When I was 18 and a freshman in college, I knew what I wanted to pursue: psychology and sociology. This had been my plan ever since fifth grade, when my classmates were starting to think about middle school and how to prepare for their future careers. Despite struggling academically in middle school, I picked myself back up in high school and graduated in the top 5% of my class. I knew what I wanted to do and I did not want anyone or anything to stop me from pursuing my dreams. However, when I got to college in Fall 2022, I discovered a harsh truth: in college, it is impossible to be perfect. When I was in high school, I devoted all my time to being "perfect." I had over 100 service hours, a part-time job, was in 5 clubs, had a 4.4 GPA, went to a science camp, was in the National Honor Society, and gained field experience in early childhood education. By most people's standards, I was just the right fit for any degree I wanted to pursue. When I got to college, however, everything fell apart. I received C's and D's on all of my assignments. I went to office hours, pulled all-nighters, applied to countless jobs, and went to club meetings only to fall short of my goals every day. I still remember pouring a Red Bull into my Starbucks refresher before passing out in the dining hall because I had stayed up all night just trying to get organized. I was putting more effort into everything than I ever had in high school, but performing worse. I didn't know how to fix it, and I felt like I was doomed to fail, so I dropped out. Over the next few years, I struggled to gain the courage to get back into psychology and sociology. I knew I wanted to help other people with mental illness and financial hardship like myself, but I was so afraid of failing again that I chose Supply Chain Management instead because it was easier. While working at Target freshman through junior year, I got free college classes at the University of Denver. I loved my school, but I always felt like something was missing. I felt like I wasn't living up to my true potential. In February 2025, I signed up for a course at DU called "The Puerto Rican Paradox." It was a week-long trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico that included lectures and field trips where we were assigned a research project about a topic related to the Puerto Rican Diaspora. I chose languages because when I visited, I was fascinated by the diversity of language in the Caribbean. On the trip, I not only met classmates with similar interests as me, but I felt, for the first time since high school, what it was like to take a class I was interested in. I took a few courses at DU that interested me, but nothing like this. On the plane ride home, I realized what I needed to do. Four months later, I put my two weeks in at Target and applied to the University of Colorado. I realized that it was more important to do what I cared about than what was "easy." Despite this decision delaying my graduation by a year, I don't regret it at all. The only thing I regret is not doing it sooner.

My name is Savannah and I am a college junior/senior in my fourth year of college. I recently changed my major from business to psychology because I have always known that was my passion but I was too afraid to pursue it. With my psychology degree I am going pre-law to open up more career opportunities. In one of my pre-law courses we have a service requirement. I got to help run a OneNation clothing drive and volunteer at an assisted living facility. Later this semester I am also volunteering at a Buddhist temple and at another assisted living facility. When volunteering at the assisted living facility, I learned a lot about the lives people live who are not the same age as me. I often hold a judgmental view of older people because I am afraid they think negatively of people my age. Helping people at an assisted living facility with tech questions made me feel more connected to people in older generations. It also taught me about another possible career path in psychology. I look forward to being able to use my psychology degree to work in social work or at hospitals. My goals for the rest of college are to get more involved in community service as well as political advocacy. Alongside my involvement in community service through my classes, I am also involved with the Sociology Club and Young Democratic Socialists of America. I find it important to stand up for what I believe in as a young low-income college student. I have had difficulties with having to transfer colleges a few times since high school because of financial aid. My goal is to advocate for accessible education, healthcare, and housing for all because I have struggled with those things. Going pre-law opens more opportunities for me to get involved in political advocacy. I believe no one should have to compromise their dreams for financial reasons. I went 3 years before changing my major to what I wanted because I was scared to challenge myself. I was afraid I would get a low GPA in my desired major and lose financial aid. At 21, I am more open to challenging myself academically and getting out of my comfort zone because I believe it is more important to do what I am passionate about than what is easy. I want to work to make affordable education possible for more students like me so we don't have to worry about things getting hard and losing our financial aid.

