Black women’s mental well-being is consistently being underappreciated and discarded. Lack of support from people within our own community, combined with hundreds of years of stereotypes degrading Black women, makes today’s society a society that overlooks the Black woman. As a Black woman, it doesn't take long to notice how differently you get treated. Coming out of the womb seems like a threat to people because of the color of my skin. Getting treated like you're not capable of being able to think on your own because I'm a woman. Years of this torment are detrimental to my mind. Feeling like you never fit in anywhere breaks you, but when you try to get help for that mental instability, people look at you like you're insane. This is the life of a Black woman. Constantly, doctors and nurses overlook depression and internal problems in Black women. Black women are 3 times more likely to die in childbirth than white women; Black women's suicide rates are rapidly rising each year. These problems happen because our voices are silenced. No one understands Black women like a Black woman. I want to reclaim the lives we have lost due to us being silenced by our voices. My passion is to become a nurse specializing in behavioral health, to heal my Black sisters, and break the negative connotations people have of the Black woman. In 2017 I was hit with a tsunami of emotions. At the time, I was in the 6th grade and just starting puberty. Like many people during that period of their life, bullying in my school was at an all time high. What made it worse for me was that I was shy and quiet, so I would take the bullying and not tell anyone. The build up of torment from school, then going home and having to take emotional abuse from my dad, was exhausting. One day my mind broke and thoughts of suicide flooded my braid until i felt like that was the only escape. I reported my thoughts and thought i would be saved from these evil thoughts, but i was wrong. As soon as i reported what happened, i got yelled at by my parents because “i dont know what depression is”. I knew after that, that i couldn’t let anyone know how i felt; After that the suicidal thoughts got worse until it was too late. The rapid decline of my mental health lasted for years and i even had to go to the hospital. These trials and tribulations were a fight, but i overcame them and even developed a love for mental health/creating better environments for mental health development in the process. When i was going through my mental crisis, I loved when people helped me and made me feel like I belonged. This love kept progressing and i realized that i would like to help people that were in my same situation. This is the reason i would like to become a behavioral health nurse, so that u can be there for people in emergency situations and maybe even change their mindset. I want to continue my nursing career by pursuing higher education after my bachelors and become a nurse practitioner afterwards. I never felt like i had a voice in the world, especially when i was going through a crisis. Many black women feel the same way i felt or even worse. When i become a nurse practioner, i will give black women their voices back. I am attending winston salem state university as an upcoming freshman and am truly excited.

Black women’s mental well-being is consistently being underappreciated and discarded. Lack of support from people within our own community, combined with hundreds of years of stereotypes degrading Black women, makes today’s society a society that overlooks the Black woman. As a Black woman, it doesn't take long to notice how differently you get treated. Coming out of the womb seems like a threat to people because of the color of my skin. Getting treated like you're not capable of being able to think on your own because I'm a woman. Years of this torment are detrimental to my mind. Feeling like you never fit in anywhere breaks you, but when you try to get help for that mental instability, people look at you like you're insane. This is the life of a Black woman. Constantly, doctors and nurses overlook depression and internal problems in Black women. Black women are 3 times more likely to die in childbirth than white women; Black women's suicide rates are rapidly rising each year. These problems happen because our voices are silenced. No one understands Black women like a Black woman. I want to reclaim the lives we have lost due to us being silenced by our voices. My passion is to become a nurse specializing in behavioral health, to heal my Black sisters, and break the negative connotations people have of the Black woman. In 2017 I was hit with a tsunami of emotions. At the time, I was in the 6th grade and just starting puberty. Like many people during that period of their life, bullying in my school was at an all time high. What made it worse for me was that I was shy and quiet, so I would take the bullying and not tell anyone. The build up of torment from school, then going home and having to take emotional abuse from my dad, was exhausting. One day my mind broke and thoughts of suicide flooded my braid until i felt like that was the only escape. I reported my thoughts and thought i would be saved from these evil thoughts, but i was wrong. As soon as i reported what happened, i got yelled at by my parents because “i dont know what depression is”. I knew after that, that i couldn’t let anyone know how i felt; After that the suicidal thoughts got worse until it was too late. The rapid decline of my mental health lasted for years and i even had to go to the hospital. These trials and tribulations were a fight, but i overcame them and even developed a love for mental health/creating better environments for mental health development in the process. When i was going through my mental crisis, I loved when people helped me and made me feel like I belonged. This love kept progressing and i realized that i would like to help people that were in my same situation. This is the reason i would like to become a behavioral health nurse, so that u can be there for people in emergency situations and maybe even change their mindset. I want to continue my nursing career by pursuing higher education after my bachelors and become a nurse practitioner afterwards. I never felt like i had a voice in the world, especially when i was going through a crisis. Many black women feel the same way i felt or even worse. When i become a nurse practioner, i will give black women their voices back.

