I have lived in every region of Mississippi. The main thing I took from that experience was the difference in the quality of healthcare. In the Mississippi Delta, there is no hospital that I can recommend. Central Mississippi is close enough to Jackson if you need true help, but the clinics there are trustworthy. The South is also close to a variety of hospitals. In healthcare, I want to treat everyone equally and give them the respect and care they deserve. In Mississippi, when you are sick and need to go to a hospital, the first question people ask is, "Which hospital are you going to?" They know that if you are not going to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) or Forrest General Hospital, you are at risk of receiving poor healthcare. I plan to go to medical school and earn my Doctorate. I will study neurology and indulge myself in the functions of our brain. After I get my degree, my education will not end there. I want to return to Mississippi and make a difference. Giving back to my community is an honor, and when I get an education, I owe it to Mississippi and its residents. They have believed in me and shown me the importance of being educated, especially as an African American woman. With funding from grants and collaboration with universities, I want to build hospitals in each region of Mississippi that I help maintain expectations of superb medical supplies and staff. With Mississippi always in my heart, I want to begin in the south, checking the healthcare accessibility in impoverished areas. Giving residents access to healthcare is a human right. Nobody should have to suffer because they cannot find or afford transportation to a decent hospital. The pain of losing a family member and always wondering to yourself if they would still be alive if they went to a better hospital is unexplainable. Consistently, the medical quality of South America is in question, with it having some of the highest stroke and heart attack rates in the country. With easier access to healthcare, I plan to make a dent in lowering that number. A very close family member of mine has been in and out of the hospital biannually. His experiences in those hospitals have traumatized him because, consistently, he has had to fight for the best care possible. Requesting different nurses and surgeons, without his wife advocating for him when he was too weak to speak, he may not have been alive today. My mom has always advocated for my family in healthcare, with her being a social worker, but I cannot help but become frustrated. She should not have to request different staff or drive hours to a good hospital. This makes me think of the number of people stuck in poverty with no reliable transportation or elders without family members available to be with them in hospitals. I am enraged by the thought of someone needing a voice for them in the hospital but not having one. I plan to make a strong impact on the world, no matter how hard it is. No human should worry about their health because of the color of their skin, their income, or their location. Making healthcare as accessible as possible, even if it is only in the south, will set off a chain reaction where advocates want to do the same for everyone. I plan to set an expectation for America and, later, the rest of the world. I will travel until I do all I can.

In my opinion, Love Island is about breaking the surface of first-time interactions and giving your all into something you are passionate about. Though the public has a say, the most important thing is to show all parts of you in the most accurate way possible. And what better way to do this than writing a song? This composition of songs can take place anywhere on the island, but first, all couples meet near the bonfire. The host will explain the following rules: Each islander is responsible for writing a heartfelt song to tell their partner how they truly feel. Producers are available for everyone, but who gets assigned which is up to the people at home! Your job is to work with your producer for the full day if needed, and at the end, we will have a full-blown concert in this very same spot (bonfire). Do not be afraid to give your partner a show and feel free to step on toes! Hidden messages are just as important and give you the perfect opportunity to tell everyone if you are keeping your options open. We have a stylist here that will match your song with the perfect outfit as you each perform your song wired with a microphone. And of course, we have the following instruments available to you if you are able to play them! Provided will be an acoustic and electric guitar, maracas, a triangle, cymbals, and a trumpet. The winning couple is determined by how popular your song is once we post it to the official Love Island USA YouTube channel. The islander with the most views on their song gets the privilege of not being voted out, as well as picking someone to share the immunity with. But that's not all, the winning islander gets to pick someone to share a romantic date where you will be picked up in a helicopter and be taken to a remote island with fresh fruit, clear waters, volleyball, romantic lounging, and your very own suite with a perfect view of the sunset. This challenge will not only bring an exciting new aspect to how far islanders will go to convey their love for their partner, but it will also be exciting to see the thought processes of each islander as they compose music. This will excite the dedicated fan base of Love Island as it brings laughter from silly rhymes and a new level of respect for well-thought-out verses that are truly romantic. Composition will also excite watchers in the case of two islanders fighting over the same partner. People will be interested in seeing who will have the better song, and this will also benefit islanders in finding out which partner to choose. Overall, music is an amazing way to bring unique excitement to Love Island for watchers and those participating.

