Ever since I've had a pencil in my hand, I've been a writer. Writing is one of my greatest passions because it allows me to live in whatever world I want to be in. I've always found the outside world to be so boring. With my writing, I can write about whatever I want, and share stories that make people feel. I love every aspect of storytelling, the main one being that it challenges me. One of the reasons writing is so challenging is that it is so detail-oriented. It's not as simple as, "You have good grammar? You're good to go!" There are so many elements you must consider. You must consider your characters and their actions. Are your character's actions consistent with their personality? Do things make sense? Are there plot holes? How is the pacing, not only within the overall story but within individual scenes? Do I want to tell a story that has a message, and if so, am I getting the message across? Do my characters have strong GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict? Is my writing strong and tight? Is there enough emotion? Am I using weak words? Is this grammatically correct? One of my favorite parts about writing is the reaction I receive from people. I've uploaded much of my work on different websites, original stories, and opinion pieces mostly. People have commented that they've cried at my emotional scenes, and I love that I can reach people like that. Others have said that they love the fact that I write unbiased and fair blogs on controversial topics. Writing is the best way I can connect with people. I could write a book about why I love writing. It is a part of me. Writing is me.

Scholars have argued for centuries about what defines the meaning of life. For some, there is none. Others conclude that we serve a greater purpose. The meaning of life is personal to the individual as life is not one uniform experience. It would be difficult to claim what the meaning of life is for everybody when everybody lives life differently. To define life simply and fairly, I would say, "The meaning of life is to live." The meaning of life is a personal definition. My personal definition would be, "To seek fulfillment." I think most people want to live out a life that they feel was worth living, hence why bucket lists are so common. I am the same. I don't believe there is a one-way ticket to fulfillment, but I think there are small things in life that can build up to give me the effect of fulfillment. It is like the Japanese say, "Chiri mou tsumoreba yamato naru." This means, "When dust piles up, it becomes a mountain." In other words, the little things in life will grow as they pile up. For years, I've contemplated what would make me feel fulfilled. And though the answer isn't so simple, I came to the conclusion that I will feel fulfilled if I live a life worth living. So, in my daily life, I try to do just that. I motivate myself to eat healthier, exercise, and study. I focus on matters that will better my mind, such as becoming the leader of a Positivitea club. I've always wanted to become a writer, so I've been publishing 4,000 word chapters weekly on an official website. I think of ways that I can be kinder to others, and I appreciate the smaller things in life.

No one helps the kid in the wheelchair. I should know. When I was in high school, I was diagnosed with Freiberg's disease. It's a foot disease in which blood doesn't circulate to a specific bone in my foot, making it extremely fragile. If I walked for too long, I'd fracture or break my foot. After being on an off crutches for a year, I decided that enough was enough and bought a wheelchair. In school, no one believed that I needed my wheelchair. Every day, when I was strolling in the hallway, people would comment, "You can walk," as they walked past me. One person even said they were going to push me down the stairs for pretending to need a wheelchair. In the hallway, people always stared at me and whispered. Whenever I needed to enter a classroom, no one would open the door for me, and no one helped me in general. It felt like the entire school was against me. My friend Gabe had even told me that people were going to my Instagram and mocking me. I felt isolated and hurt. I couldn't believe that people could be this cruel. One day on the bus, I told myself, "They judge knowing nothing, believing they know everything." Ever since that day, I've stuck to that message. I can't be upset about people's perceptions because their reality doesn't reflect true reality. I've learned to cope with being outcasted. This experience also taught me not to be so quick to judge. I now try to catch myself whenever I start to judge someone, and this method has opened the doors to many friends I wouldn't have had if I didn't experience bullying. The world isn't black and white. I live my life embracing the gray.

