Since childhood, every time I was asked the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, my answer has involved healthcare. Although the careers themselves have shifted, I have always known that I wanted to spend my life helping others. I believe this goal is driven by two things – my passion for healing those around me and my empathy for patients that need care. Having a family that has experienced a plethora of illnesses, disorders, and diseases, I understand the perspective of being a patient and a family member of a patient. My personal experiences with workers and patients in this field have led me to strive for a career in healthcare, because I want to help others the way so many healthcare workers have helped me and my family. I have held two different jobs throughout high school and my time so far at college. My first job was being a warehouse associate at The Write Stuff. Here, I assembled school supply kits for individual students, classes, and grade levels of up to 600 students for schools across the US. I learned how to work well and collaborate with my coworkers. Additionally, I practiced communicating issues regarding warehouse inventory to the General Manager to ensure efficient delivery of our school supplies. My second, and current, job is a lifeguard for Pool Guards Inc. I worked as a lifeguard in the summer of 2024 as well as this summer. As a lifeguard, I have multiple tasks. I watch patrons in and out of the water and ensure safety of everyone present at the pool. I also work with fellow lifeguards to prepare, maintain, clean, and close the facility each day. As an authority figure at the pool. I have gained efficient, assertive communication skills through daily interaction with people of all ages, which I will utilize throughout my career as a nuclear medicine technologist. I discovered nuclear medicine during my first semester as a student at the University of Missouri. I was enrolled in a Freshman Interest Group regarding Medical Careers, and on my first day, I met someone who told me they were pursuing nuclear medicine. Having never heard of this field of medicine, I began researching the opportunities and career pathways within it. Throughout the next month, I found myself constantly thinking about the field and picturing myself being a part of it. I decided to set up a meeting with the division head of the nuclear medicine department to ask him all of my questions about the field. We spoke about his experiences, possible pathways, and about how ground-breaking this field is. From the frequent patient interactions to the developing manner of the field to the work-life balance, nuclear medicine technologists checked all of my boxes for my future career. I plan to make a positive impact on the world as a nuclear medicine technologist by allowing my compassion for others to guide me throughout my career. I aspire to be a technologist that brings joy to the lives of the people I am treating. I understand that seeing a nuclear medicine technologist is typically disquieting because of what results may await. I want to be a calming, friendly face that hopefully removes some of the stress behind my patients’ testing/treatment days.

Taylor's first show of the Eras Tour began on March 17th, 2023. I remember sitting in my bed, wearing my 1989 crewneck, frantically searching for clear live streams to watch the show from. When the countdown clock appeared on the screens, my heart was racing at a mile a minute. As the dancers emerged from the huge screen with their large pink, orange, and purple props, it finally hit me that in just three short months, I would be watching that same concert live from Soldier Field. The nostalgia-filled intro blasted from my phone as tears welled up in my eyes. Taylor popped up from the stage singing "Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince" - one of my sister and I's favorite songs to sing from Lover- and I could not contain my excitement! The elation grew as she began singing "Cruel Summer". I sprinted to my living room and told my dad all about the intro and first songs. After listening to me rave about Taylor Swift my entire life, he was used to hearing all about her every move. I decided that I did not want to know every detail about the show, since I was seeing it live over the summer. However, I could not bear knowing nothing about the show. My internal agreement was to rejoin the live stream every 20 minutes, which would allow me to stay in the loop without spoiling the entire show for myself. Every weekend, from March to August, I joined a live stream at 10:30 pm local time to hear what the surprise songs would be. It was an integral part of my weekend routine, and I rarely missed a show. Taylor claimed at the beginning of the tour that she would only repeat surprise songs if she messed them up, so it was important to me that I knew which songs she had already played. My sisters and I even had a master list taped to our kitchen wall of every possible remaining surprise song that we updated after every show. In April of 2023, I went through my very first breakup with my boyfriend of four years. I was devastated, and I shut myself out from my friends and family around me. My entire life and routine had changed all at once, and I could hardly keep up. The one constant in my life during that time was Taylor Swift's music and The Eras Tour. Knowing that I was going to see my favorite artist live in a few months was enough to get me through my darkest days. Streaming her music made me feel less alone and more understood. I am so grateful that one of the saddest periods of my life aligned with her tour- filled with joy, love, and community. My shows on June 3rd and 4th were, in my opinion, perfect. Being able to scream the lyrics to my favorite songs with my best friends was so incredibly healing. Hearing devastating breakup songs like "All Too Well" and "Tolerate It" really hit home for me, and reminded me of the pain I was experiencing. However, hearing songs such as "The 1" or "Bejewled" were great reminders that I was going to be okay, and that I could get through my breakup just like Taylor did. Overall, experiencing the Eras Tour both virtually and physically was an extraordinary experience that I will never forget. The Eras Tour helped me get through one of my most difficult experiences by bringing excitement and joy back into my life.

