Panda Squirrel Fly Lay Station Crab Work Orca Zebra Sponge Proof Whale Put Penguin Stow Place Yellow: Animals that are black and white: panda, zebra, orca, penguin Green: Kinds of Characters in SpongeBob: Sponge, squirrel, crab, and whale Blue: Synonyms for set: put, station, lay, stow Purple: Fire___: work, fly, proof, place I quite enjoy this game and look forward to playing it. I'll stay up at night and play games like Connections and Wordle as soon as midnight hits. I've always thought that making my own puzzle would be fun, so thank you for this opportunity. For this puzzle, I thought it would be nice to go simple but with multiple options. For example: - There are so many animals in this puzzle within the yellow and majority of the purple category. - Crab, orca, whale, and penguin are all related to the sea, but all do not go together in this puzzle. - "Place" from the purple category could go in the blue category but doesn't - Penguin, put, proof, and place all start with the letter "p" but do not belong to the same category. - Sponge, squirrel, station, and stow all start with the letter "s" but do not belong to the same category.

For the past 5 years, I have been the sole caretaker for my ill mother who suffers from diabetes, glaucoma, kidney failure, neuropathy, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. It wasn't until I turned 18 years old, in April of 2023, that I became an official IHSS Provider. I have learned a lot through my experiences and daily activities, I have learned the process of dialysis, how to monitor vitals, administer medication, and assist with physical therapy. But I have also learned many different medical terms, what different machines are called and what they do, and how to observe a patient's progress through observation and documentation. To care for my mother, I am also responsible for scheduling and traveling with her to and from her doctor's appointments, dialysis, and hospital stays. While caring for my mother, I have found a love for helping people and have decided to further my care in the line of nursing. Not only has my interest in the medical field been driven by caring for my mother, but also through the stories that I hear from my family members. My grandmother was a nurse for over 40 years before she retired, and my mother was a medical assistant before she got sick. I was raised by women who came home and told my sister, who is a kinesiologist, and I stories about their days and their patients. I learned about the many different kinds of people that they came across and the many different ailments that burdened them. I was, and still am, intrigued by these stories and wondered what kind of stories I would tell my children. Today, as I care for my mother, I believe nursing is what I am meant to do. I see the amazing things that I do for my mother now and wonder what more I can do as I learn and grow. There are so many different workplaces and specialties to choose from. But as I choose, I need to learn as much as I can. Although I have had my challenges, I graduated Independence High School with a 3.88 GPA and the completion of 17 college credits through dual enrollment at Sierra College. As of right now, I am about 82% done with my Allied Health - Prenursing (AS) requirements and am still going strong. Moving forward, I look forward to continuing my education and reaching my goals. All in all, despite the challenges of caring for my mother, I have maintained a strong academic standing while also working to up-keep her physical and emotional well-being. The level of care and consideration that I show toward my mother may seem unmatched, but I will make it my duty to use all skills of compassion and empathy to make sure my future patients have the same quality of care.

For the past 5 years, I have been the sole caretaker for my ill mother who suffers from diabetes, glaucoma, kidney failure, neuropathy, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. It wasn't until I turned 18 years old, in April of 2023, that I became an official IHSS Provider. I have learned a lot through my experiences and daily activities, I have learned the process of dialysis, how to monitor vitals, administer medication, and assist with physical therapy. But I have also learned many different medical terms, what different machines are called and what they do, and how to observe a patient's progress through observation and documentation. To care for my mother, I am also responsible for scheduling and traveling with her to and from her doctor's appointments, dialysis, and hospital stays. While caring for my mother, I have found a love for helping people and have decided to further my care in the line of nursing. Not only has my interest in the medical field being driven by caring for my mother, but also through the stories that I hear from my family members. My grandmother was a nurse for over 40 years before she retired, and my mother was a medical assistant before she got sick. I was raised by women who came home and told my sister, who is a kinesiologist, and I stories about their days and their patients. I learned about the many different kinds of people that they came across and the many different ailments that burdened them. I was, and still am, intrigued by these stories and wondered what kind of stories I would tell my children. Today, as I care for my mother, I believe nursing is what I am meant to do. I see the amazing things that I do for my mother now and wonder what more I can do as I learn and grow. There are so many different workplaces and specialties to choose from. But as I choose, I need to learn as much as I can. Although I have had my challenges, I graduated Independence High School with a 3.88 GPA and the completion of 17 college credits through dual enrollment at Sierra College. As of right now, I am about 82% done with my Allied Health - Prenursing (AS) requirements and am still going strong. Moving forward, I look forward to continuing my education and reaching my goals. All in all, despite the challenges of caring for my mother, I have maintained a strong academic standing while also working to up-keep her physical and emotional well-being. The level of care and consideration that I show toward my mother may seem unmatched, but I will make it my duty to use all skills of compassion and empathy to make sure my future patients have the same quality of care.

