I started my first job when I was 16 working at a pizzeria and worked here until I was about 21 years old through college. I was excited to be making my own money and was proud of the tips that I would receive as well as my paycheck. I wanted to save my money and be able to have enough money to put gas in my car and pay for the little things that I was responsible for. My dad had told me to start investing my money, but I was too nervous to, as I had just earned this money and was afraid of losing it. I didn't know anything about investing money or what the risks were. However, some time had passed by and then I went to my dad and started to ask questions about how to invest my money. Since then, I have been able to understand the market and being able to know when to buy or sell or simply forget about my money and then look every now and then. That was probably the most helpful piece of advice because now I am 26 and that money that I once had has grown and it wouldn't have grown sitting in my bank account or in a safe. Even though it is not a lot, to me it is a lot because I know how much went into it originally and I am very proud to have been able to do that by myself.

The biggest problem in the world right now is the complete divide between people and not being able to hear and understand each other. It seems as though the divide between people of cultures, religious views, political parties, etc., are becoming bigger and bigger. It does not seem like people are taking time to understand each other and listen to each other, creating the wedge even more so. There used to be a time where we took the time to hear other view points or simply not talk about certain topics for we knew it could create havoc. However, it seems as though those mannerisms have been forgotten about and it seems like the world is fighting each other instead of helping and coming together. There are many aspects in the world that have to be done in order to work on this problem, but we have to be able to normalize that different opinions are okay and that it's okay to listen to opinions that challenge our own thoughts. That is how we grow as people and that is how we become smarter and well-rounded individuals. It is viewed as a negative aspect to be able to see things from both sides because so often others want a side chosen, but nothing gets resolved that way. Being able to normalize the difference of opinion and being able to normalize personal growth through challenging thoughts and opinions can be a start to the divide that is in the world right now.

In the middle of my senior year of college, I had a career ending knee injury in basketball. I was devastated as my love of sports was taken away from me and not on my terms. During this time, I witnessed my parents' divorce, which made me feel alone and lost in the world. During this time, I was focusing on rehabbing my knee and getting back on track. After plateauing during my physical therapy and feeling helpless, I had to learn to be persistent and consistent in order to get back to where I was. I was cleared one year later to return to sports and working out, but was on a whole other journey of getting my muscle mass back. I had to start at the bottom and work my way back. One whole year later and I was finally back to running without a brace and feeling somewhat normal. However, then COVID occurred and shut down the gyms and my progress just went back to where it was. This was devastating and defeating, but I started to workout at home and go for runs outside in order to keep my knee strong and active. Back and forth in the gym in between shut downs, the light was finally at the end of the tunnel when gyms were re-opened. I got back into the gym and felt defeated and lost, but befriended one of the fitness trainers who's helped me get back to where I was and stronger than I have ever been before. This was the most difficult experience I had to go through as an athlete, but is something that I am grateful for because it will help me relate when I hope to work with athletes one day.

The first thought that comes to mind when thinking about generosity is being selfless and humble. I believe in order to be genuinely generous, one has to do it because they truly want to and because it makes them feel good about themselves, nothing more. I believe that sometimes people can get caught up in doing something because it makes them look good and wanting others to praise them for it. For me, I believe that this is doing something for the wrong reason and too often in today's society this is the reason why people show acts of kindness or generosity. I truly believe that to be generous, one has to be humble and possibly have gone through difficult times in their life in order to understand what being truly generous is. I believe generosity is taught by those around us and we pick up on behaviors and acts of generosity. To be generous is to do it with love and compassion for the sole reason to make someone's else's life better and in return the smile on their face is the best reward that could ever be received. Generosity is truly being selfless and humble each and every day.

My creativity sparked as I got older and had a traveling job as a family based counselor. I would spend hours on the road a day with nothing but my music and thoughts. This is where I would try to use my time wisely and be productive mentally. I started thinking about what I wanted out of life and how I would reach these goals. This led to my little side hobby of INSPA By Gel. I am passionate about sports and mental health, so I came up with a way to blog about it and potentially raise awareness to athletes' mental health. I came up with a logo in my mind, then would draw it later, and then later followed through and had it designed. I use this creativity as I drive in order to be productive and then figure out how to accomplish these goals that I come up with in my mind. I start to brainstorm how I would want my podcast cover to look, my next t-shirt design, or my next topic for my blog. If it's not matching my potential in my head, I try to work on it visually and then sit on it and brainstorm more in my car during my commute every day now. I use my creativity to challenge me to see where I want to be and how I should get there.

Confidence is within all of us, but not everyone finds it right away. It takes time to find what makes you feel good about yourself and what areas you feel confident in. We are always going to have areas that have room for improvement, but that's what makes us human beings. Confidence to me means finding a space that you enjoy and assessing how you can grow to be great in that area. For instance, I love going to the gym and this was something I struggled with after being a collegiate athlete. I felt that I did not have anything to train for anymore and could not get that old feeling of the adrenaline rush going. However, I had to assess what wasn't working for me anymore and what were some things I had to change. I reached out to a trainer and for almost a year now, I haven't felt better. I am more confident now in the gym and feel better about myself mentally and physically because I reached out for help. I continue to assess myself and find areas for improvement, but that wouldn't have happened without the help of others. Confidence comes from within but sometimes it takes someone helping you along the way to show you your greatness because they can see it within you before you see it in yourself. I continue to work on my confidence by being honest with myself and holding myself accountable. I try to challenge myself in the gym in order to not stay stagnant and comfortable, but to continue to be the best me in every way possible.

