I have many favorite films that I’ve discovered over the years, encompassing a variety of genres and themes. From the “Indiana Jones” movies to the all-time classics produced by Disney, there is a long list of movies and other films that I could consider some of my biggest favorites. However, the film “Top Gun” is by far my most favorite, inspiring me to watch it over and over again after I’ve discovered the movie for the first time. My family had introduced the film to me while we were on vacation in San Diego as part of a movie night full of excitement and relaxation. When they were in college, both of my parents loved the action and all of the stunts that “Top Gun” provided to its viewers. Once I started watching the film and experienced what “Top Gun” is all about for those who haven’t watched it before, I immediately became enthralled and attentive. The effects attached to the characters as they flew in flight school and for their lives in a dog fight especially caught my attention. I’ve never seen a film like this before, I thought. The sadness at the end where the two friends ended up going their separate ways really catches your heartstrings. All around, “Top Gun” is one of the most emotional and exciting films I’ve ever seen in my life. After having the opportunity to watch the film for the first time, I’ve continuously watched “Top Gun” during family movie nights on a Friday night. My interest in “Top Gun” is only growing. I thank my parents a lot for the chance to expose me to such a wonderful and exciting film.

I’ve not had that much experience with using a smartphone as a result of only receiving one for Christmas while in 7th grade. While large groups of my peers were looking down at the small screens they had at their fingertips, I instead spent a lot of time reading history and science books. My parents believed that I wasn’t responsible enough to get a smartphone earlier on in life, seeing that my way of life could revolve around the screen if they didn’t play their cards right. As a result, they gave me a smartphone at the right time in my life as I was carpooling to soccer and needed a way to communicate with them without having to rely on my chaperone. Compared with many of my peers today, I’m not addicted at all to the small screen always around me. I credit my parents for understanding my maturity level so that I wouldn’t fall under the same trap that so many of my friends and family have fallen into. Having a smartphone has definitely impacted the way I’ve lived my life, giving me the method of communicating with friends and family easier and more efficiently. When I’m with friends and need to find a ride to come home before receiving a driver’s license, my smartphone allowed me to text my parents what I needed. Every time I forgot something for school at home, I had the option of texting my parents so that I didn’t have to go without for a day. Even today, when I have a driver’s license and need to talk to my parents for help, I could just pull out my smartphone and either text or give them a call at a whim. As a result, the usage of my smartphone as a communication device has changed my life drastically to the point where I don’t have to worry about the little things that plagued me as a younger child. I wouldn’t have to worry about waiting for my parents to come home and make dinner or get lost walking my dog. If something ever was to happen to me, I have a device to alert my parents and ask for help. You can say that I rely on my smartphone a lot for communication and understanding. Although I usually silence my smartphone as soon as I enter my car when I need to drive somewhere, there are sometimes some distractions that my smartphone could still unfortunately give me. When I first got my driver’s license, I was diligent in turning off my smartphone entirely so that there would be no possibility of impairing distractions. As I wasn’t a very experienced driver, turning off my smartphone as I entered my car to drive was the best move possible to ensure my safety. However, as I’ve gotten more experienced behind the wheel and started to drive myself to my soccer practices and other important events, I’ve begun to either silence my smartphone or just not touch it at all so that the ringer is on. Although I feel confident in myself that not turning off the ringer on my smartphone wouldn’t impair my driving habits, sometimes the temptation to look at my smartphone while driving is large. I should just revert back to the old ways I had in turning off my smartphone before I start driving so that there would never be any danger of getting distracted. My safety is the most important thing in this world. Turning off my smartphone is probably the smartest thing I could do to ensure my safety.

At the start of the pandemic, everything I felt was going wrong for me. I was in my junior year of high school, looking forward to the opportunities of experiencing my first prom and all of the preparations that come with becoming a senior. On the soccer field, my team and I were looking forward to the opportunity of playing tournaments across the western US in places like Oregon, Washington, and Southern California so that we could get looked at by college coaches. A goal of mine was to eventually take my club soccer career to the next level by playing in college, continuing to enjoy the sport that has given me so much in life thus far. When the pandemic came around in early March, I initially thought that the shutdowns and restrictions would only last for a few weeks, a little bump in the road before I could get back on track as an excited student-athlete. Then the initial three-week shutdown duration passed, then a month, then three months. Soon enough, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the things I was looking forward to the most as a student-athlete. I became extremely depressed. I didn’t know what I was going to be doing in life anymore as I couldn’t enjoy the things I loved the most. However, as I started to have more free time at home, I began reading the Bible and understanding His word and love for all humanity. Depressed at one of the most important times in my life, I desperately tried to find a solution that would be beneficial to me and my family going through the same issues. Jesus and His word in the Bible was the light at the end of the tunnel for me. After I began reading the Bible daily for about an hour, I began to understand the message that He was trying to send to me. He wanted me to continue finding motivation and love in His word so that I could push past these challenging times and look at what makes my life worth living. At first, I was a little skeptical about what He was trying to say to me since I wasn’t as religious as I could’ve been throughout my life thus far. When I was younger, we always went to church on Sundays, getting together with a few friends to hear our well-respected pastor at Calvary Chapel. Although he had a massive congregation on his side that was ever-present in the church, his teachings and lessons from the Bible didn’t resonate with me much back then unlike today. I was very independent-minded and closed off to the world around me. I even considered the weekly routine of going to church and hearing His word preached from the Bible very boring. As I got further into the Bible and what He was trying to tell me, I gradually opened my eyes to the true meaning of what He was meaning to tell all those years ago. Now more than ever, I rely on what He is conveying to me every day. Especially during times like these where people have begun to lose touch with the Bible and what God is hoping to get out of humanity, my religious scope has only expanded and gotten more pronounced. When I’m hearing the political news of pastors and other religious leaders attempting to allow same-sex marriages and homosexual relationships, I get very frustrated and disappointed in what our world has become in the 21st century. Instead of going back to the traditions and norms that have made the US so wonderful “under God”, one of the political parties we have today is trying to revert all of the influence that He has had on the world. The Bible and His word are under attack, and we need to find a way to divert the carnage before we lose all sense of religion forever. My new understanding and love for His word in the Bible have only motivated me more to oppose this move so that Christianity could be saved. Without His word, I wouldn’t be passionate about attempting to assimilate His message into all my unbeliever peers. Our morality is under assault, and we desperately need to stop the carnage before it’s too late.

Throughout my life thus far, I’ve made an important contribution to my community, especially the next generation of student-athletes. I’ve worked for the educational non-profit SEAL, Sobrato Early Academic Language, preparing and sending schools all across California the tools and resources necessary to give low-income students some sort of educational opportunities. I’ve also worked as a referee for the South San Jose Youth Soccer League allowing young players to have fun and learn the game of soccer that I know and love. While I enjoy playing the role of a referee when giving back to my community, I also value the role that I have played at SEAL especially since the company’s goal is to promote education for those in need throughout California. California, as the large and diverse state that it is, possesses a lot of people struggling through poverty due to the harsh expenses of living. My work attempts to give opportunities to the next generation of students seeking to better the lives of themselves and their families. Both of my community service experiences have taught me the variety of perspectives there are in my community and throughout the country in general while giving me the value of a hard work ethic. My community service involvement with SEAL and the South San Jose Youth Soccer League has allowed me to impact my community by allowing disadvantaged students to gain the quality education they deserve and prospective student-athletes the tools and experiences they need to succeed as they get older. When I was younger and in the same circumstances as these students, I desperately wanted somebody to help me gain the confidence and opportunities necessary to raise my level of play to the next level. I looked everywhere throughout the San Jose area for a coach and club that would suit my hunger and desire for success in the sport. I finally found my match in a man that has coached me throughout my middle and high school years, Miguel Botto. Although his trainings could be tough with all of the fitness and running he advocates for, his attention and belief in me were what I was looking for. Today, I want to give the next generation of players the same respect and belief in their skills and hard work ethic so that they can reach their full potential. Since Miguel also values good grades and quality education so that we could carry his legacy forward, my experience at SEAL is the best of both worlds for him as well. Without Miguel, I wouldn’t be the successful and determined student-athlete that I am today seeking to give back to my community and the next generation of student-athletes. I’ll continuously credit him for all my successes throughout life. In the future, I hope to continue doing the refereeing work I do now so that the next generation of student-athletes can follow their dreams and reach their full potential. Potentially for college, I’m going to be out of the San Francisco Bay Area pursuing lower living expenses and the vast opportunities that Southern California has to offer. Since SEAL has their offices in the Bay Area, I wouldn’t have the chance to work for them again. However, my refereeing would still be possible wherever I go. My value and respect for the game of soccer along with my desire to improve the lives of others using soccer as their outlet for having fun is what I want to improve in this world. Without my experiences as a young soccer player myself, I would never have the drive to motivate others.

Entrepreneurship is very important to me, dictating the lives of both my extended and close families. My uncle founded the computer chip company Linear Technology without a college degree, using the expertise that he and his college dropout friends had to create something world-renowned for their quality product and presence on the stock market. Starting from next to nothing, my uncle today is now a multi-millionaire who enjoys living his life helping others in need of money for necessities and a college education. Without him, my inspiration for creating a small business and becoming an entrepreneur would be nonexistent. I would fear creating a business and product all by myself since the risks for failure and impoverishment are very high. Although we don’t get to talk in person very often since he’s very busy with his travels and work, I use his success story as a motivation to show that I could be like him as well if only I put in the work. I believe that success could be attainable with his experience. I am also interested in becoming an entrepreneur because of all the great ideas and experiences I’ve seen others go through on the weekly show “Shark Tank”. The show is based on investor “Sharks”, notable figures like Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary, hearing pitches from entrepreneurs looking for an investment in their entrepreneurial business so that they can eventually grow and prosper with their help. When they like the idea and expertise of an entrepreneur, these “Sharks” tend to offer an investment for a specific percentage of equity in their business, unless you’re Kevin offering royalty deals. Some of these investments end up failing in the end due to several factors, but some are complete successes that have netted millions of dollars for both parties. I’ve seen entrepreneurs enter “the tank” with next to nothing, working a slew of jobs outside of their business dealings so that they could put food on the table and clothes on their backs for themselves and their families. When they get a deal and find success, I find their experiences extremely inspiring. They make me believe that anything could be possible as long as there are great ideas and the elements of a hard work ethic guiding an entrepreneur to their dreams. Although I’m not very inventive, my hard work ethic could carry me a long way. The show has taught me that running into a wall shouldn’t stop you from pursuing your dreams. All of these success stories are proof that I could be an entrepreneur as well. My entrepreneurial vision involves creating a financial consulting business to help those not financially literate learn the skills necessary to live a successful and happy life. Individuals not having the tools and knowledge of the importance of maintaining a sense of financial literacy and discipline tend to fail and suffer throughout their lives. Their habit of draining money on whatever comes their way hurts their chances to find success and prosperity in life without having to worry about the day-to-day requirements of putting clothes on their backs and food on the table. Through my entrepreneurial financial consulting business, I hope to bring belief into those struggling with financial discipline so that they can teach the next generation the importance of maintaining their finances. I would feel rewarded to better society and end some of the most overlooked reasons why there’s massive poverty throughout the world today. My lessons could also benefit future generations, something that has inspired me to become an entrepreneur as well.

