I blaze and find new ways and different approaches through life. Every human being is born unique, with the exception of those who make an effort to be like others. Being unique is the best way to express your own personality. Uniqueness is what makes the world. If it weren't for people having originality and differences, the world would be the same and everyone would be knockoffs and clones of one another. I feel as if I was made to not fit in, I was made to stand out. I am not a part of the crowd. I've known I was different since I was a child since my individuality is what makes me, me. In this crazy world, it seems like many individuals are in a trance. Allow your aura and energy to express your original story. I haven't met many people that can relate to me on a deeper subconscious level, but that's okay. People may look at me sideways when I say certain things, but it will never silence my voice. A quote from the Late Tina Turner says, “Whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free . . . your true self comes out." This is a beautiful and thoughtful quote because it is all about being free and doing your own thing. Do not let something or someone try to alter something that makes you, you. I live a life where I desire to help people. I'm all about supporting others. As I never know who is observing me, I strive to be kind and say positive things. What I do may rub off on others and cause them to want to do the same. One of my most important goals in life is to be a positive role model and set an example for others, particularly those who are similar to me, so that they can see that if I can do it, they can too. I know that sometimes you have to put yourself first, but I enjoy seeing others happy because I never know who needs encouragement more than I do. This mindset is rare because many people are really selfish. I would give my last to those who needed it more than I did. I've provided air conditioning fans to elderly people in the summer because it was too hot, and I've donated food to those in need and school supplies to kids who couldn't afford them. I've also tutored younger students who have struggled in school. That is why I picked the career path of psychology and having a philanthropic mindset. I did not do for the money, but for the benefit of others. Many individuals want to go where the money is, or they say things like, "Why did you do that if they don't pay well?" I'm doing it because it's where I feel most at peace. I don't want to spend my entire life doing something I don't enjoy just to make ends meet. I stand out because I am passionate about what I believe in. I am glad I am the way I am, especially for my community, because I aim to have a positive effect on individuals within the community who are stagnant. "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." —Nelson Mandela

Life will come at you fast and hard. Knock you down, but it's all about picking yourself back up. I have never been defeated! Now I have reached an important point where I must decide what to do with my future and determine what will make me happy. I have taught myself that nothing is impossible. I have gone through so many thought processes with goals. When I was in elementary school, I was picked to participate in an interview with the local newspaper about what I wanted for Christmas... I explained that I wanted a sewing machine since I aspired to be a fashion designer. The school ended up getting me my first sewing machine since they stated I was the only child who gave a productive educational response while everyone else stated video games, dogs, and other such things. Fashion is no longer my primary goal, although it remains one of my ambitions. Throughout high school, my main career goal was to become a nurse. I ended up going through a program in high school where I became a certified medical assistant before I even graduated high school. So how did I end up choosing a psychology career path? I grew up in a place called Chester, Pennsylvania. Chester has high crime and low-income rates. The percentage of college graduates is under 15%. That gave me all the incentive I needed to finish college because if I'm going to be a statistic, I want to be a positive one. In recent years, there have been numerous cases of people committing suicide or attempting to, including children under the age of 12. During COVID, my attention shifted from nursing to psychology. We always need nurses, but we also need psychologists. COVID will leave a lasting mark on our lives for decades to come because the pandemic affected many of us mentally and emotionally. Mental health is one of my main passions because we all deal with our mental health at some point in our lives. Many families in my city are affected by gang and gun violence, which leads to depression. I've witnessed it firsthand. I travel through town and see so many people who are addicted to something, whether it is alcohol or drugs. This motivated me to pursue a career as a Rehab Counselor. As a rehab counselor, I will be able to assist individuals who are trying to get back on their feet and live a functioning lifestyle, as well as walk back into the sober world with a plan and a new frame of mind! I even want to delve into forensic psychology and work with criminals. I want to be able to provide counseling to convicts because, even if they haven't made the best life choices, living in a cell does something to your mental state and former inmates so they don't recidivate. My volunteer work has ranged from back-to-school fundraisers to assist with school supplies for children in need to tutoring younger school children to distributing food to needy families. Receiving this scholarship will allow me to continue giving back to the community rather than wondering how I can serve while still in school. My current school is not my dream school, but rather the school that provided me with the most financial assistance. Even with all of the grants, tuition is still not covered. Not having to pay back as much in student loans will certainly be an immense blessing to me because who wants to be in debt while also having to pay other expenses and make way through this economy?