For the past 5 years, I have been the sole caretaker for my ill mother who suffers from diabetes, glaucoma, kidney failure, neuropathy, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. It wasn't until I turned 18 years old, in April of 2023, that I became an official IHSS Provider. I have learned a lot through my experiences and daily activities, I have learned the process of dialysis, how to monitor vitals, administer medication, and assist with physical therapy. But I have also learned many different medical terms, what different machines are called and what they do, and how to observe a patient's progress through observation and documentation. To care for my mother, I am also responsible for scheduling and traveling with her to and from her doctor's appointments, dialysis, and hospital stays. While caring for my mother, I have found a love for helping people and have decided to further my care in the line of nursing. Not only has my interest in the medical field been driven by caring for my mother, but also through the stories that I hear from my family members. My grandmother was a nurse for over 40 years before she retired, and my mother was a medical assistant before she got sick. I was raised by women who came home and told my sister, who is a kinesiologist, and I stories about their days and their patients. I learned about the many different kinds of people that they came across and the many different ailments that burdened them. I was, and still am, intrigued by these stories and wondered what kind of stories I would tell my children. Today, as I care for my mother, I believe nursing is what I am meant to do. I see the amazing things that I do for my mother now and wonder what more I can do as I learn and grow. There are so many different workplaces and specialties to choose from. But as I choose, I need to learn as much as I can. Although I have had my challenges, I graduated Independence High School with a 3.88 GPA and the completion of 17 college credits through dual enrollment at Sierra College. As of right now, I am about 82% done with my Allied Health - Prenursing (AS) requirements and am still going strong. Moving forward, I look forward to continuing my education and reaching my goals. All in all, despite the challenges of caring for my mother, I have maintained a strong academic standing while also working to up-keep her physical and emotional well-being. The level of care and consideration that I show toward my mother may seem unmatched, but I will make it my duty to use all skills of compassion and empathy to make sure my future patients have the same quality of care.

When I think of community service, I think of fundraising walks, soup kitchens, and community gardens. These activities demonstrate small acts of kindness that affect a vast amount of people within the community. But for me, these activities were never an option during my high school years. This is due to my domestic responsibilities, such as the activities done in order to care for my ill mother, who suffers from many different conditions such as diabetes, glaucoma, kidney failure, neuropathy, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Because of her limited abilities, I have the responsibility of taking care of the household chores and her personal needs, while also maintaining a high standing in my academics. Due to my strenuous schedule, and my mother’s need for constant support and supervision, I have not had the privileged opportunity to extensively participate in community volunteering activities. So, instead of participating in traditional community service, we have created our own domestic versions. Instead of participating in fundraising walks, I walk with my mother to all of her dialysis and doctor appointments, which happen six out of seven days a week. Instead of helping in soup kitchens, I make and clean up after her meals throughout the day. And instead of planting fruits and vegetables in a community garden, I helped my mother to build her own garden in the front yard. I may not be able to care for everyone in the community, but I solely care for one very important person in my life. When it comes to performing acts of service, I try to do my best with the cards that were handed to me. And even though I may not walk five to ten kilometers in a sitting, serve meals to the masses, or grow tomatoes in the park, I do perform smaller acts, which mean the world to one person. I’ve always heard that I should be the change that I want to see in the world, and I hope that as I grow into an adult, my acts of kindness will grow with me. I hope to one day become a nurse and apply the skills of organization, dependability, and resilience that I acquired while caring for my mother to care for the people of my community. But for now, instead of going out into the community and helping a group of people, I stay home and help one person: a very important person to me.

