Starting at a young age, I was always that one kid who was fascinated and intrigued by how things worked. It could be simple concepts, such as, why does my knee jerk when the doctor whacked me with a rubber hammer? When my younger brother threw a temper tantrum, I wanted to know why his reactions were so extravagant and elaborate. Why did it only take my childhood dog, Tyson, three weeks to learn verbal and physical commands? But the most significant moment of my upbringing was the one question that I couldn't answer until I was much older: why did my mother change into an entirely different individual after her brain injuries? By age six, I witnessed my mother starting to morph into a different person. Her patience had thinned, her words became easily flustered, and her memory began escaping her more frequently. It wasn't until much later in life that we learned my mother had two untreated severe concussions, which subsequently led her to have short-term memory loss, aphasia, dementia, and Tourette syndrome within a span of eight years. During this time of misdiagnosis and mournful state, we were led to believe that my mother just had depression. So, when this initial diagnosis was concluded, I immediately went to my school's library to study how to cope with depression and anxiety. This demographic led me to the school's textbook of psychology, where I learned the fundamental topics in psychology and its' demographics. Pavlov, Moslaw, Zimbardo, and Rogers ' findings and discoveries resonated with me and fundamentally changed the way I thought about the world. These interests kept with me for years to come, and I entered high school, where I received a more formal education in psychology. This course in my sophomore year led me down the path of wanting to make my career within the realm of psychology. Because of the courses from my teachers and my personal experiences, I have a strong interest in family dynamics and school psychology. This area of development and relationships appears to be truly fulfilling, and the dynamics I've learned are the most logical to me. I know this to be true because of my job shadowing experiences at a charter school. When I was a senior in high school, I was able to interact and participate with a school psychologist, Dr. Thomas, in a K-8th-type environment. I was present while he had to comfort the younger children during the school day. I actively participated with children during different calming techniques, and I helped give a PowerPoint presentation on various mental health topics in the older grades. I loved the interaction with the children there and seeing how Dr. Thomas was a true role model to the kids who were struggling in this low-class environment. Seeing Dr. Thomas as a beacon of hope at that school made me feel inspired and encouraged to help others work through their stressors and dynamics. I want future generations to be encouraged about their mental health and not have to endure like I did, where I was told that "I had nothing to be sad about" or that "my issues weren't real." But I know that with people like Mr. Thomas, and hopefully myself, these stigmas will be a thing of the past. I know my interest in psychology came from a place of curiosity and crisis, but my love of it came from the experiences I had because of it.

In my town, going to church is as natural as breathing. You're bound to come across at least two churches in a matter of minutes if you travel any rural route. Despite our community holding a lot of religious beliefs, I don't think I've ever met anybody with such a deep relationship with God as my mother, Timeeka. When things seem to go awry, she always has a superficial grasp on life: "Things in this life fade, so never let them ruin your time here and now." Mama always had faith in miracles, especially for my sister. Mikalea had been severely anaphylactic to whey since birth. It was an overbearing worry in our lives that my sister could have a reaction and lose her life. Yet, that was where my God stepped in. After attending a church camp in Kentucky, Mikalea was completely healed of her allergy, even though she had experienced the worst reactions at school two weeks prior. Her doctors believed she could never consume dairy products, and they were right for 15 years. The day her test results returned negative, Mikalea enjoyed her first Wendy's chocolate frosty with french fries. Today, she is twenty-one years old, living without restrictions, and still praising God. In my life, I have had few constants to fall back on. People changed and passed on, events spiraled, and many things were out of my control. Yet one thing interwoven throughout my life was my mother's faith. She has given me a solid foundation in Him. I am more adamant about reaching out to friends of like-mindedness and continuing to grow my faith. Even though I could not see it at the time, all the circumstances I've been through were God giving me self-reliance on Him. It was a while before I developed a firm relationship, not just mimicking others. Just like after seeing my mom's hope and my sister's life change in just over three weeks, I have witnessed what God can do. I since have a comfort that I have never received from anyone else in my life, and that only comes through God. Since my freshman year, I've been pulled in every direction by people telling me how my life would go. I was placed in computing and English courses because my counselors told me I would do wonders in those careers. These courses would leave me anxiety-ridden and flustered whenever I was in them. But I feel that same comfort with psychology and criminology. Psychology gives me an appreciation of God's brilliant design of us, and I find strength in Him through the challenging areas that these fields bring out. So now, I stand at the end of my high school career and see that this finish line is just the first checkpoint. With all that said, I remember my momma's advice. I am undecided about my career path and what I am supposed to do with my life, but I don't fear it because I know God will use me wherever He shines.

