Truthfully, the biggest problem we face is how far away we have gotten from God. And before you stop reading this because you might think it's going to be all about religion don't. Although, as a Christian, I have beliefs in a God, I also have beliefs on how others should be treated just like everyone else does, Christian or not. I also know I am not the only one seeing what is happening in the world and feeling a great deal of sadness. Because right now when I look outside, I don't see hope or love. I see violence, mistrust, hurt, pain, and hatred. Sure, many positive things can be seen everywhere I go, but in the whole world, I don't. Whether it is because of religion, race, their way of life, or even where they live, it is tiring to see day after day. It is so hard for me to understand how we continue to treat one another because deep down I believe we all have a chance to love one another. I believe we are all connected, all family, and all capable of accepting others' differences and still loving them no matter what. While this problem seems impossible to fix, I don't think it is. It will take time, patience, and people coming together and wanting to work on this, but it can be done. I believe it starts with recognizing the different types of people we have. Then the government could create an incentive program where the contribution of volunteer hours would lower the amount of taxes on that person. In that program, all different types of people would be put in groups together to work together. This would allow them to connect and find similarities even if they didn't think they could.

When I was younger, whenever we went to my Grandparent's house my cousins and I would get together and play "The Farming Game." A board game that was similar to monopoly but with many more risks on various crops and livestock. You got to choose where you put your money and it also allowed you to take loans out in hopes that you would roll a good harvest to be able to pay it back. This game taught me a lot about financial ideas and even more when my parents and grandparents would walk by and always say, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." Such a classic saying but the amount of truth behind it is amazing. While in the game you want to win so you can risk it all and if you lose it doesn't matter because it's a game. However, in real life you can't risk it all, it just isn't smart. In real life, you have to play safe because you get one shot to live. You want to make sure you have a safety to fall on in case something happens that you weren't expecting because it often does. The more you stay safe and build up your current situation to a solid structure, the more you will be able to risk and challenge as time goes on. However, you must first have a good strong solid base, to begin with. Learning the significance of that saying is important as I tackle more challenges and journeys in life. No matter what I do, I must always be aware of the possibility that something could happen, and even if it does happen, I will be prepared financially to withstand the blow.

Most people that struggle with mental health are young adults who are trying to begin and start their own lives. Needing someone to talk to and help guide them can be a difficult thing because there isn't much extra money to be spent at this age. Around this time, more people are trying to pay for college, pay rent or payments on their house or car, and buy necessary items for living. This being said, they aren't trying to waste money because paying for mental health isn't an option for most people. That's why I am introducing an idea where volunteer hours are a payment method. Various businesses and organizations could hire therapists and counselors for themselves and others to use. If those businesses could set up a program where people from the community could give a few hours of their time for various tasks up to the company, the business could then exchange those hours for time with their therapist. This would allow young people to not only find a way to get help but also helps them do this without breaking the bank. Working as a volunteer also allows them to make connections. Additionally, if the young person was worried about others knowing if they were going to a therapist, on the outside it would simply look like they are just volunteering their time. There would have to be adjustments and trials to find what works with this idea. However, I believe this could have the potential to be extremely beneficial to young adults in need.

Everywhere we look there is an opportunity to make something meaningful to us or another person. Painting a scenic view that reminds me of our best family trip on a tote bag, making handmade cards for people's birthdays, or carving symbols out of wood to make jewelry for loved ones, are just a few things I do to apply creativity in my life. While those all deal with personal items, there is also another type of creativity I use every day, at work and when I am out and about. That type of creativity is thinking outside the box to fix a problem I have encountered. It could be trying to loosen a tight nut on a piece of farming equipment with limited space and tools, figuring out how to layout my garden to allow my plants to rotate, or figuring out what shot to hit in tennis given the circumstances. Every time I face a problem, I work to find a solution. I may not be the most creative artistically, but I am very creative when it comes to finding different solutions and thinking outside the box. Most of the creativity and thinking differently comes from learning through failures and knowing what will and won't work. From there I can try new methods and things that haven't yet worked to find the solution that works. I can apply creativity because I am not afraid of failure or trying new things. Applying creativity makes me a "live and learn person," which helps me solve problems that would normally seem impossible to solve by myself.

The wisest thing I ever heard was said by my dad when he said, "Close your eyes and feel the music." Such a simple statement but when you think about the words you can find a lot of meaning in them. Firstly, it means focusing on where you are at and enjoying what is around you. He was saying to listen to the sound and let it control you, don't worry about the outside world just let the music guide you. Additionally, when thinking about it further, you understand it as a way to enjoy where you are at. There may not always be actual music around you, but there is always a melody of life that is playing constantly. Learning to listen to the music of life and be in the moment is an important idea to live by. We only get one life and one chance to live so we have to make do with what we are given. These wise words have helped and continue to help keep my focus on living in the moment. They help me understand that the more I worry about the past or the future, the more I am missing out on the present. And nobody wants to miss out on presents or the gift of life.

