Finding ways to empower women is crucial for the future of not just our own country, but for the international community as well. It is a difficult goal to meet because of the system of patriarchy that is so deeply rooted in our everyday lives, but that does not make it impossible. One of the ways that society can most effectively empower women, is to work on dismantling the structure of diet culture that has controlled and suppressed women for decades. Diet culture affects both men and women, but statistics show that its influence on women heavily outweighs its presence in the male community. These fatphobic systems promote insecurity and shame in women, which have drastic effects on mental health and prevent us from achieving our full potential. There are thousands of corporations internationally that prey on the insecurities of women and profit off of selling diet products and fad-diet tools; if women can band together and reject the idea of the “ideal body”, we would be able to achieve so much more and maybe even break off larger pieces of the patriarchy. To ensure that these demands are met, the first step is to stop allowing corporations from profiting off of diet culture products. There must be a joint effort from women everywhere to stop buying products that promote “detoxing”, quick weight loss, “waist-slimming”, etc. The next step would be taking to social media and speaking out against fatphobic publications. Women spend hours scrolling through their social media feed seeing unrealistic pictures of other women that are often photoshopped, edited, or posed. This creates a false ideal for what women should look like and often leads to disordered eating and obsessive exercise habits. Women begin to compare themselves to one another and it becomes a toxic environment where everyone is competing to be the fittest or the skinniest. We cannot come together and empower one another if we are preoccupied with tearing each other, along with ourselves, down. When women begin to dismantle diet culture and take the stigma out of the word “fat”, we will be able to focus more on what is important. We can devote more time to social issues, stay focused in school and enter fields where women are less represented, and most importantly, show these large corporations that are profiting from diet culture, that they don’t have control over us. These companies are often run by men who benefit from keeping women quiet and suppressed, so it is up to us to not let this pattern continue. Every body is a beautiful body, and every woman has a voice that deserves to be heard, regardless of weight, size, or structure.

The pandemic has brought a lot of unwanted changes to many people's lives, but one positive outcome that stands out to me is the time I got to spend with my family and those closest to me. Before the pandemic, my family hardly spent any time together; there were few family dinners or family game nights, and we were lucky if we were ever all home at the same time. Once COVID-19 shutdowns started to occur, we finally started to have more quality time and I really got to cherish my time with them before going to college this past August. My family is extremely important to me and being able to spend more time with them made me realize just how thankful I am for them and all that they do for me. I am very grateful that so far, my family has not only made it through the Pandemic safely, but that we have also come out of it closer than we have been in a very long time.

Although I have been extremely privileged in my experience with health and medical care, over the last two years of going through different levels of eating disorder treatment, I have realized that I am one of the few who is lucky enough to have received the care that I have. I’ve seen the majority of my friends be kicked out of treatment prematurely due to insurance cuts, and though they may not all belong to the same community, they are all undoubtedly underserved. Most of them only make it through 2 weeks of residential care before their insurance cuts and their parents are left having to foot an impossible bill, which then prevents them from continuing their recovery. This has led to several relapses, hospitalizations, and near-death calls. I was able to overcome my eating disorder by finishing treatment but many of my friends cannot say the same, which is unacceptable in a country with as many resources as ours. Being healthy and able to live day-to-day is not a privilege, it is a right and there is no reason why the amount of money that one has should control their access to that right. I communicate with my friends daily and try to help them find scholarships for treatment or cheaper alternatives to long-term care, but there is little to be done when there is so much red tape and so little attention given to mental health and health care in general in America. In the future, I hope to fight for these underprivileged communities and help them find access to affordable care, not only in the eating disorder realm but in all aspects of health. I want to be a voice in politics and government for those with these struggles and hopefully, bring more attention to their difficult situations.

As someone who has struggled with mental health throughout my life, I have always found it difficult to maintain the motivation to keep going. When things get hard I tend to doubt my ability to start again the next day and continue facing my demons; but the quote, “just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise”, written by Maya Angelou, has helped me come to terms with the fact that there is no other option than to keep going. The poem that houses this quote, "Still I Rise", is worded so beautifully that it is almost impossible to choose one quote from it that means the most to me, but this quote captures the entirety of the poem in one stanza. Growing up, my mom had the words “Still I Rise” tattooed on her ankle but it took until I was 17 for me to understand how much weight those words truly had. These words allow me to accept that just like the moon and the sun, I have to rise again, which is why I now have the same words as my mom tattooed on my body. They serve as a reminder of what and who I am here for: I am here for myself, and even on my worst days I owe it to myself to rise.

