Occupational therapy works hand in hand with physical therapy. Physical Therapy is important to me because it is not only physical, but the mental, emotional, and social wellbeing aspect is involved as well. It's important to educate that the body is resilient and can do many things, as their injury isn't the end all, be all in most cases. Physical Therapy provides pain relief, as well as injury prevention strategies. Many people are not very educated on their bodies and what it takes to heal, so as a future physical therapist, it is important to be cognitive of that and educate those that come to me. Education and exercise are the two most evidence-based strategies to help heal someone. Not only will these patients heal during their time in the clinic, but the education provided to them will help their overall health and prevent them from returning to the clinic. Being a future physical therapist, it is important to emphasize to patients healthy practices of taking care of themselves and how it will overall benefit their quality of life. I have chosen to pursue my degree Physical Therapy as my profession for many reasons. The body is so fascinating, as it can cause potential harm to itself, as well as heal itself. Many people think surgery as the only option for healing, but in reality, exercise is the best treatment for healing, and I enjoy educating people and surprising people with that. These patients are putting their trust in me to heal their injuries and get them back to their daily ways of living and I feel honored to be a part of their healing journey. I will contribute to this profession as I will take pride in how I treat my patients, as that's what they're going to remember the most. There are so many doctors and people in the medical field that are there for the paycheck and not because they love what they do, or they put other things above their patients' needs. I want to make that difference in the medical field and make people enjoy coming to therapy, rather than dreading it. In the future, I want to hopefully open my own practices and hold seminars, educating those on the beauty of the healing journey and how the body is capable of many things. Healing journeys take time, and they do not always have to be a negative experience. In other words, to conclude this, I want to make a difference in the world of physical therapy, regarding the treatment of other humans.

Mental health issues were always an issue in society, but recently over the past couple of years, it has become more of a talked about topic, which has made me become more aware of it within myself. After I graduated college, I had a challenging time adjusting, trying to figure out what I enjoyed, things that made me happy, and finding peace within myself. At the time, I was also trying to apply to Physical Therapy schools and ended up accepting a school in Florida. Starting school, I was finding it hard trying to adjust to new surroundings, creating healthy study habits, and making new friends. As the semester continued, I felt myself slowly not feeling my best, and everyday felt repeated. I would try to do quick fixes, like going to the beach, shopping, or take pictures, but these were quick fixes, and it wasn't helping me overall. I was also surrounding myself with people who also were going through mental health issues, and we were all just sitting and complaining, but not doing anything to fix our individual situations. To make things short, during winter break, I took the time to really figure out what I could do to keep myself afloat during a super stressful time of my life in grad school. In January, I did a spiritual and mental cleanse for 21 days. During this time, I truly can say I found my peace. I'm so at peace with myself that many things around me do not bother me like they used to. With me finding this peace, relationships around me have changed. I found peace in watering friendships that are reciprocal and serving me purpose. This peace that was brought to me has made me succeed more in school as well. For some reason, I feel that because I wasn't at peace with myself, I couldn't find what was best for me, studying wise. I've also been diagnosed with ADD, controlled with medications, and diagnosed with anxiety, and I feel as if both conditions have lessened within the past couple of months, due to me being more aware of my mental status. With me being in control of my mental health now, I feel that I see things differently in the world. It's easier said than done, but you cannot get mad at things you aren't in control of. Things that go on in the world around me do not take away my happiness or my peace anymore. I've had such a good healing journey, that any negativity that comes my way, or if I'm around people that are complaining, I'm so quick to end it with something positive, instead of giving into the negativity. I'm just trying to spread the peace and positivity around me to others, for those who have not found it for themselves yet. If I'm having a bad day or moment, I breathe through my situations. Every morning, I wake up and walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes to start my day, to get my mind moving early, and I feel as if that has helped me a lot throughout my semester. Going outside for fresh air, or hanging out with friends is part of my practices for a balanced mind as well. In conclusion, it takes time, but there is a way to create healthy habits for yourself. If you want to be better for yourself, you must make a change. You can't keep doing the same things and expect different results after. I'm proud of myself for challenging myself and being able to rebuild a healthy mind.