In my time as a graduate student for my master's degree, my first day of class we talked about empathy. I thought I had already knew what empathy was, but I was confusing it with sympathy. Sympathy versus empathy is a huge difference and disconnect between people and their relationships. Sympathy is feeling bad for someone where empathy is connecting with someone. Now, I am constantly focused on how I can be empathetic rather than sympathetic. The first thing that I always make sure that I do is think from the other person's perspective, how would I feel if I was in their position, what do they need from me right now, and how can I help them best. It is important to be able to think from their perspective because so often, people make situations about themselves, when it is not about them. This drives disconnection and only offers sympathy. It is crucial to be able to think about others and that is what I do. I think about their needs and wants, which might be different than mine, which is completely okay, because everyone is different. I try my best to think about them and attune to the individual.

I would say that there are many things that fuel my life, friends, family, my values, and going to the gym especially. However, I would say the biggest factor that fuels my life is positive energy. Without positive energy, none of the other things in my life happen that fuel it. If I do not fill myself with positive energy or surround myself with positive energy, it does not give myself the motivation to want to do things with my family, friends, or go to the gym. When I surround myself with positive energy and motivation, I get a better workout in and have better laughs or conversations with my family and friends. I have learned that who you surround yourself with matters to who you are as a person and how your thoughts form as well. For me, I try to start my day with a positive message or quote in order to get myself in a right mindset and to think about what I want to accomplish or what I want to do. When I am in a negative mindset, I don't want to do anything, but sit and wallow. But when I am in a positive mindset, I am motivated and fueled to do the things that I love.

Growing up, I would describe my childhood as perfect, even though there is no such thing, but through a child's eyes, I had everything I could ever want. A house, parents, a sibling, and a yard to play in. One of my favorite things to do as a child was playing with my brother outside, no matter what it was. I enjoyed spending time with my family and valued family time more than anything. As I got older, I became involved in more sports than my parents could probably handle, but they never complained and always drove me to where I needed to be. My family were my biggest fans through everything I accomplished. All of my amazing memories from my childhood and young teenage years is what made my parents' divorce extremely difficult and a world I felt like I didn't know. The values that my parents had taught me have only strengthened and the difficulties that ensued during my parents' divorce have only shaped my thoughts and beliefs. If it wasn't for this experience, I don't believe I would have rekindled my relationship with my faith and for that I am forever grateful. Having been past my parents' divorce for almost 5 years now, I have become more independent than I ever thought I would be in such a short amount of time and have learned a lot about myself, more than I think I would have if it wasn't for this unfortunate event. It has shown me that I can do anything I set my mind to and that I can truly persevere and figure anything out, in any situation.

As I have gotten older and deeper into my studies, I have had to be more creative in studying, especially when material is harder to learn or there's so much more information to know. I have never been a creative studier outside of just re-writing my notes or using index cards. However, my best strategies have seemed to be coming up with songs or making an entire story up in order to remember my material. One time I had to remember the presidents and their political parties, which is not an easy thing to memorize, so I picked a song and put the presidents last names to it. This helped me to remember it because I remember song lyrics very easily. However, in college, the technique that worked the most for me was word association and story telling. What does the word sound like or does it have letters that I can associate to another word? This is how I would start my story telling process in order to start a story and then tie in the other material to remember it better. By doing this, it has allowed me to make studying more fun and has helped me to remember more information at a time.

Being involved in sports my whole life, one would think that I would take the time to appreciate nature since I was always outside. However, it was not until I got older that I really started to value and take time to soak in the views of the world around us. As a child and teenager, I believe I took the natural beauty of the world around me for granted and did not start to love nature until my entire world changed as a young adult. It wasn't until my parents divorce' and being on crutches for months all at the same time that I found myself sitting in nature or just really taking it in on long drives. I started to think about how much around me I have missed growing up and the beauty that nature has to offer. I noticed that there is so much more to life than the drama or issues that occur and all of my anxieties were soaked up by taking time to be with nature. My love for nature deepened when I had to postpone my wedding during COVID and make last minute honeymoon changes in order to have somewhat of a normal experience. My husband and I booked a random trip to Yellowstone where we spent a week in the most amazing place I've ever experienced. Nature allowed me to disconnect, be humbled, and realize how much it can take away your worries. I appreciate nature on a daily basis now and look for beautiful places to travel to in order to soak in nature as it truly is the best therapy for me and without my experiences I would've never found my love for nature.

When thinking about how to answer this question, I think about all of the ways that I have had to grow quickly, whether I wanted to or not. I struggled and at times nobody knew I was struggling, but I just kept pressing forward. Through all of my difficult experiences and challenging times that I persevered through, I would say the one aspect I have learned about myself is that I adapt to change. I didn't or hadn't realized it at the time and probably didn't realize it until I was able to do some self-reflecting, but I am proud of how I adapt to change and always find a way. Being able to adapt to change is not easy, but is necessary in life and even though I was down in the dumps at times, I was able to make the most out of my situations and able to be positive for the future. I find myself at times slipping back into that negative mindset when things get hard, but I continue to adapt to change and find a better way than I was doing things previously. I always look for a way to make a situation better and that is because of my willingness to adapt and have a positive outlook most of the time. I would not be who I am today if it wasn't for my experiences and would not have my outlook on life if it wasn't for my experiences and for that, I'm thankful.

It might sound simple but my favorite way is to think about others and for them knowing that I am there for them/knowing that I am thinking of them. I always try to put myself in someone else's shoes and think from their perspective. Each person is different and each person accepts help differently. Some won't ask for help, so sometimes I just tell them that I can come and help them with the task at hand or offer an ear to listen. The ones that do ask for help, I make sure to be there and to be consistent and reliable, so they can continue to come to me when they need me. Trusting and asking for help is such a vulnerable thing, which oftentimes human beings have a hard time doing. Knowing that everyone is different, I attune to each person and how they know they are being helped. Sometimes I just check in with a text or send them a funny message. I want people to know that I am always thinking of them and that I am there for them, even if I don't see them or talk to them every day. I like being able to help others in any way I can, but in the way that they need the help. I know what it is like to not be helped or be helped in the way that I need, so being able to think from their perspectives is the most important thing and my favorite way to help others.

