Rain was usually something comforting to me, as I was born and have been raised in a beautiful temperate rainforest in Juneau, Alaska. However, on this night, that was not the case. The outskirts of a hurricane pounded on the window of my rural motel in north central Florida, a place very different from my beloved home. My tears mirrored the rain drops, soaking and relentless. It’s amazing how in a shocked state of confusion and anger, you finally...

A baby will learn their first words from their parents or guardians; a young child will learn correct behaviors and the basics of education from its teachers; a teenager will decide their future based upon the influence of the adults to which they look up to. We live in a society of followers. In some cases, this becomes a bad thing. For example, a toddler learns a swear word from his mother or a teenager chooses to use drugs because...

I would apply to less schools. I applied to 12, and it put an immense amount of stress on...