Physical Therapy is important to me because it is not only physical, but the mental, emotional, and social wellbeing aspect is involved in it as well. It's important to educate patients that the body is resilient and can do many things, as their injury isn't the end all, be all in most cases. Physical Therapy provides pain relief, as well as injury prevention strategies. Many people are not very educated on their bodies and what it takes to heal, so as a future physical therapist, it is important to be cognitive of that and educate those that come to me. Education and exercise are the two most evidence-based strategies to help heal someone. Not only will these patients heal during their time in the clinic, but the education provided to them will help their overall health and prevent them from returning to the clinic. Being a future physical therapist, it is important to emphasize to patients healthy practices of taking care of themselves and how it will overall benefit their quality of life. I have chosen to pursue my education in Physical Therapy as my profession for many reasons. The body is so fascinating, as it can cause potential harm to itself, as well as heal itself. Take into account the brain as a part of this healing journey as well, meaning, feeding your brain and patient's brains with positive thoughts and benefited education, the healing journey and appointments will become more enjoyable and not negative. Many people think surgery as the only option for healing, but in reality, exercise is the best treatment for healing, and I enjoy educating people and surprising people with that. These patients are putting their trust in me to heal their injuries and get them back to their daily ways of living and I feel honored to be a part of their healing journey. I will contribute to this profession as I will take pride in how I treat my patients, as that's what they're going to remember the most. There are so many doctors and people in the medical field that are there for the paycheck and not because they love what they do, or they put other things above their patients' needs. I want to make that difference in the medical field and make people enjoy coming to therapy, rather than dreading it. I want my patients to leave with a generous amount of education about themselves. In the future, I want to hopefully open my own practices and hold seminars, educating those on the beauty of the healing journey and how the body is capable of many things, considering the fact that some therapists don't emphasize on education as much. Healing journeys take time, and they do not always have to be a negative experience. In other words, to conclude this, I want to make a difference in the world of physical therapy, regarding the treatment of other humans by providing proper education and positivity.

Mental health issues were always an issue in society, but recently over the past couple of years, it has become more of a talked about topic, which has made me become more aware of it within myself. After I graduated college, I had a challenging time adjusting, trying to figure out what I enjoyed, things that made me happy, and finding peace within myself. At the time, I was also trying to apply to Physical Therapy schools, so that added stress as well. I ended up accepting a school in Florida, so I had a month to move from Virginia, all the way to Florida, knowing no one. Starting school, I was finding it hard trying to adjust to new surroundings, getting back into school, creating healthy study habits, and making new friends. Before moving, I was dating someone who was struggling with mental health, and I always found myself giving him suggestions on what he should try, or try to do things that makes him happy, but I realized I never sat down and tried to take my own advice to deal with my mental health. As the semester continued, I felt myself slowly not feeling my best, and everyday just seemed the same. I would try to do quick fixes, like go to the beach, go shopping, or go take some pictures, but these were quick fixes, and it wasn't helping me overall. I was also surrounding myself with people who also were going through mental health issues, and we were all just sitting and complaining, but not doing anything to fix our individual situations. We all just were finding peace in being negative and complaining about our situations. To make things short, another semester went by and I changed some things around, but still wasn't doing enough to really find the peace within myself, so during winter break, I took the time to really figure out what I could for myself to keep myself afloat during a super stressful time of my life in grad school. In January, I did a spiritual and mental cleanse for 21 days (about 3 weeks). During this time, I truly can say I found my peace. I am so at peace with myself that many things around me do not bother me like they used to. With me finding this peace, relationships around me have changed. I realized I do not have to hang around certain people that are not serving purpose for me, even if that means being alone. I found peace in watering friendships that are reciprocal and serving me purpose, rather than just being friends with people to just hang around them and fill the space. This peace that was brought to me has made me succeed more in school as well. For some reason, I feel that because I was not at peace with myself, I could not find what was best for me, studying wise. I have also been diagnosed with ADD, controlled with medications, and diagnosed with anxiety, and I feel as if both conditions have lessened within the past couple of months, due to me being more aware of my mental status. With me being in control of my mental health now, I feel as if I see things differently in the world. It's easier said than done, but you cannot get mad at things you are not in control of. I constantly repeat that statement in my head, and I accept it, and I'm able to move on. If this was last year, I would've been contemplating it for days. Things that go on in the world around me do not take away my happiness or my peace anymore. I have had such a good healing journey, that any negativity that comes my way, or if I'm around people that are complaining, I'm so quick to shut it down with something positive, instead of giving into the negativity as well. I feel that if I shut it down with positivity, it makes others around me second guess about what their complaints are about. I'm just trying to spread the peace and positivity around me to others, for those who have not found it for themselves yet. In conclusion, it takes time, but there is a way for everyone to grab a hold of their mental health. It's all a mind thing, and the mind can make you crazy with your inner thoughts if you let it. I started to dig myself into a deep, dark hole, and I knew I needed to do something about it if I wanted to get through my doctorate program successfully. I realized if you want to be better for yourself, you must make a change. You can't keep doing the same things and expect different results after. So, although it takes time, if you really put in effort and want better, better things will come. I'm proud of myself for challenging myself and being able to do this for myself because I've been praying for peace for a while. I truly feel blessed and grateful that God helped me through this and now, I'm able to share my story with others, to let others know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.