"You must first embrace your hopes and dreams and have a positive attitude about yourself before you can change the attitudes and behaviors of others." The significance of these words from Linda G. Alvarado echo as a constant lesson I’ve learned throughout my life. For high school, I attend a virtual public school, a program requiring a high level of maturity to maintain the independent course load. With no teachers or classmates around, I created a competitive environment by becoming my own competitor. While stellar grades resulted, my mindset of solitude was actually restricting myself. Nevertheless, my English teacher opened up my world to a whole different level-one that welcomed the power of technology, collaboration, and ideas. By acknowledging