We must work better to understand the nature of our universe because of several reasons. The primary reason is that anything that happens in our universe can affect us at any given time if we are not aware of what is happening then we are putting the entire world and everyone we care about at risk. For example recently where I am located there have been massive storms that have taken lives in the surrounding areas without the knowledge that we possess we would not know how to prepare nor how these issues come about. However, this can also apply to the field that I presently study. Psychology is probably one of the biggest fields where we must know about the nature of the universe and what goes on because it affects us in many ways. whether it be how we view things or the things we do we can certainly believe that everything around us plays a part. To best understand what goes on with the universe and how it affects there are a few ideas or concepts that may require our exploration. Cosmopsychism is a theory or idea suggesting that the universe has always been prepared for life and that every being human or otherwise has been an avid part of the universe whether they chose to believe it. This theory to me makes sense and is supported because psychology teaches us the same and that every being is needed for the other's survival without the world being the way it is we would not survive and we need it to continue doing what it has been doing to be sustaining. This is something that I learned of recently and I think there may be some truth to it considering it does appear that there was a time when the universe was "fine-tuned" for life. I think this is already being taught so I do not know how to include it into teachings or anything of that nature until I begin to study this more in depth. over the years I hope to see more and more come to light about this so that we might come to understand how things are and how they may have been intended to be. I believe greatly that things must work in harmony in order for our survival so this is something that I do hope to learn more on and implement later on in life.

I'm Aubrey Bliss. I'm twenty-four years old and have Spastic Quadrepeligic Cerebral Palsy (CP). I live on my own in the home that I purchased in 2021 with my two dogs. I also try to be as independent as I can be given my situation with the assistance of my caregivers. Cerebral Palsy, however, causes many issues that affect my everyday life such as uncontrollable muscle spasms and extreme fatigue which makes school very difficult because at any time my body may require me to stop working on assignments for one reason or another. Though I can do a lot of things that other individuals can do school has always been the one thing that came with its own set of struggles. I graduated in 2018, in the top three of my high school class, and graduated with my associate degree in teaching then after doing my student teaching I realized that this was not for me and switched my major to Psychology. In the spring of 2023, I graduated with my bachelor's degree in this field at Fort Hays State University. During my high school/college career I had to fight to get accommodations from the college I was in at the time due to my disability, which required me to get time during the school day to complete work. I also had to fight for my right to be able to be a full-time college student as many did not believe I was capable of it at this time. Now the struggles my disability puts on school have become less because I no longer must juggle high school however, it is not completely without struggle. Presently, I am unable to work due to my disability and the fact that I need to keep the insurance that the state of Kansas has been gracious enough to provide me. This was partially the reason for my major change as I would not be able to support myself adequately if I continued to pursue teaching resulting in me now going to get my master's in Psychology. Additional funding would help me in several ways. Funding would help me be able to complete a semester of graduate school. Being allowed to begin or continue this journey would one day allow me to achieve my goal of being a clinical psychologist. It would also help me to be able to get closer to getting off of disability and creating a better life for myself.

If there was one book I could get everyone in the world to read it would be the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. this series's first book covers five characters from different walks of life and the struggles they face to reclaim what each believes to be their birthright, whether the throne to the seven kingdoms or the kingdom in which they once lived. The first book in this series is my favorite because it is a fantasy book read from the different perspectives of each character. Though reading the story from each of the perspectives of the main characters was tough at first I found it to be quite rewarding. I would recommend this book or series to everyone because there is a lot that goes on in the books that we see today such as governments having issues or having to fight for what we believe in as people. the book also covers a number of other everyday struggles or issues within the character. I also would suggest reading this book because it requires one to use thier creativity and own imagination to in a sense put the story together which is what I loved most. The final reason I would suggest reading this book is due to its popularity and the lore it has created. The popularity has led to a series being created that gives us a glimpse into how things were as well as the life lessons written in the text.

