Throughout my life I have gained volunteer experience in many different ways. Different clubs I am in have led me to many different service opportunities. Through my dance studio, I have taught classes. The American Sign Language Club gave me the opportunity to teach students the basics to be able to communicate in ASL. In FBLA I have planned and run over 10 community service events from drives, to day events at food pantries, retirement homes, and homeless shelters. But my favorite volunteer experience that I do is gravestone restoration. Summer of 2020 I was bored when I came across a video of someone cleaning gravestones, and I became fascinated. I did all the necessary research on how to take care of these stones properly and not cause damage. I found all the required materials and laid out a budget. I then reached out and found sponsors to cover the cost in exchange for cleaning stones for them. Within less than a month I had everything set up and ready to get to work. I would drive out to a local cemetery, and clean gravestones with my mom, or by myself. I clocked over 30 hours a month for the whole summer my first year. Cleaning gravestones means so much to me. My biggest fear used to be dying, and cleaning these stones felt like I was bringing a name back to those who have long since been forgotten. Leaving a legacy is the natural thing all people want. To live on after they are gone. One day when I was cleaning there were other people in the cemetery. They approached me and wanted to tell me that they really appreciated my work. That people who clean gravestones are the healers of earth. Those people's words meant a lot to me. All my work is for free, obviously, and I do take specific jobs. Cleaning a stone for a loved one is a hard task. But, it means a lot to me to be able to help people go through the healing process and move on after someone has passed. I will make sure their stones are as white and can be and no plants growing over them. I sometimes gain attachments to the people whose stones I spend hours cleaning, as I learn more about who they were. The most painful one was a series of babies who suffered from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. On July 4, I started a tradition to clean veterans gravestones with my family, and this is a volunteer hobby I plan to continue for the rest of my life with whatever free time I have.

Attending school and achieving a 4.0, participating in multiple clubs, and having two jobs can be a lot. It is very stressful, especially at certain times of the year, such as winter. During this time, I notice that I am moving slower, acting more tired, and my eating habits fluctuate from everything in sight to almost nothing at all. My grades drop and my motivation is on the floor. This is my least favorite part of my lifestyle. The mental impact that forms in my day-to-day life is tiring. During this time, I tend to shut friends out and not hang out with them outside school. If I do, I punish myself. If I ever think I have no work left and that I have accomplished everything, I will get paranoid that I am missing something. There is always something I can do to get ahead and study harder, work harder, and do more. This is what makes me a great student and worker, but a bad friend and an unhappy person. The amount of energy needed to complete an assignment increases day by day as I follow this routine, and I get caught in a downward spiral. It took a long time for me to realize these effects on my life. Only in the past two years have I seen it as a problem, and have worked to correct these habits and make mental health a priority when I feel myself sliding. Recently, I have taken up journaling how much I write each day, and how much I feel like writing can be an indicator that I am not okay. Beyond that, I allow myself to hang out with friends once a week with no guilt. This sounds like a limit, but it really is an expansion. I used to feel guilty any time I spent time with my friends who made me happy, even if it was just a text. This idea lets me know I get a freebie and any time I get upset that I have spent time with friends that I could have used to be working, I remind myself that friends are just as important. I also have been leaning into skincare as a way to tear myself. Not expensive products, but a face mask from the fridge or exfoliating and extra time out of routine. Doing extra hygiene always makes me feel refreshed and ready to attack the day. I also try to remember that one grade one assignment slightly off is okay. I need to try my best but not give my whole life away. High school is important, but there is a life after it's over and I need to be prepared to do more than study for four hours straight and memorize facts. I won't get that experience if I do not take care of myself or let myself experience the world.

I have been fascinated with computers since I discovered that technology existed around 3 years old. I loved getting a new shiny CD, inserting it into my computer, and watching the monitor display a game. I could not understand how that skinny circle could produce such fascinating visuals and sounds to keep me entertained. My father has been a design engineer for my whole life. Once he saw my interest in technology, he fostered it as best as he could. Ever since he immigrated here, from Chad Africa, he has worked incredibly hard to become a design engineer. He instilled a hardworking attitude in me that I will never forget. He brought me to his work, where I programmed robots and built my very first computer. This experimenting, and the multiple coding classes in my school, led me to discover what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Therefore, when a summer program at George Mason University arrived in my mailbox, my parents were more than happy to encourage me to take this opportunity and learn new skills. There I used python to create AI’s. I enjoyed AI, but one of the days I got to experiment with PANDAS which is a data manipulation program. 8 hours of handling data sets, and I felt as if no more than 20 minutes had passed. There were so many things I wanted to try and learn. It was then at the age of 16 that I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life; become a data analyst. Math, statistics and logical thinking are my favorite things. I like solving logical puzzles, and I am confident that those skills will help me succeed as a data analyst. My mother has also been very influential in my life. She works as an accountant. I have been going to work with her since I was two weeks old. But, it wasn't until the age of 14 when I got my first job that I started asking her all about taxes, banking, and more. It was that same year that I joined Future Business Leaders of America. Through that club, I was able to earn a Financial Literacy Certification through Truist Bank. I learned a lot at the various regional, state, and even national competitions that I attended. I enjoy learning all about the inner workings of banks and helping my friends make educated decisions and be aware of their financial options. To combine these interests of mine, I hope to start working for Wells Fargo in the future. There, I can use my data analysis skills to help them optimize their performance, perform more efficiently, maximize profit, and make more strategically-guided decisions.Working for a bank would allow me to continue my two career interests, and even expand on my knowledge to new heights. Along with my computer science degree, I hope to minor in finance to help prepare for this. Wells Fargo also opens up the opportunity for me to be able to travel the world on remote work, and gives me plenty of living options. Wells Fargo operates in many regions outside the U.S.: Asia Pacific, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, India, and Philippines. All places that I would love to visit, to meet people and help them with banking. I believe that my work will be able to help others understand their finances and manage their banking more efficiently.

