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I had to reminisce about all of my past leadership experiences. It is always exhilarating to step up and take on the role of being a leader. One of the most common leadership roles that I take on is when I lead the publicity committee in my leadership class. I often help others on the committee. This can be as small as helping decide on a font, to acquiring all of the information that will go onto the post. Other leadership roles that I take on include taking care of my younger brother. When he struggles with his homework, I do my upmost best to help him comprehend. Generally, it is my job to keep an eye out for him. From time to time taking care of him can be burdensome but I love him and that's all that matters.

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I thought long and hard about this one. I kept coming up with complete blanks. I looked back on the things I had done and decided to go with two of my favorite. Tennis and volleyball. I joined the tennis team my freshman year of high school. I had never even thought about touching a racket before that year. Apparently, it was a natural skill for me. Within a month of playing tennis, the coach had placed me in number two singles. That's right behind being number one! Of course, I still had a long way to go but I had improved at a fast rate. Unfortunately, I had decided to join volleyball my sophomore year. I became the libero and was never switched out unless I was forced to by the regulations. Practices for both sports had toughened and conditioned me. I worked on and honed these skills everyday of practice. I also made a ton of great friends along the way. It's a little sad that I don't get to see them often due to going to a different school but I still maintain a good relationship with them. Just this fall I was on the varsity volleyball team. It was a difficult time. The coach was rough but there were still a lot of fun times. We made it to playoffs and placed in second out of all of the high schools in Stockton. My year on varsity volleyball will undoubtedly be one of the memories that I preserve.

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(Family picnic day at my old elementary school)

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Moving to Stockton was one of the worst years of my life! I was raised in a small, close-knit neighborhood in Tracy. I was finishing up my last year of elementary school when my parents broke the news to me. We were selling our house and moving away from everyone we knew. I was positively devastated. Learning that I would have to go through middle school alone terrified me. To be frank, I was angry at my parents. How could they make this big decision without asking my siblings or I how we felt about it?

We had finally left our home behind on June 7, 2017. On the very first few days of living in Stockton, my childhood dog had ran away. My mom had realized that she had tried to follow us when we went out but she never made it back home. It made me despise living here even more. In order to overcome how I felt, I had slowly opened myself up to some peers. I focused on schoolwork and made connections with teachers. Although moving here was the absolute worst, I met my best friend. I have now been friends with her for more than 5 years. Even now, I still don't really like living here but there have been several factors that have made living here tolerable. This experience forced me to realize that nothing ever stays the same. Things can change at any split second.

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There have been several opportunities that have been presented to me over the course of my school life. The one that stood out the most was actually attending Health Careers Academy. When I was in the eighth grade some students had come to my school and gave us a brief presentation on what the school was about. They had taken us down a rabbit hole. Morals and principles were deeply embedded in the presentation. This school raised a lot of green flags for me. The day I had gotten my acceptance letter was a day of celebration. The teachers always offer extra help and several hands on opportunities are offered monthly. This school really gave me an insight on new career options. It opened a doorway and made me want to go to college even more. Each counselor works hard to please each student. Anytime a student may be struggling, teachers reach out, peers reach out, everyone reaches out. Sometimes classes can be really difficult but it is well known that it is okay to take a break from time to time. I really like that this is spread throughout the school. The school believes in mental health and that is one added attribute that I truly enjoy. I believe Health Careers Academy is a tight-knit community that truly cares about each other. It has been my most inspiring opportunity.

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Growing up I had always loved the chills that went up and down my spine while I watched horror movies. My mother was a horror movie fanatic. Her love for the thrill had been passed down to me at the ripe age of eight. We would sit down together on the couch, close the blinds, and always have snacks at hand. This enlightened my creativity. When I started experimenting with makeup, I always thought that I wanted to do more. A light bulb appeared when I combined makeup and horror movies. I tried my first sfx makeup look in the sixth grade. I had a slashed grin across my face. From ear to ear all you could see was blood and bruising. I fell in love. From there on out, I began to practice and could soon make realistic injuries. I love when Halloween rolls around, it gives me an opportunity to reach into the depths of my imagination and bring out a horrific image to life.

