As a young kid, I loved reading and music more than anything else. In my kindergarten year, I had read 875 books within a single year. Multiple international news channels covered my accomplishments. But as I aged, I couldn't help but ponder why the people around me were so destructive, so I traded my fairytales for textbooks. Instead of books on stories, I grew into books about neurology, anatomy, physics, quantum mechanics, and philosophers such as Xenophanes, Theodore Adorno, and Albert Camus. Each day I spend several hours reading about the topics that sparked my interest and formulating my understanding of the disordered people I grew up with. My love for reading research turned into my passion for creating my first few research papers. When I wasn't doing work I was practicing music. Currently a senior in high school, I have read thousands of books by now and each one has changed me into the person I am now. From simple reads such as The Physiology of Physical Disorders to books such as Martin Gardner's "The Ambidextrous Universe," each has taught me aspects of life that apply to my desired field of study. My favorite book of all time was written by Daniel Amen, one of the most remarkable men on the earth, and is called "Change Your Brain Change Your Life". Within this masterpiece, he explains how there are not bad people in this world but rather bad brains. From this lesson of his, I was further inspired to delve into the world of neuroscience to be able to help the disordered people in my life. Through the books I read, living was given a new definition, and more importantly, my life had been given hope. The hope to know that we are not simply victims of the world around us. It gave me hope to know that we can change others through our knowledge. I had lost both my father and grandfather to suicide. In an instance, they turned from people I cared for into simply another statistic. Though I cannot change their deaths or the past, scholarships such as these allow me to change the future. Each book I read now brings me even closer to the knowledge I need to one day be a doctor. But even after that goal is reached I will continue to read because books will forever carry valuable lessons that we otherwise would not know.

My father passed away in 2022 from suicide. He had tried to take my mother with him but she survived, barely though. In an instant, the man I grew up loving and cherishing for everything he had done for me simply became another statistic. In an instant, he became nothing but another cold body on the floor. In an instant, I had almost lost my mother as well. It was just one of the many times in my life that I wish I could've changed everything about my life. However, reality does not bend to the rules we covet; rather, it continues no matter how devastatingly rancid reality becomes. No shooting star or lucky four-leaf clover saved me. Doing the smallest things in life such as turning in a singular assignment or even listening to someone speak became nearly impossible. I tried my best to attend school but my days blurred together as I could only manage to stare at walls and get entrapped within the situation. Struggling with his loss made me think I would become just like my father and grandfather, another victim of the world, another soul lost to suicide. However, as I went to therapy it became apparent that gaining control over one's life is possible no matter the circumstances. I live to change what I do not like, and I will not stop until there is change. I couldn't help but ponder why the people around me were so destructive, so I traded my fairytales for textbooks. Instead of books on stories, I grew into books about neurology, anatomy, physics, quantum mechanics, and philosophers such as Xenophanes, Theodore Adorno, and Albert Camus. Each day I spend several hours reading about the topics that sparked my interest and formulating my understanding of the disordered people I grew up with. I became so invested in my school that I became the top 10% of my class with a 3.96 GPA. My love for reading research turned into my enjoyment in creating my first few research papers. My love for research turned into my passion to become a doctor. When I wasn't doing work I was practicing music. At the age of six, I could spend hours getting lost in time while practicing the piano, as I grew older my love for music came with me. Few subjects can be so delicately complicated yet so crucial to the aesthetics of life as music can. As time went on I learned to appreciate and play musical instruments of many forms such as the guitar, ukulele, violin, cello, and drums. Several restaurants throughout my hometown started inviting me to perform at their facilities. Later on, I joined several bands as a lead guitarist and singer, performing twice a week. This continued alongside school and extracurricular clubs. My favorite hobby I had picked up was going to the gym because it allowed me to physically push myself to the brinksmanship of exhaustion. This translated to the mental endurance that I experienced throughout my studies and once more made me a stronger person not just for myself but more importantly for the people around me. I aspire to spend the rest of my life helping others in their struggles with mental health. Becoming a doctor will allow me to be one step closer to helping the people around me. Through scholarships such as these, I will be able to afford the many years of schooling that it takes to become a doctor. Though we cannot change the past, scholarships such as yours can change the future.