Although I’ve barely found my interests for my career in the financial analysis/advisor field, my academic goals have driven me to finally find the direction I want to head into after graduating high school. Soon after the first time I stepped into high school for my first day, I became very determined and motivated to get good grades and succeed as a student-athlete so that I could provide opportunities for myself to take advantage of. I wanted to use these opportunities given to me through my hard work so that my adult life could be less stressful and more fun for me as there would be more directions I could take. My first goal, to get as many A’s as possible while challenging myself academically through honors and AP classes, got off to a great start. Although I faced so many more academic challenges my sophomore and junior years due to the number of honors and AP classes I decided to take, I got through all of them with very good grades for the amount of time and work I had to spend throughout those years. I have all A’s except for one class for my time in high school, a B for my sophomore honors English class. My parents and I were really disappointed about this result, but it was the best I’ve could’ve ever done for everything I needed to do that year. Without my determination and hard work along with some encouragement and motivation from my parents, I don’t think I would have reached my first academic goal of getting great grades. Following my graduation from high school, I intend to use my interests in finance and statistics to bring fortune and success once I acquire my college degree. Before I started my senior year under the pandemic conditions we experience today, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life after college with my initial plan of action thrown out. Rather than choosing to major in engineering to follow in the footsteps of my uncle, I chose statistics and finance after starting my AP Statistics class my senior year, its knowledge and concepts applicable to the business world. Something my parents have told me for years that I would like, statistics is the driving force behind everything from business and finance to the world of sports. They saw me from a young age like to watch sports on TV and remember the stats of each player or driver participating in a competition. Once I saw for the first time the perspectives that were driving their assertions, I immediately got on board and started to plan out my future in college and the workforce. My goals are to graduate college with a degree in business and finance while finishing at the top of my class and to earn enough money to retire early to spend more time with my family and grandchildren. I intend to get these goals completed to the best of my ability, using my hard work ethic to push myself through the obstacles sure to come my way. I will never give up until I’ve done everything possible to become successful. Once I graduate college and enter the workforce, I want to build up experience working for one of the major Wall Street firms so that I could create a small business catering to disadvantaged people looking for a way forward in life. Lacking the sort of opportunity necessary to find success especially in the stock market, disadvantaged Americans every day need someone to guide them to realize their dreams of financial stability and growth. Through my investment statistics business, I want to make those disadvantaged Americans’ dreams come true. I want to use the knowledge I would be able to gain working for one of the major Wall Street firms to give back to the community that helped me throughout my life get where I’m at today as an extremely successful student-athlete. All those people I see in my community struggle every day just to put food on the table and save money for the future are the ones I want to help the most. The pandemic made me realize the importance of saving for the future and the struggles some face just to survive and thrive daily. After seeing the challenges many have faced this past year, I’ve become more motivated than ever to give back to the community that has given me so much in life.

The importance of maintaining a strong and well-regulated mental health is well-realized to me, driving my every move throughout these uncertain times brought upon by the pandemic. Rather than sitting around and becoming more and more depressed without having the chance to do something about my struggle, I’ve taken advantage of the opportunity to interact with students with the same career goals as myself so that we could spread knowledge and garner connections. Even though I’ve adapted well to the situation that the pandemic has brought upon us, I was struggling at first to have the drive and motivation to continue living life the best way possible. I needed to find the determination to live life the best I possibly could to keep myself sane. Since I had a lot to look forward to later in the spring, the pandemic came especially hard for me. I realized that mental health was so important to maintain as a result. From the onset of the pandemic, mental health became the most important thing to keep me motivated and determined for what the future could hold for me. As all of the soccer tournaments I was looking forward to attending to get the necessary exposure from college coaches interested in seeing me play, my mental health continuously deteriorated to the point of no return. After the Memorial Day tournament in Southern California got canceled due to the effects of the pandemic, I snapped completely. Instead of having the opportunity to get recruited for college soccer on the path towards a possible professional career in my junior year, I was sitting on the couch wondering if I could ever receive the opportunity to showcase my talent. I was very frustrated and disappointed, pushing myself deeper into depression. Although my hopes and dreams were crumbling around me, I realized how important it was to maintain a sense of mental strength and stability even under challenging times. The pandemic, while being a destructor of my opportunities to showcase my skills and talent to college coaches, ended up being a blessing in disguise in the sense that I could learn to value and respect the importance of maintaining a strong mental health. These times could come in handy for me in the future when I face other obstacles. From this experience of learning that my chances of having college coach exposure for my soccer skills and talent, I learned that maintaining a strong mental health is vital to maintain a happy and healthy life. After feeling terrible for weeks on end after realizing my opportunities to showcase myself were thrown out at the most inopportune time, I finally was able to adapt after finding a hobby to distract myself from reality in coloring and creative drawing. Keeping my brain distracted and working even when I was out of school, creative drawing and coloring allowed me to realize my full potential in the art landscape and field. Instead of forcing myself to continue remembering the difficulties and frustrations that come with being trapped in your home as a result of the pandemic, I took the initiative to improve and grow as a person. Times of difficulty and challenge either makes or breaks a person in terms of preparing them for what could be ahead for them in life. The perspectives of myself and my fellow motivated teammates weren’t hampered by these uncertain times. Also, my teammates and I were able to organize Zoom meetings and practices to stay in contact with each other while providing motivation and hope for the future. Believing that we could get back on the field together at any moment, my teammates and I were never willing to give up mentally on the goal at hand of being recruited by interested college coaches. Rather than succumbing to the challenges of the pandemic, we used these experiences to better ourselves and the soccer community around us.

Although many students in the next generation of thinkers and developers don’t want to spend the time getting involved in their communities, it is vitally important for there to be an emphasis on giving back so that humanity could grow and prosper together as one. A challenge many current students don’t want to dive into as a result of the amount of time and effort necessary to leave their mark on the people around them, community service is what pushes the human spirit forward in the sense that the right example is being established for the future. Without an emphasis on community service and other forms of involvement, our motivation to help those in need would disappear and tarnish what the future provides for humanity as a whole. Vital as community service may sound, there are efforts during these pandemic times to bail out students who didn’t put any effort into getting their hours done earlier. Instead of having to do all of their required community service hours in their senior year like most do when procrastinating, many got away with not needing to do any at all. The effort at getting students motivated and excited to get involved in their communities needs to be the main focus before it’s too late. Our future could be at stake. I think getting students involved in their communities is very important for a variety of reasons, most notably to realize the diversity of circumstances many face and the vital nature of improving both oneself and others struggling to have some sort of opportunity in life. Developing skills like awareness and empathy for others, community involvement is vital for a student to successfully contribute to society at their fullest potential. When many motivated students in other sections of their life, like video games and sports, have the desire to improve and grow their abilities, they could be considered almost impossible to beat or alter from their course. Community service would be no different. Mastering community service and empathy/respect for the positions of others around them motivated students would be perfect segways to the future and a further sense of desire to help those in need. Instead of having many individuals struggle throughout their lives to survive and succeed in a changing world, they would thrive and be willing to return the favor to those in the next generation looking for the same tools and opportunities. Students and the world’s youth can’t be stopped when they are motivated to help those around them. Let’s provide a sense of direction for our youth not willing or excited to participate in some community service work. These experiences could change their lives forever. I’ve helped my community a lot so far in life through my volunteer work for an educational non-profit and as a soccer referee guiding our next generation full of wonder and excitement for the sport I know and love. Realizing the unfortunate reality of underprivileged communities all over California in their struggles to provide their students with the tools and opportunities vital to their success as contributing members of the economy, I immediately wanted to help realize the dreams of so many in the future. Education is the most powerful and important aspect of a growing student, teaching them everything they need to know to find relative prosperity and general success as adults. Without a strong education and a willingness to work hard even under difficult circumstances to turn the fortunes of themselves and their families around, the next generation of underserved students will fall into the same lapses and difficulties their parents and grandparents also went through. As a member of SEAL or Sobrato Early Academic Language, I created a plethora of materials and resources necessary for young students to find a love and respect for what education could give them. When I was off school during the summer, SEAL needed volunteers to help them complete all of the resources they were planning to send out to teachers all over the state. A lengthy process that was considered never-ending, the preparation and shipment of these materials was long and arduous. However, by the end of the summer, the results were worthwhile. As a youth soccer referee, I also had the opportunity to learn about the variety of perspectives young student-athletes were having to deal with in their efforts to get by and find eventual success. Something I loved doing especially since I am a soccer player myself competing at the highest level, refereeing the next generation of players was an experience that I would never forget. Every weekend during the spring and fall seasons, I would referee multiple games a day from 8-5. I would organize a refereeing corp with my soccer friends so that we could make our friendship off the field that much stronger. Instead of spending most of the day off the field, we would get right into the thick of the action, taking turns leading the games as a center. Refereeing is something that I want to do as a possible career in the future, getting involved both in the youth and professional games. When I have time off from the bigger professional competitions and league seasons, I want to continue refereeing our youth to give them the tools they need to love the game just as much as I do. When they love the game with all their heart, the next generation of players would use the experiences they had on the field to give back to the next generation, creating a never-ending cycle. I want to provide an example that everybody looks up to, setting the bar of what is right and wrong. After I finish my refereeing career, I want to leave a legacy that will be remembered forever. I hope that the work I put into giving back to my soccer community would motivate others to do the same in the future.

Throughout my life, I’ve continuously struggled with finding the motivation to get ahead and find the success and opportunity that this hard work would provide me. Instead of sitting around waiting for the chance of a lifetime to come to me, I want to instigate the process by stepping forward to find my way in life. However, the lack of motivation I sometimes have in terms of putting in the work and overall effort to find my eventual success has been an obstacle to my growth as a person and student-athlete. There are some days where I feel lazy and unwilling to step up to the challenge of getting myself up and active. Rather than pushing myself to be better and more active in terms of finding opportunity and the success that comes along with it, I decided to instead play video games or watch TV. Looking back on these moments, I realized that I needed to do something or else I would struggle as a prospective college student and soccer player. To find the motivation and determination I desperately needed to push myself harder, I have continuously referenced the quote from Mark Twain that entails “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” I immediately realized that I had the power and potential to do great things for myself and the people around me. After reading and realizing the potential that this quote from Mark Twain gave me, I immediately became inspired to reach for the stars and my ultimate goal of becoming a student-athlete in college. Pushing me to get out of my comfort zone and put in the extra effort to achieve anything close to the goal I gave myself, this quote ignited a fire within me that couldn’t be snuffed out. I immediately got to work on my goal by going outside every single day, even when I didn’t have soccer practice, to go run or get some valuable touches on the ball. My skills and overall fitness both physically and mentally grew tremendously as a result, keeping me sharp and fresh throughout the long and sometimes arduous trainings. Even during these difficult and uncertain times brought upon by the pandemic, I still find the motivation and desire to get some work done to stay sharp and prepared for the event that we travel out-of-state for organized competition. I’ve had more motivation and determination to put in the work off the field during these times than before since I want to get out of the house and away from my family for a while. Since we’ve been continuously on top of each other within a small home for months on end, having some alone time to put in a workout has always been what I’ve looked for daily. Without the quote from Mark Twain and the revitalization of my motivation and determination to improve as a student-athlete, my full potential wouldn’t be possible to reach. I credit Mark Twain for my new outlook on life.

A legacy is very important to me, showing that somebody means a lot to their peers and the world around them. Creating a legacy could be in a variety of different things, possessing a lot of avenues and directions. When somebody has a well-known legacy to their peers, they are considerably more likely to be revered and remembered for the wonderful things they did for their community and/or their country. Although individuals with a legacy could also be hated by their opponents or rivals, they are generally respected and admired for what they did or have done for those in need. Having a legacy is what drives our world forward, not pushing it back. Without any sort of legacy from valuable individuals, our world would never change and improve. In order for somebody to leave a legacy for the future, they must be a person who has given back to their community or country throughout their adult life and is willing to sacrifice themselves to drive the world forward if necessary. Selfless and full of responsibility for their fellow vulnerable citizens, individuals leaving a legacy for the future must be the person who provides an example for those wanting to improve themselves and their communities. Although those leaving a legacy for the future must be the people who are willing to use themselves and their skills to give back to those not fortunate enough in their community, these individuals could also use this desire to benefit the entire world in general. Especially during difficult times like we’re experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, those wanting to leave a legacy for the future have had a lot of opportunities to give back to the communities they reside in. Without those willing to put themselves out there to leave an important legacy for the future, our world would never improve. Wanting to leave a legacy is very important as a result. There are many different kinds of valuable legacies out there on offer for those willing to work hard and give back to their communities. Some valuable legacies include donating money and time to help a community or country, creating new innovations to help humanity in the future, and helping those not fortunate enough to get a wonderful education for their future as adults, among many more. Facets that generate great people in general, these legacies could mean a lot to people who received the help and resources necessary to push them forward in life towards fortune and success. Although many people in the world complete these valuable legacies mentioned above in their lifetimes, the manner in which they do it determine whether or not they gain the respect necessary to gain a legacy. The variety of legacies that are out there on offer to those seeking to provide an example for the future generations pushes those seeking to emulate the legacies their mentors have as well. Without a variety of legacies that are on offer in the world today, humanity, in general, wouldn’t be able to move forward and continue the progress of those who have left a legacy from the past. The world not going round shows how vital this variety in legacies is. When I pass away hopefully in my ripe old age, I want to have a legacy that revolves around my hard work and dedication in giving back to the community that has given so much to me growing up. After getting a degree in either applied mathematics or finance, I seek to create a small business that would provide services to those not fortunate enough to enjoy living a comfortable life. Guiding individuals who want to get involved in the stock market but don’t have the funds or knowledge necessary to get started, I hope to use my small business as an example to promote more involvement and success in finance. For between 30 and 40 years, I want to be that person willing to do whatever it takes to help my community grow and prosper into a better more knowledgeable place that could provide for future generations. With all over the work I plan to do throughout my adult life in my small business, I believe that my example could give me a legacy that motivates more people to help their communities as well. When a community improves, the overall society improves as well. I seek to start that trend.

