I love crocheting blankets for my family members. I use a blanket pattern that involves dropped stitches, and the original pattern format a diamond design. This pattern calls for four colors and makes a twin-size blanket. So far to date, I have finished four twin blankets (3 diamond patterns and one diagonal pattern), one throw (zig-zag pattern), and I am currently working on a blanket for my finance (zig-zag pattern). It is the most relaxing hobby that I have. Crocheting allows me to listen to lectures and keep my hands busy so my mind doesn't wander. It also allows me to see my progress as I make it. My sisters got their blankets for Christmas 3 years ago, and they got to pick their colors and pattern. I have since gained a new sister and need to make her one, and I also need to make myself one. Every time I start a new blanket, I discover something else about the process that I love. It is just such an easy hobby to do, and I can take it on the plane with me when I fly home for school breaks!

I hope to encourage young women to believe in themselves, from making an A on an assignment to graduating top of the class, whatever it is. I hope to aspire to young women that no matter what the world throws at you, if you believe in yourself and work hard, then you can do anything from being a stay-at-home mom to running a business! I want to encourage young women that it will take work, a lot of hard work, each step you complete shows yourself and your hater's that you can do what you dream of doing. I also want to encourage women not to confine themselves to one area. It is possible to do more than one thing at a time, but check in on yourself and don't stretch yourself too thin. The biggest thing that I want to remind my mentees of is if you believe in yourself, you are halfway there, and the rest is just application!

My all-time favorite film is Gremlins. It's an older film, but it is my favorite for several reasons. The first one is that it is super funny, and while some might classify it as a horror film, you can see what will happen before it happens. The second reason is that it is so predictable that it makes it more fun when it actually happens. It's almost like I have the ability to predict the future when I watch the movie. The third and final reason why it is my favorite is that my boyfriend took me to see it on our first date. After a 9 mile hike, we sat in an empty movie theater by ourselves, held hands for the first time, and watched Gremlins. We both were still a little nervous around each other, and for some reason, this movie put us at ease. We were laughing the entire time, and after the movie ended, I was pretty sure that this was the man I was going to marry. I don't think I would have given him another date if we hadn't watched this movie and had the experience together.

I have suffered from my mental illness from the day that I was born. Both of my parents also struggle with theirs, along with my older brother. Therapy, medication, and locking ourselves in our rooms are prevalent in my family. Because of this, I strive to spread awareness about mental health while in pharmacy school. Mental Health has actually pushed me into Pharmacy. So many people are willing to go to doctors to talk about their body hurting and take medications to help their body, but they aren't willing to do the same for their minds. To me, saying that "It's all in your head, so it's not real" is the same as saying, "Asthma is in your lungs, so it's not real." Rather silly, but it gets the point across. While talking about Mental health is good, acting on it is even better. I always share my personal story when people ask me if therapy and medication are beneficial. For me, I can say with confidence that I would not be where I am today if not for both of those factors. I have been in therapy since I was 14, and it has improved my self-confidence, allowed me to realize my limitations, and taught me how to control myself and calm myself down when I have a panic attack. I have only been on medication for a year, but my mind is already less cluttered, I am not hyperfocused all of the time, and I can breathe easier. I want to become a psychiatric Pharmacistto to help veterans who have mental illness specifically. Coming back from a war would mess anyone up, but their lives are forever changed. I want them to have a safe person to talk to, who they know cares about them and will fight for them. I want to do everything to reduce veteran suicide statistics, and if I can save one life, I will jump for joy!

The Pandemic taught me that I need to stop taking my family and friends for granted. I learned through a 2-week quarantine that even just being able to hug someone is a blessing. I have stepped back from focusing on my school every second of every day and have taken some time to spend with my family, my boyfriend, and my puppy. According to my classmates, I have become less "walking ball of stress" and more "whatever happens, happens." My Parent's have even noticed a difference in my behavior, how I am not always having to busy and can take time for myself. Overall, the pandemic forced me to take a step back. I have learned what I am capable of doing and that I cannot overload myself. While padding my CV is good, if I never finish Pharmacy School due to overloading myself, it doesn't mean anything. I now live by the phrase "It'll be what It'll be" and just go with the flow. While I still work ahead, I have learned how to have fun no matter what I am doing.

2020 really gave me a run for my money. I was supposed to go on a mission trip to Honduras, but instead, I ended up spending a week at my grandparent's house. I was supposed to return to in-person classes for the rest of school, but instead, I was shipped home to Alaska, where I had to finish my undergraduate experience online and with a 3-hour time difference. I also lost my student worker job due to COVID-19, so I went 8 weeks without any income. I also had to find a new summer job because my waitressing job from the previous year was non-existent due to all of the new restrictions. I learned that I could not expect everything to go according to plan. I believed that I had everything on track to begin pharmacy school, maintain my GPA, and make enough money over the summer to pay for my first year of Pharmacy School without Loans. However, none of that came to pass. Instead, my GPA lowered, I had to take an extra class over the summer to begin Pharmacy school, and I had to take out loans for school. However, I got a job at a pharmacy that I can come back to every summer to help pay for Pharmacy School and get experience simultaneously. I will remember getting to spend Easter with my family for the first time in 2 years. I will remember getting to surprise my mom for mother's day, not by getting off of a plane the day before, but by planning an entire special day for her. I will remember getting to plan a surprise birthday party for my mom for months with my aunt. 2020 taught me to live in the moment and not take anything for granted. It taught me that there is more to life than good grades and that no matter how much I plan my future, there will always be a twist. I am grateful for the experience, and I have taken a step back from controlling every little detail in my life. Instead of worrying this summer about how I will pay for my second year of Pharmacy School, I am going to work, spend time with my family, take a vacation, introduce my boyfriend to my beautiful home of Alaska, and learn to breathe and let go.

