One of the most frightening things in the world is telling a joke that nobody laughs at. It is a type of humiliation that is unmatched. It even beats peeing yourself in the middle of a fifth-grade class (which has never happened to me, by the way). However, on the other hand, telling a joke that everyone laughs at is probably the most incredible feeling in the world. Everyone is laughing, and as long as the joke is not on me, it is a grand time for everyone. So, lately, I have been telling more jokes even though I am afraid that people around me may not laugh. By telling more jokes, I found out that I am pretty funny! The saying is true: "With high risk comes great reward."

"I hate my tan skin," I told my mother on a hot, summer day. I did not like how dark my skin looked compared to other girls. I felt like I looked weird, and I felt like I was not as pretty. When people told me how beautiful my tanned skin was, I did not get it. As I grew older, I noticed that media started celebrating all shades of skin more and more. Beforehand, I felt ugly, but because others around me were celebrating different skin tones, I felt pretty. When I think back to that comment I made on that hot, summer day, I wonder, "What was wrong with me?" I wish I had realized how beautiful I was back then because I surely needed the confidence. Now, instead of thinking differences make me ugly, I believe that everything about me is beautiful. Why? Simply because I am me, and I have to love what I have. Not only that, but I believe everyone should embrace their differences and insecurities because everyone is imperfectly perfect. When I speak to a person, and he or she speaks negatively on his or her appearance, I always shut it down with positivity. Why? Because sometimes people need that reassurance just like I did. I would have never seen my own beauty if it were not for positive reinforcement. Because I know what it is like to feel insecure about a difference, I want to help people feel better about their differences. I am going to be an illustrator one day, and I want to write a comic book. In my story, I will include people of different races, body shapes, and different features. I will show the people who read my stories that beauty comes in so many different forms. Now, I tell my mother, "Thank you, I love my tan skin."

When I was in middle school, I used to stress immensely over everything. A five-question homework assignment was enough to ruin my day. I would also stress over non-trivial things like answering a question in class or asking an adult a question. Nothing could calm my anxieties. That was until I put my full trust in Jesus Christ. Around my sophomore year, I realized that stress did not consume me like it used to. If anything, I did not stress at all, yet I still accomplished everything I needed to do. How could that be? I did not believe there was a way that I could go about my day without feeling so overwhelmed by small tasks. When I took the time to reflect on what changed, it was my faith. I was taking confirmation classes, and my teacher and priest stressed the importance of prayer. They said that I should pray daily, and it did not have to be a thirty-minute prayer session, contrary to my original beliefs. A prayer could be small. A prayer could be having a conversation with Jesus. When I understood that, I started praying all the time. I believe that those prayers made my life easier. Instead of carrying my burdens alone, I spoke to Jesus about them. It has changed my life for the better. I no longer stress greatly about school, although there are times when it gets tough. However, when that happens, I know that Jesus is always there for me, as a friend. A friend was someone that I really needed. I also believe that He was not my only friend because he sent me friends to help me with school, too. Instead of trying to do everything alone, Jesus has opened my eyes and shown me that I can depend on someone if needed. There are times when I feel alone, stressed, and defeated, but I know that everything will always turn out okay. Why? Because I put my full trust in Jesus Christ.

My grandpa once told me about how he grew tomatoes. For the longest time, I never understood why I remembered this conversation so vividly. Now that I am older, I think I understand why. A legacy is something that one leaves behind. Martin Luther King Jr., for example, left behind a great legacy. He taught the world to accept everyone regardless of skin color. Because of his inspiring words and dedication to fight for a cause, the world still feels his impact today. His impact was on a worldwide scale, however, some people leave behind legacies on a much smaller scale like family members. Everyone has a choice on how they want to impact the world. Because of this freedom, there are different kinds of valuable legacies. My grandmother, for instance, was a wild woman. She did not hold her tongue, and if she did not want to do something, she made sure everyone knew! She was infamous in her nursing home for fighting the nurses if she did not want to take her medication or get a shot. So, whenever I go to the doctor, I think of her. I, too, hate the doctor, and when I freak out a bit over a needle, I am reminded of her wildness. Not only that but when I speak my mind, I think of her, too. She reminds me that I can speak my mind, and it is not a bad thing. So, there are many kinds of valuable legacies, and people can leave behind many different legacies. I hope to leave behind a legacy of my own someday, just like my grandfather and grandmother did. I want people will remember me for the way I treated others. Treating people with respect and kindness is one of the most important things someone can do. Everyone, regardless of age, sex, gender, or race, deserves to be treated with kindness because it is a basic human right just like food or water. Whenever someone is kind to me, I never forget it. Therefore, I will never forget that person. If I am kind to someone, that person will always remember me, and he or she may even be a kinder person because of me. Although I know I cannot be kind to every single person, I can be kind to as many people as possible which may lead to someone being kinder to their neighbors. Kindness is a chain reaction that is only ceased by hate, and I plan to help begin that chain. My grandfather always took care of his family, and he loved to cook. Every time I visited his house, there was always something cooking on the stovetop. He always told me that I could have some whether it was a pot of red beans, boiled shrimp, or some kind of soup. Thinking back, I now understand why those tomatoes were so important. He told me about them because he wanted me to know how important food was. It signified that he cared for his family and that food brought people together. When I visited his home, I always knew I was cared for. When he passed away, I clung to that feeling. I realized that everyone wanted to be cared for, and I think that is why I want to leave behind my legacy of being kind. His legacy helped shape mine, and every time I see tomatoes, I think of him.

This summer, I helped build my new house. In the pictures, I am helping paint, throwing away pieces of wood, and measuring wood that will support future cabinets. It was a challenging experience because I had to spend my weekends and hot summer days moving heavy objects, painting hot rooms, and measuring wood. Because I did this, I learned how people build houses, and I learned how much work goes into building a home. It was a great learning experience, and I even bonded with my family.

