I helped a stranger having a mental health crisis land softly in an inpatient hospital, then the next week I faced my own rock bottom reality of addiction and admitted myself to the same hospital. While out on the town one night with friends, there was a young man off alone in the corner of the restaurant who appeared to be in a state of psychosis. His loud muttering of non-coherent sentences carried, and his eyes looked lost. My heart couldn't handle seeing this stranger in this state, meanwhile, everyone else in the place was staring and whispering under their breaths. I decided to approach the young man and see if he was open to receiving any help to de-escalate and stabilize him. I lent a listening ear and ended up helping him eat and drink, then Ubered him to the hospital where I stayed by his side until he was accepted in. I felt relief knowing that I did all I could to help a lost soul to safety, even if it was just for the night. After I made it home a wave of emotion overcame me. A nudging that said I was so far off track from where I needed to be in life, from where I’m supposed to be. A question kept repeating itself over and over in my head, “What are you doing Alicia?” That young man helped me realize my purpose in life- to be a life raft for people when they’re drowning. But first, I needed to save myself before I could save others. The last 5 years I had spiraled and submerged myself in addiction as a way of coping with unprocessed grief of my best friend passing suddenly in a motorcycle accident. I was planning on telling him I had fallen in love with him the week of his passing, but it was too late. Anger, intrusive thoughts, reckless behavior, and suicidal ideation encompassed me and clouded my vision; my drug of choice was dissociation. Exactly one week after helping the young man, my own addiction came to an ugly rearing head, and I decided to seek out professional help. I was suffering my own mental health crisis, I was drowning and needed saving. The water gets awfully dark and murky the deeper you go. Now I can see clearly again. My head is above water, and the sun is shining down brightly on the goals I strive to achieve. Through intensive inpatient and outpatient therapy, I learned how to process my emotions and how important healthy coping mechanisms are to maintain stability. I took it one day (sometimes one second) at a time, and discovered myself during my healing journey and all that I’m capable of. I aspire to become a Licensed Psychologist so I can holistically guide others through crisis situations and help them see through the darkness. I hope to attend a Clinical Psychologist scientist-practitioner program to be able to focus on research simultaneously as I learn best how to promote overall psychological, social, and physical well-being. I am fascinated by the mind’s ability to forget trauma memories, as I had forgotten my own, and hope to obtain the opportunity to delve deeper into the discovery of new tactics for helping patients with PTSD. We all have potential within us, sometimes all we need is someone to hold our hand and walk beside us and help guide our viewpoint towards the sun above the water. “’Et lux in tenebris lucet,’ – and the light shineth in the darkness.”

I helped a stranger having a mental health crisis land softly in an inpatient hospital, then the next week I faced my own rock bottom reality of addiction and admitted myself to the same hospital. While out on the town one night with friends, there was a young man off alone in the corner of the restaurant who appeared to be in a state of psychosis. His loud muttering of non-coherent sentences carried, and his eyes looked lost. My heart couldn't handle seeing this stranger in this state, meanwhile, everyone else in the place was staring and whispering under their breaths. I decided to approach the young man and see if he was open to receiving any help to de-escalate and stabilize him. I lent a listening ear and ended up helping him eat and drink, then Ubered him to the hospital where I stayed by his side until he was accepted in. I felt relief knowing that I did all I could to help a lost soul to safety, even if it was just for the night. After I made it home a wave of emotion overcame me. A nudging that said I was so far off track from where I needed to be in life, from where I’m supposed to be. A question kept repeating itself over and over in my head, “What are you doing Alicia?” That young man helped me realize my purpose in life- to be a life raft for people when they’re drowning. But first, I needed to save myself before I could save others. The last 5 years I had spiraled and submerged myself in addiction as a way of coping with unprocessed grief of my best friend passing suddenly in a motorcycle accident. I was planning on telling him I had fallen in love with him the week of his passing, but it was