I've always been different from others. When I was a kid, I was considered 'weird' and often had a difficult time making friends. In middle school, my grandmother would eat with me during lunch because others wouldn't sit with me. Initially, I wondered what was wrong with me and thought of how I could change to get others to accept me. I wore clothes that were popular. Whenever someone said something, I always openly agreed with them, even if I actually didn't. In high school, I was diagnosed with a foot disease and had to use a wheelchair. Oddly enough, the majority of my classmates believed I didn't need my wheelchair, and the first question they would always ask me was, "Do you even need your wheelchair?" Strolling down the hallway, people would yell to me, "You can walk!" This happened daily. "They judge knowing nothing, believing they know everything." This was something I told myself randomly one day on the bus while I was contemplating people's opinions of me. I needed to let others' perceptions go and focus on improving myself. I began surrounding myself with people that liked me for who I was. I realized that the best way to appreciate myself was to be around people that encouraged me to be me. Today, I'm always finding ways to feel better about myself I give myself small goals to achieve and gain confidence from achieving them. For example, I'm writing a novel, and I gave myself a goal of writing one chapter a week. I've successfully done this for eight months and am proud to be so proactive. I know I'm not perfect. But that doesn't mean I'm not wonderful in my own way.

"Procrastination is a destination." This was the very quote from my middle school Algebra teacher that changed my life. It challenged me to pursue my passions by reminding myself that I won't be anywhere if I don't put my foot on the gas pedal. One person has the ability to change a person's life. I've always wanted to help guide others to live better lives. Funnily enough, I remember mentoring as young as seven years old. My younger sister would often get into trouble, so I would sit her down and have hour-long conversations about why she was in the wrong, and how her actions impact her life. She would call them my 'lectures' and would dread our discussions, but I always had hope that planting the seed would give her better decision-making skills. Now, I am the leader of a Positivitea club on social media. Our purpose is to make quality blogs that make a positive twist to negative topics. I often help with editing and giving new blog ideas. I've contributed many blogs to the club, such as ones on how to cope with loneliness and miscommunication in relationships. Money is not everything. I want to give people a better quality of life. To me, your mentality is everything. When you have a positive mindset, you will have a more positive outcome. Sometimes, it is difficult to be optimistic, especially during times of hardship. I want to support those that may not know how to help themselves. Whether it's mental health, environmental factors, or physical difficulties, I am there.

The first time I considered committing suicide, I was eight years old. I didn't even know the word 'suicide'. I had never heard of the concept. All I knew was that I didn't want to exist anymore, grabbed the largest kitchen knife, and put it to my throat. Thankfully, I was too scared to follow through with it, but my struggle would not end there. Why did I want to end my life? I can't remember exactly what was in my head twelve years ago, but I do remember always feeling sad and never having any friends. This was likely due to my constant moving, being introverted, and being considered 'weird' by my peers. As I got older, my depression only grew worse. I began self-harming when I was twelve, and the darkness in the corner of my mind overtook any light. I considered and threatened suicide so many times that my mother feared that she would not get to see her daughter tomorrow. But even as a young child, I had a fighting spirit. I saw my will to live as a battle and believed that if I were to commit suicide, I would lose the war against life. I listened and wrote music to cope with my pain. While the darkness may have overtaken my brain, the fire inside my heart refused to be put out as easily. My senior year of high school was the worst. For no apparent reason, I felt great sadness and failed to enjoy the good in life. I couldn't even enjoy my favorite band's concert that I'd waited a year to see and had Soundcheck tickets to. I was constantly crying but always kept it to myself, making a point to subtly wipe my tears. Although I'm someone that usually keeps my struggle to myself, I reached out to a close friend of mine because the thoughts were so dark. It was near the end of my senior year when I finally had an epiphany. These dark thoughts aren't me. It's depression playing a trick on me. When I figured this out, I was able to bring light to my darkness. If I considered suicide, I'd remind myself that it wasn't actually me thinking this. It was my depression. This realization led me to a book idea. I'm a very creative person. When I'm not reading or watching TV, I'm writing music, poetry, and stories. I started writing a fictional story with the purpose to help those suffering with depression and suicidal thoughts. At times when I'm sad, I write for the book to let out my deepest and darkest thoughts, wanting to evoke the most powerful and relatable experiences. I've also written countless songs that I hope to produce and release someday with this same goal. Though I want to help others, sadly, this isn't always possible. In May of 2021, I lost a friend of mine to suicide. It devastated me, and to this day, I have my moments of sorrow. I miss him more than I could've ever imagined I would. I never knew how hurtful a loss was until I lost someone myself. It was so bad that I was worried that my flame would burn out. But then I thought about the effects of suicide. This great loss has affected my entire community and friend group. His loss didn't make me want to join him. It made me want to work harder to save others and knew that with my personal experience, I'd have a chance in doing so. Mental health is an important issue. Although we have access to social media and information, mental health is still severely stigmatized. I hope to destigmatize mental health and help anyone else who suffers.

