Service is an important part of my everyday life, whether in big ways or in small. I always make it a priority to sit with the students who are alone, invite friends to be involved in the community, and make new members of our school feel welcome. As Philanthropy Captain, I have planned visits for our school with local homes for people with disabilities and I have integrated service projects as a part of our school community. Through my work with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, I have the opportunity to lead children in their faith, as well as in Montessori peace education. Young children learn by observing our our actions and imitating them, so it is important to lead by example in order to teach them how to live at peace with themselves and one another while being active participants in the community. From a young age, my family has hosted international guests in our home. As one of their only glimpses of America, we represent all Americans to these guests, some of which speak no English. However, we do not simply welcome them into our home. In order to be a successful leader, you must be able to understand and connect with people from different cultures and backgrounds. I am passionate about learning as many languages as I can in order to make our guests feel at home while overseas. Additionally, travel is a core aspect of who I am. Immersing yourself in other cultures, their cuisines, their traditions, and their people, enables us to put ourselves in their shoes and relate to them. By being competent, kind, and relatable, I can put other people at ease. I never want anyone to feel unwanted simply because I’m too afraid to step out of my comfort zone. Recalling my own family’s grief, after another miscarriage, I decided that I needed to do something to offer comfort to other families like mine. With a vision in mind, I got straight to work. I began to use my class time to sew miniature memorial baby quilts as a reminder of the babies which families have lost, and Layers of Love was born. The mission of Layers of Love, Miscarriage Ministry, is to provide comfort to grieving parents, acknowledge the loss as a real baby, and supply something beautiful and tangible for the mother and father to keep in remembrance. This service project has now turned into a lifelong ministry, through which I can extend the same healing I found to families across the world. 1 Cor. 9:22 says, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.” In order to fully love all God’s people, we must first know God’s people. How can we expect people to respect and follow us if we don't first put in the effort to connect with them? Everyone deserves to feel like they are a necessary part of the team, like they are wanted and loved. This is something I apply to my life, not just in leadership roles within school, but in my service to the community. At my age, I cannot give a home or a job to someone who is homeless, nor can I be overseas daily preaching the gospel, but I can make meals for the homeless, give of myself for a stranger, invest myself in the lives of those whom I serve, and answer the call of the Holy Spirit each and every time, letting God’s gifts flow through me to where He needs them most.

Leadership is an important part of my everyday life, whether in big ways or in small. I always make it a priority to sit with the students who are alone, invite friends to be involved in the community, and make new members of our school feel welcome. As Philanthropy Captain, I have planned visits for our school with local homes for people with disabilities and I have integrated service projects as a part of our school community. Through my work with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, I have the opportunity to lead children in their faith, as well as in Montessori peace education. Young children learn by observing our our actions and imitating them, so it is important to lead by example in order to teach them how to live at peace with themselves and one another while being active participants in the community. From a young age, my family has hosted international guests in our home. As one of their only glimpses of America, we represent all Americans to these guests, some of which speak no English. However, we do not simply welcome them into our home. In order to be a successful leader, you must be able to understand and connect with people from different cultures and backgrounds. I am passionate about learning as many languages as I can in order to make our guests feel at home while overseas. Additionally, travel is a core aspect of who I am. Immersing yourself in other cultures, their cuisines, their traditions, and their people, enables us to put ourselves in their shoes and relate to them. By being competent, kind, and relatable, I can put other people at ease. I never want anyone to feel unwanted simply because I’m too afraid to step out of my comfort zone. 1 Cor. 9:22 says, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.” In order to fully love all God’s people, we must first know God’s people. How can we expect people to respect and follow us if we don't first put in the effort to connect with them? Everyone deserves to feel like they are a necessary part of the team, like they are wanted and loved. This is something I apply to my life, not just in leadership roles within school, but in my service to the community. At my age, I cannot give a home or a job to someone who is homeless, nor can I be overseas daily preaching the gospel, but I can make meals for the homeless, give of myself for a stranger, invest myself in the lives of those whom I serve, and answer the call of the Holy Spirit each and every time, letting God’s gifts flow through me to where He needs them most.

