through the challenges, and before I knew it, my book was complete. I published it on Amazon KDP, and I have had a number of customers buy it. Not giving up was the best decision I had ever made, and what inspired me to overcome those obstacles was having this thought at the back of my mind: "If I were to quit, then I would be wasting over a year's worth of hard work. I would also never achieve the success that I have always desired. But if I practiced determination, then I would have one impressive accolade on my resume. I would be a published author at only 18 years old. This particular event motivated me to keep being determined in the face of hardship, and now, I am no longer the easy quitter that I used to be.

My name is Nora Obikwelu, and I am currently 18 years old. In the fall of 2022, I will start my first year at the University of Minnesota Rochester in order to pursue my goal of getting my Bachelor's degree in health science. One interesting fact about me is that I am a huge WWE fan. Since 2018, I have loved watching lots of matches; from the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras, to the current PG era. My favorite WWE superstars are Becky Lynch, AJ Styles, Paige, Seth Rollins, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Trish Stratus, The Undertaker, and many more. WWE has been one of my favorite things to watch on TV and on YouTube to entertain me. I am such a big fan that I even have the Smackdown Women's Championship as a collectable. Another fact you should know about me is that I have written and published one book so far, and have written a second one that is very close to being published. It is quite uncommon for teenagers to write and especially publish books mostly because most of them do not like to read/write, or they cannot put in the time and hard work to do so. But in my case, I was able to accomplish that feat. It is thanks in part to the fact that I love to write and use my imagination, so that made it possible for me to write a novel. The first book is titled "4 Wrestlers, 4 Royalties, 1 Country", and the second one is called "An Inseparable Bond." When I was younger, I had to move around quite frequently. I started off in the city of Minneapolis; where I was born. In 2005, I moved to Coon Rapids, and attended two different elementary schools. The first one was called Mississippi Elementary, and the second one was Morris Bye Elementary. Once I got to second grade, I moved yet again to the city of Eagan. I attended Oak Ridge Elementary School in third and fourth grade. Also from a young age, I have always wanted to become a doctor. The two main reasons being for my love of helping others and health. With enough schooling and hard work, I will be able to achieve my lifelong goal. How I plan to make a positive impact on the world is that when I become a doctor, I will use my health care expertise to help as many unfortunate people as I can. If I ever get the opportunity, I may even travel to some third-world countries and provide care to those who are sick and dying. I know that millions of people in the world do not have access to adequate health care, hospitals, or even qualified doctors due to many different reasons, and it absolutely breaks my heart that something that all human beings deserve to have is unfortunately not available to everyone. The lack of good healthcare systems in the impoverished regions are probably the main reason why their life expectancies aren't as high as in more developed countries and the high amount of infant mortality. So that is why I choose to expand my career worldwide, instead of just working in the U.S. and treating American patients. But don't get me wrong, Americans deserve quality healthcare as well, but America is pretty well off when it comes to health. I feel that those who do not have it at all truly deserves it more, and that will be one of my top priorities once I am known as Dr. Nora Obikwelu.

The first way I want to make a positive impact in the world as a physician is by starting here at home in the United States. One thing that has always bugged me about the U.S. is the tremendously high costs of healthcare. Here are a few notable examples: a one day hospital stay can cost over $10,000, an ambulance ride to the hospital or emergency room costs $1,200, cancer care can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and prescription medications can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. I think you get the point now; health care in the U.S. is ridiculously expensive. It breaks my heart that a lot of Americans have to sacrifice their health and wellbeing all because they do not have enough money in their savings to pay for potentially life-saving care. That is why I want to do all I can to solve this problem. Although I obviously cannot prescribe medications or offer treatment for my patients for free or for less value than is legally allowed, I can at least try and reduce the amount of stress that the patients are most likely dealing with. Instead of expecting an out-of-pocket payment right away in the doctor’s office, I could give them a few weeks grace to accumulate enough money. As for paying the rest of the costs, I will give them as much time as they need, as long as they won’t try to scam me, and avoid paying altogether. Although this strategy may seem small, and that it is not solving the U.S. healthcare problem completely, I feel that the first step is just to help alleviate the stress of my patients. My second strategy is on a more global scale. There are a lot of countries on Earth who do not have access to high-quality healthcare or even none at all. It could be due to poverty, corruption, not enough funding going toward healthcare, and lots of other reasons. It just makes me sad to know that there are millions; even hundreds of millions of people in the world who have to succumb to their sicknesses or even die from them, just because the country that they live in cannot take care of them. Absolutely nobody deserves to have to go through that kind of pain. That is why if I ever have the opportunity, then I will travel to different impoverished countries and offer my best care to those who are sick and dying. Yes, I do know that it will be hard work, but it will all be worth it in the end. My heart will become warmer, and my mind will be more joyous. Even though the poor will obviously not be able to pay me for my work with money, they will still pay me with their love and gratitude. That alone is the biggest and greatest paycheck I can receive.

The number one way that I will address any future student loan debt is to apply for as many scholarships as I can. That way, my chances of receiving thousands of dollars in scholarship money will be high, and it will greatly reduce my college tuition costs. I may even be awarded enough money that I will not have to take out any student loans in the first place. I have already filled out 20-30 scholarships so far on Bold.org, and about 40+ on other scholarship websites. Even though that is considered a lot, I will not stop until I achieve enough money to pay off my college tuition fees. My second way is to use the money that I make from the sales of my two books to help pay. For the past two years, I have been working hard to write and publish two novels. When I finished them, I put them on sale on Amazon.com. For some time, my friends and family have been purchasing them and I have been making some good money off of my sales. I hope to have more people buy my books in the future, so that I will make more money. Once I make enough, then I plan to use some of it to help pay for college. My ultimate goal is to become a very successful author just like J.K. Rowling and Oprah Winfrey, and also to become a billionaire author. That way, paying for college will be the last of my worries, and I will never have to worry about paying back student loans. My final strategy is to work while attending school. I will either enroll in the work-study program at my university, or find employment at a store, restaurant, or elsewhere. I do not want my parents to have to work extra hours at their work, and risk becoming overworked just so they can pay for my education. They have done enough for me in my 18 years of life, so it is about time that I pay them back by easing their financial burden of having to pay for me. In order to avoid getting too stressed out, I will only work on the weekends, when I know that I’ll have some free time. Not only will working make me extra income to pay for college, but it will also help me practice time management. That is a win-win in my opinion. Even though I have these plans in place for addressing student debt, my ultimate goal is to have absolutely no student debt after I graduate from college. I am quite aware of the fact that if I were to take out student loans while in school, then I will be obligated to pay it back in installments. Depending on how much money I borrowed, I could spend the next decades paying it back. I could be shelling out tens of thousands of dollars every year just to pay back student loan debts; money that I could be using to pay bills, buy groceries, and take care of other necessities. That is why I will do everything I can to avoid having any student loans to pay off in the future. I do not want my hard-earned money being used to pay for something that should have been taken care of decades ago. But if I do end up having to borrow money, then I will use the strategies that I mentioned above to help me pay for it. But hopefully, that won't be the case.

