As I walked through the beautiful and green campus, I noticed a squirrel. The squirrel seemed confused and frustrated. He was vigorously digging into the ground looking for something. After finishing digging his hole, he didn't seem to fid anything so he moved to a different spot and dug another hole. Again, he vigorously and angrily pounded into the ground trying to find whatever it was that he was looking for. After searching his new hole, he pulled out a gorgeous light brown acorn. This is what he was looking for! I sat back and watched the squirrel do this in awe. I took a moment and breathed in the beautiful nature and scenery. As I did this, I realized how calm and at peace I felt while observing the squirrel. I felt happy that he had found his acorn but also grateful for his presence because of how observing him reduced my stress. The experience that I described above has lead me to realize that the best way to live a long and healthy life is to admire the simple pleasures around us. It is vital to take moments every day to feel grateful for life and all of its offerings. This promotes positivity through hardship and encourages peace instead of stress. We have so many things to be thankful for.

As I walked through the beautiful and green campus, I noticed a squirrel. The squirrel seemed confused and frustrated. He was vigorously digging into the ground looking for something. After finishing digging his hole, he didn't seem to fid anything so he moved to a different spot and dug another hole. Again, he vigorously and angrily pounded into the ground trying to find whatever it was that he was looking for. After searching his new hole, he pulled out a gorgeous light brown acorn. This is what he was looking for! I sat back and watched the squirrel do this in awe. I took a moment and breathed in the beautiful nature and scenery. As I did this, I realized how calm and at peace I felt while observing the squirrel. I felt happy that he had found his acorn but also grateful for his presence because of how observing him reduced my stress. There are many other simple pleasures in life other than the squirrel, nature, and his acorn. These simple pleasures help me to destress and relax when times get tough. They help me to remember and hold positivity close in a world that is full of pain and suffering.

When growing up, my family didn't have much. There were many nights where food was scarce and limited for my siblings and I. There were many mornings where I didn't know if I would have enough lunch money for school. I remember the feelings that came along with these hardships as a child. I felt worried, hopeless, and stressed about my family's situation. The light at the end of the tunnel was always the help that the community provided to my family. I specifically have one memory of a stranger dropping off a huge cardboard box full of non-perishable foods. I remember seeing this and instantly feeling relieved and happy that some of my worries were gone. I felt grateful to the person that had so graciously given my family this sustenance. They impacted my life through their giving and service. This is why giving is important to me. As a child, someone gave to me through donation and community service and impacted my entire life. Because of my memories with those that served my family and my community, I set my career goals on becoming one of these individuals. I want to give back to my community just as that person did for me. I want to help those in my community that are struggling and meet them where they are at through providing resources and services as a community social worker. I am currently studying to become this social worker in order to give back to my community through volunteerism, advocating for others, and providing resources and services to my community. I also currently give back by volunteering within my community in efforts to advance my career goals and get more experience.

There is nothing worse than hearing "You'll be fine" or "Just stop thinking negatively!", when you're waking up everyday with the weight of depression and anxiety on your chest. This was a daily occurrence for me when I was in high school. I would hear these comments from many as I tried to reach out for help with my mental health. I was living in a shade of grey and felt that there was no way out. I desperately needed someone to listen to me and be there for me in anyway possible. This person never came and things only got worse as my family and friends continued to believe that I was just going through a phase. As things got worse, I knew that I would have to fight this battle on my own. I was too fearful of suicide and knew that I would be missing out on so much if I didn't at least try to help myself. I started performing self-care activities as a way of coping with my depression and anxiety. I would journal in the mornings and at night. I wrote affirmations and everything that I am grateful for every night as well in order to fully experience the positivity that was around me everyday. I also started to exercise and gradually did more activities as I started to feel the start of the process of healing. This was all important to me because I was doing it on my own and I was doing it to benefit myself and my future. After this experience with my mental health and the struggle that came along with it, I found a passion within mental health. I realized how valuable it would have been if I had someone to be there for me throughout this time. I wished that I had someone back then to advocate and provide resources to me. I would have felt cared for and understood instead of feeling shameful because of what others thought of my struggle. Upon this thought, I decided that I wanted to be this person for others. There are so many other people within our country that do not have a person that is there for them and that advocates for them on their behalf. They feel misunderstood and invisible to the world and others around them. This is how I felt through my struggle therefore I will change this for others. I will be the person that I needed back then. I aspire to make a positive impact in this world by becoming a community mental health therapist. I want to be the person that people in my community can count on when times are tough. I want to encourage and uplift individuals in my community to overcome their mental health struggles. I will advocate and provide resources to people so that they feel understood and cared for. I want to serve my community and the individuals within it by lending an ear to those that feel silenced. I feel that within this, I will positively impact my community and also the world.

