Currently I am pursuing a career path towards Social Work/Case Management. I am doing this by working towards a bachelors degree in human development with a gerontology focus and a human services case management certificate. With this degree I have learned about various populations and how they are impacted based on aspects of intersectionality and resources available to them. The disparities between the aging population in the younger population are very significant. I have had a chance to witness this firsthand working in a retirement home for six years, as well as in a community hospital. Based on this and the schooling I have had thus far, I have a well rounded understanding of how the aging population is impacted. Because of the impacts they face I am only further motivated to work in a career like case management where I can assist older adults in my community gain access to the resources they need. Considering the aging population is going to outnumber the younger population, it is vital that we have young people like me with a passion to help older adults. With this passion it is my hope that I am able to graduate with my bachelors degree and become an ombudsman or case manager for the aging population. In this career I would be able to advocate for the aging population. Because of ageist beliefs within our society it is vital to have people that understand the importance of care that aging adults may need. It is important to me that older adults get the help and attention they need even though they may be near the end of their years. With that being said, I plan to use that motto to provide the best care that I can for the aging population. Being an advocate for older adults will positively impact the world because it will help keep people in their jobs such as caregivers and other aspects of community that rely on aging populations as clients. Not only that, but it will also help improve quality of life for older adults by giving them the proper care and resources they need to live out the remainder of their lives. Considering that older adults are a large part of the population making sure they are well taken care of can have significant positive impacts on society as a whole. It could take the burden off of family caregivers and minimize things like career care crunch for middle-aged adults. This frees up time for them to be a part of the community and be more involved in their own careers. Hopefully by being a case manager for older adults I will be able to make these impacts. I am excited to start my career within the next few years with these amazing goals in mind.

When contemplating the question “what is your dream“ numerous goals come to mind. My first and most important dream in life is to help people within my community, specifically older adults and the aging population. However, this would not be possible if I did not complete my most important goal of graduating college with a bachelors degree in human development with a gerontology focus and human services certificate. Based on these focuses, I have been able to learn a tremendous amount about what is lacking within the aging population. Considering I am finishing up my junior year, I still have quite a bit of knowledge to gain. Working in a retirement home I have already been able to put some of this knowledge to use, however, I am only able to help in minimal ways considering I am a server. Working in a retirement home for six years has also given me the perspective to understand personally how these struggles we are taught about in class relate to real life people. Being able to relate the struggles to people I have close relationships with only motivates me further to help. As I continue on my college journey I have had an opportunity to do research on the aging population. Realizing the disparities they experience compared to other populations of people is increasingly shocking. Not to mention, when you add in other forms of intersexuality, such as socioeconomic status or race, these disparities only increase. Because of the information I have gained, my passion and life long dream for helping older adults and the aging population has only gotten stronger. To be specific about how I plan to help, my goal is to become a case manager or an ombudsman for the aging population. However, in order to get started on this career path it is usually required that you obtain at least a bachelors degree. Without this degree I would not be able to fulfill my dream of helping the aging population. Considering the aging population is only growing, and is projected to outnumber the amount of younger adults, it is increasingly important that we have people to advocate and care for them. I plan to dedicate my adult career to being one of the people who advocates for the aging population. It is my hope that my passion and dream of helping my aging community members will be able to be fulfilled with this degree. I am excited to continue to learn more throughout my education and put that to use in my future career.

Stay organized! This would be my top back to school tip, especially for someone who has four to five classes. Having a planner or somewhere to keep track of your weekly to do list can help you remember deadlines, make you less likely to miss assignments, and most of all keep you organzied. In college and the workforce, timing is everything! Being able to effectively use your time to complete assignments by the given deadline is essential to college success. For those of us who use canvas, we know the assignments don't always show up right away, so having access to them in your planner can be really helpful to know what your week is going to look like. instagram brooks.twin2