My family is my everything, giving me all of the opportunities and affection I could ever need on my track to adulthood and the experiences that lie ahead of me in life. Providing me with all of the tools and lessons necessary to find success and motivation throughout my life, my family pushes me especially hard since they see the potential in what I could do for the world in the future. With my hard work ethic and determination to get involved in my community, I know that I could go anywhere and have a lasting impact on people who aren’t as fortunate as I was growing up. They’ve supported me throughout my life journey so far and will continue so to the day they pass away. Their love and support have always carried me through challenging times both on the soccer field and in life in general. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today preparing to go to an amazing college potentially playing soccer. Although I’ve provided myself with so many doors for opportunity as a result of my hard work and dedication as a student-athlete, my family has encouraged me throughout my life to break through those barriers that always came into my way. Especially during my senior year, the fracturing of America due to the increased separation between the Democratic and Republican political beliefs have really hit me hard. Feeling the pressure that division and hate bring to an academic environment, I’ve been increasingly harassed and shamed for my political beliefs. This hate I’ve faced continuously has only gotten worse recently following the craziness caused by the general election, taking a terrible toll on my psychological well-being. My family, seeing my struggle to cope with the pressure my fellow students and teachers are bringing upon me, stepped in to help almost immediately. As a result, the problem has been addressed with the school administration and the district. If more issues arise, I know that my family has my back, an important support system to spur me on into the future. Without my family guiding me through both my successes and failures as a student-athlete, I wouldn’t have been able to have the skills and tools necessary to succeed at the college level as a prospective student-athlete. Teaching me valuable lessons about what it means to care for myself and a family one day, my family has made me get involved with helping out a lot around the house and in the community. Instead of allowing me to sit around and be lazy as the world passes me by so to speak, my family has pushed me to get involved with the world around me to understand the variety of perspectives we have to offer. During my excursions and experiences with those in my community, my respect for those around me has grown exponentially to the point where I could continue giving back with my future small business. I can’t thank them enough for their help.

My academic performance and motivation as it relates to that of my soccer and high school peers make me feel like a misfit. An unintended consequence of the hard work and dedication I put into everyday activities both academically and athletically, my excellent dedication and determination to break through any obstacles in my way set me apart from the people around me. Especially since most of my soccer teammates and my peers within my high school don’t have good grades or a willingness to put in the extra effort to find success, my hard work ethic and relative success cause me to stand out as a result. Because of the emphasis I put on giving myself all of the opportunities I could ever need beyond the high school level, I’m not able to understand the discussions and frustrations they have with their circumstances and challenges both in school and in life. I feel like I’m not the average high school student who knows how to be cool around girls and friends alike. I sometimes feel ashamed of my misfit personality. Although I’ve struggled with my misfit personality and lack of connection between myself and my peers both in school and on the soccer field, I have the confidence to continue pushing on and do my thing. To feel good about myself and what I do day in and day out, I must be confident in my personality and not be ashamed about my hard work ethic and overall accomplishments as a student-athlete. Although it may be hard sometimes to feel included and part of the group when I’m with my school and soccer friends, I must respect and be confident in my personality to not add more unnecessary stress upon myself. I also realize that there are other misfits and those who struggle with fitting in with their peers both in school and sports. This news makes me feel more willing to exercise my personality and personal beliefs to show my misfit characteristics. Following the start of the pandemic, I’m more proud of my misfit personality than ever before, motivating me to improve my performance as a student-athlete under adversity. My confidence and willingness to believe in myself and my abilities is unwavering and will always carry me through, even if I’m considered a misfit. Being a misfit has definitely shaped my dreams and aspirations for the future, motivating me every day to continue working hard. I intend to go to a great college that rewards its students for their hard work and dedication throughout high school, most likely in California since I don’t want to be too far from home. While in school, I want to learn about finance and the variety of options financial analytics provides as a prospective career option for me. After completing my college education, I want to enter the financial analytics field by working for one of the major companies in the industry. After gaining enough experience working for one of these major companies, I seek to create my own business so that I could give back to the community and the people who gave me the tools to succeed in my adult life. Being an extremely hard worker who’s dedicated as a student-athlete, my dream seems within reach. Especially when it comes to being a misfit among my peers on the soccer field and in school as a result of my success, this dream pushes me to never give up even when times get tough. Without my friends and family motivating me every step of the way, my misfit personality would have stopped my dream from ever getting into motion. Using my misfit as inspiration, I want to help change the lives of my community and the world in general one step at a time. My hard work and dedication throughout high school and eventually in college will give me the opportunities necessary to help give back to the community that gave me so much growing up. Especially during trying times like we are facing now during the COVID pandemic, the ability to change the lives of others not fortunate enough to experience any sort of financial stability is what I want to do. Using my misfit characteristics of having a hard work ethic while being willing to take risks, the development of a small business would fit the characteristics I’ve fit myself into as a misfit growing up. I’m continuously dedicated to helping others in need in my community.

Once I graduate college and attain a degree in finance and financial mathematics, I want to create a small business that could grow from the ground up relatively quickly. Although I may not have the proper experience of creating any sort of business growing up, I’ve watched a lot of the television show “Shark Tank”, giving me a lot of visuals about what an entrepreneur and small business owner should and shouldn’t do. Teaching me a lot of early valuable lessons about what should be done to find success in the business world, “Shark Tank” has given me motivation and a new perspective on what it means to be a small business owner struggling to survive and eventually thrive. Although my lofty goals of creating a successful business that could sustain itself after college would be very difficult and time-consuming, my determination and motivation will carry me through. All of the hardship I’m expected to go through will pay off in the long term. Through the creation of my dream small business, I want to say that all of the success and support I receive from the community would allow some of the profits to be given back to those not fortunate enough to live a happy comfortable life. Growing up, my parents had to work extremely hard for everything I ever had, sometimes working two or three jobs just to support the family. Since we live in the San Francisco Bay area, specifically in San Jose, the housing and amenity prices are so expensive. Just to be able to pay the inornate taxes and other fees that come with living in the region, a resident must either have a high paying job in the tech industry or is willing to work extremely hard for what they could get. My parents are definitely the latter. Seeing all of the unfortunate struggles of those barely able to afford to live in the Bay Area, I want to create a mission to better the income security and lives of my entire community. Living through financial hardship and challenges growing up, I understand what it feels like to struggle earning enough money to live happily and comfortably. I think it’s vital to have a strong united community, especially during these difficult times under the COVID area. I want to build a comradery that will last for generations to come. I also want my dream small business to welcome the diversity and variety of cultures our world has to offer, creating a united community and group who have each other’s back when times are tough. The challenges the world has been facing since the start of the pandemic last March have shown how important it is to have your community united and willing to do their part in our efforts to combat the effects of the virus. Creating a whole new set of challenges we’ve never seen before in the series of lockdowns and continued distancing among everybody, the COVID-19 pandemic has tested the determination and willingness of the human spirit to work through any obstacles thrown its way. Although I won’t have been able to create my small business during these uncertain times, I still want to use my future business as a stepping stone in getting my community united and determined to help each other out in times of crisis and need. Especially with all of the recent chaos and destruction we have faced as a country due to the massive divisions we have ingrained within our society, unity and togetherness has become more important than ever before. My dual goal of giving back to my community while providing a sense of unity to those around me motivates me every day when planning my small financial advisory business. My planned financial advisory business creation once I graduate college is important for the world to see for a variety of reasons. Setting a good example for the world to see in terms of community engagement, my small business would hopefully become the icon and representation of what the right thing to do is for future generations. With more opportunities for those struggling to sustain themselves and their families, my community would become a better and more sustainable place. With more opportunities available for those seeking some help and resources, the unity part of the puzzle would develop along with it. Although these goals and my overall vision might seem a little lofty, my confidence in myself and my abilities will carry me through. My love for the community I’ve lived in all my life will also motivate me as well, experiencing a variety of perspectives that makes the San Francisco Bay Area unique. I’ve prepared my whole life for this business development. Now it’s time for me to act.