Thirty minutes later, the conversation had ended. My anxiety was high, my heart was pounding, and my face was beet red. I started to calm down and felt a rush of peace over my body after realizing that my friend would be okay. She had come to me admitting that she had a plan to kill herself and that she wanted to act on it because of the pain and isolation she was dealing with. I knew, in this moment, that I needed to help her and that I was committed to keeping her alive and well. Within this conversation, I listened to my friend and advocated for her well-being by remaining calm and collected and providing resources to her for her mental health. I helped her to calm down and allowed her to talk as long as she needed in order to feel better for the time being. I was there for her, not as just a friend, but as someone that wanted to take care of her and make sure that she got the help that she needed. After this conversation, I was impacted. I found a passion in helping others with their mental health struggles. I found a passion in advocating for others well-being and being the shoulder for others to cry on. It was important to me that I impacted my community therefore, my goal is to continue my act of service within my community by becoming a mental health therapist. With this in mind, I can continue the act of service that helped my friend while also making an impact on my entire community through mental health resources and social work.

As I woke up, I instantly felt the weight of stress and anxiety fall upon my chest. I felt frozen, like I couldn’t move. I felt paralyzed in worry and rumination. How could I possibly get out of bed and start my day when all I felt was depression and weakness? How could I have let this get so bad? What is wrong with me? I questioned all of these things as I tossed and turned waiting for happiness and positivity to slap me in the face. This slap never came and my destructive feelings continued. This was my mental health. This was my life. There have been many times within my life that I have fought to overcome adversity. Although, the hardest fight that I’ve fought would have to be with my mental health. During my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I struggled with depression and anxiety. I would wake up feeling like a person living in a shade of grey. I felt broken, isolated, and unimportant to the world. My self-confidence was low and I felt like an utter disappointment to everyone around me. There were many times where I thought that suicide was the only way out and deeply considered it. The only thing that held me back from completing this thought was the idea of pain and the uncertainty of death. I had no access to mental health therapy or mental health resources due to the financial situation that I was in. I am one of six children in a lower income household and there were no extra funds to help me with my mental health issues. I knew that I somehow had to do this on my own. Upon the realization that help wasn't coming and Superman wasn't going to come save me, I decided to try and overcome my mental illnesses. I attempted many things within this time. I journaled and practiced self-care activities like coloring, dancing, and doing things that were fun for me. I also found support within my church and was given motivation and love about who I am and how worthy and unique I am. I trained myself to reverse my thoughts by forcefully telling myself "no" when a sad or negative thought came to my head and allowed myself to turn it into something positive instead. I also admitted to my parents about what I was going through and how I had considered leaving the earth for food and leaving them behind because of how all consuming my depression was. I was met with love and support by them also. After practicing all of my new techniques of healing and enabling my support system to be there for me, I felt confident that I could see the light at the end of the dark and narrow tunnel. I felt relieved and happy for the first time in a very long time because I knew that the process of healing had begun for me. Within this experience, I developed resilience and perseverance that changed my life. Because of my new found growth and resilience, I have now devoted my career goals and aspirations to being a community mental health therapist. I want to share my story with others that are also struggling with their mental health. I will use my resilience and experience to advocate for others and provide resources for those in need. This experience, though difficult, has helped me to shape my future and also has helped me to find passion and purpose in mental health therapy.