Service is an important part of my everyday life, whether in big ways or in small. I always make it a priority to sit with the students who are alone, invite friends to be involved in the community, and make new members of our school feel welcome. As Philanthropy Captain, I have planned visits for our school with local homes for people with disabilities and I have integrated service projects as a part of our school community. Through my work with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, I have the opportunity to lead children in their faith, as well as in Montessori peace education. Young children learn by observing our our actions and imitating them, so it is important to lead by example in order to teach them how to live at peace with themselves and one another while being active participants in the community. From a young age, my family has hosted international guests in our home. As one of their only glimpses of America, we represent all Americans to these guests, some of which speak no English. However, we do not simply welcome them into our home. In order to be a successful leader, you must be able to understand and connect with people from different cultures and backgrounds. I am passionate about learning as many languages as I can in order to make our guests feel at home while overseas. Additionally, travel is a core aspect of who I am. Immersing yourself in other cultures, their cuisines, their traditions, and their people, enables us to put ourselves in their shoes and relate to them. By being competent, kind, and relatable, I can put other people at ease. I never want anyone to feel unwanted simply because I’m too afraid to step out of my comfort zone. Recalling my own family’s grief, after another miscarriage, I decided that I needed to do something to offer comfort to other families like mine. With a vision in mind, I got straight to work. I began to use my class time to sew miniature memorial baby quilts as a reminder of the babies which families have lost, and Layers of Love was born. The mission of Layers of Love, Miscarriage Ministry, is to provide comfort to grieving parents, acknowledge the loss as a real baby, and supply something beautiful and tangible for the mother and father to keep in remembrance. This service project has now turned into a lifelong ministry, through which I can extend the same healing I found to families across the world. 1 Cor. 9:22 says, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.” In order to fully love all God’s people, we must first know God’s people. How can we expect people to respect and follow us if we don't first put in the effort to connect with them? Everyone deserves to feel like they are a necessary part of the team, like they are wanted and loved. This is something I apply to my life, not just in leadership roles within school, but in my service to the community. At my age, I cannot give a home or a job to someone who is homeless, nor can I be overseas daily preaching the gospel, but I can make meals for the homeless, give of myself for a stranger, invest myself in the lives of those whom I serve, and answer the call of the Holy Spirit each and every time, letting God’s gifts flow through me to where He needs them most.

The gravel crunched under our feet as we hiked through the woods to the edge of the river. It was a warm summer day and the sun shone through the trees, warming our faces. “What’s your favorite song?” My friend Hannah asked. “One of my new favorites is First Things First by Consumed by Fire,” I replied, unsure if she had ever even heard of it. “Oh, I love that one!” She exclaimed, her face lighting up. She and Margaret suddenly burst into song, “I don’t want to love what the world loves. I don’t want to chase what the world does…” We continued talking as we walked, comparing favorite songs and novels. Never had I found anyone who had so much in common with me. Everyone there was confident in themselves, strong in their beliefs, and no one cared what anyone else thought. Being in a community full of people who prioritized their faith, family, and loved to learn filled me with awe of what the future could have in store. I have toured many different colleges from state schools, to private, to public. Of all the colleges I have visited, Benedictine and similar schools focus the most on developing well rounded leaders, building character, and serving the world. I want to study Theology and Creative Writing, but more important to me than what I study, is who I will become. I want to live and learn in an uplifting community where I can be confident in who I am and learn to better express myself in whatever career I decide to pursue post-college. College is a time to discover who we are and who we are meant to be. After college, I would like to continue my work as a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Directress, and I hope to further expand the program. I have looked into working for the church or another non-profit, missionary work, or pursuing my love of writing. While I do not know exactly how my career will play out, I know I want to help people in some way and that I will always use whatever talents I have to reach out in love to those in need. I want to pursue a strong education that will shape me into a well rounded adult who is confident, kind, and relatable. I believe it is important to be both well-traveled and well-read because rather than simply memorizing facts, true education is centered around forming the person as a whole and kindling in students the desire to continue learning throughout their lives. If learning is confined to the borders of the school, we will never grow. Rather, the world is my school and as I travel, I am able to apply what I have been taught to understand the world around me. College is important to me because it will prepare me to go into the world ready to give of myself and my talents, and to never be afraid to learn something new.

