My favorite book is called "Saint Anything" by Sara Dessen. I've read this book countless times, and every time I find something that makes me love it even more. This book is full of wise words and meaning that has helped me so much throughout my life time. The book is about a girl who finds herself in her high school years, and that is very relatable to me because I have found myself during my high school years. The book also talks about the future in a very beautiful and interesting way. There's a passage towards the very end of the book, that talks about never knowing what is going to happen, and how that can be a beautiful thing. Usually thinking about the future is insanely scary for me, but after reading this passage, I think about the future as wondrous and magical. The main character goes through a journey of self-discovery, and she also learns how to love herself as she is. The way the book is written makes me think about life in a totally new and different life than I have ever thought about before. The author also reminds the reader to live in the moment and to cherish every second of it. Whenever I need a reminder about how the future is scary but also amazing and beautiful, I go to this book, every time, without fail. The author of this book, in telling the story of the main character, shows the reader how self-discovery and thinking about the future but not dwelling on it is powerful. Thinking in this way helps you to regain control over your own life, which is something I often need a reminder about.

I believe that educational inequality is something we should all stand for because of many reasons. I believe that everyone, not matter their, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, financial status, etc, should have access to a good education. A good education is what sets you up for success, and without a good education, it is hard to get into college and to get a good job that is able to support you and your needs. Everyone has the right to learn, but because of social contracts, not everyone has the ability to use that right. Educational inequity is unjust and unfair. Everyone deserves the opportunity to learn the fundamentals, but also life skills that are needed. School teaches not only what's required for students to know, but also social skills, and communication skills. All children also deserve a safe, living, and encouraging learning environment. Environments that are healthy help children to grow and to thrive in their day to day lives as well as in their future. It is astonishing to me that there is still so much educational inequity in the United States as well as around the world, because a good education is crucial in helping prepare everyone for their futures.

My "why" is constantly changing, but it centers around my experiences as a child. My "why" is because I believe everyone deserves to be treated nicely and with love. When I was in elementary school my parents got divorced. My biological father is an alcoholic and he was verbally, mentally, and physically abusive. When my mother was at work and my younger sister and I were spending the day or night with our biological dad, I often had to shield her and protect her from our father. I remember very clearly, one night, he was angry with us because we were taking too long to brush our teeth, so he threw a punch our way. Luckily for us he was drunk and so his aim was off, he ended up punching a huge hole in our bathroom wall. The next morning he didn't remember what happened, but my younger sister and I did. Events like these happened regularly, and I have now learned that they have caused much lasting trauma on both of us. One of the major effects that his abusiveness has had on me specifically is that I cannot handle when someone yells at me. When someone yells at me or simply just raises their voice at me I shut down completely. Often when someone even just yells across the classroom I shut down, because it brings me right back to living with my dad. It takes time for me to open back up, so this makes school very hard for me because I am surrounded by a bunch of rowdy high schoolers. Another way this part of my childhood has negatively affected me is I have an extremely hard time saying "No" to people because whenever my younger sister or I would say "No" to our bio father he would freak out and we would regret ever saying anything. Once my parents finally split up and my mom got remarried, I learned what a healthy family looked like. I have spent the last 10 years in therapy attempting to learn how to cope with my trauma, and how to help others to cope with similar situations. From these many dangerous and scary experiences, I have learned that I am strong, and I will make it through hardships, even if it feels like the world is truly ending in the moment. I want to further educate myself in how to help others cope with these kinds of situations, and I also want to learn how to notice the signs of child abuse. My future career goal is to be a teacher, and I hope to educate my students about issues like these. Helping others escape from situations like these is important to me because my childhood was not one normal child would have, and I wish that no child ever has to go through that. The lasting effects of child abuse, whether it be mental, physical, or verbal are all detrimental to one's health.

The quote that means a lot to me is from a book called "Saint Anything" by Sara Dessen. I've read this book countless times, and every time I find something that makes me love it even more. The book is about a girl who finds herself in her high school years, and that is very relatable to me because I have found myself during my high school years. The book also talks about the future in a very beautiful and interesting way. There's a passage towards the very end of the book, that talks about never knowing what is going to happen, and how that can be a beautiful thing. Usually thinking about the future is insanely scary for me, but after reading this passage, I think about the future as wondrous and magical. The main character goes through a journey of self-discovery, and she also learns how to love herself as she is. The way the book is written makes me think about life in a totally new and different life than I have ever thought about before. The author also reminds the reader to live in the moment and to cherish every second of it. Whenever I need a reminder about how the future is scary but also amazing and beautiful, I go to this book, every time, without fail. The author of this book, in telling the story of the main character, shows the reader how self-discovery and thinking about the future but not dwelling on it is powerful. Thinking in this way helps you to regain control over your own life, which is something I often need a reminder about.

