Most parents have to ground their children from TV or games. My mother however had to ground my from reading my books. I can remember how I cried when she took away one of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian books from me after I failed to complete my chores. I used to stay up until two or three in the morning reading under my covers and listening to music from my MP3 player. I would daydream that I was the hero coming to save everyone, just like the heroes in my books would. Reading has given me an inspiration of life, to help save others and to use my creativity to foster save spaces for others. The books I have read have taught me that help comes in all shapes and sizes. In any book I have read, I was always drawn to the smart and strong-willed female characters. Those characters were who I wanted to be. I wanted respect and to be strong enough to help those that needed it. It took a long time for me to find my voice and to begin to speak up for myself and those around me, but I credit those female characters for shaping me into the individual I am today. The Hunger Games was a book many young adults read during their middle school years. While most teens missed the important parallels to todays society, they did see the strong-willed female character Katniss Everdeen stand up and fight for what she believed in. This is one of the first books I read that really opened my eyes to speaking my mind and not backing down from those who may scare me. This confidence I have been provided from books has carried me through my teen years into adulthood. It has given me the confidence to know that I am capable of anything. While I might not be planning on overthrowing the government, I am still planning to make a difference in this world. As a future physical therapist, I know that helping those overcome physical boundaries they might face can give them a chance to do things they enjoy again. Such as, reading or overthrowing the government. I have a chance to leave my mark on the world, even if that means I just get to be a supporting character in someone else's story. Being a strong-willed female character does not mean you have to be the main character, but it does mean, I get to make decisions that help others and to stand up for what I believe in.

"What could go wrong" He shouted. An adventurous glint in his eyes as he stared at me from the top of the hill. We had done lots of hikes before, but we had always been prepared and researched the trail beforehand. This is a trail neither of us knew about. In fact, we often drive past this forest on our way into the city. Somehow, we had managed to miss this trail the hundreds of times we have driven this way. Today however, Tyler happened to see it and pulled over to check it out. We were supposed to be on our way to get groceries, but it seems that he is no longer thinking about our empty pantry back home. I sigh, "Okay, but only for a few minutes." He jumps up and down at my response, as if he is a dog with too much energy. He quickly bolts down the trail and I have to run after him to keep up. Just for a second I turn to check that I locked the car, but I notice I've already run too far ahead to see it anymore. It is not like I had anything valuable in it anyways. Tyler had stopped under a tree and was examining something on the ground. I squint my eyes and see something shiny sitting there near the trunk. He reaches his hand out to touch it and just for a second he hesitates. Finally, he goes to pick the object up and in a flash of light he disappears. For a second I freeze, the shiny object still laying there. Frantically I run over shouting his name, hoping this is just some sick joke he is playing on me. I reach for my phone to call him and see that I have no service in this part of the woods. I feel a lump in my throat as I crouch down to examine the mysterious object on the ground. A silver butterfly pendant lays glinting in the sunlight that streams through the trees. I reach out to touch it and quickly jerk my hand back. I have no way of knowing what happened to Tyler. He could be dead for all I know, and I am not ready to die from some creepy pendant on the ground. This is all his fault, I told him not to pull over to inspect this trail. I paced back and forth, trying to stay calm. "Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out" I repeat over and over in my head. My hands are shaky and I mull over the different outcomes of touching the pendant. Perhaps, I should head back to our car and call for help. How do I explain to someone that my husband disappeared in a flash of light after touching a random object on the ground. They'll think that I am crazy. My eyes glance back over to the silver object resting in the grass by the tree. I feel drawn to it, as if something in pulling me there to touch it. I chew on my lip and then let out an aspirated sigh. "What could go wrong" I mumble to myself as I reach down to touch it. As my hand meets the metal, the world around me suddenly goes bright. I only have time to cry out for a second before that bright light goes dark and I lose my consciousness.

