My passions include music and being a kind and thoughtful individual. I think that if there were more kindness in the world that people would have more good days. At the end of the day, I want people to experience life to the fullest because there was a time where I couldn't stand to get up and face the challenges of the day. I was diagnosed with Major Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Anxiety when I was 17- after spending years convincing my parents I needed professional help. Through these diagnosis' I have found the person I was meant to become- a helper. While I know I don't have the power to make someone better, I have the power to be there for them when they need. I have the power to love and support them through the adversities and obstacles life will throw at them. It might not be the biggest more revolutionary thing, but it sure is something. Music on the other had is a way I self-sooth and explore myself. I spend countless hours a week discovering new music in hopes of finding just one song that really resonates. There is something beautiful in being understood, and I find the best understandings come from music. When I don't know what to feel, I will go out of my way to find a song that does. Sometimes it's just a matter of feeling seen. I don't know where I would be if I didn't have music in my life, but I know I would be very different. As far as the future, I hope to become a physical therapist. I thought long and hard about whether or not it would be the right career for me, and I have come to the conclusion that it is the perfect fit for me. I've always had a passion for massage therapy, and while different, you get to see the progress your clients make thanks to you, and that is something I want to experience. My brother, Diego, is currently in physical therapy because of Guillain Barré. I asked him the last time I went to visit him what he misses most about his old life and he told me "I miss being able to walk on my own." This was a heartbreaking sentence to hear because my brother has never been one to give himself a break. He had been boxing since he was 10 years old before he became ill, never did my brother spend a day in bed without going to the gym or on a run at the very least. Seeing him be unable to do the thing he loves most is one of the hardest things I have had to go through. This along with the injustice that my brother faces in his rehab facility are the two biggest reasons I want to go into physical therapy- if I can make someone's dream come true again then I'll know it'll all be worth it. That it'll all have been worth it. The sleepless nights, hospitalizations, trauma, etc. If I can bring a kinder tomorrow for even just one person, my life will have been worth it.

"Anhelo de Amor," translates to "angel of love." My father used to sing me to sleep every night with this song, I can still remember listening to the words coming out of his mouth and realizing that I wouldn't have him forever, and I would grip onto him tighter as if I could freeze time to hold him for forever. Still to this day, whenever my father sees me he starts to sing, and each time I am reminded of the love he and I share for one another. This song drives me to become the best version of myself. I may not be the best today, but I will be better than yesterday. That is how my father taught me to live, and that is how I hope to continue living. This song makes me the man I am, I was born to be an angel of love, and I think that's beautiful.

My brother Diego is currently in the hospital, I received the news from my mother over the phone about 2 months ago. That phone call changed my life. My mother told me she didn't have any answers as to why, but that he was unable to walk, talk, and eat. My heart dropped hearing he was unable to walk because I knew how important being physically active was to him, he had been boxing since he was 10- even had moved to California for a few years to become a professional boxer. Knowing that he was losing his mobility and that he will likely have long-term problems surrounding it was heartbreaking. Luckily, after countless sleepless nights spent wondering why his body began betraying him, the doctor's gave us a diagnosis: Guillain Barré syndrome. Due to the nature of this disorder, my brother will be able to make a good recovery, however, he will have to go through extensive physical therapy as his body recovers from the paralysis and nerve damage that was caused by it. To me this was the defining factor that lead me to be completely sure and confident that physical therapy was something that I was meant to do. Knowing that I could be the person to help bring somebody's dream back is beautiful. Really, the only thing I've wanted to do with my life is to create a kinder tomorrow for the people that need it most. I will continue to push myself through schooling in order to make myself, and my brother proud. I hope that through my practice I can impact the lives of others the same way the physical therapist my brother has been seeing is impacting his life. I would ideally like to open my own practice as a physical therapist. This is something that I believe I was made to do- creating a safe place for the betterment of those in need. I believe that through becoming a physical therapist I will be able to help people achieve their goals within treatment plans as well as provide an inclusive and diverse environment for patients and workers. I hope that this decision will inspire other queer, POC trans kids to go big or go home, and to let them know that no goal is unattainable. I would like to use the adversity I have had to occur come to help drive me in the right direction as I set forth the foundations of my career at Ball State University. Through the highs and lows of life, I still find myself choosing to become the person others can look to in times of need, and through this career I will be able to devote myself to creating successful treatment plans, and hopefully, a fulfilling road to recovery for my patients.