During my teenage years, I went through a variety of traumatic and life changing events. While it seemed like my world was falling apart I would always remind myself of several things: it’s okay to feel your emotions, this too shall pass, and life is a balance of the good and the bad. Although the first one took me a lengthy amount of time to acclimate to, I think it has proven to be the most valuable overtime. This phrase taught me to be okay with not being okay. As cliche as this sounds, I was able to have better mental health because of it. This too shall pass was something that my mother has always said to me. During hard times it is always tough to put this phrase into perspective. By persevering through rough situations it has provided me with the faith and strength within to continue on, even when I feel like I no longer want to. The last phrase, life is a balance of the good and the bad, is my favorite one. By recognizing that life is a balance, I am able to keep an open mind about going through hard times. In conclusion, I am grateful to have been able to live my life with an open mind and realizing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Growing up I was always told by my mother that we don’t judge others for being themselves and I have always lived by that motto. Another thing my mother always told me was that she didn’t care what sexuality I had and that she would always be there to support me. However, things seemed to change during my junior year of high school, when I came out as bi-sexual. After dating men my whole life, she seemed very confused. While I could understand the confusion, I didn’t understand why she was slightly unsupportive of this decision I had made. I have always had a good relationship with my mother, but being told to pick a gender to date and stick with it was quite upsetting. After having heard enough of that I finally replied with “I’ll pick one when I marry one” and she never said such a thing again. While I am, thankfully, not harassed by my family, I am subtly treated differently. As a twin who’s sister is in the same exact place in life, it hurts to watch her get treated with favoritism. Unfortunately, this didn’t start until after I came out. It has been a sad realization to come to, but through my partners support I have been able to push it aside and continue doing what is best for me and my happiness. Due to my previous experience with an unsupportive family, I decided to major in Human Development for undergrad. After obtaining my bachelors degree, I hope to go on to get a masters degree in social work. I am unsure of where I will go, but I know I am excited for what the future holds. As a social worker my ultimate goal would be to help LGBTQ+ youth in the foster care system find the support they need, whether that be from me personally or a support group. One of my professors has a program throughout the United States that helps foster care youth with phasing out, which I hope to volunteer for this upcoming semester. I would love to bring my knowledge and skill set to this program as well as provide exceptional support and comfort for LGBTQ+ youth. I have already learned so much about the foster care system and what it is lacking. With a masters degree is social work, I would also like to utilize it to be a foster parent myself. Knowing that I could provide a variety of support and comfort to the LGBTQ+ youth in my community truly brings me so much pride and joy. Also knowing that I could help inside and outside of work would really help me feel fulfilled in life! I am excited for what my educational and future career journey ahead will bring.

As a Human Development major, there is a lot of focus placed on understanding others and using that information to form strong connections with others. In exchange for learning about others, there comes a vast amount of self discovery. Because Human Development entices students to look inwards, I have learned a lot about myself and how to interact with others based on that. However, one topic that was discussed in class over this past semester, that has proven to be impactful, was values. Truthfully I had not sat down to think about my own values and what repercussions that has on the choices I make everyday. The action of arranging my values in front of me and having to decipher which ones were of the most importance to me was much more difficult than I had anticipated. This activity taught me that one of my top values is seeking knowledge. Through this I learned the reason behind why I engage in certain activities over others, and it is to gain more knowledge. Discovering my top values has helped me navigate my life from a different perspective everyday, all while using my values to steer myself in a positive and impactful direction.

It wasn't until the start of this year, 2022, that I was able to grapple how important it is to balance your mental and physical health. Considering my perspective, the typical college student may feel obligated to decide between the two in order to create time for other priorities. However, after my first semester at Washington State University Vancouver, I had several professors who reminded students that we are people before we are students. Prior to receiving this advice, I constantly anticipated picking between my mental health or getting good grades. Up until recently, I frequently chose to get good grades over maintaining my mental health. What urged me to initiate this change for myself was the advice I received from my professors this past semester. Ever since this epiphany, I have embraced a routine that allows me to actively participate in activities I enjoy such as video games, watching T.V. shows, taking time to myself to do nothing, seeing family/friends more frequently, and reading books I enjoy. By incorporating at least one of these activities into my daily routine I have noticed a significant increase in my mental health. From then on I made it a point to continue to manage my mental health through actively participating in the things I enjoy.

There have been many books that I have had the opportunity to read and analyze for various classes over the course of my academic career. However, one book that really changed my perspective and got me excited to read was 'The Handmaids Tale' by Margaret Atwood. I read this book back in 2018 in my women's studies class, before it became a T.V. show. This book had me intrigued and wanting to read more, I couldn't seem to put it down! It immediately opened my eyes to understanding how the world would be for women without the rights we currently have. Not only did Atwood's book make me excited about reading, but it also showed me a different perspective that forced me to think about my own rights as a woman in today's society. As a young women who was just about to turn 18 at the time, this was one of the most influential books I could have read to help me understand the importance of my rights as a women. Without the changes that we have made to women's rights over the years our world might have ended up like that. The Handmaids Tale has been weighing heavy on my mind lately, considering that Roe v Wade could potentially be overturned. Because of this book I know that I have to be part of the change and stand up for myself and other women in my community. Atwood did a great job describing how some people view women just for their baby bearing bodies and cooking skills. This created a lot of determination within me to make sure that our rights are not taken away and that is why I am proud to call 'The Handmaids Tale' my favorite book.

When I was younger I was unsure about what I wanted to do with my life and never felt confident in the decisions that I made about my future career. However, I was sure about one thing and it was that I wanted to work with the elderly to improve their quality of life. This passion was discovered when I began my first job working as a server in a retirement home back in 2017. Seeing the number of residents that didn't enjoy their lives because they had limited mobility really got me thinking about how I could change that for them. Well, little did I know that in the middle of the pandemic in March 2021 I would find a career field where I would be able to do that. It all started when I got a job at a local hospital as a rehabilitation aide working with physical and occupational therapists. While working in this position I have been able to experience first hand the difference I can make in the lives of the elderly people in my community. For example, teaching someone how to cook a meal or use the bathroom by themselves again after a brain injury or stroke has by far been the most rewarding aspect of this career field. This is the type of independence people may take for granted every single day, so watching someone gain back their independence is something I know I will always have a passion for. This is what truly inspired me to pursue a career in occupational therapy with a bachelors degree in Human Development with a gerontology focus. It is my main goal to come back to the hospital I currently work at, but as an Occupational Therapist. I am extremely excited for this career journey ahead.

