I have been a fan and avid player of Minecraft since I got access to the first version when I was just a little kid. Back then you had infinite blocks and the only other creature were zombies. There is just something about this game that always has be coming back to it. There really are so many things that I love about the game, but I will admit I do have a favorite aspect. That aspect is the ability to create. Not just create but create a whole world of your dreams and imagination. Growing up I had a little bit of a rocky childhood, but to escape that I would play these games on my little iPod or tablet. Making friends with these other kids who also enjoyed playing these silly games. Having a distraction and thing to put all this emotion and energy into. It may have been going into the caves and just mining for hours, something repetitive to soothe nerves after a long day. Building a house because I wanted to create but didn't have any art supplies in real life. Or even just playing mini-games with my online friends just to have someone to talk to for a while. Minecraft has been a way to escape, not just for me, but for many people. So, my favorite aspect is being able to have that creative and fun space to let my imagination run wild.

Being a first-generation college student no matter what gender you are is always something to be proud about. But being a first-generation college student who also happens to be a female is something that you have to be proud of. Some may think that it isn’t something too crazy but without the push from certain people in your life you may never take that leap to go for your dreams. I have a few people who come to mind when I think about people who have made profound impacts in my life. Some good, some bad. One that really sticks is Sara Plozay. She was my instructor in high school, well my vocational school where I went through training to become a cosmetologist. I spent two years of my life with her, where I learned so much about myself and others. Where I was on an emotional roller coaster of my junior and senior year of high school. The ages of 16-18, where I was learning everything there is to know about becoming a young adult. Sara helped to lead me through it all. I wasn’t really a troubled teen, but I was a struggling one. I had been in a deep depression for a few years when I started going to that vocational school. As I stepped into that classroom, I could tell something was different, that things might start to change. That was when I met Sara. She greeted us all with a huge smile and open arms. She wanted us all to succeed from the very beginning. She always wanted the absolute best for us all. We were a class of 49 young women and one young man. She kept track of all of us. Checking on everyone, making sure we were in good places. We began to get closer once I joined a school organization. She led the meetings and took us to all of the different events. We would spend hours outside of school working in the organization together. At one point she finally looked at me and told me that she ‘believed I could do more’ that I ‘should apply to college’ because she believed that I was ‘more than just a hairdresser’. So, we looked into college. I had never thought about college before, I knew I didn’t have the funding to pay for it so why would I even think about it. Sara told me that she believed in me, and that she knew I could get through college and better myself in life. So here I am. In college for a bachelor's degree in fine arts, so I can bring art for everyone to enjoy to life. All because someone took time to listen to me, and to show that they cared. I now know that I can pull through, I work part time whilst being a full-time student, hoping to make ends meet. It’s hard but I know I can do this. But I will need help, so that’s why I’m here. Asking you to help, Sara gave me the confidence I needed, will you help me get there to?

As someone who has always loved art I would say I've had a long bumpy journey. We all know and remember finger painting in elementary school, the spark for a lot of us. That spark taking us into the awkward preteen years of drawing really weird things like cartoon characters doing yoga or something. Then some of us started to stop doing art, focusing on academics. That's what I did, freshman year I got away from drawing. I would spend all my time studying for history and math. Not focusing in my art classes. But junior year I jumped back into my creative side. I went to school for cosmetology wanting a good paying career to start my life. But I didn't love it. That's when I came across fashion, and fashion design. I have always loved clothing and accessories, changing my style everytime I saw a cool picture of Instagram or musically at the time. So I took a leap of faith. I applied to an art school for the Fashion Design major. I applied to one school, I said "If I don't make it in I'll just stick with hair!" What do you know, I made it in! Never did I think the only school I applied for would except me. It kind of shocked me. I knew I wanted to do fashion for the people like me, who grew up a little less fortunate. I hope to achieve a brand which lowers the cost of clothing without losing and of the quality with that price. I like to upcycle materials, rather than making all new fabrics I reuse scraps or get free fabric from my schools extra supplies room. Creating something for people with less is my goal. I want that little girl to get that pretty dress because her mom saw she could actually afford it. I want that little boy to see his dad in a suit dressed for a special occasion. Making something more affordable allows more memories to be made. Allows families to enjoys finer events without feeling the stress of having "nothing good enough" to wear. And if I can't get to that point I want to make the stepping stones for someone else to. Creating something others can build on, something that will encourage others to reach for their dreams. Go for even if you don't believe you can pay for it. Money comes and goes, you will get there. My journey has been rough but I will make it. I will finish school, and I will go for my dreams and goals.