too late. Anger, intrusive thoughts, reckless behavior, and suicidal ideation encompassed me and clouded my vision; my drug of choice was dissociation. Exactly one week after helping the young man, my own addiction came to an ugly rearing head, and I decided to seek out professional help. I was suffering my own mental health crisis, I was drowning and needed saving. The water gets awfully dark and murky the deeper you go. Now I can see clearly again. My head is above water, and the sun is shining down brightly on the goals I strive to achieve. Through intensive inpatient and outpatient therapy, I learned how to process my emotions and how important healthy coping mechanisms are to maintain stability. I took it one day (sometimes one second) at a time, and discovered myself during my healing journey and all that I’m capable of. I aspire to become a Licensed Psychologist so I can holistically guide others through crisis situations and help them see through the darkness. I hope to attend a Clinical Psychologist scientist-practitioner program to be able to focus on research simultaneously as I learn best how to promote overall psychological, social, and physical well-being. I am fascinated by the mind’s ability to forget trauma memories, as I had forgotten my own, and hope to obtain the opportunity to delve deeper into the discovery of new tactics for helping patients with PTSD. We all have potential within us, sometimes all we need is someone to hold our hand and walk beside us and help guide our viewpoint towards the sun above the water. “’Et lux in tenebris lucet,’ – and the light shineth in the darkness.”

I helped a stranger having a mental health crisis land softly in an inpatient hospital, then the next week I faced my own rock bottom reality of addiction and admitted myself to the same hospital. While out on the town one night with friends, there was a young man off alone in the corner of the restaurant who appeared to be in a state of psychosis. His loud muttering of non-coherent sentences carried, and his eyes looked lost. My heart couldn't handle seeing this stranger in this state, meanwhile, everyone else in the place was staring and whispering under their breaths. I decided to approach the young man and see if he was open to receiving any help to de-escalate and stabilize him. I lent a listening ear and ended up helping him eat and drink, then Ubered him to the hospital where I stayed by his side until he was accepted in. I felt relief knowing that I did all I could to help a lost soul to safety, even if it was just for the night. After I made it home a wave of emotion overcame me. A nudging that said I was so far off track from where I needed to be in life, from where I’m supposed to be. A question kept repeating itself over and over in my head, “What are you doing Alicia?” That young man helped me realize my purpose in life- to be a life raft for people when they’re drowning. But first, I needed to save myself before I could save others. The last 5 years I had spiraled and submerged myself in addiction as a way of coping with unprocessed grief of my best friend passing suddenly in a motorcycle accident. I was planning on telling him I had fallen in love with him the week of his passing, but it was too late. Anger, intrusive thoughts, reckless behavior, and suicidal ideation encompassed me and clouded my vision; my drug of choice was dissociation. Exactly one week after helping the young man, my own addiction came to an ugly rearing head, and I decided to seek out professional help. I was suffering my own mental health crisis, I was drowning and needed saving. The water gets awfully dark and murky the deeper you go. Now I can see clearly again. My head is above water, and the sun is shining down brightly on the goals I strive to achieve. Through intensive inpatient and outpatient therapy, I learned how to process my emotions and how important healthy coping mechanisms are to maintain stability. I took it one day (sometimes one second) at a time, and discovered myself during my healing journey and all that I’m capable of. I aspire to become a Licensed Psychologist so I can holistically guide others through crisis situations and help them see through the darkness. I hope to attend a Clinical Psychologist scientist-practitioner program to be able to focus on research simultaneously as I learn best how to promote overall psychological, social, and physical well-being. I am fascinated by the mind’s ability to forget trauma memories, as I had forgotten my own, and hope to obtain the opportunity to delve deeper into the discovery of new tactics for helping patients with PTSD. We all have potential within us, sometimes all we need is someone to hold our hand and walk beside us and help guide our viewpoint towards the sun above the water. “’Et lux in tenebris lucet,’ – and the light shineth in the darkness.”

