Species extinction is a huge global concern as we face the reality of a sixth mass extinction. Never before in history have species disappeared this fast before. Although it is true that species become extinct normally, this normally takes hundreds if not thousands of years to occur. Now, "Scientists estimate that 150-200 species of plant, insect, bird, and mammal become extinct every 24 hours." Per day more species are dying than ever before in history. This puts our world at serious risk because species are here on the earth to coexist with other species. Without certain key species, the entire pyramid of life will crumble and cease to exist. Eventually, humans will see the effects of these mass global extinctions and whether they want to face the facts or not, they will not have a choice. Some successful strategies put into place have been promoting the ban of single-use plastics. These single-use plastics are detrimental to the earth and all living species. Plastic, and most importantly microplastics, get into the water and affect oceans worldwide. They harm animals who think that it is food and microplastics continue to harm humans as we continue to eat fish who eat microplastics. This poison was created and released into the oceans by humans and now we are not doing a good enough job to prevent its destruction. Plastic should be banned forever and always especially in packaging and one-time use situations. Individual people might feel that they do not have much power, however, if everyone aimed to live a more sustainable life then this world would be a much better place. As a community, everyone must realize that investing in the production of local, ecologically sustainable, humane, and fair food benefits the daily lives of humans and species as a whole. People must continue to be educated on how they can make simple and effective living choices to promote a more sustainable lifestyle. These are easy fixes such as cutting down meat consumption, buying local and organic, gardening, becoming zero waste, shopping fair trade and local, cooking at home, making your own toothpaste, biking to work, etc. All my life I have been passionate about the world and doing my best to protect it. Every choice I make, I consciously try to make Earth smart decisions that would benefit the world I live in. I work hard every day to make a conscious impact on my community by choosing to reuse, recycle, and bike/walk everywhere. I am passionate about the natural world around me and want to learn everything I can about it. I can work hard to influence corporations and companies to make a positive change in order to protect our world. I enjoy labs and research the most. I love being able to perform real tests on soil, water, etc. to work with the living world and see what has been there for thousands of years before me.

I love online shopping! I try to shop as sustainably as possible, which is quite difficult in today’s age. There is always the trouble of packaging as well as excess plastic around products that always makes me turn away from purchasing online. However, I have found three great shops that sell sustainable products that I need and love! Two of these are the zero waste store and Public Goods which sells zero waste cleaning&beauty supplies. The other store is called soul flower and they sell organic yoga gear that is made and sold in the USA. This eliminates overseas distribution pollution as well as enforcing fair trade standards. Great material made from organic cotton which I wear everyday!

Without my mom, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Her dad, my grandpa, came here from Italy when he was only 18 years old. In search of a better life, he began working in the oil industry for Chevron. Shortly after, he met my grandmother and they were married. It was very difficult for him to acclimate to America as he knew nothing about it, as well as zero English. My grandma worked tirelessly to maintain the house, her life, and as well as teaching him everything he needed to know to survive here. Shortly after getting married, they became pregnant with my mother. This came as a surprise to them but they were very excited. The only issue was that my grandpa was currently stationed in the Bahamas for work, so they had to figure out how to have my mom in America so she could have citizenship. This was a very difficult task which included hopping on a midnight ship to Florida the night of her birth. My grandma was very strong and brave as she prepared for the journey of a lifetime. My mother was born and just like my grandpa, had to struggle to figure out America and find a way to fit in. With two immigrant parents this was a barrier that she had to overcome in life, but she did it with great success. She worked hard and continues to work hard every single day, no matter what the task is. She put herself through design school and is now a costume designer living in LA. Even when she’s not working, she works tirelessly around the house or helps my brother and I in any way we need in order to help us succeed. Being a single parent, she’s been able to provide for us not only financially, but also emotionally as well. I could not thank her enough for everything she’s done for me and continues to do. Without her hard work and dedication, I would not be where I am in life today and I certainly would not be living where I am. I have learned the importance of courage and hard work and know that to succeed in life isn’t easy, but anything is possible if you try hard enough.

