My sister admitted herself into a Mental Health Rehab, after she suffered a dangerous episode where she threatened to hurt herself and others. Since then, I’ve furthermore dedicated myself to helping and supporting others in their mental health endeavors. Aiming to contribute empathy and understanding to those wanting to get better. We found out after four days of my sister being in care that, in addition to an anxiety disorder and clinical depression, she also has schizophrenia. After learning that, we knew she’d be in care for longer than we anticipated. My mom has severe anxiety disorder, so this was really hard on her. One of her kids was in trouble and she couldn't help them. I made it my goal to help her, instead. I would watch my nephew day and night. Staying home from school on the days when my mom couldn’t get out of bed. When my nephew woke up in the middle of the night, I'd get up and stay with him until he fell back asleep. After 48 days of being in a Mental Health Rehab, my sister was able to come back home. I made it my goal to make her transition go as smoothly as possible. I helped her make amends with our parents, organize all her clothes, and watched my nephew while she rested. I did everything I could to try and help. Being around people with mental illnesses all my life has brought me up to be very aware of the effects those issues generate on not only individuals but people around them. I know first hand how having superior figures in your life controlled by their mental illness can affect you and your mental state. I aim to someday in the future, accomplish my goals of encouraging individuals like me. Hopefully, inspiring them to seek the help and care they too deserve. I plan to study Applied Psychology/Counseling in Mental Health and Wellness to earn a career as a Mental Health Counselor. I believe mental health is a big value in my life and the world. Everyone has issues and everyone needs someone to talk to about them so they don't pile up and get too much to handle. I want to be that person that people can talk to and feel safe in. If I can leave this world knowing that I made at least one less child have to parent their predominant and one less parent having to hide their deteriorating mental health from their children, then I’ll know I have succeeded in my self-appointed purpose in life.

I plan to study Applied Psychology/Counseling in Mental Health and Wellness to earn a career as a Mental Health Counselor. I believe mental health is a big value in my life and the world. Everyone has issues and everyone needs someone to talk to about them so they don't pile up and get too much to handle. I want to be that person that people can talk to and feel safe in. When I was 16, my older sister admitted herself into a Mental Health Rehab, after she suffered a dangerous episode where she threatened to hurt herself and others. Since then, I’ve furthermore dedicated myself to helping and supporting others in their mental health endeavors. Aiming to contribute empathy and understanding to those wanting to get better. We found out after four days of my sister being in care that, in addition to an anxiety disorder and clinical depression, she also has schizophrenia. After learning that, we knew she’d be in care for longer than we anticipated. My mom has severe anxiety disorder, so this was really hard on her. One of her kids was in trouble and she couldn't help them. I made it my goal to help her, instead. I would watch my nephew day and night. Staying home from school on the days when my mom couldn’t get out of bed. When my nephew woke up in the middle of the night, I'd get up and stay with him until he fell back asleep. I'd do anything I could to try to ease some of the burdens off her. Being around people with mental illness all my life has aspired me to chose to go into the mental health field. Aiming to support individuals and their families through their mental health endeavors. Growing up, I've become very aware of the effects mental illnesses generate on not only the individuals struggling but people around them who've too been affected. I want to continue to learn how to help people the best I can through studying mental health and counseling. If I can leave this world knowing that I made at least one less child have to parent their predominant and one less parent having to hide their deteriorating mental health from their children, then I’ll know I have succeeded in my self-appointed purpose in life.

My sister admitted herself into a Mental Health Rehab, after she suffered a dangerous episode where she threatened to hurt herself and others. Since then, I’ve furthermore dedicated myself to helping and supporting others in their mental health endeavors. Aiming to contribute empathy and understanding to those wanting to get better. We found out after four days of my sister being in care that, in addition to an anxiety disorder and clinical depression, she also has schizophrenia. After learning that, we knew she’d be in care for longer than we anticipated. My mom has severe anxiety disorder, so this was really hard on her. One of her kids was in trouble and she couldn't help them. I made it my goal to help her, instead. I would watch my nephew day and night. Staying home from school on the days when my mom couldn’t get out of bed. When my nephew woke up in the middle of the night, I'd get up and stay with him until he fell back asleep. After 48 days of being in a Mental Health Rehab, my sister was able to come back home. I made it my goal to make her transition go as smoothly as possible. I helped her make amends with our parents, organize all her clothes, and watched my nephew while she rested. I did everything I could to try and help. Being around people with mental health issues all my life has brought me up to be very aware of the effects those issues generate on not only individuals but people around them. I want to continue to learn how to help people the best I can. I plan to study Applied Psychology/Counseling in Mental Health and Wellness to earn a career as a Mental Health Counselor. I believe mental health is a big value in my life and the world. Everyone has issues and everyone needs someone to talk to about them so they don't pile up and get too much to handle. I want to be that person that people can talk to and feel safe in. If I can leave this world knowing that I made at least one less child have to parent their predominant and one less parent having to hide their deteriorating mental health from their children, then I’ll know I have succeeded in my self-appointed purpose in life.

