In 7th grade, I volunteered to teach the students in a nearby underfunded school. The school did not have enough teachers, and the students were behind on their lessons, especially in their second language, Hindi. I, along with a few of my friends, volunteered to conduct a class every Tuesday. I started with the basics, and assigned them “homework” weekly. However, my students resented having to take extra lessons and were not very receptive. Frustrated, I spent hours poring over books and planning lessons which were both educational and fun. Eventually, I told them that these lessons were optional, and if they chose not to attend, I would not tell their teacher. To my surprise, the next Tuesday, every single student showed up. Addressing their frustrations and giving them a choice gave them agency, which made them more enthusiastic. About five weeks in, they had their midterm exams. I still remember how thrilled I felt when they got their results back. There wasn’t a drastic improvement in their grades, but they were gaining confidence. Teaching them Hindi while communicating in Kannada - my second language - was hard, as I was not as proficient in Kannada as they were. However, by communicating with them, my Kannada skills improved as much as their Hindi skills did. We found creative ways to communicate, like pointing to objects and signing, which has taught me a lot about how to communicate and connect with people. I am very proud of myself for being able to share the gift of knowledge. When they became better at the subject, they became more confident in themselves. The 4 years I tutored them taught me how important it is to uplift others in our community, and make sure everyone has access to education. However, as I am on the precipice of entering college, I realize how expensive it is. Sure, we have multiple tools to pay, like the FAFSA, but it is not always enough. I have a twin sister who is entering college the same year as me. Our combined SAIs (the amount they think we can afford) is 50%+ of my parents’ salary combined. I have always been an advocate of “see something, say something.” As a younger child, when I saw my peers get picked on, I reported it. Now, as I’ve grown, I am doing my utmost to ensure that kids have the resources they need to protect themselves. Just this week, I volunteered at an event at my library where a speaker spoke about boundary setting and how to respond to bullying in the digital form. Cyber-bullying is a whole new beast. With in-person bullying, you get a break once you go home, but that is not the case with cyber bullying. Everytime a kid in my community opens an instagram account, I advise them to set it to private as a preventative method. Because of the nature of the web, the best preventative measures we can do are personal ones. I recently spoke to a group of kids about what they should post on the web and what they shouldn’t. Along with that, I told them that if they saw something being forwarded about a person that they wouldn’t like to see forwarded about themselves, they need to stop the cycle, delete the message, and not forward it. By helping the kids take direct accountability even when they were not the ones to start it, I promoted a culture where this is not tolerated.