There are many people within our country that are underprivileged and vulnerable. They do not have a support system and also do not feel supported by the country because of their identity. They feel outcasted and as if no one cares for them. This is where I step in. I want to prevent anyone in my community from feeling like they have no support system. I will be their support system through my services that I will provide. I will lend an ear to them as a practitioner and allow them to tell me their story. My future career will be to give back to the community as a community mental health therapist. I want to help others by advocating for them, providing resources for them, protecting them, and more. I feel that this is extremely important for individuals as well as for my community.

As I woke up, I instantly felt the weight of stress and anxiety fall upon my chest. I felt frozen, like I couldn’t move. I felt paralyzed in worry and rumination. How could I possibly get out of bed and start my day when all I felt was depression and weakness? How could I have let this get so bad? What is wrong with me? I questioned all of these things over and over as I tossed and turned waiting for happiness. I felt worthless and not good enough to anyone around me. This was my mental health and the cycle that continued on for two years until I decided that I wanted to harm myself. I had planned it and thought that it was the only way out. I attempted this way out and found that I was too scared to do it. I was too worried about what might happen and too fearful of how it would feel. Upon this realization, I knew that there had to be a different way out of how I was feeling other than committing suicide or harming myself. I decided to try my best to overcome this adversity and difficult time through self-care, support from family and church, and more. I eventually was able to overcome these feelings after much hard work. Now, looking back at this experience, I am so grateful that I was fearful. I am so grateful and happy that I am still breathing and able to experience love and life on earth. Because of this gratefulness, I have committed myself to helping others that also struggle with mental health. I am studying to become a community mental health therapist so that I can help others fight the same battle that I fought through gratitude and positivity.

While growing up, times were always tough for my family. There was always constant worry and fear that we would eventually be homeless because of our financial situation. There were many times where there was not much food to eat and we relied on public servants to help us through these instances. I remember seeing cardboard boxes full of nonperishable food items and wondering where they came from. I of course was happy and smiling because there was always Kraft macaroni and cheese. This was the work of those within public service. It struck me that there were people in my community that were so selfless that they would give time to my family and provide services to my family in order to help us literally survive. I knew at that moment, as a little girl, that I wanted to grow to be one of those selfless people because of how much they had impacted my family. Upon this growth, I am now a college student that is studying to become one of those selfless people! I am studying social work and psychology in an effort to become a community mental health therapist. I want to be able to be selfless by giving back to my community through therapy and mental health services to those that are underprivileged and vulnerable. I feel that there is a huge need for this right now with the pandemic and mental health crises on the rise. I will be an advocate for others in my community and help to protect them from mental illness.

While growing up, I remember hard times and good times. I remember going through hardship and having no lunch money at school. I remember my father having to work multiple jobs so that we could eat. I also remember the smile on my dad's face when my little brother was born. I remember the late night laughs that we shared as a family when my mom and dad tried to rap. I remember all of these memories and always will. They are locked within my brain with importance. The happy memories remind me of laughter, positivity, and the importance of family. The sad memories remind me of how much I have grown and how even though my family and I have suffered hardship, we are stronger than we were back then. Throughout these memories, I realize what the meaning of life is. The meaning of life is love. The meaning of life is positive and impactful to all. Life means having those good and sad moments with others. Life means growing up and becoming stronger everyday. Within this meaning, we all must continue to exhibit the best of ourselves and show love to those that are not fortunate enough to have it. Life also means giving back to others and allowing them to feel happiness and love as you have. Within my life, I am studying to become a community mental health therapist. I want to give love to those that do not feel it through advocacy and providing resources. I want to show compassion and positivity to those that are underprivileged and vulnerable and may not have anyone in their life to support them. I want to make memories with my community, good and bad, that show love and what life is all about.

Active listening is a skill that is important for everyone, regardless of who you are. Active listening means actually hearing someone and listening to them, not because you benefit from what they are saying, but because they are important and deserve to feel and be heard. I actively listen to those around me by making eye contact with them while they are speaking. I make sure to nod and give minimal encouragement back to them to show that I am listening and hearing them. I reflect back what they are saying to them through asking questions about what they are saying and staying completely engaged. Within doing all of these things, this shows others around me that I care and understand what they are saying and want to know more. As a current college student that is studying to become a mental health therapist, the skill of active listening is extremely vital and important to me. There are many people within our country and world that do not feel heard or listened to. They feel that their voice is too soft to be heard or feel that no one cares what they have to say because they have never had someone actually listen to them. I want to change this for others by providing my skill of active listening to those that are vulnerable or in underprivileged communities. I want to support those within my community that do not feel heard with the skill of active listening. Listening to someone is a simple task that anyone can do but it carries weight for those that have never experienced it or felt advocated for. In my opinion, listening means understanding and caring for others. It means that they are important and valuable enough to be heard no matter what.