For the past few years, I have been the sole caretaker for my ill mother who suffers from diabetes, glaucoma, kidney failure, neuropathy, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. While helping my mother, I have learned a lot about the medical field during my experiences of reading and organizing medications, listening to her doctors, and observing my surroundings in her hospital rooms. Through daily activities, I have learned the process of dialysis, how to monitor blood pressure and blood sugar levels, how to administer insulin, and different exercises for physical therapy. But, I have also learned many different medical terms, what different machines are called and what they do, how the body is supposed to be when it's healthy, and what it looks like when it’s not. To care for my mother. I am responsible for scheduling and traveling with her to and from her doctor's appointments, and working with home health nurses to learn different techniques and how to use different kinds of supplies to properly meet her needs. Not only has analyzing my mother’s illnesses and treatments spiked my interest in the medical field, but so have the careers of my family members. My grandmother was a nurse for over 40 years before she retired, and my mother was a medical assistant before she got sick. I was raised by women who came home and told my sister, who is a kinesiologist, and me stories about their patients. I learned about the many different kinds of people that they came across and the many different ailments that burdened them. I was, and still am, intrigued by these stories and wondered what kind of stories I would tell my children. Today, as I care for my mother, I believe nursing is what I am meant to do. I see the amazing things that I do for my mother now, and wonder what more I can do as I learn and grow. There are so many different workplaces and specialties to choose from. But as I choose, I need to learn as much as I can. To do that, I need textbooks. Textbooks are expensive, and right now I cannot work because I care for my mother. Because of this, my mother’s disability income is the only source of income that the household currently receives. This amount of money makes it hard to maintain housing, let alone things such as textbooks and transportation. If I were granted this scholarship, I would use the funding for necessities such as textbooks to further my education in the nursing field. All in all, despite the challenges of caring for my mother, I have maintained a strong academic standing while also upkeeping her physical and emotional well-being. The level of care and consideration that I show toward my mother may seem unmatched, but I will make it my duty to use all skills of compassion and empathy to make sure my future patients have the same quality of care.

For the past few years, I have been the sole caretaker for my ill mother who suffers from diabetes, glaucoma, kidney failure, neuropathy, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. While helping my mother, I have learned a lot about the medical field during my experiences of reading and organizing medications, listening to her doctors, and observing my surroundings in her hospital rooms. Through daily activities, I have learned the process of dialysis, how to monitor blood pressure and blood sugar levels, how to administer insulin, and different exercises for physical therapy. But, I have also learned many different medical terms, what different machines are called and what they do, how the body is supposed to be when it's healthy, and what it looks like when it’s not. To care for my mother. I am responsible for scheduling and traveling with her to and from her doctor's appointments, and working with home health nurses to learn different techniques and how to use different kinds of supplies to properly meet her needs. Not only has analyzing my mother’s illnesses and treatments spiked my interest in the medical field, but so have the careers of my family members. My grandmother was a nurse for over 40 years before she retired, and my mother was a medical assistant before she got sick. I was raised by women who came home and told my sister, who is a kinesiologist, and me stories about their patients. I learned about the many different kinds of people that they came across and the many different ailments that burdened them. I was, and still am, intrigued by these stories and wondered what kind of stories I would tell my children. Today, as I care for my mother, I believe nursing is what I am meant to do. I see the amazing things that I do for my mother now, and wonder what more I can do as I learn and grow. There are so many different workplaces and specialties to choose from. But as I choose, I need to learn as much as I can. To do that, I need textbooks. Textbooks are expensive, and right now I cannot work because I care for my mother. Because of this, my mother’s disability income is the only source of income that the household currently receives. This amount of money makes it hard to maintain housing, let alone things such as textbooks and transportation. If I were granted this scholarship, I would use the funding for necessities such as textbooks to further my education in the nursing field. All in all, despite the challenges of caring for my mother, I have maintained a strong academic standing while also upkeeping her physical and emotional well-being. The level of care and consideration that I show toward my mother may seem unmatched, but I will make it my duty to use all skills of compassion and empathy to make sure my future patients have the same quality of care.