In college, I’m thinking of studying finance and the important role that statistics has in our world today. At first, I thought that engineering was my best course of study rather than finance, using some of the influence my uncle has instilled in me to make my early decision. He is a successful engineer and entrepreneur who created a multi-million dollar engineering corporation creating computer chips to meet the increased demand for technology. The success and relative prosperity he lives in today was very appealing to me, a direction I wanted to take in reaching my goal of early retirement while supporting a family. However, after taking AP Physics 1 in my junior year, I realized that engineering wasn’t right for me. I struggled with understanding the necessary material for the exam, having to get a tutor to help me with my homework and studying for tests. After barely getting through the year and passing the AP exam, I saw that the introductory engineering course pushed me to think of a different major that interested me more. I needed to find an interest better for me, and fast before I had to complete my college applications. Finally, after I started taking my school’s AP Statistics course at the beginning of my senior year, I realized that a major around this subject area was definitely for me. Memorizing statistics was a hobby of mine from a young age, exposing me to the wonderful world of sports and its competitive nature. Football, Nascar, and soccer were my favorite sports to watch and keep track of, providing me with a variety of experiences and athletes to enjoy. 7-time Nascar champion Jimmie Johnson was the athlete that interested me the most since he was humble about his accomplishments even though he won the championship five times in a row. I realized that athletes with the most money don’t have to necessarily be selfish and bad people. They could be humble and appreciative of all the opportunities they were given in life that led them to all of their accomplishments and victories in a professional career. Seeing that I loved memorizing statistics at a young age, my grandmother was determined to give me opportunities that would ensure my success after high school. She was my most fervent supporter, encouraging me to follow my dreams and have the tools necessary to succeed in the business world. After she passed away in the summer of 2019 following her year-long bout with cancer, I finally understood where my grandmother was coming from. I became determined to make her proud and follow the vision she laid out for me. Finance was the area that appealed to me the most, giving me the most opportunity to rise through the ranks and run my own financial advisory business. I’ve always wanted to run my own business. My dream is to use my profits to help give back to the community that gave so much to me growing up. With my finance degree in hand after graduating from college, my ultimate goal is to create a financial advisory business from the ground up so that I could be successful and well taken care of for the rest of my life. However, to have the money and confidence to support myself in my own financial advisory business, I’m going to need experience in the field first. That will need to happen under the guidance of an established leader who knows the ins and outs of the business so that I don’t jump into something that could be way in over my head so to speak. I’m hoping to gain the necessary skills and experiences of running my own financial advisory business within the first year or two so that I could jump ship early and have the time to really grow and prosper on my own. Although I know that my goals are very lofty and hard to attain in the short amount of time after I graduate from college, the confidence I have in my hard-work ethic and my quick learning abilities would hopefully carry me through. My determination to work tirelessly to find the success and fame I crave will always pull me through any obstacle standing in my way, no matter how large and daunting it may be. A degree in finance will mean a lot to me, validating my dream of success and stability later in my life. Providing those who are willing to work hard the opportunity to make a difference in their community while giving high-pay as they move up the ranks, the financial advisory field combines the best of both worlds when it comes to running a business. The contacts financial advisors have with the community every single day would allow them to truly understand the challenges and obstacles a wide range of people may face in their quest to live happily and comfortably. From the experiences my parents have revolving around maintaining a good financial standing, I understand the importance of keeping stress and erratic decision-making away from dealing with money. One wrong decision could bring a world of hurt and frustration to families seeking to live happily into the future. With all of these experiences in the financial world as a kid, I want to make the world a better place for myself and future generations.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting lockdowns came upon us in the middle of March last year, I was flying high and on the track to a successful spring season both in high school and my club soccer team. The end of my junior year was coming, giving me more excitement and opportunity to grow my status among my classmates and athletes on my high school soccer and track teams. My club team was expecting to play throughout the western US at the highest level tournaments and competitions out there, allowing me to show off my skills in person to prospective college coaches wanting to watch me play. These tournaments and other competitions would’ve given me the proper exposure necessary to fulfill my dream of being a college student-athlete. I was hopeful for the future, driving me every day to improve the performance of myself and my peers. Nothing but the pandemic could get in the way of my hopes and dreams. Once the lockdowns finally began, I originally thought that the experiences away from school and club soccer would only last a few weeks. Everybody thought the same thing at the very beginning of these times, thinking that the virus’ lack of spread and transmission would shut down the societal problem before it grew out of control. The planned three-week shutdown grew into a five-week one, then a two-month-long one before I knew it. After the shutdown period started to become more prolonged and control over us as ordinary citizens grew exponentially, I finally started to realize that my hopes and dreams of finding success both in school and on the soccer field were dashed for good. When the shutdown period continued to grow in severity and length, I grew more and more frustrated and disappointed with the circumstances befalling me and the overall world around me. The harsh reality of what was going on stunted my growing friendships and comradery I’ve had with my teammates both in high school and club soccer along with the relationships with my extended family. I needed to adapt to the challenges befalling me so that I could keep myself sane and motivated to improve my soccer and academic skills. I was determined to not have these tough times affect my work ethic and overall performance throughout the year. Although there were many challenges and obstacles put into my way by the unforgiving pandemic, I was able to adapt to the changing times affecting society to improve both my academic and athletic performance. Throughout my junior year, I challenged myself academically by taking three hard AP courses that motivated me to improve my study habits, proving to be frustrating as well due to the massive amounts of work necessary to succeed. The onset of the pandemic only made things worse, denying me any ability to find help in the AP exam preparation period. My tutor wasn’t able to help me anymore since we couldn’t work together in person anymore, my saving grace for my AP Physics 1 class. I was worried that there would be a greater chance of me not passing the exam in May without her help. Through my academic struggles of trying to prepare for the three hard AP exams I was set to take, I realized that the problems I was facing applied to everybody else in the same boat as me. Motivated students all across the world involved in the AP program had to find a new efficient way of studying for their AP exams without having their teachers or any other type of assistance around them. Even though my teachers, at least most of them, tried providing us virtual help and practice problems to get a preview of what the exam could possibly look like, their help was still not enough due to the struggles many face when getting internet access. Even though I could’ve taken more AP courses than some students out there in the world, I learned that everybody in society, not just me, had difficulty finding the help and resources necessary to succeed not just in AP but in regular classes in general. At some point, everybody on the planet had to adapt to continue participating and succeeding in an online school environment. In addition to finding challenges and other obstacles that hampered my AP preparations, I also had to find a way to continue training in some way with my club and high school soccer teammates so that we could have the team-bonding experiences and workouts necessary to maintain a successful team on and off the field. With the onset of the pandemic and its harsh lockdowns to prevent the spread of the virus, society as a whole had to resort to online meetings and exercises so that we could keep in touch with each other even while living in our bubbles. My coach, desperate to continue getting my teammates and I prepared for the event that things would open up, organized Zoom practices virtually so that we could train and have contact with each other even if it was just from afar. Allowing us to learn more about each other and the circumstances we come from as human beings off the soccer field, these Zoom practices and get-togethers were important in maintaining a sense of comradery and friendship. This growing togetherness would prove beneficial to the performance of the team as well as the individual players on the field according to my coach. He realized that when we have each other’s backs under adversity, we would come out stronger and more determined to break out of our challenges with solid team performances. Athletes all over the world, not just my teammates and I, had to go through the same experiences of resorting to online Zoom calls to train as a team. Although this separation from our friends and teammates proved to be very hard for most of humanity, society was able to find a solution to humanity’s separation from the pandemic.

As a result of the increased ingenuity and resourcefulness humanity has had in finding solutions to its problems, the issue of climate change has become larger and more pronounced to the point where the world could be destroyed systematically. Threatening to eliminate the natural beauty and wonders that the world provides to its multitude of animal species and humans, climate change is a huge threat that needs to be addressed before it’s too late. When I realize that humanity has the power to reverse the effects of climate change throughout the world, I get hopeful that everything we know and love about our environmental diversity could be saved and preserved for future generations. The issue that revolves around climate change I’m interested in the most revolves around reducing the PH levels of the oceans so that wonders like the Great Barrier Reef could be saved from absolute destruction. Without the oceans and the diverse array of plant and animal species they behold for the world to see, humanity as we know it would be eliminated piecemeal. That’s how important 96.6% of our world could be. To work on addressing this devastating problem caused by climate change before it is too late, I have thought long and hard about the variety of solutions to curb the increasingly acidic ocean waters all over the world. When I started seeing things like the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef and the increased frequency of larger and more deadly hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Western Pacific, the increasing PH levels were the only possible reasoning to blame for these catastrophes. Changing the fragile balance that the PH needs to maintain to keep the all-important reef environments growing and thriving, oil spills and humanity’s increased carbon footprint both in the air and in the waterways leading into the oceans has brought a real danger on a scale never seen before in human history. Our recent industrial output and desire for profit at the expense of the world’s environments and diversity has only increased the problems climate change provides to not only the animal species that drive our fragile ecosystems forward but to us as humans as well. Instead of providing more benefits to ourselves, humanity, in reality, is shooting itself in the foot with our environmental destruction and relegation. I’m very excited about the variety of solutions I have to address the growing PH levels our oceans are taking up as a result of humanity’s improper abuse of our planet. The solution I’m most excited about involves large corporations and the average person in general not dumping any chemicals and other fertilizers into our waterways as waste. A very simple yet important solution, cutting the amount of chemicals and fertilizers entering our rivers and streams would cut the threat of making the oceans more acidic. A game-changer that would allow the variety of environments and wildlife to thrive, limiting the acidity of the oceans would limit the effects of climate change.

My aunt, struggling with finding a place to live after watching her house burn down in the 2020 Glass Fire of Sonoma County, has struggled with her mental health to the point where she has started to take drugs to cope with her pain and misery. An unfortunate event that came very quickly and unexpectedly during the night, the Glass Fire denied any chance for my aunt to collect any of her clothes and other valuable possessions. She even barely escaped with her life since the flames were moving in upon her so fast. With her property completely destroyed and unable to be rebuilt for a long time, my aunt had to move in with her sister so that she could have a roof to live under. With nothing to do to quench her sorrow and disappointment, my aunt started taking drugs to cope. Chaos has begun to ensue as a result. After she began taking drugs in a large dosage, my aunt’s condition and mental capacity have grown worse and worse over time to the point where she almost passed away from a heart attack. Healthy and in good spirits throughout her adult life, my aunt always was the one who has motivated me to spend time outdoors and exercise often. I attribute my healthy habits to her guidance and determination. Once she started getting into the bad habits of taking drugs often to cope with her sorrow, her health started getting worse and worse, culminating in her heart attack around Christmas. Never having the ability to be in great health again, my aunt’s life has been utterly destroyed. The Glass Fire is the main force to blame. Everybody who has either lost the things or the people they love, listen up. To cope with your sadness, don’t fall into the trap of using drugs. Your risk of getting addicted is too high. Instead, those facing a terrible unfortunate loss should try other things like getting a hobby to cope with sorrow and disappointment. The lives of you and the ones you love could be at stake.

Ever since the beginning of the COVID era and the massive initial lockdowns to stop the spread of the virus, I have had an increased awareness of the importance of great mental health and the effects that it could have on your outlook of the world. These challenging times have created an especially tough test on everybody’s mental strength and determination of looking at the bright side of life. Before we began the lockdowns to combat the spread of COVID, my mentality on life was great and I was happy to be alive every day, going to school to socialize with my friends while also participating in club soccer to get myself into great shape. We would travel across the western region of the US, playing against some of the best teams out there. I was having so much fun that I didn’t want these experiences to ever end. However, these lockdowns came down on us suddenly and deliberately, catching me off guard and unprepared for what was about to happen. My first encounter with mental health was beginning. With everything being either shut down or restricted all at once, my excitement for life and all of its opportunities quickly died off and was replaced with gloom and sadness. I couldn’t have the ability to see the friends and family I value the most, losing the companionship and love that drives me forward every day. Club soccer was shut down, ending any hopes of traveling to some of the best tournaments of the late spring and early summer. Since I was looking the most forward to these wonderful opportunities to showcase my skills to college coaches interested in scouting me, this particular aspect of the COVID lockdowns hit me the hardest. My mental health and determination to live my best life were quickly thrown out the window, replacing this happiness and joy with depression. I was having suicidal thoughts, and nobody but my family was there to help me. Something had to change and fast so that I could turn my life around and have something to look forward to. My life hinged on this moment. Luckily for me, my club soccer coach was very resourceful in getting us all together online even when we were separated at home. A place where I could temporarily reunite with my best friends and most trustworthy companions daily, these online meetings got my spirits up and provided me with something to look forward to in those dreary times. Every day, we would either have conversations inside about the issues that life provided to us in these challenging times or did a workout outdoors in the warm fresh air of the spring. I felt a greater sense of comradery and connection with my teammates as a result of these meetings, getting to know aspects of their daily lives and the tough situations they had to suffer through at home. Their similar struggles gave me more motivation to continue working on my mental state, seeing that if they could do it, so could I. This was the realization I really needed to finally adapt to the changing world around me and finally improve my mental state. Without this help from my coach and soccer teammates, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today successfully pushing myself to get into high-level colleges. I can’t thank them enough for their companionship and love and hope to continue helping them out as well so that we could continue the team bonding enjoyed during the lockdowns. As a result of the love and support that my club coach and teammates gave to me throughout the lockdown period we suffered throughout the spring, my awareness of the importance of mental health has grown to new heights. My beliefs and relationships with my soccer teammates changed, understanding the importance of friendship and collaboration when producing a warm loving attitude on life. My beliefs shifted from not taking for granted the friendships and love that I received from my friends and family to the exact opposite, understanding that my life would be very boring and terrible without their continued support. Since these sustained communications helped me mentally recover from the drastic measures brought on by the lockdowns, I will never forget how important friendships and the affection these bring to maintaining a strong mental state. An improved understanding of the economic and social struggles that my teammates also had to face helped me connect much better with them, making our bond stronger. I realized that I wasn’t alone when I had a hard time coping with the early lockdowns, making me feel clearer about what was going on among others my age. These connections I have with my soccer teammates have helped me regain my mental state, something I’ll never trade the world for. I’m extremely lucky to have met some great people and intend to use our collective experiences to push our friendship and love for each other to the next level. I can’t thank them enough.

Ever since I have been old enough to remember, I have highly regarded my older sister and continuously highlight her as my role model. Ten years older than me and from a different marriage altogether, my sister and I still have had a great relationship that I continue to pursue even to this day when she lives away from home. From the day I was born, she has been there for me, helping me grow up into the young adult that I am today. I feel like my sister is my role model because she is the only one that could relate to me, rather than all of these actors and characters in books and TV shows. She has influenced every action and decision that I have made in my life, and I intend for her to continue doing so. The activity that she has influenced me the most is my favorite hobby: playing soccer with my friends and fellow teammates. A really good soccer player herself, my sister played at the highest level, traveling across the country and the world to compete against the best teams out there. Before I even could walk, I was out at the soccer field watching my sister play. These experiences and her encouragement to have me try the game out contributed to my love and respect for soccer today. As I started to get involved with playing soccer at the recreational level, at certain points I was debating whether or not I was going to continue playing, as my interests weren’t developed yet. However, my dad and sister especially encouraged me to continue playing, believing that I could be a great player and role model for younger children in the future. That’s exactly what has happened. When I don’t have a game or any other plans during weekends in the spring and fall, I referee younger children throughout San Jose and the Bay Area. The respect that I receive from these children willing to learn soccer continues to amaze and encourage me to continue getting involved in the game that I love. Me giving back to the community that I care about is all because of her example. My sister getting me to start playing soccer and volunteer to help the community throughout the Bay Area has been my sole motivating factor. I can’t thank her enough for what she has done for me in soccer. Beyond the game of soccer, my sister has shaped who I am today and influenced my decisions for the future. For example, I continue to look up to her as she has gradually expanded and gotten used to the routines of adult life, learning from her struggles while taking notes on her successes. At her first job, she became extremely unhappy with how things were going, hating the daily requirements of having to call and talk to people about marketing and selling tickets. Recommending to never go into the marketing field just like she did, my sister gave me good advice about what to do in college and beyond. Although she doesn’t live near me at this point after going to Sonoma State in college, she still calls me often to help me out on anything I need while also being a good support system during the pandemic in particular. She even allowed me to discuss with her my college applications and planned majors, highlighting her caring characteristics so that I could become successful. Without her reassurances that I am going to do well under the major that she has suggested for me, I believe that I would still be struggling writing my college applications right now and would be unsure about what I want to major in. Her guidance throughout my life, especially in the context of sports and my future in college and the working world, has contributed to my success and willingness to push myself further in life. Without her example and capabilities of a role model, I wouldn’t have the clarity and hard work that has defined my life so far, changing the environment that I would be pushing myself towards as a result. I commend her selfless nature and continually want to have her be my role model.