Service is an important part of my everyday life, whether in big ways or in small. I always make it a priority to sit with the students who are alone, invite friends to be involved in the community, and make new members of our school feel welcome. As Philanthropy Captain, I have planned visits for our school with local homes for people with disabilities and I have integrated service projects as a part of our school community. Through my work with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, I have the opportunity to lead children in their faith, as well as in Montessori peace education. Young children learn by observing our our actions and imitating them, so it is important to lead by example in order to teach them how to live at peace with themselves and one another while being active participants in the community. From a young age, my family has hosted international guests in our home. As one of their only glimpses of America, we represent all Americans to these guests, some of which speak no English. However, we do not simply welcome them into our home. In order to be a successful leader, you must be able to understand and connect with people from different cultures and backgrounds. I am passionate about learning as many languages as I can in order to make our guests feel at home while overseas. Additionally, travel is a core aspect of who I am. Immersing yourself in other cultures, their cuisines, their traditions, and their people, enables us to put ourselves in their shoes and relate to them. By being competent, kind, and relatable, I can put other people at ease. I never want anyone to feel unwanted simply because I’m too afraid to step out of my comfort zone. Recalling my own family’s grief, after another miscarriage, I decided that I needed to do something to offer comfort to other families like mine. With a vision in mind, I got straight to work. I began to use my class time to sew miniature memorial baby quilts as a reminder of the babies which families have lost, and Layers of Love was born. The mission of Layers of Love, Miscarriage Ministry, is to provide comfort to grieving parents, acknowledge the loss as a real baby, and supply something beautiful and tangible for the mother and father to keep in remembrance. This service project has now turned into a lifelong ministry, through which I can extend the same healing I found to families across the world. 1 Cor. 9:22 says, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.” In order to fully love all God’s people, we must first know God’s people. How can we expect people to respect and follow us if we don't first put in the effort to connect with them? Everyone deserves to feel like they are a necessary part of the team, like they are wanted and loved. This is something I apply to my life, not just in leadership roles within school, but in my service to the community. At my age, I cannot give a home or a job to someone who is homeless, nor can I be overseas daily preaching the gospel, but I can make meals for the homeless, give of myself for a stranger, invest myself in the lives of those whom I serve, and answer the call of the Holy Spirit each and every time, letting God’s gifts flow through me to where He needs them most.

The structure of our world tells us that success is money, the highest number of views, and constant fame. Yet what if success was not something defined by our list of personal achievements, but rather by something greater than ourselves? We were not made to race to the top of some “pinnacle of pointlessness” because when we get to the top, we are left as empty as when we began. We are all searching for something. There is something in human nature that beckons us to look for the meaning of life. We were not made for us. We were made for a cause so much bigger than ourselves. To me, success is not having the best job, the most money, or your name in every headline. Success happens when we stop cursing the darkness and instead light a candle. When we humble ourselves to serve the people in our lives, rather than trampling over them in a pointless race. Life, success, is about learning to look outside of ourselves and being someone people can count on. My life is centered on learning to relate to and walk with other people in their struggles and be the light that they are waiting for. I know that I will be successful in life because there will always be something, somewhere, that I can do to help our world and the people who live in it. I never want anyone to feel unwanted simply because I’m too afraid to step out of my comfort zone. 1 Cor. 9:22 says, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.” Through my travel, I have developed a deep love for all God’s people. I believe that in order to fully love all God’s people, we must first know God’s people. My education has always been a central part of my life. I love school, especially learning foreign languages. I am currently looking into the majors of Theology, Creative Writing, Archaeology, or Global Studies. While I do not know exactly how my career will play out, I know I want to help people in some way. Whether I am oversees in the mission field or in an office supporting others, I do know that I am going to use whatever talents I have to reach out in love to those who need me. I have been given a strong passion for serving my community and connecting with people from all areas of the world and all walks of life. As a Christian servant, it is my mission to stand up for those across the globe whose voices are dim and to stand beside them when they are too weak to stand for themselves. While I know that my outreach is only beginning as a young adult, I know that God places opportunities in my life each and every day to serve His children and to bring His holy light to the world. To me, success is helping someone else to feel God's unending love and valuing their human dignity. Life is not a race to meet some ends, but rather a journey on which we are meant to walk beside one another, lifting one another up to our Lord.