My best skill is being able to "read people" or "trust my intuition." People might not think that this is a skill as it cannot be observed, however, I am able to read in between the lines and able to understand a person by how they act and how they speak to others, even the first time meeting someone. I would say that I have only been off about my thoughts only a couple of times. My master's degree in clinical mental health counseling has helped me in being able to pick up on behaviors or things that people say in order to strengthen this skill. It is something that can be used in my personal life and not just work life. I am improving this skill by continuously educating myself on counseling skills or new techniques that come out. I am also improving my skills by being a good listener and not just thinking I am right based on first impressions. I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt because in the mental health field you cannot be biased. However, a lot of the time my clinical judgment is rather accurate and is something that I am proud of. It is helpful and beneficial in the workplace when there are issues between co-workers, as I am able to challenge others about how they see the situation and able to get others to think from another person's perspective. I am able to do this because of the deep understanding that I have of those around me.

There is only one time in my life that comes to mind when thinking about a difficult situation that I had to persevere through. It was the middle of my junior year of college where my parents' unexpectedly started the process of a divorce that would last years after that. I was in the middle of it all at home and could not escape, even when I was at college, the phone calls would follow me. I used sports as my outlet, as I was a collegiate athlete, and this was the best coping skill that I had. However, exactly one year later, when the divorce started to get worse, I blew out my knee and had a career-ending injury. Now, everything I had loved, I lost. I had no outlet and I now had to learn to cope with losing my family and my senior year of sports. For while, I numbed my feelings, but I realize now that I was protecting myself because my feelings didn't feel safe anywhere. I finished out senior year strong, graduated, found a job, and had to move out of my childhood home. I did not have the option to save money at home, I had to figure out how to live as an adult very quickly after college with no financial support from anyone. Even though it felt like the world was caving in on me and I wanted to crawl out of my skin, it made me a strong and independent person. I learned a lot of truths about my relationships with those around me and I learned that I could get through difficult situations and survive. It is something I never wish on anyone, but try to help others if I know they are going through anything similar.

I am a regimented individual who does not like to stray from their routine and finding this routine is what has helped to motivate me on a daily basis. I start my day with my normal work routine, but when I get in the car, I say a prayer and this prayer can be anything that I feel that I need for the day and this is a weight that I feel lifted off my shoulders every morning. This sets my mind straight for the day and what I want to accomplish and how I am going to get there. I also have a calendar with motivational quotes that I read daily, which helps me to self-assess my life goals and what I am doing or not doing to get there. I use these as motivators to see how I can better achieve my goals or where I am coming up short. This is something that is so simple, but it takes 1 minute to read and a few minutes to reflect. Just like my prayer, these two things help me self-assess and get my mind focused daily. A few times a week I will go to the gym, which also motivates me because going to the gym allows me to accomplish something first thing in the morning before work, which allows me to start my day off achieving and gets me in the right mindset to see what else I can achieve or what I want to achieve. These are the main tools that I use every day to motivate me.

"I am a fighter. I will stand strong. I will stumble and fall but I will never give up. It might take longer at times but I will stand back up and keep fighting." This is a quote from Carli Lloyd who was one of my idols growing up. I want my legacy to be that no matter what came my way, I always found a way to persevere and to come out stronger and a better version of myself. I want to be remembered for this because I have many experiences that have shaped me in my short 25 years of life and had them happen at moments, that I am not sure everyone my age at the time would have been able to handle. I witnessed my parents' divorce and suffered a career ending injury all at the same time and within 6 months of that, I had to graduate college, find a job, move out, and learn how to budget without any guidance. I felt just thrown into the fire and told "goodluck." Through these experiences, I found out what my true passions were in raising awareness to athletes' mental health and wanting to pursue a career in this. I want my legacy to be that I fought through adversity and challenges that not everyone would have had to go through, as so many of my friends went back home after college, had financial support from their parents, or simply had their family together. I didn't have any of that and I found a way and I found a way through it all to come out stronger and still wanting to help others, which is what I want to be remembered for.

"Sometimes the things we can't change, end up changing us." This is something that has spoken to me ever since I read this quote. I would want to share this quote with the world because there is power in self-growth and experiences that happen to us. Not all experiences that happen to us are good, some can be traumatizing, filled with grief and loss, and others can be the best experiences of our lives. However, no matter the experience, it changes us because we grow out of it. I experienced a family separation and I could not change it at all. I wanted to change it and I tried to help fix it, but I couldn't. There was nothing I could do but roll with the punches. After having to go with the flow and roll with the punches, I grew as a person. I grew into the person that I am today and I would not be that person if it wasn't for this experience I couldn't change. We have a choice when we face these difficult experiences; we can try to fight against it from happening, or let it happen and accept it. But, no matter which you choose, it changes you no matter what. It is out of these experiences that you will have a different perspective and view the world differently, and that is growth. I hope anyone that sees this quote, remembers a time that they had no other choice to be strong during a rough situation and realize how far they came. I hope they see that they grew into themselves and hopefully it's the best version of themselves or they have a better understanding of who they are because that is what it's done for me.

