Being in the top ten ranking for academics in my school gave me the opportunity to interview for California Girls State. Out of the five girls who were given an interview, I was the only one chosen to attend and represent my city of Gonzales. My plethora amount of well rounded participation in several clubs, programs, and volunteer work impressed all the interviewers which made me the most qualified delegate of my school. However, at California Girls State, the top girls representing their school or city from all over California attended. No girl there was better than the other because on paper we were all president of clubs, all had a mass amount of volunteer work, and all had high GPAs. The intense competition of running for office at California Girls State was more than The first question was, “Have you ever traveled out of the country?”. All the girls answered confidently about all the countries they have visited and even added stories about their travels. Every girl there had the opportunity to visit countries across the ocean. As my turn reached and they tossed the ball to me, I answered honestly, “ I have never been out of the country”. In response, a girl questions, “What about Mexico?” suggesting that because of my mexican background I had visited Mexico. All the girls began to giggle and I remember thinking that I could not last an entire week amongst those girls. The hour went by and all I learned about my floor mates was that their school and town offered so much compared to mine. Every conversation started during that first hour was a battle about who was the best. I realized how I did not belong but had to make myself stand out and use my differences to my advantage. So, I began to show who I was and did not let any intimidation bring me down. During my time at California Girls State, I ran for office positions, was involved in many debates, and befriended
Although many women have internalized the sexism of the world they live in, not many realize that it may impact their lives in some way or form. Nia Rhoney is a fellow classmate and great friend who now attends Clemson University. I selected Nia because she was not your average girl. Her views on the world are nonchalant and she does not take on the conformities that are expected of a regular teenage girl. Destinee Green is my first cousin. She is a very educated individual who is involved tremendously in the community which has allowed her to become a lively, well-rounded person. Cynthia Stewart is my dear mother and was a great candidate to me because she has been through so much in her short life. From being very sick at a young age, to
I was born on March 08, 1995 at roughly seven pounds. When I was extracted from my mother, I was given the gender of a male with the appearance of my male body parts. My mother used to say to me, growing up as a toddler that I had so much hair like former American Football player, Troy Polamalu. People had always assumed that I was a girl, therefore my mother had to correct them and say, “No, he is a boy”. Growing up a toddler, I was always wearing some type of jeans with a sports shirt and shoes that were mostly colored black or blue. As I grew older, I gained interest in baseball, wrestling, and the military. I always wanted to play with action figures such as GI Joe and wrestling celebrities in addition to imaginary flying in an apache helicopter or taking command in a battle tank. Advancing to my pre-teen years, I wanted to play baseball, which is considered to be mostly a boy sport. It was at this moment, that my gender was a boy. Progressing to my teen years, I started to observe my father and learn my gender on his roles as the man in our family. I noticed that my father was already taking charge in the house and giving me orders that I needed to complete. Going through middle school, most boys had some type of sports backpack while the girls
Earlier this year, I was selected as my local chapter’s delegate to the American Legion Jersey Boys State. This was a new experience for me as this was the first time I was away from home with no one I knew. The main focus of that weeklong seminar was elections and although I knew I was competing against some of the best students in the state, I wanted to see what I could do. So I ran to be my floor’s ward leader, and won. Then I ran for my city council member, and won. Then I ran to by my county Vice-chair, and won. Then I ran to be my county senator, and lost. This was by far the most disappointing moment of the week. I had worked hard to climb up the mock political ladder and even had started imagining making it to the top. However, the
Oklahoma Girls State was the experience of a lifetime. I made lifelong friends, I abandoned my comfort zone, I learned so much about our great nation, and I was pleasantly surprised by what the program did for me personally. However, the one thing I noticed was that some girls didn’t have as enjoyable of an experience as I did due to the fact that they are exceptional leaders in a way that wasn’t appreciated at Girls State as much as it could have been. I believe that finding a way to help the girls who weren’t as bold have a better experience could enhance the program by a landslide.
I grew up in Hemet, California in a neighborhood filled with friends that I grew up with. I remembered a lot about my home that I grew up in mostly because I remember details better than most people. I may remember details, but I love looking back on memories I had with my family and friends.
At the Miss California, USA seminar we were directed in how to apply makeup the correct way for stage lighting and also we had a number of evening gowns modeled so that we could know what is acceptable. We also had numerous swimsuits modeled for us by other delegates who I will be competing with. The person in charge of the USA pageant organization is Carolee Munger from San Luis Obispo, CA. She taught us how to present ourselves in the presence of our judges and also how to reach for our highest goals. The seminar was eight and a half hours long. It included learning, speaking skills, self confidence, and personal rights as an individual. We also had the privilege of listening to a well known psychologist speak to us about pageantry and how important it is know yourself and the goals you would like to achieve in life. Questions such as, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" have definitely given a new thought to what I would like to do for the rest of my life. I learned how to act self confident even in situations where you don't feel comfortable. I also learned that knowing how to make a grand entrance instead of a grand exit will give you a special presence.
