Burnout and passion fatigue are very real issues that students, especially those with a degree in a mental health concentration experience. Many of us think it won't happen to us until it does. It is bound to happen, being in a profession where we are always working to help others. But that's what we want to do, right? We want to help people. Then why does it become so hard to focus on ourselves? One's own mental health is so important, especially when pursuing a career as impactful as social work. Yes, we help people, but we can't help others if we can't help ourselves. I am currently in my senior year of my social work undergraduate program. I have always had a passion for psychology, social work, and advocacy. I always knew my future was to help people, even before I knew exactly what I wanted that to look like. I completed my associates degree in psychology a month before I graduated high school, and I am currently pursing my bachelors in social work at Siena College. I wish to complete my masters degree and licensure in social work in New York State. I have always kept busy with projects benefiting the community. I have done advocacy projects through Tedx Talks, empathy projects, and many volunteer and internship projects throughout my high school and college years. It all started in middle school when I gave a Tedx Talk at the age of 13 about perfectionism and how to break away from habits that control your life. Even at such a young age, I wanted to help guide people to lead a more healthy mental lifestyle. I did an Empathy project on gender roles and the stigmatism behind being male and female. In high school, I started volunteering at Proctors Collaborative. To this day, I still volunteer there. I completed a 50 hour internship at Siena College through their mentoring program, where I taught social-emotional and life skills to children, worked with the administrative team, and helped create a change in partnership. Additionally, I helped lead to orient multiple fundraisers for Alzheimer's and suicide awareness, raising thousands of dollars towards their organizations. At the beginning of September, I began working to complete a 400 hour internship with Northern Rivers in Schenectady and Albany Health Homes working with clients aged 0-21. We help clients find their own voices, and feel empowered with the services they decide to take part in as a part of our program. I would like to work as a school social worker or as an intake and referral manager. Siena's program is helping prepare me to work in micro, mezzo, and macro settings, helping people from every background. I wish to run my own social work practice one day, employing social workers from diverse backgrounds, especially recent graduates who are looking to find a place to begin their careers of helping future and present generations. Focusing on one's own mental health is a huge part of success in the educational and professional fields. As students, it is hard not to push ourselves beyond our own limitations. Learning what these look like for ourselves is very hard; that is where we learn to look out for each other. It's the little reminders to take care of yourself and drink water that the students in Siena's social work program send out. We all look out for each other, and it honestly just makes every moment so worth it. Knowing we come out of this program with so many friends, collogues, and opportunities.

I majored in psychology for my associates degree while still in high school, transferring to a 4-year college and majoring in social work. As a senior undergraduate student, I am hoping to continue my education and begin my masters in fall 25' after graduating this may. I have held many volunteer and internship positions throughout the years. I completed a 50 hour internship last spring at Siena College through the mentoring program. I held an administrative role and oriented activities to teach children 5-15 life and social emotional skills. I also helped the program change partnership, ending a negative partnership and connecting with other organizations within the community. I have decided to continue with the program as a volunteer this academic year. Additionally, last year I help orient a Walk to End Alzheimer's, raising thousands of dollars in just a week leading up to the walk working alongside my peers. This walk was very successful; hundreds of people showed up to support the cause, and all the funds went to the Alzheimer's association. Currently, I am in the process of completing a 400 hour senior internship placement with Northern Rivers Health Homes. Here, we assist thousands of people to find themselves and empower them to be advocates. This scholarship will help fund my further studies as I go on to complete a masters degree in social work.

