I love my room because it is my safe space. My bed, with fleece gray sheets and its sponge-like mattress that surrounds the border of my sleeping body, is the comfort of my home. Next to my bed is the lamp I ordered on Amazon after looking for days. In the front of my room is my TV that I hung over my entertainment center that lights up red, exhibiting my favorite color. My couch is brown, although I would have liked it to be gray, and my walls are white covering the previous turquoise paint from my middle school taste. I was particular because I wanted my room to fit my preferences. My room became a representation of myself. I took money out of mine and my family’s pockets to make the room mine. I bought into materialism to make ‘stuff’ become me. Chuck Palahniuk illustrates the dangers of consumerism in the movie Fight Club. This movie can be interpreted as a display of idiotic men who like hitting each other, but the actual meaning of Fight Club requires more critical thinking. The film, with its high rating, has captured its audience's attention for the past 23 years and has given society a new outlook towards consumerism. Fight Club demonstrates how society has shifted to cherishing their possessions, rather than their true freedom, and the film then walks through survival, relying on bare necessities without the constraints of comfort. As the main character of the movie is pursuing his journey of exoneration, the viewer begins to yearn to feel the same freedoms and experiences a sort of proclamation. From Fight Club, people can and have learned how their lives are thoroughly saturated with consumerism and can then improve their habits. This movie influences people in a very intense and positive way due to people learning to adjust to a needs-only lifestyle, which can provide more satisfaction, prosperity, and freedom. Finding a release from a fatiguing life can be liberating, therefore, Fight Club can help furnish a new sense of independence to its observers. To me, this psychologically enthralling movie was a rollercoaster that put me in deep thought. The movie uncovered how severely invested I was in consumerism. So many parts of my life revolved around my possessions; the furniture I buy and the clothes I wear and the type of phone I had all began to seep into who I defined myself as. My existence was captivated by simplistic ‘things,’ but my entire outlook changed as I saw how deprived materialism had made my life. Then just like the actual Tyler Durden, I began to lead myself to freedom. I displayed who I was through my words and actions, taking initiative to be a better me. I promote finding self-freedom to refrain from falling into the deep waters of materialistic lifestyles. Freedom doesn’t come solely from the Bill of Rights or turning 18, but from searching for a real rendition of identity.

I want people to recognize my love for people. I want my family and children to know that I was the dead end to my family's toxicity. Deep down I always want to solve everyone's problems and stressors in life. I want everyone to feel the purpose I have felt I have since I was a little girl. Growing up I had two parents hooked on drugs in and out of jail and a family that knows more about grudges than forgiving. Somehow, I still had an intrinsic motivation to succeed. Maybe it was because I knew I didn't want to be like my family, or because I was competitive with other students, but I think I was just lucky enough to be born with a drive. Unfortunately, so many people are not able to dig themselves out of the holes their families or situations have put them in. I would want to help those people and let them know that they are never alone and that you can't give up even if you're dealt a bad hand in life. I have always wanted to have my own business in building homes. When these dreams began culminating, I thought I wanted to get a degree in architecture. I wanted it so badly that I already knew by sophomore year, there was only one school in Kentucky with that major. During my junior and senior year, I began rethinking my plan. Architecture wasn't really what I needed to start this business. I decided to major in mathematics instead so I will have more knowledge of how to layout and finance this idea. As someone who has never had much money or had people around me who was financially sound, I have been determined to save my money. Every dollar from birthday cards, Christmas cards, yard sales, and graduation cards has been put back for future necessary spending. So, since I've always had a knack for math, a yearn for saving, and a deep-seated need to help people I thought this path would help me achieve my dreams in entrepreneurship than any other. In the future, I will graduate with a bachelor's degree, hopefully in less than 4 years and go onto graduate school while I build my business in building homes. Meanwhile, I plan to get a real estate license in order to be able to sell the houses I build and potentially create a business in real estate as well. As a student, I have worked tediously to get where I am today, and I want others to be able to accomplish as much as I have and even more despite the environments they were born or placed into. I want people to know that no situation has to be permanent and that they do not have to succumb to the poor standards that have been displayed around them, but to better themselves and swim against the current towards success and happiness.