One personal finance lesson that I find important is also a valuable life lesson. Oftentimes with my finances, just like in life, I plan every detail of what I will do with my money and how much more I will get. In good and bad ways, I have learned that planning every detail of how I spend my money is not realistic. For example, this summer I had a perfect plan: I had a list of colleges and wrote down all of their application fees, leaving space in my budget for other expenses. When I finished making my calculations, I knew exactly how I would spend my money - until my computer broke. I was devastated because it threw a wrench in my entire plan; I encountered a huge setback that caused me to rethink how I spend my money and how much I allocate for certain things. Additionally, I began to change my mind about which colleges I was considering and decided that having a list of colleges was not going to work for me. In July, I knew the right thing to do for my financial health was to get a job. Now I make more money than I thought I would, and I can afford to spend it on college applications, standardized tests, and even Homecoming. As I encountered big changes in my life and finances, I have let go of trying to plan out how I spend my money. Letting go of planning how I spend every dollar has also taught me not to take life too seriously because, just like with money, plans in life don't always work out. In conclusion, the biggest lesson I have learned about money is that, just like with life, planning how to spend it will not always work out.

My Instagram handle is @savannah_storms. I also have an account called @pride.unicorns. I am proud to be bisexual because it gives me answers to the questions I have asked for so long. I used to be very confused as to why I had weird feelings about some people until I realized I probably liked girls as well as guys.

When I started my sophomore year of high school, my learning strategies teacher told the class that we needed to volunteer in our community. While I was nervous to talk to my parents about volunteering, I was determined to go through with my goal to volunteer in my community. For a year and a half, I volunteered for my local cat rescue, Wild Blue Cats. I helped out at adoption fairs so cats and kittens could find new homes, and I helped out at other events by giving candy and prizes to visitors. My experience at Wild Blue Cats was cut short after my mom told them I would no longer be volunteering halfway through my junior year, because I had found another organization that was taking up most of my time. YAPA Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating grades one through eight during the COVID-19 pandemic, has become one of my favorite activities I have done in high school. It is an entirely online program in which I teach and create curriculum for classes taught to grades one through eight. These online classes are not a replacement for school, but rather supplemental education. I teach art, photography, and Spanish, and I make curriculum for art, photography, and psychology. Taking up about eight hours of my week, YAPA Kids has become not only a favorite activity of mine but also a valuable part of my identity. My experience as a YAPA Kids volunteer, as I said in my interviews for my local news station and local newspaper, has taught me just how powerful Generation Z can be with no assistance or interference from adults. YAPA Kids is entirely run by high schoolers. It was created by high schoolers, and continues to thrive thanks to our motivated team. YAPA Kids has taught me the value of selflessness, independence, and hard work, and I am forever grateful to have signed up to become a teacher on Halloween of 2020. My experience volunteering for Wild Blue Cats and YAPA Kids has helped me grow as a person and has also helped with my mental health, as I am able to get involved in something greater than myself. Aside from those two major organizations, I have also participated in volunteer activities with the National Honor Society at my school. This year, I cleaned up trash at my local park as part of the Great American Cleanup, and I volunteered at a charity run called "Run to the Shrine" at my local zoo. These activities have given me something meaningful to do on weekends and has also helped with my mental health by getting me outside. Joining the National Honor Society was one of the best choices I have made in high school because it has allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and participate in things I never thought I would be able to. My actions in my community have helped to make not only my own community but the world a better place. Every time I complete a task for YAPA Kids or participate in an activity for NHS, I know that I am helping with an important cause and that without volunteers like me, many things would not get accomplished. I hope to continue volunteering long after high school and college, improving every place I visit and contributing to the fight for social and environmental justice.

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." This quote by Albert Einstein speaks volumes about not only my academic career but the academic careers of so many students with disabilities. As someone with ADHD and anxiety, I often had trouble paying attention and knowing what was going on when I was younger. I often missed important deadlines and information, failing to meet the high standards I set for myself because I was stuck in my own head. I got in trouble at school frequently and would say and do things without thinking. My mind felt as if it was going one thousand miles an hour and I didn't have time to think about the consequences of my words, actions, and behaviors. I often compared myself to others and still do. How is it that so many people can achieve so much more than I do when I work so hard? Why can't I achieve what they do, and why don't I give myself a chance? These questions led me to realize what I wanted to do with my life. I decided in ninth grade that I want to be a school psychologist so I can help students like me realize they have potential and that they are not inferior simply because they live in a world built for neurotypical people. As a junior in high school now, I strive to do well in school so that I can go to college and get a degree in psychology. My goal is to help other people like me realize their worth and that they are not stupid just because they live in a world that expects everyone to think in the same ways.

