In 2019 in Beliz's great blue hole there were many wonders to be discovered, for years humans were wondering what was at the bottom of this hole in the ocean. What did they find? Plastic bottles. In 2022 an American diver found a Plastic bag, the one commonly given away at grocery stores, was found at the bottom of the Marina Trench, the deepest ocean trench. Not even the deepest depths of our oceans are safe from pollution. Plastic pollution is everywhere, hard to eeidicate in the ocean and is out of hand. Plastics hurt seabirds and animals from strangulation, starvation and ingestion. Not to mention that plastics also contain toxic chemicals and absorb pollutants themselves. I care about protecting our oceans because some of the most interesting and diverse species live in our oceans. There are so many things we have yet to discover and if humans pollute the waters before we discover them. I fear it will be to late, all that life, all of that knowledge will be lost forever. All of the beautiful species that we currently take for granted will be gone, there is nothing more devastating than the loss of an entire species. In addition , unlike other types of waste plastic does not completely decompose and it can remain in the ocean for centuries. This is a problem for the environment and the economy because the ocean has immense cultural amd economical significance and can serve as the primary source of income for many families who live in costal communities. Marine life is not the only life eating plastics. Microplastics make their way up the food chain and can affect human health as well. It is estimated that every person eats one credit card worth of plastic a week. Humans are killing our aquatic creatures in the most cruel way imaginable, pollution. Turtles are starving to death because they mistake Plastic bags and bottles as prey. In addition to plastic pollution killing innocent animals pollution can also make other devastating stressors to the ocean worse such as: ocean acidification, climate change, alien species trsnsport, overfishing and habatiat destruction. By using my degree to advocate and organize ocean cleanups I believe we can make a difference to help protect our beautiful ecosystem, and all of the creatures inside of it. Consumers should not be the only people responsible for the current level of plastic pollution in the ocean, producers are the main culprit of plastic pollution. I will use my degree and any influence that comes with it to lobby for change, whether that be the mass cleanups of the trash dumps in the ocean, or to ban non recyclable plastic, I will use my degree to help our oceans, the wildlife that live in them, and the people that depend on them.

I have been an active leader in my community from the age of sixteen and forward. I have always been really active in volunteering, whether it was at the library, girl scouts, or school fundraisers. It was always important for me even as a kid to go out there and help people, I always wanted to help. When I was four instead of asking my mother for a pony I asked if we could adopt a homeless person. Currently I'm writing this essay at my volunteer station. I'm currently volunteering at my local state park and am helping set up the campgrounds for camping season. It's my first day and I am so excited for the campers to arrive. I want them to leave loving this park as much as I do. I'm also an active volunteer for the friends of Tuscora and locust lake state parks. I'm the assistant treasurer and my role in the organization is to take notes, clean up litter, advocate for the group and share all of the activities we do with other people who may be interested in joining. Other club members come to me with questions and for help when they need it and it is such a fun experience. Recently the FTTLL organization and a pancake breakfast fundraiser for Easter. We hired a Easter bunny to take pictures with the children and all was going well, until it wasn't. The Easter bunny got sick from the pancakes and we had a line of 40 children waiting to get their photos taken, and no bunny. I volunteered to take his place and while the suit was hot and uncomfortable the smiles on the children's faces made all the discomfort worth it. Without the bunny we would have lost the money needed to build the bird boxes, which are boxes that host blue birds. Blue birds are important to the ecosystem and unfortunately are being chased out of their habitats by swallows and bats. The boxes protect their nests and give them safe spaces to rest, raise their young and lay their eggs.

I was in the backseat of my Aunt Angie's van, I just received my allegry shots for the day, my mom was finished with chemo and we were taking her for her radiation therapy appointment. I had homework. So, I started the homework. During this time there was a video for more information on plant breeding. So far I've told five different people about this scientist and his amazing discovery. The video was on a plant scientist named Fairchild. He wanted to create a new plant species. At the time England was still a God fearing country, so he had to complete his work in secret. Once he discovered that humans can create new species he was afraid to share his findings with the community. This was mostly because at the time Christians believed only God can create new species and Fairchilds discovery blew that theory out of the water. Fairchild created a new type of carnation, but in the end he did not need to fear sharing his results the plant community was thrilled, but there was a problem. Fairchild's carnation was the mule of the plant world. In other words, the carnation was sterile and therefore not technically a species.At the time nobody knew exactly why the species was sterile. Later in that time period Charles Darwin would explain that the sterile nature was because he breeded to plants that were not close enough relatives to produce off spring. For example when a horse breeds with a donkey. Fairchild discovery is still phenomenal and a total game changer because it opened the doors for new breeding possibilities. Which means, new plants and flowers. Fairchild discovery is the reason why we have plant hybrids and is the corner stone for making stronger more disease resisting crops.