I have been asked this many times before in my life and every time I am asked, I always pause and feel like it's a loaded question. However, I have recently found that I have known all along what makes me happy, I just wasn't making the time for it nor putting myself first. Once I put myself and my mental health first, I became the happiest I have been in a long time. What makes me happy is being in the gym, spending time with my husband and dog, and having boundaries. It was not until I learned to set boundaries for myself that I learned what being happy is. I have been able to set aside time and make time for those things that I didn't before because I set boundaries. I learned that I am not a machine and that I need to replenish myself with "me time." However, "me time," will only work if I am able to enjoy it and not focus on other things. I started to be mindful when at the gym and feeling what it was like to get a good workout in and this without a doubt always gives me that "runners high" feeling. Furthermore, the thing that makes me the happiest is being able to spend time with my husband and dog, watch a movie, go for a walk, or just be able to sit down and talk. Being able to connect and create new memories or laughs is what makes me the happiest. I have learned how to do all of this with boundaries recently and it has brought me the most joy I've felt in a long time and it all started with putting my mental health first.

Self-assessment is what I often do in order to re-evaluate those around me and my life in all aspects. There were times that I needed my friends, family members, or others to do something for me that they didn't, which made me feel slighted or forgotten about at times. Due to my experiences, I always try to think about others from their perspectives, think about the individual, and what they need. Every person is so different, that each person experiences love differently. Each person has their own love language, and it is important to be able to understand each person's in order to attune to them and connect with them. This is the biggest thing I do to make my friends, family, and other people in my life feel loved. I attune to them, listen to them, and approach each situation with them to how they need me to. I will check in on them, send them surprise little gifts, or just listen to them when they need me to. I try to go above and beyond what they need to make sure that they know I am there for them. I want them to know that I am always there for them and will do anything for them. Lastly, spending time with them is most important. Not just being there for them, but being able to create memories and make plans with them outside of listening to them. Being able to hang out and connect in different ways is crucial and vital to any relationship. This is something that is most important because it makes them feel loved because where I come from, spending quality time with each other is the biggest sign of love.

It wasn't until recently that I realized what my true passion was and what drove me every single day, athletes' mental health. Being a collegiate athlete myself and struggling to perform at my best during the season due to external factors. I soon realized after my career-ending injury and spending a lot of time in silence during the COVID pandemic, that there was more to me than an athlete. I received a Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, which would provide me with the background and information needed to understand mental health. However, this was not the ultimate end goal. I am looking to pursue a Doctorate of Sport and Performance Psychology to further my education and become a Certified Mental Performance Consultant, as well as, eventually, become a Licensed Professional Counselor. These achievements will help me to be able to work closely with teams, athletes, and coaches to help coaches and players better understand each other to reach optimal performance collectively, as well as, individually. In addition, I want to raise awareness of athletes' mental health and be able to normalize the conversation. I have started to achieve this by starting a side business, INSPA By Gel that talks about mental health, motivation, and inspiration. I also sell clothes to raise awareness and donate proceeds. I want to continue to build my network and eventually work for UCONN or the NCAA as a director of student-athlete mental health. I plan on continuing to work hard, obtain the degree and certifications necessary, as well as, remembering that my own experiences are the reason why I want to help others.

As someone who has received a Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, I can honestly say that it will challenge your beliefs and point of view for the better. After completing this degree, I see the wide range of injustice when it comes to equality and diversity. To start, I have made changes in my personal life when talking to others and comments are made that are not equal. I play devil's advocate with whoever I am having a conversation with and ask about how they would feel if that was said to them or they were not given that opportunity because of their background. Just as my program challenged me, I like to challenge others in order to stick up for and support others that do not get to stick up for themselves. Furthermore, in my current job, when reviewing students' applications, I try to understand the student best and not judge them off their grades. I had a student once that her grades completely suffered because she had to work full time in order to support her family. One of the counselors above me told me to deny the application based on her grades, but I went to my head boss and explained that it would not be right for us to "give up" on her just like everyone else has. I advocated for this first-generation student that had clearly other factors in her life that not every high school student has and it is my job to be the one person that can give someone hope. I will continue to support and advocate for equality and diversity because everyone deserves a chance, especially those that have had the odds against them.

Everyone around me saw what my future career would be way before I saw it myself. Playing sports my whole life, everyone always saw me staying within the sports field, but I only saw myself playing sports my whole life. After a career-ending injury in my senior year of college, I knew my career was done and that I had to use my undergraduate degree in psychology in the best way possible. I went on to receive my Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, but throughout the program, I knew there was more to me, I just didn't know what it was. After having a lot of time in COVID to think, I realized that my heart and passion are in sports and the importance of athletes' mental health. I started a side business, INSPA By Gel to help raise awareness of mental health. I want to help athletes' during their struggles that happen off the field or court, but help them perform in the best way possible during their season. I want to be able to help them be their best individual selves so they don't question who they are once they are no longer playing. I aspire to be a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant with a Doctorate in Sport and Performance Psychology. I want to work for UCONN one day, as well as, the NCAA. My dream is to work personally with athletes and coaches, as well as, move on to be a director of mental health for student-athletes within an athletic department. My personal experiences have helped to shape me and realize where my true passion and direction in life is.

To get anything that you want in life, you have to take risks and chances. Even if they are scary and extreme. After navigating adulthood by myself after my parents' divorce, I had to take risks if I wanted to get where I wanted to be in life. I put myself through graduate school to get my master's and now am looking to put myself through doctorate school for sport psychology. These are big risks, financial risks, but are ones that I am willing to take to make my dreams a reality. I practice bravery by living with no regrets and making decisions that I only think will benefit my future, even if they might be costly. I try to practice what I preach in the way of you won't get anywhere you want to be if you sit around and wait for it. To get what you want, you have to get after it and that is exactly what I do. I put in the extra work, do the research, and do not stop until I can find a way. My bravery has led me to try to start my own business of motivation and inspiration that focuses on mental health. I try to bring awareness but encourage others that they have control and power over themselves even when times are rough. I try to practice what I preach through my Instagram posts to live my best life and inspire others to live their best life.

