When I was a freshman in High school, I experienced a very traumatic event that I would not wish on my worst enemy. I was in one of the deadliest school shootings in United States history. I was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where the shooting took place. It was on Valentines Day, 2018. The day that’s known for love and happiness, turned into the opposite. Seventeen students/teachers were killed, and seventeen were injured. This event was mentally damaging to me with all of the emotions I experienced. Being a freshman in high school, I was not fully mature, as most high schoolers. But the aftermath of experiencing this event changed my mindset for the rest of my life. I would not have overcome this event or be who I am today without the assistance and support of my family and peers. This event impacted my teenage years by my community demanding change which influenced me to become strong and live for those who we lost. As teenagers, my peers and I were in disbelief and doubt throughout our grieving. But my whole community taught me important life lessons from this horrible event. One of the Iessons I learned was to enjoy every single moment you have with your loved ones because you never know when they will be gone. I lost my best friend, which is incredibly heartbreaking as I was only fifteen years old. I never would have thought of going to a friend's funeral at such a young age. This tragedy gave my peers and I unexplainable sadness and anxiousness. But the grieving with my community showed me how strong we were to grow from this. My classmates assisted me by understanding my pain because they went through it as well. If I went through what I had to alone, I wouldn't know how to cope, but I am thankful to have had my family and peers as amazing support systems. A major part that assisted me through overcoming this incident was my socially active classmates who demanded change. Less than six weeks after the shooting, students from my school organized the March for our lives which was the largest single day of protest against gun violence in history. Millions around the country, including myself, came together to protest our political leaders’ inaction in Washington D.C. “This allowed us to expand our understanding of gun violence and how it affects each community differently.” (March for our lives). Protesting in this march with my family and friends influenced me to use my voice and make a positive difference in the world. “Mission & Story.” March For Our Lives, 17 Mar. 2022, https://marchforourlives.com/mission-story/. Scott, H. R., et al. “A Systematic Review of Studies Describing the Influence of Informal Social Support on Psychological Wellbeing in People Bereaved by Sudden or Violent Causes of Death - BMC Psychiatry.” BioMed Central, BioMed Central, 29 May 2020, https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-020-02639-4.

Growing up, being an entrepreneur was my dream job. Watching the TV show Shark Tank, I knew I wanted to be like one of the sharks. Knowing that I am old enough to fully understand responsibilities and tasks this career has, I am willing to make my dream come true. I am known for marching to my own beat and being creative, which my parents have always said. I want to take my talents and skills into my career. My number one idol is my father. I wish to be as hard working and successful as him. One of my characteristics I got from him is having a strong work ethic, which makes me confident in having an amazing opportunity to become an entrepreneur. He tells me all the time how much he enjoys being an entrepreneur. This path mainly caught my eye because of the creative freedom I can have. I am characterized as the “artist” by my friends and family. I am gifted with the ability to draw anything someone commands me to. Art is not only one of my hobbies, but rather one through which I can fill others with the same bliss that it brings me. The joy of drawing led me to posting my art on my tiktok account, which is a social media platform. My daily posts caught attention from people around the world. Now, I have been posting art based tiktoks for around three years now. Throughout these years, I have gained skill, followers, money, and appreciation. I have over 530,000 followers, and twenty million likes. While growing my platform and followers, hundreds of brands have contacted me for page sponsorships which opened my eyes to a career out of this. I admire the value of the unexpected with every video I post, having different feedback from people around the world. I am super appreciative with my opportunity to share my talent with people around the world which I can turn into being an entrepreneur. The constant growth of my TikTok account led me to potentially pursuing it as a career. The development in the content I create while receiving feedback from my followers pushes me to constantly improve my skill set. I am open minded to learning more about my skills and how I can utilize them to apply to a future business. I also feel like if I joined this career, I can surround myself with successful hard-working people like my dad. “Businessman Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” By becoming an entrepreneur, you will join a group of ambitious and helpful people who believe in bettering themselves and the world”(Manitoba 5). Being an entrepreneur takes a lot of responsibility, so I would assume if I surround myself with other entrepreneurs, I will become a better and more motivated version of myself. With the advantage of my dad being an entrepreneur, I can find plenty of opportunities to connect with his partners and business partners for assistance if I need. Manitoba, Community Futures. “10 Awesome Benefits of Becoming an Entrepreneur.” Community Futures Manitoba, https://cfmanitoba.ca/blog/10-awesome-benefits-of-becoming-an-entrepreneur.