During quarantine, I distanced myself from the only people with whom I could interact: my parents. I became impulsive and irritable. I had no goals and often found myself caught up in playing video games with no focus on the real world. I felt alone. I couldn’t share my feelings with anyone, least of all my parents. Then came the music. The deep reverberating 808s entered, shaking the ground. The same eighth-note-to-32nd snare re-enters, bringing a quarter-note bounce to the beat. “Inhale, exhale, breathing just got a little harder….I mean well, I mean well, all’s well, it ends well.” Juice Wrld’s lyrics bounced around the room. “Inhale, exhale, losing my sanity, prolly.” The lyrics finally registered in my brain, making me feel connected and at one with the music, bringing tranquility to my ever-cycling anxious and uncertain thoughts. Before the pandemic, I had always been an outgoing communicator, always making friends and looking for social interaction. Yet after being forced to learn remotely, I was suddenly required to socially distance myself from others. This constant seclusion from the world changed how I interacted with others, thus causing me to hibernate within myself. Music was the only thing that offered either constancy or positivity, and I took refuge in it. Anytime I found myself feeling anxious, I simply put on my headphones and listened to the music and lyrics of Juice Wrld. His intricate melodies, effortless hooks, and emotional lyrics helped convey the hope and the certainty that things would get better. His music introduced me to the idea of triple-nineing, the process of taking any ill, bad situation or struggle and transforming it into something positive for inspiration. Symbolically, 999 represents the inverse of destruction, offering a hopeful path forward. When I’m triple-nineing, I feel that I’m unafraid to exhibit my true self and no longer feel alone. During this difficult time, it has provided me peace, giving me the willpower and care to help others. Entering junior year, I had a rough start adjusting to fully returning to school in person. It was as though I had jumped from being a kid to becoming an adult. I wasn’t ready. As time went on, I started to get the hang of it, and I pushed myself to return to my old, charismatic identity. As the year progressed, I met new people and old friends again. Juice Wrld’s lyrics gave me the reminder that, although things could be worse, I could be strong enough to keep pushing forward to get better. Being someone who knew exactly what it felt like to be alone and out of place, I wanted to lend a helping hand to others. After being appointed President of the SADD club (Students Against Destructive Decisions), I moderated student discussions, helping to alleviate student anxiety surrounding the pandemic and school shootings. SADD provided a safe space for students to exhibit healthy decision-making and feel a sense of belonging. It’s important for anyone dealing with mental health issues to have someone with whom they can share their challenges. Just listening and understanding what someone else is going through pushes me to better myself. I am triple-nineing. The 999 aspect of music in my life has propelled me to be the person I am today. Juice Wrld’s lyrics have helped me both to create friends and move forward, as well as find myself when I am feeling lonely. Juice found his purpose through music; now it’s my turn to find mine. “Let’s raise our hands and sing and dance… I know my lyrics saved you, I know I helped your breakthrough.”

I have been doing karate since I was 5 years old. The first step of karate is learning how to listen. As I continued my lessons, I started to put trust in my instructors. I would prepare myself to be used as an example in sparring drills and in self-defense even though I was up against a 6’5 grown man. While being swept to the ground, I could sense my instructor's care. This type of care is usually the type of care you get from your parents, not from a karate instructor, I thought to myself. From then on, I truly started to respect my instructor. Once you can learn to listen, you can learn to respect. Karate revolves around respect. It creates a community where everyone is treated with toughness and fairness. I came from not knowing my instructor to driving with him to tournaments, promotions, and demonstration events. When I step into the ring with him, I face a true teacher who wants me to learn and grow. Listening is the biggest lesson I've learned from martial arts. I have learned to fully listen with a 100% of myself and be involved 100%. Through listening, I have learned to respect and appreciate which has allowed me to stay humble all throughout my life. Staying humble has kept me focused on my academics and life goals without leaving me room the compare myself with others. Without martial arts, I wouldn't be the person I am today, mentally and physically.