A woman in my life that I admire is my mom. She is an immigrant from Germany and moved to the United States when I was a baby. My mom grew up in East Germany, and the Berlin Wall came down when she was eight years old. She often tells me what it was like to live in a socialist country, how everyone had the same things and simple items were hard to come by. It inspires me greatly how she met my dad in 2002 and went with him to Minnesota a few years later to start a new life. She is so incredibly successful, with a Bachelor's degree in nursing and a job for the Army, which she has because she needed to get one when I was ten so we could move back to Germany for a few years. Now we live in Colorado and I have two sisters, five pets, and a good life because she was able to provide for our family. I dream of one day achieving what she has achieved, being financially stable and happy with my career and family.

My favorite scientist is Dorothea Dix because she fought for humane ways to treat the mentally ill. As someone who wants to go into the field of psychology and help the mentally ill, I appreciate what Dorothea Dix did in the fight for equality for people suffering from mental illnesses.

I want to go to college so I can learn more about mental health and reduce the stigma. My plan for college is to major in psychology and get a career working at a school. I either want to be a school psychologist, a teacher, or a special education teacher. I want to work at a school because throughout my life, I have struggled with fitting in due to my anxiety and ADHD. The people who go to public schools have never understood me, and they have shown very little empathy for me, labeling me as the girl who has problems and thinking I'm crazy for wanting lifelong friends. I dream of working in a school and talking to kids like me who struggle with keeping friends, and helping them realize they are not alone. Currently, I am passionate about mental health and LGBTQ+ rights. Mental health has always been important to me because many people do not understand it. I have been called crazy, manipulative, and selfish because of my anxiety and ADHD, and because of my desire for close friends. It is my dream to educate people about mental health so they realize that it is okay to be yourself and it is important to show the world who you truly are. That is also one reason why I am passionate about LGBTQ+ rights, but the biggest reason is because I have a friend who is part of the community. She has always been a big support for me and since she came out, I have become more passionate about LGBTQ+ issues because I care about her and I want the world to be more inclusive. One of my dreams is to surprise her with a giant flag representing her sexuality, so I can show her I care. I participate in a wide variety of extracurricular activities to give myself something fun to do and feel accomplished. Right now, I am on my school's Knowledge Bowl team, which won the National Black History Tournament in February 2021. I am also in the National Honor Society, Sources of Strength, and the Outdoor Adventure Program. Outside of school, I have received more than 60 community service hours volunteering for YAPA Kids as a Spanish teacher, art teacher, photography teacher, curriculum creator, advancement team member, expansion team member, graphics team member, and student growth team member. As a member of the YAPA Kids expansion team, I have been responsible for contacting news stations to get the word out about the nonprofit, and I was recently featured on my local news channel and interviewed about my experience. I am also on the graphics team, and I have made several graphics that will be posted on YAPA's Instagram page. Additionally, I am on the TikTok team, and I made a TikTok for the YAPA Kids page so more people hear about the program. Before COVID-19, I volunteered for a local cat rescue at monthly adoption fairs in addition to being in Art Club and German Club at my school. In addition to ongoing commitments, I have participated in many leadership programs. In February 2021, I participated in Norwich University's Leadership Challenge Weekend - Virtual. Shortly after, I participated in Project Wayfinder and High Resolves Citizenship and Leadership Program. Right now, I am participating in the Purpose Project Fellows Program, an eight-week program designed for students to find their purpose. Lastly, I was the Voice of Democracy Winner for VFW Post 6461 in December 2020, having written the best essay in my community that answered the prompt, "Is this the country the founders envisioned?"