For the past few years, I have been the sole caretaker for my ill mother who suffers from diabetes, glaucoma, kidney failure, neuropathy, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. While helping my mother, I have learned a lot about the medical field during my experiences of reading and organizing medications, listening to her doctors, and observing my surroundings in her hospital rooms. Through daily activities, I have learned the process of dialysis, how to monitor blood pressure and blood sugar levels, how to administer insulin, and different exercises for physical therapy. But, I have also learned many different medical terms, what different machines are called and what they do, and how the body is supposed to be when it's healthy, and what it looks like when it’s not. In order to care for my mother. I am responsible for scheduling and traveling with her to and from her doctor's appointments, and working with home health nurses to learn different techniques and how to use different kinds of supplies in order to properly meet her needs. Not only has analyzing my mother’s illnesses and treatments spiked my interest in the medical field, but so have the careers of my family members. My grandmother was a nurse for over 40 years before she retired, and my mother was a medical assistant before she got sick. I was raised by women who came home and told my sister, who is a kinesiologist, and me stories about their patients. I learned about the many different kinds of people that they came across and the many different ailments that burdened them. I was, and still am, intrigued by these stories and wondered what kind of stories I would tell my children. Today, as I care for my mother, I believe nursing is what I am meant to do. I see the amazing things that I do for my mother now, and wonder what more I can do as I learn and grow. There are so many different workplaces and specialties to choose from. But as I choose, I need to learn as much as I can. To do that, I need textbooks. Textbooks are expensive, and right now I cannot work because I care for my mother. Because of this, my mother’s disability income is the only source of income that the household currently receives. This amount of money makes it hard to maintain housing, let alone things such as textbooks and transportation. If I were granted this scholarship, I would use the funding for necessities such as textbooks to further my education in the nursing field. All in all, despite the challenges of caring for my mother, I have maintained a strong academic standing while also upkeeping her physical and emotional well-being. The level of care and consideration that I show toward my mother may seem unmatched, but I will make it my duty to use all skills of compassion and empathy to make sure my future patients have the same quality of care.

I live with my mom, my aunt, and my grandmother. My grandmother is 76 years old. My mom is 44 years old but has many medical issues including diabetes, fibromyalgia, a benign brain tumor, and end stage liver failure. And my aunt is 54 but has a full time job. All throughout the day I am the only completely able bodied person available. With my mom’s kidney failure she has had severe weakness, muscle cramps, and swollen extremities. During these times, and ever since, I’ve taken care of her. During the beginning, she fell everyday and she couldn't walk or get up stairs because she was so swollen. We had weekly hospital visits where my grandma and I spent many nights sleeping in her car in the parking lot, waiting for news about my mom. I cooked, cleaned, and did everything else while having many sleepless nights waiting for and worrying about something to happen. Does she need help going to the bathroom? Will she wake up screaming? She took her medicine right? Now that she has started dialysis, she is doing and feeling a little bit better but she still needs to be wheeled around in her wheelchair. My weeks are spent wheeling her to the pharmacy, dialysis, the doctor’s office, the grocery store, the 99¢ store, and wherever else she wants to go. I pack and unpack the car all day long. She doesn’t make me do anything. No one does. I do it because I love her and want her to be happy. With her happiness, I’m happy. My mom always tells me that she’s grateful. I know that no one else can do what I do for her and I am happy that I can help. She is my mommy after all. I love her.

I believe I give back to my family with my physical abilities. I am the only person in the house that can physically bend, lift, carry, push, and pull things around the house. Between my physically ill and disabled mother and my elderly grandmother, there is always something for me to do. I wheel my mother around in her wheelchair to wherever she wants to go. I pack, carry, unpack, and put away my own, my mother’s, and my grandmother’s groceries. I do my own and my mother’s laundry but I carry everyone’s up the stairs to their rooms. I also help to do a lot of the cooking as well. I clean the house, cars, yard, and everything else I can find. I try to do everything that I can for the people that I love and the people that love me. I do these things, not for something in return, but because it’s the right thing to do. We, as people, are supposed to help one another. Since Covid started, I haven't really been in touch with the outside world. I would really like to reconnect with people and even meet some new friends. I would really like to share my love with as many people as possible. I remember when I was little, everyone in school was told that we were supposed to fill people's “buckets” by showing them kindness and exchanging encouraging words. For a while, I forgot about buckets. I wonder if everyone else did too. My goal is to remind those people and overflow as many buckets with my love as possible.