I helped a stranger having a mental health crisis land softly in an inpatient hospital, then the next week I faced my own rock bottom reality of addiction and admitted myself to the same hospital. While out on the town one night with friends, there was a young man off alone in the corner of the restaurant who appeared to be in a state of psychosis. His loud muttering of non-coherent sentences carried, and his eyes looked lost. My heart couldn't handle seeing this stranger in this state, meanwhile, everyone else in the place was staring and whispering under their breaths. I decided to approach the young man and see if he was open to receiving any help to de-escalate and stabilize him. I lent a listening ear and ended up helping him eat and drink, then Ubered him to the hospital where I stayed by his side until he was accepted in. I felt relief knowing that I did all I could to help a lost soul to safety, even if it was just for the night. After I made it home a wave of emotion overcame me. A nudging that said I was so far off track from where I needed to be in life, from where I’m supposed to be. A question kept repeating itself over and over in my head, “What are you doing Alicia?” That young man helped me realize my purpose in life- to be a life raft for people when they’re drowning. But first, I needed to save myself before I could save others. The last 5 years I had spiraled and submerged myself in addiction as a way of coping with unprocessed grief of my best friend passing suddenly in a motorcycle accident. I was planning on telling him I had fallen in love with him the week of his passing, but it was too late. Anger, intrusive thoughts, reckless behavior, and suicidal ideation encompassed me and clouded my vision; my drug of choice was dissociation. Exactly one week after helping the young man, my own addiction came to an ugly rearing head, and I decided to seek out professional help. I was suffering my own mental health crisis, I was drowning and needed saving. The water gets awfully dark and murky the deeper you go. Now I can see clearly again. My head is above water, and the sun is shining down brightly on the goals I strive to achieve. Through intensive inpatient and outpatient therapy, I learned how to process my emotions and how important healthy coping mechanisms are to maintain stability. I took it one day (sometimes one second) at a time, and discovered myself during my healing journey and all that I’m capable of. I aspire to become a Licensed Psychologist so I can holistically guide others through crisis situations and help them see through the darkness. I hope to attend a Clinical Psychologist scientist-practitioner program to be able to focus on research simultaneously as I learn best how to promote overall psychological, social, and physical well-being. I am fascinated by the mind’s ability to forget trauma memories, as I had forgotten my own, and hope to obtain the opportunity to delve deeper into the discovery of new tactics for helping patients with PTSD. We all have potential within us, sometimes all we need is someone to hold our hand and walk beside us and help guide our viewpoint towards the sun above the water. “’Et lux in tenebris lucet,’ – and the light shineth in the darkness.”

I helped a stranger having a mental health crisis land softly in an inpatient hospital, then the next week I faced my own rock bottom reality of addiction and admitted myself to the same hospital. While out on the town one night with friends, there was a young man off alone in the corner of the restaurant who appeared to be in a state of psychosis. His loud muttering of non-coherent sentences carried, and his eyes looked lost. My heart couldn't handle seeing this stranger in this state, meanwhile, everyone else in the place was staring and whispering under their breaths. I decided to approach the young man and see if he was open to receiving any help to de-escalate and stabilize him. I lent a listening ear and ended up helping him eat and drink, then Ubered him to the hospital where I stayed by his side until he was accepted in. I felt relief knowing that I did all I could to help a lost soul to safety, even if it was just for the night. After I made it home a wave of emotion overcame me. A nudging that said I was so far off track from where I needed to be in life, from where I’m supposed to be. A question kept repeating itself over and over in my head, “What are you doing Alicia?” That young man helped me realize my purpose in life- to be a life raft for people when they’re drowning. But first, I needed to save myself before I could save others. The last 5 years I had spiraled and submerged myself in addiction as a way of coping with unprocessed grief of my best friend passing suddenly in a motorcycle accident. I was planning on telling him I had fallen in love with him the week of his passing, but