While some might say it isn't technically a STEM field, psychology has been my favorite subject since my freshman year of high school, and I have wanted to be a psychologist ever since. My interest in psychology came from both my experience with mental illness and my interest in certain subjects in school. Even in elementary school, health was one of my favorite classes because I enjoyed learning about mental disorders and emotional health. I related a lot to it because I struggle with ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. As I got older, I developed a desire to help others like me. In middle school, the school psychologist helped me feel understood, and I wanted to follow in her footsteps and help other people like me. Now I am a junior in high school, and I plan to go to college for psychology and get a Bachelor of Science for my undergraduate and then go to graduate school to get a Ph.D. I want to become a psychologist and help people like me who struggle with their mental health. My STEM degree will prepare me to become a clinical, counseling, or school psychologist. I plan to pursue research in college to gain a better understanding of the science of psychology. Psychology studies have always interested me because I think it's fascinating that there are common behavioral and cognitive trends between people. For example, everyone is negatively affected by sleep deprivation and stress, and those are things that can be measured and studied to help people deal with them. If there is more research like this in psychology, more people will benefit. The more psychologists there are who are actively engaged in their field, the more strides will be made in the field that significantly help the population. I hope to become a psychologist for this reason. I want to help people deal with everyday problems as well as mental disorders. I plan to work to reduce the mental health stigma as well as help people live happier and healthier lives. In conclusion, I plan to become a psychologist to help people deal with mental illness and reduce the stigma around it. I also want to help people deal with everyday struggles related to psychology, such as sleep deprivation and stress. I plan to get a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology for my undergraduate and go to graduate school to get a Ph.D. so I can become a professional psychologist.

It's a chilly winter evening and I am laying in my bed scrolling through social media. I had just taken out my cat's litter, and washed my hands for at least a minute with several pumps of soap just to be safe. I mentally went over how successful I am and told myself I am trying the best I can to get into a good college, having just finished another day packed full of virtual college tours, and volunteering. I feel content at the moment, having current anxieties lingering in the back of my mind. I am doing okay, until I see something a friend of mine posted. "If you disagree with me on this, unfollow me. I don't want to be your friend anymore." Suddenly, my thoughts begin to race. Sure, I agree with her opinion, but what if I didn't? Would she still love me? Does my friend love me for who I am, or does she only love me because I agree with her on certain things? Is she really my friend? Suddenly I can't stop shaking and I feel like crying. I try to find ways to distract myself by watching YouTube or coloring, but nothing is working. My anxiety has taken over, and I can't focus on anything else. That is a typical night for me, living with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I have dealt with anxieties such as these ever since I could remember, with one of my earliest memories being me worrying that I had lost my shoes. I found that many people who battle mental illnesses often feel misunderstood. That's why I plan to become a psychologist or counselor so I can help people realize that they are not alone, and help them find ways to cope. I hope to get a PhD in psychology so I can get a job as a clinical, counseling, or school psychologist and help people cope with mental illness. I want people to know that even though life is hard with mental illness, they can still reach their full potential and live a happy and fulfilling life.

On January 6, 2021, armed Trump supporters raided the US Capitol building, vandalizing federal property and spreading rage and violence throughout not only the DC area, but the entire United States. People watched as security guards essentially sided with the violent protestors, supporting the violence that was occurring. The same people who shot rubber bullets at innocent Black Lives Matter protestors were allowing violent Trump supporters to storm the US Capitol building to protest an "unfair" election. When I heard about the protest at the US Capitol, I felt infuriated and scared. I realized just how powerful a leader can be, and how a population can be manipulated so easily. All the respect I had for Trump, which wasn't much before the event, diminished, and I realized that the people siding with him are putting our country in danger. However, what scared me the most, and what made me even more upset than the event itself, was how people were reacting on social media. People were posting that they can't be friends with anyone who supports Trump, saying things like "leave," "get out," and "unfollow me" in very aggressive manners. Even more frightening, a lot of the people saying these things were my closest childhood friends. As someone who suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder and who worries frequently about what people think of me, I began worrying that my friends weren't friends with me because they liked me, but that they were friends with me because I held certain political beliefs. I worried that no matter how close I am to someone, how much I love them, think about them, and cherish them as a friend, I could lose them in a split second if I even question the validity of their arguments. I could lose all my friends instantly if I hear about something good that Trump did, or if I disagree with another opinion of theirs. I began to shake and my thoughts were racing. I began to wonder if anyone truly loves me, or if they only love my opinions. The toxicity of social media, especially after significant political events, needs to change. The way people treat one another needs to change. The problems facing our world today, such as the violence we saw on the 6th of January, 2021, will never be solved through threats or ultimatums. The problems we face this world will never be solved by refusing to hear different opinions or by cutting off even our closest friends. The only thing the ultimatums I see on social media will accomplish is making people more afraid to talk to one another about the best way to solve the world's issues. Social media has made it harder to solve the world's problems, and that needs to end. To make a difference and help make social media a more welcoming place, I have civil discussions with the people who disagree with me. I don't post ultimatums or threats of ending a friendship, but instead I post petitions and reasons why certain problems in the world need to be solved. I also volunteer in my own community as well as online, and through those volunteer experiences I meet people in my community and in my country as a whole who might share different beliefs, but are all united by a common goal to serve the community. By having civil discussions with my closest friends and by joining communities of like minded individuals dedicated to changing the world for the better, I am helping to make the world a little less divided, and I am helping to make people a little less afraid to talk to one another.