Throughout my youth, I had no idea what it meant to be a minority. I had lost touch with my real self. I never wanted to be an African American woman. I did not wish to have thick curly hair; I desired long, straight hair. I didn't even want to be among other black people because we were viewed as uneducated and ghetto by others. I've always gone to primarily white schools. Because I was the only black girl in my classroom, I was hesitant to express myself without fear of being judged because I appeared physically different from everyone else. I always assumed that as an intelligent black girl who strived for straight A's and honors, I would be treated differently. I was sometimes singled out by the other black students for being an overachiever. When I didn't get the job or the role, I used to blame it on someone being racist or sexist. In reality, perhaps something better was in store for me and that was simply not it. I intended to go to an HBCU to be around other people who looked like me, but I ended up at a PWI. It is not difficult to be accepted as different in our current society because there are many cultures. There is no need for me to strive to blend in because I never get side glares. I'm made to feel accepted, and I wish my younger self could have loved being a minority as much as I do today. I've realized that women can do the same things as men. Women can now work, be managers of their companies, work on cars, and do not have to stay at home to cook and clean. My passion is to inspire those who look like me. That we are strong, independent, and everything people said we were not. Black women are still treated differently than white women. My sister founded "Get Up And Do It," a mentorship program for teen ladies aged 14 to 18, in 2018. I connected with a number of teen females, and we did activities and events to help each other out. I want to continue that program and maybe increase the age group starting with even younger girls so they would not have to go through the phase I went through. I want every young girl of color to know that we as women are beautiful, smart, powerful, and amazing. We all deserve as much any anybody else and I wish I could've told my younger self this. I want to be a woman in the healthcare industry. I still feel like minorities do get treated differently in hospitals and other health environments. We need more minority women to do the job and to help protect the lives of future generations of minorities. Mental health matters along with other things and people of color go through so much. I strive to keep going in college so I can be a part of the BIPOC Female College graduate student, not a part of the stereotypical dropout statistic.

Growing up as a black girl, I used to not be in touch with my inner self and who I really am. I always attended predominantly white schools. Being one of the only black girls in my classes made me be afraid to express myself without feeling judged because I looked physically different from everybody around me. I wanted to go to an HBCU to be around others like me but ended up attending a PWI. I always thought I would get looked at differently being a smart black girl always pushing to get straight A's and honors. Sometimes I got picked on by the other black students for being the overachiever. I always had it in me to help people because that is what I loved to do. Anytime I got the opportunity to volunteer or support, I did just that plus more. I was a big part of my church community and did many things involving the African Methodist Episcopal church. I mentored to little kids and was involved in many support groups. Being a part of support groups made me want to branch off and do my own thing. I plan to help my community in the next 3-5 years by creating a program to mentor to little black girls aged 8-16. I feel like 8-16 are the adolescent years where you are trying to find yourself. I want to be able to encourage little girls to be comfortable in their own skin. I think it is very important because it is easy for people of color to get discouraged. I want to be their listening ear and their guidance, especially in my community because it is a struggling community that needs more role models. Some young black girls feel like they have nobody to talk to and I want to be there as their "big sister" kind of thing and this would be really good to push black girls to achieve their goals and reach for the stars because the sky really is the limit. I want them to be able to have that mindset that nobody can stop them. I had to learn how to be comfortable in my own skin so I want to be able to support others that happen to go through and feel how I felt. I want to have such a powerful effect that even those girls will branch out and pass the word onto other people so we can build a future generation of strong, independent black girls!

There are many people around the world that struggle with mental health issues. The most practical solution I can think of to help more people is to just listen. Most people feel as if they are not heard. I have seen loved ones deal with mental health problems and the best thing I could ever do was to just be their comforting listening ear. So many people in this world lose their battle with mental health because the ones they trust or the ones they love simply do not listen. I have seen people tell somebody they are depressed or struggling and they do not believe them or ignore the signs. You can be anything on the outside or portray this image to the world but inside be going through things mentally. Some think when people say they are depressed that they are overreacting but it is just that some people cope differently. If anybody says they are going through something mentally I think you should just believe them and listen because it may not show physically but that is a cover-up for how they really feel on the inside. I know most people who laugh and smile throughout the day, cry at night. Behind that giggle or that smile can be a whole lot of pain. Instead of pushing people to be institutionalized or medicated, just hear them out. Talking can ease that pain even if it may be temporary. A lot of people lose their battles because they feel alone.