I want to chase my dreams of becoming a doctor in the field of neurology. Whether it is studying for medical exams, or spending hundreds of hours shadowing at numerous medical clinics, Medicine has been my dream. However, I was not always like this. As a young kid, I loved reading stories and practicing music more than anything else. In my kindergarten year, I had read 875 books within a single year. Multiple international news channels covered my accomplishments. But as I aged, I couldn't help but ponder why the people around me were so destructive. I had lost both my grandfather and father to suicide and almost lost my mother from an attempted murder. My family had always struggled dealing with their mental health and I often carried the price for it when I was young. Eventually, as my curiosity about psychology grew, I traded my fairytales for textbooks. Instead of books on stories, I grew into books about neurology, anatomy, physics, quantum mechanics, and philosophers such as Xenophanes, Theodore Adorno, and Albert Camus. Each day I spend several hours reading about the topics that sparked my interest and formulating my understanding of the disordered people I grew up with. My love for reading research became my passion for creating my first few research papers. Growing up, when I was not studying, practicing music was what I believed to be a quintessential aspect of human expression. Throughout my lifetime, I have played the piano for twelve years, as well as learned guitar, drums, cello, and violin. Currently, I am a lead guitarist and vocalist of two bands that perform twice a week throughout my hometown. Though I have a wide variety of hobbies, becoming a doctor within the field of neuropsychiatry is the path I have been set on and I will continue to pursue this dream. Throughout the many lessons I have learned in life the best one is that though I can not change the past, I can work to change the future. Through scholarships such as these, affording the many years of college it takes to become a doctor will be possible for me, allowing me to strive to make the many changes our world needs. Though many of the medical classes I have taken through dual enrollment have been hard, they have made me fall in love further with everything about medicine. My passion resides within the medical world and every step of the process is exciting for me to learn.

When my friends struggle with their mental well-being, showing up to be there for them and listen to them is what's important. Not allowing people to self-isolate themselves to the point of habit is important. The ability to give other people a voice to express themselves is sometimes all it takes to help others. Creating a safe space by being a reliable figure in their life is something I strive for because it only takes one person to save someone else. If I grew up with a singular person that I could rely on in my youth, my life would look exponentially better, so now being that person for someone else is what's important to me. Helping people with their mental health can be as big as deep conversations about the existential fear we all experience or as small as a simple hug. It does not take much to show someone you are there for them and if every person tried to help even one person the world we live in would be different. Through the actions I take every day my choices reflect the change that I believe our world needs. Kindness is something that is not shown daily, so being the person that others can trust is just one small step to a kinder world. My journey with my mental health has only just begun and yet I've learned so much. Through each lesson I learned helping others with coping mechanisms and support systems will continue to be an important value to me. My dream has been to work in neurology since I was a young boy just so I could be one step closer to helping others, through scholarships such as these I will be able to afford the many rigorous years of schooling needed to become a doctor within the field of neuroscience. David Amen once explained that "there are not bad people in this world, there are bad brains". Through my future work in neuroscience, I will be able to help the people around me. Throughout the many times I have lost someone to suicide the lesson that became apparent is that I can not change the past, but I can work to change the future.