Staying away from social media first thing in the morning has really helped improve my mental health. Because I decided to take this time away from social media, I needed something to occupy me while I enjoyed my morning cup of coffee. It was then that I decided to pick reading for my own enjoyment back up and I had forgotten how much I appreciate a good book. The one, out of many books I have read, that stood out to me as the most inspiring is called 'Americanah' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This is because it showed a perspective of racism I hadn't heard many people talk about before. Adichie compared racism in America to racism in Nigeria through a partly fictional story that was based on her own experience as she immigrated to the United States. As a cis-gendered white women I did not realize the severity of lack of resources that some minorities experience, especially people who immigrate here. One example from the book that really stuck with me was when she wrote about how she had to take several buses just to get to a salon that could do her hair the proper way. After reading this book I felt so inspired and felt that I needed to be a part of the change in helping underprivileged communities. That is why I chose a degree in Human Development with a Human Services certificate because I knew I would be able to help people through this degree. I am so excited to step into the field of social work and be able to provide underprivileged communities with better resources. If I hadn't read this book I don't think I would have discovered a passion for this field, so for that I am grateful.

My end goal for my education and career is to become an Occupational Therapist. In order to obtain this job it requires at least a masters degree, sometimes a doctorate depending on the program. I do not know what school I will be going to just yet, but I am open to many options. Although I am so set on this goal now, it has not always been my dream goal. In fact, I did not even know what an Occupational Therapist was until 2021. In order to understand the "why" behind my true passion for occupational therapy, you will have to know how this passion came about. During July 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic I got a job at a local hospital as a health screener/greeter at the front entrance. I did not care too much for this job so when I hit my six months minimum I looked for another opportunity within the hospital. While searching for new opportunities I came across a job titled "Rehabilitation Aide". Once I read the description I realized it would be an exciting way to get hands-on experience with patients. Fast forward to February 2021 I received an offer for the job, even though I knew very little about physical and occupational therapy they decided to give me a chance. While I worked I learned a wide variety of new things, all of which I realized I have an immense passion for. In particular, I really had a passion for helping people get back some, or all, of the independence they once had. Seeing people smile as they were able to stand up and cook themselves a meal or put on their own shirt by themselves again was the most rewarding aspect of the job. It was then that I realized how grateful I am to be making a difference in someone's life and I could do that in an even larger scope if I were to become an Occupational Therapist. Although occupational therapy is my general goal, I have my heart set on working with specific members of the community. The aging population is a group of people that I have had a passion for working with since I was 16 and got my first job at a retirement home. Most elderly people are affected by strokes and dementia which decreases their independence significantly. By becoming an Occupational Therapist I would be able to positively impact the remainder of their lives and help comfort and coach their loved ones through such a big transition. The knowledge I would be able to teach their loved ones could be passed onto other people in the community who may not have the resources to receive occupational therapy. By becoming an Occupational Therapist I would have the opportunity to have this impact on an unfathomable amount of people throughout my career. Knowledge is something that you cannot take away from someone no matter their age, so what I pass on to others would hopefully stick with them for the remainder of their lives. Knowing that I can make such a difference in many people's lives everyday only makes my passion of becoming an occupational therapist that much stronger.

When I consider my personal values, patience is at the top for me. Many people are so concerned with quickness and moving through their life at a fast pace. However, I like to live my life by the motto of "patience is key". This motto has proven its importance to me time and time again throughout many aspects of my life, especially in my current career. For example, while working at both of my jobs I am able to put my own patience to the test everyday, which only reminds me why using it is so important. I work with elderly people who may or may not have dementia and people who have experienced brain injuries and strokes. From my degree so far, I have learned that it takes some people up to twenty seconds to process information. In a young persons day to day life this may seem like a long time, however, if you have the patience to pause and wait it really is not a long time. Working with people who have slower cognitive abilities has truly shown me why patience is important. If you give someone long enough to process rather than rushing them, they will give you a proper answer most of the time. To me, this helps keep independence within elderly people and helps them feel less guilty for being slow when you give them time they need. As someone who has such a passion for the elderly it is so important to me that they feel respected, valued, and heard. By giving them the patience needed to communicate properly with them I feel like I am doing all three of those things, and that is why being patient is so important to me.

As someone who has an immense passion for caring for the elderly, I recognize that there are many things that I personally can do to improve the lives of the elderly people in my community. When I think about what I have already done physically, it may not amount to much. However, emotionally caring for the elderly is just as important. I have worked in the same retirement home for the past five years and I have seen many elderly people become depressed and lose a sense of purpose. While this is something I have seen first hand, I am also learning about this in my Human Development classes. Realizing that this is a worldwide problem has really opened my eyes to what I can do for the elderly people around me. Before I was officially informed about this decline in mental health of the elderly, I would always bring a smiling face and some small talk to the residents I interacted with everyday. However, given the information I have now, I have made an active effort to do more than that to support the residents' mental health. For example, as a server I am one of the people that residents interact with multiple times a day and may even be one of their only interactions all day. Because of this and knowing that human interaction is essential to mental health, I have started making it a point to have longer conversations with my residents. I ask about their careers they've had in their lives and how they've kept a marriage for so long and I have noticed these questions always bring a smile to their faces. While this may not be much physically, I believe that good mental health is just as important for sustaining a healthy life.