#LOL, #Spongebob Squarepants. My Instagram handle is @pkpitbull33.

In my senior year of high school, I’m working on laying out the blueprint and beginning steps of running a small business with the skills I learn this year and in the future. A difficult task I’ve seen my mother have to go through with her maintenance of a jams and jewelry business, getting started and on the track for success in the small business world is very difficult and time-consuming. Especially when it comes to finding the consumers and audience that’s needed for a business to grow, an owner lacking those funds to search for their customers have issues that could either make or break their business at even the earliest stages. As a result, I’m determined to learn the ropes of running a small business from the ground up successfully so that I could realize my dream of being able to comfortably support myself and my family who’s done everything for me growing up. Although nothing is ever easy in life, this challenge of creating a business from scratch is a very challenging roadblock I need to overcome to realize my dreams. The skill I want to learn so that my business could get off on the right track, other than learning all of the basic activities necessary to succeed, revolves around finance and having a better understanding and know-how in helping those in need of navigating the stock market. To realize my dream of building a business from the ground up revolving around the services of a financial analyst, the grant is necessary so that I could go to college and learn the skills required to work in finance. Even though I could go to any university out there, I would prefer to go to one that specializes in teaching its students the art of financial mathematics. A university specializing in financial mathematics would give me ample opportunities to learn from the very best in the industry and use my newfound knowledge in real-world situations before working on my own. All of the mistakes I could ever make as a financial professional could be made in school under the guidance of experts in the field, teaching me all of the skills necessary to succeed while not having to suffer the consequences of my errors. With all of my learning errors and mistakes resolved in school under the supervision of experienced professors, I could also show them that I’m a hard-working student ready to learn something new in the business world before creating my own business. I would receive referrals from professors who know what I could bring to the table, a huge benefit not many would be able to possess themselves. There would be an advantage I would enjoy right from the start, all because of the possibilities that this grant would provide me. I want to make the lives of others better with some of the money I would make in the future. This grant would mean everything to me and those in need.

When I’m bored at home seeking to have something fun to do, I love exploring the great outdoors and everything it has to offer. Since I live next to the mountains and the ocean, I have a lot of options to consider every time I decide to head outside and get some fresh air. My favorite activities to do when I go outside include playing soccer, going to the beach to hang out with friends, and hiking the variety of trails and pathways we have. I play soccer the most, however, I really enjoy hiking since the trails are very quiet and very close to the great things nature has in store for humanity. Although the trails could get long and remote, I love to sometimes have this seclusion and quiet air around me so that I could recover my senses and relieve some stress. The metropolitan area I reside in is constantly bustling with activity, never resting as a result of the massive number of people who live here. Going hiking is my best way to find peace and seclusion. When I finally was interested in spending time outdoors hiking on trails across the Bay Area, I didn’t know where I wanted to go first. The wonderful oceanside Marin Headlands in the North Bay was the likeliest option, however, the area is about two hours away from where I live in San Jose. I didn’t want to do the trail at Mt. Uminum because the route was just too long for a beginner starting to spend time outdoors. The short yet somewhat difficult Quicksilver trail in the lower-levels of the Santa Cruz Mountains was what I finally chose, providing me everything from relaxing downhill sections to short and steep hills. At first, hiking was a bit hard for me, pushing my fitness and determination hard for a five-mile duration. I spent about an hour and forty-five minutes struggling on the trail for the first few times, lagging behind the more experienced and willful hikers. After getting enough reps and experience on the Quicksilver trail, I went to the Marin Headlands a few times during weekends when off school to spend the day exploring the serenity and breathtaking views of the ocean and northern sequoia forests. A change of scenery that proved to strengthen my motivation to visit more hiking locations, the Marin Headlands allowed me to value what nature has to offer and how it could be taken from us with humanity’s lust for population growth. When I went to Hawaii soon after, I explored the Diamond Head walking trail, getting another new perspective and taste of the variety of landscapes out there in the world. Even though I’ve only been to Diamond Head once, I still vividly remember the dried-up volcanic landscape and the white lines of the ocean out in the distance. Hiking, once I started enjoying the variations the activity provides, has taught me a lot about humanity and the world around me. I realized that these trails could be taken away from us someday, pushing me to explore as much as I could before it was too late. As a result, I’ve learned so much about nature and human nature. Spending time in seclusion and the great outdoors through my hiking excursions has taught me a variety of things about humanity and nature. I’ve learned that the natural world as we know it is being threatened by humanity’s lust for natural resources and expansion and that we need to stop the trend of environmental damage so more species of animals could survive and thrive away from humanity. Since there is the natural urge for profits and power in the human brain, humanity as a whole would do anything to experience more power and money in their coffers. In their fit for power and profits, humanity attacks the natural world that provides us with so much, tearing apart the landscape and animals that reside there all in the name of greed. This is a disaster of epic proportions, threatening the very existence of plentiful and endangered species alike. If humanity continues on its path of power and greed, there might be nothing left for the next generation to enjoy, taking away all of the peace and seclusion that being in nature gives to those traveling its paths. A devastating possibility that could destroy the lives of some who use nature as an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, the destruction of serene natural expanses would spell the end of quiet outdoor activities as we know them. Something needs to be done and fast, otherwise, we might not have anything left to enjoy. The time is now to do something about this problem. My hiking experiences over the years and my exposure to the harm humanity is doing to peaceful serene environments across California and the US have dictated the direction I want to take in terms of a major in college. Seeing that I have something to offer to this effort of saving our planet, my frequent hiking excursions have allowed me to get face to face with the reality we’re living in today. As a result, I intend to major in business and finance in college so that I could have the dual knowledge of the financial and economic aspects of running a successful business promoting the values of a diverse environment. It has always been a dream of mine to run a business, let alone in a field that would make a difference. I hope to use my knowledge and determination to bring change in whatever way possible one step at a time. Our time is running out and something needs to be done fast to reverse the environmental degradation humanity has done to the world. The success and relative prosperity of our world are at stake.

In college, I’m thinking of studying finance and the important role that statistics has in our world today. At first, I thought that engineering was my best course of study rather than finance, using some of the influence my uncle has instilled in me to make my early decision. He is a successful engineer and entrepreneur who created a multi-million dollar engineering corporation creating computer chips to meet the increased demand for technology. The success and relative prosperity he lives in today was very appealing to me, a direction I wanted to take in reaching my goal of early retirement while supporting a family. However, after taking AP Physics 1 in my junior year, I realized that engineering wasn’t right for me. I struggled with understanding the necessary material for the exam, having to get a tutor to help me with my homework and studying for tests. After barely getting through the year and passing the AP exam, I saw that the introductory engineering course pushed me to think of a different major that interested me more. I needed to find an interest better for me, and fast before I had to complete my college applications. Finally, after I started taking my school’s AP Statistics course at the beginning of my senior year, I realized that a major around this subject area was definitely for me. Memorizing statistics was a hobby of mine from a young age, exposing me to the wonderful world of sports and its competitive nature. Football, Nascar, and soccer were my favorite sports to watch and keep track of, providing me with a variety of experiences and athletes to enjoy. 7-time Nascar champion Jimmie Johnson was the athlete that interested me the most since he was humble about his accomplishments even though he won the championship five times in a row. I realized that athletes with the most money don’t have to necessarily be selfish and bad people. They could be humble and appreciative of all the opportunities they were given in life that led them to all of their accomplishments and victories in a professional career. Seeing that I loved memorizing statistics at a young age, my grandmother was determined to give me opportunities that would ensure my success after high school. She was my most fervent supporter, encouraging me to follow my dreams and have the tools necessary to succeed in the business world. After she passed away in the summer of 2019 following her year-long bout with cancer, I finally understood where my grandmother was coming from. I became determined to make her proud and follow the vision she laid out for me. Finance was the area that appealed to me the most, giving me the most opportunity to rise through the ranks and run my own financial advisory business. I’ve always wanted to run my own business. My dream is to use my profits to help give back to the community that gave so much to me growing up.

Although I’m not very religious, my journey and acceptance of self-love has definitely impacted some of my other beliefs, relationships and aspirations for my life ahead of me. At first, I’ve never really thought about self-love being a major part of my life, intent on finding this affection from other individuals within my family and my club soccer team. However, because of the shutdowns and isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, my mental and physical states have been put to the test. I’ve not found the love and affection of as many individuals as I used to, realizing that the only way to keep myself determined and strong to keep these terrible circumstances from drastically changing my outlook on life is to start promoting self-love. Before COVID-19, I never really believed that self-love was an important part of somebody’s life, however, my despair and isolation really changed things for me. Mentioned before, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted my outlook on self-love, changing some of the beliefs I’ve developed from friends and my parents. I was told from the beginning of my life that the only way to keep your mental state strong was to be involved in my community and develop some long-lasting relationships with friends. This really worked for me, especially in the game of soccer I’ve loved to be involved in for a long time. A week prior to the start of our lockdowns, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to play one final time with my teammates at a local soccer tournament, further cementing the great relationships I’ve had over the years with them. My mental state was sky-high, not needing to rely on self-love to change my beliefs and relationships constructed over the past few years. However, because of the isolation everybody has had to endure, I needed to reset mentally so that I could survive this long-term nightmare. That’s where self-love has come into play, and I’m really glad to take the opportunities that this philosophy offers. Following the initial lockdowns, my experience with self-love has changed my perspective on life for the better. Once I was finally able to interact with the world again close to the old way before the lockdowns, my newfound perspective on self-love has affected how I’ve been going about my daily life. My life goal has changed from getting through some days like I hate them to embracing the great things that happen to me even during those days. With my less pessimistic mindset, I’ve been able to enjoy the company of my friends that much more while also taking better advantage of my alone time. As a result, I’ve also been much more religious and accepting of the differences our world has to offer, stepping into a leadership role in the soccer community with these new values. I credit an increased moderation in my character from the understanding of self-love, something that has really changed my determination to help others along with my patience.

Throughout my life thus far, education has been an extremely important factor that has determined the route I want to take entering and exiting college while also influencing my characteristics of determination and hard work. Before I got interested in reading non-fiction space facts and scientific research back in 3rd grade after learning about those ideas in science class, my educational structure and work ethic was at a low compared to the rest of my class. I was just barely skating by, not willing to learn new ideas and other knowledge so that the effort of catching up could be made. I would never have the ability to catch up if I didn’t change something soon. However, the intricacies and vast knowledge of space got the ball rolling on my motivation in education, and I’ve never looked back since. Once I picked up a space book and saw how important education is in my life, I realized that some work needed to be done so that I could be back on track and prepared for the new obstacles of middle school. Finally, my motivation to succeed in school was here to stay. I was really lucky to have plenty of time to change my course on education for the next level, getting myself back together relatively quickly. I successfully moved through middle school with ease as a result and was well prepared for the high school level. My hard work and success throughout my high school years is the main reason why I’m seeking to expand my knowledge to the college level, gaining all of the tools necessary to hit the ground running. From here on out, I control my own destiny, driving myself forward with the early failures I’ve had with my guard down. My appreciation and experiences in education following my rough initial years has definitely influenced what I want to do for the rest of my life after college. My favorite subject throughout my schooling is math, specifically in the area of statistics. Throughout my life, even outside of school, I really loved to keep track of the scores and statistics of professional athletes in everything from hockey to soccer, the sport I play. When I finally had the opportunity to take a statistics class this year, I knew that I wanted to do something in this area as the class has really interested me. My favorite part so far is learning about how bell curves and probability could be applied to the daily job of statisticians and how important it is to calculate trends we are going through today, especially during the COVID era. I am extremely lucky to have education open these doors for me in my senior year of high school and am intent on taking advantage of the opportunity to get engaged in the subject area I love. Without realizing how important education was for my future back in 3rd grade, I would’ve never had these chances open up to me.

