Imagine the sound of the microwave beeping continuously because you're too short to hit the stop button. After a few seconds your dad comes around the corner opening the microwave pulling out a green, steaming box, that smells like a spaghetti tv dinner for the two of you too split. Before you both decide to dig in, you go downstairs to turn on the big tv and watch the Louisville vs Kentucky basketball game. This was a common yet happy memory for me.

The average human eats around an average of 1,996 pounds of food each year which is just 4 pounds short of a ton. Each year as many as 811 million people (9.9 percent of the total population) in the world go hungry each year, while 1.3 billion tons of food around the world is wasted and/or lost each year. This would leave more than enough food for everyone to eat and enjoy, but global hunger is still one of the biggest problems facing the world currently. However it can be resolved. Out of the 1.3 billion tons of total food wasted US restaurants contribute to it by being responsible for about 22-33 billion pounds (16.5 million) tons, but instead of throwing away all of the food they could easily donate or give it away to those in need of it. This exchange wouldn't go without offering an incentive to the restaurants, such something like a tax right off for the company. This would allow for the intended result of less people going hungry each day and allowing more money for the business because of less revenue going into tax payments, but it would also probably help to lower the garbage waste piling up in waste yards, leading to less waste being burned helping other global issues. Assuming that this concept of tax right off is given to grocery stores, restaurants on even just a national scale in the US, which has 38 million people go hungry each year, then of the about, 80 billion pounds of food wasted each year each person could be given 2 billion pounds of food a year which would be way more than they would need.

When I was in fourth grade my parents got a divorce, which as a kid who grew up pretty sheltered, and surrounded by love, it hurt me on the inside and low side, leading me to worse grades, attitude, and borderline deppresion. This was my lowest point. At some point in their life, everyone will have or has had low points. However, only a select few of these people have had someone to help and support them during this time in their life, and because of this many of these people are stuck at this low point. If I was an influential figure I would change this, and stand for helping those during their low points. Similar to social media influencers like the youtube Mr. Beast, who often gives away and/or donates money to people in need, my main focus would be to influence the people who look up to or support me to help or at least empathize with the people who have everyday struggles in situations such as homelessness, poverty, and etcetera.

Something I love about myself is that I'm not prone to give into peer pressure. As a Sophomore in high school I am surrounded by so many people, and I have been slowly given more and more freedom, and with so many people around me who each have their own ideas, ideals, habits, and lifestyles, it can be difficult to not want to be or act like them in order to fit in and/or feel accepted. Even for myself I often feel the pressure of needing to fit in but, even with those feelings I don't let them dictate my actions or the way I live my life. Even after I refuse an offer to go perform an action that's more stupid then fun I feel a slight since of doubt for a little while, but after seeing how many people have messed up for themselves for giving into peer pressure in situations similar, I can say I truly love that I am not prone too giving into it.

My favorite scientist is Annie Easley who similar to the mathematicians, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan, she was also a mathematician, and scientist who worked for NASA. She contributed to them with one of her biggest if not her best achievements in laying down the foundation for space shuttle, satellites, and military launches.

I would be willing to call myself a sheltered kid, especially after leaving the country for the first time in my life. Specifically I went to Mexico, and while it was meant as a vacation, my father and step-mother also wanted it to be a learning experience for me and my siblings in many different aspects of life, from things like language, culture, the lay of the land, but probably the most important one was seeing how much of a struggle it can be for some people to survive. My time in Mexico occurred during the beginning of this corona virus epidemic, which meant plenty of people were getting laid off their jobs and/or getting paid much less. And while it was still a beautiful and fun experience, as we explored the city more away from the hotel, attractions, and resorts my siblings, and I saw a more "unfiltered" version of how the world is. This came with people having to beg and/or offer work or items for just little amounts of money, which we did buy especially since they were so cheap because we had American money. When I saw all this I had a revelation that came with many questions like, why is it so beautiful here yet so many people are struggling, or what makes an American dollar or coin, a simple piece of paper/metal, so much more than a peso, another piece of paper/metal. Once the experience was all said and done my perspective on this world had become more open as I know there's so much more out there, but it also by showing me there is still so much I don't know. Both ways I was humbled and taught to better appreciate the little things.

