Throughout my highschool career I struggled with putting too much pressure on myself. I believed that if I wasn't the star on the track team with straight A's and my future figured out, I was a failure. I struggled figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. I'm still debating it. I worked so hard in school for it to amount to what. Throughout my educational journey I was always one of the brightest. But, liking everything in school gives you the problem of not knowing what pathway I should follow after high school. I always knew I wanted to go to college, but for what? I put pressure on myself to figure that out. I realized that I enjoy helping people and animals, which led me to veterinary sciences. Which I figured out by just having fun and doing volenteer work through my church. Just by having fun and not pressuring myself into a corner, I figured out what I liked and what I wanted to do. Track was one of my biggest mental blocks. I was told after my second race that I was going to have the school record by my senior year. Now as a freshman who only knew a few people going into high school, I saw this as an oportunity to get my name out there as a good talking point. Since everytime you PR'd or placed well at a meet, you were announced on the morning announcements. So past me worked extremely hard at practice and it did pay off, I started hitting better marks in all my events. However, instead of being happy with my achievements. I started getting mad at myself for not running a faster time. This caused me to run tense, which overall slows down your race. Which in retrospect, I should have just enjoyed the moment. High school sports are about having fun with your teammates. Life is messy. That's just the way it is. It won't be perfect all of the time, but through the ups and the downs you can live it to the fullest. One of the best pieces of advice my captain gave me was "One race does not define you as an athlete", meaning you can give yourself breathing room if you have a bad race. It is not the end of the world if your not always perfect, because no one expects you to be. If you live in the moment a lot of your day to day life will become so much more enjoyable. With this new mindset I'm still going to try for the fastest time mark, however; if I do not get it I will be able to live with that. But I will be getting that mark!

My ideal bookshelf inspired by #BookTok would be a variety generes. One must have is the "A Good Girl's Guide To Murder" Trilogy by: Holly Jackson. These books follow the adventures of Pip starting with how she solved a five year old murder case. This mystery/thriller is a page turner with an unexpected twist and impacted the BookTok community by changing their perspective on life. That the easiest path may not be the right one, shown as Pip proves the alleged murderer innocent. This book is one of those that you wish you could read again for the first time, since it has such a twist. Another must have is "Funny Story" by: Emily Henry. This story follows Daphne, whose fiance just left her for his childhood best friend. So, Daphne moves in with his childhood best friends ex. This romance shows that life isn't always perfect, and the things that often seem perfect are not. One of my favorite must haves is the "Red Queen" series by Victoria Aveyard. Mare Barrow is a red blood, or a commoner who faces the draft but gets a job at the palace and is revealed to have extrodinary powers, same as the silvers. This book shows the hardships of being in the lower class, and also how anyone from anywhere can be extrodinary. l personally loved this series because of how all of the worlds intermingled and interacted with each other. A series that I have not read, but want to read is the "Shatter Me Series" by: Tahereh Mafi. This books series follows a character that cannot touch anyone and shows her isolation from society. This provides BookTok readers an insight on people who feel isolated or left out. I would also add better than the movies by Lynn Painter. This book is a romcom that follows Liz as she falls for a childhood friend. Throughout the book she recruits her neighbor to help her with her plan. This book inpacted BookTok with it's unique love trope and teaches us that sometimes what you are looking for has been with you all along. Finally, I would take the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series, "Heros of Olympus" series and the "Trials of Apollo" series. They follow varies demigods and their adventures. The first few follow Percy Jackson, who has ADHD and other focusing disabilities. These epic series shows the insight of the teenage mind and also teaches us that people with mental disabilities can't be just as amazing as those without.