I am a senior at Vashon Island High school in Washington. My dad was an alcoholic and he was abusive because of his alcoholism. He is no longer in my life, but when he was, his drinking problem had a considerable impact on my younger sister and I. He was always drinking and angry, and my younger sister and I never knew what to do. There is a history of alcoholism in my family, so I am passionate about not drinking young, and if I do end up drinking, I will not drink in excessive amounts. Because I am a high school senior, there are many parties that involve drugs and alcohol, and usually, I am the only sober one. I make sure that people do not drive home drunk, and that everyone gets home safe. While I don't agree with my peers' decisions to drink, I cannot control them, so I do my best to make sure they are safe and taken care of. I try to ensure that they do not hurt themselves or others while they are under the influence. In the future, I would like to be a teacher, but I am not sure what age just yet. I would like to use my position as a teacher to help educate students about the effects of alcohol and drug abuse before the age of 21 and before their brain is fully developed. I would also like to create some sort of club or group for survivors of child abuse especially for children abused by alcoholic parents. Because I was abused by my alcoholic father and I have been through many years of therapy for it, I will be able to share some of the techniques I learned as coping mechanisms. I would also like to create a group for students that supports them in their journey to stop drinking or support them in supporting a friend or loved one that has a problem with substance abuse or drug abuse. Being educated about the effects of substance abuse from a young age is a crucial part of preventing substance abuse in adolescents. At the school I end up working at I would like to make learning about substance abuse, how to cope with alcoholism, resources, and other info about substance abuse a required course for all students, especially at the middle or high school level, because that is when substance abuse tends to start in adolescents. Fighting substance abuse is something very important, and educating everyone about it is crucial.

One practical solution for helping more people who struggle with mental health would be to make therapy and mental health services much more widely available and accessible. Yes, mental health services are accessible for some, but not most. Some schools offer free mental health services, which is amazing, and I am lucky enough to be a beneficiary of some of those services at my school, but many schools don't offer those services. Even just a class poster about mental health would be better than nothing, and it would help to educate students about mental health. Something else that would be helpful is a database or website with information about mental health services, pricing, therapy, pretty much anything mental health-related that is easy to navigate and use. Mental health is a major part of every persons' life, some more than others, but it affects us all. Having mental health services available to any and everyone will help students in schools, employees in the workplace, and families as a whole. With mental health services available to everyone to use at any time they need, the community and world would be much stronger. By making mental health services widely available for everyone, the stigma behind mental is slowly being dismantled. The two are connected in that if there is less stigma, more people may access mental health services, and if mental health services are available, the stigma will become less and less. Breaking down the stigma behind mental health would help in many ways other than making mental health services more accessible.

My favorite book is called "Saint Anything" by Sara Dessen. I've read this book countless times, and every time I find something that makes me love it even more. The book is about a girl who finds herself in her high school years, and that is very relatable to me because I have found myself during my high school years. The book also talks about the future in a very beautiful and interesting way. There's a passage towards the very end of the book, that talks about never knowing what is going to happen, and how that can be a beautiful thing. Usually thinking about the future is insanely scary for me, but after reading this passage, I think about the future as wondrous and magical. The main character goes through a journey of self-discovery, and she also learns how to love herself as she is. The way the book is written makes me think about life in a totally new and different life than I have ever thought about before. The author also reminds the reader to live in the moment and to cherish every second of it. Whenever I need a reminder about how the future is scary but also amazing and beautiful, I go to this book, every time, without fail. The author of this book, in telling the story of the main character, shows the reader how self-discovery and thinking about the future but not dwelling on it is powerful. Thinking in this way helps you to regain control over your own life, which is something I often need a reminder about.

Something I love about myself is my enthusiasm and my constant want to learn knew things. I love to learn new things and try new things when I can. I am extremely enthusiastic about everything that I do, and that helps to to succeed and preform to the best of my abilities. The want that I have to learn knew things has helped me time and time again. Often in school I am very interested about a topic, so I'll go home and research it to learn more, then I come back into class and can provide outside information into discussions. I also love a challenge and I love that I am always trying to challenge myself. I love that I will work as hard as possible to achieve what ever goal I am reaching to, and I will put in as much energy as I can so I can achieve my goals.