Fred Hampton was born on August 30, 1948, in Summit, Illinois. He was born in the middle of the Jim Crow era. He had to suffer during the worst times of race wars. Fred Hampton grew up to become the leader of the Black Panther Party. This political organization was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. They built this organization to protect the black people in their community since no one else was protecting them. Fred Hampton is inspirational to me because no matter the circumstances that he was put, he always found a way to make the best of it. The police were trying to find ways to knock him out of power. At one point, it looked like the police had won when they burned down the main meeting building and took Fred Hampton into custody. But they did not count on Fred making connections to his party inside the jail. He always found a way to get his message out, whether that's passing notes in the prison lunch line or making conversation in the yard. Once he got out, he was still trying to rebuild his organization even when nothing was left. I admire his perseverance and bravery. Fred has always resembled a phoenix. A phoenix gets burned, but it always comes out of its ashes and becomes even more beautiful. Fred got burned several times, but each time he came out even stronger and braver. Unfortunately, he was assassinated in his early twenties, but his legacy continues and inspires many people today.

Social injustice, hunger, increased homelessness, and increased political turmoil have plagued our world for the longest time. But despite all of these terrible things that are happening right now I believe that climate change is the biggest problem that has been ignored for way too long. Climate change has always been that one topic that no one really likes to talk about because either they do not believe in it or they strongly believe in it. Over the years, corporations have been developing so much new technology, which is great, but at what cost? Their factories have increased air pollution and have been causing most of the greenhouse gas emissions. Even though there are plenty of big companies that try to be eco-friendly, the damage that has been done by other companies has done a toll. Our climate is spiraling out of control with the increased heat in the summer, the many tropical storms plaguing the coasts, and the ice caps melting in the north. We are almost at the point of no return, but scientists say that we still have some time to fix it. We can work on this issue by actually listen to the scientists because it is their profession, and they would know the solution. We can also do our part in our own lives. For example, we can try and reduce our pollution individually or try our best to conserve water. Another way that we can try and solve this problem is by choosing more eco-friendly trasportation or carpooling more often. These are some very basic changes that could help take steps towards a brighter future for our Earth.

Before the pandemic, I took life with a grain of salt. I never really took the time to look at my surroundings or to truly be present. Once the pandemic hit, going outside and being around others was a luxury and very scarce. Whenever I had the opportunity to hang out with family, I valued our time even more. When I was stuck in the house, I realized how important family is and how short life really is. Someone could be with you one day and gone the next with no warning. The pandemic highlighted how crucial it is to be present and in the moment and not to be focused on too many things at once. Since the hardest part of the pandemic is over, I have valued my own life even more. I have also made it a point to reach out to friends and family more often. Life is so precious. We have to live for today and not take anything for granted because our lives could be gone at any second.

Maya Angelou once said, "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude". This quote has always resonated with me because it has inspired me to make more changes in myself and the world around me. This quote essentially means to me that I should not complain about the things around me if I am not willing to do something about them. It is a get-up-and-go motivation. Last summer, this quote influenced me more than it ever has. During the time of the BLM protests and the constant police brutality, I remember sitting in my room and yelling at my TV about how something needed to change. I realized sitting down in my room was doing nothing for me or the cause I was upset with. I found out when the next protest was going to happen and I brought my friends with me. This particular march was at the courthouse downtown and it was a teen march. Joining this march opened my eyes that change will come when you want it and you fight for it. This quote has also impacted my view on many voting rights. My mom always told me growing up to "vote, vote, vote!". Once I got older, I felt as if my vote did not matter, and nothing was ever going to change. But over the past few years, I have come to realize that I can't complain about issues that I have no intent or motivation to fix. Even something as small as voting can go a long way into making big differences. Maya Angelou's quotes have always been impactful to me, and I can always find some way to relate them to anything going on in my life.