I live with my mom, my aunt, and my grandmother. My grandmother is 76 years old. My mom is 44 years old but has many medical issues including diabetes, fibromyalgia, a benign brain tumor, and end stage liver failure. And my aunt is 54 but has a full time job. All throughout the day I am the only completely able bodied person available. With my mom’s kidney failure she has had severe weakness, muscle cramps, and swollen extremities. During these times, and ever since, I’ve taken care of her. During the beginning, she fell everyday and she couldn't walk or get up stairs because she was so swollen. We had weekly hospital visits where my grandma and I spent many nights sleeping in her car in the parking lot, waiting for news about my mom. I cooked, cleaned, and did everything else while having many sleepless nights waiting for and worrying about something to happen. Does she need help going to the bathroom? Will she wake up screaming? She took her medicine right? Now that she has started dialysis, she is doing and feeling a little bit better but she still needs to be wheeled around in her wheelchair. My weeks are spent wheeling her to the pharmacy, dialysis, the doctor’s office, the grocery store, the 99¢ store, and wherever else she wants to go. I pack and unpack the car all day long. She doesn’t make me do anything. No one does. I do it because I love her and want her to be happy. With her happiness, I’m happy. My mom always tells me that she’s grateful. I know that no one else can do what I do for her and I am happy that I can help. She is my mommy after all. I love her.

I try to treat others the way that I like to be treated unless told otherwise. With that, to me actively listening is shown by eye contact, participation in the conversation, and the ability to recite the information given to you. This way, the person that is talking to me, or vice versa, can feel listened to. I look at the person that is talking to me. I look at them with my entire body and facially try to engage into the conversation.I try to participate in the conversation by giving my input when asked but also allowing them to say what it is that they needed to say. I hate when I’m interrupted so I try not to do it to others. Sometimes people just want to talk and be heard without hearing outside opinions and I absolutely understand that. It’s good to have someone trustworthy to talk to and I’m happy to be that person. I also know that sometimes what is said between certain people, stays between those people. Most of the time it's not a secret but it still isn’t everyone else’s business. When I tell a story, I also want them to remember what I said. I’m not going to quiz them but I want to make sure they were listening. In order to do this while listening to others, I make sure that I give them my undivided attention. I don't look around, I don't play with my hand, and I don't talk to other people. I’m in this conversation so I stay in this conversation. I try to be empathetic and compassionate while letting that person be the leader of the conversation if that is what they please. I try to be a good friend even though we may be strangers.

Hello, my name is Shamara Thompson. I am a young African American woman with a disabled mother. I come from a single-parent and low-income household. I’m 16 years old and currently a junior in high school while taking a couple of college courses at the local community college. My mother has been very sick these past few years and I have been her primary caregiver. She has a benign brain tumor, fibromyalgia, diabetes, and end-stage renal failure. With Covid going around and the fact that my family and I are immune deficient, I’ve been doing exclusive online classes which also gave me time to take care of her on her bad days. Now that she has started dialysis treatments, she’s doing a little better but still needs help getting around while outside of the house. Because of her illness, she can not work. She receives a monthly Social Security Income and the Child Support received for me is very unreliable. I also can’t work because I have no time between school, study, and house responsibilities. Our money is tight a lot of the time but we try to manage what we have as best as possible. It’s scary to know that without help, I won't go to college. We previously lived in Portland, Oregon, but because of her declining health, we moved to California to be near my aunt and grandmother in case of emergencies. We currently live with them. Because of the high demand for affordable housing, within the two years that my mother and I have been here, we have not received an apartment. For the past two years, after finishing my schoolwork, we have been printing apartment lists, making phone calls, driving around the Sacramento area to find the apartments, filling out apartment applications, praying, and repeating. She has been raising her credit and saving money but nothing seems to be happening. I hope we get one soon but the apartment waiting lists are multiple years long. All that we can do is hope, pray, and continue to fill out applications at different apartment complexes. I haven't made a final decision on my major, but I would love to work in the medical field. Maybe as a nurse, or a physician, or a pharmacist. When she could, my mom worked with mentally ill patients and also in geriatric care. Before her, her mother, my grandmother, was a nurse for over 48 years. I think extending the medical legacy would be fun. With all of the time, patience, and energy that I put into my mom, I’m sure that with a little bit of training, I would be able to help others as well. I’m sure that my experiences, the stories that I have heard, and the education that I hope to receive, will mold me into the extraordinary person that I wish to become. I will take the personal struggle of my past and turn them into the learning experiences that they are. I will use the medical knowledge that I have learned along the way as building blocks to a foundation of a stable career. I want to help my community, just as my community helps me, just as I help my mom, and just as I want others to help my mom. I want to do this because I know that everyone belongs to someone. Everyone is someone’s everything just as my mom is mine.