Being a black woman is more than just a color or race. We come in all different shades and have all different hair types. Black women are God's gift on earth. My identity as a black woman is about overcoming my obstacles and changing the narrative of what people see every black woman as. People see us as angry and defiant. At a very young age I was aware of my skin color but at a point in time, I was ashamed of my true self. I didn't look like any other person at my elementary school. My elementary school there were 25 children in each classroom and maybe 2-3 of them were black. I used to try to fit in and do everything a white american would do. My dad's side is mixed so I used to act like I was a different color just to make it seem like I was more privileged than other black people. The person I am today looks back at that and is so ashamed. I am proud to be black! I began to accept myself and prosper into the black woman I am. I love myself and would not want it to be any other way. I was always encouraged by my parents because my dad would tell me about growing up how his family was labeled "oreo" or "zebra" and the faces that they were given in public. My mother dealt with colorism because black people tend to compare shades of black. Black is beautiful and should not be labeled with any comparisons. My mother's side of the family is darker and would always bring up how light her kids were or even question if my mom and her siblings were my grandfather's kids because of their shade as well. My parents became great role models for me and taught me to truly fight for what I believe in. I know the battle that is still faced growing up even without it being segregation. Black women still get looked at differently. My sister created a organization back in 2018 called "Get Up And Do It" it was a mentor program for teen girls aged 14-18. I connected with a lot of black teen girls and we did activities and events to help uplift eachother. I want to continue that program and maybe increase the age group starting from even younger girls because I feel like they need to accept their true self the most! I want every black young girl to know that black women are beautiful, smart, powerful and amazing. We all deserve as much any anybody else and I wish I could've told my younger self this.

I have seen and experienced a lot of things in life to finally know who and what I want to be in life. As a little girl, I grew up in the church. My grandfather was a pastor and even though I was only 2 years old when he passed, he was and still is a big influence in my life. I spent a lot of my time in church and helping the surrounding community around my church. I was part of the children's choir, usher services, and head of the praise team. On Saturdays, I used to participate in evangelism outreaches. I participated in as many events as I could. Now that I am in college I am not as active in the church but my love for God will never change. My dream career used to be a neonatal nurse. In high school, I was in a program to help me become a certified medical assistant. I do have that certification but after completing my first year of college, I realized that I did not want to pursue being a nurse. I fell in love with psychology. I love helping people so nursing and psychology go hand in hand. Now my goal is to be a rehab specialist to help people get back on their feet. A lot of people come to me for advice so I think this is the perfect job. Overall, I just hope to be successful in life and motivate people to keep striving for better in life. I know I can achieve anything through prayer and my faith in God. My motto is to give and it will come back to you. I always try to pay it forward because I believe that if you give, a blessing will come your way.

Nursing and other healthcare-related fields are in high demand and will continue to grow. I always loved the thought of helping others and saving lives. I have had a lot of motivation my whole life as to why I wanted to become a nurse. I watched some of my immediate family become nurses and I also grew up watching my grandmother have a caretaker when she got sick. When I used to play games as a child, I always picked to play a game where I was a doctor and I was helping patients. My high school technical program is what inspired me to pursue it. In technical school, I spent two years learning things in the medical field. The second year even though COVID cut our school year short, I was one of few students that were able to take the medical assistance certification exam. I passed and I am a certified medical assistant. Being a medical assistant is not where I wanted to stop. I want to keep going higher. My dream was to be a neonatal nurse. I loved the thought of caring for babies in the NICU. Specifically, my goal was to try my hardest to save and give the critical care infants a chance at life. This has always been an interest due to my family having premature babies. Even though I no longer study medicine in college, I still am studying in a health-related major. I study psychology now. To me, Psychology is just as important as nursing because it is focused on the mental state of a person. Helping a person mentally is the same thing as helping a person physically. You can save someone's life just by helping their mental state. Now my specific motive in life is to be a rehab specialist. I want to specialize in addiction medicine. My job would be to help people with substance abuse and substance related health conditions. I would be an all around support system for people with substance problems and teaching them to change their behavior for recovery. Having the medical assistant certification is my backup plan and can always come in handy. I can go out and work in a hospital or a doctor’s office setting and make a decent salary. With me being a first-generation college student, I want to make my family proud. Whether I end up being a medical assistant or rehab specialist I know I will be able to make a difference.