My first hospitalization happened earlier this year, in February, and the second followed about a month later. The two weeks I spent at Community and Options behavioral health facilities were filled with some of the most life-changing experiences I have gone through thus far. It is important to note that I wasn't able to get help from professional mental health counselors until I was 17. However, I had been struggling with depression, PTSD, anxiety, ADHD, and gender dysphoria for the majority of my adolescent life- I just had to go through it alone. I was alone until I met people I assumed where my last hope, yet even they ended up causing more harm than good. I was hospitalized for suicidal ideation- there was a point in my life where when i closed my eyes the only thing I could see was darkness. No future. No goals. I felt as though the misfortune and adversity I was chosen to live through was just not worth seeing what I could become, and that's exactly what I expressed to doctor. That day changed the course of my life, and I don't know if for the better or worse. After returning from the reckless and non-inclusive care of Community, I returned to everyday life as if nothing had happened. Well something did happen, and it was something really big. I spent the next few weeks trying to ease the worries of my loved ones, promising them I was getting better when in reality, the water was rising and it was at the brink of overflowing the tub. This leads us to my second, most recent hospitalization. I was transferred to the emergency room directly from my high school, having to have my parents drive me over for yet another goodbye. I don't know how else to describe what it felt like to watch my mother's heartbreak as i was being wheeled away by another gurnee other than pure, unadulterated aching. I felt as though the bones in my body had turned to mush as I began to curse my existence for making my mother see her child slowly destroying themselves. Mothers were never meant to see their kids die. Through all this, I gained a perspective that allows me to see things as larger-than-myself. I realized that I'm not just living for the me I know now, I'm living for my parents and my siblings. I'm living for all the future love I will exchange in newly-formed life long relationships. I'm living to see the day where people like me can wake up and know tomorrow will be kinder than today. Of course there are days where the sun doesn't shine, and the clouds cover the stars in the night sky, but now I can keep hope. When I can't see the stars I tell myself that they will be there tomorrow, and the fact that I can think about existing in a tomorrow is revolutionary. My journey has been tedious, emotional, and chaotic. I never envisioned that I would be here today to share the story of my battles and hardships. It is relieving to know that there are people who can sympathize with my pain, and although cruel that others exist just like me, there is a sense of unity. If there is one thing I learned through my experiences with my mental health it's this: There is always a kinder tomorrow.

I make them playlists. Music is my everything, there isn't one feeling that exists that couldn't be found in a song- you just need to look hard enough. When I look at my friends, I hear music. My music and their music. I let them know I miss them by telling them I've been adding songs to their playlists because to me, it shows that I am thinking about them and can associate them to song else I love. I also show my friends unconditional understanding, I recognize that everybody is different and that there isn't any one right way to view a situation. I know that my friends and I will disagree, but I promise to treat them with respect and dignity no matter the disagreement. I show my love through my unconditional love and understand and through the power of music. Through love and music, I have all I need to let the people closest to me know that I will always adore them.

I exist as a queer, trans hispanic man. My entire existence is based on inclusivity and diversity. I live my life to let others know that you can dream big even when you have the world working against you. As the child of two immigrants who grew up a part of the LGBTQ+ community, I firmly believe that equality among everyone should be the primary focus of social movements and change. I believe that through more education and opportunities for minorities, that change could happen overnight- sometimes it just takes a spark to ignite it. I also was a part of my high schools GSA which promotes inclusivity on campus. I am also joining my universities Spectrum organization which aims to educate people on queer culture and bring more inclusivity and diversity to Ball State University's campus. By being a part of this organization I hope to inspire people who can relate to my story to dream big and live life to the fullest. I want to send the message that you are allowed to live for yourself and as yourself, no matter how scary it may seem- there will be a bright side. I'm living proof of the bright side.