Although I am still working to consistently love my authentic self, there have been moments where I have felt more love for myself than I ever thought was possible. The first time I felt this way was at the Washington D.C, March for Our Lives protest in the spring of 2018. Every moment where I felt the same sense of freedom within myself were in similar situations; after organizing a Black Lives Matter protest where over 300 people participated and going to a local protest for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, I realized that this feeling of self-love and worthiness came with fighting for other people. I have always struggled greatly with body image and identity, but during these moments I felt that it did not matter what I looked like or how I chose to love, it only mattered that I was sticking by my core beliefs and fighting for something bigger than myself. My eating disorder had been how I defined myself for years, but through advocacy and social justice work, I found another way to be who I wanted to be, and that was more than just thin. I also realized that no matter how or who I loved, I could still fight for what I believe in. No label can force me into a category or make me feel marginalized and therefore less worthy of love; it is when I felt in touch with the me that didn’t come with a label, that I felt the most love for myself. I identify with the bisexual community but I am not just a bisexual; I have struggled with an eating disorder, but I am not an anorexic. Growing up with a gay mom I saw how it is possible to love yourself despite not being loved by everyone else. I learned that your life is not defined by others' opinions of you or who you love, and you don’t have to give in to the hatred that you are faced with. My mom's life is defined by being a good person and fighting for others, and that is how I hope my life will be defined. I plan to continue what my mom taught me and make a difference not just in the LGBTQ+ community, but in other groups that are discriminated against as well. I want to make policy changes that will help those who don’t have a voice in government and politics, but until I can do that in my career, I will work every day to stand up for what I know is right. I will stand up for those I know and those I don’t; I will not be complacent to normalized homophobic sayings like “that’s so gay”; I will show up in every way possible, and will make it a priority to give myself the same love that I want to show everyone else because you can’t fight for others if you don’t fight for yourself first.

Our current gerrymandering policies are dangerous because of how they affect underprivileged minority communities. The way that district lines are set up in our nation today, gives electoral advantages to the majority and prevents policies that would benefit Blacks, Hispanics, and other groups that are commonly discriminated against. Gerrymandering allows political parties that may not have the majority support in a region, to win electoral seats, which silences those who need people to represent them in government. Without people in government to speak for these communities, their needs cannot be met, because less money will be allocated to their schools, infrastructure, and local governments. We can increase equity and equality in the district drawing system by ensuring that the political affiliation of representatives in a state is representative of the political majority of a state. For example, if Maryland is Democratic in a popular vote with a 60% Democratic population, then roughly ⅔ of their congressmen should belong to the same party. Another possible solution would be to redistrict regions using simple and standard formats, like drawing equal horizontal lines that equally split a state, regardless of population, then using an analytical formula to give more weight or representatives to districts that are more heavily populated. Although these are not full-proof plans and they may have already been tested, it is crucial to reform redistricting policies in our country. The solution is not black-and-white, but that does not mean that nothing can be done.

Throughout high school, I was unable to hold a stable job because of being in and out of treatment for an eating disorder. I started treatment Sophomore year and just recently got to the point where I could manage my schedule enough to keep up with a job; because of this, I have limited savings for college and wasn't able to receive much financial aid for school due to not having the time to participate in many extracurriculars. I maintained a high GPA and stayed socially active in my community but unfortunately, that still left me with a large gap in my tuition that I had no way of covering outside of possible private loans. Due to a poor relationship with my biological dad, who I lived with up until the Fall of 2020, he is unwilling to contribute to my payment for college, and my biological mom, who I also don't live with, along with my current guardian, don't have the resources to assist me with the costs of tuition. I currently spend most of my time working and saving as much money as I can to cover my classes for the fall, but that may not be enough for the amount needed to attend school. All of these factors support why I need as many scholarships and opportunities for financial assistance as possible. My future goals of law and social justice are dependent on a college degree; I hope to be able to earn enough through scholarships and my job to lock in my tuition for at least the first year of my stay at the University of Pittsburgh.