My father passed away in 2022 from suicide. In an instant, the man I grew up loving and cheering for everything he had done for me simply became another statistic. In an instant, he became nothing but another cold body on the floor. It was just one of the many times in my life that I wish I could've changed everything about my life. However, reality does not bend to the rules we covet; rather, it continues no matter how devastatingly rancid reality becomes. No shooting star or lucky four-leaf clover saved me. When I was diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia I thought it meant I too would become just like my father and grandfather, another victim of the world, another soul lost to suicide. However, as I went to therapy it became apparent that gaining control over one's life is possible no matter the circumstances. I live to change what I do not like, and I will not stop until there is change. I couldn't help but ponder why the people around me were so destructive, so I traded my fairytales for textbooks. Instead of books on stories, I grew into books about neurology, anatomy, physics, quantum mechanics, and philosophers such as Xenophanes, Theodore Adorno, and Albert Camus. Each day I spend several hours reading about the topics that sparked my interest and formulating my understanding of the disordered people I grew up with. I became so invested in my school that I became the top 10% of my class with a 3.96 GPA. My love for reading research turned into my enjoyment in creating my first few research papers. My love for research turned into my passion to become a doctor. When I wasn't doing work I was practicing music. At the age of six, I could spend hours getting lost in time while practicing the piano, as I grew older my love for music came with me. Few subjects can be so delicately complicated yet so crucial to the aesthetics of life as music can. As time went on I learned to appreciate and play musical instruments of many forms such as the guitar, ukulele, violin, cello, and drums. Several restaurants throughout my hometown started inviting me to perform at their facilities. Later on, I joined several bands as a lead guitarist and singer, performing twice a week. This continued alongside school and extracurricular clubs. My favorite hobby I had picked up was going to the gym because it allowed me to physically push myself to the brinksmanship of exhaustion. This translated to the mental endurance that I experienced throughout my studies and once more made me a stronger person not just for myself but more importantly for the people around me. For me overcoming my mental illness and my circumstances came through self-improvement and the many hobbies I picked up along the way. I aspire to spend the rest of my life helping others in their struggles with mental health. Becoming a doctor will allow me to be one step closer to helping the people around me. Through scholarships such as these, I will be able to afford the many years of schooling that it takes to become a doctor and treat the many people affected by their mental illness and the broken system we have in place meant to "treat" them. As David Amen once said in his book "There are not bad people, but rather broken brains". I fully believe in this concept and through further research into aspects of our microbiota and such things as SPECT scans using neuropsychiatry will be able to properly treat people naturally rather than simply giving them an ineffective pill. Psychologists are the only doctors who don't look at the organs they treat and this is one of the many aspects that I plan to change as I work with treating mental illnesses through the fields of neuropsychiatry/neurobiology. Words cannot describe how sorry I am for the loss of your mother. Though we cannot change the past, scholarships such as yours can change the future.

My mental health is important to me because I never want to be the same person that my parents were. The world needs kind and loving people and I strive to be just that. My mental health is important because I want to be able to be better for the people in my life and take care of them in the ways I wanted someone to take care of me when I was younger. I distinctly remember staring at the hole in the wall my mother made after once more losing her temper. It was just one of the many times in my life that I wish I could've changed everything about my life. However, reality does not bend to the rules we covet; rather, it continues no matter how devastatingly rancid reality becomes. No shooting star or lucky four-leaf clover saved me. Each day I could only hope that something would change about how my mother was, but just waiting didn't work. Growing older, I realized that I had to make the change that I wanted in life. Becoming an active role in life made things far easier. When I was diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia it seemed as though my only option was to continuously fall victim to myself and the world around me. However, as I went to therapy it became apparent that gaining control over one's life is possible no matter the circumstances. I live to change what I do not like, and I will not stop until there is change. I couldn't help but ponder why the people around me were so destructive, so I traded my fairytales for textbooks. Instead of books on stories, I grew into books about neurology, anatomy, physics, quantum mechanics, and philosophers such as Xenophanes, Theodore Adorno, and Albert Camus. Each day I spend several hours reading about the topics that sparked my interest and formulating my understanding of the disordered people I grew up with. My love for reading research turned into my enjoyment in creating my first few research papers. My love for research turned into my passion to become a doctor. When I wasn't doing work I was practicing music. At the age of six, I could spend hours getting lost in time while practicing the piano. Few subjects can be so delicately complicated yet so crucial to the aesthetics of life as music can. As time went on I learned to appreciate and play musical instruments of many forms such as the guitar, ukulele, violin, cello, and drums. Several restaurants throughout my hometown started inviting me to perform at their facilities. Later on, I joined several bands as a lead guitarist and singer, performing twice a week. This continued alongside school and extracurricular clubs. My favorite hobby I had picked up was going to the gym because it allowed me to physically push myself to the brinksmanship of exhaustion. This translated to the mental endurance that I experienced throughout my studies and once more made me a stronger person not just for myself but more importantly for the people around me. For me overcoming my mental illness and my circumstances came through self-improvement and the many hobbies I picked up along the way. I aspire to spend the rest of my life helping others in their struggles with mental health. Becoming a doctor will allow me to be one step closer to helping the people around me. Through scholarships such as these, I will be able to afford the many years of schooling that it takes to become a doctor.