As life goes on you discover that it's the little things that matter, like everyday chores, getting some peaceful sleep, or having someone to talk too. And for elderly people many of these things they just can't get done as often, or for some at all. While I can't help with things like sleep, I do often help them with some chores while I'm working at my lawn care job, as well as getting a chance to talk to them if they're around. Some examples of ways I help them with chores is by of course doing my job, but also by going that little extra step in moving hazards, knocking down the weeds in their vegetable, or flower gardens, or even making transitions in the yard more smooth. Getting a chance to talk with elderly people whether during, before, after, or anytime at all, whether I'm working or not, is a very nice experience for both of us as learning from them and their life experience is helpful and interesting, and them getting a chance to talk is a nice moment for them.

Many of us take much for granted in our everyday lives whether it's being able to sleep comfortably each night, or not worry about being rained on because of a roof being over our heads. I, myself am no exception. The more I learn and see of the world I notice that there are many people who suffer, and don't have the means, or strength to better their lives. And while I currently currently can't do much I still, help in some way, or make a plan to help in the future. Lack of money is one of the biggest problems that people have, but because, I'm a child student with no more than a part time job, I don't have a lot of money either, but I do still have the funds to donate a few dollars to people on the street here and there, or I can give them some food if they're hungry. Along with donations of my own there are many social media platforms and organizations of that do have the funds to help more, so when I stumble across them I try to help support and/or raise share them. Similar to the previously mentioned way to help, there are many people directly on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, etc. who try to get funded through specific programs associated with the app like the TikTok creator fund, which gives them money simply by acknowledging one of their post. While I don't believe it's much now this is how I make a positive impact on the world, and I also wish to take it further in the future, by getting people off of the streets for good.

Similar to the quote “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.”-Albert Einstein, My dad told me a phrase in middle school that I didn't understand "The more you learn, the less you know". At first glance, this quote made no sense to me and I didn't understand what my dad was implying when he told it to me, but towards the end of middle school and the beginning of high school, it became clearer to me. This quote, to me, is saying as you learn more you realize that there's even more information in the world that you don't know, and after I figured this out I've made this quote, part of my everyday life and allowed it to humble me.

Throughout my life, whether subliminal or straight to my face, I've had quite a few people in my life, most of them being family or friends of the family, try to prepare me for my future life ahead of me. Some of these preparations would be for learning how to "be a man", or how to survive being an African American in America. Both of these and many other life lessons I've been taught, I'm still trying to develop and practice, but one of the most recent ones I'm currently being taught to work on has been preparing for future finances and possible businesses, and business opportunities. This has been mainly taught to me directly through my father and stepmother who each have been incredibly helpful to me. From supplying us with information on what business type would be best for me and my certain business ( Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation, and Limited Liability Company, or L L C ), too helping me brainstorm business ideas that would be possible for me with my current resources and skills, to even helping fund most to all of the business, they have been my best support system in running my business, and possible businesses, whether it's been financially, physically, mentally or emotionally. With the information, I've obtained, and been given by my family members the final decision I had been advised and finalized on creating a Limited Liability Company or L L C business. To be honest the main reason for choosing this one over the other three was because it allowed for me to obtain a Tax identification number or T I N so that I don't have to use a social security number but instead could substitute it for the T I N when putting down information on an important business document, like papers. While my original first use for my business was a flop, I still had an L L C at the age of 14 that I didn't need to pay any tax on yet, accept to renew or reactivate the business, because I didn't make enough money off the business using the T I N. And with all these resources and continued support from the people around me I plan too furtherly take advantage of all possible resources that can help me in my future and current business plans, by applying for scholarships and investing more into my businesses to help further them.