In Highschool my junior and senior year I had the opportunity to attend two different schools. I attended a technical school in the morning and a regular school in the afternoon. In technical school, I spent two years learning things in the medical field. It was hard juggling regular schoolwork for 8 classes and taking a nursing program course. The second year even though COVID cut our school year short, I was one of few students that were able to take the medical assistance certification exam. It was my greatest achievement to date because at a point in time I lost focus. COVID made me lose all motivation and I felt like it was no point in continuing. I realized I could not let all that hard work and put two years to waste. I was scared to take the exam because I thought I did not know everything, but I studied and studied. When I got the exam score back, I was surprised because I did not just make the cut by a little, I made it by a lot I almost scored a 90%. I knew I did not come to just play around, and I actually wanted to pursue nursing and now I am a certified medical assistant. That was truly a blessing because my regular high school paid for me to attend that school and I got certified for free. A lot of people go to college to study to be a medical assistant and I had the opportunity to receive it while still being a high school student. That whole experience taught me to be extremely grateful for opportunities that get offered and handed to me and not to miss out on those once in a lifetime chance. I also learned how it felt to be a college student with college like course work, so I was prepared when college came. I hope to continue to be on top of things and go further in the health care field. Being a medical assistant is not where I want to stop. I want to keep going higher. Even though I no longer study medicine in college, I still am studying in a health-related major. Having the medical assistant certification is my backup plan and can always come in handy. I can go out and work in a hospital or a doctor’s office setting and make a decent salary. With me being a first-generation college student, I want to make my family proud.

Being inspired does not imply attempting to mimic or resemble your idol. The source of inspiration does not even have to be a person. Inspiration may both spark and fuel the motivation you will need to get through anything. Whatever your source of inspiration is, something had to have made an impact on your life. My inspiration is my future self. My future self is the only role model I need. I draw inspiration from what I picture my future self to be. Looking at the version I picture myself to be in 5, 10, or 15 years from now is the exact inspiration I need when it comes to shaping my life and making steps in the right direction. When attempting to make good decisions, admiring the person I picture myself becoming can help. Once I have visualized the person I want to be, I may determine whether my current decisions are in line with my innermost desires. The ultimate goal in the present is to follow a path that leads me to be my best self. Education and accomplishments are what drive me. I enjoy how it feels to achieve or succeed in life, and it pushes me to do even better. Doing well helps me feel like I am getting closer to my goals. More than anything else, I want to make the most out of my life. Nothing rewarding in life is ever easy. To achieve any goal, you must put in the effort. I realized I should never settle for anything less than great. I know I can do anything I set my mind to and that is why I am my own inspiration.

The nursing field is in high demand and will continue to grow over the next 10 years. Baby boomers are starting to grow older and there is a need for nurses and there will never be a time when nurses will not be needed. I chose nursing because I have always loved the thought of helping others and saving lives. I have had my fair share of career choices and I decided that I wanted to do something that was challenging yet interesting. I wanted to go into a job happy to do what I do and not stressing nor complaining. Nursing is a field where you never stop learning and you get more knowledge just to become a better nurse. Going into nursing, will make my life feel like there is purpose. Nursing can be a very rewarding job and make you feel good that you will do everything you can to change and/or help others lives. I have had a lot of motivation my whole life as to why I wanted to become a nurse. I watched some of my immediate family become nurses and I also grew up watching my grandmother have a caretaker when she got sick. When I used to play games as a child, I always picked to play a game where I was a doctor and I was helping patients. At my clinical training during my high school nursing program, I helped patients and engaged with them. It is nice to have a friendly and positive mindset especially when people are going through things. There are certain traits a person has to have to be the perfect nurse and I have those. There were plenty times that I was proud of myself that made me realize I had the ability to become a nurse. My dad got into a terrible motorcycle accident and I had to be around to help him. He was not truly able to walk so that included many things that a nurse would have to do. I had to change his bandages and help him get up. Also, with him having a heart problem I would constantly have to check for his heart rate and his pulse. I learned to do so many things by helping him. I would also check for his blood pressure. This was just a few things that I had to do for him and it was great practice for when I go into the nursing field. There was another important time in my life where I had to step up before the paramedics came when my grandmother had a stroke. I was young but I knew that I had to do something to help save her and I did not just want to see her lay there. It was a hard thing to do and I felt independent because I was doing these things at the age of 10. I love the idea of being in the nursing profession. It is the perfect job opportunity for me. I believe that I am a perfect suit for being a nurse and that I have more than enough qualities. It is a fast paced profession but it is a good feeling to have a positive impact on patients.