My passion for writing has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on me, especially when it has to do with my mental health and learning important qualities like determination and working hard. From the time I was in elementary school, I have always loved to pull out a notebook or journal and write down whatever was on my mind. Even now that I am going into college, I still love to write because it gives me relaxation. It also allows me to temporarily escape the troubles of the real world, and to "live" in my own world for a little bit. Although academic writing has drained my writing energy, I still maintain my love for the art. One way that I like to write is by writing down how I am feeling in a notebook. Whether it be how happy I am, how depressed I am, or simply writing down the events that took place in my life, helps me to better pinpoint exactly how I am feeling. If I just keep that feeling in my mind, then I am more likely to have trouble figuring out my emotions. When I was younger, I always used to keep different notebooks, and every day, I would jot down my thoughts for the day. If something significant took place, then I would write down all of the details. Finally, I would find a way to put my emotions into words, and write them down in the journals. Taking part in this activity really helped me to learn the importance of "releasing" how I am feeling from my brain onto paper (or by talking to someone). Before I started writing, I would often take out my anger on others or cry uncontrollably because I was so bad at managing my feelings. But ever since I started emotional writing, I have gotten better at expressing how I feel and not throwing tantrums as much. My other favorite type of writing is creative writing. I consider myself to have a vast imagination, so I love to put that to good use through writing stories. Whether it is writing stories or poetry, creative writing is one of my favorite activities. One great thing that has resulted from this passion is the publication of my two books. Since I love using my big imagination to write, I decided to write a novel and publish it. After a year of working on my first book, I was able to publish it. The title is "4 Wrestlers, 4 Royalties, 1 Country." But I didn't stop there. After my first book reached some level of success, I decided to write another one called "An Inseparable Bond." Writing those two novels have taught me about staying determined in the face of adversity, and to never give up, because that is the only way that I will reach success. While I was working on the books, I had to encounter multiple obstacles. Some of them were so significant that I was on the brink of giving up on the project entirely. But each time, I remembered the success that I would eventually achieve. In the end, I reaped the rewards of my labor, and can now call myself a published author.

In June of 2019, I lost my grandmother. She died because her house in Nigeria was on fire and she was unable to escape on time. When my mom told me the news that morning, the pain in her voice just broke my heart. She had also been crying so much because my grandma was her mom, so she was obviously grief-stricken and shocked at what had happened. As for me, I was shocked at first, because she had come to visit us just a couple years prior, so I was not expecting something of that nature to happen. But after the initial shock, I felt guilt and regret. Her death was obviously not my fault, and I possibly could not have predicted that her house would be set on fire on that particular day, but I still felt that I should have tried to save her. Three years later, I am fortunately healing, but I still miss her every day. Grandma's passing has made me to focus my mind more on what I have always been passionate about; taking any opportunity that I have to help others. Even if I don't know them personally, I always like to lend a hand because I cannot stand to see someone going through a hard time; especially if it's something as significant as hunger, war, or being homeless. Since I have been blessed with a good life by being wealthy, living in a loving home, having food to eat and water to drink, and not having to having to go through war or other hardship, I feel that it is my obligation to use my blessings to make a positive impact on someone who is suffering. Doing good deeds for others will also prevent me from feeling any regret. Although it wasn't my fault that grandma's house was on fire and that she wasn't able to make it out, I still wish to this day that I was there to help get her out, or at least give her a warning. But since I couldn't be there, I obviously wasn't able to do anything to help. But the event has also reignited the spark inside of me, and now whenever I have the chance to help someone, or to prevent them from encountering something dangerous, I would grab it without a doubt. I never want to be the reason that someone gets hurt or even dies. The regret that I would feel would be astronomical, and the moment will haunt me forever.

My favorite scientific discovery are exoplanets. The biggest reason is because it gives me hope that humanity will be able to survive for much longer than previously thought. As far as we know, Earth is the only planet with complex life such as humans and animals. Unfortunately, it seems that Earth is close to becoming uninhabitable due to climate change, and the survival of humanity is in jeopardy. But throughout history, scientists have discovered about 5,108 exoplanets so far, and will surely detect more in the future. The good news is that abut 53 of those exoplanets are located in the habitable zone of their star systems, so that gives me a lot of hope that humans will be able to relocate to those planets once life on Earth comes to an end. I understand that planet Mars has been the number one contender of planet colonization, but it does not have the same environment as Earth does. However, the exoplanets located in the habitable zone of their solar systems may have environments similar to that of Earth. They may even harbor some type of life. Some of them may be our last stronghold of hope when it comes to preserving the human race. Even though I obviously won't be around thousands of years from now, it still scares me that humans may go extinct if we don't take action. Although there are so many scientific discoveries that I am grateful for, the discovery of exoplanets have given me the most hope because they may be the answer to our hunt for other habitable planets to colonize and preserve our species.