I did not start to live with gratitude until I felt like I had lost everything that I had loved in my life. In the middle of my junior year of college, I received the news that my parents were going to get a divorce, and then exactly one year later I blew out my knee, suffering a career-ending sports injury. At this moment, I was still suffering from my parent's divorce and felt like I had nothing left to give and no outlet. I had lost everything that I loved and needed, family and sports. Without an outlet to deal with my frustrations, I sat in silence and lost in my thoughts a lot of the time. From that moment forward, I decided to be grateful for the little things that happened every day. If the sun was shining, I thanked God. If I had a good day at physical therapy, it was the victory of the day. I started to celebrate the little victories of everyday life and started to turn to my faith more. This relationship with God is where I found my strength and courage. This relationship with God is where I learned how to live with gratitude and appreciate everything I have. It wasn't until I felt I had lost everything that Ir realized that I had everything and didn't appreciate it as much as I could have. Now, I try to be mindful when I do get to spend time with my family, even if it is not altogether. I try to be thankful for the time with my friends, even if they do something to bother me. I am thankful for each opportunity I have and thank God every single day for something.

To be selfless is to do something and not expect anything in return, or maybe the only thing you get in return is accomplishment or satisfaction due to helping others. For me, that's exactly what selflessness is and what I strive to do. I remember sitting in my dorm room senior year feeling alone, lost, numb, and helpless. I was unable to move, as I had a brace on that went from my hip to my ankle and emotionally felt numb, due to my parents' messy divorce. At that moment, I remember saying to myself, "why me" and "nobody should have to feel like this." It was at that moment that I realized I wanted to help others never feel the way I was feeling. I never wanted someone to feel alone, numb, or helpless. I wanted to be the help. I wanted athletes to know that even though their career can end with an injury, that there is more to them than being an athlete. I wanted people to know that even though there are awful situations that can happen in their life, there is hope for the future. Since these experiences, I now make an effort that whenever I know someone is "off," or is going through something, I reach out to see if they need anything. I have recently started a business, INSPA By Gel, that advocates for mental health and the hidden battles that nobody sees. I sell merchandise to raise awareness and write blogs to reach others to let them know that they are not alone. I try my best to help directly and indirectly, as I want to reach as many people as I can to help.

I used to think that the meaning of life, as having "everything together," and being "nearly perfect." I quickly found out as a young adult that that was entirely false and impossible. I witnessed my parents' divorce and everything that I used to worry about or make a big deal about, suddenly became so small and unimportant. A bad test score wasn't the end of the world, or a hole in my shirt wasn't a big deal anymore. This helped to shape my thoughts to be grateful for what I have and to never take anything for granted ever again. The meaning of life is thus, being able to make a positive, even out of a bad situation because we never know when our lives will change. As humans, it is in our nature to complain or to self-pity at times, and I would say it is okay to feel those emotions, but don't let those emotions run your life. Feel it, sit in it, and then find a way to come out of it. That is exactly what I do to try to achieve it. I will sit in the bad moment and I will feel whatever emotion I need to feel in that moment, but I will always look for a way to reframe the bad situation because I know what it is like to have your entire world flipped upside down, out of nowhere. Live life as if you don't get another chance and live your life how you want people to remember you. I want people to remember me by how I turned negative situations into positives and I would not have been able to do that without my life experiences.

I always put myself in other people's shoes and try to think from their perspective. With this, I think about what that other person might need. I also think about it from the perspective, if I was that person, what would I want or need from someone else. No matter the person's mood, good or bad, I will always encourage them and send random notes or text messages of praise and encouragement. At work, two co-workers were finishing their master's and so the day before their thesis, I sent them a long email about how proud I was of them and why I knew they were going to do well and how they should believe in themselves. Furthermore, because of my clinical background, I gave them little tricks to do if they were nervous. I also like to send my friend encouragement text messages during the week or to check in on them to see how they are doing to be there for them to listen and encourage them. If I know someone has been struggling, I send a short check in message but will end it with a saying and letting them know that I am there for them. Lastly, I have started to blog my own mental health battles in regards to sports and life and have posted them on a website and post them on social media, as well as, quotes with encouraging sayings. I want to be able to impact and help as many people as I can. For that to happen, I have to be vulnerable and let others into my world, which means opening up on a platform, such as social media and hoping to reach as many people as I can.

Staying true to yourself in today's society is extremely difficult, as it seems that you can be judged for anything and everything in the blink of an eye. The hardest part about it is that everyone knows the judgement within seconds as well because of social media and technology. In these conditions, it can be extremely difficult to stay true to yourself and speak your mind. However, from my previous experiences when I didn't speak my mind, those are the experiences that I remember in order to help me to continue to stay true to myself. To stay committed to speaking my mind, I remember how far I have come and where I used to be when I didn't speak my mind. I think about the mental space I was in, the result of not speaking my mind, and how I felt after not speaking my mind. All of these experiences and situations always left me not feeling great about myself and run down for everyone else. I started to put myself first and put my boundaries up, which led me to saying "no," and expressing myself. This mindset has changed my life for the better and has taught me many valuable life lessons at a young age. I have taught that boundaries are important and that being my authentic self is important. It's important for me to be me and those that do not appreciate it, do not have to be in my life, because those that I used to fight so hard for to be in my life, I was just wasting so much energy and in return, not feeling good about myself. Now, I stick up for myself and know my value and worth, which is the greatest gift of speaking my mind.

