Encouraging others is something I also try to do. Especially in high school I know that many kids need encouragement because they may not be receiving encouragement at home. I have been honored to be the captain of our high school softball team for the past two years. One thing I make sure I do is encourage my teammates. Softball is a game full of failures, so having someone there to encourage you when you make a mistake it the reason the game keeps going. Everyone needs to be encouraged throughout there life, so telling someone that you like there outfit is a simple way to make someones day. Not only do I encourage my teammates but also random people. I work at Festival Foods, a local grocery store, as a cashier; I get to talk to hundreds of people everyday and hear about there lives sometimes. Lots of people focus on the negatives in life, so telling every customer to have a great day/night is just one way I try to lighten up peoples day. Overall, encouraging others is just a simple thing you can do to make a large impact on someones life.

One talent I have been blessed with is athleticism. I have been playing sports since I was young: softball, basketball, gymnastics, ice skating, soccer, and more. As I grew older, I had to minimize the sports I was in because they took up more time. I narrowed them down to soccer, softball and basketball through middle school. I was on both the middle school teams and travel teams, so my time was consumed by sports. In high school I had to pick softball or soccer, since they were the same season, and I ended up picking softball. I played basketball freshman year and then decided not to play sophomore year after getting injured and realizing I did not want to hurt my chances of playing college softball. Since sophomore year I have been working harder then ever playing softball and it paid off when I got a scholarship to play softball at Taylor University. I work hard to increase my skill day to day by participating in hitting lessons, pitching lessons, weightlifting, cross fit, open gyms, practices, games, and tournaments. Overall, I am thankful for the talent God has blessed me with and I can't wait to continue showing my skills in college.

One of the things on my bucket list is to travel the world. As a senior in high school I have been lucky enough to have a family that is able to travel around the world. I have been to destinations all around the world: Arizona, Texas, Florida, Wyoming, Mexico, Canada, Dominican Republic, New Zealand and so many more places. My goal is to travel to Germany, Italy, Spain, Belize, Hawaii, etc. Another goal on my bucket list is to scuba diving. I would love to be able to cross two things off at once Hawaii and scuba diving. Another thing on my bucket list is to go on a mission trip to reach kids in foreign countries. I have a passion for helping kids and have gotten to show that by helping a local organization called CareNet. CareNet is an organization that supports single moms with new born babies by blessing them with everyday needs for the baby. I have been able to host a drive through baby shower where I collected 25 diaper bags, diapers, lotions, formula, bottles, a crib, a stroller, and 250 dollars in cash, as well as make meals for the single moms and their children. I hope to travel to a different country to help children in need, and may have an opportunity to do so this upcoming summer with my local church who is going to South Africa for a missions trip.

Goals have been an important part of my life since I was young. I have been able to succeed at many goals over my life time, including my most recent achievement of committing to Taylor University to continue my academic and softball career. One big goal I have is to work for a professional sports team doing sports marketing. I have been working hard towards this goal by maintaining a 3.96 GPA through high school as well as taking all honor and AP courses. I have taken starting a business, computer applications, honors marketing, retail, and advanced marketing to better prepare myself for the future. I will be continuing at Taylor University with a major in Marketing and a minor in sports management. I hope to get my foot in the door by earning an internship during my college summers that will eventually turn into a full time position after earning a degree.

As a senior in high school I have many goals. One goal that I have is to go to college, play sports, and get a degree. Recently, I have committed to Taylor University to play softball, therefore I have two out of the three done. A more long term goal I have is to get an internship for marketing and eventually get a full time position doing marketing or sports management out of college. I know that most of the time you start at the bottom and work your way up in a company, so my goals is to start working my way up by doing internships. Overall, my biggest goal for the future is to start a family and have a job that I love to do. In order to achieve this goal, I will choose happiness over money.