My experience with anxiety has negatively affected my life. It has made it hard for me to try new things, to challenge myself, and to enjoy the joys of life in general. Sometimes the anxiety would be so bad that I feel that I will have a panic attack. But although it is unfortunate that I have to deal with the mental health condition, it has surprisingly done some positive things for me. In terms of goals, my anxiety has helped me to set better goals for myself. Instead of wishing for things like getting rich, achieving fame, having more friends, or having more materialistic possessions, my goals have been more centered around trying to improve myself and my health. I now have the mindset that if I do not take care of my well-being, then all of the other goals that I listed above will be close to impossible to achieve. Achieving a goal takes motivation and discipline, but I can't have those traits if I am not in a good place mentally. As for my relationships, talking to family and friends about what I am going through really improved my trust in them, because instead of berating me for being anxious, they asked me what they could do to help. It made me feel more comfortable to confide in those I love, and that has really improved my bonds with them. Finally, my anxiety helped me to understand that life is not worth being so anxious about. There are so many new experiences to try in this lifetime, and having anxiety about the possible negative consequences is just a waste of time. After all, it's very unlikely that something bad will happen. If I don't go out and try new things more often, then my life will be filled with regrets, and for me, it is one of the worst feelings. I may only get one shot, so it will be wise not to let the opportunity pass me by. I have also been unlucky enough to deal with a bout of depression. Although it was not as bad as what some other people have to go through, those couple of months with the condition were some of the worst times of my teenage life. But just with my anxiety, it still had some benefits. Relationship-wise, I became more open, and was willing to talk about my problems with other people; as opposed to bottling them up inside, which is very unhealthy. Depression encouraged me to have goals to get better and to not commit suicide. There was a time where I considered it, but every day, I remembered the goal that I set for myself. Luckily, I am still alive today, and am glad that I set that specific goal for myself. Finally, it helped me to understand that there is always light at the end of the tunnel; no matter how bleak the situation may seem. All it takes is determination and having a lot of faith. My experience with mental health has taught me some lessons along the way about life; some that I had never thought about before. Even though those times of my life were very sad and tough, they also made me into the young woman that I am today. I consider myself to be more resilient, open, and grateful. I could say that my struggles turned into my prosperities. Although depression and anxiety had done some beneficial things for me, I am still glad to not suffer from them as much anymore. Today, I am happier than I was at 14 and 15 years old.

I love superfoods mostly because they keep me from gaining weight. I would consider myself at a healthy weight, and I would like to stay that way for the rest of my life. It would even be super if I could lean out a little bit and become more toned. Eating superfoods also helps to keep my appetite at bay; thus reducing the risk of overeating. Eating even when I am not actually hungry is one of the major reasons for gaining weight, which eventually leads to obesity. I also love superfoods because they are the reason why my body is able to function properly, and I am kept alive for longer. They have phenomenal benefits such as reducing the risk of diseases, reducing the effects of aging, increasing my energy, and promoting weight loss. These are some of the benefits that are most important to me. Finally, some of them just taste great in general. Although I honestly prefer sugary and fatty foods (even though they are obviously unhealthy), there are some healthy foods that I like to eat on a regular basis. My favorite superfood of all time is tea. Although it isn’t “food”, I still consider it as an essential part of a healthy diet. My favorite tea to drink is black tea, but I also drink green tea due to its numerous health benefits. Tea also helps curb my cravings of unhealthy drinks such as soda, because it has a sweet taste to it. But instead of 46 grams of sugar, the sweetness comes from the honey that I like to add, which is healthier. Another superfood that I like are berries; specifically strawberries and blueberries. Strawberries are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, which provide me with benefits such as disease prevention, improved insulin sensitivity, and better skin. As for blueberries, they are full of minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins (especially vitamin K). They have benefits such as promoting heart health, assisting in blood clotting, and managing blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Lastly, I love to eat eggs. They are a very healthy breakfast food which fills me up and gives me sufficient energy in the morning. Eggs have long been thought to be unhealthy due to its high cholesterol levels, but it is in fact one of the most nutritious foods. Although it does have high cholesterol, my trick is moderation. I only eat it for breakfast two to three times per week. I will admit that I am not the best at eating healthy for a majority of the time, but I do still attempt to incorporate superfoods into my diet. One way I do this is to eat something healthy after I workout. After about an hour of exercising, I get very hungry, but knowing that I worked so hard for that long, it would not be worth it to ruin it by eating an unhealthy meal. So that is why I prepare myself a healthy meal of salad or eggs. Or, if I am not feeling too hungry after my workout session, I would grab a piece of fruit, vegetable, a protein bar, or drink tea. Another way that I add healthy foods to my diet is to promise myself that if I eat one healthy food, I can reward myself with a treat. That way, I will be more motivated to eat healthy every day. I still have a ways to go in terms of having a 99% healthy diet, but I have to start slow and steady.

I practice bravery by doing my very best to participate in activities that make me anxious, and pushing myself to my limits whenever I can. For example, driving to certain places by myself, especially if I had never been there before, or it's in another city. I push myself by trucking through a difficult challenge, and never giving up until I reach success. That is how I was able to write and publish two books at 18 years old. Undertaking that feat was one of my biggest challenges ever, but I pushed myself regardless, had faith, stayed determined, and eventually reaped the rewards of my labor. I live boldly by making the attempt to strike up a conversation with new people. I used to be so timid, and had to wait for someone to initiate a conversation before I even talk to them, because I never knew what to say, or I was scared of possibly making a fool of myself in front of them. The timidity didn't only apply to strangers; it happened with some of my friends as well. But since my senior year of high school, I have gotten better at going up to people (not in a creepy way, of course), saying "hi", introducing myself, and eventually striking up a conversation. Now that I am going to college, and will be exposed to a lot of new students, having that skill is important to me, and I am glad that I developed it beforehand. It may not be considered bold to others, but to an introverted person like myself, it is one of the boldest feats that I have accomplished.