Mental instability and generational trauma is an unspoken truth in the black community. These generational curses of trauma are a plague in our homes, and many families refuse to recognize them. My utopian vision for optimal mental health would be for every person in the community to get adequate mental help. I would want to implement affordable options for therapy and treatment. My vision also includes proper resources being put into the more unfortunate areas. If there were adequate resources that are attainable and quality our community as a whole would improve. I believe a lot of the street and gang violence that we experience is rooted in unsolved and unspoken anger and trauma. If there was help provided we can start to repair our communities, and come together as a people instead of separating ourselves. In my vision, I hope that individual families create a safe and open space for their children to be heard. Sometimes it is very hard to speak your mind in black households and I feel that parents and children should have open communication about anything. If children were able to be expressive and be who they are the rates of depression in black teens, especially queer teens, would decrease greatly. Another part of my utopian vision would be accurate mental help in schools and adequately trained adults. I remember a time when I was stressed and overwhelmed with school and my sports that I just broke down during class, and I had to go to the counseling office. I thought that they were trained to help in these situations, but I was clearly wrong. I went into the office seeking some type of guidance and my counselor told me she was not trained to help anyone mentally. She said she was just there to help with academics. I believe that this is a big issue in the school systems, especially in inner-city schools. School can be a getaway from home to so many kids and speaking to an authorized adult could be such a relief. But when my "guidance" counselor turned me away I felt a sense of helplessness and a feeling that no one, even at school, was there to help me. Mental health advocacy can be a step toward social justice because once there is awareness of this issue it can bring more attention to it. Once there is awareness more people will come behind it and begin to support and rally for change. When issues are brought to light it creates more safe spaces to discuss these issues and show the unequal spread of mental health resources. For example, when people begin to realize that there are plenty of mental health facilities in predominately white areas compared to minority areas they will want to bring change and advocate for more facilities. If more people speak out about the mental issues that we have in our communities we may begin to receive the accurate help that our communities deserve.

I remember my heart was beating and my ears were ringing, as I heard the doctor tell me I had an abnormal lump on the side of my face. I could barely hear him tell me my different treatment options. All I could think of was that soon I would be dead. After this news, I was constantly at my doctor's office to get an MRI or a check-up. This cycle of going to school and acting like nothing is wrong and then going to the doctor and breaking down. This cycle did not stop once I got my lump removed. Over this year, my mental health suffered. I had zero motivation and little to no will to succeed. I believed that I had no one in my corner to support and love me. This time of deep depression led me to find out what my true passion was. I have come to realize that I want to be a resource for people going through the same mental struggle that I had to overcome on my own. I do not want other people to feel as discouraged as I did nor do I want them to feel like there's nowhere to turn. This is why I want to major in psychology at Spelman College and acquire my Ph.D. I plan to work either in a mental facility for teens, a juvenile detention center psych ward, or start my own practice. Many of my friends have gone through similar mental struggles and did not get the accurate help they needed, which also led me to my career plans. I advocate for transparency and open conversations about mental health. If there are no safe places for people to connect with other people like them or spaces where they can be authentic and open it will lead people into an even darker place than they were before. I also want to achieve my Ph.D. because there is a deficit of black women in the mental health field, especially with a P.hD. I was a part of the diversity organization at my school, and I organized a mental health week. During this week, I led open conversations about mental health and how it feels to be a student during these times. We were able to get the administration's attention and they made plans for a more inclusive environment. I plan to continue advocating for this throughout college and I plan to join organizations that align with these beliefs. I want to be an ally for people in all communities and I want to be a voice for the voiceless. In hindsight, I have come to realize that I did have people in my corner during my hard times. When I was going through my hardest time it was difficult to know that people cared and loved me. I want to be the person that people can fall back on and I am very excited to start my college journey.

My heart was beating and my ears were ringing, as I heard the doctor tell me I had an abnormal lump on the side of my face. I could barely hear him tell me my different treatment options. All I could think of was that soon I would be dead. After this news, I was constantly at my doctor's office to get an MRI or check-up. This cycle of going to school and acting like nothing is wrong and then going to the doctor and breaking down. This cycle did not stop once I got my lump removed. Over this year's span of time, my mental health suffered. I had zero motivation and little to no will to succeed. I believed that I had no one in my corner to support and love me. This time of deep depression led me to find out what my true passion was. I have come to realize that I want to be a resource for people going through the same mental struggle that I had to overcome on my own. I do not want other people to feel as discouraged as I did nor do I want them to feel like there's nowhere to turn. This is why I want to major in psychology at Spelman College and acquire my Ph.D. I plan to work either in a mental facility for teens or start my own practice. I advocate for transparency and open conversations about mental health. I am a part of a diversity club at my school, and I organized a mental health week. During this week, I led open conversations about mental health and how it feels to be a student during these times. We were able to get the administration's attention and they made plans for a more inclusive environment. I plan to continue advocating for this throughout college and I plan to join organizations that align with these beliefs. I want to be an ally for people in all communities and I want to be a voice. I want to be a shoulder for my friends to cry on and be there for them because we are all going through battles that we do not speak about. In hindsight, I have come to realize that I did have people in my corner during my hard times. When I was going through my hardest time it was difficult to know that people cared and loved me. Now I know that they were always there, but I never reached out. I am very excited to start my journey and I hope this scholarship will be awarded to me to help me achieve my goals.