I thought I was immune to poor mental health. My childhood taught me that crying only resulted in my skin stinging from a belt. I was sheltered from the importance of mental health, and when I was introduced to suicide, I misunderstood the magnitude of it. When trying to comfort my best friend and grasp the deep emotions he was explaining, I failed him. As silly as it may seem, I cared for him, though I never met him. We talked every day, and when he felt comfortable sharing the thoughts plaguing his brain, I did not know what to do. It took me a couple of years to realize that he was gone. Taken away by the disease of depression. As a result, in middle school, I made sure to listen to everyone who needed to talk. I spent most of my days reaching out to friends, begging them to stay, and telling them what there was to live for. My mother warned me about taking the weight of troubles from others, but I did not feel it yet. Therefore, I continued. I did not mind, and it made me happy to help my friends. I loved them, and I was honored to help. It was a common thing in my friend group to have anxiety and depression. It became normalized to unload all our emotions onto friends, regardless of what they may be silently going through. As much as we loved and supported each other, this was very unhealthy. It shocked me into realizing how many people struggle. While communicating with my friends, I recognized how many similar emotions I had. Since then, I have made it my mission to educate myself on mental health as much as possible. As much as I researched and observed, I still missed a warning sign of a band member. The hot spring air filled the band hall at the end of a rehearsal that felt like a lifetime. At dismissal, we all rushed to our band cubbies to put up our instruments as normal. While not paying attention, I bumped into my peer with distinct ginger hair. She played the flute, and we were acquaintances. I opened my mouth to genuinely apologize for bumping into her, but she beat me to it. She looked scared and repeated her apology once more, but I insisted it was okay and that she had done nothing wrong. She then kept her head down and hurried to her cabinet, where she put away her flute and fled. I was stunned by how bad she felt for a mistake that I made. But I brushed it off and left. The next year, she committed suicide, and that interaction has replayed in my head ever since. My friends and I knew we needed to do something about the wave of depression in teens and young adults. We had minimal resources and relied on our parents for funding, but we used what we had to create a mental health nonprofit. Reaching eight countries across three continents, we held seminars through Zoom calls and were an outlet to the public. But we pushed ourselves too hard and planned too quickly. We then entered high school and posted less. In high school, I realized that I had spent the majority of my life taking care of everyone but myself. The feelings I was listening to were similar to the emotions I was having. We were all too young to realize that we needed more help than we could give each other. Out of my three siblings, I am the only one who has ever gone to therapy. As kids, we did not see it as an option in our household, but when I finally went, I felt better than I ever had. Even in the darkest parts of my life, when I was constantly dealing with PTSD, having a professional to talk to changed the way I lived. As much as I thought I knew about mental health, it was not a summer therapy session over a Zoom call that I understood the effectiveness of focusing on my well-being. I now understand that I cannot be my best or do my best work without my mental health being cared for. My experiences inspire my mental health advocacy, where I learned that real change comes from more than listening; it comes from knowing when to seek professional help for informed guidance. Now, when someone vents to me, I understand that I am also taking on their troubles. I know my capacity and am no longer afraid to set boundaries. My journey has made me an empathetic and reliable friend. When someone is sharing their struggles, I encourage them not only to reach out to their family but also to seek professional help when needed. I understand how scary it can be to talk about therapy in households where it is not encouraged, but seeking help is always better than the alternative. I truly enjoy being a shoulder to cry on for my friends because I understand how it feels to think you are alone. Focusing on my mental health changed my perspective on the world and my purpose. I once believed that my only contribution to the workforce was music. I thought it defined me, and if I were not successful at it, I would never be able to live the life I dream of. Now I understand that success is not determined by talent. Taking steps to secure my happiness is what makes me successful. I am committed to a future where mental health is prioritized and encouraged, and I am forever grateful to be educated on the importance of mental health and hope to spread that knowledge.

The first time I heard my former high school band, I knew I wanted to make a difference. I came from a program with more resources and saw potential. Throughout my time as the trumpet section leader. I mentored my peers and younger musicians on producing the best sound possible on their instruments. Beyond this, I also helped with brass, woodwind, and percussion. In every opportunity I could, I visited the middle school band where each kid was passionate and eager for guidance. Since I was taking my health class online and finished it early, I was able to visit their class every day in the second semester. I realized that our band director, teaching middle and high school band, did not have time to teach them the fundamentals that were interrupted by COVID. I began demonstrating how to properly clean and maintain the functions of their instruments. One of my favorite memories took place in the band hall at the end of class. A 7th grader told me his valves and slides were stuck. When I asked him if he oiled and greased his instrument, he looked at me with a confused face and asked me what that was. The next day, our band director was busy in his office. I entered the band hall and taught the brass sections how to grease their slides. It brought a smile to my face when they asked if I meant to oil it, and I quickly replied no and taught them that oiling it dries the slide out. The results showed the next day, with each valve and slide moving quickly. I played with the saxophone section for their benefit and my own, since I was teaching myself the instrument. I also played with the percussion section, joining them for sectionals as I learned how to play the tenor and snare drums. We went over rhythms and articulation to prepare them before they joined the high school band. I taught woodwind players that the key to their instruments is to perfect their embouchure. A slight change can throw their instrument out of tune. Tuning was a big thing I taught the band. I had many conversations with my former band director asking him why we do not do it often. I advocated that no band member can learn how to play their instrument if the notes they are learning are out of tune. Music is about hearing more than it is playing. I taught the kids that if they are thinking a note sounds a certain way and then go to play that note, the note will come out exactly how they thought it should sound. They learned that this can be a good and bad thing. During marching season, when middle school and high school kids came together, I had the most fun teaching. Marching is an essential part of a high school band, and it is something that many people look forward to. I worked alongside my best friend, who was the drum major, to make a strong impact in the band program by advocating for props, correct marching techniques, and correct notes. Guiding the band program to improvement taught me the importance of community and leadership. I am forever grateful to be at a new high school where there are more opportunities to lead and support my community. I want to mentor and uphold as many people as I can throughout my career and encourage others to do the same. Each time I help someone, I grow a little more myself.