Being a transgender male has always been hard. Hard not in the way of hating the way I look or the way my voice sounds, or even the way the way I can't play sports that regular boys can't. Being transgender is hard because of the constant rejection I have had to face every single day. Being rejected by the everyday person, being rejected by friends, being rejected by my family. Ever since I came out my dad suddenly grew distant from me. When I was younger I thought our relationship would grow better as I grew older however this never happened because he killed himself before our relationship could ever be what it was before I came out. Being transgender meant giving up my dreams of playing high school football, weightlifting, and wrestling because my body had not been born the way everyone else's had been. But where one of my dreams had died another one had taken its place, becoming a doctor. As a young boy, I loved reading and music more than anything else. In my kindergarten year, I had read 875 books within a single year. Multiple international news channels covered my accomplishments. But as I aged, I couldn't help but ponder about why the people around me were so destructive, so I traded my fairytales for textbooks. Instead of books on stories, I grew into books about neurology, anatomy, physics, quantum mechanics, and philosophers such as Xenophanes, Theodore Adorno, and Albert Camus. Each day I spend several hours reading about the topics that sparked my interest and formulating my understanding of the disordered people I grew up with. My love for reading research turned into my passion for creating my first few research papers. This passion for research papers led to my love for wanting to become a doctor. Through scholarships such as these, I will be able to continue my dream instead of once more letting another one of my dreams die out. With my mom as a sole provider for me and the many refugees she has brought over from Ukraine that live with us, paying for college is becoming a topic that continues to come up. I do not want to once more give up my dream because of something I have no control over. The same way that Jerry Lopez was able to make the impact she wanted in the world is a quality that I strive for. Through scholarships such as this one, I'll be able to afford the many rigorous years of college ahead of me, to become a leading head of research as a doctor in neurology.

Being a transgender male has always been hard. Hard not in the way of hating the way I look or the way my voice sounds, or even the way the way I can't play sports that regular boys can't. Being transgender is hard because of the constant rejection I have had to face every single day. Being rejected by the everyday person, being rejected by friends, being rejected by my family. Ever since I came out my dad suddenly grew distant from me. When I was younger I thought our relationship would grow better as I grew older however this never happened because he killed himself before our relationship could ever be what it was before I came out. Being transgender meant giving up my dreams of playing high school football, weightlifting, and wrestling because my body had not been born the way everyone else's had been. But where one of my dreams had died another one had taken its place, becoming a doctor. As a young boy, I loved reading and music more than anything else. In my kindergarten year, I had read 875 books within a single year. Multiple international news channels covered my accomplishments. But as I aged, I couldn't help but ponder about why the people around me were so destructive, so I traded my fairytales for textbooks. Instead of books on stories, I grew into books about neurology, anatomy, physics, quantum mechanics, and philosophers such as Xenophanes, Theodore Adorno, and Albert Camus. Each day I spend several hours reading about the topics that sparked my interest and formulating my understanding of the disordered people I grew up with. My love for reading research turned into my passion for creating my first few research papers. This passion for research papers led to my love for wanting to become a doctor. Through scholarships such as these, I will be able to continue my dream instead of once more letting another one of my dreams die out. With my mom as a sole provider for me and the many refugees she has brought over from Ukraine that live with us, paying for college is becoming a topic that continues to come up. I do not want to once more give up my dream because of something I have no control over. Through scholarships such as this one, I'll be able to afford the many rigorous years of college ahead of me, to become a leading head of research as a doctor in neurology.