Aliens have abducted a schoolboy in hopes that he can help them defeat an intergalactic, kickball team! This is one of many stories I wrote when I was in elementary school. Storytelling has always been a passion of mine. I have over thirty journals full of my thoughts, stories, poems, and songs. Ever since I was a kid, my idea of a shopping spree has been buying out the local bookstore. In school, I was never seen without my nose stuck to a book, hence my award for 'Class Bookworm' in fourth grade. To this day, I write for many genres, including romance, non-fiction, science fiction, supernatural, and an array of short stories. I also write songs, poems, plays, and musicals. As of last year, I've started a blog in which I take unique approaches to controversial topics within TV shows, and I've already amassed over 1,300 followers. This year, I finally mustered up the courage to write a novel. I've already written 60,000 words and have plans to continue writing more novels. I love everything about writing. I'm analytical, so I enjoy tediously editing and refining my work, as well as creating storyboards that have a nice flow of plot and character development. Human behavior interests me, and writing and observing stories is the perfect way to study it. Reality is so boring. I'd much rather live in my writing world. My dream would be to become a professional writer and editor. It would be amazing to see people enjoy my work. Although I know that it is difficult to make money in this field, writing has always been what I've wanted to do. When people read my stories, I hope that they learn. Whether that's learning how people think, analyzing the themes, or just enjoying a nice story, I want to leave people feeling as if they've been impacted after reading my story. I want to take them away from reality and to a world where they can feel. I also hope to become a good enough writer that I can help others with their own writing. Often, I'm fixing grammatical errors, but I want to offer more than telling someone how to use a comma. Hopefully, earning a Creative Writing degree can help me achieve that goal.

"I sat down for this, and I still don't get a treat?" - Freya This is my dog Freya. She's a pure-bred Samoyed. Honestly, if I ever had any doubts about her breed, I would look up the personality traits for a Samoyed and remind myself that she is 100% Sammie. She is sassy, independent, loves to dig, and very friendly. Not only that, but she's intuitive to my emotions and jumps on top of me whenever I feel sad on the couch. This particular photo was taken when I thought she looked cute and decided to snap a pic!

I love my mind. It's good that I love my mind because I can never get away from it. I'm open-minded, which gives me the opportunity to listen and learn from people that have different perspectives of the world. Instead of judging others, I consider how I may gain a positive experience from them. Whenever there is a group project, I'm the person to lead and guide for success. I'm easy to work with and ask everyone to offer their insight about the project. I also love my mind because I'm resilient. It takes a lot to crush my spirit. Whenever I fail, I don't see it as an excuse to give up. I see it as an excuse to try again. This determination has awarded me many opportunities to be successful in life. My favorite example was when I was 14 years old. I was the lead singer of two bands, one with college students and one with high school students. When I performed with the college band, I totally bombed it. The songs were too low for my range, and I didn't give a lively performance. The parents of the high school band even suggested I do better next time. Rather than feeling embarrassed and getting more nervous for the next performance, I encouraged myself to do better. I totally rocked my high school performance. I love that I love my mind. I do my best not to let other's judgments affect me. Whenever someone dislikes me, I tell myself, "They judge knowing nothing, believing they know everything."