Black women’s mental well-being is consistently being underappreciated and discarded. Lack of support from people within our own community, combined with hundreds of years of stereotypes degrading Black women, makes today’s society a society that overlooks the Black woman. As a Black woman, it doesn't take long to notice how differently you get treated. Coming out of the womb seems like a threat to people because of the color of my skin. Getting treated like you're not capable of being able to think on your own because I'm a woman. Years of this torment are detrimental to my mind. Feeling like you never fit in anywhere breaks you, but when you try to get help for that mental instability, people look at you like you're insane. This is the life of a Black woman. Constantly, doctors and nurses overlook depression and internal problems in Black women. Black women are 3 times more likely to die in childbirth than white women; Black women's suicide rates are rapidly rising each year. These problems happen because our voices are silenced. No one understands Black women like a Black woman. I want to reclaim the lives we have lost due to us being silenced by our voices. My passion is to become a nurse specializing in behavioral health, to heal my Black sisters, and break the negative connotations people have of the Black woman. In 2017 I was hit with a tsunami of emotions. At the time, I was in the 6th grade and just starting puberty. Like many people during that period of their life, bullying in my school was at an all time high. What made it worse for me was that I was shy and quiet, so I would take the bullying and not tell anyone. The build up of torment from school, then going home and having to take emotional abuse from my dad, was exhausting. One day my mind broke and thoughts of suicide flooded my braid until i felt like that was the only escape. I reported my thoughts and thought i would be saved from these evil thoughts, but i was wrong. As soon as i reported what happened, i got yelled at by my parents because “i dont know what depression is”. I knew after that, that i couldn’t let anyone know how i felt; After that the suicidal thoughts got worse until it was too late. The rapid decline of my mental health lasted for years and i even had to go to the hospital. These trials and tribulations were a fight, but i overcame them and even developed a love for mental health/creating better environments for mental health development in the process. When i was going through my mental crisis, I loved when people helped me and made me feel like I belonged. This love kept progressing and i realized that i would like to help people that were in my same situation. This is the reason i would like to become a behavioral health nurse, so that u can be there for people in emergency situations and maybe even change their mindset. I want to continue my nursing career by pursuing higher education after my bachelors and become a nurse practitioner afterwards. I never felt like i had a voice in the world, especially when i was going through a crisis. Many black women feel the same way i felt or even worse. When i become a nurse practioner, i will give black women their voices back.