What makes me truly proud to be an American? There are many things that I love about America so this is a hard one to chose one for. But I would say I am proud to be an American because of our diversity. The United States has a large diversity of people all throughout it. Different cultures, races, heritage, and personalities. Being somewhere that you can see so many different backgrounds is amazing. We all are different and we all can have different opinions. We get to live our lives how we want to. Speak freely about ourselves and our cultures. With no risk of being completely shutdown unless what you're doing is dangerous. Though there is so many amazing things here, there are a couple things that I wish would change. One of those being how we all treat each other. Growing up I was around a lot of the same kind of people, people who wanted to just work in town and stay local. As someone who wanted to get out of there I was looked at as if I was strange. Like being creative or ready to go in life was odd. I would love to see people be more excepting, if you don't agree with someone's life just leave them be. Let them do their thing and we can do ours. How will I effect this change? Being kind, and understanding. There are times in life where you need to stand up for something or someone but there are times where you can just sit back and watch. I just like to help others, may that be leading them or helping them work through something. Nobody is the same, we are all different in our own ways. I like to use the phrase, all snowflakes are different. You may have grown up one way or been taught a certain view, but that doesn't mean I grew up or learned the same thing. We all are different and should atleast respect that difference. So in all, I love being an American because we are all different in so many ways. The one thing I would change is how we react to those differences in people. Showing love or compassion towards each other is one way that all of that hate or difference In opinions could be squashed. Staying kind is always the way to go, thank you.

Art is something I have always loved. May that be finger painting in elementary school all the way to doing realism sketches in my freetime. I don't think I'd be the same person without art. My name is Caitlin Hubbell, I grew up in a decent sized town in Ohio. With my two siblings and my parents. I never had big dreams for my life, I thought I'd end up working a blue collar job like my parents. But I took a step, a step into creativity. I decided to go to a career school where I studied cosmetology, I thought it would be a good way to make money without risking my health. But as I went through that training I realized how much I love beauty and fashion. I applied to a college. An art college for fashion design. I never thought of going to college. My family couldn't even help me pay the application fee. So I worked, I got my ohio state cosmetology license and began saving. If I wanted to go to college I needed to make money. Growing up my family was a paycheck to paycheck household. We couldn't save anything because of bills. My mom worked two jobs to pay her rent and try to take care of us. My dad sometimes worked and tried to pay his bills. Sometimes I would chip in my money if I could. My mindset is that if I can keep going with as little debt possible I'll make it. I'm trying to just pay for college rather than owe someone else money. Being able to pay for something this big has always been a worry. But I'm going for it. I will finish school, and I will find a way to pay for it. Even if that mean working two jobs like my mom while is till attend college. I want to make a difference with art, with fashion. I don't want people who love clothing and accessories to stop themselves just because of the price. Everyone should be able to dress like themselves, not just a certain way because they can't afford it. I don't care about making tons of money, I care about those who can't. I'm a very logical thinker, I think of ways to upcycle things. Ways that I can cut costs while still being a good quality. That is, I guess, a way I use my left brain. I think very logically, in a way to problem solve. It all comes from a right brain point of view, through passion. With creativity in mind. Just like how I budget, I'm logical but there are points where I need supplies for work so I will scrounge around for them until I absolutely need to buy something. All in all, I love art. I love how it has changed my life, but I am working of fueling that passion financially and anything would truly help.