My mental health is important to me because I never want to be the same person that my parents were. The world needs kind and loving people and I strive to be just that. My mental health is important because I want to be able to be better for the people in my life and take care of them in the ways I wanted someone to take care of me when I was younger. I distinctly remember staring at the hole in the wall my mother made after once more losing her temper. It was just one of the many times in my life that I wish I could've changed everything about my life. However, reality does not bend to the rules we covet; rather, it continues no matter how devastatingly rancid reality becomes. No shooting star or lucky four-leaf clover saved me. Each day I could only hope that something would change about how my mother was, but just waiting didn't work. Growing older, the realization that I had to make the change that I wanted in life occurred to me. Becoming an active role in life made things far easier. I live to change what I do not like, and I will not stop until there is change. I couldn't help but ponder about why the people around me were so destructive, so I traded my fairytales for textbooks. Instead of books on stories, I grew into books about neurology, anatomy, physics, quantum mechanics, and philosophers such as Xenophanes, Theodore Adorno, and Albert Camus. Each day I spend several hours reading about the topics that sparked my interest and formulating my understanding of the disordered people I grew up with. My love for reading research turned into my passion for creating my first few research papers. When I wasn't doing work I was practicing music. At the age of six, I could spend hours getting lost in time while practicing the piano. Few subjects can be so delicately complicated yet so crucial to the aesthetics of life as music can. As time went on I learned to appreciate and play musical instruments of many forms such as the guitar, ukulele, violin, cello, and drums. Several restaurants throughout my hometown started inviting me to perform at their facilities. Later on, I joined several bands as a lead guitarist and singer, performing twice a week. This continued alongside school and extracurricular clubs. My favorite hobby I had picked up was going to the gym because it allowed me to physically push myself to the brinksmanship of exhaustion. This translated to the mental endurance that I experienced throughout my studies and once more made me a stronger person not just for myself but more importantly for the people around me.

Growing up I lived in an abusive household. I still distinctly remember staring at the hole in the wall my mother made from one of her outbursts. During my freshman year of high school, my dad abducted my mom and attempted to murder her right before killing myself. To say that recovering from the many diagnoses that I got was hard is an understatement, but recovery is never impossible. As I'm writing this I'm a senior in high school who has been sober for several years. One of the best habits I set for myself was dedicating myself to school. Every second of every minute was poured into school, extracurriculars, independent studying, or self-improvement. I've gone from struggling to turn in assignments in my freshman year to being in the top 10% of my class with a 3.96 GPA and multiple international internships with Rice University. Pushing myself to the brinksmanship of my abilities has kept me from the vicious cycles of depression I would continuously fall into. When my friends struggle with their mental well-being, showing up to be there for them and listen to them is what's important. Not allowing people to self-isolate themselves to the point of habit is important. The ability to give other people a voice to express themselves is sometimes all it takes to help others. Creating a safe space by being a reliable figure in their life is something I strive for because it only takes one person to save someone else. If I grew up with a singular person that I could rely on in my youth, my life would look exponentially better, so now being that person for someone else is what's important to me. Helping people with their mental health can be as big as deep conversations about the existential fear we all experience or as small as a simple hug. It does not take much to show someone you are there for them and if every person tried to help even one person the world we live in would be different. Through the actions I take every day my choices reflect the change that I believe our world needs. Kindness is something that is not shown on a daily basis, so being the person that others can trust is just one small step to a kinder world. My journey with my mental health has only just begun and yet I've learned so much. Through each lesson I learned helping others with coping mechanisms and support systems will continue to be an important value to me. My dream has been to be a neurosurgeon since I was a young boy just so I could be one step closer to helping others, through scholarships such as these I will be able to afford the many rigorous years of schooling needed to become a neurosurgeon.

