My life was once dark and very lonely. Waking up every day felt impossible. Going to a school where I felt unwanted and invisible was a living hell. I felt utterly and completely alone. Through therapy, lots of support from my parents, and even medication to help a chemical imbalance, I am still here. I remember there were days when I would sit on the couch in the therapy room and read the chart of emotions going over and over how I felt abandoned and forgotten. I remember there were days when I would cry for a whole hour and sometimes I wasn't even sure what I was crying about. Then there were days when we did activities that made so much sense in my head. I could feel my brain working to make sense of and organize the trainwreck whirlwind of thoughts inside my head. I remember when I finally felt a change. I walked into therapy and I only had good things to talk about. I didn't feel so abandoned and alone. I knew I had people who wanted me here and cared about my well-being. I wasn't invisible. I remember one of the last therapy sessions I went to. I asked my therapist what her degree was. She told me she was a marriage/family therapist and she was going back to school to get a degree in play therapy. Play therapy caught my attention. I have always wanted to work with children, but teaching became less and less appealing. I researched play therapy and the idea of helping children process trauma to avoid issues later in life. I knew right then, I wanted to become a play therapist and help children. Fast forward to my medical forensics classroom as a junior in high school. I am researching serial killers and the events in their life that led up to their killing sprees. We talked about precursors and childhood trauma. It all clicked. I want to be a play therapist who helps children process trauma so that they don't develop unhealthy habits and potentially become serial killers. It mixes the two things I am most passionate about into one incredible and extremely fulfilling career. Most of all I want to be a force for good. I know that the world of mental health is only going to get crazier but I want to be a force for good. Maybe someday I will be giving TED talks on how I have changed the world.

During my Freshman and Sophomore years of high school, I did not want to live anymore. I felt so alone and worthless. I felt that no one loved me and that I was invisible. I stopped caring about school and my grades plummeted. My mom and I were always fighting and it made things that much worse. I had accepted the deep dark depression and stopped fighting. I felt that the only way out was to end my life. I had a friend who noticed I was struggling and reported it to a teacher. I was put on a watch list and started to meet with the school psychologist and therapy dog. My mom got involved and I was put into therapy. I was always really hesitant to start therapy because I did not want to admit that I could not get through it on my own. The first 6 months of being in therapy were still really hard. I worked with both my mom and my therapist to improve our relationship while improving my mental health. None of it was easy and I have never done anything so hard in my life. I was normally the happy girl who listened to everybody else's problems and help them out. Which was part of why I didn't want to ask for help. But finally, I was accepting the help and I wanted to try and get better. I wanted to have a better relationship with my mom and I wanted out of the depression. My therapist recommended I go on medication and I started on an antidepressant. Things slowly, slowly got better. I was able to regulate my emotions and not feel so hopeless all the time. For Christmas and my birthday that year, I asked my parents for a dog because the therapy dog at my school helped me so much on bad days. It took lots and lots of convincing but I ended up with a puppy that gave me purpose. Even on the dark days when I didn't want to get out of bed, I had to because this tiny puppy needed to go outside and needed food. I had something relying on me to survive and it got me up and going on the hardest of days. I was the only one responsible for training my dog and it became my life. Every day I would get up and take care of my dog and then come home from school and work hard with him to train him and teach him the different rules of our house. He learned fast and it was rewarding for me to see hard work pay off. Between medication, hard work in therapy, my dog, and retraining my brain, I was able to overcome the depression and anxiety that had such a strong hold on me. It has now impacted my relationships because I am always trying to look out for people who may be in a similar spot to where I was 2 years ago. I have learned how to ask for help and my relationships are healthier because of it. I am not a quitter anymore. When things get tough I buckle up and work through it. My mom has been my rock and we get through the hard things hand in hand. I could not have gotten through any of it without her. We face the hard things strong and head-on.