I have been involved with sports since I was born. I have been involved with multiple sports including dance, figure skating, gymnastics, soccer, softball, and basketball. My parents wanted to get me involved with as much as possible, so that I could eventually find something I love. As I grew older, I narrowed down the wide range of sports I was involved in. When I got to 3rd grade I narrowed my hobbies down to soccer, softball and basketball. I continued with these sports through middle school. In middle school I was on the middle school basketball and softball team, in addition to my travel soccer team, travel softball team, and travel basketball team. Therefore, as you can tell, my life was devoted to sports. I never had a free night after school and rarely had a free weekend. I found myself rushing from school to softball then to travel soccer practice. On the weekends I had a minimum of one tournament, so sports was my life. It may sound like a stressful life, but to me it was exactly how I wanted to be spending my time. After middle school, I had to drop either soccer or softball, since they are the same season. I found that I had a deeper love for softball, so choose to continue playing softball in high school. My freshman year I was on varsity softball and basketball, while playing on a competitive travel softball team. I narrowed it down to just high school and travel softball after freshman year because I got injured multiple times during basketball season and knew I wanted to focus staying healthy for the sport I cared about most, softball. Having played sports my whole life, I naturally want to continue a career in the sports world. As a senior in high school, I plan to major in Marketing and minor in Sports Management. My dream job would be to work for a professional sports team in the Marketing Department. Whether it's managing teams social media accounts, running the half-time show, or choosing what is shown on the big screen, I would do it all. I have a love for sports and would be okay with exploring more career paths in the sports industry. I have received a softball scholarship to attend Taylor University, and would love to continue my career after college with Sports. I love all sports and would be open to working with baseball, softball, basketball, or even hockey. Having a job in the sports industry would not feel like a job, but instead something that I love to do.

As a high school student it is often hard to be true to yourself. As a senior in high school I have stayed true to myself and the beliefs that I have by surrounding myself with others that have similar beliefs, or with others who have different beliefs but except my opinions. By surrounding yourself with people who except you for who you are, you are not pressured into changing to be liked. I also find that when discussing sensitive topics, I take advice from others, but end up making the decision on my own. As a Christian, my actions are often different then many of my close friends. All of my friends know what I stand for, being true to yourself, and support my actions. Overall, one should never have to change to be liked by people because if you do those people are not your real friends.

As a captain of my high school varsity softball team for two years, I strive to be a mentor to the underclassman. I hope to impact them by showing them hard work pays off. I show them this by showing up to every off season practice and weightlifting, working on my own to get better (private hitting and pitching lessons, CrossFit), and being there for them when they need help on the field or off. I hope to show them what being a Bradford softball player is all about: responsible, good student, good time management, dependable, and coachable. After receiving the coaches award after my junior softball season, I believe I am reflecting the Bradford organization and impacting the team by doing my part. I am also a teacher in my churches preschool nursery, where I am a mentor to the young kids. In this nursery I get to teach the kids about God and answer any questions they may have. I connect with them through fun activities, games, and music. Overall, I see why I do what I do when they come excited to tell me the memory verse that they have been practicing all week, or when they know all the dance moves to the song we have been practicing all month. I love to make a positive impact in peoples life and will hopefully have more opportunities to be a mentor.

The best way to live a long, healthy life is to fill your life with supportive family and friends. The first step to having a healthy life is to be mentally healthy. Surrounding yourself with supportive people decreases the chance of significant health problems like depression and anxiety. Having people in your life also helps reduce stress because it allows you to have people to talk to in troubling times. The second step to having a healthy life is to have a healthy diet. Having a healthy diet not only makes one look healthier, but also allows one to feel happier and healthier. When you feel healthy you feel happy. Having a healthy diet does not mean you have to cut out your comfort food, it just means to eat in moderation and make sure to keep fruits and vegetables in your diet. In addition to these lifestyle changes, one can exercise to live healthy. There are many types of workouts that one can do to stay healthy. Some may choose weightlifting, others may choose running, or some may choose yoga. No matter what exercise you are doing, it is improving your health and leading you on a long healthy lifestyle.

Softball is a huge part of my life and in 2020 I had an accident that showed me I need to take everything for granted. I have played year-round softball on a competitive travel team for my whole high school career. I had been experiencing back pain in my lower back for many months and thought it was just muscle pains from the many years of sports. I went to the chiropractor two times thinking it would help the pain in my back. In the winter of 2020 I experienced a pain that I never felt before; I was at the plate waiting for the pitch to be thrown, after I swung I heard a crack and immediately had pain in my lower back worse then ever before. I went to the hospital where I got multiple MRI's and X-rays. I then found out that I had fractured my L3 vertebrae and if I wouldn't have came in I could've been paralyzed. I was put in a back brace that I had to wear for 3 months. Being told that I had to stop all physical activity broke me inside. The one thing I loved and put all my time into was taken away from me. A month later I was in a traumatic car accident and my car was totaled. The air bags went off and if I didn't have my back brace on my ribs could've been smashed. I am not fully healed and have received a athletic scholarship to continue my softball career in college. Overall, these depressing events taught me everything happens for a reason, and you have to use these times to grow as a person.