I was born to be an author. I don’t write stories, they write me. The stories I create form me into who I am meant to be. With every book we read, and every story we write, we are shaped into a new creation and molded into a greater masterpiece. When I lay in bed at night, a thousand stories swirl through my head. My mind is the portal through which all the worlds connect and open their doors. Writing is my life. When I pick up a sharp pencil, it is like the world around me melts away. The joys, aches, and pains of the day dissolve into mist yet fill my stories. Time itself stops as the words pour from my mind onto the paper, page, after page, after page. Writing is one of the most powerful occupations any of us can pursue. As an author, it is our mission to shape the future. The world ten years from now will be what we make it. Writing is not just portraying an idea through words, but rather painting a portal to another world, one full of hope and beauty where everyone has a purpose, a mission. A good book stirs within each of us a deep desire for a perfect world. Think about the power we hold to be able to write a whole world into being, simple by putting pen to paper. My best friends have always been the characters from my books, for they are the truest companion anyone could have. I have spent my life beside Lucy and Peter from The Chronicles of Narnia, Bilbo and Gandalf from The Hobbit, Annemarie and the Giver from Lois Lowry, as well as countless others. These characters, alive in my mind, teach me courage and truth. Words have power. The Musophilus, one of my favorite writings reads “Thou that canst do much more with one poor pen than all the powers of princes can affect.” The stories we write have a far larger impact than we could ever imagine. They are a small drop of water in the ocean, yet the ripples from that small drop spread to all corners of the earth. Even the Cuban Missile Crisis, as our countries were on the verge of total disaster, was ended due simply to the power of the written word. If we are given the gift of writing and yet choose not to pursue it, we are doing both ourselves and this world an injustice. Writing is important to me because through it we are given the opportunity to change people’s minds, impact their lives, and inspire hope in our often dreary and ordinary world.

It is through travel that my eyes are opened to the true beauty of daily life. We can search the world for beauty and life, yet return empty. We spend our lives looking in all the wrong places because we expect it to be far away when in reality it is right beside us in the gift of one another. In order to first truly love a person, we must first know that person. Travel is my life, it is the air I breathe. I am a writer, a photographer, a traveler. They say a picture speaks a thousand words, yet even a picture often falls short of our experiences. Every photographer has experienced this. The sky is painted a masterpiece of hues before our eyes. Or the waves lap against the shore, foaming, crashing into rocks like a glorious symphony. In the moment, filled with tranquility and joy, we want nothing more than to capture it and hold onto the moment forever. So we pull out our cameras, only to be disappointed by the view which we see through the lens. The very thought that no matter how beautiful an image is, the original must have been so much more beautiful, is enchanting. Life is a journey. These images represent only a few of the breathtaking sights I have experienced in my travels, as I learn to branch off and travel the road less traveled, diving deeper into our world as I immerse myself into new languages, cultures, and cuisines.

The structure of our world tells us that success is money, the highest number of views, and constant fame. Yet what if success was not something defined by our list of personal achievements, but rather by something greater than ourselves? We were not made to race to the top of some “pinnacle of pointlessness” because when we get to the top, we are left as empty as when we began. We are all searching for something. There is something in human nature that beckons us to look for the meaning of life. We were not made for us. We were made for a cause so much bigger than ourselves. To me, success is not having the best job, the most money, or your name in every headline. Success happens when we stop cursing the darkness and instead light a candle. When we humble ourselves to serve the people in our lives, rather than trampling over them in a pointless race. Life, success, is about learning to look outside of ourselves and being someone people can count on. My life is centered on learning to relate to and walk with other people in their struggles and be the light that they are waiting for. I know that I will be successful in life because there will always be something, somewhere, that I can do to help our world and the people who live in it. I never want anyone to feel unwanted simply because I’m too afraid to step out of my comfort zone. 1 Cor. 9:22 says, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.” Through my travel, I have developed a deep love for all God’s people. I believe that in order to fully love all God’s people, we must first know God’s people. My education has always been a central part of my life. I love school, especially learning foreign languages. I am currently looking into the majors of Theology, Creative Writing, Archaeology, or Global Studies. While I do not know exactly how my career will play out, I know I want to help people in some way. Whether I am oversees in the mission field or in an office supporting others, I do know that I am going to use whatever talents I have to reach out in love to those who need me. I have been given a strong passion for serving my community and connecting with people from all areas of the world and all walks of life. As a Christian servant, it is my mission to stand up for those across the globe whose voices are dim and to stand beside them when they are too weak to stand for themselves. While I know that my outreach is only beginning as a young adult, I know that God places opportunities in my life each and every day to serve His children and to bring His holy light to the world. To me, success is helping someone else to feel God's unending love and valuing their human dignity. Life is not a race to meet some ends, but rather a journey on which we are meant to walk beside one another, lifting one another up to our Lord.