Picture this: you're in a mental hospital and you're wearing your grey sperrys that you were (unfortunately) forced to take the laces out of. You still have those sperrys, and everytime you look at them you think, "hey, remember that time i was in the looney-bin!" Mental health; let's talk about it. Or actually maybe not yet... You're in a mental hospital- dazed and confused. You wake up and look around and you're not in your bed and there's a flashlight in your face. "Ah nuts man, I think I'm getting robbed right now" goes through your mind, but then you look out the crack in the door and you see the front desk. "Not this s--- again." You fall back asleep, maybe it was the trazadone they shoved down your throat or the 48 hours you had been up before then- who knows! You're in a mental hospital when you wake up the next day, damn- guess it wasn't a dream. Oh well, follow everyone else and you'll be back home soon. You're there so you think, hey you might as well get to know the people taking care of you. You're in a mental hospital surrounded by mentally ill kids and you're wearing your grey sperrys with a shirt that says "every line of code is a living thing." What a cute shirt, every line of code ~is~ a living thing. How precious is life right, in this moment you're surrounded by people who are there to help you get through whatever funk you're in. You're in a mental hospital surrounded by behavioral health professionals- the last safe place left. Imagine you're playing a game of uno with a newly formed, very temporary, group of unstable teeangers. "Now is the time" you think. You put your grey sperrys on and you walk up to a nurse. "Hello nurse, can I ask you a question?" Picture this: the nurse looks at you funny because who approaches someone that ominously in the middle of a game of uno...unstable teenagers, that's who. "Sure." she says. "Do you like your job?" you ask, innocently, expecting a very sweet and sincere answer about how her calling was to help children yadda yadda yadda. "Oh, absolutely not, you kids give me mental health issues," she says to you, dead in the face. Aca-awkward amiright? I mean, what is a kid supposed to say to that? "Okay...cool I guess." You're 17 and you're in a mental hospital, the nurses hate their jobs and you're stuck in there playing uno with other kids just like you. You're in those grey sperrys and now everytime you wear them they fall off your feet because the hospital never gave you your laces back...

My mother and father always told me to make it anywhere, I need to get a good education. Work hard and good things will come to you, and so I listened. My father was able to see me graduate high school with a technical and honors diploma- something he wasn't able to do. He was forced to drop out in 6th grade in order to help support his family and farm in Mexico. He lived a very hard, tedious life all with this goal in mind: to grant his children the freedoms to pursue whatever their hearts desired, and for that I am eternally grateful. If it weren't for their support, I don't know where I would be. The education I gained through my academic and social experiences in school have been the driving forces behind my passions for as long as I can remember. The idea of learning always excited me, and my parents were always right behind me as i ventured into high school. I was able to get an internship at my local hospital through one of my health professions classes, and that alone provided me with a sea of knowledge. I was able to see first hand what my future had to offer, and I was finally able to show something for all the work I put into my academics. I learned of the injustice that happens in healthcare, and was able to see how the lives of patients with faulty medical professions were affected. Seeing this was what really solidified my career choice- Physical Therapy. Through all the things I learned throughout my education and internship, I realized just how interpersonal the world is. Everybody just needs someone they can rely on, whether that be a teacher, friend, medical professional, etc- it's all anybody wants. The innate human desire to be loved and cared for was very apparent as I read literature from the Romantic era, learned about civil rights movements, social causes, and world history. All of these influences lead me to develop a very humanistic perspective of the world that I wouldn't change for anything. I think it's beautiful really, thinking about how much humans need one another. Being able to go into a situation and understand the humanity behind whatever is going on is an important and crucial skill that I would not have learned if not for all the education I have received thus far.

I currently am double-majoring in Exercise Science and Spanish at Ball State University. I aim to get my DPT after I get my Bachelor's. I didn't always want to become a physical therapist- in fact, it never really crossed my mind until my senior year medical internship. We were forced to do a project where we researched a career, and I knew i enjoyed orthopedics but didn't want to make the commitment to become a surgeon and so at that point I was lost. I did research and I realized that the career has such a beautiful impact on the lives of others. The one thing I think i was born to do was help people, and I think I will fulfill that goal best in this field. I chose this area of study because I felt it would best prepare me for what I aim to do later in life. I hope to bring a more diverse and inclusive environment in the medical field. I feel a queer, trans hispanic man opening his own physical therapy firm would be revolutionary to the industry as it would show people who have been discriminated or undermined in their medical history a place where they can feel safe and included. At the end of the day, I want my clients to be one step closer to their dream recovery plan while leaving feeling heard and represented. I not only think it would be beneficial for the patients but also for the employees. A safe, inclusive, and supportive working environment will allow for optimal work conditions. Happy employees= good service. Good service = happy patients. I think that this will really change the world for the better as it would show the younger generation that despite the adversity you may face, you can always dream big. It would show children of immigrants like myself that you can make a home in a new land without being scared, and you can succeed in doing so. I hope to bring a kinder tomorrow to the patients I will treat as I grant them mobility and access to things they thought they would never partake in again. The world changes one smile at a time, and my goal is to make a Physical Therapy firm that will be inclusive and welcoming of everybody and anybody that may walk through the doors. That's how I believe the world should be, but we aren't there yet- so why not start now?