Throughout my High School career, I had several teachers that impacted who I wanted to become in the future, but there is one that I don’t think I would’ve gotten to where I am today without. My Sophomore year English teacher, Mrs. Epps, was able to help me reach out for help when I was at my lowest point mentally, and in doing so showed me that I want to be able to help people similarly in my own career. During my Sophomore year, I was in the depths of a severe eating disorder, but refused to reach out for help or treatment; because of the compassion that she showed everyone daily, Mrs. Epps was the one person I felt like I could go to in regards to what I was dealing with. She gave me a platform to advocate for myself to my parents about the severity of the situation, which led me to the treatment that ultimately saved my life. She taught me that anyone can make a difference, no matter their background or profession, and although I didn’t want to become a teacher, I did want to affect people in the same way that she affected me. Without Mrs. Epps, I may not have been able to get to the point where I was healthy and stable enough to pursue a higher education on my own, which I am endlessly grateful for. My future career goals involve law, social justice, and activism, but at a basic level, my only hope is to help others as she helped me. I eventually realized I couldn’t do that if I was in a hospital bed or barely keeping myself alive. My greatest takeaway from the recovery that she led me to, is that I can’t fight for others if I don’t fight for myself first. After the treatment that Mrs. Epps helped me get, I was able to apply to college and create plans for myself outside of my eating disorder, something that I never thought would be possible. I owe a lot of my treatment journey and what will soon be my higher education journey to Mrs. Epps and her kindness. I can only hope to have a fraction of what her impact is on people in the future. Teachers can have a much larger impact on their community than they realize, and Mrs. Epps is a perfect example of that.

In communities across the globe, I want to see more of an equal opportunity to succeed for people from all different backgrounds and demographics. This is not a simple problem to solve, so my goal is to start with advocating for a change in my local community, then expanding it as far as I am able. Although we are extremely privileged in our country, there are still places all over the world that don’t have access to the same resources and freedoms that we have; I believe that change has to start within our nation because we have the ability and platform to be an example for the rest of the world. Everyone deserves to be treated equally, despite race, sexuality, religion, etc, especially in the criminal justice system, which is where I intend to focus my efforts in the future. A nation cannot expand upon human rights and equal opportunity if these rights are stripped at the most basic level: the right to live. Recently I read the books, Just Mercy, by Brian Stevenson and, The Sun Does Shine, by Anthony Ray Hinton, which both discuss the life of two Black men who were put on death row, despite being innocent beyond any doubt. These men were deprived of their dignity and ability to succeed, just because of the stigma surrounding their skin color, and that is the greatest crime a country can commit. By setting the example to the rest of the world that this is okay, we are being complacent in the equal rights movement that we are supposed to be leading. I am extremely passionate about fighting for communities that haven’t been given the voice to fight for themselves, but I know that I cannot do it alone. To gather those around me in support of this cause, I have organized and participated in several protests both locally, and on larger scales in the D.C area. Last spring two of my friends and I planned a march to protest the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two other tragic examples of the harm that came from the flaws in our criminal justice system. Over 300 people showed up and used their voices, which resulted in local police burrow reforms in Hershey, PA. Following this event, I realized how powerful the voices of this generation are; we have the power and the platform to continue the legacy of those before us. In the future, I plan to pursue a career in law and social justice to be able to promote change on a legal level, instead of just a social level. I am attending the University of Pittsburgh in the fall and intend on joining several clubs and organizations that spread awareness and fight for local causes including criminal justice, civil rights, homelessness, underprivileged communities, and women’s rights/Planned Parenthood affiliated groups. I am not expecting myself to become the next Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Stacey Abrahams, but I do hope to impact the lives of families and minority communities on a local level because that is where change starts.

My reason for wanting to go into law can’t be pinpointed to one event or thought, but the simplest way to put it is that I’ve always felt that law and making a difference is my purpose. From what I’ve experienced, everyone feels drawn to something in their lives, and I’ve been lucky enough to be in touch with what that is at such a young age; I know that law and social justice is my passion because it fulfills a part of me that nothing else ever has. Growing up I watched as Ruth Bader Ginsburg took over the courts, even in the later years of her life, and Kamala Harris became the first female Vice President, both of which gave me an idea of who I wanted to be; but at the same time, I watched as Black men and women were killed senselessly in the streets by those who are supposed to protect us. I read books like Just Mercy, by Brian Stevenson and The Sun Does Shine, by Anthony Ray Hinton, that were written about innocent men who sat on death row for most of their lives. The combination of these things showed me exactly what I wanted to do in life: I wanted to be like these strong women who paved the way for change, while also creating more change myself. I felt, and still feel, the need to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves, and practicing law will allow me to do that. My ideal career in law would be to fight for those who have been wrongly convicted or inappropriately sentenced, which came to the forefront of my mind after reading the two books I previously mentioned. Although the majority of people that fall into this category belong to discriminated against minority communities, others have experienced these tragedies as well. I recently read about a man who had been diagnosed with PTSD after coming home from fighting in the army; after falling in love with a woman and plotting to set off a small bomb to win her attention, his actions mistakenly ended in the death of two children. The man was clearly mentally unwell and did not have poor intentions, yet he still ended up being killed on death row. In a system as heavily funded and expansive as the one our country has today, there should be enough oversight to ensure that punishment fits the crime. A mentally ill man should not be killed for the harm he had no intention of causing, and a Black man should not be sentenced to life just for possessing Marijuana. The only real hope I have for my law career is to succeed in making a difference, no matter how small. I’m not expecting myself to be the next RBG, but I am hoping to bring justice to people who may not have received it otherwise. Civil rights, particularly in regards to its relation to the criminal justice system, need to have as many people fighting for it as possible. Everyone deserves to be heard, regardless of skin color, religion, or sexuality, but unfortunately, our system quiets the voices of those who aren’t in the majority, so it is up to us to listen to them and give them the platform to speak.