One reason why living healthy is important is because my body will thank me for it. When I feed my body with healthy nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals, calcium, fats, and carbohydrates, it allows it to continue functioning as normal in order to keep me alive. For example, consuming calcium will help keep my bones strong and hard, which enables them to better protect my soft organs. Protein will help with the growth and maintenance of tissues, and healthy fats help encase and protect cells and their organelles. So all in all, filling up my body with healthy foods and nutrients will help my body to perform at its best. Another reason is because it will improve my mood. When I exercise, it releases hormones called endorphins, which has a dopamine-like effect. It gradually improves my mood, making me feel happier and more motivated. The endorphin rush does not only last during my physical activity; it also lingers a few minutes after I am done. That increased happy feeling makes me feel energized, and I will be more motivated to perform more tasks. In terms of food, eating healthy increases the production of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. Foods that I like to eat that promotes good mood are: salmon, bananas, citrus fruits, berries, nuts, and coffee. A few minutes within consuming these foods, I start to notice my mood improving, and it is one of the best feelings. Finally, having a healthy lifestyle will keep me alive for much longer. That is because my body will keep on performing like normal, and it drastically lowers my chances of developing diseases and health conditions such as the flu, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Having these conditions can lead to a shorter lifespan. Engaging in unhealthy and even dangerous lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking, eating too much junk food, and being sedentary are also catalysts for an early death. That is why being healthy is very important if I want to live a long life. How I maintain a healthy lifestyle is that every day, I make time for physical activity. Even if it's just 10-20 minutes, that is still better than being sedentary all day long. When I am exercising, I focus on doing a few minutes of cardio in order to burn calories and to use my energy. After that, I focus on strength training and toning exercises. In terms of eating, I try my best to incorporate at least one healthy food into my diet. Feeding my body with nutritious foods does wonders for me, and I really want to continue doing it for the rest of my life. Although it is difficult for me to eat healthy every day, I will still try my very best, because my body will thank me in the end. Finally, I try to live healthy by taking care of my mental health. Mental health is sometimes overlooked when it comes to being healthy, but it is a very important component in being a happy and healthy human being. I care for my mental health my staying off of social media, loving myself for who I am, and being nice to others.

One reason why living healthy is important is because my body will thank me for it. When I feed my body with healthy nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals, calcium, fats, and carbohydrates, it allows it to continue functioning as normal in order to keep me alive. For example, consuming calcium will help keep my bones strong and hard, which enables them to better protect my soft organs. Protein will help with the growth and maintenance of tissues, and healthy fats help encase and protect cells and their organelles. So all in all, filling up my body with healthy foods and nutrients will help my body to perform at its best. Another reason is because it will improve my mood. When I exercise, it releases hormones called endorphins, which has a dopamine-like effect. It gradually improves my mood, making me feel happier and more motivated. The endorphin rush does not only last during my physical activity; it also lingers a few minutes after I am done. That increased happy feeling makes me feel energized, and I will be more motivated to perform more tasks. In terms of food, eating healthy increases the production of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. Foods that I like to eat that promotes good mood are: salmon, bananas, citrus fruits, berries, nuts, and coffee. A few minutes within consuming these foods, I start to notice my mood improving, and it is one of the best feelings. Finally, having a healthy lifestyle will keep me alive for much longer. That is because my body will keep on performing like normal, and it drastically lowers my chances of developing diseases and health conditions such as the flu, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Having these conditions can lead to a shorter lifespan. Engaging in unhealthy and even dangerous lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking, eating too much junk food, and being sedentary are also catalysts for an early death. That is why being healthy is very important if I want to live a long life. Although I believe that living a healthy lifestyle is very important, it is very difficult for me to do so. I love eating junk food every day, and incorporating more healthy foods into my diet can be very challenging. I do eat nutritious foods such as fruit, vegetables, and protein, but they pale in comparison to the amount of sugary and fatty foods that I consume. But besides that, I do engage in healthy activities such as exercising every day, and not smoking and drinking. I hope that I will one day learn to eat healthy most of the time, and to not fall into the temptation of eating junk every day.

One time when I showed up for someone was when I attended my best friend Juliet's high graduation party in July of 2022. We attended elementary school together, grew closer together., and eventually became best friends. Unfortunately, we had not seen each other for almost 10 years, due to the fact that I had to move away to another city. When she invited me to her graduation party at her house, I was excited that I would finally get to see my best friend again after so many years. But there was an obstacle that I also had to overcome. I have a lot of anxiety about driving by myself to far away places or to those I have never been to before. Since Juliet lives in the city of Eagan, which is quite a ways away from where I live, I didn't know if I should attend her party or not. My biggest fear was that I would get lost on the road along the way, even though I have a GPS in my car. But despite all of the anxiety I was having, I just could not refuse to go to Juliet's party. She considers me her best friend in the whole world, and she would have been absolutely heartbroken if she didn't get to see me that day. So on July 2nd, 2022, I made the decision to show up for my friend. I brushed away the constant fear and nervousness that I felt leading up to that day, and stuck to my commitment of attending. Fortunately, I had made the right decision. When I drove to her house, I did not get lost or miss my way because the GPS guided me. When Juliet saw me, she was so happy, that she gave me a long and warm embrace. We had a meaningful conversation and had a lot of fun during the party. At the end of the day, I felt warm inside and proud of myself for making the decision to show up for my friend. I knew that if I didn't, I would regret it for a long time. How this particular event impacted me is that I learned to never take any opportunity that I have to spend time with the people I love for granted. As I had previously mentioned, Juliet and I had not seen each other for almost 10 years. That is a long time to not see your BFF. When I finally had the chance to see her again, I almost snubbed it, all because of the unnecessary anxiety that I was feeling. Although anxiety should be taken seriously, it was no excuse for me to not go to Juliet's graduation party; something that is a big deal. I was so happy that I chose to do the right thing and go, because we were able to reconcile after such a long time. Now, whenever I have the opportunity to visit someone that I haven't seen in a long time, I will grab it without a doubt. I will never let any anxiety or nervousness that I have change my mind. After all, it is much better to have temporary anxiety, than permanent regrets.