I practice self-care by bettering my mind. Online, I'm the leader of the Posititivea club on a social media website. I create monthly challenges for the members that help them practice and develop ways to think positively. Not only to I gain by participating in these challenges, but I gain by reading the plethora of posts from my members. My favorite challenge was one in which I asked the members to create a 2-week self-care pack. The idea was to write down daily challenges to treat oneself, such as taking a nice walk or writing in a journal. I've been able to meet so many amazing people because of this club. This has helped my mental health because I surround myself with positive people and dedicate a lot of my time to thinking of how else I can help myself and others. Since COVID, I've only left my house twice. It was really difficult to keep a positive attitude. To this day, I haven't seen any of my friends in person since March 2020. But the Positivitea Club has given me spirit to think positively. I now have the motivation to brush my hair, clean my skin, and talk to friends because I see the value in the little things. I may be inside, but I still shall thrive!

No one helps the kid in the wheelchair. I should know. I was one. Our world's largest problem is the lack of compassion. While there are many charities and organizations dedicated to helping others, there aren't enough small acts of kindness. Many will not go out of their way to improve another person's life. When I was in high school, I had to use a wheelchair due to my foot disease. Many people would shout at me, "You can walk," and talk poorly behind my back. Students never opened the door for me, and I even had some teachers doubting my medical impairment. Because I didn't 'look sick', people figured I wasn't. One person even told someone they were going to push me down the stairs because he believed I was faking being handicapped. No one ever stood up for me. I was shocked. I'd only seen this type of torment in TV shows and thought it was overly dramatized for plot interest. Up until that point, I believed people were too good to behave so poorly. One way we can solve this problem is by instilling tolerance within the education system. Many of our values stem from our environment. By teaching children to be accepting to others and exposing them to those that are different, a better generation may be raised. We can also work on this by spreading the word and practicing kindness. While an act may be small to us, it can be the biggest change in another person's life.

The first time I considered committing suicide, I was eight years old. I didn't even know the word 'suicide'. I had never heard of the concept. All I knew was that I didn't want to exist anymore, grabbed the largest kitchen knife, and put it to my throat. Thankfully, I was too scared to follow through with it, but my struggle would not end there. Why did I want to end my life? I can't remember exactly what was in my head twelve years ago, but I do remember always feeling sad and never having any friends. This was likely due to my constant moving, being introverted, and being considered 'weird' by my peers. As I got older, my depression only grew worse. I began self-harming when I was twelve, and the darkness in the corner of my mind overtook any light. I considered and threatened suicide so many times that my mother feared that she would not get to see her daughter tomorrow. But even as a young child, I had a fighting spirit. I saw my will to live as a battle and believed that if I were to commit suicide, I would lose the war against life. I listened and wrote music to cope with my pain. While the darkness may have overtaken my brain, the fire inside my heart refused to be put out as easily. My senior year of high school was the worst. For no apparent reason, I felt great sadness and failed to enjoy the good in life. I couldn't even enjoy my favorite band's concert that I'd waited a year to see and had Soundcheck tickets to. I was constantly crying but always kept it to myself, making a point to subtly wipe my tears. Although I'm someone that usually keeps my struggle to myself, I reached out to a close friend of mine because the thoughts were so dark. It was near the end of my senior year when I finally had an epiphany. These dark thoughts aren't me. It's depression playing a trick on me. When I figured this out, I was able to bring light to my darkness. If I considered suicide, I'd remind myself that it wasn't actually me thinking this. It was my depression. This realization led me to a book idea. I'm a very creative person. When I'm not reading or watching TV, I'm writing music, poetry, and stories. I started writing a fictional story with the purpose to help those suffering with depression and suicidal thoughts. At times when I'm sad, I write for the book to let out my deepest and darkest thoughts, wanting to evoke the most powerful and relatable experiences. I've also written countless songs that I hope to produce and release someday with this same goal. Though I want to help others, sadly, this isn't always possible. In May of 2021, I lost a friend of mine to suicide. It devastated me, and to this day, I have my moments of sorrow. I miss him more than I could've ever imagined I would. I never knew how hurtful a loss was until I lost someone myself. It was so bad that I was worried that my flame would burn out. But then I thought about the effects of suicide. This great loss has affected my entire community and friend group. His loss didn't make me want to join him. It made me want to work harder to save others and knew that with my personal experience, I'd have a chance in doing so. Mental health is an important issue. Although we have access to social media and information, mental health is still severely stigmatized. I hope to destigmatize mental health and help anyone else who suffers.