I started my endeavors to help other at the age of 13. As soon as I was old enough to enter the workforce as a volunteer, I was already beginning to find my passion to help others. At 13, I volunteered at an after school program. This is where I learned a lot of my early professional communication skills, but also where I learned I love helping others. At 15, I started taking college courses, majoring in psychology. Upon graduating both high school and a 2-year college in May 2023, I decided that psychology did not have enough of the communication and direct line of help and support I was looking to offer to the world. I transferred to Siena College in September 2023, majoring in social work. This is where I began finding all of my volunteer and internship placements that I still work with today. My first volunteer program outside of high school was with Proctors Collaborative. Here, I was able to help individuals, couples, and families alike enjoy their time out of the house. I still volunteer there to this day; I love getting to put a smile on my face and make sure that everyone is supported in the ways they need. In January 2024, I started a 50 hour internship at Siena. I partnered with the Mentoring Program on campus. During this program, I was able to help children 5-15 learn social emotional and life skills. I learned so much from this placement, and I was able to support the program from a new point of view that they had never had before. Many of the people involved in the program are students and staff at Siena, however, they had never had a social work student with an administrative role. I was able to bring my knowledge from classes, and ended up helping the program transition into a new partnership, which is something they have never attempted to do before. Even now that my internship is over, I have stayed with the program as a volunteer, and have been able to see the program continue to grow even without my presence, and to me, that is the biggest win; that the program is flourishing even after I left my administrative position. Now, as a senior social work student, I have had the amazing opportunity to complete a 400 hour internship with Northern Rivers Family Services. I have merely just started, but this has been one of the most empowering moments of my life. I am directly getting to help children 0-21 navigate through the hardest times. I get to be there for them as a supporter, but also as a resource, guiding them to the correct services to help them be their best selves. I am thrilled to have this opportunity, and I cannot wait to continue to help positively impact the lives of so many people.

I am going into my senior year of my social work undergraduate program. I have always had a passion for psychology, social work, and advocacy. I always knew my future was to help people, even before I knew exactly what I wanted that to look like. I completed my associates degree in psychology a month before I graduated high school, and I am currently pursing my bachelors in social work at Siena College. I wish to complete my masters degree and licensure in social work in New York State. I have always kept busy with projects benefitting the community. I have done advocacy projects through Tedx Talks in middle school, Empathy projects on YouTube in high school, and many volunteer and internship projects throughout my high school and college years. It all started in middle school when I gave a Tedx Talk at the age of 13 about perfectionism and how to break away from habits that control your life. Even at such a young age, I wanted to help guide people to lead a more healthy mental lifestyle. I did an Empathy project on gender roles and the stigmatism behind being male and female. In high school, I started volunteering at Proctors, where 90% of their staff are volunteers. To this day, I still volunteer there. I completed a 50 hour internship at Siena College through their mentoring program, where I taught social emotional and life skills to children, worked with the administrative team, and helped create a change in partnership. Additionally, I helped lead and orient multiple fundraisers for Alzheimer's and suicide awareness, raising thousands of dollars towards their organizations. Beginning in September, I will complete a 400 hour internship with Northern Rivers Schenectady and Albany counties as a home care social worker with clients aged 0-21. I'm not sure exactly where my future will lead me or the populations I will end up supporting, but I know I plan on attending school for my master's in social work and my licensure. I would like to work as a school social worker or as an intake and referral manager. Siena's program is helping prepare me to work in micro, mezzo, and macro settings, helping people from every background. I wish to run my own social work practice one day, employing social workers from diverse backgrounds, especially recent graduates who are looking to find a place to begin their careers of helping future and present generations.

I took my first college course at the age of 15 while in high school. My first course was psychology. To say I loved it would be an understatement. I began taking full semesters of college toward my associates in arts with a psychology concentration. I graduated college in May 2023, one month before I graduated high school. During my search for transfer schools, I made the realization that while psychology was my passion, social work was my future. I transferred to Siena College for the Fall 23' semester where I began my studies toward my bachelors in social work. I met the amazing professors that I came to love, along with all of the students who I consider some of my closest friends and advocacy partners now. As a class, we have organized many advocacy and fundraising opportunities. We held a Walk to End Alzheimer's; our class of 26 students raised over $1,000 in just 5 days together. We hosted thousands of participants who walked with us for the cause. Additionally, we held a Suicide Awareness Walk, raising just over $2,000 among the weeks leading up to the walk. All of our funds went to the appropriate associations. I just completed a 50 hour internship through Siena College teaching children aged 5-15 social emotional and life skills. We were partnered with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, however, together both my supervisor and myself branched off to create our own program for the upcoming fall semester partnered with the Boys and Girls Club. Administration will run 100% through student volunteers and staff at Siena, with our kids coming from the Boys and Girls Club. With my internship coming to an end last May, I decided to continue as a volunteer with the program to create lasting relationships and change in the program. My goal as a social worker is to either work in a school, or as an intake and referral manager. I hope to work with children, teens, and adults from diverse backgrounds. My internship for my senior year will be through Northern Rivers Albany and Schenectady counties. During my 400 hour internship, I will work with people aged 0-21 as a home care social worker. One day, I hope to run my own social work practice, employing new social workers from every background, especially those coming right out of college who may have a hard time finding a place to begin. This scholarship will help fund a future social worker hoping to impact children and adults of the future. Not only do I plan to do social work on the micro level, but through Siena's program, I will be eligible to work in micro, mezzo, and macro settings as a general social worker. I am hoping to participate and run many advocacy programs throughout my career.