My first hospitalization happened earlier this year, in February, and the second followed about a month later. The two weeks I spent at Community and Options behavioral health facilities were filled with some of the most life-changing experiences I have gone through thus far. It is important to note that I wasn't able to get help from professional mental health counselors until I was 17. However, I had been struggling with depression, PTSD, anxiety, ADHD, and gender dysphoria for the majority of my adolescent life- I just had to go through it alone. I was alone until I met people I assumed where my last hope, yet even they ended up causing more harm than good. I was hospitalized for suicidal ideation- there was a point in my life where when i closed my eyes the only thing I could see was darkness. No future. No goals. I felt as though the misfortune and adversity I was chosen to live through was just not worth seeing what I could become, and that's exactly what I expressed to doctor. That day changed the course of my life, and I don't know if for the better or worse. After returning from the reckless and non-inclusive care of Community, I returned to everyday life as if nothing had happened. Well something did happen, and it was something really big. I spent the next few weeks trying to ease the worries of my loved ones, promising them I was getting better when in reality, the water was rising and it was at the brink of overflowing the tub. This leads us to my second, most recent hospitalization. I was transferred to the emergency room directly from my high school, having to have my parents drive me over for yet another goodbye. I don't know how else to describe what it felt like to watch my mother's heartbreak as i was being wheeled away by another gurnee other than pure, unadulterated aching. I felt as though the bones in my body had turned to mush as I began to curse my existence for making my mother see her child slowly destroying themselves. Mothers were never meant to see their kids die. Through all this, I gained a perspective that allows me to see things as larger-than-myself. I realized that I'm not just living for the me I know now, I'm living for my parents and my siblings. I'm living for all the future love I will exchange in newly-formed life long relationships. I'm living to see the day where people like me can wake up and know tomorrow will be kinder than today. Of course there are days where the sun doesn't shine, and the clouds cover the stars in the night sky, but now I can keep hope. When I can't see the stars I tell myself that they will be there tomorrow, and the fact that I can think about existing in a tomorrow is revolutionary. My journey has been tedious, emotional, and chaotic. I never envisioned that I would be here today to share the story of my battles and hardships. It is relieving to know that there are people who can sympathize with my pain, and although cruel that others exist just like me, there is a sense of unity. If there is one thing I learned through my experiences with my mental health it's this: There is always a kinder tomorrow.

Currently my favorite hobbies revolve around music. I'm actively in the process of writing my first song on my ukulele, and although it might not turn out the best, it is something I found is very important to me. My entire life has revolved around music, from the moment I was born my father would sing me to sleep and he would tell my about all the songs he wrote when he was younger but never had the opportunity to release. I think my father would have made a wonderful musician, and even though my skills do not compare- I want to live my life in a way that allows him to live through me. This means that I not only write my own music, but I spend countless hours a week going through new music and sorting them into hyper-specific playlists. One of my favourite ways of intaking new music is going to my local record store and finding a couple of intriguing used CD's them coming home and playing them on my CD player while I analyze the contents of each song.

Taking care of my mental health has been a slippery slope for as long as I can remember. It takes a lot of trial and error to find what self soothing mechanisms work for you- I am fortunate enough to have found what brings me the most peace. For me, peace is subjective, I find I'm never completely at ease, rather I am more so able to find ways to make the pain and struggles easier. Music has by far been the most life-saving component of my life. I spend hours every week crafting playlists to match the high-intensity emotions I feel. I even bought a CD player and tape recorder/player so I am to record my own music and discover new music in a more grounding way. There is something special about holding onto a tangible object that you know will bring you so much comfort. My favorite band, Bleachers, plays the most both on my CD player and Spotify. I truly don't know where I would be without the help of the music I surround myself with. I try to find songs that are either give off feel-good dance vibes or have very poetic meanings. Through music, I have been able to find my voice and find the words to describe what I'm feeling even when I can't.

Empathy is life-saving and revolutionary to those who haven't experienced emotional validation in their lifetime. I recognize not everybody is fortunate enough to have safe and healthy interpersonal relationships with people they feel understand them. That's where I come in. I try my best to be as open-minded and understanding to everyone I talk to because sometimes all you want is for someone to listen. Listening to understand rather than listening to respond is my motto. I believe that feeling emotions for others deeply is an important step in understanding the importance of those individuals in your life. I find that even people who I know I won't ever see again, I empathize with them on another level. I'm often told that by my loved ones that the time and energy I put into trying to let them know their feelings are valid and i understand where they are going from is what they've always wanted from a friend. I hope to continue on my journey of understanding and trying to be there for the people who need it most.