Self-care is one of the most important things in my everyday life. I found that when I am not putting in enough effort towards myself, I start to feel undeniably depressed. Because this depression can cause me to be unproductive, I started putting in just as much effort to myself as I did into others. There are many ways that I incorporate this effort for myself into my day to day life. However, out of the many practices I do for self-care, one has had an enormous impact on my life. The practice that I started was journaling, mainly in silence and without my cellphone in sight. I started writing in my journal every morning while I enjoyed a cup of coffee. By starting my day with taking time for myself it is a physical reminder that I come first. To me, this is the ultimate way to practice self-care because of all the benefits I have gained since starting this morning routine. To be more specific, the benefits I have gained are mental and physical. For example, I have significantly decreased my depression because of journaling. This is because I am able to spew all my worries, concerns, or feelings onto paper before my day is started. By doing this I am not carrying all that baggage with me everyday and I have more time to focus on outwardly things. Through having a better focus on outwardly activities, I am able to be a more active participant in my roles of life everyday.

In order to keep a growth mindset, you have to start a growth mindset. For me, this took some time and critical thinking about myself. I first started my growth mindset when I was around 19 years old, which was about two years ago. This new mindset came to me after a recent breakup that was pretty hard on me. From that moment on I realized that I needed to start doing things to continue to better myself everyday. Ever since then, I have made a point to make mindfulness an active decision everyday. Every morning when I wake up I make sure to recognize that it is okay to make mistakes, especially if you are learning from them. This mindfulness activity is important for my growth mindset because it reminds me that I will always have room to grow and learn new things. I find this especially important for when I am put into a position at school where I am really struggling to understand something. I remind myself it is okay to make mistakes, especially while you are learning. Mistakes help us learn and grow, so by embracing them I learned that I will reap more benefits than if I were to beat myself up about the mistake and sulk. Continuing this growth mindset is hard, so I like to put sticky notes on my computer to remind myself of this mindset. This has been helpful for homework, especially when I start to feel down and upset about not understanding something.

This question definitely takes a lot of thought as there are so many admirable contributions made to society over the years. However, one in particular has stuck with me since my first year of high school and that would be Henrietta Lacks. As someone who went to a high school dedicated to her, it amazed me how brave she was and made me extremely grateful for her unknowing contribution to the field of science. She chose to seek out treatment in a time where she may not have been treated fairly, and was not. However, due to her bravery, she has changed the face of science forever. Oftentimes people focus on creating a legacy for themselves and work so hard to achieve it, however, Lacks created a legacy without even trying. It is inspiring to know that anyone can make a contribution to the history of science and medicine, regardless if they have a degree or not. I admire her for her for having so much strength through her cancer and for being brave enough to seek medical attention in such a racist time period. Without her cells, we would not be where we are today with vaccines and other scientific developments related to human health.

Divide is by far the biggest problem that America and other countries are facing right now. Divide is a good term to use for what problems the world is facing at the moment because it can mean a variety of things. For example, there is a divide between social classes, race, countries, politics, and gender, etc.. All of these topics have continued to create a wedge between people and therefore create a lack of togetherness within countries, states, and cotenants. When people are divided it it is hard to feel as if their home (state, country, county, etc..) is entirely safe. One way to work on this would be to spread awareness about acceptance and creating equal opportunities to receive this awareness of other people outside of your specific culture, gender, class, etc.. If you are not able to spread awareness yourself, then seek that awareness through others. People can do this by asking questions in a respectful manner towards people who differ from them in order to gain more insight into their perspective. This is important because some of these divides are caused from a lack of understanding of another persons perspective. Through this solution, it is possible that people would be able to better connect and understand each other on a deeper level. Overall, this should create less of a divide between people. This is something I discovered from a previous course on intercultural communication's, however, I recognize that not everyone has the opportunity to use the internet or go to college so conversing with others appears to be the best way to gain insight into your differences with others. After all, we are all a part of humankind and we should respect one another as so.

When I first turned 18, being independent meant something way different than it does to me now at 21 years old. At first it meant being able to have a say in my life through voting or choosing to buy things like lottery tickets. It was more of an external freedom in the world around me. Through this, I was able to feel like a more productive member of society. However, from the education I have received this far, I have learned that independence can be more than that. I have become an even more productive member of society by working full time and participating more in the economy. By moving out on my own and going to college I have learned various aspects of independence and economic participation. For example, paying my own bills, budgeting, and balancing appointments with my school/work schedule. Being able to do these things by myself successfully has showed me I can be an independent and productive member of society all on my own. Without my own independence, or agency over my life, I would feel like I had no control over my life. Through college I have a newfound sense of independence. This is especially true when it comes to time management as that is the biggest factor of independence. I have realized that once you learn the balance of time management and independence, you can become extremely successful in many aspects of life.