Reading is something I have always been very passionate about from a very young age. My mother read to me often and encouraged me to do so starting a love for books that would last a lifetime. I was so passionate in fact that it was what I wanted to do all the time and all I would want when it came to birthdays or Christmases. Needless to say, my collection of books started at a young age and it has since gotten worse since TikTok has started providing recommendations. Since these recommendations have begun it has been hard for me to locate some of these books as most can not be found in my library or must be read via apps. My ideal bookshelf has just about everything that is sci-fi or fantasy. I personally love anything that George R.R. Martin writes. He is a fantastic author and one of my favorites; therefore, I believe the Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones series would be required for this bookshelf. These titles that he has written have impacted the community by allowing there to be a sense of wonder in a time where it is all but lost. It also has created a community of people with a shared love and passion for the books that I do not believe has been or ever will be seen with another series for as long as we live. Another novel series that I feel I have read and loved due to book-tok is the Vampire Diaries collection. Most of the recommendations that I have come across are inspired by these books and therefore, it made me want to read them. After reading the majority of the series I purchased them and they do presently sit on my shelf with the remainder of my collection. These books are must-haves due to the mystery they provide and the fact that they are beloved fan fiction. over the years they have become beloved by thousands and are hardly ones many haven't read. Another book I think belongs on this shelf is not on book tok but it is used as the inspiration behind it. This book is The Host by Stephanie Myer. Though it is not as famous as many of her other works I do believe this might be the inspiration we see behind many of these books today on tik tok.

The loss of a loved one has caused me to fight for what I wanted to achieve by showing me that life is short and that you may not always have the time that you think you do, and in order to be the best individual you can be. to me, this is what matters most; this individual had also taught me that in order to achieve my goals, I needed to live as though there was no time left and act as if I would never be able to do anything again. She has taught me the strength needed to survive the darkest of times even when it doesn't seem like I'm going to be able to. Perseverance was something that she had taught well. She had also taught me that giving up was never an option and that practicing resilience was the best thing that I could do. being disabled was something that I had always been taught was reasonable. However, with her, there was a certain lesson to be taught pertaining to my own capabilities. without her, I do not truly believe that I would be where I am today. Though she has been gone for many years now, her words and lessons of wisdom, live on today as I continue to practice them and they continue to make me a better individual. I hope to one day be able to pass down these lessons in the hopes that they will be able to help someone the way that they helped me.

My experience with mental health has affected my beliefs, relationships, and career aspirations throughout the past decade. Being a disabled person mental health has always been something that I have struggled with because even in today's society we are not completely accepted the way that we should be. My first instance with mental health issues was when I was 13 I was right around the age where many individuals want to go hang out with their friends and do things that the average teenager would do. However, due to the fact that I have Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, I was not able to do those things due to the fact that I am in a wheelchair full time causing a massive mental health decline that would go on for about 3 years. Due to my mental health declining for several years and my having to learn how to accept my disability my belief system completely changed. There was one point in my life where I did not believe mental health was something that needed to be looked into or approached differently now that I've struggled with it myself my beliefs about mental health are no longer with they used to be. I am now a full advocate for those that need mental health assistance and I do firmly believe that the healthcare system in which we treat mental health needs to be better than what it is. I also believe that we need to be educating students while in our public K through 12 school systems on how to deal with mental health issues should they arise. Mental health has also affected my relationships in several ways. My mental health affected my relationship with my mother because she did not believe I was struggling with mental health at all. After all, she does not believe that depression or anxiety or anything of that nature is real. When I began taking medications to better myself and stop the anxiety attacks and depressive episodes I was having it drifted us apart greatly because she did not want to accept that I was facing an illness. During this time, my career aspirations completely changed. My career aspirations have always been very important to me as I've been in college since I was 16 years old and presently hold one certification, an associate's degree, and a bachelor's degree. I initially started all of my degrees in teaching however in the spring of 2021 I realized that was not what I wanted to do and that mental health had become exceptionally important to me. During that time I re-enrolled in some psychology classes and realized that this is where my passion lies. I want it to be able to help those who were struggling in the same way I had been years before. Considering mental health had been an avid part of my life for so long before due to my disability and the fact I was a full-time wheelchair user it only made sense to me to help those that had once been where I was. Though I have not made it completely where I need to be in order to be able to achieve these goals by help with the assistance of this scholarship I should be able to achieve these goals a lot easier than it would have been otherwise. I do believe through my own bouts of mental health issues that I would be able to better assist individuals that are struggling more than the average psychologist might. Hopefully, I can one day help those who are also disabled or struggling in some way and fulfill my dream completely.