As someone who has always enjoyed dressing up, I have had my fair share of shopping experiences. Though shopping for new clothes is fun, you realize how expensive clothing can be. As someone who grew up in a low-income family, and as a middle child, I always got hand-me-downs from everyone else. My family didn't always have the money to get new clothes every year when school came around. But when we did go shopping the first place we looked was the clearance rack. On that rack were clothing items that were a year behind the newest styles. That is also if you can find the right size. When I finish my schooling and get myself started, I want to create a line where there is something for everyone. Get rid of those sizes that don't really mean anything, and implement something that actually makes some sense. Yes, I know you get what you pay for in quality of clothing but don't tell me that my size 24's are going to be 20 dollars more than a person's size 12. I want a line that the younger me would have been able to find their size, as well as be able to match with a friend half my weight. It's important to show people that it doesn't matter how you look. May you be thin, wide, tall, short, petite, or even if you've just been blessed with the most beautiful curves. You can wear whatever you want. So what is my vision for developing my apparel line? I envision a line where we just start off with a few pairs of jeans and/or pants. Sizes that follow waist and hip sizes rather than numbers that someone pulled out of the air. Lengths of the pant legs that will fit tall people or ones that would fit small people. Pockets that are real and would actually be able to fit at least your cellphone and a pair of keys. As well as enough belt loops to keep that pesky end of your belt from moving around just incase you can't get that perfect fit. It's important to have a line of well-fitting clothes because I know how it feels to not have that. Being able to have an outfit that fits could be the difference between loving your look and hating it. Because loving how you look and feeling amazing is truly the only thing that matters. I want people to be able to look in the mirror and just love how they look, not wanting to change it for any standards of the world. That is my vision, providing clothing that fits without breaking someone's wallet or their spirit.

Being the first one to do something in your family is always hard. May that be breaking the generational cycles or just going for your dreams. As a first-generation college student I'm making a change in my family history. My name is Caitlin Hubbell. I grew up in a small town in Ohio right off of the I-75 highway. My whole life I have been surrounded by blue collar jobs, my family expected me to eventually get one of these jobs in a factory, customer service, etc. But I decide to go to a career school for cosmetology. Honestly going to that school changed my life. I got away from the same people I had been around my whole life. I met people from all over Ohio, I joined organizations and went to big cities for conventions. I saw a whole new world. I never even thought about college till the summer of junior year in highschool. With all of these bigger things happening in my life and I realized I could go bigger. I applied to the Columbus College of Art & Design. I already had my cosmetology license so if I didn't make it in I would just fall back into hair. But what do you know, I made it in. I've always loved making people feel beautiful and handsome, so I picked fashion design. Then it hits that this is an expensive decision. My family is low-income. None of us had been saving because we had to live paycheck to paycheck. But now I had made a huge decision. I had to figure out how to pay for college. I immediately applied for a job at a hair salon near me and got to work applying to scholarships. Having something to start with is all I need. I will no matter what make it happen. I want to live better than I did when I was younger, I want to make a difference in others lives in bigger ways, so here I am. Applying to hundreds of scholarships, hoping my story will open up someone's heart for help. I know that no matter the outcome of this I will continue going for my dreams, and that I will keep pushing forward. Even if that means I have to get a couple of jobs whilst in college. I will make it. I will not give up. That's how I would use the money. To make history in my family and hopefully make history in others stories.

All throughout my life I have had so many strong and amazing people help make me who I am today. To be honest it is hard to just pick one. I know a lot of people will say their parents or their mom, but I want to say that the instructor at my career tech school profoundly impacted my life. I started my journey at Upper Valley Career Center uncertain what I really wanted to do in life. I thought that I would just finish up highschool there with my cosmetology license and work as a hairstylists for the rest of my working days. During my two years at the school my instructor had me join something called SkillsUSA, a CTSO organization that is focused on preparing you for the world of work. Going through that organization and working with so many different people made me realize I wanted to go to college. I never thought that I would even look at different colleges let alone apply, but my instructor was adamant that I atleast try. Then what do you know, I applied and got accepted to one of the nicest colleges near me. That instructor had me apply to scholarships, go to interviews, college visits, and so much more. She knew that if I tried hard enough I would make it. She has been a huge impact on me as a person. I've become more talkative, my confidence has risen and I've learned that I just need to put in the effort and I can do anything I set my mind to do. Going to that one school, and meeting that one teacher really changed my whole outlook life. I will forever be grateful for everything she has ever done for me and for everything she has encouraged me to do. In a heart beat I would go back and do anything for her because I truly do owe it all to her. I would have never applied to any college without her motivation. Again I am and will always know that she has my back and I know that if I ever need anything she'd help me out. So who is someone who has profoundly impacted my life by helping me realize my full potential? Sara Plozay, my cosmetology career technology instructor. The one adult figure in my life who always remained constant and I know will help so many more of her students gain the confidence they need to reach their full potential.