Understanding our universe is extremely important because it is where we reside. Earth and all of the human beings, animals, plants, insects, and non-living objects are just a small speck in the seemingly infinite universe. Outside of our planet, there are so much to learn and explore in the universe. There are the other planets in the Solar System, exoplanets, and other galaxies. It is much too large for us to just ignore. Although living things only live on planet Earth (as far as we know), there is no harm in learning more about the worlds outside of our own. Another reason why it is important to understand the universe is because there are so many mysteries about it that humanity has yet to solve. We can also learn so much more about outer space than we have previously known. The Universe is so vast and fascinating, that there are a lot of unknown mysteries about it. If we had the technology and capabilities to travel all over it, imagine the kinds of interesting things we could find. One of the most sought out information is if life exists outside of Earth. Whether it be aliens, unicellular organisms, or even other humans, humanity has always wondered if we are truly alone in the universe. So far, we have found some exoplanets that possess the qualities needed for life to exist on them. But they have mostly been in our Milky Way Galaxy, or in galaxies a few thousand or hundred-thousand light-years away. The Universe is far larger than that, so out there somewhere, there must be an exoplanet with extraterrestrial life on it. In order to be able to travel anywhere in the Universe, humanity will need to develop technology and spacecrafts that will allow us to do that. The rockets and other technology that we currently have in the year 2022 is probably not strong enough to survive a seemingly infinite journey through the cosmos. I propose that we invent a spacecraft that can survive the harshness of outer space for 93 billion light-years (the total diameter of the Universe), and the different atmosphere types of exoplanets. We could also attempt to build a wormhole; enabling us to travel anywhere in space and time. I understand that scientists have repeatedly tried to build wormholes in the past, but were unsuccessful. Hopefully in the next 50, 100, or even 1,000 years, humanity will be successful in building wormholes, which will allow us to travel anywhere in space and time. My last idea is inventing a telescope that is capable of seeing as far out as the edge of the universe and back. Modern telescopes are only visible as far out as the end of the Solar System or even close galaxies to the Milky Way. Being able to look out as far as the edge of space can help us to learn information that we've never thought we would. All in all, I have hope that one day, humans will develop the technology needed to better understand the nature of our Universe, because we cannot just ignore something so vast, infinite, complex, and fascinating.

Samuel William Boynton and Amelia Boynton Robinson were civil rights activists who led the fight for African American rights and equality for a multitude of societal issues, such as voting and segregation. The husband and wife's brave endeavors took place in the 1950s and 1960s during the Civil Rights movement, when blacks and whites were heavily segregated. African-Americans had very few opportunities and were not allowed to do the same things that White people could do. They also had to deal with a lot of mistreatment and violence due to racism. In addition to their activism, the Boynton's also established different movements, paved the way for new laws in the United States, and changed the way Blacks were treated in the U.S. In the 1950s, Samuel Boynton established the Civil Rights movement by testifying in front of the U.S. Senate subcommittees. In 1964, Amelia, along with Martin Luther King Jr. planned the Selma march to Montgomery, Alabama in March of 1965. But the most impactful change that Samuel and Amelia made was bringing more voting rights to African-Americans during the Civil Rights era. The biggest one took place during the Selma march to Montgomery, an organized march where African-Americans gathered to protest and demand voting rights. During the march, Amelia was met with violence, along with sixteen other protestors. That day would go on to be known as "Bloody Sunday," due to most of those protestors being sent to the hospital very bloody and even unconscious. Bloody Sunday became national news, and it eventually prompted President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965. The act made racial discrimination in voting illegal, and paved the way for allowing African-American citizens to vote in elections. When I grow up, I will become a physician. My goal is to help people feel better and to get rid of their diseases and ailments. But Samuel and Amelia Boynton's story has also influenced my career decision. The two of them never gave up on their goal to establish fair and equal voting rights to all, and eventually, they achieved their dream. Today, all American citizens can vote, no matter their race, gender, religion, etc. As for me, I will not give up on my goal to be a doctor, and to ensure that everyone receives top-notch healthcare and treatment. After all, I believe that healthcare is a right, and every human being deserves access to quality hospitals, doctors, and treatment for their ailments. How I will make a positive impact on the world is to treat everyone with the same amount of respect, and to ensure that systematic racism and other types of prejudice has no place in our society. In terms of voting and civil rights, I will make sure that the government upholds the right to vote for every American citizen. If a problem starts to arise, then writing multiple letters to the government and even organizing demonstrations will be my go-to strategy. As for healthcare, I will never discriminate, and will provide my future patients with the same amount of care, and as much assistance as they need. Every patient will be important to me, and I will want to make a positive impact in each and every one of their lives.

In 2020, COVID-19 came about, and began taking its toll on everybody around the world. In the United States, COVID-19 disproportionately affected black people more than any other racial group. There are many causes as to why. One reason is because of the access and availability of COVID testing. Especially at the initial stages of the pandemic, there were limited testing sites and kits available to the public. They were even more scarce in black communities. Another cause is poverty. Blacks living in poorer neighborhoods had less access to medical care for treatment, quality housing and standard of living, sufficient medical insurance, and healthy foods/clean water. All of these made them more likely to be exposed to, develop, and even die from coronavirus. The last reason for the virus' unfair effects on black people is because of occupational vulnerability. Black people were more likely to have essential jobs that required constant contact with other people, which in turn, increased their chances of being exposed to COVID. These three reasons (plus, many more) are why the pandemic has had such a negative impact on the black community. My primary goal that would positively impact the black community is to educate more people. It may not seem that helpful at first, but I believe that a lot of problems that are currently going on could have been prevented if more people were educated. Teaching the black community about the real dangers of COVID-19, and about some tips that can help prevent the transmission of the virus may decrease the disproportionate effects that the pandemic is having on them. Not to mention that it will drastically decrease the number of people who are getting and dying from the virus. Also, since the world now has effective vaccines, I would fight the misinformation and politics that is currently surrounding it, and use the research that I have done to educate them on how helpful the vaccines really are in decreasing the severity of the virus. Education will be the first step toward helping black people win the fight against COVID. My second plan would be purchase more COVID-19 testing kits and distribute them to poor black neighborhoods. With more testing available in those communities, people will be aware that they have the virus, and then will avoid going out in public and spreading it to others. My final plan would be to raise enough money to build more hospitals in poor cities, especially predominantly black communities. That way, more people will have access to medical help that is closer to them. Having access to local hospitals, especially now during the pandemic is very important because the distance may be the difference between life and death for a COVID patient. As a black woman myself, I am quite aware of the fact that black people are at a disadvantage in the world. Not only for COVID-19, but a lot of other aspects as well. We are not as fortunate as other groups of people, especially those who are not considered minorities. We are also more likely to experience harder times than people of other races and genders are. Hopefully in the future, black people (and other minorities) will be able to have better lives in society as non-minorities, and that everyone will be treated with equal respect and kindness. After all, we are all humans. Research Credit: https://sph.umich.edu/news/2020posts/covid-19-and-the-disproportionate-impact-on-black-americans.html