Do you remember your school assemblies when you were younger? I do, and I think of them fondly. At the time, it felt like the entire town had been crammed into our auditorium. My school would bring the grades together for specific events, like the time when Ms. Tennessee came out to tell us anything was possible or when a doctor explained the dangers of cavities and how we should brush our teeth. After third grade, we stopped meeting in large mobs and into smaller, controlled groups. One of the recurring presentations was about nutrition. We first learned about the food pyramid, the food plate, and, eventually, specific nutritional percentages. The rules and regulations were ever-changing, but one thing was always constant, I had a lot of food allergies. Even though I was aware of my food allergies since I was little, it was not until sixth grade that I realized how severe they were. After being tested, we learned I had over thirty-five food allergies and sensitivities. There are some main ones I need to avoid altogether, a few I can consume once in a blue moon, and some are simply unavoidable. So, I chose the most accessible option: junk food. It was affordable and quicker, and I could have more than my siblings because I was special. That was a win in my book. Eating junk food was less worrisome and simpler because I knew most ingredients couldn't harm me. Of course, this perspective wasn't realistic in the long run. Over time, my family could see the toll my diet took on my body. I was a year-round soccer player and an honor student. My diet made me: lose muscle mass and weight, gave me debilitating stomach pains, caused me anxiety, and worsened my bodily stasis, focus, and concentration. The best course of action was to alter my diet once more and provide me with meals that were greater in substance. I traded pastries for fresh fruit and vegetables. I replaced pizza rolls with sandwiches and food pallets. My life was significantly improved when I stopped eating fast food, carbonated beverages, processed foods, and foods with high sugar content. I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders, giving me more energy and the capacity to complete more tasks around me. So, my family had to make quite a few changes in my diet, and by the time I was in high school, things were looking up for me, but life didn't always go as planned. In the fall of 2019, I had my first fainting spell, and it messed me up badly. It was truly terrifying to have intense stomach pains and wake up unsure of what occurred. We learned that I had vasovagal syncope, and my poor diet kept it at bay until then. Evidently, I needed even more potassium, sodium, and magnesium in my diet. So, contributing to my body's needs is extremely hard, especially when things are outrageously expensive. However, I have learned the cost is worth the time and financial investment. Proper nutrition helps keep your body functioning correctly and protects it from harm. Having the right diet, personally, keeps my symptoms from flaring up, allowing me to be so much healthier, happier, and sound of mind.

If you ask my mother, “Where are you happiest?” she instantly replies with the beach. My mother is from a rural area called Perry, Florida, where the town’s main attractions were the local Winn-Dixie and the Fenholloway River. Perry was my family's ideal vacation destination, where as I struggled to adjust to the muggy weather. Due to the area’s nature, having functional technology was a work of fiction. You either remained outside or browsed the weather channels with my aunt. So most kids would ride ATVs into the woods, playing in the creek beds or at the local springs. In my pre-adolescent years, I started noticing more of the lesser elements of our favorite vacation spot: the litter that accumulated on the highways, the odor of rotting food from the water, and cigarette buds bore the resemblance of a person buried in the sand. I loved the area my family and I explored as a child, yet the river became increasingly worse towards my teenage years. In Perry, the town’s paper mill had been dumping toxic chemicals and byproducts into the water for over 40 years, contaminating the county’s biotic and abiotic factors. While the company has paid to restore the river, it remains an oily cesspool, unable to return to its’ natural state. This conflict drove me to research wasteful dumping and the harmful effects on the environment. I could not fathom how rivers were used as disposal sites, ruining the ecosystems of small towns. I learned that it was not just a local occurrence but an international issue. Despite all efforts created to prevent it, approximately 1,000 rivers across the globe are responsible for 80% of the plastic ending up in the ocean. This data led me to Boyan Slat’s organization, The Ocean Cleanup. On October 26, 2019, Slat released the Interceptor, an innovative vessel that uses a conveyor belt system, solar power, and water currents that automatically extract debris from waterways. When operated properly, the Interceptor could filter water and collect up to 100,000 kilograms of waste daily. Most of the plastic that enters the ocean in parts of the Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Jamaica, and the United States has been stopped by placing these machines in the rivers with the worst debris conditions. With the help of the Interceptors and other Ocean Cleanup devices, the organization has collected over 2,435,798 kg of garbage from different bodies of water. Seeing the Ocean Cleanup organization grow over these past few years has reestablished hope in me. This revolutionary device hits close to home. It’s heartening to witness others contribute to funding and volunteering to help care for our environment, so places like Perry can flourish without the consequences of large conglomerates. It formed a global community and strengthened local ones. While I do not aim to go into environmental sciences, it did broaden my horizons and pique my interest in other humanities. Why did businesses feel justified in the damage they were doing? Why was the original paper mill not discredited, nor was held accountable for the responsibility of its harm to the town? The actions against the Fenholloway River and Taylor County were criminal. Due to my unique experiences, I long to comprehend these situations and the processes that led to their development. Whether becoming a crime analyst or into paralegal studies, I want to further my studies by investigating cases like Perry don’t occur.