A few months ago I had the opportunity to begin volunteering at the local hospital near where I live. At first, I was a little nervous about finally being in a healthcare setting. What if I ended up not enjoying it? This is everything I have been working towards. The hospital happened to have an opening in their rehab center during the time I was available to volunteer. I figured it was a sign from God, that this was something that I was supposed to be doing. As an aspiring physical therapist, my entire career will be centered around rehabilitation of individuals of all different backgrounds. I began to become excited to have this opportunity. It is hard to begin to get your footing and create connections as someone who comes from a family with no healthcare professionals. I do not have anyone I can turn to and ask for advice. This was my first chance to start my career. In 2022 I graduated from Guilford Technical Community College. After graduating high school, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. I felt lost and hopeless about my future career choice. So, community college seemed like the right option for me. I was able to stay at home close to my family, most importantly my mom, and begin to navigate adulthood. Now, I am entering my last year of undergraduate college at Elon University. I am still blessed to be able to live at home and enjoy time with my family and dogs. My major, Exercise Science, has been anything but easy. However, if it was easy, anyone would do it. I find lots of joy in the challenge, as nothing is more satisfying than knowing I understand a hard topic. I have made lots of friends at Elon, people who are able to encourage me and remind me why I am doing what I am doing. School has been nothing but uplifting. Physical Therapy was not always my intended career path. Throughout the years I had many different ideas of where I would end up. I am certain that I have made the right decision for my future. Helping people understand their bodies and begin to use them again after an injury or surgery is extremely important. I have found comfort in mobility and living pain-free, and I am pleased that one day I will be able to help others live the same way.

Expressing myself as a child was always incredibly difficult. Sentences formed awkwardly in my mouth and my emotions felt overwhelming. Nothing ever came out how I wanted it to and it reflected in my day-to-day relationships. People thought I was weird and I did not understand social cues like a lot of my peers. School was miserable, making friends was a struggle, and maintaining the relationships I did have proved to be just as difficult. My words often failed me, but my body gave me hope. Dance quickly became the center of everything for me. I did not have to talk, just move, and there was structure. Structure was lacking in my outside life, I felt thrown around. In ballet class, we always had a specific way things were done. First, we start with barre, and barre always consisted of the same things, then we stretched, and afterward, we moved on to center work. Lastly, we did our reverence, to show respect to our teacher and the art form. It was an hour and a half where I wasn't the same girl who felt alone in life, I was a ballerina. I was not a gifted dancer. My muscles were weak, my feet never pointed enough, and I lacked grace and delicacy. This did not deter me, I was up for the challenge. Every class was an opportunity to do better than I did before. Schoolwork had always come easy to me, it never challenged my brain or entertained me. Dance gave me something to work towards, it gave me goals. I worked hard, harder than I had ever worked on anything else. It was important to me, it gave me a sense of desperation. I was so desperate to achieve something in dance, desperate to hear a good job, or to just feel proud of myself. I know other girls out there feel the same way I felt growing up. They are hungry for dance and will do anything they can to feel that happiness. I want to be someone who can help these girls. I dealt with lots of different injuries throughout my dance career. Staying healthy is so important, but sometimes is hard to tackle on your own. Physical therapy is just one way that dancers can bounce back from injuries and continue on their journey. I want to use my background in the arts combined with physical therapy to help young dancers heal from injuries while maintaining the integrity of the art form. Dance will forever be the driving force in my life. It is something I refuse to let go of. I will continue to express myself through the arts, and help other dancers do the same.