Over the years, therapy has become a job that is in such high demand. However, haven't we learned that conversational therapy isn't for everyone? Haven't we learned from the rise in deaths by suicide that not everyone was given an outlet that worked for them? Art therapy is a crossover of conversational therapy and creativity. It gives an outlet to those who can't express their feelings in words. My goal for the future is to give people of all ages a chance to live the life they deserve without being affected by mental health disorders by allowing them a non-traditional way of expressing emotions, trauma, and challenges. I am 16. I'm a senior in high school and completing an early college program through my high school. I have been working for the past year and a half to complete my associates degree in psychology, all while completing my high school courses. Now, I will be graduating from both high school and college in the spring. It has not been easy by any means. I have had mental breakdown after mental breakdown, and my high school teachers have heard me complain about my college courses time and time again. Still, I have managed to push through, and stronger than ever at that, holding a GPA of a 4.1 in high school and a 3.97 in college. I have been looking at transfer colleges for a while now, weighing the pros and cons of each. I think I have finally managed to find a couple I am really interested in, and I've already begun the application process and looking at their degree programs. At the moment, I want to double major in psychology and social work for my bachelor's degree and take it all the way through to a master's. There is a local art therapy business where I live called CREATE that I really would like to apply to once I receive my associates, since I'm required to have one to apply. It's never easy to reach our goals; we have to stick with them to the very end to see them happen, even through all of the challenges. Overcoming those challenges to see myself at the end-point helping so many people and having a job I love is my motivation. I know it won't be easy, and I know there will always be people telling me that I'm going into a difficult and competitive field that I will never do well in, but I'm ready to show those people they are wrong. I'm ready fight for the lives of all people in need of help. I'm ready to give them a chance.

Space out your work throughout the week for all of your classes and do the one subject you do not want to do first. Doing your least favorite subject first will make the other subjects a breeze to get through. Spacing your work out not only stops procrastination, but will make homework seem like less of a chore. If you have math and English homework (for the sake of the example say you have 30 math problems and 40 pages of reading due on Friday), Monday and Wednesday, do 15 math problems, and Tuesday and Thursday, do 20 pages of reading. It will feel like you aren't doing as much work, and you are completing it in a timely manner before the due date. Instagram: adriana110305

I wouldn't have made it through middle school and high school without my best friends. Two little dogs changed the outcome of so many situations that could have ended in an emotional breakdown. We got my dog Tiva when I was 7. She was my shoulder to cry on and the best advice giver I could ever have asked for. She gave birth to 9 puppies. One of them, Lexi, was my other dog. She was the energetic dog of the two. She was the best cheerleader when I needed her to be. Tiva and Lexi were there for me through so many milestones in my life: a school change, going into middle school, going through my cheesy middle school breakup, going into high school, and meeting my best friend. After years of having a playful, loving dog, Tiva stopped eating, and we knew something was wrong. We took her to the vet and were told she had an infection in her uterus. We had the option of getting a surgery, but were told the infection was likely to come back and it would just put her in more pain. I cried for days, knowing we were going to have to put her down because she was in pain that wouldn't go away. I cuddled with her for as long as I could, giving her all the treats she was willing to try to eat. When the vet called with their availability, I was devastated to hear their only open date was on Tiva's 10th birthday. I cried for weeks after she was put down, and still do sometimes even though it's been over a year. She will be missing so much I hoped she'd be around to see. She missed meeting my boyfriend, she will miss my high school and college graduation, and so much more. Lexi was so sad after her mother died. She needed another dog; she was the kind of dog that couldn't live without other interactions between dogs. She was always energetic, but that stopped after her mom died. We decided it would be best for her to have some friends, but didn't have the availability to care for another dog. A year after Tiva passed, we gave Lexi to a family friend who owned several other dogs. She immediately perked up. She was so happy to be surrounded by some friends again. It was sad to let her go, but I know she is in good hands and that I can see her whenever I like. My dogs were and still are my emotional support. Even though one has passed and the other has found some new friends to live with, I know in my heart that they will always be there to support and comfort me. I think about them both constantly, and I love when their pictures come up in my flashbacks. I miss them with all my heart, but I know that they are having the time of their lives. And that makes me happy.