Leadership is an important part of my everyday life, whether in big ways or in small. I always make it a priority to sit with the students who are alone, invite friends to be involved in the community, and make new members of our school feel welcome. As Philanthropy Captain, I have planned visits for our school with local homes for people with disabilities and I have integrated service projects as a part of our school community. Through my work with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, I have the opportunity to lead children in their faith, as well as in Montessori peace education. Young children learn by observing our our actions and imitating them, so it is important to lead by example in order to teach them how to live at peace with themselves and one another while being active participants in the community. From a young age, my family has hosted international guests in our home. As one of their only glimpses of America, we represent all Americans to these guests, some of which speak no English. However, we do not simply welcome them into our home. In order to be a successful leader, you must be able to understand and connect with people from different cultures and backgrounds. I am passionate about learning as many languages as I can in order to make our guests feel at home while overseas. Additionally, travel is a core aspect of who I am. Immersing yourself in other cultures, their cuisines, their traditions, and their people, enables us to put ourselves in their shoes and relate to them. By being competent, kind, and relatable, I can put other people at ease. I never want anyone to feel unwanted simply because I’m too afraid to step out of my comfort zone. 1 Cor. 9:22 says, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.” In order to fully love all God’s people, we must first know God’s people. How can we expect people to respect and follow us if we don't first put in the effort to connect with them? Everyone deserves to feel like they are a necessary part of the team, like they are wanted and loved. This is something I apply to my life, not just in leadership roles within school, but in my service to the community. At my age, I cannot give a home or a job to someone who is homeless, nor can I be overseas daily preaching the gospel, but I can make meals for the homeless, give of myself for a stranger, invest myself in the lives of those whom I serve, and answer the call of the Holy Spirit each and every time, letting God’s gifts flow through me to where He needs them most.

Math is simple, math is logical. When I've had a long day and nothing is making sense, I know that I can always turn to math. I know that I can rely on the rules of math to be the same and that no matter what else seems to constantly change, 2+2 will always be 4. I will admit that sometimes math can be difficult or frustrating, especially when I am tired, but that is not a reason to hate it. I always enjoy a challenge that will get me thinking and I believe that problem-solving is an important skill to have. Logic puzzles and Sodoku are my favorite types of math to do in my free time. Logical thinking is necessary to live our lives. Math is often an unseen yet vital part of our everyday lives. Every student wonders, "When will we ever use this in real life", but in reality, math surrounds us every day. It is in the temperature of the room, baking the food we eat, the speed we are driving at, making change at the store, the angles of our dining room table, and the area of our home. Everything is math and whether we like it or not, it will always be there. No matter what people say or believe about it, math will always be near me, a logical friend to "count on" that makes the unreliable world reliable.

“Спасибо,” (Spasibo) I whispered to my karate instructor as I received my green belt. His face suddenly lit up with joy, amazed that I would go out of my way to thank him in his native tongue. I never want anyone to feel unwanted simply because I’m too afraid to step out of my comfort zone. 1 Cor. 9:22 says, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.” In order to fully love all God’s people, we must first know God’s people. St. Francis de Sales teaches that great opportunities to serve God are rare, but there are little ways to serve in our daily lives. When Afghan refugees started flowing into the US, I collected necessities to help them begin their lives again. When I learned of the earthquake in Turkey, I worked with my Dad’s logistics partners, collecting coats for earthquake victims. From a young age, I have been dedicated to serving those less fortunate. For many of my birthdays, I collected canned food for the food pantry or books for the library. When hosting a Ugandan priest, he told us of children using crushed soda cans as shoes, so I collected shoes for them. As a teen, I collected shoes for the Shoeman Water Project, gardened for the homeless elderly, made meals for Fr. Dempsey’s Men’s home, and boxed up toiletries to be delivered to the homebound of Missouri. Five years ago, I began my own miscarriage ministry to comfort grieving families, now reaching families both locally and internationally. Being pro-life means living as Christian servants by acknowledging human dignity. At my age, I cannot give a home or a job to someone who is homeless, nor can I be overseas daily preaching the gospel, but I can make meals for the homeless, give of myself for a stranger, invest myself in the lives of those whom I serve, and answer the call of the Holy Spirit each and every time, letting God’s gifts flow through me to where He needs them most. According to G.K. Chesterton, “A true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” Through my travel, I have developed a deep love for all God’s people. As a Christian servant, it is my mission to stand up for those across the globe whose voices are dim and to stand beside them when they are too weak to stand for themselves. While I know that my outreach is only beginning as a young adult, I know that God places opportunities in my life each and every day to serve His children and to bring His holy light to the world.

