Throughout the DBGE summer program, I've learned various new skills and information that has and will continue to assist me in life. With Dawn Marie, I learned how to create landscape designs and customize them to map structure and make the best of spaces based on their size. I also learned how I could use this skill beyond just for myself, such as a job service for others. With Rachel Mallinga, I learned about the lack of nutritional foods and access to cultural foods in communities like mine compared to the abundance of food variety in wealthier communities. This information helped me realize how the bare minimum is never enough and shouldn't be accepted by anyone regardless of a community's economy or an individuals financial status. With Ella Bock, I learned to think bigger and plan out changes to advocate for myself and others who are struggling with issues similar to mine who don't have as much freedom or the opportunity to voice their opinions, ideas, etc.

All together, they taught me about how to care for plants and grow my own healthy foods at home, regardless of space available. So far, it's made a massive impact, and I have taken on personal gardening as a hobby, which is something I never saw myself doing any time soon. Overall, each of them have been amazing instructors who have inspired me so much, introduced me to topics I never thought I'd be interested in, and made me feel like I mattered. They worked strongly as a team to expand on the topics they individually discussed to make sure myself and every other teen in the program got different perspectives and understood what was being taught. I will never forget my experience in this program, and I wish I could do more than just thank them for the amount of opportunities they have created for me because words are not enough to repay them for their dedication to educate teens and create change.

Below are some photos of the plants I've received from the program and taken on the responsibility of caring for. In addition, I'm providing some photos of the extraordinary plants my neighbor grew on his own in my neighborhood. He turned a deprived neighborhood into a beautiful scene that you normally see in neighborhoods with the means to pay for professional gardeners. I'm not sure if he'll see this website, but I personally appreciate the hard work her does by himself. The plants attract so many birds, butterflies, and so much other life. It's really peaceful to just walk around and observe everything. Lastly, I'm providing some photos of some recent aquatic animals I've gotten. About 3 weeks ago, I received a Betta fish as a gift, and a week after I received a second one. I did a ton of research to learn more about these eye catching creatures and ensure I gave them the best care I could provide. However, when doing this research I learned about how mistreated these animals are and how they are viewed as just objects rather than an actual live animal and it broke my heart. They're isolated into these tiny cups in stores, with no adequate care because people spread the false message that they are "aggressive fish that don't get along with others.", but I was able to introduce these fish to other aquatic animals and they've gotten along so much with them and seem to be really happy in their new home. Honestly, I don't think without Dawn, Rachel, or Ella I would've wanted to take action to help as many of these mistreated animals because I used to view things more as half glass empty rather than half glass full but now my perspective has definitely transformed into a more optimistic one.