Today my family and friends would describe me as self-motivated, determined, and smart. I have grown into a person that works hard in my daily life and has goals that I won't give up on. I've taken the hard classes, I've studied for the exams, and I've spent my days after school at work. I won't say I have done it all alone, but I have done it without the help and motivation of anyone else. Sometimes I look at my circumstances and ask myself how I turned out in as great as a place as I am. I didn't come from a happy family or money or even love. I'm a product of lies, addiction, and manipulation. I grew up in a household of hatred and drugs. But I got here. I got here by self-sufficiency but sometimes people in my position don't have that fight in them. Sometimes their situations are harder, and they don't have a yearn to succeed. As someone who has been through a childhood of hard times, I want to help others in similar situations learn that they CAN succeed. Some people that grow up in a bad household only know the bad and never think they can become anything more. But I have proved the stereotype wrong, and I want to help other people break the stereotype as well or at least learn that they are capable. To be honest, I was half an accident. My mother wanted to have me, along with her previous 3 children. But not to have a beautiful baby girl to raise and love and care for, but for more child support money. My mom lied to my dad about having her tubes tied and I was born out of a lie. However, my dad still loved me and cared for me as much as any father could. But sometimes having a child isn't enough to stop addiction. Both of my parents were drug addicts and there was nothing that could stop them from going in and out of jail. For some weird reason, my mother still fought for me in court. She wanted custody of me, but she only won me every other weekend. I say "for some weird reason" because when she did have me on those weekends, we lived in countless different houses, no homes. Me and my sister were hardly fed, living off Vienna sausages and pickles. As a small child I still loved my mother and thought the world of her but now that I see how things were, I would never go through it again. Though my dad loved me more than anything, the drugs got him too. The day I turned 10, my dad was arrested. I lost my dad for a couple years and my childhood home forever. I had never known a pain like the one I felt that day, but it was there. I had to keep that pain for a number of years as he was in and out of jail and rehab. He was the person I loved most, he was my entire life, but I was just a part of his and so were drugs. Today my relationship stands well with my father because he is now sober, however I haven't seen my mother for 2 years, but I hope she's doing well.

Currently, I am a member of the National Honor Society and I love participating in fundraiser events sponsored by NHS like DanceBlue. DanceBlue is an organization that helps raise money for children with cancer. Every year for the past 3 years I have been a part of DanceBlue by doing a 6-hour fundraiser of standing and dancing for the kids. The memories I have made at DanceBlue are endless and the stories I have heard of how DanceBlue has impacted children with cancer are astounding. I love to be able to help those people and I will continue to do so in college. I also have served in two mission trips in Puerto Rico, and they were some of the best experiences in my life. Helping people who I can only communicate with on the surface was a very influential experience for me because I was able to see their gratefulness through their expressions and energy towards our mission group. The love and care that I learned from that mission trip was like no other and has taught me how it feels to change someone's life. One way I hope to give back to the community that has recently piqued my interest is through animal shelters. I have always loved spending time with animals, but I am unfortunately not allowed to have a pet since my cat passed away from cancer around 3 years ago. I would love to show shelter animals some love and take the time to get to know animals that have been abused or that are skittish. I feel that I am pretty in touch with animals, and I would never say that I am a dog person or a cat person because I genuinely love them both. As well as volunteering at a shelter, I would love to do fundraisers for the animal shelters that help the shelters funding and also help the animals get adopted. As a larger project in my life, I want to reduce the amount of kill shelters there are in America. I believe that animals do not deserve to be put down purely because they cannot find a home and the shelters do not have the money to support them. To be able to reduce the amount of kill shelters, I want to fundraise and create a business that helps support no kill shelters and adopting from shelters. All animals should get a chance to live a happy life with their owner so I would love to be the reason why more animals get that opportunity. As an individual, I hope to adopt many shelter animals or house older animals until it is their time to pass because no animals' last day should be on a concrete floor behind a wire gate. I feel highly empathetic towards animals, and I hope to have a major impact on the wellbeing of them in the future.

If you ask my family and friends, they will say I am as frugal as can be. I take money very seriously and try to make every penny count. My family has never had very much money, but they have always been generous with what they have. When I was a little girl my great grandmother and I would have yard sales every year, but what I didn't know was that it was all going towards a bank account for my car and my college fund. Although a great sum of money came from all those years of yard selling, I still hold the memories close because of the connection my great grandmother and I had during it. On the other side of my life, I was in poverty. When my mother had me for the week or weekend, I was bare. I don't remember being unhappy, but then I look back on the meals I had, purely consisting of pickles and Vienna sausages. It wasn't the life to be living but I never realized that until recently. My mother wasn't unable to make money by any means, she just chose to spend it all on the wrong things. That is part of why I am so conscious about my financial decisions. I want to utilize what I have to the best of my ability. Another reason I watch my money so carefully is because my grandmother, Robin, taught me how to overspend at a young age. I became a shopaholic with her because she didn't mind blowing her money on unnecessary things and I didn't mind because I was getting new clothes, fun toys, and fancy accessories. Robin and I would spend our days at consignment shops, outlet stores, and shopping malls and I never batted an eye because I loved shopping. However, now that I understand money and its importance, I try to only buy things I need or would value for a long time. My dad has helped me become financially aware by teaching me about prices per unit. I use anytime I'm in a grocery store to figure out which item and amount of the item is most reasonable for me financially. Sometimes I can be a bit too frugal, but I have been working on it and I will continue to be better financially. I recently spoke to a financial advisor to see what all her job was about, and it was quite interesting to me. This interaction has me considering majoring in finance or accounting for my second year because I believe I am decently good with money as is, I believe I could help others with their finances, and I am very open to learning more about things like markets, stocks, accounting, and money management. One of the most financially serious things I have done for myself was applying and getting accepted into the Governor's Scholars Program in Kentucky. Through this 5-week program I was able to have more financial opportunities with colleges in Kentucky. As a Governor's Scholar many colleges offer a lower tuition cost which can help me extensively in the financial world because it reduces my chance of having to take out loans or go into student debt. I have also begun working in a jewelry store to make money for college expenses and I will work through the summer until it is time to find a job near the college I attend.