When growing up, it was hard for my parents to make ends meet. There were many instances where my sisters and I would wonder where our next meal was coming from. This was hard and confusing as a child and caused my sisters and I to have anxiety, stress, and worry at such a young age. Within our community, there were food banks and organizations that would help families like ours. I distinctly remember being at home one day when I heard two knocks from the door. I opened the door to find 2 boxes full of food and non perishable items for my family. Some of these items were even my favorites! In this moment, I knew that things would get. better and my family would be okay because of people that give back to the community and help others by providing resources like food. As I grew up, I remembered this feeling as my family’s situation got better. My father was promoted and able to make ends meet and still have money left over. Times were better and easier for us. I realized that, since I was in a better situation, I could be one of those people that give back to the community. I wanted to be selfless in the same way that they were when they dropped off food at our door step. I knew that I needed to fulfill this through volunteerism in my community. Through this, I found that I am passionate about helping others and serving those that are in vulnerable situations like I was. Currently, as a college student, I am studying social work in order to become a community mental health therapist. My passion of helping others and seeing how that impacted me as a child led me to this career.

As I woke up, I instantly felt the weight of stress and anxiety fall upon my chest. I felt frozen like I couldn’t move. I felt paralyzed in worry and rumination. How could I possibly get out of bed and start my day when all I felt was depression and weakness? How could I have let this get so bad? What is wrong with me? I questioned all of these things over and over as I tossed and turned. This feeling stuck with me as I continued about my day and did all of my daily activities and then the cycle began again when I awoke the next morning as it typically does. This was my life. There have been many times within my life that I have fought to overcome adversity. Although, the hardest fight that I’ve fought would have to be with my mental health. During my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I had depression and anxiety. I would wake up feeling like a person living in a shade of grey. I felt all of the negative feelings possible within one moment. My self-confidence was low and I felt like an utter disappointment to everyone around me. There were also times where I thought that suicide was the only way out and deeply considered it. I also had no access to mental health therapy due to the financial situation that I was in. I am one of six children in a lower-income household. There were no extra funds to help me with my mental health issues. It took me about two years to get a hold of my mental health and well-being and what all of that meant for me. Within my family, mental illness runs rampant. I have mental illness on each side of my family yet I was blaming myself for the feelings that I was having each day. I was stigmatizing myself without even realizing it. I was not being kind to myself and I knew I had to change that. Within my family’s current financial situation, I was not able to access mental health services but I hoped to push through by meditating, journaling, and performing self-care activities. Because of these feelings, I sought help through my church. I was told about how smart I am, how deserving I am, and more. I was uplifted in more ways than one and reminded of my uniqueness and how much I matter. I stopped blaming myself for how I was feeling and instead, recognized my thoughts and reversed them. I started to take care of myself as if I was another person. I treated myself like my own soul mate and life partner. I formed a relationship within myself that showed love, compassion, and understanding. All of this was important because I did it for myself. I also had the help of my church which helped me to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I pushed myself to overcome an obstacle that tried its hardest to win. I did all of this with little support and without the funds for mental health therapy. This was a struggle but luckily, I came out victorious though it seemed the odds were stacked against me. Within all of this, I overcame the adverse experience that was my mental illness. I had to force myself out of bed each morning and focus on not just surviving but thriving. I pushed myself and allowed myself to see all that others see of me. Although this is only one hardship or obstacle that I have faced within my life as a young woman, it was the one of hardest because I was constantly judging myself, putting myself down, and blaming myself. It also was the most memorable challenge that I have faced because it allowed me to see what I want to do for those that are also struggling. After persevering through this and realizing just how important mental health and mental well-being is, I knew that I wanted to dedicate my life and goals to help others come to the same realization through a career in therapy, counseling, and social work. When I was struggling, I was not able to get the help that I needed because of finances. I have focused my career efforts and individual endeavors on helping others within this exact area. My career goal is to become a community or individual mental health therapist. I hope to break barriers for others that also can’t afford mental health therapy through providing services to those that are also in underprivileged communities. Within my career goals, I want to be the person that others can rely on and feel heard by. I want to advocate for those that are struggling and not able to advocate for themselves. I will use this experience with my perseverance and inner strength to be a light for others through therapy and providing resources. This experience has helped to shape the world around me and has helped to shape my character. Following this triumph, I realize the importance of mental wellbeing and the importance of others around me. I see the strength within community service and giving back to those that are underprivileged and vulnerable within our community. I know that I can make a difference within the world of mental health because of my experience and offer resources and support to those that need it just as much or even more than I did. There are many individuals within America that do not feel heard or listened to. They do not have a relationship that supports them or a social support system. The odds are stacked against them because of no fault of their own. I plan to change this for those individuals through my experience with mental health and I know that I will.

