My grandma has made crocheted blankets of yarn for my siblings and me since before we were born. The blankets were always uncomfortable but beautifully made. She loved making them, too, so of course we snuggled them until they fell apart. January eleventh was a freezing, cloudy day with strong gusts of wind and storms late in the night. This was the day my grandma started living with my family and me. My grandpa had suffered a stroke in his home, and there was no way we could leave my grandma at home by herself, as she has severe dementia. We were now all living in the same household until the hospital would let my grandpa come home. A few months crawled by, it was March, and my grandma was still living with my family and me. My half-sister announced to the family she was pregnant and due in October. We gave my grandma some yarn, and she almost immediately began crocheting the pastel purple blanket for the baby. She was beyond excited. Although due to her failing memory, my parents and I had to continuously remind her for weeks that the blanket she was making was going to be for her great-grandchild. She eventually remembered the reason behind the blanket she was creating. As the months went on, my grandma was working on the same blanket, but we were noticing she was making no progress. The blanket was about one square foot and had been that way for months. She didn't remember how to crochet, nor did she remember how to properly seal the edges, making the baby's blanket look more like a large rastacap. In my mind, I always connect yarn to my grandma, thinking of her whenever I see it. She even began to teach me to crochet when I was younger, but now she doesn't even remember how to crochet. I knew her dementia was taking over, but not to this extent. Watching my grandma lose the ability to crochet was the most difficult experience I’ve ever had to go through because it’s the biggest metaphor of her going away soon, too. Despite my half-siblings taking out their resentment of our father on my brother and me, my grandma was always the person to connect us all. My half-siblings have now matured, and we all love each other, but who knows if that would have happened without my grandma’s help. She stitched us all together without even realizing it. She has given me so much important guidance, so watching her wise mind deteriorate has had such a gloomy effect on me. My grandma has taught me so much valuable advice, but in the end, watching her mind fall apart has given me a new outlook on life. I believe we are meant to live freely and waste no time. My grandma’s situation has made me want to make the most of my life. I now want to feel alive all the time. We are not meant to live only to survive. In the future, living life in this carefree mindset is going to make me a happier person in every aspect. Not caring about what others think, not overthinking everything I do, will lead me to radiate with happiness and positivity. Arguably, seeing this happen has changed my life for the better, teaching me that life is short, so live however I want because who knows, maybe I’ll forget it someday.

I took this photo while on an island during a cruise. This image is perfectly summed up by the phrase, "conserve life." One can feel the bliss radiating through the photograph. The two women were dancing to their Caribbean music, which they seemed to pride themselves on because of their ancestry. A beautiful moment that needed to be protected was conserved in this photograph. It is just a couple of strangers being so purely human together, but this is almost rare nowadays. The rarity of the moment makes this shot so special, relating to my interpretation of the phrase, "conserve life." These two powerful women were soaking up the beauty of life. No stress, no problems in mind. Just pure ebullience. Life should be conserved in pride, beauty, and happiness, all of which this image emits.

For finance, I like reading The Economist, Getting Rich Slowly, and watching Lifehacker.

H&M American Eagle Converse

This image isn't bold. Just an average group of friends having a good time. However, to get to this point, I had to be the boldest I've ever been. I went on this cruise with just my family and became bored by the 3rd day. That’s ridiculous, I shouldn’t be bored on the biggest cruise ship in the world! Therefore, I decided to take the biggest step outside of my comfort zone and turn 11 strangers into new lifelong friends, all in 4 days. The decision to be bold at that moment was easily one of my greatest decisions ever.