1. Because I am not a hard worker and I don’t pay for school on my own (wink, wink). 2. To really just stay at home and do nothing all day. My degree is probably useless anyways. 3. Honestly, never. I’ve never had hardships in my life ever. It just seems that things come so easy to me (haha)!

When I was 13, in the 7th grade, I experienced a lot of bullying. There was cyber-bullying, rumors, and physical bullying at school. This bullying came from a girl who had been one my best friends since the 5th grade, so naturally, I felt extremely betrayed. During this time I was so upset and almost had to switch schools because of how bad it was. Looking back as a now twenty one year old, I can reflect on what I’ve learned from that experience. What I feel that I have learned is to never judge someone from the outside. You truly never know what someone is going through, and as much as it is said it is the truth. I feel like I have gained more compassion and sympathy for adolescents and for people in general. It helped me learn how to make quality friends and realize someone’s intentions. To me these qualities are vital to have in relationships every single day. Although I am disappointed that I had to experience what I did, I am grateful for the insightful lessons I have learned.

If I were an influencer the main thing I would stand for would be equality. Since this is such a broad topic I would not like to narrow it down, but instead talk about it in every aspect. To name a few groups of people who deserve more equality are, BLM movement, women, foster-care children, and elderly people. While some of these groups already have people vouching for them, others do not. With my degree in human development I am learning more and more everyday how these inequalities can shape people’s lives and put them at disadvantages. By spreading awareness about these groups experiencing inequality through my platform I would hope that I would inspire more people to reach out and help these underrepresented groups in their communities. Not only would I bring awareness to these groups of people who are experiencing equality, but I would create links so people could donate to organizations that help support these groups. The donations help and so does linking the groups so people know where to go to volunteer their time. I would also share videos of myself helping out at local places that support these groups. The last thing I would do to help support as an influencer is hold lives on social media apps once or twice a week to answer people’s questions about where they can help out and how they can help create more equality for these groups of people.

When I first read this question, I thought to myself that this was going to take some thought. After I gave it some thought, I realized that there are many things I should love about myself. However, society has shaped people to always think someone looks better than them or is better than them. When, in fact, this is anything but true. So when I see this question, I think about internal qualities. I really love how passionate I am about my jobs. Working in a place where people constantly rely on me has made me feel like I belong. Not only do I feel like I belong but I feel like I am able to provide a service to the people in my community. Being passionate makes my job as a caretaker feel like a reward rather than a burden. I really appreciate this quality about myself because not only am I able to enjoy my job at a young age but also other hobbies I have. Being passionate makes me dive into deeper meanings of the things I am interested in. Because of this I am able to gain more knowledge in school and dive deeper into my studies. That is why it is so important to me to get my degree in human development as it is something I am extremely passionate about.

There are several methods that I find helpful but simple. As a visual learner, one thing that has really helped me is using different colors. I will reread through my lecture notes and highlight similar topics in the same color. After that I will go back and create a mind map from those ideas. I take a giant whiteboard and different colored expo markers and I start with one broad topic. From there I branch out everything I can think of to visually connect the topic to its key terms, phrases, and people. Because I am a visual learner this helped me be able to connect everything to the topic all in one space. This gave me a bigger picture of how key words and ideas were connected. Another strategy I use is flash cards, however, they are not your usual black sharpie and white card flash cards. I use colored markers, sharpies, or pens, whatever I have available at the moment, and I write terms on the white flash cards. Seeing the words written in color helps me differentiate between words easier and helps me remember them quicker. By using these methods I have not gotten anything lower than a B so far and I am super proud of myself for finding methods that work for me.

When I was 16 starting the running start program, I thought I wanted to become a radiographer. However, I didn’t truly know what other careers were out there until I got a job at a local hospital at 19. Six months into my job I applied to be a rehabilitation aide on the acute and inpatient rehab teams. To my surprise I had gotten the job over all the other applicants. It was there that I learned I have a huge passion for physical and occupational therapy. Now I am putting myself through school as a Human Development major with a psychology minor in hopes to go to grad school to become an occupational therapist. My long term goal is to work at the same hospital that I do now. The work environment there is cultivating and supportive to not only their employees, but also to their patients. I look forward to going to work everyday and being a part of other people’s growth. Because of that I am very excited to be a future occupational therapist!

This question for me took a lot of thought. As someone who has worked in a retirement home for five years, I have heard a lot of wise things. However, one thing in particular that has really stuck with me came from the sweetest elderly lady you’ll ever meet. She said that in order to stay happy, she finds joy in the littlest things everyday. This was a couple years ago and ever since then I have started taking her advice. Not only have I become more appreciative of the world around me and the things I have, but I have also become a happier person. I am so grateful for this advice and the way it has changed my outlook on life. Any chance I get I try to share these words of wisdom with others. By sharing this advice with others it makes me feel like I am passing on a legacy for her. As I continue to go about my life, I remember her in the little moments. Mostly as I look out the window and watch the nature and the weather outside. Because of her, it feels like I only grow more grateful for life itself each day.

