In my time through high school I was a varsity cheerleader, I played volleyball I am also involved in school related extracurriculars aside from sports. I am a member of National Honors Society (NHS), I have been a member for three years, I am also a member of AVID and have been for 6 years. Where I was also introduced to Upward Bound. Both of those ( AVID and Upward Bound) are great things I part of as they prepare me for college and provide me with resources to succeed after high school. I have been a I was an assistant coach for the local AAU 12-14 volleyball team for 2 seasons, and I currently have a job at subway and have been there for going on two years. Being involved in these extracurricular has given me a lot of time to volunteer. I have volunteered at local elelemetry schools and their school events, such as organizing dances, face painting, organizing parties, etc. I have fundraiser for the local homeless shelter, and many more. Along with all of those extracurricular activities, I have taken many college prep and dual enrolled classes that will benefit me in my major. I am approximately a semester ahead in college as a senior in high school who is also balancing having my regular high school classes, and keeping a 3.7 GPA, and also balancing a job where I am working 20 hours a week. After high school, I plan to go into nursing specializing in pediatrics and family.I am a person who is better with kids than adults and this career would be perfect for me. Nursing has always been something that I want to do because without nursing, the healcare system would fold. Nurses have a huge impact inh the healthcare system, and I am excited to be apart of something that will benefit everyone. If I could start my own charity, it would be something that could help everyone. I would want to help those who struggle academically, physically, and mentally. I want to do something for them that would be beneficial to who they are as a person and their personal struggles. Though as difficult as that sounds- creating a charity that can benefit everyone and their personal experiences will positively impact families and individuals around the world. A place where anyone of any age can go to to get assistance, whether or not its financial assistance, free mental assistance,etc and work around what ever that individual needs. That may seem like something that can happen in a perfect world, I believe that with enough support and people with a similar mindset it can happen. It would be nice to localize resources for everyone no matter their at home, at school, or just in life situations.

Growing up, I was always stressed about money. By the age of 7, I knew that my family was struggling to pay our bills and we were living paycheck to paycheck barely surviving the weeks in between, a couple of times when we didn't pay rent on time having eviction papers on our door that we had to attend court for. A young child getting off the bus and running home when I knew it was grocery shopping day and that my sibling and I would likely have a treat. I had 5 siblings- my parents had 6 kids including myself so as you can imagine, money can be a really hard topic. Especially with my mom not being able to work because of her disability, we relied on my stepdad. Neither my mom nor stepdad had an educational background. Neither of my parents graduated from high school and received a diploma; therefore, neither attended college, giving them fewer opportunities to make good money to provide for 6 kids. My siblings and I often held ourselves back from doing many activities because we knew it would stress our mom out. She stressed easily and often had what we call TIAs but also similar to mini-strokes. We had a great childhood with having each other and participating in free events. We made the best of it. Growing up living paycheck to paycheck has taught me a lot that I plan on taking advantage of in my adulting times. I know that working my way up I am sure I will have financial problems, as everyone does. Having the childhood I had, I would like for my future kids to know about money and know that you have to work for it but I also don't want my kids stressing about when our food stamps are going to load or when we are going to get child support so we can pay our water bill. I'm going to attend college and become a nurse. I'll make pretty good money. I hope that the day I have kids, I am financially stable and can give my kids endless opportunities I never had growing up. Whether or not its participating in sports, giving them greater education opportunities, and saving them from stress. Parenting plays a huge role in why I want to learn from how I grew up and the financials of it. I don't want to bring kids into this already stressful world.