Our lives are short and every breath in our lungs is a gift. The next day, the next hour, the next minute, isn’t a guarantee. In Mitch Albom’s novel, The Time Keeper, a girl who committed suicide looks back on her life. She didn’t want the years she had left, but they wanted her. “Time is not something you give back. The very next moment may be an answer to your prayer. To deny that is to deny the most important part of the future… Hope.” Hope is something that so many people lack. Many of the younger generations were never taught how to live in the struggle, so they live life thinking that this moment of suffering is their whole life, when in reality, it is merely a page in a lengthy novel. My life is centered on learning to relate to and walk with other people in their struggles and be the light that they are waiting for. I know that I will be successful in life because there will always be something, somewhere, that I can do to help our world and the people who live in it. I never want anyone to feel unwanted simply because I’m too afraid to step out of my comfort zone. 1 Cor. 9:22 says, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.” Through my travel, I have developed a deep love for all God’s people. I believe that in order to fully love all God’s people, we must first know God’s people. My education has always been a central part of my life. I love school, especially learning foreign languages. I am currently looking into the majors of Theology, Creative Writing, Archaeology, or Global Studies. While I do not know exactly how my career will play out, I know I want to help people in some way. Whether I am oversees in the mission field or in an office supporting others, I do know that I am going to use whatever talents I have to reach out in love to those who need me. I have been given a strong passion for serving my community and connecting with people from all areas of the world and all walks of life. As a Christian servant, it is my mission to stand up for those across the globe whose voices are dim and to stand beside them when they are too weak to stand for themselves. While I know that my outreach is only beginning as a young adult, I know that God places opportunities in my life each and every day to serve His children and to bring His holy light to the world.

Mitch Albom is most famous for his book, Tuesdays with Morrie, however my favorite book of his is The Time Keeper. I believe that it is a book that everyone can relate to, no matter what walk of life. The premise of the novel follows one man who wants more time to acquire wealth and one girl who is done being rejected and is ready for her time to come to an end. How much longer? Are we there yet? Just five more minutes? Is it time yet? These are questions that we ask one another every day. Some of us want more time: more time to keep playing, more time to sleep, more time with a dying loved one. Still, others of us want less time. We want it to be over, to be there already, even to end our own lives. The question always on our lips is, “What time is it?” But as Mitch Albom wrote, “When you are measuring life, you are not living it.” When we spend every moment living in the past or the future, we never learn to be truly present in the moment. Our lives are short and every breath in our lungs is a gift. The next day, the next hour, the next minute, isn’t a guarantee. At one point, the girl who committed suicide is looking back on her life. She didn’t want the years she had left, but they wanted her. “Time is not something you give back. The very next moment may be an answer to your prayer. To deny that is to deny the most important part of the future… Hope.” Hope is something that so many people lack. Many of the younger generations were never taught how to live in the struggle, so they live life thinking that this moment of suffering is their whole life, when in reality, it is merely a page in a lengthy novel. If I could only recommend one book to someone off of my lengthy list of favorites, it would be the Time Keeper because I firmly believe that all people have a right to life, yet it is a gift that we all too often take for granted. By stepping back and viewing the entirety of our lives, we would realize that each moment of suffering is only one stroke of a paintbrush, used to create a beautiful masterpiece.