When I was younger I was unsure about what I wanted to do with my life and never felt confident in the decisions that I made about my future career. However, I was sure about one thing and it was that I wanted to work in a hospital or clinical setting with patients. A few months into the pandemic I got a job at a local hospital taking temperature and about six months later I applied for a patient care position known as a rehabilitation aide. When I first started this job I knew nothing about physical or occupational therapy but thought that being a part of this team and helping take care of people sounded like a good start to entering the medical field. Fast forward to today and I have learned so much about physical therapists and what they do to help people everyday. Seeing how much of a positive impact I could have on someones life, such as helping them learn to walk after a stroke or brain injury, really inspired me to continue to be a part of that. After extensive research and weighing the pros and cons I decided that I am going to attend physical therapy assisting school after I get my bachelors degree in Human Development with Gerontology focus and a psychology minor. After graduating from both schools I plan to work as a physical therapy assistant mainly with the elderly either in an outpatient or inpatient facility, preferably with the same hospital I work for currently. I plan to do this until I retire as it is something I have immense passion for.

One of the most important things I was fortunate enough to discover about myself is that I am adaptable to change and flexible. Throughout my college and work career so far I have noticed that this is an important quality to have because things are constantly changing in life. This means that you need to have to ability to understand change and be comfortable with it. My first job was serving in a retirement home and there were many changes happening constantly and the work we had to do changed consistently. Being able to adapt to the changes quickly was proven to be very valuable as it made my job easier in the long run. Learning this lesson at the young age of 16 has since made my life and other jobs easier and more pleasant. By accepting that nothing stays the same for long periods of time I was able to have an open mind throughout my work career so far. For school this is also a valuable quality because your class schedule changes frequently throughout the school year. On top of schedule changes there are other factors like assignment changes and class cancellations. Being flexible and adaptable to change has truly helped me tackle school, life and work all from a more rounded and understanding perspective and that is why I find flexibility and adaptability to be the most value qualities about myself.

I believe that educational inequity is something that everyone should stand for because education is something that effects everyone in one way or another. College and higher education are important for furthering careers and being able to make more money to provide for yourself and your family one day. A lot of college is too expensive for most people to afford and not everyone can get all their tuition covered. However, that should not be what stops people from going to college and furthering their career, it should be a simple choice for most people but it is not. By aiming to fix educational inequity hopefully more people would apply and go to college and therefore more jobs would be available to them.

After Covid hit it was hard to find things I enjoyed doing and I was unsure about my future career and school goals, although I knew I wanted to work in a hospital helping people. During the pandemic I got an entry level job at the hospital and eventually applied to work in a field that was totally new to me, physical therapy. Through my job as a rehabilitation aide I became a part of watching people grow and take their first steps again and it was very rewarding. I became so passionate about helping people heal and get back on their feet and was excited to go to work everyday. Every time I show up to work I am able to take on a positive roll in someones life and help encourage them through tough times of gaining strength back. If it were not for this job I would not have created the career goal of becoming a physical therapy assistant. I am very thankful that I am and will be continuing to do a job that I am so passionate about .

When I was in middle school I experienced some of the hardest betrayal you can have at that age; a friendship resulting in bullying. It all started in elementary school when I met another girl my age who lived down the street from me and we got along well and would always play together after school. This friendship carried over into middle school, up until the seventh grade. This girl that I considered my best friend, turned her back on me and spread many nasty rumors about me to all the other kids that were in our grade. For me, this was extremely hard to deal with because the bullying not only persisted at school, but also over the internet and it was starting to feel like I could never catch a break from this mental torture. Because I shared a group of friends with this other girl, she spread these rumors to them as well, making it even harder to have friends. This is usually the years where you look forward to going to school and making many friends that will continue on to high school with you. Although she was no longer my friend, I learned to trust other people who were a lot nicer and aligned with my personal values and beliefs. However, I made these friends because I decided to join sports since I had lost all my other friends. Playing sports helped me overcome this situation and stay more positive while building meaningful relationships with my peers and teachers. If it were not for the bullying, I do not think I would have given all of the sports I did a try and found a passion for running. Through this experience I stayed the bigger person and never said anything harsh or nasty back, all because of what my mom taught me. My mom always taught me that just because someone is hurting your feelings does not mean you need to hurt theirs as well. Looking back on this experience eight years later, I am grateful that I learned the true perspective and meaning of "you never know what someone could be going through". For that reason, I feel that I am able to have more compassion and understanding for people even without knowing what they are experiencing which will become very important for my future career in human development. My resilience through this experience also taught me that things will get better and life is always a balance of good and bad days. This experience has set me up to have a more positive outlook on life when enduring other adversities in my life such as my alcoholic father and my parents divorce. I also recognize as a person who is in the workforce that you will encounter many adversities at work and it is good to be flexible and deal with these in a calm and professional manner, which I feel my previous experienced has helped me prepare for.