Growing up I lived in an abusive household. I still distinctly remember staring at the hole in the wall my mother made from one of her outbursts. During my freshman year of high school, my dad abducted my mom and attempted to murder her right before killing myself. To say that recovering from the many diagnoses that I got was hard is an understatement, but recovery is never impossible. As I'm writing this I'm a senior in high school who has been sober for several years. One of the best habits I set for myself was dedicating myself to school. Every second of every minute was poured into school, extracurriculars, independent studying, or self-improvement. Pushing myself to the brinksmanship of my abilities has kept me from the vicious cycles of depression I would continuously fall into. When my friends struggle with their mental well-being, showing up to be there for them and listen to them is what's important. Not allowing people to self-isolate themselves to the point of habit is important. The ability to give other people a voice to express themselves is sometimes all it takes to help others. Creating a safe space by being a reliable figure in their life is something I strive for because it only takes one person to save someone else. If I grew up with a singular person that I could rely on in my youth, my life would look exponentially better, so now being that person for someone else is what's important to me. Helping people with their mental health can be as big as deep conversations about the existential fear we all experience or as small as a simple hug. It does not take much to show someone you are there for them and if every person tried to help even one person the world we live in would be different. Through the actions I take every day my choices reflect the change that I believe our world needs. Kindness is something that is not shown on a daily basis, so being the person that others can trust is just one small step to a kinder world. My journey with my mental health has only just begun and yet I've learned so much. Through each lesson I learned helping others with coping mechanisms and support systems will continue to be an important value to me. My dream has been to be a neurosurgeon since I was a young boy just so I could be one step closer to helping others, through scholarships such as these I will be able to afford the many rigours years of schooling needed to become a neurosurgeon.

My mother grew up in Ukraine, and though she moved to America after her marriage to my father I still enjoyed listening to the stories she spoke of. Her stories would range from growing up in the apartment complexes or helping her grandma's farm. I had flown to Ukraine as a young boy and enjoyed being able to speak Russian to the people around me. I did not know my dad's side of the family so the only family I had grown up knowing was from Ukraine. Though strolling the streets of Kyiv was fun for me, going to Zaporizhia to see my family and live on their farm is an experience I still reminisce about. After losing my father to suicide in 2021 my grandma came to live with my mother and me. Few people in my family had cared for me the way my grandma did and having her around in my life meant a lot as I grew older. Unfortunately, she had to go back to Ukraine. When her time within the states expired she had to go back to the war-riddled country that Ukraine became. Watching her pass the airport gates hurt so much because I knew there was a chance we would not see each other again. We spoke occasionally in which bomb sirens and yelling could constantly be heard in the background. As my mom struggled to recover from my dad's suicide we had both tried bringing our family back into the States for safety. As I'm writing this my grandma and grandpa have moved in with us permanently, and my uncle and aunt with their three triplets have also come to America. My mom has done her best to support each of our family members to the best of her abilities but it remains difficult. I started a landscaping company to afford the medical and biological books I enjoy studying. Going through college the classes I will/ am taking won't be easy or cheap. My goal is to become a doctor and eventually travel back to Ukraine when I'm older to help Ukranian citizens as the country is rebuilt. Through scholarships such as these, I will be able to achieve my goal of helping those in need. Through my years in college, I want to spread the voice of the many oppressed citizens of Ukraine. Being Ukrainian is an honor and being a part of the many voices advocating for Ukraine is important to our world.