Black women’s mental well-being is consistently being underappreciated and discarded. Lack of support from people within our own community, combined with hundreds of years of stereotypes degrading Black women, makes today’s society a society that overlooks the Black woman. As a Black woman, it doesn't take long to notice how differently you get treated. Coming out of the womb seems like a threat to people because of the color of my skin. Getting treated like you're not capable of being able to think on your own because I'm a woman. Years of this torment are detrimental to my mind. Feeling like you never fit in anywhere breaks you, but when you try to get help for that mental instability, people look at you like you're insane. This is the life of a Black woman. Constantly, doctors and nurses overlook depression and internal problems in Black women. Black women are 3 times more likely to die in childbirth than white women; Black women's suicide rates are rapidly rising each year. These problems happen because our voices are silenced. No one understands Black women like a Black woman. I want to reclaim the lives we have lost due to us being silenced by our voices. My passion is to become a nurse specializing in behavioral health, to heal my Black sisters, and break the negative connotations people have of the Black woman. In 2017 I was hit with a tsunami of emotions. At the time, I was in the 6th grade and just starting puberty. Like many people during that period of their life, bullying in my school was at an all time high. What made it worse for me was that I was shy and quiet, so I would take the bullying and not tell anyone. The build up of torment from school, then going home and having to take emotional abuse from my dad, was exhausting. One day my mind broke and thoughts of suicide flooded my braid until i felt like that was the only escape. I reported my thoughts and thought i would be saved from these evil thoughts, but i was wrong. As soon as i reported what happened, i got yelled at by my parents because “i dont know what depression is”. I knew after that, that i couldn’t let anyone know how i felt; After that the suicidal thoughts got worse until it was too late. The rapid decline of my mental health lasted for years and i even had to go to the hospital. These trials and tribulations were a fight, but i overcame them and even developed a love for mental health/creating better environments for mental health development in the process. When i was going through my mental crisis, I loved when people helped me and made me feel like I belonged. This love kept progressing and i realized that i would like to help people that were in my same situation. This is the reason i would like to become a behavioral health nurse, so that u can be there for people in emergency situations and maybe even change their mindset. I want to continue my nursing career by pursuing higher education after my bachelors and become a nurse practitioner afterwards. I never felt like i had a voice in the world, especially when i was going through a crisis. Many black women feel the same way i felt or even worse. When i become a nurse practioner, i will give black women their voices back.

Black women’s mental well-being is consistently being underappreciated and discarded. Lack of support from people within our own community, combined with hundreds of years of stereotypes degrading Black women, makes today’s society a society that overlooks the Black woman. As a Black woman, it doesn't take long to notice how differently you get treated. Coming out of the womb seems like a threat to people because of the color of my skin. Getting treated like you're not capable of being able to think on your own because I'm a woman. Years of this torment are detrimental to my mind. Feeling like you never fit in anywhere breaks you, but when you try to get help for that mental instability, people look at you like you're insane. This is the life of a Black woman. Constantly, doctors and nurses overlook depression and internal problems in Black women. Black women are 3 times more likely to die in childbirth than white women; Black women's suicide rates are rapidly rising each year. These problems happen because our voices are silenced. No one understands Black women like a Black woman. I want to reclaim the lives we have lost due to us being silenced by our voices. My passion is to become a nurse specializing in behavioral health, to heal my Black sisters, and break the negative connotations people have of the Black woman. In 2017 I was hit with a tsunami of emotions. At the time, I was in the 6th grade and just starting puberty. Like many people during that period of their life, bullying in my school was at an all time high. What made it worse for me was that I was shy and quiet, so I would take the bullying and not tell anyone. The build up of torment from school, then going home and having to take emotional abuse from my dad, was exhausting. One day my mind broke and thoughts of suicide flooded my braid until i felt like that was the only escape. I reported my thoughts and thought i would be saved from these evil thoughts, but i was wrong. As soon as i reported what happened, i got yelled at by my parents because “i dont know what depression is”. I knew after that, that i couldn’t let anyone know how i felt; After that the suicidal thoughts got worse until it was too late. The rapid decline of my mental health lasted for years and i even had to go to the hospital. These trials and tribulations were a fight, but i overcame them and even developed a love for mental health/creating better environments for mental health development in the process. When i was going through my mental crisis, I loved when people helped me and made me feel like I belonged. This love kept progressing and i realized that i would like to help people that were in my same situation. This is the reason i would like to become a behavioral health nurse, so that u can be there for people in emergency situations and maybe even change their mindset. I want to continue my nursing career by pursuing higher education after my bachelors and become a nurse practitioner afterwards. I never felt like i had a voice in the world, especially when i was going through a crisis. Many black women feel the same way i felt or even worse. When i become a nurse practioner, i will give black women their voices back.