For future self I envision many different things. To start I see myself graduating for Washington State University in Vancouver with my degree in Human Development with a gerontology focus. I then plan to enroll in physical therapy assisting (PTA) school and make a career out of that. Physical therapy is something I have recently grown a huge passion for, however, I know that it is important to have more than just technical school training. Once I graduate from PTA school I plan to jump right into the work force and work at the same hospital I do now, hopefully within the inpatient rehabilitation side. This is a goal of mine because the work environment there is amazingly supportive and you can tell employees are always able to learn something new there. Not only is it my goal to have this career to make money to support myself and my family, but also to fulfill my dreams of being able to help people rebuild their futures after an accident. By doing this career I will be able to be involved in my community and be involved in bettering the lives of people in my community, which is extremely rewarding to see.

A simple pleasure I enjoy in my life is a hot cup of coffee every morning in my warm apartment. This makes me happy because I am able to enjoy my own company at the beginning of everyday and be thankful for the groceries I am able to have and the roof over my head, as some people are not so fortunate. Considering that my own father is homeless, I am especially grateful for being able to have my hot coffee in the morning. Even though that may seem like a simple thing that people so mindlessly enjoy everyday, I have been able to see my fathers perspective of not being able to enjoy that and it makes me especially happy to know that I was able to do that for myself. By having my morning coffee it is a simple reminder of how happy and grateful I am to be living the life I do.

Giving back to my community and the people around me is important to me because I recognize that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a roof over their head and a hot meal everyday, especially during the holidays. I recognize that I am grateful to be able to have those things, especially while trying to put myself through college. During the holidays I give back to my community by buying gifts at my local stores to donate into bins such as toys for tots and any type of clothing or toy drive. I also like to pick a family to sponsor and get them a gift card for their gift/food shopping for the holidays. Not only do I do that, but I also pick an elderly person and a child off of the trees you see around the mall or in the hospital and buy them a gift or two from their wish list to help make someones holiday a little bit brighter. When it is not during the holidays I like to give out spare snacks that I carry with me to homeless people on the street or buy them something from the store if they are waiting outside. Even though these gestures may not be very big, it has a big impact on me and makes me grateful that I am able to have enough spare money to be able to buy small things for other people and make an impact on another persons life.

Playlist name: I'm here for a good time not a long time Songs: 1. Drifting by Chris Brown 2. Scholarship by Juicy J and A$AP Rocky 3. R.E.M. by Arianna Grande 4. College Drop by Sage the Gemini and Kool John 5. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear

I have noticed it is the little things in life that bring me happiness. Every time I walk into my warm apartment on a winter day it makes me happy that I am able to provide for myself and have heat, as some people are not so fortunate. I also find happiness in helping other people who are in need such as lending a hand to the elderly when they have their hands full or even holding the door open for someone. Creating happiness in other peoples lives is what truly makes me happy. I continue to do this everyday by working as a physical therapy aide and helping people build their strength back up and watching them learn to walk again. I am beyond happy that I am able to do that through my career and am so happy to know I will be going to school to continue to make an important impact on other peoples lives.

Every year around the holidays I like to pick a few things off of the giving tree from the hospital I work at. I always notice that there are significantly larger amounts of cards left for the elderly rather than the children. Personally I have such a passion for working with the elderly and always pick a couple elderly people I can anonymously give a gift to during the holiday seasons. I also work at a retirement home and love to spend my time off to come in and chat with the residents, especially the ones who do not get visited by their families frequently. Although I do not have a lot of money to give back to the elderly community, I feel that time is just as valuable and am always happy to spend my time chatting with the elderly or helping them get around. It brings me so much joy to see how much little things can bring them happiness and that is why I am grateful to be able to spend some extra time keeping the elderly company.

My favorite book is Americanuah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie because of how she vividly explains the perspective of culture shock and racism that is experienced by African American people, specifically women, in the United States. While I am a white women living in America, I have not experienced the things that she has had to and I am grateful for the eye opening perspective this book gave me. I have always been nice to everyone regardless of their appearance and naively assumed that everyone did the same. However, through this book I was able to understand how hard it is for African American people to adjust and navigate their lives in America all while people are judging them for the color of their skin. Adichie explains through her partly fictional story how accepted she was back in her home town and how she had access to things there that she did not here making it harder for her to try to fit in. With the recent events of the Black Lives Matter movement I have been thinking a lot more about the perspective this book gave me and how hard it truly can be for African Americans to survive in America, especially as immigrants who are newer to the country and do not know what to expect. I am entirely grateful for the perspective this book has given me and have always shared that with others in the hopes they will understand how difficult it can be to survive in America, especially when experiencing culture shock.

As a college student I do not have a lot of spare money to give, however, I still am able to find ways to help the community around me. For example, whenever I have a little bit of money to spare I like to start the chain of buy the persons coffee behind you as it is simple and is able to put a smile on someones face. This also shows people that there is still positivity and kindness to go around in the world. Another way I like to help less fortunate people around me, especially homeless people, is by giving away extra snacks that I have with me that I can definitely spare. It is good to know that I am still able to find ways to help others around me, even if it is not with money it warms my heart to know that I made a positive difference in someones life. Now with the holidays coming around, I like to set aside a small amount of money to give back to the families in my community by buying a gift or two off of the giving trees you see around the mall, in Starbucks, and at some hospitals.

