When I was in sixth grade, I really wanted an iPod touch. My older brother had just gotten one, and my best friend had just gotten an iPhone. I was jealous, I wanted a way to communicate, listen to music, and play games too! I remember asking my parents for one. My mom told me I could get an iPod, but I would have to save up the money and pay for it myself. That seemed fair to me because my brother had to buy his own. So I started saving, and after my birthday and Christmas rolled around, I had enough. I bought the iPod touch online and boy, did I cherish it! Now that I am older and married, I love looking back at the lesson my parents taught me. If I want something, I can work and save up enough money. It helped me to appreciate hard work, budgeting, and rewards. I used that method to buy my first car, and my husband and I are using that method to put a big down payment on our first house. I believe that learning how to work hard to gain what we want is a great lesson, especially when it comes to finances. It would have been nice when I was young to have my parents just hand me an iPod touch, but since I paid for it myself I took great care of it. I learned the value of money. I know that I will be teaching my kids the same lesson. It is powerful knowing that the ability to be financially literate is in our hands!

I often get caught up in world news and social media. It’s seems like a daunting task to make an impact on the world because of how big and messy it is. But, today, as I was spending time with my husband, I realized that the most important thing in my life is my family. As a college student, don’t yet have the ability to change the world. I know that the best way to start making an impact is through myself and my family. I can start making changes in my small world, and as I grow mentally, financially, and spiritually I will be able to make bigger and bigger impacts. As an aspiring optometrist, an impact I have always felt drawn to is bringing vision to those who don’t have eye doctors readily available. Once I get through optometry school and start my own practice, I want to start collecting old pairs of eye glasses. We can do humanitarian trips to third world countries and perform eye exams while handing out glasses for free. But, as I’m waiting for the ability to perform this service, I can start small. I can make changes by volunteering in my community, participating in my local church, serving my friends and family, and fostering inclusion on campus.

I grew up with a perfectionist mindset, but it all changed when I met (my current husband) Bentley. The first thing I noticed about Bentley was his confidence. He knew who is was and what he was worth. I spent time with him because I wanted to feel that way about myself, and it worked! His confidence and way of life rubbed off on me. I have spent the last 2 years taking psychology classes, reading self-help books, diving into my religion, and learning from Bentley how confidence, worthiness, and happiness can fuel my life. Learning about mindfulness from my positive psychology class improved my relationships and the way I motivated myself. Self-help books such as “Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown have taught me about the importance of vulnerability. From reading Brown’s book, I have decided that letting perfectionism rule my life is not how I want to live. I am a devout Christian, and recently I have let God help fuel my life. I have learned how to spend more time with Him, and I now have much more hope in my life. Also, being married to Bentley has helped me realize the importance of family. Being the best wife that I can be will allow me to be the best mother I can be when the time comes. Having the responsibility of a family motivates me to do well in my schooling and physical/mental well-being. I have dedicated a lot of my time to learning about the best ways to fuel my life. I no longer let fear or the desire to please others to motivate me. I instead let love, well-being, and faith motivate me.

The first time I had an eye exam with Dr. Vaske, I was seven years old. While I was sitting in the big chair, I felt a sense of excited curiosity, and I wanted to know everything! I wanted to understand more about the phoropters, the glasses, the prescription, and how it all came together to help me see better. It was there, sitting in that chair, that I set a goal to be an optometrist when I grew up. Many years and experiences have passed since then, but my curiosity has not lessened. Because of that decision I made when I was seven years old, I have been apart of the science community my whole life. My favorite classes have included General Chemistry, Anatomy, and Physiology. I have had great female mentors throughout my schooling journey who have helped me to stay curious. These mentors include the optometrist I currently work for, some professors, pre-optometry advisors, and employers. These women all taught me that the most important part of my journey is believing in myself. One my mentors, April, pushed me to believe in myself more than anyone had before. When I was applying for optometry schools last year, she assisted me through the application process. I remember having a conversation with her one day over zoom. We were discussing why I wanted to be an optometrist, and she kept telling me to dig deeper. There was a point where I felt so devastated, because I felt like I couldn’t dig deep enough! I started questioning why I even wanted to go to optometry school. But, April asked inspired questions, picked up a shovel, and helped me dig. With her guidance, I was able to find out more about myself. From that experience with April, I learned that I want to inspire others. I learned that I want to work with people because I enjoy connection. I learned that curiosity fueled me for most of my life. I learned that being confident and intelligent were important to me. But most important, I learned that having a purpose is what motivates me. My purpose the last 15 years have been to become an optometrist. Now that I am within reach of that goal, I have started searching for new purposes. My new purpose is to inspire others the way Dr. Vaske and April inspired me. I want to help other little girls find their purpose and discover not only who they are, but who they can become.