In May of 2018, I went on a cruise to Mexico. In Cozumel, Mexico, I had the opportunity to hold a giant lizard and also a parrot. This was scary for me on two levels. First, I wouldn't say I like animals that could easily bite off my hand, and the lizard was huge. Second, I am mildly allergic to birds, and the last time I was around one, I ended up with bronchitis and pink-eye. This was an opportunity for me to overcome my fears of reptiles and birds alike.

Legacy means that people associate your name with a specific quality. For some, their last name is associated with hard work or honesty. For others, their last name is associated with cheaters and thieves. My last name has more than one legacy, depending on where in the world you ask people. In Scotland, the Austin Clan was associated with being thieves and robbers. In Durant, Oklahoma, people know that you will always get an honest answer if you ask an Austin a question. In Homer and Anchor Point, Alaska, the last name Austin is associated with hard work, empathy, and religion, thanks to my Father's and Grandmother's hard work, my Mother's empathy, and my Great-Grandfather's, Grandfather's and Grandmother's, Father's and Mother's spirituality. Talk about big shoes to fill. To me, leaving behind a legacy means leaving behind a chance for your descendants to live up to something. With a good legacy, you want to work to keep it good. With a bad legacy, you want to work to make it good. Either way, it involves work and constant attention. Sometimes, however, having a good legacy often will make someone else in the family feel like a fake because they know that they will never live up to those expectations, but they feel like they will let their family down if they don't. There is more than one kind of valuable legacy. Being a hard worker can be considered a valuable legacy unless you are known for stepping on others to get to the top. Every legacy has a chance to be good or bad; it simply depends on how to achieve it. I think that the legacy that I want to leave behind is one of kindness. I want to be known as the person who always helped, who opened her home and her heart, who never hesitated to reach those who would normally ignore and treat their needs. I want to be known as the strong leader who made changes to the world for the better by simply starting with one small act of kindness to one person.

My biggest artistic ambition is to "blanket the world in love." Put another way, I want to make enough blankets and encourage others to do the same. Every person who needs a blanket, every orphan without a home, every homeless person, every older person in the church, and the nursing homes have a blanket for free. This is a long process, as right now, with school and work, it takes about a year for me to finish crocheting a blanket. I had an idea to start an organization called "Stitched with love," where people could donate blankets that they have made or donate money to buy supplies to make blankets to donate to people. I am still working out the kinks and figuring out how to start it, but that is the goal. I hope that it will encourage those who want to learn how to quilt, crochet, or knit to learn and know that their blanket will go to a good home and help someone in need. Anyone can buy a blanket and donate it, but it takes time to make and donate one. This is my goal and my dream. While I don't have a link to a site yet, I would like to get social media up and eventually donate. I would like to link in orphanages to request blankets, homeless shelters, nursing homes, and churches. I know from experience that having something handmade brings more joy when given than a mass-produced item.

I have had anxiety since I was born; at least, that is what my mom says. I don't remember a time in my life where I wasn't striving to make everything that I did "perfect" or trying to keep busy. It wasn't until I started the undergraduate journey that I realized there was something wrong. In High School, I didn't have to study, and I made all A's. In college, I studied for hours each day and made C's and low B's. I knew that something was wrong because I started losing my drive to get stuff done. I was known in school as the "always on top" person. If an assignment was due, I had already done it and submitted it a week early. I constantly was coming to my professor's office asking questions over material they hadn't covered in the lecture yet but that I had read ahead over. One of my professors said that his school year's goal was "to make you less needing to be in control," to which my friends laughed and told him good luck. When COVID-19 forced me to go home 2 months early, my mental health took a severe hit. For the first time in my life, I had panic attacks every night, which caused me not to get enough sleep, which resulted in me dragging in school, fueling another panic attack. I tried meditation, therapy, even giving myself mental breaks where I would watch a show and crochet or knit to get my mind off of school, but it didn't work. In June of 2020, I finally went to a doctor and got medicated. A month later, when my parents visited me, my dad told my mom, "It looks like she can finally breathe without an issue." I didn't realize that so much of my life was controlled by my anxiety, but now I have more "energy" to enjoy my life without feeling completely stressed out about school. I have become a better sister, daughter, friend, and girlfriend because of finally getting help for my anxiety.

I suffer from mental illness, as does my Mother, Father, and brother. As a result, I understand how people who do not suffer from this type of illness treat those who do. I have become resolved to spread awareness and remove the stigmatism of mental illness. I believe that all people are equal, no matter if they have an illness or not. I strive to look and befriend those who aren't accepted into the "normal" crowd because of their, if you will, disability. Some of the brightest and kindest people have a mental illness, such as Robin Williams, who brought so much joy to the world with his acting. Just because a person doesn't have the best mental health, it doesn't mean that they aren't capable of living a "normal life." In my personal opinion, it is better to have a different view of the world, because you can change issues that others don't even see. I chose to go into Spychaitric Pharmacy in the hopes of helping Veterans and others with mental illness find peace and normalcy in their lives. It is hard to live when you have voices in your head saying that you aren't enough or seeing things that arent really there. If I can change one person's life per year, make it better, and be confident in my job. My real goal would be to change one person's life per day, but that is a heavy load, and I don't think that I could live up to that expectation.