Each day is a new opportunity in which to serve the world-- especially when there is so much broken that needs fixing. I was never great at things that required hammers and nails, but I have always considered myself a fixer. I feel deeply for the world around me and find it difficult to sit back and watch the world burn simply because the burning may seem distant to me. I need not even feel the warmth of the fire, all it takes for me is seeing the flames and I feel the pull to extinguish them. It is difficult to denote any social issue as more "important" than another as there are countless social issues that need addressing and since intersectionality is an element of social issues that I am incredibly passionate about. I find particular passion in the inequalities seen in the "justice" system, especially for people of color. I put these quotations around the word justice since the system is inherently unjust in many of its practices. Even from my early years in middle school, I was incredibly passionate about this topic. At that point, I did not know the ways in which I could make a broad difference yet I took every opportunity I had to tell my peers about my stance. When given free rein, I would make presentations to my classmates particularly about the unjustness of the death penalty when so many people have been exonerated, arguing that it is not right to sentence people to death knowing that the system is so deeply flawed. As I entered high school, I continued to talk to my peers about these important topics, while realizing that I could make a larger impact on social issues I was passionate about by starting on a smaller scale. I became the chair of my school's equity committee where we read important readings on anti-racism. Through this leadership position, I learned the importance of education as a base for change. If people are not aware of the issues taking place around them, especially if they come from places of privilege like I do as a white person, they will never be able to fully devote themselves to the causes that desperately need backing. In high school, I also began to understand the importance of intersectionality in social issues as I was on a Women's Rights panel with an organization called "Let's Talk Justice". I talked firsthand with women from around my county that we have many shared issues, yet we must fight for the fact that women of color have even deeper rooted issues that we must fight for beyond what typical early waves of feminism considered. We addressed women's issues by getting feminine hygiene dispensers in all school bathrooms by appealing to the Board of Education, but we also addressed important issues such as black female students being overly disciplined as compared to their white peers. I continue to be passionate about all of these issues as I am now in college pursuing a Sociology major and Gender Studies minor. I have taken countless classes that specialize in the issues I care about such as Philosophy and Black Lives Matter as well as Feminism and Women's Lives in the 21st century, so I can better go out into the world to tackle these issues as I enter the workforce. I devote myself to learning and growing every day so that I can fight for change across the board. I understand through the work I have done personally and among others that change begins small and radiates further.

Weightless and heavy all at once; free-falling for what felt like hours but was actually mere seconds before I was caught by the clutches of my harness. This free-fall happened a few more times until my momentum ceased. I was a human pendulum. I was so terrified before I had to jump off of that bridge that the person who harnessed me​ had to push me instead. Just like in life, I needed a little push to show me that the scariest experiences can be the most incredible. Now, I seek to be bold every day for those who cannot.