Tangled is the best Disney movie. Between the songs, plot, and characters, it is by far the most interesting and fun movie. I would be stuck between choosing my favorite character; I love both Rapunzel and Pascal. Rapunzel, the main character with the tragic backstory and trying to improve her way of living by trusting both the wrong and the right people. Pascal, the funny side kick who has a love for hide and seek and giving Rapunzel his very opinionated thoughts through just one look. Rapunzel has her funny moments, just as Pascal does. She hits Flynn with a frying pan and sings about her dreams with the Pub Thugs (as they are allegedly named by the director). On the contrary, she has those sad and scary moments that make the viewer fall in love with her character even more. She is stolen as a child and kept locked in a tower for 18 years, she almost drowns, and she gets betrayed by the person who she once called her mother. Pascal is he little devil on Rapunzel's shoulder, reminding her of what is a good decision and what is a bad decision. He helps Rapunzel figure out the true intentions of the intruder in the tower, Flynn, befriends Maximus, the horse, and never leaves Rapunzel's side throughout the movie. Both of the characters really have their moments that make an audience love them. I think that without Disney movies, I wouldn't have grown into the brave, compassionate person I am. Without Rapunzel and Pascal as my role models of the characteristics that are good to develop and use, I wouldn't have such ambitious goals like I do today. Maybe it's silly to call a character my role model in life. But who are we kidding if we say we didn't look up to a character in a movie or book growing up. We all have that one character that will never disappoint us, that we will never lose our love for. Rapunzel and Pascal are those characters for me.

It isn't easy. It's not easy to maintain a balance between school and your health. Being a perfectionist, I think I tend to struggle more than most with that balance. I focus intently on my school work, striving to always be the best and have the top grade. My health does tend to suffer for this. Over the years, I have come to learn myself. I have come to learn the ways I can do well in school and be healthy. I have struggled with my mental health from a young age. Unnoticeably at first, but it only grew with age. As I said, I am a perfectionist. I have given a TEDx Talk about it with my school. I struggled to complete it, feeling as though it wasn't right. My English teacher took my draft and changed it completely. I felt as though the words speaking about my experience with perfectionism weren't even my own. This was the year that my anxiety spiked. I have struggled immensely with anxiety ever since. I won't lie, I'm not the most active person. Some days it's a fight with myself to even leave my bed; Netflix and sleep just seems to call to me more than going for a run. Once high school began, I wasn't as active. I feel that had to do with the fact that I was so focused on completing school work that I just didn't have the time for much else. Between work and school, my physical health didn't seem all that important. Where to begin with nutritional health. I have struggled with being overweight, underweight, eating too much, eating too little, all the stops. I still struggle to remind myself that eating enough healthy foods is what is going to fuel me through the long days. Still, with all my difficulties, I am here. Happy and healthy, and still doing well with my academics. Through all of the tough days and all of the amazing ones, there are ways I have come to learn help me maintain this balance between school and my health. Now that you understand more about me as a person, struggles included, I think my balance will make more sense. I talk to friends. So much that people tell me they are "distractions" to my life as a student. But are they "distractions" to school, or are they the benefactors to my life. My friends have helped me so much; reminding me to eat, going out to do things with me just to make sure I get moving and out of my own head. Even listening to me read the same essay over and over again to them until I think it is perfect enough to turn in. I have also turned to music. I blast music in my room constantly. It's a home away from home. Something that I can put my mind on. I take frequent breaks from my school work to ensure that my brain doesn't feel like it's melting like it often does when I work on homework for too long. I love schedules. I love to space out homework assignments, splitting them up between multiple days util the due date. It helps me to not frantically try and finish things last minute, or complete them so early that there are many mistakes and forget to look after my health. I believe I have found the balance that is perfect for me. And while these techniques may not make since to some people, they make since to me.

