Who I am - words that describe me:
Involved, Outspoken, Friendly - I always participate in sports and musicals. I love speaking, and believe I'm easy to get along with.

My personal challenges:
My story relates to the theme of being determined and always doing the best you can. When I was about 7 years old I joined the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County. One Sunday afternoon we were having a meeting at my friend's house. In her somewhat large backyard there is a giant set of swinging bars. After everyone left for cake on the patio, I stayed back to work on getting across the daunting bars. It had been a highly prioritized goal of mine to reach the other side since first grade. I was having pretty bad luck that day and fell off the bars about twenty times before reaching the fourth bar. Finally, many tries later, I reached the second to last bar. I frantically grabbed with my left arm for the final bar, and with my arm in midair I slipped off. I reached down with my left hand and heard a crack. As we found out later that day, I had broken my arm.

My career challenges:
Since I am a student and have no career yet, I will relate a theme to acting. Being determined and exploring new ideas gives me success in schoolwork and in the sports, acting, and activities that I participate in. If I didn't explore new aspects of a character, like how they talk, act, or even how they stand and sit, my part in the play would be dull and boring, but if I try new things, I seem more interesting and alive.

My career:
I will substitute acting, sports, and activities for career. I have participated in musicals, dance shows, and plays since I was 5. I have also played soccer, basketball, and softball since I was 7. I have taken voice lessons for one year and piano lessons for six years. Since sixth grade I have chosen a cause to volunteer with when summer comes, these include an animal hospital and the library. I have sung in nursing homes and preschools with an audition group at my school. I also participate in student council, being class secretary and representative. I hope to join the debate club, be on numerous sports teams and in musicals this coming high school year.

Likes/Dislikes about career:
I love not being restricted to one activity and being able to choose to do whatever I want. I would not change anything about my "career".

Influences:
One of the most memorable people I have met is Justice Ruth Ginsberg. She has accomplished so many things including being a member of the Supreme Court. She taught me (by just talking in a fairly large auditorium) the determination needed to be successful and also what it takes to be a woman on a male dominated Supreme Court or any job field. In just the 20 minutes she had to talk to our school, I learned the two most important things I might ever need to know.

Future goals:
Since I am 13, I have yet to accomplish many goals in my life. One of them is helping disabled, challenged, or just girls that need help in some area. When I become old enough, I hope to join the Big Sisters organization to help girls less privileged than I am.

My thoughts about space exploration:
Space exploration is a never-ending field with so many mysteries that we want to solve. It is very interesting to me to watch documentaries like "From the Earth to the Moon" that show how the human race is solving these enigmas. I feel that I will learn many new things from this project that will help me with teamwork and facing life's problems.

SCUBA training