I grew up in a house where we didn't always have the ability to buy things we might have needed. Growing up getting excited when food stamps loaded that one day every month because we had food and a variety of it. My mom was not capable of working and had a weight limit. Nobody was willing to hire her because she was not able to lift more than five to ten pounds, docs orders. My stepdad works but as you can imagine without a college degree, there aren't many high-paying jobs that will cover the needs of eight people in one household. Money hasn't always been easy for my family, as one who grew up stressing about money, in any and every way possible. I stressed about the eviction letters we got on our doors because we didn't have enough money to pay the rent or we paid rent later than it was due time after time. In the future, I don't want my kids to stress about money as much as I did and whether or not we would be moving and having to find another place to stay. I want my kids (down the road), and myself to grow up with consistency in our lives. Growing up in these circumstances shaped who I am today. I appreciate every moment I had like these because it taught me how to live on a budget when money wasn't great and it gave me a different outlook on life and goals for myself in the future. As a kid who didn't participate in sports or any extracurricular activities, I would like to enhance that in my kid's life. I don't want money to be something that I fall back on but to where I won't be living so tight and living from paycheck to paycheck. I want to experience things I never got the chance to. Im a junior in high school working at a local Subway in order to save for college and buy a car to get myself to where I plan to go. I plan on leaving for college where I feel like I will succeed more without anything holding me back. After I graduate high school I plan on going to college and getting a master's degree in the Science of Nursing ( MSN) to become a Nurse Practitioner down the road. I hope to be financially stable and well-off.

It can be challenging to state just one practical solution for those who struggle with mental health. I personally don't think that there is one solution that can help me or others who struggle with mental health. Mental health consists of many different factors where only one solution won't affect people too much. Everybody struggles with mental health in one way or another but mental health looks fairly different for everybody. In that case, I don't think it's possible to find only one solution to help people who are struggling with their mental health. Though I don't believe there is a practical solution there might be some alternatives. Taking care of yourself can be quite important I think it is one of the most important things that are needed to be focused on when we aren't having the best time with this certain normality. Not to look on the negative side of things but when we're struggling it's really hard to focus on ourselves such as our hygiene and who we surround ourselves with. Sometimes people will compare their mental illnesses to others which s then more hard on them. I've experienced as a high school student thinking that some of my struggles aren't as bad as what others are going through. Which it's you as a person everybody reacts to things differently. Some people handle things better than others, and some people aren't as affected by smaller things as others may be. So maybe as a "solution" is to just set more goals and to try to be positive.

The simple pleasure in my life is I would have to say going for a nice walk around the neighborhood. Going for a walk, short or long, whether or not I'm with a group of people or I'm by myself is I feel one of the simple pleasures of my life that makes me happy because it outspans my view on things and leaves me with an optimistic open mind. Going for a walk is refreshing and prepares me for anything to come. While I'm walking I get this reminder that when things are hard they will get better. The wind blowing around me relieves me of feeling stressed and to look forward to what may come my way. This simple pleasure makes me the happiest because it also brings back some of the greatest memories. As a younger version of myself, we would walk a lot as a family. One of my favorite recollections was quite recent. During covid and quarantining back 2020 we would go for pretty long walks in a different location once a week. During these times it was important to be active and to be around those who you could.

Happiness expands out to many things in the world. If you ask people what makes them happy they'll probably respond with friends, family, money, holidays, or the wide of anything else. Being around the right people makes me happy. I can have many people in my life but if they're not right for me am I truly happy? Independence is also one of the top things that make me happy. Being independent to an extent where you are not lonely can be fun. Being independent can open you up to more things and show you that you can accomplish things on your own. On the lines of what makes me happy, another thing includes being able to blast my music. To be specific country music makes me happy. I grew up with country music so sometimes when I'm listening to certain songs it brings back memories from my childhood. Memories bring me joy. I like to look back on all the happy moments of when I was a kid. Even the smallest memories make me happy. The memories that were good, Like times when I showed kindness to others or I brought inspiration into others' lives. Those are some of the things that make me happy and bring out my inner joy.

Staying true to yourself means acting in a way that agrees with one's beliefs or values. It means to be completely honest with what you feel, deeply value, and desire. I like to think that I stay true to myself by not taking anyone's opinion to heart. I think that it is important to listen to the advice given by others but to make up my own mind. Staying true to yourself is being who you truly are and not letting anybody stand in the way of it. It's a way for a person to stand up for something they believe in, and to give others the voice and view on the wider outlook of things. Being different is another way that I think I stay true to myself. Being different means that you are your own person no matter what everybody else thinks, it means that you stand out.