Lacrosse was a sport that I had found in middle school. Until that point, I had been a soccer player all my life, but once a stick was put in my hand it was something that I couldn't let go of. Considering my late start I was a lot less experienced than the players around me. The first day of high school lacrosse tryouts was one of the most nerve-racking tryouts of my life. At the time I was very much a beginner, my strong hand was weak and my stick skills were poor; it was embarrassing to use my off-hand. Unfortunately, our season came to a halt before it could even come to a start due to COVID-19. Even though it was a negative situation for everyone I was able to turn it into an opportunity to be able to grow in the game of lacrosse. I continued to work on my physical fitness at home while incorporating small stick drills in my basement using a rebounder net. Nothing was going to stop me from honing my skills and overall improving my game. Eventually, the sophomore lacrosse season came and I was back on the field at tryouts giving it my all. My strong hand was in way better shape than the previous year, but my off-hand was still weak and useless to the team and me. Given my lack of experience on the field, I was selected to play for the JV team. At first, I was disappointed as I saw all my friends being moved up to play at the Varsity level but meanwhile, I was still stuck in the same place as I was the previous year. After tryouts were finished I realized that this year should be used as a learning experience for the better of myself and the Novi lacrosse program. I sought to improve my off-hand and understand the game of lacrosse better. I not only learned from our coach but from my teammates as well. I just had to face the fact that there were guys out there who had more experience than me on our team, and it was important that I learned from them despite them being younger than me. It was a time when I learned to really listen and take everything in as it comes. Even though it wasn't a successful season for me I still learned a lot that year and everything I learned from my teammates and coach inspired me to become a better player. Junior year was the first season where I came into tryouts confident of my abilities and showed them to the best of my ability. I took every moment as an opportunity to showcase myself. In doing so I sometimes lost sight of what lacrosse is, a team sport. It was the first season I was selected to play for the Varsity team and that title carried me away. I forgot the importance of my commitment to this sport and the drive to get better and better every single day. I lost my discipline. Until one day I was reminded that this team shouldn't be taken for granted. My team and I were run into the ground, and lacrosse almost started to feel like a chore. Our coaches made us realize that if we're on the field we need to take the game seriously like a team. We all picked up our heads together and started to look after one another like brothers. Even though we didn't have the best season we now have the momentum to make the next season great.

The Nature of Music Music Moving like the wind Quick or fast bringing crashing waves to our lobes Enough to make emotions explode into tears Messages flowing like sticks and stones in an endless river Sticks and stones that build foundations for the mind Whether it is racing like a hare, or pacing like a tortoise Waves have never been so calming When the pain is blunt, the sea is C-sharp Warm sand, like warm lights shining on the stage A picture painted with colors flying Too restless to sit on the canvas Too helpless to call for help So we listen, looking for a place to call home

The song "Man of the Year" by Juice Wrld has the most important message to me. Anytime I found myself feeling anxious, I simply put on my headphones and listened to the music and lyrics of Juice Wrld. His intricate melodies, effortless hooks, and emotional lyrics helped convey the hope and the certainty that things would get better. His music introduced me to the idea of triple-nineing, the process of taking any ill, bad situation or struggle and transforming it into something positive for inspiration. Symbolically, 999 represents the inverse of destruction, offering a hopeful path forward. When I’m triple-nineing, I feel that I’m unafraid to exhibit my true self and no longer feel alone. During this difficult time, it has provided me peace, giving me the willpower and care to help others. Juice Wrld’s lyrics gave me the reminder that, although things could be worse, I could be strong enough to keep pushing forward to get better. The specific lyrics in "Man of the Year" that really made me connect to the song were the lines, "Let’s raise our hands and sing and dance… I know my lyrics saved you, I know I helped your breakthrough." Juice knew what he was doing to the world, and the impact he was making. Now it's my turn to find my purpose through music.