When I was ten years old, I asked my dad if he always thought he was about to die when he was a kid. Expecting him to say he often did, and to find some security knowing I wasn't alone, what my dad said made me feel even worse. "No," he said. "That's not normal." Not normal. When I was younger I constantly thought I was going to die. If I had a headache, a stomach ache, or any other minor symptom I would assume it was cancer or that I was poisoned. I imagined dying suddenly with no one being able to explain why. I looked at old photos from my childhood and cried. I lived in constant fear. My earliest memories are of me being worried about something. When I was five, I would fear that my mom would forget to pick me up from daycare if I didn't ask her when she would be there. When I was seven, I would worry that I swallowed a shard of plastic and would drop dead at any moment. When I was eleven, I was paranoid of having appendicitis, a fear that was made worse when I constantly poked at my stomach until it actually hurt. When I was thirteen, I worried about being a failure and disappointing everyone. I worried about being a side character in a world of people who were drastically more successful than me. When I entered high school, I worried about what people thought of me, a fear that was so bad that it was hard to get along with some people simply because of their demeanor. In fact, when I was in the tenth grade, I worried so much about what people thought of me that I would ask the counselors to excuse me from class. Now I'm sixteen and what worries me is losing my friends, being a failure, and never getting to experience a normal world again because of COVID-19. Anxiety has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It's influenced my daily routine, it's influenced my friendships, and it's influenced my academic success in ways positive and negative. When I was in the sixth grade, I had a set of rituals I would follow every night so I wouldn't get murdered in my sleep. I would look at myself in the mirror and say that I loved myself, so the universe wouldn't assume I was taking my life for granted. I would check that my windows were shut several times a night, and if I touched something and had an intrusive thought at the same time I would touch it again to get rid of the bad luck. It was hard to sleep at night, and it was even harder to do well in school. I would add several hearts and loops to my handwriting because I thought not doing so would cause bad luck. I spent too much time on my homework and never got it all done. I lived in constant fear that bad things were going to happen if I didn't do everything right. All of these anxieties were temporary, however, and only lasted until the next worry took up my thoughts. Anxiety has made it difficult to maintain friendships. In second grade, I always felt excluded from friendships because everyone thought I was the bad kid who threw tantrums in class. People pretended to be friends with me so I wouldn't get upset, which only made me feel worse. It wasn't until the fourth grade that I met genuine friends, and I had to leave them six months later because I was moving overseas. We are still friends, and now I only live a few states away from them. However, this past summer, my fear of losing my long-distance friends because of differences in political values got so bad that I almost drove them away. We fought constantly and I often jumped to conclusions and assumed they would leave me, when they never explicitly said they would. I got defensive when talking about certain things with them because I was deathly afraid of them abandoning me. We haven't fought in almost three weeks now, and I hope to maintain that. In eighth grade, my focus was on being the best in everything and being popular and successful. I joined several clubs just so others would be impressed by me, even though I hated being in many of them. I checked my school email constantly to make sure I never missed an opportunity. This drive to impress others has followed me ever since, and now as a junior in high school I work all day and sometimes until I feel physically sick. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well, because I don't want to let myself or others down. My desire to do well is so intense that I skip meals and compromise sleep and happiness to achieve a higher GPA. Anxiety has made it harder to live in many ways, but it has also enriched my life. If it wasn't for my fear of failure, I wouldn't try so hard in school. My cautiousness prevents me from doing dangerous things that could injure myself, and the value I place on my friendships makes me work harder to keep them. While anxiety has definitely made things harder, I try to find the silver lining in it all by focusing on how it has shaped me as a student and as a person.

