An issue that me and my church have taken the initiative to address is the homelessness and hunger crisis for people in poverty. Around my community there are countless homeless people, as evident by the near capacity homeless shelters, but past that there are even more people who are in extreme poverty and can’t even afford food for themselves or their families. While I myself have never been in that kind of situation; my parents have, so I have heard about how awful it can be to worry about whether you’ll be able to eat that week. This taught me to be appreciative for all I have everyday and made me want to help those who aren’t as fortunate as I am to have food daily. That’s why I decided to go to my local church, Nimmo United Methodist, and ask about volunteering for the food pantry. While plenty of people donate food or money for them to use I decided to help distribute because that’s where they needed the most help. I’ve met some great people who work very hard but they needed help to accommodate the amount of food being packed into bags and given out to people; so, I offered to help. This was the initiative I took and it paid off as we were able to serve around 70 people the first day I was there to help. It made me overjoyed to have been able to have the opportunity to give back to the community in a way I never would have been able to do before. If given the resources to expand, I would try to cooperate with more local food banks and pantries to serve more people in a larger area, as well as partner with local gardens or even just people who want to donate fresh produce to give better quality food to the people who need it. Overall, the hunger issue in my area was bad, but with the help of my church and their food pantry, I was able to help feed hundreds of people for a long time and give them the relief that they need.

Over the past few years, I’ve become much more interested in the field of accounting and specifically public accounting. There are quite a few people I know, mainly friends and family, who work in finance, whether it's my 2 cousins who are accountants, my dad who worked in finance for 20+ years, or some family friends who work in CPA firms. So I naturally became interested in that career field which is where I am now and is why I have a lot of my path planned out. After a lot of research and questions about the career path, I’ve figured out what I want to do even past college. After graduation, I want to go to West Virginia University and major in accounting. While I’m here I will have to focus on getting good grades and forming an impressive resume throughout college. Unfortunately, like any college student, the budget will have to be stretched quite thin and I won’t have a lot of money to support myself until graduation without loans. On the bright side, with my high school resume I will obtain multiple scholarships from the college and private lenders to help pay for college and any expenses during. With the impressive resume I make, I will land professional internships during college with impressive firms to learn more about the industry and make connections which will be vital to finding a good entry-level job. When I find a job soon after graduation I will be able to support myself enough and will begin saving any extra income I have and investing it to make it grow in the long term when I have a family to support. Along with the income, I will have had enough internships and experience to get a firm to allow me to take the exam and become a CPA to achieve what I set out to do. I will likely follow along the path of being in public accounting for around 10 years depending on personal conflicts as I want to start a family as well, and the fast paced life in that career clashes with a family life. As a result, I will leave the public accounting profession and join a private firm to live a slower life and enjoy it with my family and still support them by working. Of course, it’s very far out from now but I find having a plan early helps me stick to it and I know I can achieve all of this with determination and never giving up.

Yes, Lebron James is the greatest Basketball player to ever touch the game and it is unlikely he will ever be surpassed. I am and have been a fan of him since I began to watch basketball many years ago and he has inspired me to pursue my dreams of college, since I'm terrible at basketball. He's been dominating the league since before I've been born so It's a part of my life that he plays in the NBA. It's almost surreal that he is retiring soon and it makes me reflect on my life as much as his time in the NBA because it's been growing alongside me everyday. Aside from the personal connection I have with my King, he is objectively the greatest of all time, the GOAT. His scoring stats alone would be enough for me but his longevity is what truly makes him the greatest, as Jordan didn't dominate nearly as long as Lebron is. Not only are his scoring stats and longevity, he has 4 MVP's, 4 NBA Championships, 4 Finals MVP's, and so many more accolades. The combination of all of that, along with the competition he plays against compared to the past players is why he is the Greatest of All Time and it cannot be debated. My glorious Lebron James is the best player to ever play and without him I doubt the sport would be where it is today.

My community service started with small community things with Nimmo United Methodist Church like showing up to youth group meetings or getting to know the other members of the church who were all amazing. Then, I was offered a chance to help in the garden, which grows food for local shelters in need who love getting fresh produce from our church. I did this most weeks and spent many hours tending the garden to get it to grow amazing crops for the people who needed them. Along with that, I spent time volunteering to help my dad and the United Methodist Men’s group to sell christmas trees as a fundraiser for the church, which I loved to do. I always try to give back to my church because of everything they've done for me. Last summer, I went to El Salvador in the city of Ahuachapan and spent a week there with a group of church members to serve the local community by digging out and helping place foundations for a school to be built there. This was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had, not just because I was helping people who needed it but because I learned so much about myself from doing it. I met the most amazing people and had so much fun but more importantly I feel I really did a lot for the local community who work so hard already. As for my financial need, I know my parents have no extra substnatial income in order to pay for me to enter college, as they need their income to support themselves when I am gone. The only way for me to pay for college is via scholarships from the school or private ones, financial aid from the FAFSA, and any loans I may need to cover outstanding balances. I have never personally been the victim of bullying in school or online, but I know people who have. Many of my friends have been victims to bullying because of minor things they do that makes them different. Maybe one of them wears something that isn't "in the mainstream" or does something that a "cool" person wouldn't do. This is such a terrible mindset to have because us as people should encourage such differences and diversity so we all can thrive with each other. I personally have tried to stop bullying by just talking with people who may have bullied someone in the past. Often enough they are just people who may be in a bad place mentally and need a little help, which all people are deserving of. While no one deserves to be bullied, no one deserves severe punishment or retaliation for it either, as revenge doesn't achieve anything. To get revenge or bully someone back is simply contributing to the problem and doing so will only make things worse. The best way to beat bullying is kindness, which I try my best to show everyone at all times, because you never know what someone is going through or what caused them to do what they did. While I may fail at times because it's impossible to be perfect, we can all try our best to combat bullying together with kindness.