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Out of all of the courses that I have taken I decided to go with one that isn't taught at HCA. I took this course my freshman year of high school. Dual enrollment at Delta College fascinated me. It bewildered me that such an opportunity was available to us. I took Human Development. This course took a deep dive into the psychology of children. Learning about the mind had always stabbed at me with a hook. Reading each lesson enlightened me and it really made me think about the actions that my younger brother had presented. It also made me think about my two older brothers. I compared their behaviors to personality theories that would be presented in class. They would relate or be the complete opposite. I haven't had the chance to take these lessons any further as there are no psychology classes offered at school. However, I have researched each topic a little bit more. It turned into this huge wormhole for me that I couldn't leave for hours. The mind is something amazing.

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At school, community service hours are required. This helped me make my way out there and offer my services where it is needed. This varied from helping out at church to helping out the local animal shelter. Throughout Stockton, there are several problems that could use a little fixing. Things I have done to contribute are volunteering with American Red Cross, feeding the homeless, and participating in a canned food drive. It's small but I believe anything helps. At school, I am apart of our leadership class. We try our best to bring out school spirit and maintain a happy environment for students to enjoy. Rallies, lunchtime activities, and other fun activities are planned for months. We consider what students might enjoy participating in. Of course sometimes our events fail. When that happens, we reflect as a class and plan accordingly for the next event. I contribute to this by leading posts, communicating with peers, and I even help decide trivial things like wall decorations. I do whatever I can to contribute. It may not make much of a change but at least it's something.

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Truth be told, I was a little hesitant on attending this high school. I wasn't completely sure if I even wanted to enter the medical field. One day, I had a complete meltdown. It was due to overwhelming stress from assignments and to be frank, I have always found the future terrifying. When I think about this I tend to get an overwhelming sense of anxiety. To revert back to what I was saying, my dad had found me sobbing in my gloomy room. The atmosphere had been dark and very dense. He had asked me what was wrong and I just sobbed in his arms. It was the first time that I had ever done that. My father is usually closed off and is always busy with work. I lacked a close relationship with him and felt awkward talking about how I felt. This was an outburst that I couldn't contain. He sat me down and held me in his arms. I'm sure that I must've smeared about a thousand boogers over his shirt. Once I calmed down, I had the guts to tell him what was going on. I laid out my feelings and explained that I was stressed, anxious, and scared. He began to apologize which made me cry even more. He explained how sorry he was that he never told me how proud of me he was. He explained how sorry he was that we didn't hang out as often. My father had poured out his feelings in return to my outburst. He works every day of his life for my family and I. He wants me to be successful. He wants me to grow up and be able to obtain whatever kind of life that I want to live. He loves me and he made sure that I knew that. Every since that day, whenever I am stressed or I want to quit, I think about that moment and I push. I don't give up. He changed my mindset and I will forever be thankful for what he has done for me.

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I believe that my personality makes me stand out. I am always pretty reserved and prefer to keep my friend group small. I enjoy spending quality time with others and love spending a night in. At school, I am either hyper-focused or completely zoned out. I like to believe that my personality contradicts itself in a way. I recently learned how to embrace my culture. This opened me up and made me a little more extroverted. I now love tasting food from my culture. If I have learned anything in my life it's that things never stay the same. I have always been told that I have a well rounded personality. This seems to be one of my greatest attributes. I stand out in my own personal way. My personality depends on how I feel that specific day. If I am feeling excited about something I'll become bubbly and talkative. I'll shut down if I am nervous or scared. I was generally raised to be reserved. Coming from a Mexican household, I was always told that I should be quiet and never be outspoken. I was taught that men were stronger and better. As I grew up, I started to learn that it was untrue. I stood up against it and made changes to the way I behaved in situations. It's easier for me to make genuine connections with people now. I believe personality is something that is forever changing. My personality is what makes me, me. It radiates and shines through how I act and how I speak.