There are no words in the English language to describe my love of nature. My friends tease me everytime we walk past a flower shop, or sometimes they'll follow or call me back because I just automatically walk in. Being outside and having my hands in soil or gazing up at trees, being around flowers makes me feel happy and free. Like I can do anything. I'm never happier than when I'm hiking or adding a new plant to my ever growing collection. My most recent addition is called brugmansia a flowering shrub native to South America. I ask my local flower shop every year, but they never have them. I was overjoyed when I saw them in the nursery this year. These plants are amazing at attracting bees and other pollinators. I try to appreciate nature by planting a bee and pollinator friendly garden. Bees are slowly going extinct and by planting flowers they love to snack on I can help the bee population by proving food and a safe place for then to exist in. Another way I try to appreciate nature is through my conservationist group where I am the assistant treasurer. We pick up litter, sanitize and clean playground equipment and have fun information nights for children to learn how to recycle. I believe that program would have to be my favorite. The smiles on the children's faces when we tell them that they can help is amazing. Seeing their love of nature always makes me smile back because I know they care. To appreciate nature I look through the garbage and put recyclables in the recycling bin. I'm the type of person who uses reusable bottles, resuses plastic bottles and cups until they are not usable and carries them until I find a recycle bin.

To relax and take care of my mental health I like to read books and garden with my outdoor cat Jynxie. I've always loved reading, even at an early age, I loved exploring the world of books and learning. I prefer fantasy books now that I'm older because they allow me an escape from the pressures of my daily life. Gardening is a favored hobby of mine because it allows me to spend more time with my outdoor cat Jynxie. Jynxie has a huge influence in how I lead my life. She is a cat, but I see her more as a best friend because she came to me in a time when I was extremely depressed. My grandma and my two previous cats died of old age and I wanted to die. I felt like my world was turned upside down, and then there was Jynxie, an adorable brown and black and orange cat with gorgeous yellow eyes. I picked her up and she purred on my lap. Jynxie was pregnant and although it's common for cats to have their litters alone I see strength in Jynxie, she knew her babies would have a better life inside and although she didn't like the inside life she stayed until the kittens were big enough to take care of themselves. Although Jynxie is an outside cat now, I still she her take injured kittens under her wing. We make a good team, she brings them to me and I care for them and then find them a loving home. This helps with my mental health because I know Jynxie loves and appreciates me and wants other stray cats to know that love as well. The way she trusts me shows me even on terrible days that I am a good person.

Something I love about myself is my passion. Passion for the things I love like reading, puzzles and movies. Passion for my schoolwork, and my future career. Sometimes I stay up until the early hours of the morning to start a new module just because I love learning and discovering new things. My Passion comes from always striving to do my best and to make my family and myself proud. My passion is animals, it always has been ever since I was a little kid. I would take in stray animals, feed them, care for them and let them leave when they wanted to leave. I still feed the stray animals, and make sure the bird feeder is full. I renovated my dad's old tool shed into a safe haven for animals. They rest in there when it storms. One thing I love about myself is my passion for the things I love.

Joy to me is when I have a book in my hands and a purring cat in my lap. My dad is silently falling asleep in his chair and my mom is putting on 'Mysteries at the museum '. Joy is coming home after a long day at school and seeing my little girl waiting for me. She meows in greeting and climbs onto my shoulder. Rubbing her face aganist mine, silently asking how my day went and if she can have treats. I belive true Joy is the moment when you realize that you would not change a thing about the situation your in. A moment in your life where you truly feel content. Your not searching for anything and everything you could ever want is right in frount of you. Joy is everywhere, Joy is in a vitamin water with crushed ice. In the smile of an elderly woman who just received flowers from a grandchild. Joy is in the eyes of a child looking up at the tallest building they've ever seen. It's in musical notes and leaves of trees. I don't need to go on a magical quest for joy. Because joy is everywhere and in everything we do. I have four furry sources of joy in my house, I don't need to go looking for joy, because when I come home they come running to me.

My name is Rebecca Foose and I have ADD and Dyscalculia. This year I was taking two math classes back to back and I wasn't understanding anything the professor was trying to teach. I felt so stupid, I fell asleep on my notebooks studying for math exams that I would fail. I felt so hopeless and lost and the more people that would ask me if I studied the more worthless I felt. It's not just myself, I'm also working towards breaking the stigma for my brothers', all of them are on the autism spectrum and the stories they would tell me broke my heart. My mother put them in a special school after the bullying got so bad they came home in tears. They were born with disabilities but that doesn't make them any less human than "normal" people. There is no "normal " person in the world. We all have our problems and skeletons in our closets, clinging to stereotypes, and these "normals" make us hurt people just like us, just because their a little different. My best friend's sister has cerebral palsy and her mother had to pull her from school a few weeks ago. Not just bullying from students, but bullying from teachers who didn't understand her disability well enough to realize that their words hurt her. Her mother had to quit her job to home school her. I want to challenge the stigmas around mental health because I believe that humans are wholly good, but when we place stereotypes and stigmas around people we are hurting our humanity. My end goal is to become a veterinarian to not only pets, but to emotional support animals. I'm opening a soothing garden for autistic and mentally challenged individuals in the back of my practice where they could just relax, get away from life for a few hours, or to just do homework. We all need a safe place and opening a place where animals and humans can heal and learn sounds like a good start.

