Always as a child, I dreamed of being a vet. I loved my childhood dog and after seeing the impact she made on my life and my families’ lives, I decided that helping dogs would be a good career path for me. After witnessing my dog’s cancer and the suffering she went through, I decided to eliminate that decision. I didn’t want to see all of the dogs hurting, even if I was the one to help them. As I got older, I searched for a new career to fill the void that a vet had all of those years. I decided to focus on my interests and talents instead on one particular job. I still to this day have no idea of what career I am going to do, but I always will remember how I wanted to be a vet.

Over the past couple of years in high school and middle school, I learned a lot about personal growth. I have changed so much from the person I was in sixth grade and the person I was in ninth grade. I have grown more independent from my parents and learned so many things/ classes that I enjoy. My personal growth has exceeded anything I thought I would and I have become my own unique person. I am happy with the way I am and the decisions I made to get there. I had to make tough choices along the way and deal with hard times, but those shaped me into the person I am today. I am thankful for all of the friends I currently have and the friends who I have drifted off with being friends with because they all have taught me important skills in life.

After reading Rita Pierson’s TED Talk, I most definitely agreed with the words she spoke. When she said, “You know kids don’t learn from people they don’t like,” I could relate to what she was talking about. I have many teachers that I do not like and when I go to their class, my mind completely shuts off. I am not open to what they are going to say because they have already ruined the class for me. My teachers who are nice and patient with every student are the classes I strive in. I am able to understand what they are saying and still be able to ask questions when needed. I wish that all my teachers treated us like Rita treats her students. It would make learning new subjects and classes a lot easier.

How to live before you die. As a student in high school, you find yourself in a continuous rut. Get up. Go to school. Go home. Homework. Go to bed. The same routine day in and day out. How are we suppose to live our life if we are forced to do the same things everyday? I try to live my life with thinking positive- what is one thing I can look forward to today. Thinking this way makes me look forward to certain moments throughout the day. Things like “I get to see my friends today” or “I get to turn in my project I worked hard on” really shape my day for the better. Small things make me live my life positively before I die. No matter if I am hiking or rock climbing, I can still make the best of the situation I am in.

If I saw a random flash mob or a spontaneous dance in front of me, I think I would laugh. Personally, I think that I would not enjoy participating in something like this because of the possible consequences for the prank. I think it would be fun to have this happen to me, but I would not like to people one of the participants. These activities are fun for society as a whole because they bring all sorts of people together for a happy experience. The fact that people find enjoyment by making other people happy is a true explanation of their personality.

Each student walking into their school has the same attitude: I don’t want to be here. Students from are forced to sit in class after class with the same monotone, repetitive voices teaching the same concepts. These concepts which will never be able to be used in their real life outside of school. But there are some teachers, very few, that love their jobs and want to express their excitement for education. Those teachers make students walk into schools with an open mind. The teachers incorporate creative, out of the box activites that brings students together. They are able to walk around and talk with friends while still using the lesson for the day. Not many teachers have the patience to create in-depth lessons for every class, but even one a day allows students to use their creative sides to discover some of their potential talents.

When a child grows up, what voice do they have? With the learning, studying, and listening to their teachers and going home to do more homework as well as the many assignments their parents had given them, students have no breaks. They are expected to do the many necessary roles they are assigned to with no complaint. But what if things were different? What if children were able to project to their parents that they were the ones that needed to have a voice? If students were challenged to make a difference instead of study for the test. If students and teachers worked together to not only teach the lesson, but implement it into children’s lives- school would matter. Children have an important voice, but are hidden by the many adults that take over control. If children had a minute to express their opinions, what could happen?

What do people think of when they hear the word “needy”? Does a certain image pop in your head of a stranded child on the side of the road? I have had the pleasure of traveling across the country to help the “needy.” I had accepted the same thing you would imagine- kids sad and unhappy with nothing to do. When I arrived in the big city of Toronto, Canada, I was hunting for the kids desperate for my help. I was shocked to find they may have been “needy” but they were the happiest kids I had ever seen. We brought various common toys for the kids such as a jump rope and chalk, making the children ecstatic at the thought of new games. They were so excited to play with us; they never once acted sad or unhappy with their situation. I had a Single Story about those children. I started into the trip with a sad mind, picturing their depressed little faces, but I walked out with guilt of those stereotypes.

When you encounter how death changes people, it changes your perspective on your life. I remember at the young age of 12 I went to my first a funeral. I may not have known the woman who passed away, but seeing how the kids (my age) were left without a mom really stuck with me. I couldn’t stop thinking that they would have no mom to cook with, watch late night movies with, or just hang out with. This really effected me as a child because I realized that this could be my family. The funeral affected my mom greatly as it was a friend of hers, and seeing the emotional state she was in was also very revealing to me. My goal from that day on was the never take advantage to the many wonderful things my mother has done for me. As I have gotten older I have experienced many deaths that I never thought would happen, but ever since that day I have lived every day thankful for my life and how fortunate I am.