2023 was full of highs and lows for me, but the one aspect that remained persistent was my love for Taylor Swift. As soon as I read this prompt, I instantly knew that the songs that best described my year were "Clean (Taylor's Version)" and "New Romantics (Taylor's Version)". In 2014 at eight years old, I received the original 1989 Deluxe CD and fell in love with the album. After listening to the album nonstop for weeks, I knew my favorite songs were "Clean" and "New Romantics". I danced around carelessly to "New Romantics", and poured my heart into singing "Clean" like nobody in the world could hear me. As I have grown older, these two songs have remained some of my favorites in her discography, and I have grown to appreciate their deeper meanings beyond the upbeat backtrack. In my opinion, the song "Clean (Taylor's Version) can only be described as perfection. This year, this song has helped me understand my feelings to an extent that it never has before. While going through a breakup with a boyfriend of four years, this song reminded me that it is okay to feel upset about something that used to be, but that does not mean that it will never get better. The lyric, "When I was drowning, That's when I could finally breathe" perfectly describes how it feels to grieve the loss of a relationship, but simultaneously feel relieved of the weight of the stress and pressure lifted from your shoulders. I connect to the lyrics of this song so deeply, and I have this song to thank for getting me through some of my toughest moments in 2023. "New Romantics" also has an extremely meaningful connection to me. This song is all about living life to the fullest, and that everything will be okay if you dance through life. I needed that reminder this year throughout the stress of college applications, taking the ACT, final exams, and everyday life. Through the difficult times in 2023, "New Romantics (Taylor's Version) reminded me that although I may feel like I need to figure my entire life out, it is okay to just live in the moment and enjoy myself. Additionally, at the beginning of the song, Taylor sings, "We show off our different scarlet letters, Trust me, mine is better". As a huge Taylor Swift fan and a girl named Scarlett, hearing Taylor Swift sing my name means more to me than you can imagine. Being able to listen to new versions of "New Romantics" and "Clean" this year that are owned by Taylor Swift is something that I am so grateful to have experienced. Growing up and maturing with Taylor's music has been one of the best parts of my life. One facet that will always amaze me about Taylor Swift's music is her ability to write such relatable lyrics. Listening to "Clean (Taylor's Version" and "New Romantics (Taylor's Version)" this year felt like she was taking the thoughts straight from my mind and putting them into song form. These two songs epitomize my emotions in 2023, and I am so glad that Taylor Swift finally owns them. I cannot wait to continue streaming 1989 (Taylor's Version) in 2024 and making new memories with these songs. 1989 (Taylor's Version) has helped guide me through my darkest times and celebrate my proudest moments. Although life has many ups and downs, Taylor's music has been able to keep me grounded and always reminds me to live full of joy and wonder, because "The best people in life are free".

I have always set a goal for myself to attend higher education after graduation, just like both of my parents did. As someone who has always enjoyed school, I know that college is the next step in my life. I am passionate about learning and am very excited to begin my college learning later this year at the University of Missouri. I will be majoring in Biological Sciences. I decided to major in Biological Sciences because of my future ambition to become a Dermatologist. Biology has been my favorite field of science since my first Biology class in my Freshman year of high school. My first semester of freshman Biology was on Zoom due to COVID-19, so I missed out on the opportunity to perform any labs at school. Although that was very disappointing, I was still intrigued by the curriculum and knew that I would one day study in that field. This year, I am in the AP Biology course at my school. It was my favorite class first semester and I cannot wait for the second semester! Luckily for me, it is a double-block period, meaning I spend 90 minutes in Biology every day. I have gained an incredible base knowledge from taking this course. With every class, my love for Biology grows because I am always so invested in what I am learning. I know this is the right field for me because even though the work is challenging, I love the concepts I am studying. The difficult content only makes me work harder, which will prepare me for the rigorous courses I will soon take for this major in college. I am so excited to deepen my understanding of all of the concepts I am currently learning in AP Biology. My favorite concept so far has been genetics. We just finished learning pedigrees before winter break, and I was so fascinated by them. I finally understand more about the properties behind dominant and recessive genes, which was something I have been curious about since my short unit about it in freshman year Biology. Every day in AP Biology, I am challenged to draw conclusions from data, analyze patterns, and learn about different processes. The world we live in is truly fascinating, and I feel very grateful that I have been able to take this course and discover more about how the world works. I am so excited to major in Biological sciences when I get to the University of Missouri. I have so much left to learn about the plants and animals living in our world, and I know this is the field that I belong in.