What makes me proud to be an American? There is a lot of good and bad that can come from asking that question. With the amount of drama and horrible actions happening in our country you have to watch how you respond to a question like that. Honestly though, why I am proud to be an American is the fact that I am free. I am free to live the way I want to. I do not have to have a certain job, I do not have to stay home and clean for the family all day, and I do not have to be uneducated. That is why I am proud to an American, I can live my life how I want to live it. What is one change I want to see in our country? I want to see people love each other more. There is always going to be hate in our world, but the way people hurt each other in America is crazy. Just this year, as of May, over 131 mass shootings have occurred. To qualify as a mass shooting there have been 131 incidents where atleast 4 people were critically injured and/or killed. So one change I would love to see in this country is control on this hate. Better laws, not ones that take away rights but ones that prevent people who are a risk to others from being allowed to hurt others. How will I effect this change? I am not sure to be completely honest. Being someone fresh out of highschool, not even started in college yet you are often limited with your reach to people. You can email, and go on social media to scream into a void. But that doesn't mean people will hear you. You can go protest in front of capitals and government buildings, but that doesn't mean you will be heard. The point I am getting at is that being someone not in power means if I want change to something I see as wrong, I have to work three times as hard to get my voice out there. I can go online and post relentlessly and hope people will get my message. I will go and try to speak to elected officials to have them hear my thoughts. But what I will not do is spread hate. This country is built on democracy. Being able to debate between sides, ones you believe in and ones you do not. That is another reason I am proud to be an American, we can debate. In the end I am proud to be an American because I am free, and I can work towards changing the hate that brews within a lot of people.

I’ve always struggled with mental health in one way or another. May that be in my self-image or with the relationships with friends and family that come and go. I won’t lie, sometimes I have let my thoughts get the best of me. It is hard to battle bad mental health and mental health disorders. But I always seem to come back to the same point in the end, how I feel inside affects how I perceive the world around me. I grew up in a small town in Ohio. Where almost everyone knew everyone else, and news spread like wildfire. So if you wanted to keep up a good reputation you couldn’t be caught doing something different or something considered strange. So I, being the weird child I am and continue to be, didn’t want to stick to the town's norms. I wanted to be different. But as most people who are different see, we face criticism. I grew up with countless bullies and never really shook off what they said to me. I would hold it in for years until It eventually caught up to me. In middle school, I started my battle with body image and self-harm. What I would hear about how I looked and how I acted made me want to disappear. I felt as though I deserved the pain. As if I deserved to be ridiculed and made fun of. Then I met people like me. People who knew what it felt like to be the butt of everyone’s joke. So I gained some really great friends, though they may not have all been long-term, they were pretty great to have around. I started to realize that the world is a harsh place, but there were things that made it a lot easier. So I have started seeing a free counselor through my school to talk about my mental health and all of my problems, I try to be more open with my close friends and my parents about how I feel about things, and I work on coping skills for the days where things are just a little rougher. I have set goals for my mental health that I want to reach; Stop focusing on those that have affected me in the past and focus on those who are with you now, I may not be perfect but I need to know that is okay, and that even if my plans don’t always go well that doesn’t mean I failed. They may seem small but they are important in understanding who I am. All in all, My battle with poor mental health has made me realize that relationships take time, so do my goals, and that the world isn’t perfect so why do I need to be?

I’ve always struggled with mental health in one way or another. May that be in my self-image or with the relationships with friends and family that come and go. I won’t lie, sometimes I have let my thoughts get the best of me. It is hard to battle bad mental health and mental health disorders. But I always seem to come back to the same point in the end, how I feel inside affects how I perceive the world around me. I grew up in a small town in Ohio. Where almost everyone knew everyone else, and news spread like wildfire. So if you wanted to keep up a good reputation you couldn’t be caught doing something different or something considered strange. So I, being the weird child I am and continue to be, didn’t want to stick to the town's norms. I wanted to be different. But as most people who are different see, we face criticism. I grew up with countless bullies and never really shook off what they said to me. I would hold it in for years until It eventually caught up to me. In middle school, I started my battle with body image and self-harm. What I would hear about how I looked and how I acted made me want to disappear. I felt as though I deserved the pain. As if I deserved to be ridiculed and made fun of. Then I met people like me. People who knew what it felt like to be the butt of everyone’s joke. So I gained some really great friends, though they may not have all been long-term, they were pretty great to have around. I started to realize that the world is a harsh place, but there were things that made it a lot easier. So I have started seeing a free counselor through my school to talk about my mental health and all of my problems, I try to be more open with my close friends and my parents about how I feel about things, and I work on coping skills for the days where things are just a little rougher. I have set goals for my mental health that I want to reach; Stop focusing on those that have affected me in the past and focus on those who are with you now, I may not be perfect but I need to know that is okay, and that even if my plans don’t always go well that doesn’t mean I failed. They may seem small but they are important in understanding who I am. All in all, My battle with poor mental health has made me realize that relationships take time, so do my goals, and that the world isn’t perfect so why do I need to be?