As I woke up, I instantly felt the weight of stress and anxiety fall upon my chest. I felt frozen, like I couldn’t move. I felt paralyzed in worry and rumination. How could I possibly get out of bed and start my day when all I felt was depression and weakness? How could I have let this get so bad that I am practically bed ridden? What is wrong with me? I questioned all of these things over and over as I tossed and turned waiting for motivation to slap me in the face. It did not. This feeling stuck with me as I continued about my day and did all of my daily activities and then the cycle began again when I awoke the next morning as it typically does. This was my life. During my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I had depression and anxiety. I would wake up feeling like a person living in a shade of grey. There were moments where I thought the world would be better off without me and I considered ending it all. It took me until my junior year to really get a hold of my mental health. I sought help through my church and parents. I was told about how worthy I am, how smart I am, how deserving I am, and more. I was uplifted in more ways than one and reminded of my uniqueness and how much I matter to people around me. Upon this recognition, I started to practice selfcare by meditating, praying, and journaling. I also realized my passion for mental health and dedicated my career goals to helping others fight the same battle. My dream is to be a community mental health therapist because of my personal experience.

Within America, there are many people that reside and are a part of underprivileged and vulnerable communities. These communities and individuals are not afforded the same opportunities as others because of prejudice and implicit bias. I personally feel a passion for helping others through service, active listening, advocacy, and more and feel that these qualities can be used to make an impact on the world. I am working towards a Bachelor's degree in Social Work and will continue on and pursue my Master’s degree in Social Work as well in order to accomplish my career goals. My career goal is to become a community mental health therapist in an effort to help those that need advocacy, resources, and someone to be there for them when they face inequality and unfairness within our country. I want to specifically focus my efforts on individuals that are in vulnerable communities like women experiencing assault or domestic violence, children who have or are experiencing abuse or neglect, people experiencing homelessness, and more. I will impact these individuals through therapy and advocacy. I will provide resources to these individuals depending on their situations in order to make their lives easier, better, and to promote wellness in their lives. I hope to leave an impact on my community and the world through helping those in need and those that are in underprivileged communities. There are so many people in the world that do not have a voice or that do not feel listened to. I will work to change this for the world by being their voice.