Calculus is important in the STEM field because it provides a further understanding of mathematics and can be applied to science, technology, and engineering. Currently, I am a calculus student. I have taken Calculus AB and am now in Calculus BC. Math has always been something I have clicked with and one of my favorite forms is calculus. Typically, through exams, ACTs, and quizzes, I have hated geometry. However, calculus allows me to look at geometry from a new standpoint. It shows various math skills in different ways that I believe can help the understanding of difficult topics. In college, I will begin majoring in mathematics. My first year, I plan on taking Calculus 3 because I would like to further my knowledge in that area. Calculus holds so much importance to me and in the STEM field because it is a complex method of mathematics that somehow makes the concepts easier to understand. An example in my life of how calculus is important in STEM is the use of optimization. My father enjoys building structures but sometimes doesn't understand how to make everything fit with full use. My knowledge of optimization allows me to help him how to optimize his work. Little things in my life like building drawers or cabinets utilize calculus. However, these same calculations can be applied on a much larger scale and are extremely important in STEM. Without calculus, science projects would fail, measurements would be skewed, major buildings and systems would be created without ideal use. So many areas of STEM could not work if it weren't for calculus. I just recently learned about a groundbreaking application of Euler's Method. In 1961, Katherine Johnson used Euler's Formula to calculate the necessary trajectory from the earth to the moon for the US Apollo Space Program. With this formula, she was able to calculate it correctly and advance scientific accomplishments exceedingly for the US. This is only one of millions of examples of how calculus has had incredible impact on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. If just one formula from calculus material had such a great impact on science, it is almost unimaginable to how extensively calculus can change the world of STEM. Not only is calculus a fundamental of math but it is a developer, transformer, and elevation of math. Its importance cannot be measured because it will forever impact STEM progressively as time goes on. Calculus has no capacity as to how much it can help STEM and the people working in it. I have not yet reached college to begin to major in mathematics, however I am already affected by calculus and its boundlessness.

During my years of playing volleyball, I have learned so many life lessons. Unfortunately, Eric, my coach that I’ve had since middle school, was not our coach during my freshman year of high school. My high school coach, Coach Craig, was very strict and things she said could be contradicting but I kept playing. Having them as coaches freshman year was not as bad because I was only starting high school volleyball. Next year when Eric coached, I had to hone in on volleyball because I had to work to remain libero for the varsity team. Although I did not play much varsity, I was still a sophomore so I had room to grow. I tried to do my best when I was on the floor because when I was given an opportunity, I had to take advantage of it. During my sophomore year, I loved spending time with my teammates and I was good friends with many of the seniors. I hosted a team sleepover for volleyball bonding and we all enjoyed having this time to be together outside of volleyball. The season had a poor end when we lost the first round of districts to Garrard County. Moving onto the next season was good because we could make a comeback. Before the season started, we had a team camp with the head of Munciana Volleyball which was an amazing opportunity. The new style of coaching gave me a chance to showcase and improve my skills. Becoming a more effective team player is very important to me and I tried to further those skills during camp. My junior year of playing volleyball had its difficulties but it was still a successful year. I got to help my team, being their libero, and I contributed to taking us to the second round of regions. We won our district which has not happened in 20 years and we took down Somerset Christian who essentially demolished us in our first time playing them. The growth of our skills and teamwork was impeccable and coaches, referees, and parents said they could see our tremendous improvement. Every game I try to put my best on the floor and whenever I don’t I am frustrated with myself, but it only motivates me to work harder. At a school tournament in Rockcastle this year, I was having a very difficult game. I was messing up repeatedly and it only made me more anxious. Rightfully, my coach took me out and my emotions got the best of me and I cried. I was angry at myself for doing so but it gave me motive to prove that I deserved to be on the floor. I still had some tears running down my face from frustration with myself when I went back in, but I made good passes and showed my hustle. Unfortunately, my coach told me I had to be taken out again because I couldn’t be crying on the floor, so within a few minutes I soaked everything up and was ready to go back out. He then put me back in and I played a much better game, putting my ambition out for everyone to see. Games and practices throughout these seasons have made me a better player, teammate, and worker. Whenever I am on the bench I try to be as loud as possible to cheer on my teammates and I bring that energy on the floor as well. My volleyball position has always been a libero and being in the position for so long has helped me hone in on my volleyball skills.