Mental health is defined as “a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being”. I believe mental health comes in many shapes and sizes. What impacts you may not affect someone else at all. Being a teenager in the 21st century has its fair share of experiences with mental health. With social media and the internet being easily accessed people see so much, and a lot more people to compare themselves to. Growing up with people who will shame you because you do not look or act a certain way will always affect your mental health, whether you are a man, woman, or somewhere in between. My first real experience with mental health specifically poor mental health was in middle school. I experienced heavy bullying from a group of maybe four or five girls and guys. I have always been a heavier kid, and before then I never thought anything about it. But as soon as those kids said something about how big I was something broke. It felt as though a screen of glass that had been protecting me shattered instantly. I soon became hyper-aware of how I looked, how I sat, how much I ate, and even how I chewed my food. It was like I felt all eyes on me instantaneously. So for a few years, I slowly went down a slope of self-hatred where I wasn’t truly being me. It got to the point where I felt as though I deserved it and needed to harm myself to feel something normal again. Then it clicked. I got my first phone right before freshman year of high school and saw what these kids were seeing. People who looked like barbie dolls and plastic figurines. But then I began seeing people just like me living life to the fullest. I realized I didn’t need to look like those people. I just needed to love myself for being me. I began coming out of what was like a dark mist and started to make better choices. I wanted to get better, and so I did. I have now started to go out of my comfort zone and try to help others that may have felt the way I did. I want to set an example for those who might not realize that they are fine with being bigger, a different color, or not what is expected of them or their assigned gender. Being different is what makes us human. And being human means having to deal with mental health and its struggles. I now go to mental health awareness events with others to try and bring joy into someone's day. I try to help around my school when I can, with students that may just need someone who isn’t an adult to talk to. So my experience with mental health has influenced me to believe that everyone has a place here. That my relationships should remain healthy and that if they cannot then that relationship needs to change or it needs to end. I now want to become a Fashion designer for all body shapes and sizes, non-gender specific so anyone can dress however they want. Realizing who you are and accepting that will be what helps you in the end, it’s what helped me. I could have made my life a sob story, or claimed that I was just a victim in a world of hatred. But I decided to face my problems. Decided to change for the better, and let myself be who I am instead of hiding away. That is what my experience with mental health has done.

I have never been the most out-there kid in life. I tend to try and just stay in the background and get through things rather than make a big statement. But what I realized is that I don't have to be loud or attention-grabbing to help out others. Community service and volunteering has opened so many opportunities for me to meet new people and people of every background. So what steps have I taken to become more involved in my community this year? Well, I am currently an active member of an organization called SkillsUSA. In this organization, we work together to get career tech students, such as myself, ready for the world of work. But along with that, we host fundraisers and drives for local organizations and places that need help. In about a week from when I am typing this, on December 9th and 10th we are going to a local thrift store in Sidney, Ohio to help them set up their Santa shop, which is their Christmas store, and helping them run it the following day. Along with our close by community, we work with past teachers and students to help gather supplies and necessities for Kentucky. After the flooding started a lot of the schools had massive losses. Just last month we worked with a former teacher on a mission to collect books for a kindergarten through eighth-grade school district. We collected over 2,000 books for them and are now working on getting them tools for their career tech, also known as vocational, school. One of my favorite volunteer opportunities is when I get the chance to help ring the bell outside of stores for the salvation army. With ringing the bell, we play music, dance, and just talk with the people walking by about their days. That usually gets people to donate more and also lets me know more about my community. I try to make my volunteer opportunities as fun as possible. Another volunteer opportunity I gratefully got to participate in was going to Troy, Ohio for a mental health fair to give haircuts and styles to people to brighten their day a little bit. I am a student in a career tech school in cosmetology and being able to go out and cut someone's hair to hopefully make their day better was just amazing. I also hope to visit some of the nursing homes soon to just talk with some of the elderly for the holidays, ones that may not have family around to talk to them. I am always looking for more ways to volunteer, and plan to volunteer as much as I can before this year is over and so much more next year.