For learning about personal finance, one of my go to resources is Youtube! I love hearing real testimonies from real people about how the made and saved their money (and how I can do it too!) This is really exciting and informative and allows me to see that starting my own business is possible. It also gives me tips and trick for saving money as well as accumulating money through passive income. 3 of my favorite tools/apps are Youtube, Mint, and robbinhood. Through these tools and more, I can better plan ahead for the future and for what’s to come. I am excited for the journey ahead. Even though it will be difficult, I will have some tools and experienced people to turn to when I have questions& need advice b

Species extinction is a huge global concern as we face the reality of a sixth mass extinction. Never before in history have species disappeared this fast before. Although it is true that species become extinct normally, this normally takes hundreds if not thousands of years to occur. Now, "Scientists estimate that 150-200 species of plant, insect, bird, and mammal become extinct every 24 hours." Per day more species are dying than ever before in history. This puts our world at serious risk because species are here on the earth to coexist with other species. Without certain key species, the entire pyramid of life will crumble and cease to exist. Eventually, humans will see the effects fo these mass global extinctions and whether they want to face the facts or not, they will not have a choice. Many vulnerable and helpless species are becoming extinct forever and it is due to humans reckless and saddening destruction. It is due to humans that animals are dying off and the world as we know it is dying with them. Humans are selfish to not realize the harm of their ways, however, there are some excellent people and organizations out there who have dedicated their lives to this heartbreaking reality we are living in. Some successful strategies put into place have been promoting the ban of single-use plastics. These single-use plastics are detrimental to the earth and all living species. Plastic, and most importantly microplastics, get into the water and affect oceans worldwide. They harm animals who think that it is food and microplastics continue to harm humans as we continue to eat fish who eat microplastics. This poison was created and released into the oceans by humans and now we are not doing a good enough job to prevent its destruction. However, the ban on plastic straws in many restaurants and public dining places has been a good first step. To continue, plastic, in general, should be banned forever and always especially in packaging and one-time use situations. Individual people might feel that they do not have much power, however, if everyone aimed to live a more sustainable life then this world would be a much better place. As a community, everyone must realize that investing in the production of local, ecologically sustainable, humane, and fair food benefits the daily lives of humans and species as a whole. People must continue to be educated on how they can make simple and effective living choices to promote a more sustainable lifestyle. These are easy fixes such as cutting down meat consumption, buying local and organic, gardening, becoming zero waste, shopping fair trade and local, cooking at home, making your own toothpaste, biking to work, etc. We the people must continue to elect leaders who support the Green New Deal and aim to protect the natural world. To be a great leader, you must be able to take risks, defy the status quo, and inspire change. Not only elected officials can be great leaders, but we also all have the power to elicit change and impacts on our communities around us by spreading knowledge and inspiration about the planet. All my life I have been passionate about the world and doing my best to protect it. Every choice I make, I consciously try to make Earth smart decisions that would benefit the world I live in. Too often people disregard their individual impact. I work hard every day to make a conscious impact on my community by choosing to reuse, recycle, and bike/walk everywhere. I have decided to study Environmental Science because I am passionate about the natural world around me and want to learn everything I can about it. The natural world is fascinating and interests me because although I can study for years, I will never be able to learn every single thing hidden to the naked eye. However, I can work hard to influence corporations and companies to make a positive change in order to protect our world. I enjoy labs and research the most. I love being able to perform real tests on soil, water, etc. to work with the living world and see what has been there for thousands of years before me.

While studying abroad is challenging to be alone in a new place, this is what I am most excited to experience. All my life I have been very individual and have been craving opportunities to explore my individuality. I am ready for a new challenge and studying abroad would be just the solution to that. I am ready to go abroad, even for a year, and embrace all the challenges life has to offer. I am excited to go and experience new things, people, places, and life as a whole. I have always been open-minded about life as a whole and people all over the world. I am very open-minded about all sorts of different people and situations and never say no to an opportunity. Isolating circumstances are challenges indeed; however, I have found that the more that I face head-on and try to overcome, the stronger person I become. Being raised as independently as I am, I have been in many isolating circumstances that have made me into the person I am today. Although my family cares about me, I was taught to deal with my problems by myself and in an efficient manner. Additionally, I was raised to appreciate alone time as well as new opportunities and experiences. I am beyond excited to learn about a new culture that is both unknown and unique to what I am accustomed to. While traveling abroad, I hope to experience personally as well as artistic growth. I am beyond excited for what the future holds and I am willing to take any and all risks necessary to become the best version of myself possible. I have been craving adventure for as long as I can remember and to finally be able to do so would be the most gratifying moment of my adult life thus far. I plan to use travel to accomplish my goals as a student, a human, an environmental activist, and an artist. My ultimate goal is to be able to combine all of these identities into one outcome after my travels. I hope that I am able to learn more than I can imagine and be able to represent what I have learned in my artwork. I hope to make movies and documentaries about the places I travel to and the people I meet. I am so excited to make art for all the places I visit and to use travel to fuel my creativity. I am constantly inspired by nature and those around me so I am eager to travel around the world capturing this inspiration. Above all, I hope to inspire something in others along the way. The most rewarding experience to me after my travels would be able to look back at my art and the work I produced and know that I was able to inspire at least one person. I hope to inspire change as well as growth in others, as I was able to find in art myself.