My educational goals are to major in animal science and then go on to vet school. I want to be good at what I do because it's the only thing I have ever wanted to do. I never changed my career choice when I was little I always wanted to help animals. I think I’ve lived an average normal life so far. I’m not dirt poor and I’m not super-rich. I’m not stupid and I’m not crazy smart. I played some sports in middle school but not high school. I wasn’t homecoming queen but I never sat alone at lunch. I’m just an average normal girl living an average normal life. I’m here to write about challenges though and my biggest challenge was myself. My mind, brain and thoughts were the thing that always pushed me back and made me second-guess myself. Confidence is a spectrum I suppose, like most things these days and I must admit I’ve never had much of it. Confidence and self-esteem have always been my biggest challenge, not just in my high school career but in life in general. There are so many things you have to have confidence in to get by in life. To make friends, to try new foods and drinks, to drive, to play a sport, to do literally anything and my brain was always telling me “you can’t,” “You aren’t good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, strong enough.” I guess that’s where perseverance comes from, but at some point, people seem to grow out of low self-esteem and come into their own. I don’t think I’m there yet and I don’t know if I ever will be there. What if I don’t want to be the most confidant in the room? I think I’d rather struggle and push myself. Maybe always wanting more from yourself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, always thinking that you aren’t the best in the room keeps you humble, and it always leaves you with room to grow and become something greater, even if you don’t believe it yourself. Everyone talks about their biggest critic being themself and that goes for me too. I wasn't just my biggest critic however, I was my biggest bully. Every day at some point in the day I think “You’re not good enough.” My biggest challenge is saying nice things about myself, but maybe that makes me stronger. Maybe looking in the mirror and feeling horrible about yourself makes it easier to hear about your real downfalls, makes it easier for you to take it when other people decide you’re not good enough for them because if I’m not good enough for me, nobody else matters. Sometimes I second-guess my pain. Why do I get to be upset if no one makes me feel bad? I’ve never had a school bully, a tough coach, a mean teacher, or a rude coworker, no one except myself makes me feel bad. I’m not sure if that means my trauma is lesser than others, I just know that it is a challenge. A challenge I face every day, and I choose to keep going. To keep deciding that I have goals and dreams and that it doesn’t matter who says I can’t even if I’m the one that says it, that I can.

An issue affecting not just my community or the country but my whole generation is generational trauma. As in, Gen Z has had the world given to them on the internet. Gen Z knows so much about themselves at such a young age that gets dismissed by parents and older generations. So much of what Gen Z feels gets thrown away because we're "too young" or we "don't know what we're talking about," and maybe if the internet wasn't there to help us understand or throw our trauma out in the open for us, our parents would be right and we wouldn't know what we're talking about but I don't know if that would make anything better. I want to see it changed because generational trauma can't keep getting passed down. I think to address the change Gen Z needs to first accept that there is probably something wrong in their lives. First, you accept it and then you fix it by any means. Whether that's through therapy or your friendships or by sharing your experience with other people who are going through the same thing. I think we need more positive outlets for people. Whether they find it through art or music or books. These outlets need to be in supply though they need to be accessible. We need to accept the fact that Gen Z is aware of who they are and that we are a force. The internet can be a helpful tool, it makes sure our voices are heard by at least one person who can tell another person who can tell another one. For me, how I want to create positive change is not necessarily by being an activist or a content creator on Instagram. Not that I wouldn't go to a protest and hold a sign over my head, but I want to do something close to home. I want to heal myself first, so I can then heal others. I can't help my friend trapped in a toxic home when I feel like I'm still in one. I can't help the girl at the party with body image issues if I am still struggling. I want to create positive change for others by first doing it for myself. I'll start going to the gym, journaling, and putting my happiness a top priority. Then once I'm better and healed, I can help those around me, I can help them better themselves, and the cycle will continue, a cycle of healing and not trauma.

My future education plans are to go to a four-year university, majoring in animal science. I then want to go on to veterinary school to become a veterinarian. My career goals are then to become good at what I do. I want to be one of the best. I want to create new medicine and treatments. I want to help all different kinds of animals not just housepets. I want to make a difference in the world because animals are an important part of the world. Everything has its purpose I want to help keep the world healthy and working. We are always going to need healthy animals. Whether they are animals we consume, animals we keep as pets or animals in the wild as part of our ecosystems. I plan to achieve my education goals by staying focused throughout college and vet school. I know I can achieve this too because this is everything I've dreamed of. There is no backup plan, plan a, b and c are all to become a veterinarian. To achieve my career goals I need to do good in school, stay focused and make it happen. I need to learn all I can learn and have a good support system behind me because I know none of it will be easy, but it's what I want.