Math has always been a subject that comes easy to me. I was doing college level math by the time I hit high school. It was never about being ahead for me. It was about learning new things I was passionate about. Every math teacher I've had since middle school would vouch for me in the fact that I always asked for more work. I was never satisfied with what we were learning; I wanted more. Math is a hobby for me. In middle school, I used to play Prodigy in my free time. Prodigy is similar to a Pokémon game where characters fight to win, except they are wizards in training. The way you fight was by answering math questions. I remember when I set up that account it asked me what my math level was. I put two grade levels above where I was because I was feeling ambitious. I began to play, and I had to use the hints or examples frequently. I didn't quite understand the math yet, but I was getting there. After a few problems, it all clicked. I began to understand what I thought would be impossible for me to understand. Now, not having a lot of free time, I only do math when I am required to. I still constantly think about doing math even when I don't have to. I take every opportunity to in fact. My little brother is in middle school. Math is always a subject he's struggled with. I help him with his math homework, guiding him on how to answer without actually doing it for him. While my career goals don't have to do with math, I've always wanted a side job where I tutor middle and high school math. I've thought about doing that since middle school. While most kids say they will babysit for some extra cash, I have wanted to be a math tutor. If you're not convinced of my love for math by this point, then consider this. I have kept all my math notes from high school. They are sitting in a drawer unused. I thought by keeping them, if I ever needed to look back to remember how to do something, I would have them. If I ever needed a little something extra to guide kids that I plan to tutor in the future, I have them.

I have always believed in the impractical. In fact, my entire life thus far has been dependent on that factor. I am currently a high school senior, but I am enrolled in an early college program through my high school. I have been working to complete both my high school diploma and my associates degree by spring 2023. I have always been hyper-focused on my school work. I strive to be the best in all academic subjects. Learning new things has piqued my interest for a number of years. Despite the rare findings of people who enjoy math, I am one of those people. I love learning all new kinds of math. I dabbled in algebra, geometry, and statistics. And while chemistry is considered a science, I consider it a math because of how math-heavy of a course it is. I am majoring in psychology at Schenectady County Community College. That is another topic I love learning about. The brain works in mysterious ways, and it is just so fascinating to learn about. I have always been told to choose a more practical major. I have been told "just major in business. It's useful and easy!" Yet, I chose to continue on a path that I find intriguing and fun to learn about. It is important to me to be able to help people with my career. I want to prove all the people who have told me my major is a waste of time along my learning path wrong. I want to show them there is value in learning things that interest you. I want to show them that even the most "impractical" things can be practical. I consider psychology an ever-growing and ever-changing subject. There is always more to be learned and always information being expanded upon. I truly believe that this education and career path will allow me to continue learning throughout my entire life. It will pique my interest just enough for me to want to learn even when I am not being required to. Not only will I want to continue learning, but it will also help me in my career. I will always need to be caught up with psychological information to properly inform people I work with of the correct information. I always hope that even the most practical of people find their impractical subject to continue to learn about throughout their lives.

Brothers The smell— Putrid. Little brother, Why are you Physically, Mentally, Utterly, COMPLETELY, Uncapable of cleaning?! Your room swarming with flies; Flies dying from the smell, The smell of dying fish That you find decorating your wall; Paper you've grown to love Since you were small. Dying fish, Mixed and minced With that milkshake, The one you claim not to have liked, That has sat on your desk, Spilled and spoiled For over a week. And that bed; The one of fish and leaves, Made to match your walls. It is oh so small for your growing body. That growing body that smells; The pits of your room gagging Of the lack of deodorant. Laundry... LAUNDRY? You mean the thing You were supposed to do a month ago. The things that liter your room, Worn 5 times each. 5 times a person died. 5. That's how many noses you've killed By the stench you reek From your... Wait a minute. I'll make a list. Reasons my little brother has killed noses: Uncleanliness, Stink, Flies! (lots of them), Dying fish— If you wanted your wallpaper to live, you should have cleaned— Milkshakes, spilled and spoiled on that desk, The bed: the one of ever-growing stains That can't match your ever-growing body, UGH, your body. The one that smells so bad, everyone gags, And the clothes you wear DON'T help. The ones that liter your room, Worn 5 times round, Flipped and turned around. You do know turning a shirt inside out doesn't make it smell any better right? 5 times you've been yelled at to clean. 5 times you've been told you stink. (Probably more, but who's counting anyways. Me. I'm counting) 5 times 100 flies have infiltrated your room— like I said, a lot of flies. 5 times you've killed each and every fish on your walls. 5 times you've spilt milkshakes that you don't even like. 5 times the size of your body than the size of your bed. (Seriously, you need a new bed dude) 5 times the amount of people you make gag each day. 5 times you've worn those clothes. 5 TIMES! Little brother, Mother says Clean.

