What would you say is your greatest talent or skill?

How
have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
I would say my biggest talent would be my determination to get better. If I have a set goal to
learn something I will continue to research and learn more about it until I have mastered it.
Especially when it comes to art, I love to draw and I hope I can draw professionally in the future
also. Ever since I watched anime as a kid I loved the art style and how detailed the expressions
were on the characters faces. So during my 2nd year of middle school I set out to learn how to
draw similar characters in that art style. I took art classes and watched videos to see if I could
learn anything new to help me improve on my drawings. By the end of middle school I was in
love with drawing. It brought out my creative side and made me feel relaxed. I had high hopes
that I could draw professionally one day. When highschool came along I started to draw less and
was more focused on work more than anything else. As the months went on I was slowly starting
to lose interest in drawing due to my lack of motivation and skills I had lost, and when I tried to
start drawing again I was frustrated with every drawing I did due to how imperfect it looked. I
never thought I would lose my passion in drawing, but I wasn't going to give up on my dream
and let school get the best of me. During my sophomore and junior year I slowly learned how to
draw again no matter how frustrating it was or how many times I messed up. I would continue to
practice and practice until I'm able to draw with ease. As my Junior year was ending I promised
to keep on trying my best to improve on my art so I could show others my creative side.

Describe an example of your leadership experiences in which

have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or
contributed to group efforts over time
I have shown leadership many times, when I am assigned with a random group of people from
my class I always take initiative and ask what role everybody is going to be playing. I'm always
the one to take initiative since nobody likes to talk to people they don't know, I make sure the
group is organized and prepared to do what they need to do in order to complete the assignment.
Another time I have shown leadership was when I noticed that one of my friends was acting
different than usual. I approached him and asked him how he was doing, he told me he was
doing fine but I knew something was up. So I proceeded to tell him I know something is up and
he can talk to me about it, after I had said that he told me that he was going through difficult
times at home and found it really hard to concentrate in school. After hearing all this I decided to
sit down and have a talk with him, I told him that in life it's never a straight line forward there
will be obstacles that you will have to overcome to reach your goals. After that I told him if he
ever has anything he needs to get off his chest he can call or talk to me anytime and I'll be there
for him. A few weeks later he wanted to talk to me again just to thank me for being such a good
friend , helping him go through his tough times in life and that he wouldn't know what to do
without me which made me feel like I had made a big impact on him. Afterwards I felt like I
made a big impact on him and hoped that I could make others feel the same way as him.

Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and

the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How
has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
The most significant challenge I have faced was when I was in middle school, I was at my
cousin's house with my family and I was suddenly woken up by my mom to check on my dad.
He was snoring a lot more than usual so I tried shaking him but he didn't get up or respond which
worried me. I turned him over and noticed that he wasn't breathing, I quickly rushed outside to
the living room and woke up everybody and told them what was going on. I quickly called the
police to tell them the situation, when they arrived I was in the living room holding my little
brother and sister in my arms. They didn't have the slightest clue what was going on and it was
best they didn't know until later. The next day I hadn't heard back from my mom since she was in
the hospital with my dad and I was getting ready to go to school. Yesterday night had me worried
and shocked that I didn't even feel like paying attention or going to school all i could think about
was if this is the last time I get to see my dad. For the rest of the day I had to act like nothing
happened and just smile through everything but on the inside I was filled with anxiety. A few
weeks later my grades were dropping in school and I had no intention to fix them whatsoever,
but I thought about it and said to myself I have to keep my head up high and continue doing what
is best for me and my family. So I continued to bring those grades up and pray that my dad was
going to be ok. At the beginning of July I was able to go visit him and saw that he was alright,
just knowing that made me happy and inspired me to keep on going.

Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe

how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of
this classroom
One academic subject that inspires me is foreign languages, I've always wanted to learn how to
speak Hmong, Lao, & Japanese so I could communicate with both my mom and dad’s side of the
family. I'm mostly interested in learning Japanese because I hope to go visit Japan one day to
improve on my dream of becoming a manga artist. Unfortunately our school only has Spanish as
a foreign language class which is a little disappointing since other schools have many other
language classes like French and German. My plan was to go study abroad during college to see
what it was like and experience how school was like for other students across the country.
Learning about all these languages by myself is very difficult since I don't know the proper order
or way to study them, which is why I want to go study abroad or attend a class in college that
offers to teach these languages. Studying abroad and learning Japanese has always been a dream
for me since freshman year of high school. I want to experience the different languages and
culture of other countries. Learning a foreign language can also help me secure more jobs since
being able to speak more than one language can really come in handy when working and
speaking to others.