For the short 25 years that I have been alive, my hobbies have always stayed the same, sports and fitness. Without sports and working out, I would not feel like myself nor would I be able to think clearly. I love playing soccer and basketball, but since I am "retired" now, I enjoy playing in adult leagues or coaching. However, sometimes this is hard with my work schedule or having the flexibility to coach, so going to the gym and working out or shooting/kicking the ball around fulfills this joy. I enjoy watching sports on TV and always make sure to never miss a UCONN game, as I have been a fan since I was a kid. Without sports being a huge part of my life and the majority of my life, I would have never found my passion and mission in life in athletes' mental health. It wasn't until after I stopped playing and went through experiences that I realized how much sports has done for me and will continue to do for me. I am fortunate enough that my hobbies have turned into my passion and that there is hope for my passion to come to life in a work setting.

The one thing that was emphasized the most in my master's program was self-care. However, if you are not able to truly clear mind while doing a self-care activity, then it will not feel like self-care and you will just be back to where you were. Self-care and mental health is something that I take extremely seriously after working a job that destroyed my mental health and led me to a place where I didn't even know who I was. After self-reflecting and having time to take a mental break and thinking about what I needed on a day to day basis, I changed what I was doing in my life. I changed the way I ate, which made me feel better mentally, but I committed myself to going to the gym or for a run 3-4 days a week, which changed the way I felt about myself physically and ultimately mentally. This is now part of my weekly routine. For self-care, I schedule other activities and events around my self-care, such as going to the gym or going for a run. I always make sure that I have time to do this, because without it, I do not feel like myself. Putting up boundaries with this is also something that is crucial to my mental health and others. It is okay to say "no," or to put your schoolwork or workload away for the day to decompress with a TV show or nap. These boundaries and setting time aside for myself to watch TV or most importantly go to the gym has made a world of a difference in my mental health.

There were a handful of events or accomplishments that were on my bucket list as a child and as I have gotten older, that bucket list has grown. I wanted to score 1,000 points in basketball in high school, play a college sport, graduate college, get my master's, and work hard enough to save money for a GMC Terrain. These are all of the accomplishments that I have been able to do so far. However, I would not have been able to accomplish them without other people in my life. I would not have been able to score 1,000 points in high school in basketball if it wasn't for my teammates as they would pass to me and trust me to make shots. Without my coaches and teammates, I wouldn't have been able to be good enough to play a sport in college and I was able to play two sports in college which is a big accomplishment. I went on to get my bachelor's and then my master's degree while working full time which was extremely difficult but worth it. While working full-time, I saved to buy my "dream car" as a graduation gift for myself and bought myself a GMC Terrain, which feels so rewarding having been able to earn that. However, there are many things still on my bucket list such as, visiting Montana Glacier National Park, going to Italy, completing my Doctorate in Sport and Performance Psychology, and owning a successful business called INSPA By Gel which would raise awareness to athletes' mental health. I have started on my business plan and launched it, but am not where I want to be. All of these accomplishments are going to continue to take hard work and patience.

When thinking about the current world and the current state of the world that we live in, the words scary and worried come to mind. The world seems to be coming scarier by the years and when trying to remain positive, I look at the victories, whether big or small that give me hope for the future. If anything has happened positively over the years, I would say the stigma of mental health is becoming less and less. Although there is still a stigma of mental health and it is not fully accepted, or the mental health workers are not fully recognized nor compensated nearly enough for all that they do, I believe that the conversation is better and that others are starting to truly bring awareness and talk about mental health. For the simple fact that others are talking about mental health more and making it or trying to make it a more normalized conversation gives me hope that we can continue down this path and that the future will be better and safer for those battling mental health issues. With this, I think raising awareness to the burnout and fatigue that mental health workers have is part of this and being able to recognize the struggles that mental health workers face because of the awful stories that they witness each and every day. It is heavy to carry and because mental health workers are empathetic, they are like sponges that absorb that energy. Even though, we are taught and trained on how to engage in self-care, we all think about our clients after we "clock out." The hope is that the more we talk about our daily struggles as a society through social media, we can reach one another from across the world. We can normalize that it is okay to not be okay and that through social media, we can hopefully encourage or inspire someone to reach out or share their story. The platform of social media gives me hope that we can all make a change for the better and that mental health is being talked about more. I believe that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in order to normalize mental health, especially specific fields or specialties of mental health, but it seems to be going in a more positive direction than the past, which gives me hope. I want to be part of this positive trajectory and being part of the change and raising awareness to mental health, which is what I plan on doing if I am able to attend a university for my Doctorate of Sport and Performance Psychology. Specifically, I want to normalize the conversation about mental health in athletes. There is hope as this is being talked about more, but we have to normalize the general conversation about mental health in order to reach these specific communities.

"How do you want people to remember you?" is always one of the questions that people ask during a job interview or at your place of employment when doing an employee ice breaker or goodbye celebration. For me, I had always said how hard I worked and that I never made excuses. However, after finding my passion in life and finding what I want to do, that answer has changed and changed for the better. I want to leave an impact that says that I cared about athletes' mental health and the general mental health of people. I want to leave the impact on the world that says that she knew us as individuals and not just for athletes. She saw the battles that nobody else knew about and helped me to share my story so that others can heal and grow as well. My mission and goal in life is to bring awareness to athletes' mental health and to work with teams, athletes, and coaches to help them understand themselves as individuals better but also each other. A lot of the time, athletes and coaches struggle with their relationships because they do not truly understand the person beyond the uniform. I want to be able to help athletes perform to the best of their ability and that starts with helping them through battles beyond the court or field. I plan on pursuing a Doctorate of Sport and Performance Psychology where I can become certified as a mental performance consultant, as well as, eventually get my license as a professional counselor due to my clinical master's. I want to work directly with teams of all levels and create a platform to normalize the discussion of mental health.