One woman in STEM who I admire is Dorothea Dix, one of the first women to enter the field of psychology. Dorothea Dix made it her life's mission to provide more humane asylums for the mentally ill, and reduce the stigma surrounding mental disorders. In the 19th century, people with mental illnesses were treated like criminals and locked away to "protect" society. This only made them more sick, and Dorothea Dix felt the need to change that. Dorothea Dix is an inspiration to me because I suffer from anxiety and I would not have wanted to be treated as a threat to society if I lived in the 19th century. She also inspires me because she was one of the first women to make a significant impact in the field of psychology. Psychology used to be a subject exclusively for men to study, but pioneers such as Dorothea Dix are the reasons why it is now a female-dominated field. My goal in STEM is to become a psychologist and help to reduce the stigma around mental illness, much like Dorothea Dix did. I know psychology isn't always considered a STEM subject, but it does involve a lot of STEM skills such as biology, statistics, and neuroscience, and a good understanding of those skills are vital to succeed in psychology. Additionally, psychology used to be a subject limited to only men, and it is inspiring that women have come to dominate the field. The impact women have made in psychology is a message to the world that we can become just as successful as men, if not more successful, in any field we choose. I hope to one day enter this field and become another one of those inspirational women.

When I was in the seventh grade, I got into the National Junior Honor Society. I had been working hard for the entire school year to build a strong application so I could get in, and when I opened my acceptance letter, my heart filled with joy. My hard work had finally paid off. The following year, in eighth grade, I began going to regular meetings for NJHS and became the secretary. Wanting more than anything to be perfect and popular, I also joined Student Council and the environmental club at my school, as well as participated in quarterly intramural sports. I went to a leadership seminar as well, and volunteered regularly. The pressure I put on myself to be perfect overwhelmed me, and my grades began to drop. I became irritable and impatient with people, and was struggling to get B's in some of my classes. I wasn't getting enough volunteer hours either, which caused me great anxiety. I quit the environmental club because it was too overwhelming, and I forced myself to stay in Student Council, even though I didn't enjoy in. One day in February, I snapped and got in trouble. That was the final straw for everyone, and I got kicked out of NJHS. I felt like my life was over, and like I had failed. I felt like the screw-up in my family, and like I was doing a disservice by existing. I felt worthless, like no matter how hard I tried, I would never be good enough. The following year, I started high school. Nervous for the future and what colleges would think of me, I decided not to overload my schedule with too many extra-curriculars or hard classes. I stuck to what I knew I could handle, and I managed to maintain a 4.14 GPA all year and participate in the drama club and two talent shows. I moved overseas that year and still kept my grades up, and I even went to a leadership conference after I moved. Having learned from my experiences in middle school, I decided not to overwhelm myself, and I still follow that advice. Because I didn't pack my schedule with things I didn't enjoy, I was able to get a high GPA and take part in the things I did enjoy. In October of this year, I got into the National Honor Society, and I knew that I couldn't have gotten to where I am today if it wasn't for my experiences in middle school. Getting kicked out of NJHS taught me not to overwhelm myself, and to stick to things I know I can handle and that I know I will enjoy.

Currently, I am working to get good grades in high school so I can get into a good college and feel prepared for a heavy workload. To go to college, I will need a lot of scholarship money because my family can't afford to pay for it all. If I get this grant, it will help me pay for my college tuition and studying abroad. I plan to double major in psychology and history, with minors in Spanish and anthropology. I also want to study abroad in Mexico or Peru to learn more Spanish. My dream schools include Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado State University Pueblo, and the University of Denver. I want to be in an honors program at one of these schools, as well as an outdoor-related extra curricular. All of these activities will build up my resume for graduate school and employment, as well as teach me new skills in the fields I am interested in. I hope to use the skills I gain in college to become a counseling psychologist, clinical psychologist, or a psychology professor.