it was too late. Anger, intrusive thoughts, reckless behavior, and suicidal ideation encompassed me and clouded my vision; my drug of choice was dissociation. Exactly one week after helping the young man, my own addiction came to an ugly rearing head, and I decided to seek out professional help. I was suffering my own mental health crisis, I was drowning and needed saving. The water gets awfully dark and murky the deeper you go. Now I can see clearly again. My head is above water, and the sun is shining down brightly on the goals I strive to achieve. Through intensive inpatient and outpatient therapy, I learned how to process my emotions and how important healthy coping mechanisms are to maintain stability. I took it one day (sometimes one second) at a time, and discovered myself during my healing journey and all that I’m capable of. I aspire to become a Licensed Psychologist so I can holistically guide others through crisis situations and help them see through the darkness. I hope to attend a Clinical Psychologist scientist-practitioner program to be able to focus on research simultaneously as I learn best how to promote overall psychological, social, and physical well-being. I am fascinated by the mind’s ability to forget trauma memories, as I had forgotten my own, and hope to obtain the opportunity to delve deeper into the discovery of new tactics for helping patients with PTSD. We all have potential within us, sometimes all we need is someone to hold our hand and walk beside us and help guide our viewpoint towards the sun above the water. “’Et lux in tenebris lucet,’ – and the light shineth in the darkness.”

I helped a stranger having a mental health crisis land softly in an inpatient hospital, then the next week I faced my own rock bottom reality of addiction and admitted myself to the same hospital. While out on the town one night with friends, there was a young man off alone in the corner of the restaurant who appeared to be in a state of psychosis. His loud muttering of non-coherent sentences carried, and his eyes looked lost. My heart couldn't handle seeing this stranger in this state, meanwhile, everyone else in the place was staring and whispering under their breaths. I decided to approach the young man and see if he was open to receiving any help to de-escalate and stabilize him. I lent a listening ear and ended up helping him eat and drink, then Ubered him to the hospital where I stayed by his side until he was accepted in. I felt relief knowing that I did all I could to help a lost soul to safety, even if it was just for the night. After I made it home a wave of emotion overcame me. A nudging that said I was so far off track from where I needed to be in life, from where I’m supposed to be. A question kept repeating itself over and over in my head, “What are you doing Alicia?” That young man helped me realize my purpose in life- to be a life raft for people when they’re drowning. But first, I needed to save myself before I could save others. The last 5 years I had spiraled and submerged myself in addiction as a way of coping with unprocessed grief of my best friend passing suddenly in a motorcycle accident. I was planning on telling him I had fallen in love with him the week of his passing, but it was too late. Anger, intrusive thoughts, reckless behavior, and suicidal ideation encompassed me and clouded my vision; my drug of choice was dissociation. Exactly one week after helping the young man, my addiction came to an ugly rearing head, and I decided to seek out professional help. I was suffering my own mental health crisis, I was drowning and needed saving. The water gets awfully dark and murky the deeper you go. Now I can see clearly again. My head is above water, and the sun is shining down brightly on the goals I strive to achieve. Through intensive inpatient and outpatient therapy, I learned how to process emotions and how important healthy coping mechanisms are to maintain stability. I took it one day, sometimes one second, at a time and discovered myself during my healing journey and all that I’m capable of. I aspire to become a Licensed Psychologist so I can holistically guide others through crises and help them see through the darkness. I hope to attend a Clinical Psychologist scientist-practitioner program to be able to focus on research simultaneously as I learn best how to promote overall psychological, social, and physical well-being. I am fascinated by the mind’s ability to forget traumatic memories, as I had forgotten my own, and hope to obtain the opportunity to delve deeper into the discovery of new tactics for helping patients with PTSD. We all have potential within us, sometimes all we need is someone to hold our hand and walk beside us and help guide our viewpoint towards the sun above the water. “’Et lux in tenebris lucet,’ – and the light shineth in the darkness.”