When Rachel Heimke was seven, she realized what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Little did she know a $40,000 BigFuture Scholarship would help her pursue her dreams.
Heimke and her parents were living an unconventional lifestyle, to say the least. The summer after she completed first grade, she and her parents boarded a sailboat and sailed from their hometown in Alaska down the Pacific Coast. The family would spend the next two years traveling on the water, passing Mexico and then sailing across the world to Australia before returning home. It was on the sailboat, watching whales and dolphins breach the water under their boat, that Heimke realized her life’s purpose.
“I was really obsessed with these little porpoises called Vaquitta, who only live in one tiny area of water off the coast of Mexico,” she recalled. “When I learned about them as a kid, there were only 22 left in the wild. Now, there are only ten.” Despite her interest, Heimke was never able to actually see any Vaquitta on her trip, both because of their inherent shyness and because they were so critically endangered due to detrimental fishing policies in the area. “That was my wakeup call,” she says. “I’ll probably never be able to see this porpoise, and I don’t want that to be true of other species.”
Now a young woman of 23, Heimke is realizing her childhood dream of ocean conservation by recently graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in ocean sciences and enrolling in a grad program in Canada to study science communication. Heimke is well on her way to achieving her childhood dream—but she acknowledges that none of this would have been possible without her ocean adventures as a child, the support of her parents, and significant financial support.
At 18, when Heimke was deciding where to study ocean sciences, she stumbled upon an opportunity from BigFuture, College Board's free college and career planning site. The opportunity was the BigFuture Scholarship, which provided students the chance to win a $40,000 scholarship by completing six action items on the website. Heimke was intrigued, since she didn’t need to provide an essay, her GPA, or any test scores to enter. Her eligibility was also not tied to citizenship status or family income, so she decided to give it a shot.
“One of the action items was just going on the BigFuture site and creating a list of colleges I was interested in,” said Heimke. Another item required her to apply for financial aid through FAFSA—something Heimke was planning to do anyway. Every completed action item gave students more chances to win the scholarship, so Heimke completed all six action items quickly.
Months later, Heimke’s parents ushered her over to a call over Zoom, where she met a BigFuture representative who had some surprising news: She was one of 25 students who had won the $40,000 BigFuture college scholarship. Each year she would receive $10,000 in scholarship funding, which would cover her entire tuition bill for all four years of schooling.
“That experience taught me that it’s really important to not give up on your goals and just go for opportunities,” said Heimke. “I never thought I would win anything, but I’ve learned it's worth applying anyway. Even a small scholarship of $1,000 can pay your rent for a month,” she said. “And If you write an essay that takes an hour and you win $5,000, that’s probably the most money per hour you’ll ever make in your life.”
The tuition money made it possible for her to attend college, and for her to apply to graduate school immediately afterward without any financial burdens.
“Now that I’m in graduate school and paying for rent and a phone bill and graduate school tuition, it’s truly a blessing to not have student loan debt on top of that,” Heimke said. Because of the BigFuture scholarship, Heimke doesn’t need to pay for her graduate program either—she’s able to fund her education with the money her parents saved by not having to pay for her undergraduate degree.
One of the biggest blessings, Heimke said, was not needing to delay graduate school to work or find extra funds. With climate change worsening, entering the workforce becomes increasingly important over time.
“I’m not sure exactly what I’ll do with my degrees, but I hope to have a lot of different jobs that ultimately will work toward saving our ocean,” she said.
As a child, witnessing marine life up close and personal was life-changing. Heimke’s goal is for future generations to have that experience, as she did.
To learn more and get started, visit bigfuture.org/scholarships.Andy Wang has made it a personal mission to to clean up the streets of the Bay Area
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Andrew Y. Wang, known online as “Pengweather”, stumbled upon YouTube videos of people dedicating their time to community improvement projects and Bay Area volunteer initiatives. From cleaning up litter in Southeast Asia to unclogging storm drains, these efforts struck a chord. Andy found himself inspired, but it wasn’t until late 2021, while driving along I-580 between Livermore and Tracy, California, that inspiration turned to action. Seeing illegal dumping and trash lining this busy corridor gave him a sudden realization: “Greeting travelers with the presence of litter is not a good reflection of Bay Area values.”