Throughout the year, I pride myself on focusing extremely hard on working out so that I could have a healthy life for as long as possible. I’ve been told since I was 6 years old that without working out, you wouldn’t have the opportunity to feel great about yourself while also eliminating bad behavioral issues. These problems were something that my parents really didn’t want to deal with out of my brother and I since there would always be a family quarrel when we didn’t get outdoors and exercise. That was their main motivation at first, sending us to play out at the playground or get involved in sports like baseball and soccer. Since my dad especially had expertise and experience in both baseball and soccer, my brother and I quickly got involved with certain recreational activities and programs so that we could try these sports out for ourselves. These activities got me really interested in playing soccer, and the rest is history. As I’ve gotten older and more interested in other sports within the middle and high school levels, my participation in a variety of other fields has grown to new heights. For example, within a week of entering high school, I was on the cross country team, something that I was never expecting to do from the outset. I wasn’t happy to be on the team at first, my parents forcing me to participate so that I could get involved in my high school in something not being soccer. The first meet came as a rude awakening to me as I had to suffer on my own climbing over steep hills in a 5K, causing me to finish almost last. My ego and motivation fell to an all-time low, and I felt like I was going to quit. However, my coach tried to work with me on my skills and strategy during meets individually, making me feel valued and respected. His help worked. By the end of the fall, I was finishing middle of the pack with confidence to get better during the track season. Outside of my love of soccer, this story has contributed to my participation in cross country and track to this day even during the pandemic. Because of my motivation and intent on staying fit, I’ve been working out throughout the tough times within the COVID era. While the majority of my friends and neighbors were struggling with their physical and mental attitudes on life, I was feeling great, running and playing soccer often in my free time. I also got to connect more with my fellow motivated teammates in both soccer and cross country/track over distance calls, raising my mental capacity further by having something to look forward to. Without my determination to continue staying fit for the possibility of a season in both of the sports I love, I would be struggling right now to continue living life to the fullest like I am today.

One summer day in 2019, things were going great for me out on the road at a soccer tournament. We won our first two games of the weekend and had a great chance of moving on to the knockout stage to have a chance of winning the championship. We were in great spirits, celebrating our victories at a team dinner that night. Once the team event was over, we got into our car and returned back to our hotel to enjoy the rest of the evening. While pulling into the parking lot, we got a call from one of my aunts with some sad news: my prized grandmother passed away after her year-long bout with cancer. The mood among us immediately dropped, realizing that this moment could change our lives forever. After having a successful rest of the weekend on the soccer field, my family and I returned home saddened and full of questions about what exactly happened during her last moments of life. The first thing we did involved us visiting our aunt who reported the sad news to us during the weekend, having a long conversation about how the cancer got to her and the hard moments she had right before passing away. I was glad that she didn’t have to suffer anymore, but was disappointed that a huge piece of my life disappeared almost overnight. As my love of history as a subject started to blossom entering 3rd grade, my grandmother was the person who I enjoyed talking to the most on this topic. My discussions with her grew longer and more complex as I understood more about our historical past, increasing the connection that we had. That’s why her passing was really important and disappointing to me, pushing me to really remember her and the conversations that we used to have. Although this experience was really frustrating and disappointing to me, I realized that there are definitely opportunities that could be gained through some type of obstacle like this. I could either close myself off to the rest of the family for a period of time or I could embrace the situation I’m confronted with, growing my mental strength and determination to move on stronger than ever. The second option is what I chose, a great decision that has really benefited me today. Without my prized grandmother around to talk about history and my growth in school and as a person, some challenges I’ve faced include me not having an outlet to share my historical knowledge along with not having somebody to guide me through my vision of taking some type of statistics major in college. I really needed to find the motivation to take advantage of opportunities given to me throughout my last two years of high school, and fast, so that I could realize this vision before it became too late. Immediately after my grandmother’s passing, I quickly got to work on these obstacles so that I could make her proud and happy from heaven. At first, I really struggled with the fact that I couldn’t talk about my historical knowledge with her as I started learning more about our American history and government in my AP US History class. She had always wanted me to go to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans with her since I loved that conflict so much. We would plan a trip together following my junior year, realizing all of the wonderful things that the museum has to offer together for the first time. Although I would never have the opportunity to make the trip with her, one day I plan to go to New Orleans to see the museum, dedicating the experiences I’d enjoy to the love and affection she had given to me revolving around history. Eventually, I really understood that she would never come back, encouraging me to push on and dedicate all of my new knowledge to her. The loss of my grandmother really grew me as a person, driving me to become more independent-minded and motivated to continue the legacy given to me prior to her death. My determination to eventually go to the National WWII Museum on my own one day is a great example of a growing motivation I have, willing to do something we’ve always wanted to do together. I hope to continue not being discouraged to expand my knowledge and understanding of history even after my grandmother’s death, keeping my motivation high so that her special legacy could be met. As I’ve grown older and more developed, my grandmother realized that a statistics major would be great for me, encouraging me for months to embrace this idea rather than engineering. My uncle, an extremely successful engineer who created his company from the ground up, really wanted me to embrace engineering as my major so that I could make enough money to support a family. This did seem like a very lucrative major, and he was willing to help me get into a great position immediately after graduating college. However, after taking AP Physics 1 in my junior year of high school, I realized that engineering wasn’t the major for me, involving too much difficult math and algorithms that would set me up for failure in the job environment. I wouldn’t be interested at all from the start, causing me to be fired and not have the ability to support myself and a family. This moment made me understand where my grandmother was coming from with the statistics major, who saw me love keeping track of political and sports stats since I was 7 years old. She had always wanted me to consider statistics, and today I’ve decided to embrace the major in her memory. Although I wouldn’t have the opportunity to continue receiving guidance from my grandmother since she passed away, I am determined to follow her dream for me. I know I’ll find my way, crediting her with all my achievements in life.

Ever since the beginning of the COVID era and the massive initial lockdowns to stop the spread of the virus, I have had an increased awareness of the importance of great mental health and the effects that it could have on your outlook of the world. These challenging times have created an especially tough test on everybody’s mental strength and determination of looking at the bright side of life. Before we began the lockdowns to combat the spread of COVID, my mentality on life was great and I was happy to be alive each and every day, going to school to socialize with my friends while also participating in club soccer to get myself into great shape. We would travel across the western region of the US, playing against some of the best teams out there. I was having so much fun that I didn’t want these experiences to ever end. However, these lockdowns came down on us suddenly and deliberately, catching me off guard and unprepared for what was about to happen. My first encounter with mental health was beginning. With everything being either shut down or restricted all at once, my excitement for life and all of its opportunities quickly died off and was replaced with gloom and sadness. I couldn’t have the ability to see the friends and family I value the most, losing the companionship and love that drives me forward every day. Club soccer was shut down, ending any hopes of traveling to some of the best tournaments of the late spring and early summer. Since I was looking the most forward to these wonderful opportunities to showcase my skills to college coaches interested in scouting me, this particular aspect of the COVID lockdowns hit me the hardest. My mental health and determination to live my best life was quickly thrown out the window, replacing this happiness and joy with depression. I was having suicidal thoughts, and nobody but my family was there to help me. Something had to change and fast so that I could turn my life around and have something to look forward to. My life hinged on this moment. Luckily for me, my club soccer coach was very resourceful in getting us all together online even when we were separated at home. A place where I could temporarily reunite with my best friends and most trustworthy companions on a daily basis, these online meetings got my spirits up and provided me with something to look forward to in those dreary times. Everyday, we would either have conversations inside about the issues that life provided to us in these challenging times or did a workout outdoors in the warm fresh air of the spring. I felt a greater sense of comradery and connection with my teammates as a result of these meetings, getting to know aspects of their daily lives and the tough situations they had to suffer through at home. Their similar struggles gave me more motivation to continue working on my mental state, seeing that if they could do it, so could I. This was the realization I really needed to finally adapt to the changing world around me and finally improve my mental state. Without this help from my coach and soccer teammates, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today successfully pushing myself to get into high level colleges. I can’t thank them enough for their companionship and love and hope to continue helping them out as well so that we could continue the team bonding enjoyed during the lockdowns. As a result of the love and support that my club coach and teammates gave to me throughout the lockdown period we suffered throughout the spring, my awareness of the importance of mental health has grown to new heights. My beliefs and relationships with my soccer teammates really changed, understanding the importance of friendship and collaboration when producing a warm loving attitude on life. My beliefs really shifted from not taking for granted the friendships and love that I received from my friends and family to the exact opposite, understanding that my life would be very boring and terrible without their continued support. Since these sustained communications really helped me mentally recover from the drastic measures brought on by the lockdowns, I will never forget how important friendships and the affection these bring to maintaining a strong mental state. An improved understanding about the economic and social struggles that my teammates also had to face really helped me connect much better with them, making our bond stronger. I realized that I wasn’t alone when I had a hard time coping with the early lockdowns, making me feel clearer about what was really going on among others my age. These connections I have with my soccer teammates has really helped me regain my mental state, something I’ll never trade the world for. I’m extremely lucky to have met some great people and intend to use our collective experiences to push our friendship and love for each other to the next level. I can’t thank them enough.

Even though I’m a person who isn’t as interested in the variety of music forms that we have in the world today, I still like to turn on the radio to listen to the best tunes of the past, especially from the ‘80s. When driving to soccer practice and school every week, I have the habit of playing music to get into the mood and focus for the task at hand. I’m lucky to have the opportunity to listen to music, gaining the motivation to put in my best effort in school and on the soccer field. Without the ‘80s music that I listen to every time I drive, I wouldn’t be as successful as I’m today, getting great grades and experience on the soccer field. I would be struggling to stay mentally and emotionally ready and willing to put in my best work. My goal of being a good student-athlete in college would be thrown out the window as a result of these lapses in focus without this music. However, one song in particular is extremely special to me, motivating me the most while lighting up my day. The song I’m referencing here is “Wheel in the Sky” by Journey, one of the band’s most influential and well-known to modern-day listeners. The catchy lyrics and tune really get me going while driving, bringing a light tone to the dull moments of my life. I especially feel connected to the meaning and purpose of the song, understanding that the hidden ideas could be compared to the danger that I might be facing while driving. Since there is the possibility that I might never make it home again every time I get into my car, I really take to heart the struggle of being lost and worried as is being described in the song. The happy and exciting tone of the song compensates for this sad hidden meaning within the lyrics, making me feel better about my odds of making it home. As a result, I feel more aware about the tasks at hand of first making it to my destination and then the struggle of finding success, motivating even more to defy the odds so to speak. My future depends on it. Without this special song, my potential as a student-athlete would be harder to reach while the opportunities that I have today wouldn’t be possible without my motivation. I would most likely be struggling just to get good enough grades to make a lower-level university, nowhere near the potential I have today of qualifying for some of the best institutions of the western region. I also would most likely not be playing soccer at my high school and on a club team, giving up because of my lack of focus and motivation to get better. Struggling to find an identity and willingness to push myself through the obstacles that come my way, my life wouldn’t be the same without this important song.