My mother and father always told me to make it anywhere, I need to get a good education. Work hard and good things will come to you, and so I listened. My father was able to see me graduate high school with a technical and honors diploma- something he wasn't able to do. He was forced to drop out in 6th grade in order to help support his family and farm in Mexico. He lived a very hard, tedious life all with this goal in mind: to grant his children the freedoms to pursue whatever their hearts desired, and for that I am eternally grateful. If it weren't for their support, I don't know where I would be. The education I gained through my academic and social experiences in school have been the driving forces behind my passions for as long as I can remember. The idea of learning always excited me, and my parents were always right behind me as i ventured into high school. I was able to get an internship at my local hospital through one of my health professions classes, and that alone provided me with a sea of knowledge. I was able to see first hand what my future had to offer, and I was finally able to show something for all the work I put into my academics. I learned of the injustice that happens in healthcare, and was able to see how the lives of patients with faulty medical professions were affected. Seeing this was what really solidified my career choice- Physical Therapy. Through all the things I learned throughout my education and internship, I realized just how interpersonal the world is. Everybody just needs someone they can rely on, whether that be a teacher, friend, medical professional, etc- it's all anybody wants. The innate human desire to be loved and cared for was very apparent as I read literature from the Romantic era, learned about civil rights movements, social causes, and world history. All of these influences lead me to develop a very humanistic perspective of the world that I wouldn't change for anything. I think it's beautiful really, thinking about how much humans need one another. Being able to go into a situation and understand the humanity behind whatever is going on is an important and crucial skill that I would not have learned if not for all the education I have received thus far.

I think the meaning of life is found in the human condition- to be human is to be alive. At its core, I think the human condition boils down to the desire to be understood and loved. Everything stems from love and passion, don't you think? We listen to music that expresses all the things we wish we could, we watch TV shows filled with characters we see ourselves in, but most importantly- we hold the door open for the person behind us. These mundane activities, to me, are the epicenter of my very existence. Each one of them comes from one's own desires. We want to be seen, and we want to be loved, when we turn on the TV we want to feel seen, in public we want to feel seen, and in our own darkness we want to be seen. The way I fulfill the meaning of my life is by allowing myself to experience what i want to experience. If I feel an emotion, I'm going to feel it all the way through. Live in the moment and hope for a kinder tomorrow- this is hope I choose to live my life.

I lived 5 of the most formative years of my life as a brown trans man in a small, conservative town. Everyday I walked into school was an act of bravery. Having to speak in front of the very kids that left me broken time and time again made me realize that I have to choose to live for myself. It would have been easier to stay hidden away, but I made myself known, and I came out in 8th grade. I was forced to defend myself through the ruthless harassment of kids who just didn't understand why I had to be different. I choose to live in my identity boldly for the people who can't. I choose to remain my authentic self even through times of misinformation, ignorance, and hate. I had to fight for my right as a man, and everyday I choose to get up and step out into the cruel world is an act of bravery not everyone is able to experience- so I hope someone, anyone, is able to live (in part) through me.

I would ideally like to open my own practice as a physical therapist. This is something that I believe I was made to do- creating a safe place for the betterment of those in need. I believe that through becoming a physical therapist I will be able to help people achieve their goals within treatment plans as well as provide an inclusive and diverse environment for patients and workers. I hope that this decision will inspire other queer, POC trans kids to go big or go home, and to let them know that no goal is unattainable. I would like to use the adversity I have had to occur come to help drive me in the right direction as I set forth the foundations of my career at Ball State University. Through the highs and lows of life, I still find myself choosing to become the person others can look to in times of need, and through this career I will be able to devote myself to creating successful treatment plans, and hopefully, a fulfilling road to recovery for my patients.