I come from a single parent, low income family, and although my 3.75 GPA may not be the best, given what I went through getting it, I am proud. All my life I've changed schools almost yearly. I'm not a military brat and I wasn't expelled but instead, my family and I were moving because the rent kept rising and we couldn't afford it. In 2016, from Michigan, my mom and I moved to Oregon to live with her friend. Although this move was planned for years, it wasn't what we had expected. We lived into a house with her now verbally, mentally, and emotionally abusive friend and we had no family. One day I had enough and stood up for myself but that resulted in us getting kicked out. My mother and I then moved in with her coworker for a couple weeks until we got an apartment. This is were the constant moving began. We realized that the West Coast is a lot more expensive than Michigan. We moved every year but I still kept my grades up. My freshman year, I was at my 7th school when Covid began. I had a few rough patches but I still tried to hold strong. My sophomore year, we moved to California and was at my 8th school, my mom got got diagnosed with kidney failure and I spent night in hospital parking lot but still held strong academically. Now, I'm in my junior year, taking a couple college classes while still trying to stand strong. I have had my falls, but I always come back stronger.. I try to stay focused on whats important to me. What is important to me is my education and I hope and pray that you find me worth enough to help. Thank you.

My mom has end-stage renal failure and because I love her, I’ve been taking care of her for this past year. My mom is my best friend and no matter what, I try my best to make sure that she knows that I love her. I have been doing a lot for her because she physically can't do it herself. She always tells me that her biggest fear is me resenting her. I don't, and I tell her that I don't but I don't think my words will ever be enough to persuade her so instead, I have to show her with my action. I cook, I clean, I do our laundry, I help her up when she falls, I help her get around, and more. She’s in a wheelchair now and I push her around to her doctor appointment, the pharmacy, and wherever else she wants to go. Recently, she has been feeling better so we’ve been trying to find some fun places to go together. I tell her that I have no problem taking her wherever she wants to go and honestly I don't. I love going out together. I love hanging out with my mom. Even if I have to push her around, even if I have to help her with everything, I love her. When I was younger, my favorite way to show my love towards my mom was making her gifts. I had no money so I would use some old construction paper from old school projects to make her a card and the envelope for it. I would draw, paint, cut, glue, and tape, for days before it was to my standards to give to her. It was amazing. I love my mom and I will show her for the rest of her life.

In order to relax and take care of my mental health, I make sure to find time to clear my mind and be alone sometimes. While studying and dealing with everyday life, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Sometimes I go on walks and listen to music when I feel anxious but then I don't feel like going outside, I take breaks from homework, studying, and people to rest my mind. I put my head back and close my eyes for about 10 minutes or until I feel as though I am ready to get back into the groove of life. Recently, I've found myself walking through Howe park and while there, I noticed that there were a lot of squirrels. Instead of staring at a screen on my times off, like I used to do, I now go to the part to feed them nuts. It's a lot more relaxing than it sounds but something about being out in nature and observing its creations is so calming. Sometimes our anxieties aren’t just feelings about a place, thing, or something that you have to do. Sometimes anxieties are about a person. Maybe a toxic boss, significant other, friend, or yourself. Suppressing your long term mental conflicts by forgetting them for a moment during a walk or drowning them out with music doesn’t make them go away. It’s good to talk about your feelings with someone that you trust. I personally don't have a therapist but instead, I talk to my mom. I tell her my problems and she gives me advice. Sometimes if I need her to, she just listens without saying anything. As people, we are not meant to be alone. We’re supposed to be with each other but it's good to get to know and love yourself too.