"Listen to understand, not to rebuttal." This line is something that I often say to my clients, family, and friends. I believe many people believe that active listening entails giving advice or giving a solution to someone that is telling you their problem or issue. However, to me, active listening is so much more to that. Active listening is being an ear and not saying much back. Active listening is being able to feel and empathize with the person who is sharing something vulnerable with you because if someone is taking time to share something with you, no matter the severity, it shows that they trust you. I actively listen by listening to understand and not thinking of what I should say back. Listening to understand is listening to the words that the person is saying, the feelings that are behind the words, and being empathetic. I try to put myself in the other person's shoes and imagine what feelings are attached to what is being spoken. I validate the other person because no experience is easy to go through. Listening to me means being able to understand the other person and being able to learn the other person in what they need in that moment. Some people want advice, but some people just want to be heard and validated. Being able to simply ask, "do you want me to tell you what I think or do you just want me to listen?" can go a long way. This shows care and concern for what that person needs in that moment and this is what I like to do and not assume I know what the other person needs. Often times, when you listen to understand, the person will often wind up asking what you think because they feel connected.

There is only one main answer to this when someone asks me what I am passionate about. The answer is sports and although that is vague, I love sports and any aspect that goes into sports. The route that I want to take is being able to help with athletes' mental health and raise awareness to it. Think about how much a single person can go through on a daily basis and then add on top of that the pressure, time, and energy spent being an athlete. Words that come to mind when thinking about athletes are expectations, perfection, and pressure. These words are often times what drive athletes, but can lead to mental battles that can swallow them up and silence them. I have gone through those experiences as a student athlete and did not feel like I could talk about it because athletes are "tough" and they do not show "weakness." However, if I had spoken my battles during the time, maybe I would have performed better, or maybe I would have been nicer to myself in the way I thought about myself. Athletes undergo so much pressure because they ride their identity on them being an athlete, but there is so much more to them than that. Being able to help athletes perform to their best ability, but being able to grow as an overall individual is what I am passionate about and strive to do. I want to be able to help athletes know their worth and not believe that they are nothing without sports. Athletes have so much grit and resiliency, but do not believe this when sports are not in their lives anymore. I want to be the reason that athletes find purpose in life after they are done with sports.

When thinking about the impact or legacy that I want to leave, I want people to say that "she cared about us beyond our sport and she saw us as a person." As a former collegiate athlete, I often felt that people only saw me for my athletic ability and success on the field or court. I didn't realize until after I had a career ending injury, that I felt more alone than ever before and it seemed that people didn't care as much about me because I was not competing. Whether that narrative is true or not is irrelevant, as this was my perception. As I have gotten more into the mental health field, I realized that I never wanted someone to feel like I did. I want to make sure that student athletes are taken care of as an individual first and student athlete second. Being a student athlete is a huge part of their identity, but there are other external factors that occur that can become obstacles. This is something that coaches or teammates might not think about when their teammate is not performing well. This has inspired me to want to pursue my Doctorate in Sport and Performance Psychology, receive my certification as a Mental Performance Consultant and my license as a Licensed Professional Counselor. I want to be able to be that person that can help athlete perform their best on the field or court or track, but help them become the best overall individual so prepare for life after sports. I never want the athletes to question who they are because there is more to them than being an athlete. With this, I want to use my education and skills to raise awareness to athletes' mental health.

I did not realize the simple things in life until I witnessed my parents' divorce. I used to stress and spend so much time worrying over the little things, that I often missed the bigger picture, or did not appreciate the small things I had. However, after going through this experience, I have been able to be extremely grateful for what I have and to appreciate the little things in life every single day. The things that I enjoy the most are going to the gym, spending time with my husband, and playing with my dog. I don't know how I would survive without these small aspects of my every day life. Going to the gym or going for a run is how I practice self-care because it is "me time," and it is time that I spend taking care of myself. It is something that I enjoy doing because it helps me mentally and physically. By doing this, I have been able to gain a small support group at the gym with the regulars that I see and this is something that I am so grateful. Being able to spend time with my husband and my dog is something that I did not realize how much I was missing out on times because I buried myself in work and schoolwork. Working full time and going to graduate school full-time is not easy, but I was missing out on relaxing nights and making memories with them, which is something I do not pass up on now. Every moment we can, we play with my dog outside, go for walks, and watch TV every single night. It has shown me that it does not take much to make me happy and that everything I needed was right in front of me.

Giving is one of the easiest things to do because it is free, but yet so many people have a hard time giving. For me, my profession is about giving, as I am in the mental health field and aspire to help others. Giving is important to me because all it takes is to give someone a chance or an opportunity to change their life. I worked as a family based counselor for two and a half years early in my career and saw that all it takes is to believe in someone and to give someone the chance to be heard to change someone's life. I felt that I gave back to these kids that I worked with that weren't given that opportunity before. Flash forward, I now work in higher education and am an undergraduate admissions counselor. I give back in the way that I read these students stories and traumas that they have been through and truly understand why their grades might have suffered and instead of turning them away, I advocate for their story and to be given a chance to be successful. How would it be helpful to be like everyone else and turn them away? It wouldn't. Through this, I have been able to connect with future students because I gave them a chance and they are so humbled and grateful. It is a humbling experience for me, as it is so easy to take things for granted. However, being able to see this impact makes me want to continue to help those in the mental health field in any way I can by pursuing my doctorate.

This is Cassie! She is a sheltie and weighs 10lbs! She was the runt of the bunch and said that she would have medical problems but she has lived an extremely healthy life. This photo was taken due to finding out that Cassie’s cancer came back and I wanted to make as many memories as I could with her before it was too late. Cassie is a fighter and has been since she was a pup and loves spending time with mommy and daddy!