What began as a solo community cleanup in California near Altamont Pass has since expanded into a Bay Area-wide mission to tackle illegal dumping and restore public spaces. Andy cleans everything from urban alleys to neglected natural areas, often using his own money to pay for landfill fees—sometimes up to $500 per trip. Alongside the physical cleanup, Andy also documents his work on social media, using striking before-and-after photos to motivate others to join the cause and shed light on systemic issues.
Andy’s impact has not gone unnoticed. Across Reddit and other platforms, Bay Area residents have rallied around his efforts, praising his dedication and calling him a local hero. “He’s such a GOAT around here! I swear he does more for the community than most elected local politicians,” one commenter wrote. His actions have inspired a ripple effect, with many people stepping up to clean their own neighborhoods.
Before and after Andy's Christmas Day 2024 efforts showing the impact one dedicated person can have.pengweather
Andy’s commitment comes from a deep desire to make his community cleaner, safer, and more welcoming. Yet his journey has not been without challenges. Early on, he faced hostility from motorists, including threats of violence, prompting him to shift his work to safer locations. Today, he cleans up a range of sites, often funding his efforts out of pocket.
Reflecting on his work, Andy shared a powerful moment that cemented his resolve. In November 2023, he cleared an illegal dumping site near the Napa River in Vallejo. “It was just a horrendous site with piles of litter that built up over several months, if not a year,” he recalled. After clearing the area, he revisited it weeks later to find it still pristine. Returning again on Christmas 2024, Andy was delighted to see not only the absence of trash but new grass beginning to grow.
"Greeting travelers with the presence of litter is not a good reflection of Bay Area values."
— Andy / “Pengweather”
On Reddit, an enthusiastic chorus has gathered to applaud Andy’s volunteer work. One user highlighted his far-reaching impact by saying:
“He’s such a GOAT around here! I swear he does more for the community than most elected local politicians.”
Others emphasized the local legend status he’s earned, echoing remarks like:
“u/pengweather is a local legend in the SF Bay Area.”
Some revealed how Andy has personally motivated them, with one commenter noting:
“Honestly, you have inspired me to pick up trash whenever I am out working.”
Even beyond the Bay Area, people are amazed by Andy’s dedication and selfless approach to service.
Andy’s story resonates with locals, many of whom have been inspired to take up cleanups themselves. One supporter even started a group called the Trash Pandas, which organizes monthly efforts at Oakland’s Grizzly Peak. “This is evidence that my work is achieving one of its goals, which is to be inspiring,” Andy says.
The community’s support fuels his motivation, but not everyone is convinced. Some critics argue that such work doesn’t address the root causes of illegal dumping. Andy doesn’t dismiss these concerns. “I fully understand,” he says, noting that he has worked tirelessly to promote low-cost, long-term solutions with local governments. Frustratingly, he’s often met with resistance or indifference. Despite the setbacks, Andy remains focused on making a lasting impact.
"Nothing warms my heart more than hearing about people who have been inspired by my work and decided to also volunteer."
— Andy / “Pengweather”
Andy has big plans for 2025. His goal is to monetize his YouTube and Instagram platforms to fund his cleanup efforts and support local nonprofits, unhoused services, and more. He’s currently working to increase his video content, hoping to reach the required 3,000 watch hours to earn ad revenue.
In addition to expanding his own cleanups, Andy wants to highlight the work of other volunteers. Though he prefers to work alone most of the time due to his self-described introverted nature, he sees the power in showcasing a broader movement. “This effort may be minuscule compared to other initiatives, but it is something to start from,” he says.
"This effort may be minuscule compared to other initiatives, but it is something to start from."
— Andy / “Pengweather”
"I always tell people that you do not have to go out and physically volunteer to make a difference."
— Andy / “Pengweather”
Andy’s efforts prove that one person can inspire a movement. By taking small steps—like picking up a single bag of trash—you can contribute to creating cleaner, safer communities. Together, these actions add up, one block at a time.
Every watch, share, and subscribe helps ‘Pengweather’ fund more cleanups, donate to local nonprofits, and expand his efforts, so be sure to like and follow on YouTubeor Instagram.
Tidy people have a different way of looking at things.
Confession: I am not a neat freak, but I've always aspired to be one. I love neat and tidy spaces and envy those who have a natural knack for keeping their homes perpetually guest-ready. Because I live in a normal-messy home, I appreciate it when people say "No one's house is tidy all the time!" but I also know it's not true. There are people with always-tidy houses. I personally know multiple people whose homes never, ever devolve into cluttered chaos, whose kitchen sinks are always free of dishes, whose tables are never cluttered with stuff and whose master bedrooms look like hotel rooms.