Most people think of being captain of the Varsity Football team, Student Council President, or class Valedictorian when they hear the words “achievements”, but to me, achievement has a different meaning. Although I may not have been any of these things, I do believe that I had just as much of an impact on my community as those with the previous titles may have had. My passion lies in politics, justice, and making a difference in the bigger picture, which is where I’ve attempted to put most of my energy throughout the last several years; by doing this I was able to achieve something other than a status or an award, I had succeeded in challenging members of my community to fight for change, something that I believe will have a long-standing influence on many lives. Growing up with gay parents, during a time when the world was less than friendly to the LGBTQ+ community, I learned that people can be more hateful than I wanted to believe. At an early age, I started watching the news and reading articles, which continued to open my eyes to the fact that most of the systems that were made to hold our world together, were the very reason that so many people’s worlds were crumbling. As I got older, I watched on tv as black men, women, and children were shot not just in the street, but in their own homes. It was made clear to me that I have to use my voice and privilege to speak up for others who can’t speak for themselves. Instead of working within my school or my circle of friends, I went to various places and marched along with people I didn’t know personally but felt more connected to than anyone else. After all of this, I decided to organize a Black Lives Matter protest on my own in Hershey, Pennsylvania following the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. I chose to hold the march in Hershey because that’s where I had been receiving treatment for an eating disorder and I wanted to close that chapter of my life with a new memory, one that I felt was more true to me and what I desired in life. I posted all over Facebook, reached out to influential people in the Hershey community, and when the day came, 300 people turned up to fight for what we all knew was right. To me, this was a big achievement, because not only was I proving to my community that we had a voice to create change, but I was also proving it to myself. This may not be written down in a yearbook or job application, but it is how I accomplished making a difference in my community and how I created a feeling of significance inside of myself outside of being thin. I broke through my own walls, along with society's walls, and now I know that is what I want with the rest of my life.

Growing up I never thought twice about going to college, it was always a part of my plan and I had no other option in mind for what I would do following graduation. It wasn’t until I started high school that I realized why I had to go to college and pursue higher education. I’ve always had a hard time finding things that fuel me and give me motivation to keep going day-to-day, but one thing that never left me unsatisfied, was learning. In a recent personality test I took, my top two values were curiosity and love of learning, which I thought was fitting. I have a hunger and need for knowledge that couldn’t stop at a high school level. I’ve also known that I wanted to go into the law or social justice field since I can remember, and I knew that a sustainable career in either of those areas would require me to further my education in college. Fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves and learning about what I can do to help underprivileged communities is what I feel is my purpose in life. I started educating myself on Middle-Eastern conflict, Critical Race Theory, and other controversial topics in today’s world. It became clear to me that I couldn’t sit idly by; I needed to do what I could to make a difference, no matter how large or small it may be. Throughout high school I spent my time volunteering in clubs, participating in local advocacy work, and organizing protests in my town. All of these things proved to me that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I want to be able to continue these projects and extracurriculars in college to a greater extent than I did in high school, because unfortunately COVID-19 limited the amount of hands-on work I could do with the community in my Junior and Senior year. Currently most of my energy goes towards my job and creating products for my Etsy shop, 25% of the proceeds of which, goes to Black Lives Matter. The rest of the money I earn is part of my savings for college due to not having much financial assistance from my family. Outside of those activities, I spend my time with friends and family so that I can enjoy as much time with them as I can before leaving for school in the fall. I want to be able to prove to them, and myself, that I am capable of going to college and creating a life of my own.