I've always loved making things. What makes me happy is making organic perfume over my gas stove with my cats watching me curiously from the table. Sometimes these perfumes are themed. I made a good luck one and wore it to bingo with my Father. There's a passion one for valentines day, peppermint for Christmas. It's so much fun watching the colors change, finding just the right bottle and experiencing all the different scents I can make. I also love spending time with my cats, my cats are my world and I spoil them rotten. When I get back from a hard day at school nothing cheers me up more than my sweet little black cat curling up on my shoulder while giving me cheek kisses. Then my big fluffy orange boy circles my legs and meows at me until I pick him up. Just knowing that my cats love me unconditionally even if I didn't do particularly well on a test or if I tripped in the hall and broke my phone, makes me smile. They don't care about grades or appearances. All they care about is me for me, and without them I don't know what I'd do.

My goals in life are to help the animals and make their lives better as a whole. Keeping prices low and making house calls for the elderly and disabled help all animals have an equal shot at getting treatment. I also want to educate the children of my neighborhood on poisonous plants and how to treat injuries caused by them, because the majority of accidental deaths caused by poison are from small children who mistook then for another plant. I plan to open my own practice after college with a small poison garden with open tours and activities to get the community involved. What excites me most in this world is reading and sharing books with others. Nothing makes me happier when I pass on a good book and then I receive a text or a call gushing about the book I recommended. I feel like I've opened somebody else's eyes to a whole new world. I love volunteering, I'm part of a fledgling group called "the friends of tuscora and locust lake" as a group we host community events, refurbish trails, clean litter from the lakes and trails, and clean/sanitize playground equipment. The project we're currently working on is called "blue bird" where we make bird boxes for declining bluebird and swallow populations. This project is immensely important to me because my grandma and I used to go bird watching at the lakes near her house before she got sick. Due to predation the bluebird and swallow populations are declining, the bird boxes prevent this by keeping the birds in a safe space, where bats and bigger birds cannot get in. My goals in life are to help animals have equal chances at getting medical treatment. Educate parents and children on the dangers of poisonous plants and how to prevent injury and accidental death. I love sharing books to make others happy and I love giving back to the community by volunteering.

"Fool! Don't you see now that I could have poisoned you a hundred times had I been able to live without you. " I love this quote from Cleopatra because it shows me that even though humans as a race are capable of doing terrible things to one another we do not always choose the hurtful option. Growing up I always admired her beauty, grace and strength as a leader and ruler. I remember watching her story over and over on long car trips with my father. She was a strong female leader, that I strive to be like everyday. Her leadership shows us the importance of communication and elegance in diplomacy, as well as in everyday life. I remember in my father's car a scene from her movie. She stowed away on a ship to protect her father because she did not believe the nasty rumors of her people. They stayed with the Greeks and she found out they would not help them return because of a prophecy. She studied the manuscripts and in and day out and found a way to return to her home and save her father. In addition she presented the evidence in Greek, a language foreign to her at the time. I remember how she spoke with grace, and yet her words were laced with power. She stood up for her beliefs and won. In addition she was prephaps one of the first woman leaders in history. Which in my opinion shows little girls that they do not have to submit to social guidelines and expectations. Once you realize that you have many bold people to change the world and make it a better place for everybody.

Experiences outside of the classroom are just as important as the lessons on the inside of the classroom because you cannot learn about life while sitting indoors. You need to go outside and feel the wind on your face, hear your feet splash in a puddle. You cannot find your passion while sitting in a classroom doing conversions. When I truly knew that wanted to be a veterinarian I was nursing a pregnant cat back to health. I always knew I wanted to help animals, but actucally taking care of them was how I confirmed that I definetely wanted to do this forever. You need to go out and explore to find what your truly good at, and what you love doing and sometimes you can find it inside a classroom, but other times you need to hit the ground running. You need to go and make mistakes and explore and once you find what your truly passionate about everything else will drive you to work for that goal. Social skills and opinions cannot be taught in a classroom, those you need to learn on your own. In your own way. Your personality, your way of living is entirely you, life is the best teacher, strict and not always fair, but her lessons stick with you.