Ever since I came into this world, my sister is the one who has been there the most for me, even when she has been out of town recently after graduating college. The first person I ever saw other than my mother, my sister introduced me to life by giving me a stuffed animal that I still have today 17 years later. Something that has been and always will be extremely important to me, this stuffed animal signified the beginning of her love and affection for me. I'm thankful for her guiding me through the beginning stages of my life and her continuing work of making sure that I make the best decisions for myself as I start doing the college admissions process. I could never replace her for anybody in this world, and I am extremely grateful to have her as my sister. Although she’s done a lot for me throughout my life so far, my sister has done the most for me as I’ve started to complete the college admissions process this fall. Considered daunting and extremely difficult as a result of all the work that is needed to be put in, the college admissions process makes prospective students scared and nervous about the future. I am no different as I’ve been stressed from the end of September, worried about the amount of work I needed to complete as well as whether or not my application would be accepted by the college I really want to go to, Santa Clara University. Seeing that I was extremely stressed and worried about these college applications, my sister called me and offered to help look over my essays and give me feedback to make them and my application look better. As a result, this motivated me to continue working hard and to not give up, giving me a fallback just in case something unexpected happens to me. Just her more recent influence on my life, this case regarding my college applications is one of many different instances where she came to my rescue and helped me recover from a roadblock. Without my sister’s help and support, I wouldn’t be the person that I am today, successful both academically and on the soccer field. She has guided me through everything in my life, from getting better and more knowledgeable in soccer to helping me get myself through all of these college applications put onto my plate this fall. Her compassion, kindness and respect have really helped me recover from life’s setbacks, encouraging me to push on and never give up on my future dreams. Although she hasn’t been around the area that I live in recently as a result of her working where she went to college, she has still made a continuous effort to help me out in whatever way I need it, going out of her way sometimes to help out. I would never trade her for anything I’ve ever had, as she’s made the most difference throughout my life.

When I was 8 years old, my mother started a small business from the comforts of our home selling jellies and jewelry to friends interested in those types of products. At first, making jellies and jewelry was a hobby of my mother’s, spending time when she had nothing else to do creating some wonderful items that her friends wanted to buy. During regular business hours, she would work at my aunt’s house to make a little extra money to manage her business and fund our sports travels across the Bay Area. As she started enjoying these activities required to run a small business successfully, she gradually cut back on her working hours at my aunt’s house until finally deciding when I was 10 to start working full time. I have asked my mother many times what got her into running a small business rather than earn the guaranteed money. She has cited the flexibility in working hours and the love for what she was doing as her reasoning. The amount of enjoyment and fun that she is having when she is able to do something that she loved began to encourage me to maybe try the small business idea out for myself in a field that I liked: finance and the stock market. As I’ve neared the end of my time in high school this coming year, my interest in running a small business has grown to the point where I want to develop one after graduating college. I want to specialize my business in the art of finance so that I could be a financial advisor, my dream job that has always been something I’ve wanted to do. With my degree and experience after working for somebody else more established in the business world of finance, I hope to use my growing knowledge in the field to quickly gain valuable loyal customers. If I am able to get referred by a lot of these early customers, I hope to gain enough opportunity to grow into one of the best financial advisors in the Bay Area so that I could also give back to the community that put me into that position. With enough money to give back to my community and establish and maintain a family in the future, I hope to live a stress free life while also benefiting others. Once I turn 60, I want to have enough money saved for myself and my family for the future after giving a lot to my community so that I could retire and act as a great husband and grandfather for my grandchildren. Although this may be a little difficult and lofty to imagine, my goals and desire to achieve in the small business world could happen if I just put my mind to it and never give up on my dream of helping others in my family and the community that brought me up to success.

Throughout my volunteering experience, there are many things that I have seen and learned about as a result of my interactions with different perspectives. From realizing the disparity that we have in this world to the lack of foresight that people have for each other in different economic and social situations, there are many different things in our country that could be changed to make us more united and driven. However, I want to see our government less corrupt and bipartisan as these issues have torn my community and the overall nation apart. Problems like these haven’t been around for very long, causing us to not have an immediate solution to address something we have never seen. As a result, the country that we know and love as being the most trustworthy and influential in the world is having threats from within that would hamper this status. This has pushed me to make a difference from within my own community, one individual out of many trying to put our nation back together and more unified under a common goal of maintaining an example for the world. To help resolve this issue that has been plaguing our nation, there are a few things I’ve been trying to do within my community, among these are giving the facts and not fabricated information to ordinary people, urging more sophisticated discussion among my peers and pushing for less attacks by opposition supporters so that both sides’ perspectives could be valued. Within the last 4-5 years or so, our news sources have been getting progressively more bipartisan as the rift between the Democratic and Republican parties has grown. Something that is very influential to the lives of millions of Americans, the daily news should be giving the inside scoop on what is going on in a neutral manner so that the people could make their own decisions regarding who they want to affiliate with. However, because of this growing political division, our news sources have been moving either to the conservative or liberal side, force feeding misinformed Americans their beliefs so that they could gain a wider audience. As a result, more intense arguments and debates have ensued within both sides, tearing apart the neutrally-based nation that we all know and love. This has pushed me to preach the facts on our political climate through my research and fact-finding enterprises, giving my peers and community in general the opportunity to know information that isn’t tainted with any political malaise. Something I pride myself for doing, this research and validation makes me feel accomplished and bring more trust to our news sources. Although this research could be a lot of work at times, I enjoy making sure that everybody knows the real information rather than politically-charged nonsense so that my community could be more informed. Connecting back to my previous effort regarding my peers gaining the correct information that isn’t politically-charged, my attempt to urge more sophisticated discussion with these facts has encouraged less arguing and a more respectful debate. When my peers don’t have the truthful and correct information to base their claims off of, they make wild arguments that don't make sense or are valued by the other side of the spectrum. As a result, there is a lot of bipartisan yelling and complaining that hampers an ability to have a valid discussion, further entrenching the Democrats and Republicans alike. To better understand the opposing arguments and act as a mediator to regulate these discussions, I have to do a lot of research and fact-finding like I mentioned before, determining whether or not the argument or statement being mentioned is correct. Encouraging others to be respectful of the opposing viewpoints that have been increasingly more apparent, I really want everyone to feel like they are being heard so that they wouldn’t want to keep their opinions to themselves. For example, in California, not a lot of conservatives speak out about their political viewpoint due to the huge liberal majority there, too nervous to be rejected and shamed. That’s why I really try to understand what’s going on in the political world so that everybody’s ideas and experiences could be accepted and valued and push myself to do a lot of research on these issues. The sake of our country is at stake, and I hope to make a difference within my community. Finally, I hope to use my research on political events and topics from a variety of sources to help prevent and eventually stop some of these senseless attacks going on recently. Witnessing the increased polarization that our nation has maintained starting after the 2016 election, I have seen that the opposing sides have drastically become less accepting of the opposition and believe that it is okay to verbally attack and abuse them. This verbal assault on the opposition has encouraged me to step up in a leadership role of educating both sides on the reasons why this isn’t a good idea and push them to respect the opinions of others. Since people’s political opinions and perspectives are usually dictated by their upbringing and life experiences, I want others to understand that their reasoning for bashing others when our ideas and views are protected under law isn’t proper. When I see some of these brutal bashings happen on both sides of the political aisle, I step in to regulate these conversations and teach others the right way to approach disagreements. I believe that eventually enough people will be out there preaching the right way to go on these political discussions that this harsh rhetoric and animal behavior would end, returning America back to the time where different perspectives were good. As a result of all these aspects regarding political behavior, I am not going to stop bringing this issue to the forefront in my community until things like this end once and for all.

One summer day in 2019, things were going great for me out on the road at a soccer tournament. We won our first two games of the weekend and had a great chance of moving on to the third day of the competition and being in the running for the championship. We were in great spirits, celebrating our victories at a team dinner that night. Once the team event was over, we got into our car and returned back to our hotel to enjoy the rest of the evening. While pulling into the parking lot, we got a call from one of my aunts with some sad news: my prized grandmother passed away after her year-long bout with cancer. The mood among us immediately dropped, realizing that this moment could change our lives forever. After having a successful rest of the weekend on the soccer field, my family and I returned home saddened and full of questions about what exactly happened during her last moments of life. The first thing we did involved us visiting our aunt who reported the sad news to us during the weekend, having a long conversation about how the cancer got to her and the hard moments she had right before passing away. I was glad that she didn’t have to suffer anymore, but was disappointed that a huge piece of my life disappeared almost overnight. As my love of history as a subject started to blossom entering 3rd grade, my grandmother was the person who I enjoyed talking to the most on this topic. My discussions with her grew longer and more complex as I understood more about our historical past, increasing the connection that we had. That’s why her passing was really important and disappointing to me, pushing me to really remember her and the conversations that we used to have. Throughout this traumatic experience, I learned two major things about life; it could end suddenly and that I should celebrate every single day I am still alive. Getting cancer only two months prior to her passing, my grandmother quickly had this enemy take over her system and her life relatively quickly. At first, she didn’t even realize that she had cancer, going about her daily life with no pain or suffering. Once she started to feel pain, the feeling and sensation got worse very quickly, transforming her from an active individual who loved to spend time outdoors to bed-ridden and extremely sick. She moved to my aunt’s house only weeks after being officially diagnosed with cancer to have more help and medical attention, but nothing could be done to help her recover. When her pain got to the point where it became life-threatening, there was nothing anybody could do to help her, the cancer tumor being so big that a huge lump could be seen on her neck. Her condition and life was brutally taken from her in a quick fashion, making my grief all the more unbearable. Witnessing first hand how your life could change in an instant at the quickest possible moment, my grandmother’s death brutally shows how life is too short. This made me realize that in order to live my life the way I want to before it is too late, I need to live it to the fullest and enjoy as many things as possible as I might not be able to experience these moments again. Something that I am going to keep in mind as I enter college, the perspective that life could end so quickly encourages me to enjoy every day like it is my last, contributing to the next point that I have. Without her quick and brutal passing, the way that I have been living my life, especially during this pandemic, wouldn’t be the same, transforming my character from someone active to being trapped in my home out of fear. This experience has allowed fear to not define my life. Connecting back with my first lesson of knowing how quickly life could end, my second point of living my life to the fullest while celebrating every day I am alive has given me a less-pessimistic view of life in general. Seeing that life could end suddenly at the least expected moment, I have really understood that without a positive spin on life and the daily adventure of waking up every morning, my life would be dreary and drastically different than the one I have today. Somebody who I revere so much, my grandmother has been a very influential figure in my life, and after her sudden passing, I realized that I needed to change my lifestyle and perspective on life to follow her example. That’s why I have been attempting to celebrate every day of my life like it is my last, encouraging myself to do things I never thought I would be doing, like snorkeling in the ocean or riding a jet ski out on open water. These experiences have given me something to look forward to in life, and I hope to continue having the opportunity to try new things that I might never possibly do again. Once I enter college, I want to use this new life motto to do things I never thought I was going to ever do, using the different atmosphere and environment to get myself going. As a result, I hope to make my college days fun and constantly exciting so that I could continue living my life to the fullest and not do things I would eventually regret not doing.

Throughout my experience in high school, I have volunteered a lot of my time for causes that I am keen on supporting as a result of their great work for the community. The volunteering that I have done the most in was at the non-profit organization SEAL (Sobrato Early Academic Language), helping disadvantaged students gain the help and resources they need to succeed at school and beyond. Although I have spent the majority of my time volunteering at this organization, I also help out my elementary school at their fall and spring festivals once a year and help soccer players throughout my community love the sport just like I do. I especially enjoy the reactions that I get from the children I help, seeing the joy and happiness on their faces when I give them the opportunities to succeed. These reactions are what encourage me to continue volunteering and giving back to my community, something that I love to continue doing even today during the pandemic. Throughout this essay, I am going to outline my favorite experiences in my volunteer work and explain how they have impacted my life and view of the world around me. While working at SEAL, I had experiences with my fellow coworkers and the community that have allowed me to feel accomplished and willing to continue doing the work I love to do. As explained earlier, SEAL is a non-profit organization that provides the opportunities and resources for disadvantaged children throughout California so that they can succeed in school and in the future. A wonderful group that I am happy to work with throughout my time in high school, SEAL has allowed me to learn more about the struggles of many children throughout California and have a better understanding of what is needed to help them go to college and be valuable aspects of the workforce. Some challenges that I have faced during my time at SEAL include the inexperienced management, corruption among higher officials and the lack of a coordinated strategy to address some of the important issues the non-profit has set out to fix. As I have gained more experience in the organization, I made some attempts to resolve some of these issues and help get the motivated workers back on track in completing our goals. This has allowed me to gain an important leadership role that I hope to continue maintaining into the future as I get older and more driven. I hope to continue giving money to SEAL so that we could continue doing wonderful work for children throughout California. I also spend a lot of time volunteering in the soccer community that I know and play in myself. Ever since I was 6 years old, I have played soccer in my community, receiving help and guidance from coaches and referees that has inspired me to give back entering middle school. Refereeing younger players interested in learning and growing in the game of soccer is what I have been doing, giving them an opportunity to love the sport just as much as I do. Every weekend during the spring and fall soccer seasons every year, I volunteer to better my soccer community, giving young players the opportunity to get better and practice their skills so that they could do the same work I am doing for future generations as well. On the field, the respect that I receive from these children willing to learn and grow as players convinces me to continue refereeing and giving back to my community. Just like any volunteering experience, there were some major challenges that I have had to overcome to continue doing the job that I love, including issues with some parents and coaches along with the struggles of getting the certification to help my community in the first place. Some of the calls and decisions I have made in games gets everyone involved mad, challenging my will to take criticism and continue refereeing into the future. However, the certification class taught me ways to handle this, preparing me well for moments like this. These challenges have allowed me to love the refereeing service that I provide and motivate me to maintain my work and efforts. I hope to use this money to pay for the field maintenance fees to make our soccer community a better place for prospective players. Volunteering and giving back to my elementary school in their spring and fall festivals is another thing that I value doing for my community and is something that I intend to continue entering college. After experiencing these events when I was a child, I realized that there are a lot of people who put their effort and work into running the festivals. In order to thank these people for their volunteering and help for my elementary school community, I believed that I needed to volunteer there myself as well. In order to successfully accomplish these festivals, I had to help set up, run and then put everything away when it was all over, things that have helped me understand all of the work it takes to run these events every year. As a result, I have gained a wider appreciation for the work that these volunteers do, encouraging me to continue going back there year-after-year to give back to the community that helped me grow up. Although these events have a lot of aspects that I really enjoy, my favorite part of this volunteering experience is seeing the elementary school children have so much fun in all of the activities that we offer for them. Their looks of excitement have brought back a lot of memories for me, making me glad to provide these moments for them. There were a number of challenges like dealing with bad actors and parents, but I feel rewarded still to give back to my elementary school I know and love. The money would definitely be used to help the school fund these events into the distant future.