I remember coming home from school and working on homework in our small living room, and when I looked on the other side of the couch, my mother was doing homework too. She worked at me and my sister's school so that we could receive a Catholic education, and she still found time to be a loving mother to me and my sister. For four years, she did online school, studying to earn her degree in psychology. When she finally graduated, I was so excited because that meant I could spend even more time with her. Back then I did not quite understand the value of education, and I did not realize how hard she had to work. Now that I am a senior in high school, taking dual enrollment classes, I understand how difficult it must have been. Unlike me, she did not have friends to help her excel in her classes, and she did not have the advantage of going to school right after high school. She did it thirty years later while raising a family and holding a full-time job! When I asked her why she went back to college thirty years later, she responded, "I wanted to prove to you and your sister that education is important. If I could do it thirty years later, you and your sister can do it, too." Those words have stuck with me, and they are totally true. I just got into my dream school, and without my mother's example of hard work, I would not have gotten in. Coming from a family where education was not prioritized, she was the only person in her family who graduated high school and college. My mother had all odds against her, but I am the complete opposite. I have everything going for me, especially her. I know she will support me, and I will do my best in college for her. I plan to become an illustrator. I am not sure what kind of things I will draw, but I know I will work hard like my mother and hopefully inspire someone with the worth ethic I learned from my mama.

It was 2009, and I felt as though I could fly with the fairies I saw on my screen. I was about 6 years old when I first saw the Tinker Bell movie, and I was entranced by the whimsical world of the Disney Fairies. Because of that movie, I fell into a world of wonderous storytelling. As I grew up, I continued watching Disney movies, and when I was about 13, I decided that I was going to become an illustrator and tell my own stories with a comic book one day. Now, I am 18 years old, and I am creating my own story. Strangely enough, it is about fairies. The plot is about fairies and humans learning to coexist. The humans despise the fairies because they hold too much power, so they isolated the fairies. Fairies, on the other hand, are only asking for peace. It is a simple concept, and I hope that by reading this, people will understand that there is no room for hate and prejudices. Not only that, but I will include ethnically diverse characters with different body types and sexualities. In fiction, there are not a lot of strong diverse characters. It is common to see diverse side characters with their difference becoming their primary personality trait, and it can sometimes harm stereotypes instead of breaking them. Also, to make sure I am representing diversity properly, I will speak to people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and disabled people. Minorites deserve better representation, and through my story, I will include strong, diverse characters that significantly support my plot. The world must see my creation because it will cover important topics in an entertaining way. Think of reading a history textbook. When I read a history textbook, it is very boring and mundane. Even though it covers vital topics, it can be difficult to stay awake. With my story, I will tackle major problems like racism with my comic. Perhaps if the world sees racism explored through a different medium, they will do something different to fight it. I still feel as excited to write a story as I did watching someone’s story come to life through a movie screen. Knowing that someone could be engulfed in the world of storytelling through my story is the greatest feeling in the world. It almost compares to the feeling of flying.

The score is 24-16. My team is losing, and we already lost 2 matches. If we lose, this could be my last time on the volleyball court. I tell my setter, to set me no matter what. The whistle blows, and the serve soars over the net. Our libero makes a perfect pass, right into the setter's hands. She sets it right to me, a perfect set. I swing as hard as I can, knowing this could be the last time I ever hit the ball. When my feet hit the ground, the referee blows the whistle. My team won the point. We all cheered, prepared to fight for the win. Although we won that point, we lost the next point, and my high school volleyball career was officially over. Volleyball has been a part of my life for 6 years, and the sound of the whistle blowing for the last time was quite bittersweet. It signified my transition into the real world, and it also marked the end of high school for me. Volleyball was my stress reliever and a confidence builder. Being an athlete taught me how to take care of myself and break out of my timid ways. Before volleyball, I was insecure about how tall and slim I was. In volleyball, my coaches and teammates taught me that my body type was not a bad thing. They showed me that it was important for me to be a middle blocker. I also was a very quiet person. I did not like speaking up or speaking my mind in class, with friends, and definitely not on the court. Learning to be a part of a team helped me speak up more because I wanted to play. I knew that if I wanted to play, I must speak up. During my time on the court, I recognized an issue that many of my teammates struggled with. It was not anything physical but mental. My team struggled with mental toughness and positivity. When someone shanked a ball, the entire team got down, or whenever a hitter swung the ball out the court, the team lost focus. I knew it was not possible to win that way. So, I did my best to uplift my team, both on and off the court. High school is a difficult time for anyone. Students are trying to balance extracurriculars with school, and as a student, I can say it is no easy task. However, I noticed that having a positive influence always made me feel better. I decided to be that positive figure for my teammates. I cheered on my teammates when they made a good pass, set, hit, or block. In between points, I made sure we always came to the middle to reconnect as a team. Not only that, but I even did my best to help my teammates when they were struggling with something other than volleyball because external issues can affect the court, as well. I always wondered if I had accomplished my goal, and I was happy to know that I affected my teammates positively on my Senior Night. My teammates made me a blanket, and on the blanket, everyone wrote something they will miss about me. Many of them wrote about how I was a positive leader for them. I was so proud of myself because I knew it meant I grew as not only a teammate, but an individual as well. Before, I rarely spoke, and I was insecure about myself. Now, I know that I am a positive role model and a confident individual. Playing volleyball did not just help me grow skill wise. It helped me grow mentally, and it prepared me to have a positive mindset anywhere I go. Even if I do not continue playing, I know that the lessons I learned from the game I love will always be with me wherever I go.