In 2019, I climbed the Manitou Incline. It is the hardest hike in the country, and it is located in Manitou Springs, Colorado. I had just moved to Colorado 3 months earlier, and was ready to face this challenge. I made it to the top in 1 hour and 3 minutes, sharing just one water bottle with my mom - we gave the rest of our water to my dad, who didn't make it to the top.

Ever since my mom was six years old, she wanted a horse. Horses have always been her favorite animal, and she dreamt of one day having her own to ride as much as she wanted to. However, as a child, my mom never had a horse. She couldn't afford one, and she wouldn't have had anywhere for the horse to live. As she grew older, my mom began focusing on other things such as college, studying abroad, and having a family. Her dream to have a horse never disappeared, but for decades she didn't put much effort into making that dream come true. When my family moved to Colorado in 2019, my mom knew she would finally get the chance to adopt a horse. The summer before my sophomore year of high school, she met a horse named Strawberry. Strawberry was a paint with an attitude, and she was up for adoption. My mom did everything she could so that she could adopt Strawberry. When she was lame, she bought special salt to soak her hooves in. She took her to several vet appointments and paid for a farrier to trim her hooves. My mom ended up paying thousands of dollars for Strawberry not to be lame anymore, but she still wasn't rideable. Strawberry was too expensive to adopt and not ride, and although my mom loved her, she realized she should look for a more suitable horse. In the fall of 2019, my mom met Glory. Glory was a thoroughbred who used to be a race horse. She was underweight and had ticks everywhere. My mom, however, fell in love with her, and in January 2020 she finally made the decision that she had been waiting for three decades to make. She was going to adopt Glory. My family has had Glory for almost a year now, and we consider her a part of our family. Her sense of humor, her cuteness, and her overall sweet personality are all reasons why I am thankful to have her. However, the number one reason why I am thankful for Glory is because she made my mom's dream come true.

The theme for my playlist is trying your best to succeed and overcome challenges. The songs in the playlist are all based on the song "I'm Ready" by AJR, which is about being motivated. The rest of the songs focus on motivation and overcoming challenges. For example, "If You're Going Through Hell" by Rodney Atkins is about pushing through the hard times, "Look At Her Now" by Selena Gomez is about overcoming them, and "Whatever It Takes" by Imagine Dragons is about everything in between.

Education is one of the most important things in my life. I have always been interested in learning, having learned my colors by age four and the seven continents by age six. Education not only allows me to explore several career paths and subjects that peak my interest, but it also motivates me to do well in all areas of my life. The motivation I have to do well in school crosses over to other areas of my life, such as keeping strong relationships and volunteering in my community. Through the classes I have taken and the programs I have participated in at school, I have learned not only arbitrary facts about history and science, but also valuable life skills such as advocating for myself and working with others. I dedicate almost all of my time to education, either studying, doing homework, or applying to scholarships and researching colleges. I enjoy a lot of it, but sometimes it can be tiring. What I do to stay motivated is remind myself of the impact education has had on me as well as on my family, and the impact it can continue to have if I keep working hard. My parents both went to college, so I am motivated to follow in their footsteps. My mom was able to have a stable job and a nice family, as well as enough money to travel, because she got a Bachelor's degree in nursing that allowed her to work for the US Army. I hope to achieve the same, only with a PhD in psychology, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in geography with minors in Spanish and sociology or history. I work hard every day to do what I need to so I can achieve those goals with as little student debt as possible, and hopefully someday have a stable job and family and be able to travel thanks to my education.