Knowing that it is possible, I've spent years observing my naturally neat friends and family to understand what gives them the seemingly superhuman ability to keep their homes clean 24/7. As one might assume, some of it comes down to a fastidiousness and rigid adherence to routines that some of us simply do not possess. Some of it has to do with how often people are home and how much their home actually gets used. However, those things aside, I've figured out handful of "secrets"—minor habits and mindsets—that we messier folks who yearn to be neater can glean from the naturally tidy.
Though it's largely unconscious, we all have ways of thinking through completing any activity, from first step to last step. Take eating, for example. For a naturally messier person, "eating" starts with preparing the food and ends with swallowing your last bite. Cleaning up is not an inherent part of the eating process—it's seen as something separate, an activity that has its own beginning and end, its own time frame, its own energy expenditure, etc.
Cleaning up is part of the eating process for naturally neat folks.Photo credit: Canva
For a naturally neat person, however, eating means preparing the food, eating the food, and then cleaning up whatever mess you made. That's the whole cycle of eating. When you see cleaning up as part of the eating process, eating doesn't "end" until the dishes are finished and the kitchen is clean. Without cleaning up, the eating activity is simply incomplete.
For some people, this sound like a "duh" revelation. For some of us, it's a life-changing mindset shift.
Struggling to accurately estimate how much time a task will take is called "time blindness," and it's a common ADHD trait. But even those of us without ADHD can misjudge how long a task will take and form habits around our erroneous assumptions or perceptions.
For instance, I used to put off unloading the dishwasher because it seemed like a huge chore. All those dishes having to go to all those different cabinets—surely that was something that took a significant chunk of time to do. My brain had it labeled as a "big task" and therefore something I needed to carve out time for.
Then I timed myself doing it one day. Not rushing at all, just casually unloading a full dishwasher. It took less than 3 minutes, which was a fraction of the amount of time my brain had assigned to the task. Did I feel silly having subconsciously made a mountain out of a molehill? Yes. Did finding out it only took 3 minutes change how I viewed that chore and make it so I didn't procrastinate it anymore? Also yes.
Unloading the dishwasher takes less time than you might think.Photo credit: Canva
Neat people don't put off small cleaning/tidying tasks that they know only take a minute or two. Messy people can utilize timers to help them figure out what those are, because surprisingly, mosts tasks don't take as long as you think they will.
A messy person will pop something in the microwave for two minutes and then zone out or stare at it while it cooks. A neat person will pop something in the microwave and then use that two minutes to wipe down the counter, unload the dishwasher, or sweep the kitchen floor. They'll fold laundry while watching a show and go put it away during a commercial break. They utilize small snippets of time to do little cleaning tasks, which all add up to maintaining a neat and tidy space without having to take big chunks of time to organize or clean.
Messier folks tend to overlook little messes here and there, so they build up until suddenly there's an overwhelming mess to deal with. It helps to think of cleaning and tidying not as one big chore that is either done or not done, but rather as as a conglomeration of tiny tasks that can be done any time you have a minute or two. Eventually, using tiny time chunks to mini-clean becomes habitual.
"Clean up as you go" is a mantra to internalize if you aspire to have a perpetually neat home. If a neat person is baking, they will take out an ingredient, measure what they need, then put that ingredient back where they got it. They do this every time, so when the baked good gets put in the oven, all that's left to do is clean the dishes they used in prep (which is, of course, seen as an inherent part of the baking task). And this isn't just in the kitchen. They do the same thing with their toiletries in the bathroom, their clothes when choosing an outfit, etc. Everything gets put back rather than put down, preventing a mess from the get go.
Neat people put things away instead of putting them down.Photo credit: Canva
If a messy person is baking, they'll take out an ingredient, measure what they need, and then set the ingredient down on the counter. Once the baked good gets put in the oven, there's then a whole counter full of ingredients and dish mess to clean up. And because "cleaning up" is seen as a separate task, there's a gearing up of energy that's required as well as a separate time commitment, which makes procrastination more likely.
The key here is to recognize that putting things back where you got them really doesn't take any more time than setting them down but saves tons of time and work later.