Being raised by my single, non-biological mom meant that I had a very different childhood than most of my friends. In elementary and middle school, I resented that my family didn’t look like everyone else's; my dad was in my life, but he lived so far away that he wasn’t around enough to be a part of my day-to-day life. My brother’s autism and ADHD, along with my own mental health struggles, didn’t make life easy for my mom, so watching her persevere and still be the best mom I could’ve asked for, has changed my life in many ways. I grew from hating my situation to being incredibly grateful for everything it has taught me. My mom is my best friend and my biggest role model, not just because she is a single mom, but because she is kind, compassionate, and an advocate. She identifies herself as LGBTQ+ and fights for those in her own community, along with other minority groups every chance she gets. She is my protest partner and the reason I found myself interested in social justice, which is my current passion and hopefully will be a part of my future career. By always speaking her truth, despite being seen as different from the rest of society, she has shown me what it means to truly be a good person. I want to be able to fight for others, while also providing for myself and my family in the future, and she has proven to me that that is possible. My dreams for the future have been greatly influenced by my mom, but, because of how dedicated she is to our family and to social justice, she hasn’t been able to save enough money to pay my college tuition. Receiving this scholarship would give me the ability to go to college and go into my dream career of civil rights law. My mom wasn’t able to go to college and make a stable career out of her own passion for social justice, but I hope to use what she taught me to help underprivileged communities on a larger scale, which is what she’s always wanted to do. Going into this field would allow me to feel like I am continuing her legacy, because even though she was not president or a famous historical figure, she still deserves a legacy for everything she’s done to fight for herself and for everyone around her. She is the most important person in my life and her compassion towards everyone, even those who don’t agree with who she loves, is what keeps me going on my hardest days. I worked as hard as I could throughout high school despite COVID-19 and my eating disorder treatment. My dream is to go to college and put my all into social work and advocacy in order to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves, particularly in the area of civil rights. Throughout college I plan to participate in student government and several other volunteer programs that will give me the experience I need to reach these goals. I also will be enrolled in work study in the fall and am working most days to be able to contribute to my tuition. My mom taught me that you have to work hard for what you want in life and I am committed to doing that not just for me, but for all of the people who don’t have a voice in today’s society. My family was not dealt the best deck of cards, but I grew up saying that just because I don’t have a great hand, doesn’t mean I have to forfeit, and my mom instills that in me everyday. Although my road hasn't been necessarily easy, I know that I am extremely lucky to have a mom who has been such an amazing role model to my brother and I, and I am determined to continue her legacy. Recently I got a tattoo of the words, “Still I Rise”, which is my mom and I’s favorite quote, written by our inspiration, Maya Angelou; this quote carries us both through each day and I know that because she continues to rise, so will I. Against all odds, my mom has overcome everything she’s faced in life, and I am endlessly grateful for the fact that one of things she rose against was being a single mom, because without her, I would not be where I am today.

My greatest inspiration in life is not a single person, but instead a concept: the idea that people can be kind, compassionate, and brave, despite being handed nothing but the world's ugliest realities. There are so many groups of people in the world that are turned away by the rest of society depending on religion, race, and sexuality, but the number of those people who have dealt with the forced isolation and turned it into a passion for helping those around them is what inspires me to persevere no matter what life brings. My Mother, who is not related to me by blood, has identified herself as a member of the LGBTQ+ community since before she started raising me when I was very little. I've watched as people have been far less than kind to her for nothing besides not agreeing with the way she loves, including those who are a part of my biological family. Despite this, she continues to be vulnerable and speak up for other members of the LGBTQ+ community, and for other communities who face prejudice as well. She doesn't let the hatred she's faced with turn into internalized shame, instead, she uses it as motivation to create more love and kindness in the world. Seeing her do this throughout my life has driven me to want to do the same. I stated before that what inspires me is not a single person; although my mom inspires me greatly, I know there are many people out there just like her who are faced with hatred but choose to still live authentic and impactful lives, so I cannot name my Mom as the only one; all of these people deserve the credit of being my inspiration, along with thousands of other teens and children across the world.

Instagram: bremalle I'm proud to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community because it is part of what makes me, me. I was raised by two moms who showed me what it meant to be kind, compassionate, and human, despite being treated like outcasts by most of the world. I am proud of them, myself, and all of the other members of the LGBTQ+ community who show grace and courage everyday just by being themselves.

My friends and I at a Black Lives Matter protest that we organized in Hershey, Pennsylvania. We were fighting for justice for all of the Black Men and Women who have been killed or silenced by the criminal justice system and were able to gather over 300 people to support the cause. Black Lives matter!!!!