As I woke up, I instantly felt the weight of stress and anxiety fall upon my chest. I felt frozen, like I couldn’t move. I felt paralyzed in worry and rumination. How could I possibly get out of bed and start my day when all I felt was depression and weakness? How could I have let this get so bad that I am practically bed ridden? What is wrong with me? I questioned all of these things over and over as I tossed and turned waiting for motivation to slap me in the face. It did not. This feeling stuck with me as I continued about my day and did all of my daily activities and then the cycle began again when I awoke the next morning as it typically does. There have been many times within my life that I have fought to overcome adversity. Although, the hardest fight that I’ve fought would have to be with my mental health. During my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I had depression and anxiety. I would wake up feeling like a person living in a shade of grey. I felt all of the negative feelings possible within one moment. My self-confidence was decreasing and I felt like an utter disappointment to everyone around me. There were also many instances of suicidal ideation and thoughts but I was too fearful to commit to it. A small voice in my head knew that I had to do something to change this. It took me until my junior year to really get a hold of my mental health and well-being and what all of that meant for me. Within my family, mental illness runs rampant. I have mental illness on each side of my family yet I was blaming myself for the feelings that I was having each day. I was stigmatizing myself without even realizing it. I was adding wood to the fire of mental health stigmas. I was not being kind to myself and I knew I had to change that. Because of these feelings, I sought help through my church and parents. My church uplifted me and I was told about how worthy I am, how smart I am, how deserving I am, and more. I was uplifted in more ways than one and reminded of my uniqueness and how much I matter to people around me. Upon this recognition, I started to practice selfcare by meditating, praying, and journaling. Positive support through my church and parents was vital to my journey with mental health. I can confidently say that without the positive support of these mentors, I would not have overcame my mental health issues. This experience has shown me how important it is for people to have a support system like I did during times like these. After realizing this, I knew what I needed to do . I have focused my career efforts and individual endeavors on helping others within this exact area. My career goal is to become a community or individual mental health therapist. This journey taught me a couple of things. First, it made me aware of the importance of human relationships and positive support. Second, it reminded me of how special, unique, and deserving each person is. I want to advocate for those that are struggling and not able to advocate for themselves. I want and will continue the fight with each person that I meet so that they too, can be named the champion of their own brain.

Within America, there are many people that reside and are a part of underprivileged and vulnerable communities. These communities and individuals are not afforded the same opportunities as others because of prejudice and implicit bias. I personally feel a passion for helping others through service, active listening, advocacy, and more. I am working towards a Bachelor's degree in Social Work and will continue on and pursue my Master’s degree in Social Work as well in order to accomplish my career goals. My career goal is to become a community mental health therapist in an effort to help those that need advocacy, resources, and someone to be there for them when they face inequality and unfairness within our country. I want to specifically focus my efforts on individuals that are in vulnerable communities like women experiencing assault or domestic violence, children who have or are experiencing abuse or neglect, people experiencing homelessness, and more. I personally feel that I deserve to win this scholarship because of how I will continue to advocate for those within my community. I will use this scholarship to continue pursuing my education in an effort to impact the lives of those that need it most. I will work and fight for those that need help within my community.

I remember hearing the door shut as my dad left the house in the middle of the night. The typical shouting match between parents about how we would possibly afford food and bills. I laid in my small twin bed feeling sad, frightened, and worried at 9 years old about my family’s money problems. After this night, I learned that my dad had actually left the house to commit suicide because of the overwhelming depression that he had because of not being able to give his family what they needed. This devastated and broke me. I had no idea what to do to help him or fix the problem at such a young age. This is where my anxiety and worry issues started and now continue as a young adult. Financial freedom is something that I never had growing up. I never knew what it was like to go black Friday shopping with my parents and splurge after Thanksgiving. I never felt the feeling of having the newest fashion or the sickest shoes. Because of my personal experience with finances and not having financial freedom, the ability to have it means so much to me. Financial freedom means feeling actually free and hopeful in the world. It means that I can pay myself on the back and be proud of myself for what I have accomplished. Financial freedom means no more worrying and no more anxiety about the world. I can feel happiness in whatever I do because I have financial freedom. I feel that this idealization of money is unhealthy but because of my personal experience, it is how I genuinely feel towards financial freedom and what it means to me. It means everything and more. I can achieve financial freedom in the future by continuing my education and becoming successful with a great paying job. I plan on doing this and know that I will achieve this. I can also have financial freedom by researching and making sure that I am completely educated on finances and how to go about them in order to save correctly. I will continue to educate myself about budgeting through going to budgeting classes in my community and learning about tips and tricks that others have represented to me. I want to build financial freedom for my children in the future through continuing my education and pursuing a career that will provide my family with adequate financial support to get by. As a child, I would be so proud of myself today for learning how to become financially free and continuing my education so that my fears and anxieties that were present before, disappear.