When thinking about how to come up with a practical solution, the first thought is where do people congregate the most. The answer to this is schools, no matter the age, that is where the most people congregate starting at 4-5 years old and all the way through high school or college. There should be a mandatory class in each grade that teaches children on how to express their feelings and emphasizing that it is okay to express when they are not okay. As children get older, they could be taught warning signs for someone with depression or anxiety. There is always a psychology elective class in high school, but that teaches mostly the history and ideas. What about signs? Being able to be taught signs and warning signs/red flags about what anxiety, depression, OCD, panic attacks, etc., look like, could save some lives and can help students be aware and more sensitive to others. Being able to implement this in school systems would be a way for others to be aware and to raise awareness.

When thinking about my career goals and aspirations, I always knew that Psychology had a special place in my heart, as I always wanted to understand the "whys" or potential reasons for behavior. As I got into the field more, I never knew the exact direction that I wanted to go as I was always interested in many different areas and was open to any field that seemed challenging. However, as a previous collegiate athlete, that is when I struggled the worst mentally, as I was facing many obstacles in my home life that nobody knew. I witnessed my parents' divorce which was messy and I was in the middle of it all at home. I was trying to finish out my junior year of college and go into my senior year and seasons with focus and concentration on my studies/sports. I was able to fuel all of my energy and emotions into my training for sports, making me have a very successful senior season in soccer. When it was time for basketball season, I blew out my knee and now had no outlet to turn to and was not prepared for life after sports. With this, I fell into anxiety and depression and felt extremely lost in the world and without a purpose. I went back to school for my Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and thought this was my calling. However, after having a lot of time to think in COVID and what my true passions were, sports were always the answer, but how could I combine the two? Receiving this scholarship would help me pursue my Doctorate in Sport and Performance Psychology where I would be able to be certified as a Mental Health Performance Consultant and eventually get my Licensed Professional Counselor license. This scholarship would allow me to pursue my dream jobs in working for a college or university, bringing awareness to athletes' mental health, and being able to help athletes become well-rounded individuals for life after sports. Nobody prepares an athlete for life after sports and it is part of their identity that they do not know what is outside of that a lot of the time. I do not want others to go through what I went through mentally and physically with a career-ending injury, without having someone to be there for them. I wish I had someone that understood instead of just telling me that I would get through it. I knew I would get through it, but the effect that this had on me on top of other life stressors, was something nobody seemed to relate to. I strongly believe that I should be awarded this scholarship as I have worked hard, never backed down when things got rough, and always found a way to persevere. This is something that I want to help others do, even when they feel like the odds are against them. I want to be the person to help others realize that there is more to them than sports and they have a purpose outside of sports. I would be able to help mold collegiate athletes into being well-rounded individuals who can be proud of who they are when they are not on the field or court. Being able to help them perform in their sport, but be able to cope with external factors is something that is missing from the world of athletics. I would be honored and humbled in receiving this award and being able to pursue my dream of receiving a Doctorate in Sport and Performance Psychology and being able to help share my experiences to positively impact others around me.

When thinking about the importance of mental health, you will often hear people express concern and that it needs to be talked about, but few take action in order to raise awareness. My personal experiences have been the reason why I want to be a mental health advocate and raise real awareness to the battles that people face on a day to day basis. So often, everyone wants to talk about the battles that people face after they have already learned on how to cope and become resilient, but what about those suffering in silence? I suffered in silence as a collegiate athlete when I had a career ending injury, which led to anxiety and depression. However, at the same time, I witnessed my parents' divorce, which was ugly and traumatic. People just thought I was sad that I couldn't play basketball anymore, but it was worse than that. I just lost everything that I had once loved, sports and my family. How was I supposed to cope with this? My senior year of college was supposed to be full of love and celebration. So many people, friends and family were only concerned about my mom and how she was doing, but what about me? I was in the cross-fire between my parents' divorce at home and my senior night celebrations, graduation ceremony, and graduation party became about how my parents' were going to co-exist and not about me. My career ending injury was about just getting through it, and not about the grief and loss I felt of my entire identity of 18 years. These experiences showed me who was in my corner, who was thinking about me, who was thinking about my mental health, and who tried to understand what I was going through. The answer is sad, but it was not many, maybe only two people who actually knew what I was going through and how I wanted to crawl out of my skin and scream. It showed me that not everyone thinks about others and people have a very difficult time putting themselves in other's shoes. Why is this such a hard concept? I couldn't understand it because it is something that I have always done. Others react before thinking and assume the worst out of others. I kept trying to justify others behaviors and saying that they were worried about my mom because of x, y, and z, but by doing this, I kept putting myself lower and lower on the totem pole, which wasn't fair to myself or my mental health. I realized that who I surrounded myself with was a big piece to my mental health. After having a lot of time to think during physical therapy and having the pandemic to sit and think, while I had to move out of my childhood home and figure out life on my own after graduation, I realized that I never wanted someone to go through what I had went through in silence. I wish I had someone to help me through it and realize that there is more to me than just sports. This shaped my mission and goal in life. I finished my Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, but wanted to specialize in Sports Psychology, which I am hoping to pursue a Doctorate of Sports and Performance Psychology. With this goal, I want to be able to help athletes perform to the best of their ability while in their sport, but help them through their mental battles while it is going on. So often, we hear about the battles afterwards. I want to be able to help them with the external factors that occur while they are playing that nobody knows about. I want to bring awareness to athletes' mental health and that it is beyond the court or field. Athletes are human beings who have personal battles and coaches need to see this as well in order to help better the player-coach relationship. My hope and dream is for coaches to be able to better understand their athletes, so they can connect better, which would then improve overall team performance. With this, my hope is for athletes to realize their full potential and to be the best version of themselves outside of sports and prepare for life after sports because it is something that no athlete is prepared for and it can be detrimental to their overall well-being.