“But this is how you walk to the end of the world. This is how you live forever. Here is one day, and here is the next, and the next, and you take what you can savor every stolen second, cling to every moment until it’s gone.” The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was such an influential book to me. The story revolves around a girl named Addie who lives in 16th-century France. She is about to be forced to marry someone she does not love, so she prays to God to let her be free. Someone answers her prayers, but there is a catch: she will live forever, but everyone she meets will forget her as soon as she walks away. Addie quickly learns that she has no family or a home. This situation sounds like pure torture. I believe everyone wants to be remembered by their loved ones and leave a legacy. But that is not why this book stood out to me. Despite not being remembered, she can still influence them because they can forget her, but not the ideas she shared and the way she made them feel. Throughout her life, Addie made herself known by meeting famous artists and writers and influencing them. Addie can be recognized across history as an unnamed muse. Despite no one remembering her, she still made her mark on the world. Before reading this book, the thought of dying without doing something grand felt like something I could not do. I want to be remembered after I am dead. However, that felt like a lot of pressure, I have to be the best, the smartest, the most versatile, I have to be it all. After this book, I realized that's not true. How I treat people and influence those around me is a person's true legacy, and I should do the things that interest me and make me happy instead of what will look the coolest in my obituary. Living life to the fullest, doing what I want to do, and making sure those around me are happy and excited to be around me is my new goal. That is how I am going to leave my mark. I think that everyone should read this book because it is eye-opening to what really matters and the legacies we need to leave.

I’m sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation, legs shaking, heart beating, and nervous breathing. Everything I have worked for in the past 5 months leading up to this moment. The top 10 people in the state for my FBLA event are about to be called, and I am going to find out if I made it. The list appears on the big screen and I search for my name, my school, anything. But my name isn’t up there. I did not make it. Surrounded by peers and my advisor, I felt embarrassed and dumb for not placing. I felt like I let my advisor down. That night, I made a decision. If I was to compete next year, I would have to work harder, to never feel like this again. In my sophomore year, I chose to compete in the testing event on Parliamentary Procedures. I studied hard and got first place at regionals, exactly 24 points higher than the second-place winner. However, I achieved first last year, so I knew I needed to be better prepared for the State Competition. In April 2022, I went to Hershey PA to see if I placed. I found myself in another uncomfortable seat awaiting the top ten list, but this time my name was on it! I was led on stage in front of 800 people, and found out live, I got 5th place! Achieving this goal sparked a fire within me. I was not done, I was determined to win again. Before leaving the States, I decided I wanted to compete with the American Enterprise Project, a chapter project, as my event next year. A chapter project is a multi-aspect project that includes the school, chapter, and community. For the competition, a 15-page business report is required, along with a memorized presentation in front of a panel of judges, to get to nationals. From doing a simple objective test to a full project was terrifying. I was an anxious kid, in a field dominated by white men, of which I was neither. This is a group project, typically 3 people. However, I ended up doing this project alone. I set up guest speakers, organized field trips, and planned a lesson in which members from our chapter went to the elementary schools, and taught students about American Currency. I then wrote the 15-page report with the help of my advisor and incredibly supportive mother, who many times had to remind me that I could do this! The report was submitted and graded with the top 15 going to the state competition in April. I found out I qualified at the beginning of March. Next, I wrote and memorized a 7-minute presentation to present. At the state competition, I once again placed 5th, and at first, I was really upset because I wanted to improve my place. But then I realized how much I learned. Throughout all the stages of this project, from September through May, I continually surprised myself. Each new scary and challenging aspect of the project taught me I can handle more than I ever thought. My confidence has grown tremendously. I improved in public speaking, organization, time management, and stepping out of my comfort zone. Looking back, I am grateful for the embarrassment of not placing at States my freshman year, otherwise, I may not have had the drive to get to where I am today. I am never again going to put boundaries around what I can and cannot do because this project taught me they only exist in my mind.

My grandfather was a man who never went to college. He made living building skyscrapers in Boston. He shared with me some of the most important financial advice I have ever gotten. He told me, "Never spend more than half of your weekly pay." He had a gambling addiction in the past. He believed that if you followed this rule the best you could, you would not go into debt. He told me that I could start saving money to make large purchases in the future. He has inspired me to be safe and make smart decisions with my money to benefit me in the long run. He is a motivated individual who has learned from his past mistakes. He works to make sure I don't make the same mistakes. The idea of saving more than you spend is not new or groundbreaking; however, this wisdom was from a man who would gamble three times a day seemed to be more valuable. I thought that my grandpa wasted his money on tickets and keto every day, but he still saved more money than he spent. He has to be making good decisions that allow him to do this. I knew I needed to learn more from him. This random conversation at dinner led to him being my financial guide. Later, when I got my first job, I focused on saving as much money as possible. I wanted to use my money for something more important to me. His words have stuck with me for the past eight years. Even now, every time I go to buy something at Target or on Amazon, I think of him and his wise words.