\\ In high school, I was tasked with writing and defending a traditional thesis on a topic of my choosing. I chose comprehensive sex education and titled it Have the Talk: Why Schools Need to Incorporate Comprehensive Sex Education.

\\ Sex education is nearly non-existent and painfully outdated in Texas, especially at my conservative Christian private high school. I transferred there at the start of my junior year after attending public school my entire life. Oh yeah… then Covid hit.

\\ I was unpopular for many reasons, mainly because I believe in loving people radically and fighting for those with fewer freedoms than myself.

\\ My thesis gave me a stage to express those beliefs without much ridicule, and that is when the hot pink mentality was born. I talked about sex, pregnancy, and abortion laws in a hot pink suit in a room full of people who did not believe what I was saying.

\\ I took a point deduction to wear that suit. It did not fit the black, grey, or blue dress code, but I was making a statement and needed my clothes to match. I will not tone myself down for any institution.

\\ Hot pink power is unavoidable. It is woven into every part of my being: defiance, confidence, grace, femininity, loyalty, and determination. It is who I am and therefore my brand. I leave a hot pink smudge of wit and creativity on every piece of work I touch.