While I have never transferred schools, I have still experienced being “the new kid” in a way that most people don’t. My freshman year of high school was 2020-2021, right when everywhere started opening after the COVID lockdown. My grandmother has RSD and auto-immune, as well as heart issues (AFIB). My great-grandfather’s health is also going downhill and we had to make countless trips to Arkansas to help get him moved into assisted living. Both of my parents and I were vaccinated, but my little sister was still too young to get the shots. Due to my sister being unvaccinated and countless health problems in the family, my family was extra careful to make sure we didn’t get sick and pass it on. My whole freshman year was spent in virtual learning and my whole sophomore year in a mask. Unlike many others, I loved the time in which we were quarantined. It provided a much-needed sabbatical to pause from the business of clubs and extracurriculars to simply be present with my family, go on walks, and spend my lunch eating steaming tikka masala rather than a school lunch. However, virtual learning wasn’t always easy. I was able to develop a deep relationship with all my teachers, but I missed the period of beginning high school where everyone branches out, meets new people, and finds their own friend group. When I returned to school, I spent my time with the group of 2 of my friends from grade school because I knew them. Yet what I found was that they had completely changed in the one year we were apart. I felt out of place in a mask, surrounded by people I had never met. It was like I was invading their friend circle, so I spent most of my time in clubs or in a good book. I knew that those friends were not the people whom I wanted to surround myself with, but I was too afraid to branch out. While over two years, I got to know them better, I still felt out of place because the things that were important to me such as school, family, faith, and reading were foreign to them. Over the past summer, I participated in a week-long leadership camp at Benedictine College. The community which I got to be a part of and the wholesome people whom I met there, showed me once again the way that life could be. I found friends who make me a better person, lift me up, and amplify my longing to be that little bit of kindness and love in the world. Although we live in different states, all across the country, we still meet virtually every single week to build each other up and share the joys and pains of life with one another. I hope that the friendships that began there will endure throughout our lives. Meeting so many people who share my morals and values has given me the strength and courage to be myself and to step away from the “fine” to find the “perfect”. It has given me the knowledge of possibility that life can be so much more than it currently is if you only surround yourself with other people who also seek and strive to change the world.

The church bells rang out in the crisp fall air. The gentle breeze blew my sweater around me as we walked through the parking lot to five o’clock mass. In my Social Entrepreneurship class, we were asked to come up with a lifelong ministry through which to serve. I didn’t even know where to start. My mom encouraged me to find a cause close to my heart. To find something in my life that I cared deeply about, and start from there. I decided to offer it to God at mass. Lost in prayer, a memory suddenly flooded back to me. My family, standing around a small grave as the priest read the prayers for burial, heartbroken after another miscarriage. My sister and I in our plaid skirts, standing in the parking lot between the cemetery and the church, where a statue of the Holy Family stood. Then, walking back into school right after the funeral, continuing with schoolwork and classes as if nothing had happened. On the outside, it appeared I had just gotten pulled out for an appointment before returning to school, but inside, I was still shaken. I then pictured the gravesite as it stands today, a small, carved stone marker surrounded by grass, and wondered, as I had many times before, what it would have been like to be the eldest of six. What would our family be like if my little sister had an identical twin? What if I had a younger brother? Coming back to the present as Father closed out mass, I still felt the heartache of losing them. What if there was something I could do to help other families who were grieving as we once had? Recalling my own family’s grief, I decided that I needed to do something to offer comfort to other families like mine. With a vision in mind, I got straight to work. I began to use my class time to sew miniature memorial baby quilts as a reminder of the babies which families have lost, and Layers of Love was born. The mission of Layers of Love, Miscarriage Ministry, is to provide comfort to grieving parents, acknowledge the loss as a real baby, and supply something beautiful and tangible for the mother and father to keep in remembrance. Despite my doubts, my eighth grade service project has transformed into my lifelong ministry. I have been creating quilts for five years now, and I plan to continue for many more. Through my ministry, I have been able to bless families both locally and internationally. Throughout my journey, I have been blessed to see the work which I have put my heart and soul into, comforting grieving parents. I have learned that God may not call us to do big things or great things, but rather small things with great love. I pray that through every candle lit and every quilt sewn, God’s light may penetrate the grief and suffering of these families. Looking back, I realize now that all that my family has gone through is a gift, given so that I may use it to better understand and comfort those whom He places in my life. Layers of Love Miscarriage Ministry has brought me joy and healing, and I hope that through it, I may extend the same healing to the world.