Growing up I have always wanted to have a family of my own one day. A family that I can care for and nurture. My own family was a comfortable middle-class family in a suburban area of North Carolina. Money was not something I worried about as I was growing up. I never had to worry about the food on the table, the clothes on my back, and the roof over my head. Everything was taken care of. Now, at the age of 19, I am preparing to enter the world on my own. Money is something I constantly worry about. My comfortable middle-class family can only support me so much as I make my way into adulthood. Many of my friends had grandparents who were able to help pay for their college education. I however have 2 grandmothers, both who live off government assistants, and one who is a dementia patient and cannot even remember my name. My parents help me the best they can, with gas money here and there, I'm still on their health insurance plan, but college is too expensive for them to pay for (especially when they have three kids). Even though my parents are unable to pay for my college education, I am grateful that homelessness, starvation, and lack of gas money are not something I have to worry about. My family's wealth may not be able to afford a college education, but it does mean I am able to pursue that college education anyways. This is setting me up to one day be able to help my own children and pass wealth on to many more generations. My plans are to become a Physical Therapist, my dreams are to be a professional ballerina. Dancing does not often pay the bills, so, I came to terms with that and picked a different career option I was happy with. I can still use my education to help dancers and help other dancers find their goals. The money I earn from physical therapy will be able to give my kids access to a better life. I want them to be able to live in a nice house, access to good education, and one day I hope to help my kids when they go off to college. The goal is that this pattern will continue, that the generations in my family will continue to have access to these opportunities, and that they will be able to live happy, comfortable lives.

When I was younger I struggled to express my feelings and thoughts to others. I was never good at using my words to tell my story. Dance gave me a voice, a voice that speaks through movement. It gave me meaning and hope that I was worth listening to. The body is capable of telling a story. The arms, the legs, the waist, the hands, and even just the toes can create a movement that has a meaning, a meaning that is personal to the artist. Movement is not something that gets us from point A to point B, it is deeper than that. Bees use movement to tell others where pollen has been found, the trees use movement to spread their seed, and the river uses movement to take the fish downstream. Movement provides knowledge and feelings. Humans have complex feelings and thoughts, sometimes, words are just not enough to express what we are feeling. Watching the younger generation reminds me of how I used to be, and I want to be able to help develop a voice for children, just as I once did. The arts are special in our society; they are necessary for our society if we want to continue to grow and develop our communities. In order for the arts to thrive, we must pass our knowledge on to the next generation of artists. As I continue my college education, I also teach at a local dance studio. When I complete my degree, I want to be able to expand my reach. Teach kids all over the world that we have other forms of communication, and that our bodies are precious. Knowledge is power, and kids are curious; the best way for me to help my community is by passing on the knowledge I have acquired from my years of dancing. Dance has given me a purpose in life. When everything is going wrong, I am able to feel at peace in a dance class. All of my worries are set aside and all that is on my mind is the movement of my body. I want to be able to teach others who feel the same way, those who allow the world to slip away for a few moments so they can enjoy the art of dance. I want to create a safe space for those dancers who need movement to carry all of their concerns away.

When I was younger I struggled to express my feelings and thoughts to others. I was never good at using my words to tell my story. Dance gave me a voice, a voice that speaks through movement. It gave me meaning and hope that I was worth listening to. The body is capable of telling a story. The arms, the legs, the waist, the hands, and even just the toes can create a movement that has a meaning, a meaning that is personal to the artist. Movement is not something that gets us from point A to point B, it is deeper than that. Bees use movement to tell others where pollen has been found, the trees use movement to spread their seed, and the river uses movement to take the fish downstream. Movement provides knowledge and feelings. Humans have complex feelings and thoughts, sometimes, words are just not enough to express what we are feeling. Watching the younger generation reminds me of how I used to be, and I want to be able to help develop a voice for children, just as I once did. The arts are special in our society; they are necessary for our society if we want to continue to grow and develop our communities. In order for the arts to thrive, we must pass our knowledge on to the next generation of artists. As I continue my college education, I also teach at a local dance studio. When I complete my degree, I want to be able to expand my reach. Teach kids all over the world that we have other forms of communication, and that our bodies are precious. Knowledge is power, and kids are curious; the best way for me to help my community is by passing on the knowledge I have acquired from my years of dancing.

These two goofballs love attention and are hoping for some good belly rubs in this picture. The two dogs shown in this picture are Luna and Perry. My Instagram is @ashleywhit.e