There have been many different moments in my life where I had some type of rejection that I turned around into redirection. From the time where I lost the opportunity to be designated as one of the best students in my middle school class all the way through the experience of not being accepted onto the high school Varsity soccer team, I have experienced instances where I was going to give up my hopes and dreams for success. My rejection could also be expanded into my personal life with friends who have abandoned me in favor of some other people. I recovered after these circumstances every time, but they aren’t as important and long-lasting. However, the instance where I wasn’t accepted on the high school Varsity soccer team as a freshman and my response to this rejection is the moment that I am going to emphasize in this essay. This moment lasted for an entire school year, pushing me the hardest to reverse before I had the opportunity to redeem myself on the same stage. Preparing for months for the tryout, I had the ability to know what was expected of me and to sharpen my skills for the big day. Throughout the beginning of the school year, I tried to learn as much as possible about the soccer program and its level of talent in the years before. When I saw that the talent wasn’t as high as I originally expected, I felt confident that the Varsity team wasn’t out of reach, especially for the quality of player that I was. Once the tryout day arrived, however, there were a lot of things that went wrong, taking me off my A-game in the most important moment of my life so far in high school. First, I ended up forgetting my soccer cleats at home, stressing me out a ton. I had to run straight home after school to get the cleats as fast as I could, causing me to show up late. This resulted in me having a bad first impression among the coaches and players trying out with me, causing them to not take me seriously at all. Once I finally arrived on the field for the tryouts, the realization came to me that I didn’t know any of the prospective players attempting to make the Varsity team. Something that has been my weakness for a long time, the ability to meet and get comfortable with new unknown people didn’t take root within me once again. This made me more nervous and took away my focus on the task at hand to the point where I didn’t expect to make the team after the activities that day. Sure enough, I didn’t make the Varsity team, being forced to play with the lower level JV players instead. Even though I didn’t make the Varsity team like I wanted to after my failure at tryouts, I still had the opportunity to impress my coaches and teammates by playing well on the JV team throughout the season. Having the ability to stand out among the players nowhere near the level of the Varsity team, I gradually started looking better and better as I got more comfortable with my teammates and coaching staff. Throughout the season, I worked extremely hard to look the best that I possibly could, putting myself in a good position to make the Varsity team the following year. In addition, my hard work and leadership role within my team allowed me to be vouched the following year by my Junior JV teammates to be on the Varsity team, giving me the opportunity to prove that I really belonged at that level. A detour that helped me build a case to be on the Varsity team, my experience on the JV team allowed me to learn some valuable lessons that were used on the Varsity team, like learning how to play with pressure and be a leader on and off the field. I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to play on the JV team to better prepare myself for the next level, even if I wasn’t really happy about it at first. My goal was finally reached, making lasting connections with my fellow teammates that actually proved beneficial to me in the end while growing as both a person and player in general.

Throughout my life so far, I have met a lot of adversity that has hindered me from succeeding in the little moments that have defined my existence so far. From not making the varsity soccer team my freshman year all the way through the loss of my valuable grandmother that I had connected with the most, obstacles throughout my life so far have filled it with twists and turns of adversity that I had to work through and adapt to. As a result, these obstacles have made me a better person, contributing to the strengthening of my character and will to continue working even under tough circumstances. However, the loss of my grandmother suddenly to cancer has proven to be the toughest to swallow, and I still struggle with her loss to this day. On the day that she passed away in the summer of 2019, I was at a soccer tournament in Davis playing teams at the highest level. Coming off an important win to keep us alive going into the second day of the tournament, my family and I were in good spirits, confident that we still had a chance to advance to the knockout stage on the third day. A phone call from my aunt changed this mood from happiness and joy to utter sadness and disappointment. We immediately started to reflect on the wonderful life and advice that she gave to the family, especially the history knowledge and inquisitiveness of our school environment and teaching. The history knowledge and conversations that I had with her was the part I took the most personally from her passing, since we used to have these long discussions about my understanding of the subject. I never realized how lucky I was to have somebody with the same understanding of history that I had until she was gone, growing my determination to continue remembering her in the years to come. Although I had a hard time at first adapting to life without my special grandmother who went hand-in-hand with my love of history, I was able to at least overcome this issue after a couple of months of mourning. At the first birthday party with my aunts since her death, her lack of presence and energy really saddened me and brought back a lot of bad memories of her passing. Her first birthday since her passing that October was the worst part for me personally since we had to remember her lack of presence further. At this tough event, however, I was finally able to celebrate her and begin to move on with my life. Even though she will never be around again, I realized that I can’t change the situation that happened to her, although being sad. I learned that I could continue to remember her, but there is no need to dwell further on the issue. My eventual response to the passing after the birthday party has allowed me to create a newfound plan for the future that will be dedicated to my grandmother. My plan for the future within college and beyond is definitely inspired by the loving character of my grandmother. Statistics is something that she had continued encouraging me to do as she saw my interests grow and develop. Watching me grow up from a little boy to the young man that I was at her passing, she had continued to push me to embrace statistics rather than my original plan in engineering. Her knowledge and visualization was correct, and I am determined to realize her dream for me. Throughout college and the rest of my life in general, I intend to dedicate my successes to my sister and her especially since both inspired me to embrace my challenges going forward. I hope to make my grandmother proud and show that her love and confidence in me wouldn’t go unnoticed.

Ever since I have been old enough to remember, I have highly regarded my older sister and continuously highlight her as my role model. Ten years older than me and from a different marriage all together, my sister and I still have had a great relationship that I continue to pursue even to this day when she lives away from home. From the day I was born, she has been there for me, helping me grow up into the young adult that I am today. I feel like my sister is my role model because she is the only one that could relate to me, rather than all of these actors and characters in books and TV shows. She has influenced every action and decision that I have made in my life, and I intend for her to continue doing so. The activity that she has influenced me the most is my favorite hobby: playing soccer with my friends and fellow teammates. A really good soccer player herself, my sister played at the highest level, traveling across the country and the world to compete against the best teams out there. Before I even had the ability to walk, I was out at the soccer field watching my sister play. These experiences and her encouragement to have me try the game out contributed to my love and respect for soccer today. As I started to get involved with playing soccer at the recreational level, at certain points I was debating whether or not I was going to continue playing, as my interests weren’t developed yet. However, my dad and sister especially encouraged me to continue playing, believing that I could be a great player and role model for younger children in the future. That’s exactly what has happened. When I don’t have a game or any other plans during weekends in the spring and fall, I referee younger children throughout San Jose and the Bay Area. The respect that I receive from these children willing to learn soccer continues to amaze and encourage me to continue getting involved in the game that I love. Me giving back to the community that I really care about is all because of her example. My sister getting me to start playing soccer and volunteer to help the community throughout the Bay Area has been my sole motivating factor. I can’t thank her enough for what she has done for me in soccer. Beyond the game of soccer, my sister has definitely shaped who I am today and influenced my decisions for the future. For example, I continue to look up to her as she has gradually expanded and gotten used to the routines of adult life, learning from her struggles while taking notes on her successes. At her first job, she became extremely unhappy with how things were going, hating the daily requirements of having to call and talk to people about marketing and selling tickets. Recommending to never go into the marketing field just like she did, my sister gave me good advice about what to do in college and beyond. Although she doesn’t live near me at this point in time after going to Sonoma State in college, she still calls me often to help me out on anything I need while also being a good support system during the pandemic in particular. She even gave me an opportunity to discuss with her my college applications and planned majors, highlighting her caring characteristics so that I could become successful. Without her reassurances that I am going to do well under the major that she has suggested for me, I believe that I would still be struggling writing my college applications right now and would be unsure about what I want to major in. Her guidance throughout my life, especially in the context of sports and my future in college and in the working world, has contributed to my success and willingness to push myself further in life. Without her example and capabilities of a role model, I wouldn’t have the clarity and hard work that has defined my life so far, changing the environment that I would be pushing myself towards as a result. I commend her selfless nature and continually want to have her be my role model.

One day, when I decided to go hunting for memes to have a good laugh, this one stuck out to me the most. Describing the duel role of a person being both an assassin and a doctor, this meme shows that these occupations were both tried on this innocent person. At the end of the meme, the killer instinct of the killer came out, showing that he works as a harmacist rather than a pharmacist. A good laugh that has distracted me from the terrible nature of the pandemic going on right now, this meme is one of my all-time favorites in terms of the ones that I have seen before, always cracking me up every time I look at it.

One day, we caught him in the bath tub trying to drink the water dripping out of the faucet in his attempts to quench his thirst. Something that I have never seen him do before, drinking water from the tub is something that a lot of animals don't do very often. Immediately, I took out my phone and snapped a picture before it was too late, catching his look back to me. That look is his iconic look of trying to act innocent, instantly becoming my favorite image that I have of him. I don't have Instagram.

When I was entering 9th grade, I had a difficult time adjusting to the new environment that surrounded me in high school. From the comical and less serious nature of middle school to the important life-changing experiences of high school, I noticed that the world around me was rapidly changing into something I wasn’t prepared for. I was extremely afraid and nervous, especially when trying to fit in with the soccer crowd. I didn’t know what to expect since I really wanted to be on the varsity team my freshman year. Tryout day came up on me quick, catching me off guard and unprepared for what was to come. When tryout day arrived, the problems really started to become more pronounced for me. First, when I entered school in the morning, I forgot my soccer cleats at home in my haste. A bad omen that should signify what was to come, my forgetfulness really set me back even before my tryouts started. Once the school day was over, I arrived at the soccer field more nervous than ever, seeing complete strangers who I have never met before. Because of my more antisocial personality, this second problem took me off my A-game. By the time the tryouts were over, I didn’t expect to make the team at all. Sure enough, the day after the tryouts, I got notice that I didn’t make the varsity team like I really wanted to, instead being put on the JV team. I was extremely sad and disappointed in myself, knowing that I could have done better only if I wasn’t so nervous and forgetful that morning. As a result, the rest of the season played out the way I wasn’t hoping for, having to play with players that didn’t have the best drive and effort to succeed. However, throughout this not-so-great experience, I was able to learn more about my fellow teammates and build relationships that I could use the following year on the varsity team. Because I was able to build these relationships with the upperclassmen on JV, they vouched for me to join varsity with them the following year. All of these relationships have influenced me a lot today, giving me the opportunity to help give back to them and the rest of my school in general. I also got more connected to the school in general, providing more chances for me to get more involved in my community. If I wasn’t relegated to JV, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am at today.