A couple of years ago, when I was in middle school, I had to deal with a bout of depression and mood swings. It took a toll on my physical and mental health (obviously), and it forever changed my life. But dealing with a mental health issue did not only affect me in my mind. It also had some impacts on my life as well in terms of my relationships with other people, my emotional and spiritual beliefs, and my career goals for the future. My experience on mental health has influenced what I believe in my life, both spiritually and emotionally. Spiritually, mood swings and depression has reinstated my belief in what God can do. Since I am a Christian, I believe in God and that He has the ability to do anything for humankind if we pray for Him to do so. Whenever I was sad, I would pray to God that He would give me the energy to perform the tasks that I needed to complete. Sometimes, I would feel so down that my energy would be completely depleted, and I would spend most of my day just laying in bed. The first couple of times when I prayed, it did not seem like God was listening to me, and I almost gave up believing in Him. But one day when I prayed deeply, God not only restored my energy, but He also cured me of my depression. I was so happy, that my faith in Him only increased. That is why to this day, I still believe that God can do anything if you just pray to Him often. My emotional beliefs were also influenced during my bout with depression. When I was at my lowest, I believed that this ailment would stick with me forever, and that I would never get better. But fortunately, those negative beliefs were squashed, and one day, my depression was cured. Before then, I had believed that suffering could almost never end, especially those that were significant, but after I felt better, my beliefs totally changed, and I had faith that there was always light at the end of the tunnel, even if it may not seem like it at first. My mental health experiences has also influenced my relationships with my parents, friends, and myself. While dealing with the ailments, my relationships with them were very poor. I would often take my problems out on my family by yelling, swearing, or even saying that I hate them. As for my friends, I would become more secretive than I was before, and I would lose interest in hanging out with them. Finally, the relationship that I had with myself deteriorated. I would constantly eat junk food, refuse to exercise, and overall failed to take care of my health and body. Doing that had actually made what I was dealing with worse than I had ever wanted. Fortunately, after I felt better, my personal relationships improved significantly. I wasn't so secretive, angry, nor unhealthy anymore. Since then, I have learned to never take the now positive relationships that I have for granted anymore. Besides, once the people I love are gone, then I cannot get them back, so I have to make the most of every moment that I have with them. Finally, my career aspirations have been influenced by my mental health experiences. Ever since I went through depression and mood swings, it has encouraged me to enter a profession that would involve helping others who are going through different health problems and making them feel better. That is why I have decided to become a doctor in the future. Even though they do not always work with patients who are suffering from mental health illnesses, they still help people who are dealing with other diseases and disorders to feel better every day. I have always had a passion to help others, because I cannot bear seeing them in pain. So even though I may not work directly with mental health patients, my experience with dealing with mental health disorders have definitely influenced my career aspirations. All in all, my experiences with mental health issues such as depression and mood swings have definitely influenced different spheres of my life, from what I believe in, the relationships that I have with the other people in my life, to what I want to do for my future career. Mental health is a powerful thing, in my opinion, and I believe that someone's experiences with it can certainly alter the direction of their life.

If given the opportunity, I would influence a social issue by taking action, instead of just posting about it on social media, talking about it, or waiting for others to take action. All too often, when I see a social issue such as racism, poverty, climate change, etc. being addressed, especially by politicians and other leaders, I don’t always see them taking action, despite the fact that they have the power to do so. They just talk about what society should do to solve the problem, but they don’t actually take action to solve that particular problem. One issue is guns/gun control. Recently, there was an elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. After the shooting happened, which killed 21 people, I heard politicians and other people in charge offering “thoughts and prayers” and that was about it. No further action taken. Gun control has been a hot topic for a long time, and has been exacerbated by the string of school and mass shootings that have been taking place in recent times. If I had the opportunity and power to influence this issue, I would give a rousing speech on the dangers of guns, especially if they are used in the wrong hands. In the speech, I would address the numerous mass and school shootings that have been taking place in the United States. I would also talk about all of the innocent little children that had their lives taken away from them at such a young age, because of evil people with guns. This method incorporates the human psychology of empathy, because almost no one can bear to see or hear about an innocent child being harmed, especially by careless human beings. Finally, I would use my voice to advocate for the better use of guns. I don’t want to get too political; I just want to use common sense. That is how I would tackle the issue of guns. Another social issue that I would want to issue is racism and hatred. It is one of the biggest and most common social issues that the world is facing. Personally, I do not believe in hating people because of the color of their skin, the country they come from, or what their religion is. They cannot control these aspects, so they do not deserve to be punished for it. Another thing I don’t like is stereotypes. Different races, nationalities, and religions each have a stereotype that is attached to them; most of those negative. Everyone is not the same, and just because a few people fits a certain negative stereotype, does not mean that everyone does. That is why everyone from a certain culture should not be mistreated just because of the sins of a few. If given the opportunity, what I would do to influence this issue is organize a social event, and welcome people from all walks of life. People would interact with each other, discuss their cultures, and address any issues and negative stereotypes. Doing this would make others become more educated and informed about cultures other than their own, and would make them more tolerant and accepting of others who are different than them. It would decrease the amount of hate in the world. There are many issues in the world that I care deeply about, and really want to solve. So if I was ever given the opportunity to do so, I would seize it in an instant. But even though I am just 18 years old, I am never too young to being about change and make the world a better place.