Everyone has a different definition of a healthy lifestyle. For some, it's diets and exercise, and for others, it's mediation and stress-relief. For me, a healthy lifestyle is a balance between physical health and mental health. Why lead a physically healthy life if it costs you your mental health? Why lead a mentally healthy life if it costs you your physical health? There needs to be a balance. My life goals of having a career in the social work field promote these values. I want to have that balance for myself. It takes the stress away, and makes me a more optimistic and positive person. I strive to be able to help others achieve this same balance that changed my life.

My passion is art. Yes, a typical hobby or passion that most people say they like. However, I like a specific branch of art: crocheting. My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was 8 years old. Learning it then, I didn't think it would have such a big influence on who I am today and where I would like to be in the future. I stuck with it for about a year before abandoning it like most children do, trying a new hobby and dropping it like it never existed in their life after a short period of time. It wasn't until COVID-19 had me stuck inside with nothing but myself and my surroundings to keep me company that I dabbled in crochet again. I started right back where I left off: a mere beginner that truly had no idea what on earth they were doing. I was attempting to make a small turtle for my grandmother's birthday. She had been struggling with arthritis for some time and wasn't able to crochet anymore. It looked nothing like what it was supposed to; I used all the wrong materials, and ended up trying to sew in the ends of my yarn without a needle. It was pretty much falling apart. Still, I wanted to make her happy by showing her that I was pursuing her passion. I quickly found it becoming my own passion. My grandmother gave me all the yarn and crochet materials she had built up over the last 40+ years. I was overwhelmed to say the least. But I kept practicing, and I kept creating. I've gotten better and better over these 2 short years. I've gone from barely being able to crochet a straight line to making shirts and stuffed animals. Recently, I have taken a leap of faith; I put my creations online in attempt of selling them. I've always been terrified to even try, scared that I will be shot down and rejected, never making a profit. Nevertheless, I have overcome that fear enough to make an effort and to try the things I am afraid of. Since this was a recent decision, I have only uploaded my art a couple days ago, and haven't sold anything yet. I am determined to sell my art, and keep creating things that will make others smile, maybe even spark a new-found passion in themselves. Crocheting was also the determining factor in my career path I chose to pursue. I have known since I was 13 that I wanted to help people in my career. I have debated therapy, social work, mental health advocacy, and eventually landed on psychology as a nice compromise to be able to do all of those things at the same time. I have high goals for myself, and at 16, about to complete my senior year by spring 2023, as well as my associates degree, I know where I want my future to be. I want to be an art therapist, a career that I wasn't aware of until last year. When I told my college advisor my interests and mentioned art, crocheting, and psychology, she told me that I should look into art therapy. Now, I strive to get to that career in my near future, as well as maintaining a side business where I am able to bring a smile to people's faces with my crochet pieces. This is a journey that I started when I 8, and one I intend to complete.

Each individual has their own qualities and characteristics that makes them who they are. There is that one defining quality that truly relays who a person is and where they stand in light of their future. Whether it be determination, kindness, advocacy, or loyalty, people stay true to who they are, their opinions, and their goals. I hold onto determination and ambition. I have extremely high standards for myself; that can be a blessing and a curse. Academics, extracurriculars, jobs, you name it; I want to be at the top and known for my resilience and reliance to do the best job possible. My determination is my most valued quality in myself. It has helped me apply and get hired for jobs, maintain high grades throughout high school, and sustain a near perfect GPA in college thus far. Unfortunately, every quality has its negative side. My determination has caused me so much stress over the years; the thought of getting a bad grade or being late has driven my mind to believe I will never be able to do the things I strive for. Determination deceives my mind into thinking the little things will hinder me from reaching my goals, or that it will ruin all I had in store for my future. In spite of the negative parts to this quality, the positive ones tend to shine through when they are needed most. Every person’s life journey is never set in stone. Decisions and choices are these little things in life that change our future, the people we become, and the things we do. I know what I want for my future, but getting there is a whole different story. Nevertheless, I have my determination, and I have my ambition. They keep me going and give me hope. I would like to be an art therapist and eventually run my own art therapy business. At the age of 16, I know this can be a reach, but I have hope and dedication. I am going to be a high school senior come fall 2022. I am also taking college courses that will make it possible for me to receive my associates degree by the end of this coming school year (spring 2023). The only thing that made this possible is my determination. I have been kicked down, and I have been told to stop trying, but I never stopped. I never gave up.