Understanding. The fact of the matter is, you can't save people with your intentions, but you can save them by giving them something as simple as an open-mind and kind heart, and is there anything more human than the desire to be understood? There needs to be more information about how to just be the shoulder for someone to cry on, sometimes the thing that will save you won't feel like it's saving you. Sometimes the worst part about going through it is going through it with people who can't see things from your side. If individuals became more aware of the fact that everybody needs somebody, I think it would help a lot of people out. Friendship, mentors, support groups, anything to surround the person who is struggling with their mental health with an environment that understands how they feel, and what they're going through. Creating safer and more welcoming environments for people with diagnosed or undiagnosed mental illness will lead to an influx in people seeking resources because they know that they won't be talked over, or misunderstood. There is nothing worse than waiting so long to get help, all to just end up not getting your needs met. There are unconscious desires that individuals crave, and I believe if we can meet them at their most basic human needs, that it would make the world a more palatable place. This expands not only to people impacted by mental illness, but to the greater population as more understanding will go both ways.

My first hospitalization happened earlier this year, in February, and the second followed about a month later. The two weeks I spent at Community and Options behavioral health facilities were filled with some of the most life-changing experiences I have gone through thus far. It is important to note that I wasn't able to get help from professional mental health counselors until I was 17. However, I had been struggling with depression, PTSD, anxiety, ADHD, and gender dysphoria for the majority of my adolescent life- I just had to go through it alone. I was alone until I met people I assumed where my last hope, yet even they ended up causing more harm than good. I was hospitalized for suicidal ideation- there was a point in my life where when i closed my eyes the only thing I could see was darkness. No future. No goals. I felt as though the misfortune and adversity I was chosen to live through was just not worth seeing what I could become, and that's exactly what I expressed to doctor. That day changed the course of my life, and I don't know if for the better or worse. After returning from the reckless and non-inclusive care of Community, I returned to everyday life as if nothing had happened. Well something did happen, and it was something really big. I spent the next few weeks trying to ease the worries of my loved ones, promising them I was getting better when in reality, the water was rising and it was at the brink of overflowing the tub. This leads us to my second, most recent hospitalization. I was transferred to the emergency room directly from my high school, having to have my parents drive me over for yet another goodbye. I don't know how else to describe what it felt like to watch my mother's heartbreak as i was being wheeled away by another gurnee other than pure, unadulterated aching. I felt as though the bones in my body had turned to mush as I began to curse my existence for making my mother see her child slowly destroying themselves. Mothers were never meant to see their kids die. Through all this, I gained a larger-than-oneself perspective. I realized that I'm not just living for the me I know now, I'm living for my parents and my siblings. I'm living for all the future love I will exchange in newly-formed life long relationships. I'm living to see the day where people like me can wake up and know tomorrow will be kinder than today. Of course there are days where the sun doesn't shine, and the clouds cover the stars in the night sky, but now I can keep hope. When I can't see the stars I tell myself that they will be there tomorrow, and the fact that I can think about existing in a tomorrow is revolutionary. My journey has been tedious, emotional, and chaotic. I never envisioned that I would be here today to share the story of my battles and hardships. It is relieving to know that there are people who can sympathize with my pain, and although cruel that others exist just like me, there is a sense of unity. If there is one thing I learned through my experiences with my mental health it's this: There is always a kinder tomorrow.

"Anhelo de Amor," translates to "angel of love." My father used to sing me to sleep every night with this song, I can still remember listening to the words coming out of his mouth and realizing that I wouldn't have him forever, and I would grip onto him tighter as if I could freeze time to hold him for forever. Still to this day, whenever my father sees me he starts to sing, and each time I am reminded of the love he and I share for one another.

My brother Diego is currently in the hospital, I received the news from my mother over the phone about 2 months ago. That phone call changed my life. My mother told me she didn't have any answers as to why, but that he was unable to walk, talk, and eat. My heart dropped hearing he was unable to walk because I knew how important being physically active was to him, he had been boxing since he was 10- even had moved to California for a few years to become a professional boxer. Knowing that he was losing his mobility and that he will likely have long-term problems surrounding it was heartbreaking. Luckily, after countless sleepless nights spent wondering why his body began betraying him, the doctor's gave us a diagnosis: Guillain Barré syndrome. Due to the nature of this disorder, my brother will be able to make a good recovery, however, he will have to go through extensive physical therapy as his body recovers from the paralysis and nerve damage that was caused by it. To me this was the defining factor that lead me to be completely sure and confident that physical therapy was something that I was meant to do. Knowing that I could be the person to help bring somebody's dream back is beautiful. Really, the only thing I've wanted to do with my life is to create a kinder tomorrow for the people that need it most. I will continue to push myself through schooling in order to make myself, and my brother proud. I hope that through my practice I can impact the lives of others the same way the physical therapist my brother has been seeing is impacting his life.