A few years ago, when I was in middle school, I was going through a pretty low point in my life. I would often feel depressed, angry, tired, and sometimes even felt like harming myself. While I went through that difficult time, all I wanted was just for people to understand how I was feeling and empathize. Unfortunately, I didn’t not always get that. The people in my life would often turn a blind eye to my sadness, or make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal. Sometimes, they would even say things like: “You shouldn’t be feeling like this. You’re too young.” or “There are other people in the world who have it worse than you, so you should be grateful.” That really hurt me, and made me think that my problem was not important. If those people had had empathy, then I wouldn’t have had that negative mindset. That is why when someone I love is going through a tough time, I will make sure to empathize. I will listen to them talk about what is bothering them, offer a shoulder to cry on if need be, and try to brighten up their day by making them laugh. I will also try my very best to try to relate to what they are going through. Even though I may not completely understand, especially if I never had that problem before, I will still try to imagine myself in that situation, and how I would feel. It is so much better to try to relate, even though you may not completely understand, than to completely dismiss their problem. If more people were empathetic, the world would have less problems, and it would be a better place. “Empathy is the medicine the world needs.” - Judith Orloff

The biggest problem that the world is currently facing is ignorance and lack of understanding from the human population. Although it may sound pretty trivial compared to problems such as world hunger, poverty, climate change, racism, etc., it is actually a much bigger issue than most people make it out to be, and it is often ignored. Ignorance and misunderstanding is actually a cause of some of the problems I mentioned above, plus many others. It is like an umbrella; if you will. This is no way trying to be biased, but ignorance seems to affect certain people and places in the world; specifically those who do not take the time to be educated on important issues that are going on in the world, and those who live in a place with an unsatisfactory education system. They believe whatever they were taught, even if it may not be accurate. That causes misinformation to be spread, which contributes to a lot of problems that could have been prevented in the first place. One way to solve this problem is simply for more people to get educated. This might sound straightforward and obvious, but it’s much more than just going to school. Although it is true that school provides education and knowledge that helps benefit society as a whole, it may not be the best. A lot of education systems in the world are flawed, and they do not always teach students all of the necessary information. School isn’t the only form of education. Other ways include: learning from credible online sources, and learning from the experiences of others. If more people took the time to be more educated on world issues, then there would be a lot less ignorance and misunderstandings in society, which may even prevent some other worldly problems.

When I grow up, I would like to be a physician. Since I was a kid, I have always been interested in the human body and how it works. I also wonder about the different types of health conditions and diseases, and ways to cure/treat them. Thirdly, whenever I would go to the doctor’s office for a check up, I would marvel at all of the different doctor’s equipment; ranging from the stethoscope, to the otoscope and ophthalmoscope. Finally, I am that kind of person who likes to help others, and absolutely hates it when people are suffering. All of these traits are signs that being a doctor is a good career choice for me. But becoming a physician is not an easy process. First, there is having good grades in school, then there is knowing a lot about the human body, and complex terminology. Finally, there’s the 8+ years of having to go to post-secondary and medical school, which can bring a lot of stress. But despite all of that, I still strive to achieve my dream. The first step in doing that is to maintain my good grades and phenomenal GPA at school. Fortunately, I am doing a good job. Next, I have to attend an above-average 4 year university to get my bachelor’s degree, and then going on to get my master’s. I might even go further than that, and try to attain a doctorate/PhD. Finally, it’s attending medical school, and acquiring my doctor’s license. After that, I will officially be a doctor! Following these steps are easier said than done. A lot of people have given up along the way, due to the amount of stress they had to endure. But I will fight until the end, and achieve my lifelong dream of being a doctor.

1. To write at least one book, and publish it 2. To travel to Europe (Spain, Italy, France, Germany, U.K.) 3. Learn to get out of my comfort zone, and not let anxiety get in my way 4. To become rich and famous 5. To meet a famous soccer/football player 6. To see the year 2100, and all of the futuristic technology These are six goals that are currently on my bucket list. I have many more, but they are too numerous to include on this list. So far, I have achieved #1 and #3 (kind of). As for #1, I have successfully written and published a book titled: ‘4 Wrestlers, 4 Royalties, 1 Country.’ It is now available on Amazon.com, and other retailers. As for #3, I have slowly started to get out of my comfort zone, and perform activities that used to scare me a lot. Some of those include: talking to new people at school, initiating a conversation, going to new places, etc. They have helped me grow as a person. As for the rest of my goals, some of them are more realistic, such as going to Europe. I hope to do that when I am finished with either high school or college. As for the rest, they aren’t as realistic, but there is nothing wrong with having hope. After all, they aren’t impossible to achieve.

To me, what it means to be independent is carving your own path in life, and not conforming to society’s standards. It’s also being able to perform tasks, and make your own decisions, without much guidance from others. Being independent is a very important trait in life, because one cannot have their hand held the entire time. Once a person is an adult, they will have to learn to be independent, and fend for themselves. As an 18 year old, having independence is very important to me. Although I am still pretty young, I cannot be constantly protected by my parents. Since I was young, they have been very overprotective, due to the fact that they weren’t born here, and they believe that the U.S. is a dangerous place. Because of that, they believe that kids should be protected at all costs. Although that is a good idea when the child is young, it will backfire on them when they become teenagers. At that stage, they need increased independence, in order to grow into healthy and independent adults. Fortunately, my parents gave me that luxury as soon I was able to drive. Having more independence helped me to learn new life skills, such as cooking, going grocery shopping, and getting a job. My increased independence has also helped me to think more for myself, instead of thinking what others want me to think. In other words, I do not conform; I stand out. My independence will definitely help me to grow into a successful adult who knows how to take care of herself.