The energy and effort you put into the world and relationships is the energy and effort you will receive back. I find this sentence important to share with people as it is something that many people do not pay much attention to. By sending out positive energy you will attract positive energy back and that is something more people need to realize. By doing this it will create a better environment for yourself and others around you. This world could always use a little more positive energy and that is why it is important to be aware if the energy you put into the world. It is similar to a get what you give type of situation and it is important to recognize that the more time you spend dwelling on negative energy, the harder it becomes for you to attract positive energy. Therefore it creates more negative energy making it super important to pay close attention to the energy you are giving off to the world.

I am motivated by many things that I notice throughout my days. To start, I am motivated to maintain a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle as I work with people who have had strokes due to their unhealthy living choices and it really decreases their quality of life. Knowing that strokes can be preventable it is a reminder to stay motivated in my fitness and diet routine so I can live as healthy of a life as possible. Another factor I am motivated by is my passion to work with the elderly and provide them with the best care I can in my future career. Seeing how mistreated some elderly people are only gives me more motivation to finish my degree and get out there to help my community. I am also motivated by being a first generation college student as it only gives me more of a push to try my hardest to complete my degree and become successful.

As a student who experienced frequent amounts of bullying while growing up, I've definitely struggled with my mental health more than once. Because of the bullying, I was experiencing dramatic declines in my mental health and having a lot of negative thoughts. This is when I decided to give counseling a try and actually really enjoyed going to my counseling sessions. Through this experience I learned, along with many other life lessons, that taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health. To me this belief of self care is now deeply rooted in who I am today and is often the reason for a lot of the choices I make. For example, if I am faced with a decision that is hard to make I have learned to choose the one that will be better for my own mental health. This usually requires thinking about how the choice will make me feel such as am I confident and not guilty about the choice that I have made. Because of this structure I have created through therapy it has decreased my negative thoughts and quite literally helps me sleep better at night knowing that when it comes to decisions I was able to make the best possible choice. This has helped me to significantly decrease the negative thought patterns I experience at night which helps me get more restful sleep. If it were not for being bullied when I was in my early teenage years I do not believe that I would have found counseling helpful. However, I do find it very helpful and it has also created the belief that everyone can better themselves especially through therapy because we all have things to work on as individuals. I am grateful that I have been able to go to therapy for a significant amount of time throughout my life as I was also able to improve many of my relationships because of the things I have learned. For example, my partner and I both have gone to therapy and worked on communication which is why our communication is so effective. This is because I learned how to compose myself while upset and to effectively communicate my emotions and concerns in a respectful and kind manner no matter how frustrated I may be. These tactics of communication are also very helpful for my career as I often work around people who are frustrated by their situations and are easily angered. Being able to keep calm myself has been very effective for my career so far. As a long term career goal I would like to make sure elderly people have the mental health services they need. Since working in a retirement home and seeing how depressed a lot of the people are it has become a passion of mine to help create a change in that. That is why I have decided to study human development with gerontology focus and a minor in psychology in hopes of teaching mental health to elderly people and how to deal with the changes in their brain chemistry as they are aging.

When I was in middle school I had a friend who I considered my best friend and we did everything together. We had things in common and shared similar experiences growing up, which brings up the aspect of understanding each other. A friend is someone who is able to understand you and your experiences as an individual as well as respect your choices regardless of their own. Friends are there to provide support for each other and are often considered family. They are people who you share a loving bond with and have mutual respect for. Many people think friends are people outside of your family, however, I view many of my cousins as some of my first friends because of the ways we got along and shared our lives together. Regardless of relation to a person, friendship means to me that you respect each others individuality and choices, you grow together, and you share many fun memories of life together while providing a mutual support system.

Throughout my teenage years I struggled to find self-care techniques that worked for me. It was not until I started my therapy journey in 2021 that I realized how many different types of self-care there really is, seven to be exact. I realized I was lacking in what is called social self care and I have sense learned to spend more time with friends as I had been isolating myself. By doing this I realized that I was overall happier and experienced less anxiety and feelings of being stuck. Another form of self care I practice is coloring while listening to relaxing music. This allows me to shut my brain off for a period of time in order to truly become refreshed and relaxed. By doing this it allows me to look at situations from a calmer perspective and has really decreased my anxiety levels. Since finding self-care practices that work for me I feel that I have significantly increased my levels of happiness and noticed that it is easier to go about life when you truly know how to take care of yourself.

When the pandemic first started in March 2020 I was still in college and working. I lost a lot of hours at work but was still able to get by while enrolled and paying for community college. However, by the time July 2020 rolled around I needed to be able to make more money so I could save more when the time came for me to transfer to Washington State University Vancouver. I was able to get a job at a hospital that had full time hours and benefits as well as better pay than what I had been making. This was a Covid screening job that was made because of the pandemic. Without the pandemic I would not have had the opportunity so quickly to transfer jobs and make more money. That job created many more opportunities for me that I would not have had without the pandemic this job that was created because of the pandemic.