My goals for the future aren't career or academic, at least not the ones I am passionate about. Of course, I have academic goals of maintaining a 4.0 GPA in college, graduating as a double major, and having a degree in a STEM field, but I have more life goals that are more important to me. When I look back at my life, I don't want it to be consumed with the idea of being obsessed with getting perfect grades and getting the perfect job that takes up all my time. I want to look back on my life and see myself helping others. I want to see positive change in the world that I helped create. Whether it is helping homeless people get back on their feet, helping people find value in their lives who are lost, or bringing different people together, I want to inspire hope, positivity, and love in people's lives. When I look at our world, I don't see the need for more excellent scholars or athletes, but I do so the need for leaders to inspire love among all types of people and bring everyone together. That is my goal for the future. I want to help establish one world and one people. While it may not happen in my lifetime, I want to inspire love for everyone, because the best way to solve issues is with love, not hate.

One of the best ways I found success in studying is by creating my tests from the notes we got in class. Testing myself over all the areas of information, I was able to focus on what I thought were the important parts of the information. Additionally, I would research topics related to what we learning to understand a more applied learning aspect to that section of material. This helped me take my information and make me truly understand what I was trying to learn. To me, school and lectures were like the base step, but to get further you had to go out and use that information to explore and learn more. Whether that meant watching other people's videos on the same topics, reading research reports on certain traits and patterns, or using different websites that had similar problems related to the topics, learning in class was important but applying what I learned to other problems without the step-by-step explanation of a professor helped me figure things out on my own and understand things more deeply. No matter what I did I was always focused and willing to work to understand difficult topics. Even if I didn't understand it at first, I would take my time and take breaks, but I would never give up on trying to solve the problem. Never giving up and taking time to figure out the problem was more beneficial to me than just looking up the answer because it required me to understand what I was doing. I pushed myself every time I studied because I knew it wasn't going to be easy, and I was okay with that.

In today's world, it is so easy to get caught up in life's ebb and flow, that you fly past the things around you. But, when you're out in nature it gives you a chance to slow down and breathe in what is happening around you. I love nature because it makes me appreciate the little things. It gives me stillness and peace that you don't get inside a building. Feeling the gentle breeze blowing the tall prairie grass, the nice warm sun warming your soul, and hearing the sound of birds chirping in the distance is a feeling that can't be replaced inside. Nature is a way for us to find peace and connect with ourselves when we feel like we start to get lost and caught up in our daily lives. As we continue with our days, nature continues to go downhill. With the constant battle with pollution and climate change, nature is being threatened every second. The litter that fills the ditches along roads is one of the most heartbreaking things to see. Picking up trash and making the Earth look clean again helps me appreciate the beauty before it gets overtaken with garbage everywhere we look. Additionally, being conscious of electricity and gas being used helps prevent further pollution and allows cleaner air for us all to breathe. No matter what we do, something needs to be done. Every little thing will help create change and will help make nature last. It's up to us to make it happen. After all, nature gives us so much, and we must give some back as well.

In my senior year of basketball, I was given my 5th head coach of girls' basketball in 6 years since I started playing middle school basketball. After my junior year I debated even coming back to basketball. However, I realized not playing my senior year would be selfish to the other girls and to the new coach who was there to hopefully made a difference in our program. So, I decided to play, and I helped convince many other girls, especially younger ones, to play as well. I wanted to help turn this program around for the future girls of our town. I wanted to help our coach start something that was worth building on. As the leader of our team, every day at practice I worked my hardest, pushing the other girls and never giving up. Game after game, we got destroyed, but nonetheless I continued to work. My team and me continued to push each other. After a while, we became really frustrated, we lost every game by at least 20 points no matter how hard we worked. To the outside world, we looked like we only showed up on gameday. But the outside world didn't get to see the people that pushed themselves every day to make a change in practice. While our hard work was never shown in the result, we all learned the importance of fighting and working hard every moment. We never gave up no matter how bad the score was. While, having a record of 0-19 was embarrassing, it also taught me more about perseverance and continuing through the hard times than anything else probably ever will. If it wasn't for my persistence, I don't think I would have made it through the season.

Generosity is being there for people, making them feel like they belong, and helping them when they are lost or discouraged. In this world, everyone wants to feel loved, like they belong, and like they have a purpose. That's why many turn to social media for likes and for ways to fit in. However, that's not how we should be living our lives. We should be able to do what we want and be ourselves without any fear of rejection or not fitting in. To me, that's what generosity is, making everyone feel at home. When someone feels at home, they feel respected, loved, and like they can ask for help without being ashamed. Generosity is listening to someone when they need someone to talk to without judgment. It's stopping what you are doing to help them carry their things or to help them solve a problem that they can't figure out. It's giving leftover food to homeless people. It's getting to know people by talking to them one-on-one. Generosity is putting others before yourself because at this moment they need the help more than I need to be doing something else. To others, generosity may mean giving support on social media, giving money to organizations, and giving away things to people in need. And in their way, they are right, they are helping people in their way and being generous with what they have. But to me, generosity is giving my time and myself away to others that aren't grateful enough to receive the love and respect that everyone deserves. That is how I choose to be generous to others around me.