Self-love. When asked why I put so much pressure on myself, why I try so hard to take opportunities and be successful, I say it's because I struggle with self-love. When I was younger, I got rejected from many things and I was always seen as the bad guy. Kids at school and in the neighborhood excluded me from things and. as I got older, people on social media would publicly shame me. I was called names online and rude remarks have been thrown at me, but I know now to ignore them because in the past when I spoke up I just got in trouble. Now I'm a junior in high school, and my friendships haven't been so great for the past few months. I have been afraid to share my opinions with my friends because in the past, others have treated me badly for it. I began getting defensive and paranoid, and they no longer enjoyed talking to me. Now I only have two close friends left, but I am still happy with that because I know I am lucky to at least have them. As my friendships were failing, I turned to success as a way to distract myself and feel more confident, like a good person who cares about her future and works hard to achieve her goals. I have applied to dozens of scholarships, attended dozens of virtual college tours, and I currently have a 4.43 GPA this semester, am in the National Honor Society, and am about to compete in my first Knowledge Bowl competition. My journey with self-love is still happening, and it is difficult not to beat myself up over small things. However, I often remind myself of the friends I do have and of the successful things I have done. While it doesn't solve my problem with self-love completely, I have learned that sometimes what you have to do to overcome self-consciousness is turn to the people you know will support you, and keep doing the things you know will help you.

When someone asks me who my role model is, I always think about my mom. She has always been there for me and supported me, while also inspiring me through her own achievements. My mom grew up in East Germany. When she was eight years old, her parents divorced and her dad left to go to the West. The wall came down shortly after, and her country ceased to exist. She often tells me stories about how everyone had the same clothes and school supplies, and how simple commodities like bananas were a rare and special thing to come by. Fast forward to a decade or so later. To get away from her dysfunctional family, she became an au pair in Michigan, having never visited America before. She often tells me stories of how different it was, how scared she was but how happy she is that she took that opportunity. I enjoy hearing about how she never knew peanut butter existed before she went to Michigan, and how she dated a guy who had a band that she secretly didn't like. I like it when she tells me about how scary it was when she spent a week in New York City, how completely lost she was but how thankful she is for the experience and the friends she made. When my mom came back to Germany, she went to Heidelberg University after graduating high school, and majored in translation. Taking Spanish classes, she also studied abroad in Spain. One day, while studying at Heidelberg, my mom went into a Yahoo! chatroom to talk to American soldiers. She was looking for a guy she met at the bar, when she stumbled upon someone else named Lost Yankee. Out of sheer boredom and impulsivity, my mom sent him a text. It wasn't long before they started dating, and before she became pregnant. She dropped out of Heidelberg, not liking her major or the thought of pursuing translation for the rest of her life. Her and my dad packed their bags and moved to Minnesota when I was one year old, after my dad quit the Air Force to start a family. My mom found better opportunities when she moved to Minnesota. At first, she didn't know what she wanted to do with her life, and my family was living on the poverty line in my grandma's basement. However, she soon found out how easy it was to become a registered nurse, and began community college at Ridgewater. After that, she went to Minnesota State University Mankato and graduated with her Bachelor's degree when I was eight years old. That same year, she became a US citizen. When my mom became a US citizen, she gave up her German citizenship. She felt like she identified more with America than Germany, and she was okay with giving up her citizenship so she could get more opportunities. What I did not know was the opportunity she was going to take just one year later. When I was in the fourth grade, my mom got a job as a psych nurse at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. I was about to move overseas, not having lived in Germany since I was a baby. I was excited, but nervous. When we got there, everything was different. I worried constantly, and a year later was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Moving made me realize I had anxiety, and it was a scary adjustment. I used to think it was normal to think I was going to die every one and a while, but when I moved it got much worse and I couldn't enjoy anything. My mom helped me get through it, though, telling me that she dealt with the same thing during her childhood, and sometimes still does. Over the years she has told me I am stronger than my anxiety, and I can overcome it. She was right. My five years in Germany were the craziest five years of my life, and I am beyond thankful for that opportunity. My mom showed me that anyone can succeed, no matter the circumstance. My mom started out as a German immigrant on the poverty line, just having dropped out of one of Germany's most prestigious universities. She ended up a world traveler with a stable family, a Bachelor's degree, and a secure job. When I think about what I want to do when I grow up, I look to my mom. I want to be like her, not in the sense that I want to be a psych nurse and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, but in the sense that I want to have a stable job, a nice family, a well-rounded education, and the ability to take my kids around the world, and to the places I was lucky enough to see.