Mitch Albom is most famous for his book, Tuesdays with Morrie, however my favorite book of his is The Time Keeper. I believe that it is a book that everyone can relate to, no matter what walk of life. The premise of the novel follows one man who wants more time to acquire wealth and one girl who is done being rejected and is ready for her time to come to an end. How much longer? Are we there yet? Just five more minutes? Is it time yet? These are questions that we ask one another every day. Some of us want more time: more time to keep playing, more time to sleep, more time with a dying loved one. Still, others of us want less time. We want it to be over, to be there already, even to end our own lives. The question always on our lips is, “What time is it?” But as Mitch Albom wrote, “When you are measuring life, you are not living it.” When we spend every moment living in the past or the future, we never learn to be truly present in the moment. Our lives are short and every breath in our lungs is a gift. The next day, the next hour, the next minute, isn’t a guarantee. At one point, the girl who committed suicide is looking back on her life. She didn’t want the years she had left, but they wanted her. “Time is not something you give back. The very next moment may be an answer to your prayer. To deny that is to deny the most important part of the future… Hope.” Hope is something that so many people lack. Many of the younger generations were never taught how to live in the struggle, so they live life thinking that this moment of suffering is their whole life, when in reality, it is merely a page in a lengthy novel. If I could only recommend one book to someone off of my lengthy list of favorites, it would be the Time Keeper because I firmly believe that all people have a right to life, yet it is a gift that we all too often take for granted. By stepping back and viewing the entirety of our lives, we would realize that each moment of suffering is only one stroke of a paintbrush, used to create a beautiful masterpiece.

Mitch Albom is most famous for his book, Tuesdays with Morrie, however my favorite book of his is The Time Keeper. I believe that The Time Keeper is a book that everyone can relate to, no matter what walk of life. The premise of the novel follows one man who wants more time to acquire wealth and status and one girl who is done being laughed at and rejected for the last time and is ready for her time to come to an end. How much longer? Are we there yet? Just five more minutes? Is it time yet? These are questions that we ask one another every single day. Some of us want more time: more time to keep playing with our friends, more time to sleep in late, more time with a dying loved one. Still others of us want less time. We want it to be over, to be at the destination already, even to end our own lives. The question always on our lips is, “What time is it?” But as Mitch Albom wrote, “When you are measuring life, you are not living it.” When we spend every moment living in the past or the future, we never learn to be truly present in the moment. Our lives are short and every breath in our lungs is a gift. The next day, the next hour, the next minute, isn’t a guarantee. One of my friends recently came to a realization of this when three of her best friends died in a car accident, although they were only fifteen. At one point in the book, the Time Keeper is looking back on the past with a girl who committed suicide. Even though she didn’t want all the years she had left, they wanted her. “Time is not something you give back. The very next moment may be an answer to your prayer. To deny that is to deny the most important part of the future… Hope.” Hope is something that so many people of our day lack. Many of the younger generations were never taught how to live in the struggle, so they live their lives thinking that this moment of suffering is their whole life, when in reality, it is merely a page in a lengthy novel. I want to go to a Catholic school for creative writing because I want to bring more hope and light to the world. The written word has power. Each author helps to shape the world we live in. Through our writing, we have the opportunity to bring hope, light, and beauty into the world. I have lived a thousand lives in a thousand books, each one becoming a vital part of who I am. I want to be a writer because I want to fill readers with the same sense of hope and fulfillment that I experience when devouring a good book and to write more good and beauty into today’s world. Words connect people. They can strengthen us, unite us, and make us feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. I plan to spend my life offering hope to the hopeless, inspiring the destitute, and providing worlds in which each person, no matter the situation they are in, can have a place to belong.

The structure of our world tells us that success is money, the highest number of views, and constant fame. Yet what if success was not something defined by our list of personal achievements, but rather by something greater than ourselves? We were not made to race to the top of some “pinnacle of pointlessness” because when we get to the top, we are left as empty as when we began. We are all searching for something. There is something in human nature that beckons us to look for the meaning of life. We were not made for us. We were made for a cause so much bigger than ourselves. To me, success is not having the best job, the most money, or your name in every headline. Success happens when we stop cursing the darkness and instead light a candle. When we humble ourselves to serve the people in our lives, rather than trampling over them in a pointless race. Life, success, is about learning to look outside of ourselves and being someone people can count on. My life is centered on learning to relate to and walk with other people in their struggles and be the light that they are waiting for. I know that I will be successful in life because there will always be something, somewhere, that I can do to help our world and the people who live in it.