"A place for everything and everything in its place" is a mantra that neat people live by religiously and messy folks may not even realize is possible. If a neat person doesn't have a place for something, they find one or make one by getting rid of something else. If a messy person doesn't have a place for something, it sits on a table or countertop or entryway or some other placeholder for an indeterminate amount of time, often moving from surface to surface before eventually being shoved in a drawer or closet to be dealt with later.
Part of living like a neat person is being honest with yourself about the space you have and embracing inflow and outflow of things that enables you to live comfortably in that space. Messy people almost always have too much stuff for their space and therefore not enough places to put things. (This is true no matter how large or small your home is, sorry to say.) Neat people keep things pared down so that everything can have its own place. Regular purging of excess stuff and not holding onto things "just in case" is a huge key to staying neat and tidy.
I can't say that I perfectly implement all of these things all the time, but I can say that being aware of these mindsets and habits and attempting to live more like my "neat freak" loved ones has made a big difference in my home and how I feel about living in it.
It's not always easy to have good conversations in groups.
When family and friends gather together, conversations can go a few ways. If you’re genuinely close and used to sharing openly, conversation may flow naturally with no need for assistance. If you’re getting together with people you rarely see, don’t know very well, or struggle to connect with, however, conversations can feel mundane, stilted or awkward. Even with family, a 50-year-old trying to talk to a 15-year-old extended relative can be difficult without knowing what questions to ask.
Whether we’re getting together with people we know or people we are meeting for the first time, it’s nice to be able to go a little deeper than talking about the weather or pop culture. Politics is a minefield, now more than ever, and not everyone wants to share the nitty gritty details of their personal lives, so it can be hard to figure out how to have meaningful conversations without making it weird.
Ordinary & Happy offers a list of “reflective topics” that can help improve conversations with anyone of any age. Here are some examples of questions based on their suggestions and some reasons they're so effective.
What’s something you learned this past year?
Who was an influential person in your life last year?
What’s something you accomplished this year that surprised you?
The good thing about looking back over the past year is that the experiences are fairly fresh. A year is a good amount of time to think about because it’s short enough to not be overwhelming but long enough to have had some interesting experiences and learnings.
What’s something you rediscovered a love for?
What’s something or someone you’ve reconnected after a long time?
What’s a place you’ve visited that you really enjoyed?
A twist on reflection, adding a “re” element by asking someone about something they might have forgotten about or disconnected from but found again can be a fun way to think about the previous year a little bit differently. And of course, places we’ve enjoyed visiting is always a solid topic.
What’s something you want to improve on next year?
What’s a goal you have for next year?
What’s something you’re looking forward to next year?
It can be a little tricky to ask people about the future, especially young people who often feel a lot of pressure to have their futures figured out. But on a personal level, we all have things we’re looking forward to as well as intentions for our future, even if we don’t know how it’s all going to play out.
How has your perception of time changed?
Have your values shifted or changed and what prompted it?
What’s something you learned about yourself this year?
These questions offer a way to get to know someone without asking about too-personal topics. Values might be considered personal, but there are a lot of ways to ask people about how the way they see the world or themselves has changed.
These prompts can work in a group or one-on-one conversations.Photo credit: Canva
What do you believe is a key to good communication?
What do you believe is one of the best ways to build trust?
What do you believe the last year taught you about life?
Broadening the questions to more general human experiences rather than focusing them on an individual is a good way to pivot if people seem to feel uncomfortable talking about themselves. The adage “People love to talk about themselves” isn’t always true, but most people will weigh in on a light philosophical question like “What do you think makes someone a good friend?” or “What do you think the world needs more of?”
Anyone can come up with these kinds of reflective questions. A few tips to keep in mind, though:
- Try to avoid words like “favorite” or “best” unless you preface it with “one of.” You don’t want to force people to sort through their thoughts and put them in a particular order. Some people may have one favorite place or memory, but more often than not there are many things that could compete for that title and trying to narrow down one makes people freeze up.
- Stick to universal human experiences. We’ve all discovering things about ourselves and the world all the time, but we’re not all into the same things. “What’s a place that makes you feel peaceful?” works better than “What’s your favorite place to vacation?” Keep questions broad and focused on human characteristics instead of niche experiences people may or may not have had.
- Put questions into your own words. You might not say, "What's one thing you learned this year?" For you, it might be, "Hey, tell me about an interesting learning experience you had this year. What stands out to you?" The more natural the question in your own voice, the better. It's the topic that matters, not the wording.
Happy conversating!