On the field, it's game time. I am focused on the ball and how as a defender I can keep the ball out of the goal. As team captain of the Skyridge Lacrosse team, it is my job to lead the girls to a successful season. Success in sports doesn't have to mean taking home a state championship, although that would be incredible, it means overall improvement and bettering of the players as athletes and as people. It means holding high standards at practice of commitment levels, language, respect for all aspects of the sport, and 100% effort at all times. Our motto this year is "Stay Humble, Stay Hungry". We run onto the field ready to play our hardest regardless of the standings of our opponents. We are always looking for the next move, next play, next goal. We don't let success go to our heads and always play each game like it could be our last. After a game, we learn from our mistakes and collectively work towards improvement in the next game. Both wins and losses are learned from and than forgotten. Commitment to lacrosse involves respect. Playing lacrosse is a privilege and should be treated as such. All equipment, players, coaches, refs, and opponents are respected and treated with gratitude. Commitment to the sport means practice every day and striving in everything I do to become a better person. Commitment means showing up to practice early and ready to work hard. Commitment means building each other up to ensure a community that is enjoyable for all. Commitment means pushing myself and others to be the best that we can be in drills, practices, scrimmages, games, and in life. Discipline means enforcing a code of conduct and holding accountability. As a captain, I model discipline and commitment to prove to myself and others that I can be relied on. I model discipline so that I can focus my actions on bettering myself. The hardest part of discipline for me is a healthy mindset. I have to hold my self to a strict code of conduct to become the best version of me. Judgmental and self-destructive thoughts can be common when I miss a ground ball, or when I am a half step behind a fast break. Part of discipline for me is stopping the negative commentary, and replacing it with motivation to improve. The happenings off of the field can be just as important as on the field. I build a community of friends that can rely on each other. I get together for shooting practice and wall ball. I check in when a teammate is having a rough time. I am working tirelessly to build a team that has each others backs no matter the situation. Lacrosse has taught me so much. It has given me the opportunity to build a community, to make lifelong friends, and to build habits that will last me a lifetime. I love the sport and the commitment that comes with it. Stay Humble, Stay Hungry!

My life was once dark and very lonely. Waking up everyday felt impossible. Going to school where I felt unwanted and invisible was living hell. I felt utterly and completely alone. Through therapy, lots of support from my parents, and even medication to help a chemical imbalance, I am still here. I remember there were days where I would sit on the couch in the therapy room and read the chart of emotions going over and over how I felt abandoned and forgotten. I remember there were days where I would cry for the whole hour and sometimes I wasn't even sure what I was crying about. Than there were days where we did activities that made so much sense in my head. I could feel my brain working to making sense of and organize the train wreck whirlwind of thoughts inside my head. I remember when I finally felt a change. I walked into therapy and I only had good things to talk about. I didn't feel so abandoned and alone. I knew I had people who wanted me here and cared about my well being. I wasn't invisible. I remember one of the last therapy sessions I went to. I asked my therapist what her degree was. She told me she was a marriage/family therapist and she was going back to school to get a degree in play therapy. Play therapy caught my attention. I have always wanted to work with children, but teaching became less and less appealing. I researched play therapy and the idea of helping children processing trauma to avoid issues later in life. I knew right than, I wanted to become a play therapist and to help children. Fast forward to my medical forensics classroom as a junior in high school. I am researching serial killers and the events in their life that led up to their killing sprees. We talked about precursors and childhood trauma. It all clicked. I want to be a play therapist who helps children process trauma so that they don't develop unhealthy habits and potentially become serial killers. It mixes the two things I am most passionate about into one incredible and extremely fulfilling career. Most of all I want to be a force for good. I know that the world of mental health is only going to get crazier but I want to be a force for good. Maybe some day I will be giving TED talks on how I have changed the world.

As someone who has dealt with a wide variety of mental illnesses, it has become increasingly more important for me to learn about my mental health and how I can take care of it. My dog has changed the game for me and helped to me to stay in a healthy mind space. I had been asking for a dog for 17 years. There was multiple times when I got really close to convincing my parents but it never worked out. 3 months before my birthday, I was in therapy for several different mental health needs. I was also seeing a school counselor who had a therapy dog named Trigger. If I was having a rough day, I could go to his office and sit on the floor and pet Trigger. 5 minutes petting the happy black lab and my day was already on track to be better. I started looking into getting a dog more seriously than ever before. So we ended up with a puppy. It was my job to train my new puppy. We started working on sit, stay, and come from the moment we got home. He was so smart. By day two he was following basic commands and knew to stay in his crate and not whine at night. 1 month later he was potty trained. I put so much time and energy into training this dog. My mental state was incredibly improved. I had a reason to get up in the morning. I had a purpose. I had something depending on me to keep it alive. He became my best friend and cuddles and kisses from him could calm me down instantly. I knew I had found my best friend. My mental health is so important. If I am not in the right head space, even basic things like getting out of bed in the morning seem so hard. If I am to be a successful entrepreneur and mom some day, I need to be able to get out of bed, go to school, get good grades, so that I can have the opportunities to put me on the path I want to be on. My mental health is important to me because when I am happy I can help others be happy as well. It is my life goal to help people who are struggling to find hope find the happiness and good mental health they need to have a healthy life. To maintain my mental health and wellness I go find social connection. Taking my dog to the dog park and discussing with other dog owners the joys that come from dogs is good for my mental sate. I take my dogs on runs to get me the exercise and endorphins and just to spend time with him. I will train my dog new tricks and commands and see the success he has which gives me a sense of fulfillment. My dog needs me and I need him. My mental health is so much better when I feel needed.