A significant moment in her life was the time she moved from Hawaii to Colorado. It was not a smooth transition between two completely different places. Nevertheless, she would manage to fall in love with Colorado just as much as her Hawaiian home.
One of my strongest memories of our time in Iowa was from the first few weeks that we lived in the rental house. We had moved from the gigantic Georgia house into the cramped, smelly rental house. This move felt really different than the last one. We always knew that we would move but I don’t think that we envisioned us living in Iowa. Ammon was bored (which is never a good sign), Jaci seemed indifferent (which was a pretty good sign) and I was pretty on edge. One day Jaci, Ammon, and I started fighting about something, I don’t remember what, I vaguely remember it being related to the bathroom. Being the good mother that you are, you stopped the fight but it was too late for me; the cumulative effect of everything that had happened over the
Alex is now 21 and lives in Iowa. He still continues to carry on his no bullying act. Alex started in freshman year of highschool even though it was after he got out of middle school where he got bullied, he still felt that the other millions around the world needed to be stood up for. He has been working on the project for 9 years and does not plan to give it up anytime soon. Alex was bullied by the kids he used to be friends with. “Most of the kids on the bus, I knew from elementary school, and we were good friends then, but then in middle school, everything changes, and it’s all about popularity and who dresses the bet and who has the best hair . I was not the kid with the best hair.” He would be bullied everyday weather it was at the bus
After only a few months in the club, I received a letter in the mail from Washington D.C. It was an official invitation to the Law and CSI National Youth Leadership Forum. Beyond being ecstatic for even receiving the invitation, I was even more excited to learn that I was the only student from Central Dauphin High School nominated by the advisor It was thrilling to know that I was able to accomplish so much in such little time. Not only was I nominated, I was hand selected from thousands of students throughout the entire United States. I was shocked and couldn’t believe I was going to make Washington D.C. my home for an entire week. I quickly started digging out all of my business attire and began packing for the trip that would change my entire perception on life. After a few long months of fund-raising money and long awaited nerves, I was finally on my way to the capital of the United States. I did not know what to expect from the conference and was fighting off nervous butterflies when my mom dropped me off at very large and beautiful hotel right outside of Washington D.C. Within the first five minutes of being there I was handed an extremely strict itinerary, an I.D. badge, and a room assignment. The second I walked into room 232, two other girls were already in there waiting for me. I came to know these girls as my roommates. After meeting with my roommates,
Throughout my high school experience, I've been able to obtain knowledge that I can use to better my life. Some of the classes I've taken have been a blessing in disguise. For example, I never expected to learn as much as I did about writing and literature by just simply reading. Many of my teachers have pushed me to my limits and inspired me to think differently from my peers. In general my best English experience was reading "MacBeth" by William Shakespeare in Mr. Elwell's class, where I also realized I had many English skills to improve on.
Last year, my gender was made prevalent when I ran for E-Board President of my residence hall. After being nominated as a candidate, I returned to my room; it was in the crowded elevator that I overheard two of my fellow residents saying, “I’m definitely voting for the guy because he would be way more effective as a President.” His friend replied, “That girl should have run for public relations or something.” Two complete strangers made assumptions of my skills based solely on my gender and appearance; failing to consider the change that I could potentially bring to our hall. I am extremely grateful that the other voters did not think the same, as I was elected president. I still wonder if the way I dressed, spoke, and acted could have hindered my success when I ran for president. If I looked different, would those comments from the elevator not exist? This is an example of how, at times, my gender can disadvantage me. Gender and appearance should not influence who is elected to lead our society. Those two strangers in the elevator depreciated a woman’s potential by suggesting she take a non-leading role and assuming her skills would be better suited in public relations. That comment was offensive not just to me, but to the candidates running for that position. I remain unsure whether those residents considered me incompetent or not, but I believe that I deserved a shot at an
Colombia's culture does not usually celebrate Sweet Sixteen, instead Colombian girls celebrate when they turn fifteen. The fifteenth birthday has been a long standing tradition due to the fact that all Colombian girls celebrate their fifteenth year in creatively different ways including trips, dinners, but they mostly prefer to celebrate their fifteenth year in a big party planned by them.
Growing up in a diverse neighborhood in California laid the foundation for who I would become. It had also built my views to an extent, expanding by the events that would occur in my life. I was able to witness a number of different unique cultures and customs within. Whether these experiences came from my school to those I meet at church, my appreciation, and effort to stand out in society grew.
A secret agent. A professional football player. A fire fighter. These would have been my responses when asked that inevitable question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Family, Media and Peers are said to have influenced my views concerning the role I am to play society. All of these factors had one thing in common. They all were influencing me to behave according to my gender. Everything from the clothes I wore to the toys I played with contributed to this. Even now as a young adult my dreams and aspirations are built around the gender roles that were placed on me.