My career goals are many. My main career goal is to become a therapist/counselor and advocate for those that are in vulnerable populations. For me, my go-to person for my issues and problems is my mother. I feel that I can talk to her about anything and not be judged or criticized. Upon realizing that there are thousands and probably millions of people that do not have a "go-to person", I was devastated and knew I needed to do something about this. I want to be multiple people's person to talk to when they don't feel heard or when they just need to destress. I want to be that resource that they can go to in times of crisis and stress when they don't know if things will be okay. This is important to me and my community while in the times of the pandemic as well. I want to focus on individuals that have been through some type of trauma whether it be sexual assault, domestic violence, and more. I also would like to focus on individuals that are minorities, especially trans women of color and trans men of color. I feel that these individuals need the most care and the most understanding when it comes to therapy and counseling services. These are the folk that need the most alliance and advocacy in our world today where violence is rampant on those that are simply just themselves. It is honestly amazing that I have the opportunity and chance to change someone else's life simply by talking to them, listening to them, and providing them resources. I feel a passion and obligation to help others in this way. I feel that this is my purpose within this world. This scholarship will help me to continue into my last year of college in pursuit of my bachelor's degree. I have almost borrowed the maximum amount of funds for loans therefore I may not be able to pay for my last year of school. This scholarship would help me to pay for part of my last year of school and push me much closer to my end career goal. I have put a lot of work, time, ambition, and effort into my degree and I feel that I deserve to achieve it. I also feel that my career goal is something that is needed within the community and country right now therefore, I should be afforded the opportunity to help those in need through therapy and counseling.

Leadership has always been in my path ever since I was born. I am the first child out of six children therefore, I had a lot of leading to do and not a lot of time to prepare for it! (Ah, the joys of being a big sister.) Within my family, I am the one that my sisters and brothers go to for advice on almost everything. The topics usually range from school to boys to gossip about mom and dad. To me, this was a small notion but to my siblings and those that look up to me, it was a gesture that showed them love and affection. I have also displayed leadership within my university by being a resident assistant. I helped each resident of mine get through their first year of college with all of their pieces still in tact. I demonstrated leadership by representing each culture within our hallway so that each person felt recognized and appreciated and heard. I demonstrated active listening and care when one of my girls was going through hardship. Great leadership is invaluable to me. Great leadership has many characteristics and personality traits like ambition or passion. A great leader is someone that reflects their audience in a way that also captivates but relates to the audience. The audience can see themselves in the leader. A great leader is someone that uplifts and comforts those around them. They pick up those that are broken or wounded and make sure that no one is forgotten or left out. A great leader is one that is often very rare and hard to find. In my opinion, a great leader is important and extraordinary to experience and witness. When being a great leader and showing these qualities, one must take on a very hard but rewarding task. For me, as a leader, it is overwhelming and challenging but also extremely rewarding and impactful for the community or individuals that are being lead. One of the most important life lessons and trials is being a leader. Being a leader shows strength, character, and dignity that some feel they may not have. Within my personal experience, I am a very shy person that barely ever gets outside of her shell. I like to stay confined to my small little cardboard box of comfortable activities. This makes me feel safe and protected. At first, being a leader scared me and drove me away. Now, the experience changed me for the better and helped me to find a person in myself that was locked away. I feel more confident now in many ways and tend to take on the leader job whenever I can now whether it be in group projects or leading a work meeting. Being a leader showed me that no matter who you are or where you came from, anyone can rise above their fears and trials and effectively impact the lives of others around them through courageous leadership.

While leaving the hospital after visiting my grandpa that was sick with Covid-19, I thought to myself, how can this be positive? I continued to think about this question as I went into my junior year of college. As times changed and as people weren’t seen face to face anymore or allowed to hug or touch one another, I continued to think negatively about this experience called the “pandemic”. It is hard to see something so tragic as positive but it can be done. While in school, I had set my eyes on being a police officer. During the pandemic, I realized how broken and messed up our government is and how broken the criminal justice system is as well. I decided to branch out and start volunteering to help with Covid-19 in some way possible considering I was a healthy 20 year old at the start. In volunteering and advocating for those that are adversely affected by the pandemic, I found my real passion. This passion is social work. I found my new career aspiration and what I have loved ever since. My passion to help others has grown and expanded because of the pandemic. I found my purpose.