Black women’s mental well-being is consistently being underappreciated and discarded. Lack of support from people within our own community, combined with hundreds of years of stereotypes degrading Black women, makes today’s society a society that overlooks the Black woman. As a Black woman, it doesn't take long to notice how differently you get treated. Coming out of the womb seems like a threat to people because of the color of my skin. Getting treated like you're not capable of being able to think on your own because I'm a woman. Years of this torment are detrimental to my mind. Feeling like you never fit in anywhere breaks you, but when you try to get help for that mental instability, people look at you like you're insane. This is the life of a Black woman. Constantly, doctors and nurses overlook depression and internal problems in Black women. Black women are 3 times more likely to die in childbirth than white women; Black women's suicide rates are rapidly rising each year. These problems happen because our voices are silenced. No one understands Black women like a Black woman. I want to reclaim the lives we have lost due to us being silenced by our voices. My passion is to become a nurse specializing in behavioral health, to heal my Black sisters, and break the negative connotations people have of the Black woman. In 2017 I was hit with a tsunami of emotions. At the time, I was in the 6th grade and just starting puberty. Like many people during that period of their life, bullying in my school was at an all time high. What made it worse for me was that I was shy and quiet, so I would take the bullying and not tell anyone. The build up of torment from school, then going home and having to take emotional abuse from my dad, was exhausting. One day my mind broke and thoughts of suicide flooded my braid until i felt like that was the only escape. I reported my thoughts and thought i would be saved from these evil thoughts, but i was wrong. As soon as i reported what happened, i got yelled at by my parents because “i dont know what depression is”. I knew after that, that i couldn’t let anyone know how i felt; After that the suicidal thoughts got worse until it was too late. The rapid decline of my mental health lasted for years and i even had to go to the hospital. These trials and tribulations were a fight, but i overcame them and even developed a love for mental health/creating better environments for mental health development in the process. When i was going through my mental crisis, I loved when people helped me and made me feel like I belonged. This love kept progressing and i realized that i would like to help people that were in my same situation. This is the reason i would like to become a behavioral health nurse, so that u can be there for people in emergency situations and maybe even change their mindset. I want to continue my nursing career by pursuing higher education after my bachelors and become a nurse practitioner afterwards. I never felt like i had a voice in the world, especially when i was going through a crisis. Many black women feel the same way i felt or even worse. When i become a nurse practioner, i will give black women their voices back.

A boxing match between my mind and the rest of my body has always been a constant struggle for me. It seems as though the constant struggle was actually beneficial to me and my current goals. As an African American woman, I have always been in constant struggle with mental health. The combination of the stigma of mental health in the black community, racism, and my own mental disorders has put a dramatic toll on my life. This mental battle has been happening since I was a little girl and has followed me in my grown-up life. I knew that the mind was something I wanted to study so that I could help people stay in better situations than me. Knowing that I can help people battle their minds instead of losing that fight gives me joy. When I was n the sixth grade I found out I had depression. The feeling was something I would never wish on anyone. Feeling alone and trapped in your own body is enough to make anyone feel like they are losing the fight with their mind. This depression was not momentary and it is still a current fight with me. Now that I am 16 years old and have had this mental battle for many years, I know that mental health is something I am passionate about. I have always wanted to do something in the medical field because helping people gives me a euphoric feeling and I love it. The combination of mental health and medicine has brought me to behavioral health. I have been around behavioral health nurses and I truly know that this is a job I will love and never give up on. I will always aspire to help people with their mental health because I know the impact of getting rid of the stress mental disorders cause. I want to become a behavioral health nurse practitioner because I would like to communicate with my patients to understand what they are going through, as well as help them with what they are going through. I would love to go to college and get my BSN, then I would want to work in a hospital setting, and finally, I would get my MSN and become an NP. This has been a goal of mine for several years and I know I can make a change in my community and in the world. Mental health is such a crucial part of my life and being able to help others with their battles is amazing to me. I would never want anyone to go through anything alone and I will always try my best as a future nurse to make sure my patients will be successful and have healthier minds.