Currently, I am participating in many service events under National Honors Society, Key Club, and LYNC8. In these organizations I have served 132 hours and I will continue to work hard in my community and world as a whole. I am motivated to help people and be responsible for myself, the environment, and the people around me. One of my biggest contributions was my mission trip to Puerto Rico. I have been heavily involved in these mission trips for two years and have grown to love serving the people of Puerto Rico in this short period of time. I have gone one week out of the past two summers with my church. Some of the work I did in Puerto Rico was painting, packing and handing out care packages, and cleaning and reconstructing homes. We work to make Puerto Rico a better place for its people to live and to work to diminish the country’s poverty. I did not only work when I was there, but I learned to love their culture and speaking to native Puerto Ricans. I was able to communicate with some Puerto Ricans from my 6 years of spanish classes and they were delightful to talk to and learn different terms they use and how different their dialect is from standard spanish. I enjoyed working with my church on this mission trip and grew close with them, Puerto Ricans, and God. Another great service opportunity I had was raising money for my high school volleyball team. We hosted multiple kids camps to teach volleyball to 2nd-6th graders. It gave me the opportunity to connect with kids and form a different type of social experience. Typically, I’m not around kids because I’m am the only child in my household, so being able to teach and work with students in elementary school was a great window to make new bonds with a younger audience. I loved coaching them about volleyball because it is one thing I love to do and my teammates and I had a lot of fun during this service opportunity. I plan to continue giving back to the community by remaining in the previously listed clubs and working hard to serve others under the grace of God. I have now become Vice President of Key Club so I hope to involve others in service as much as I strive to help others through my service. I would really like to help people later in life too. I want to give back to the world and show people what kindness looks like. My inspiration to help people partially comes from my older brother and his wife. Together, they lead a personal mission to help people in Malawi, Africa by building homes and churches. My brother and sister in law put the majority of their income into this mission and lived with my sister in laws parents for a year and a half. I really look up to them and their work and I am so blessed to be able to give back and I will continue to push through the journey of serving others.

Currently, I am participating in many service events under National Honors Society, Key Club, and LYNC8. In these organizations I have served 132 hours and I will continue to work hard in my community and world as a whole. I am motivated to help people and be responsible for myself, the environment, and the people around me. One of my biggest contributions was my mission trip to Puerto Rico. I have been heavily involved in these mission trips for two years and have grown to love serving the people of Puerto Rico in this short period of time. I have gone one week out of the past two summers with my church. Some of the work I did in Puerto Rico was painting, packing and handing out care packages, and cleaning and reconstructing homes. We work to make Puerto Rico a better place for its people to live and to work to diminish the country’s poverty. I did not only work when I was there, but I learned to love their culture and speaking to native Puerto Ricans. I was able to communicate with some Puerto Ricans from my 6 years of spanish classes and they were delightful to talk to and learn different terms they use and how different their dialect is from standard spanish. I enjoyed working with my church on this mission trip and grew close with them, Puerto Ricans, and God. Another great service opportunity I had was raising money for my high school volleyball team. We hosted multiple kids camps to teach volleyball to 2nd-6th graders. It gave me the opportunity to connect with kids and form a different type of social experience. Typically, I’m not around kids because I’m am the only child in my household, so being able to teach and work with students in elementary school was a great window to make new bonds with a younger audience. I loved coaching them about volleyball because it is one thing I love to do and my teammates and I had a lot of fun during this service opportunity. I plan to continue giving back to the community by remaining in the previously listed clubs and working hard to serve others under the grace of God. I have now become Vice President of Key Club so I hope to involve others in service as much as I strive to help others through my service. I would really like to help people later in life too. I want to give back to the world and show people what kindness looks like. My inspiration to help people partially comes from my older brother and his wife. Together, they lead a personal mission to help people in Malawi, Africa by building homes and churches. My brother and sister in law put the majority of their income into this mission and lived with my sister in laws parents for a year and a half. I really look up to them and their work and I am so blessed to be able to give back and I will continue to push through the journey of serving others.