Being a junior in high school can be challenging. This year I've had to manage my time between studying,  tutoring children, volunteering at the ambulance corps, girl scouts, SAT prep, and still being a functioning human being who is growing up and finding herself as she approaches her release into the real world. 

Overall, I've done a pretty good job and I made it! Besides focusing on my artwork there are many other things I've found I love doing and have helped me along the way. I've always been an avid reader but it's hard to devote time to books when you have a thousand other things to do so this passion of mine took the back burner for most of the past three years. However, this year, I took AP Literature and Composition where reading was a key component of the curriculum. I read for class as well as out of class and along the way picked up some of my other hobbies that had gotten lost in the midst of everything else. Publishing a book has been one of my goals forever but independent writing had been de-prioritized until this academic year. I also explored a new medium for voicing my thoughts; speech. To the right is a picture of my speaking at my school's TEDx Talk with the theme being an "A-Ha! Moment". I spoke before many of my family, peers, teachers, and strangers about finding your own voice in daily issues and caring about the world we live in. I then made another speech for my AP Lit class about growing up and forging your own path.