Project Climbing Everest Scholarship

Growing up, I always felt that my childhood wasn't the best due to my parents having me at a young age and having a lack of parenting skills. I have experienced many traumas such as neglect, physical, verbal, and mental abuse. I have witnessed both of my parents going through mental health issues. My mother is a single parent of two including myself and my brother who was diagnosed with Autism at the age of three. I played a big role in his life and would spend most of my time raising him and catering to his needs. My father was very active in my early life, however, he became severely isolated and depressed after his Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis. These traumas led me to become consistently stressed out, frustrated, and depressed which caused many inconveniences with schooling, relationships, and my self-esteem. I would continuously feel like I had no time for myself and too many responsibilities for others. I had thoughts of suicide and went as far as multiple suicidal attempts. I became more isolated from the world to the point that I decided to complete my high school career virtually. It made me reach my breaking point and resulted in me being admitted to the hospital and consulted with mental health professionals. While admitted, I was diagnosed with severe depression, ADHD and anxiety disorder. I worked closely with various professionals and they helped me understand and learn to develop strategies to deal with my mental health issues. Eventually, with therapy, I began to see things in a different perspective. While admitted to an outpatient therapy program, I made many friends who had similar stories and realized that I was not alone in my struggles. My encounters with various mental health professionals inspired me to set goals and make promises to myself to take control of my life for the better. I believe that I should be awarded this scholarship because I finally found my purpose in life which is to take back control of my life and help other people like myself who are experiencing mental health crises. This scholarship will allow me to become one step closer to starting my journey of going to school to study Psychology and pursue my passion for becoming a Mental Health Professional with a focus on children and adolescents. I have been through many struggles which helped me realize that no matter what I have been through, I was able to conquer patience, fight the stigmas on mental health, and continue to support others. I am excited for this new journey of actually being in a classroom setting, getting to know my peers, and creating my own future organizations.