Some of my passions include: listening to synth-wave and chill-wave music, writing stories or my personal feelings in my journal, watching my favorite TV shows such as WWE and the Big Bang Theory, and hanging out with my loved ones. Doing these activities brings me happiness, especially when I am having a bad day. They are also some of the coping methods I use whenever I am feeling anxious or depressed. When I was in middle school; 6th or 7th grade to be precise, I started to feel really depressed. It was most likely due to puberty and the teenage mood swings. For most of the day, I would not have the energy to do tasks that I used to be able to perform easily. Even the simplest of tasks such as: getting out of bed in the morning, brushing my teeth, and getting from one place to another within the house felt like the hardest thing in the world. In addition to that, I would be withdrawn from my friends and family, and even lash out at them in anger sometimes. My depressed mood had gotten to the point where I had contemplated suicide. Thankfully, I had used my coping methods of lying down to listen to music, and watching funny shows to prevent me from killing myself. Fortunately, I am no longer depressed. Another mental health disorder that I have been dealing with is anxiety. Even though I feel anxious about a lot of things, the biggest trigger of my anxiety is when I have to visit places that I have never been to before; whether I am the one driving or not. I always feel that I am going to get lost on the way there or back home, and that makes my heart race, my palms sweaty, and my stomach to hurt. These are amplified if I have to go through a freeway. They absolutely frighten me. This anxiety started as a result of a traumatic experience that has happened to me. My mom was taking us to Old Country Buffet, but unfortunately, she took a wrong turn, and we ended up on an unfamiliar freeway. I was freaking out the whole time, until she finally found her way again. Since then, I have always been afraid of going to places that I have never been to before. But one day, I figured out some coping techniques to help me with this anxiety. Whenever my mom would drive me to somewhere new, I would just put in some headphones, and listen to some calming music. I also would not look out the window to see where we were; in order to avoid freaking out if we were in an unfamiliar area. Even though I still become really anxious whenever we are going somewhere new, employing these coping mechanisms has helped decrease it a little bit. In the future, rather than having some effective coping methods to help me deal with my mental disorders, I instead hope to never have to deal with them ever again. Anxiety and depression are two of the hardest mental health illness to have to go through, and the fact that I am able to live with them is astonishing. But hopefully one day, I will be free from those mental health chains.

A few years ago in middle school, one of my friends was feeling depressed, and she told me that she was thinking about committing suicide. That shocked me a lot, because I didn’t think that someone that young would even think about doing something like that. But before I told her off for telling something like that, I remembered how I myself was feeling depressed at the time, and at one point, was even contemplating suicide. Thinking about that not only made me realize that even kids as young as middle school age could deal with depression and suicidal thoughts, but I also developed a new found empathy for my friend. I did everything I could to help; from talking about her problems to simply hanging out. Ever since, I have tried (and am still trying) to be a more empathetic person. If someone ever tells me about a problem that they are dealing with, I will never dismiss it, or act like their struggles are a waste of my time. Chances are, I have experienced what they are going through, so I know how it feels like. But even if I haven’t gone through that same struggle, I still try my very best to imagine how I would feel if I were in that same situation. I then try to comfort that person, and offer a shoulder to cry on. Empathy is a very important trait to have, because it can help prevent some violence and bullying towards others. I feel that if the world can be more empathetic, then there will be significantly less wars, conflict, and hate. People will learn to love each other.

A major goal that I have undertaken in my life was writing and publishing a novel. Obviously, it was not an easy process, and I had to be determined, and to never give up. During the journey, I had always imagined how rich and famous I would be once I achieved success. I also thought about how proud I would be to accomplish something of this nature at a young age. Having all of this in mind helped me to keep going; despite all of the obstacles that I had to encounter; one of them almost making me give up completely. My hard work and determination paid off, and I was able to successfully publish my book. I can now call myself a published author at only 18 years old. But writing a book was most definitely not the only challenge I’ve had to endure in my life. I have dealt with a lot of them; both big and small. With some of them, I have felt like giving up because I did not see the point of continuing. But I have kept some mantras in mind that has helped keep up my motivation and grit. The first one is that if you are really close to achieving success, then why quit now? Quitting would just throw all of your prior hard work down the drain. Secondly, I always try to imagine myself being a rich and famous celebrity, and how glamorous my life would be. I then remember that I can achieve all of that one day if I suffer and work hard now. My mom has always told me: “suffer and work hard now, so that you can enjoy the future.” Employing these strategies helps me to keep going in life.

My life as an 18 year old has been pretty good thus far. But I will admit that I have made some decisions and mistakes that I regret when I look back on them. One of my biggest mistakes is not listening to the advice and wisdom of my elders; especially my parents. Being a teenager/legal adult, I have been too prideful, and I believed that I had life figured out; when in truth, I basically do not have any life experience. One thing that my parents have always encouraged me to do was learning important life skills such as cooking, repairing and maintaining household appliances, cleaning, managing finances, etc. But I was too lazy to learn all of those skills, and now that I am almost going off to college, I regret not learning these skills at an earlier age. They also tell me that when they were just kids, they already knew how to perform those life skills; which rubbed more salt into my wounds. But before my 18th birthday, I had an epiphany. I realized that if I didn’t learn these important skills before I moved out of my parents’ house, then I would not be prepared for the real world. Life is not easy, and if you are not able to fend for yourself, then you will not survive. So I decided to heed their advice, and start learning. Now, I am able to cook, and do other skills, but I still have room for improvement. My future goals is to grow up knowing how to live my life properly and independently without the help of others. The last thing I want is to struggle. Elders have wisdom, and it is important for young people to listen to them; they do know what they’re talking about.

Mental health and well-being is a very prominent topic in modern society. In different media sources, we often hear about how important mental health is, and different ways society can promote mental wellness in all of its citizens. I completely agree with this sentiment; mental health is a very important aspect of a human’s overall health. I was unfortunate enough to deal with a bout of depression back when I was in middle school. It affected me so much, that at one time, I had even contemplated suicide. Thankfully, I got the help I needed and is now feeling better. But I am currently dealing with another mental health disorder: anxiety. Even the smallest of things can cause me to get anxious. This is not good because it can cause me not to live my life to the fullest. Hopefully, I will overcome this anxiety, and finally enjoy life again. There are a lot of possible solutions for helping people who struggle with mental health disorders, but the solution that I feel is most impactful is not making it a stigma in the first place. Far too often, especially in traditional cultures, having a mental illness is seen as weakness. It is also nonexistent, because people believe that you can’t be depressed if you are privileged. I absolutely hate it when parents tell their kids that they don’t have any reason to be depressed, anxious, etc. because there are other people in the world who have it worse than them, so they shouldn’t be complaining. Mental illnesses do not discriminate; they don’t care if you are rich or poor, and how old you are. It can affect anybody. So the first step in helping people is to first tell them that their problem is valid, and that help is possible.