1. I don't? 2. I don't have goals because they are a waste and time and block creativity. Goals require you to have a path or journey planned out and I like to go with the flow and adjust. Not having a plan makes you think on your toes and outside the box which is more beneficial than thinking things through. 3. I was watching Oklahoma State when my parents came home. Running to get my lucky hat, I jumped over a 5lb dumbbell that my toe caught. After I overcame the obstacle, I encountered another one. A broken toe. Internally screaming, I grabbed my lucky hat, and crawled as fast as I could. Concealing the pain I had endured, I hid my toe with a sock, conquering yet another obstacle.

In sports, we are taught that winning is everything, and in school, we are pushed to get straight A's in every subject. These goals are what I lived by and focused on every day, at least until I had a moment that changed my whole outlook on life. Feeling like I was swamped with homework in the sixth grade, I was determined to get succeed in everything I was assigned. Then one day, my best started to feel sick. In a couple of days, she went to a hospital that was an hour away. I had no idea how sick she was and I thought she would be back to school in no time. So when my mom asked if I wanted to go visit her in the hospital I told her that I didn't want to and that I had homework to do. But I never imagined waking up to the sound of my mom's worried voice at 4 am, telling me my best friend had died. At this moment I felt like the world stopped. I was in complete shock and my heart was shattered to pieces. When I first arrived at school, not many people knew yet, but soon people began crying while I was sitting there trying to hold myself together and comfort those around me. Trying to fight an overwhelming feeling of guilt, regret, and sadness, I eventually lost the battle and the tears came rushing out. Eventually, my tears of sadness quickly turned into me finding ways to comfort others and bring people together. Making ribbons in memory of her, writing letters to her family, and working to raise money for Relay for Life in memory of her were what filled my days, weeks, and months after her death. I managed to pull myself together and find my old happy self again. Before her death, I was always trying to make others smile or help them be positive. But now, it had a deeper meaning and it was more important than ever to be there for people. Her death helped me realize so many things and while I wish it had never happened, I am also grateful that it allowed me to open my eyes and understand so many things. To this day, I think about her all the time and the effect of her life on me. While I always had a super-strong work ethic and was a positive happy-go-lucky girl, she gave my actions a purpose. While I don't exactly know what I want to do career-wise. I do know I want to continue to help people find the positive things in life, help those who are knocked down, and help people find their purpose and drive to keep them going in difficult times like she was able to do for me. While I wish her death never happened, I am grateful that it turned me into a stronger person with the desire to make others come together and be happy.

When I was in middle school, my best friend died. I was always a happy and positive kid, but her death tore me apart and shattered my world. However, the next day I went to school because I wanted to be there for my friends. In the following days and weeks, I helped bring positivity and comfort to others who were close to her because I knew it was what she would have wanted. Since then, I have always wanted to help people and bring positivity to the world. Looking back, one person helped shape who I am and who others are. One person had an impact on me, on kids at school, and people in our community. One person and one life. Her life wasn't defined by one moment or action either, it was the story of her life from start to finish. From the moment she was conceived her life began. At this point, she already had an impact on people before she was even born. At this point, she was already a precious life and a human. Yet, despite the first-hand experiences of new people being brought into the world, some people still don't see humans having rights until later in life when they are born or when they have a mind. Even a professor of sociology, political science, and anthropology from Boston University said, "The life of an animal organism, obviously, begins at conception. But human life begins only at the moment that the animal has a mind. In some very fast developers, this can happen before the age of one year; in a large majority of cases, this happens between two and three years of age" (Greenfeld). By definition of human life, one could still end a born baby's life as long as it doesn't have a mind. However, I don't believe anyone would do that. So, if there isn't a difference between a recently born baby and a recently conceived baby still in the womb, why is there a difference in the views of ending that baby's life? While there are many reasons people have to get an abortion, there are also many against it. In the end, it is that person's belief and decision to their actions. While I am not big on using social media to debate these reasons, I do talk with people of differing views. Respectfully we talk about how we see things and why. Sharing our beliefs and values in small groups allows us to talk freely without worrying about the internet attacking you. Additionally, I am now old enough to use my vote for deciding how things will work in the government area. To me, a baby conceived is the possibility of life. The possibility that a baby will be able to inspire others and help someone on later in life. The baby that grows up to inspire others is the same baby that was once just a fertilized egg and an embryo. If we agree to abortions, we are agreeing to killing a life. A life that could one day help solve world problems or a life that could simply be impactful to others like one life was to me. Greenfeld, Liah. Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC, 16 Aug. 2013, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-modern-mind/201308/when-does-human-life-begin#:~:text=The%20life%20of%20an%20animal%20organism%2C%20obviously%2C%20begins,happens%20between%20two%20and%20three%20years%20of%20age. Accessed 11 June 2022.