My passion lies within mental health and advocacy for the issues in my specific community. Mental health is a very taboo subject in black households, and it’s seen as a major weakness. Everyone in my community experiences some form of generational trauma and the way we deal with it is very different. Some people form severe anger issues or depression from unhealed childhood problems. Access to proper mental health isn’t always within reach, and a lot of people do not see a role model that is pursuing a higher education. Luckily for me, both of my parents received a college education and my mom received her Masters. They’ve always wanted to create a safe space for me to express myself and my feelings. I want to be able to provide mental help to my community like my parents did for me. I am also passionate about child care and wellness. I have worked at a day care for the past year and I plan on working at one throughout college. This would give me a lot of experience with child care and what children need. But I have a specific love for helping kids with special needs as well. I occasionally volunteer at a special education school in my area, and it has shown me a new niche that I love. I want to pursue a higher education because it gives me access to many opportunities that I wouldn’t get if I didn’t have a good education. I plan on reaching the highest level of learning by earning my PhD in either forensic, counseling, or child psychology. I plan on being an expert in whatever field I choose. I want to expand my horizons of careers and opportunities that I could follow. I’ve never been the type of person to limit myself or short cut my abilities. I always strive to do my best even if someone is “better”. My main extracurriculars are Anchor Club, which is a service based organization, Diversity Student Union, religious retreat leader, such as Kairos, and I volunteer at the zoo, and a special needs school. I also work part time at a daycare. My extracurricular activities are very spread out and they have little to no similarities. I am interested in many different things and I have found ways to incorporate each of my interests into different parts of my life. I am able to work with kids, with special needs and without, and this gives me more exposure for my future in child and developmental psychology.

I have been privileged my entire life and I have been given many blessings, and a lot of my black counterparts haven't. I have always been into social service and the arts. Even though I have been in private schools my entire life, that does not mean it has been an easy ride. Whenever I am in school people have automatic stereotypes, such as, the "ghetto" black girl whose loud and is only here on scholarship. I have heard that stereotype one too many times. I remember I was in my sophomore history class and we came to the infamous civil rights and slavery unit. Being the only black person in the class, attention was already on me. People would assume I knew all the answers and that I am related to every black person known to man. The stigma that I was less bright and talented than the white kids in my school has made me want to go above and beyond in my education, even on simple assignments. My education will not only change my community but the entire world. After I complete my college education I plan to start in my community and help rebuild what has been torn apart. There is a lot of dissidence in our community and we are all the same people joined by shared cultures and experiences. Being on the privileged side of the black community makes you feel like an outcast at times. This is because my people claim I am too 'whitewashed" and we don't have anything in common. When in reality we share so much more than our skin color. I remember one day in my dance class, there is only one more black girl in the class besides me, we were practicing for an upcoming showcase. My teacher usually groups the girls up and we in dance small groups. This particular time we picked partners, and of course, I and my fellow black girl paired together. We used to do everything in that class together because we were better together. As we were doing the dance people started taking sides of who was going to do better and who was going to outdo the other. She began to go harder and harder and I realized at that moment that some black people will try to outdo other black people for white approval. Throughout my many years of education, I have not thrived to impress the white students or white teachers. I do not change myself to impress people that are not in my tunnel vision to my success. When the Black Lives Matter movement revamped in 2020 a lot of people have stayed quiet, and I for one did not. This was my time to truly open up and be very vocal about the experiences of being black in America. The same people that my fellow black people were trying to impress have been the quietest. I feel like the knowledge and education I have can change so many people's mindsets around me. I have had many conversations with people around me about the Black Lives Matter movement and what we are truly about. I have educated many of my friends and debunked a lot of their former thoughts. I have been using my experience as a black woman and knowledge of my community to show them how their silence is violence. I use my social media platforms to educate and inform about ongoing issues with the justice system and with other people outside of the community. I will continue to do this while I am in college, and this platform will begin to expand. While I am in college, I plan to start a podcast to expand my horizons and my reach. I refuse to let Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tamir Rice, and so many more names be forgotten. I will always spread the information and education to the ignorant and uneducated because black lives will matter today, tomorrow, and every day.