Writing encourages imagination and creates possibilities. In a society where everyone is primarily engaged in technology, writing acts as a forgotten power. Bringing creativity and dreams to reality. I believe writing unlocks secrets within ourselves. Through writing, we can escape physical existence, discover more about ourselves and the meaning of our emotions, and document history and factual information. I wish to one day write a variety of novels contributing to others' infatuation in a reality that's so relatable to real life it could be someone's. To some people, writing is an escape from reality. They can create a new world or ways of living that distracts them from their own. "Words create worlds" is so meaningful and true. Words have the ability to be crafted and manipulated into a false reality. I love writing's ability to make you often forget about where you actually are. This is true for me. Writing is my escape from the real world. I love writing for that reason. It allows me to create a place of serenity and peace, much like dreaming. Another reason I love writing is through poetry, songwriting, and journaling, you can unlock the true meaning of your thoughts and emotions. Talking about how you feel is often very difficult and makes it all hard to process. Writing allows you to fully reflect and submerse yourself in your thoughts. I appreciate the safe zone writing creates. You are just talking to the nonjudgmental, sincere paper. Getting things off your chest is somehow always easier when holding a pen to paper. Writing also allows you to document history and factual information, which I love. Without writing, we would be left without close to any documentation of those before us. Leaving the world to be even more of a mystery. Imagine how many stories would be left untold without writing. I love how full the history section of libraries are. People feel comfortable sharing their stories and knowledge with the world because of writing. In college, I plan to enhance my interest in writing by taking a creative writing class. I want to learn how to write stories much like the ones that have encouraged me in the past. Helping people is one of my passions. I love that i can pursue it through writing. In many ways, too. I may write novels, short stories, psychology books, etc. There are endless opportunities when it comes to writing. With writing, you are never looking at closed doors. You make your own reality. You create your own world with the worlds of your choice.

I grew up in a small town in Arizona never knowing much of what lies beyond the city limits. From a young age I yearned to get out of that town and explore my horizon a bit more. I aim to move to New York City following high school graduation. It's a long stretch for me. One that often gets laughed at by people when they hear about it. People including me. Although I'm serious about moving to the city to attend school, its frightening and unreal. I plan to be a Mental Health Counselor after earning my masters in Applied Psychology/Counseling in Mental Health and Wellness. I strive to make the world a more mentally aware place. I desire a world where mental health is accommodated and treated as an equivalent to physical health. I am ambitious and confident that I can craft a more obliging society with the right education and experience in the field of counseling/mental health. I long to see all the doors of my future open to me like what everyone always told me it would be like. However, money plays a huge factor in whether your goals and dreams are achieved or not. To have to turn against my dreams because of affordability would be devesting to me, to anyone. Watching both of my older siblings graduate high school and not going forward with any form of higher education, fills me with sadness and despondency. Their reasons for pursuing work straight out of high school were born from nothing other than financial discouragement. They both believed that there was no hope of them getting any scholarships or financial aid, so they didn't bother applying for any. Acquiring a Andre' Burchelle Roach Scholarship would not only fuel my never ending optimism, but could also spark hope in the eyes of my sisters, who haven't yet run out of time for advancing their education. The Andre' Burchelle Roach Scholarship stands for providing financial aid to students seeking further education. They aim to make the cost of college not a reason for students not to attend. Instead, they aspire to help individuals to achieve their educational goals despite the financial hardships they may face. As a first generation, small town raised, and big dreamer girl, I fully support and admire what they are doing. I'm aiming high with my dreams despite the affordability and possibility. Having extra support to lean on makes fighting for my life-long dreams substantially easier. Having any extra financial support I can obtain would be of great use and appreciation. Which is how I know the Andre' Burchelle Roach Scholarship would benefit me in future endeavors. With this financial support, I could be not only one step closer to my ultimate dream of being a Mental Health counselor. But also prove to my family, my younger self, and people just like me that no dream is too big if you just work hard enough. No matter how many no's you get told, it may only take one yes and tons of strength to get you to where you belong.

Starting my senior year of high school, I came to the dreaded realization that my future rests in the hands of me. If I get into my dream college to get my dream degree and job, it is up to the amount of determination and resilience I have. The Bright Lights Scholarship will support me in achieving my dreams by providing me with the financial support I stand in need of. Bright Lights stands for opening often closed doors to students. They aim to make the cost of college not a reason for students not to attend. Instead, they aspire to help individuals to achieve their goals despite the financial hardships they may face. As a first generation, small town raised, and big dreamer girl, I fully support and admire Bright Lights. I'm aiming high with my dreams despite the affordability and possibility. Having extra support to lean on makes fighting for my life-long dreams substantially easier. I plan to be a Mental Health Counselor after earning my masters in Applied Psychology/Counseling in Mental Health and Wellness. I strive to make the world a more mentally aware place. I desire a world where mental health is accommodated and treated as an equivalent to physical health. I am ambitious and confident that I can craft a more obliging society with the right education and experience in the field of counseling/mental health. I aim to move to New York City following high school graduation. It's a long stretch for me. One that often gets laughed at by people when they hear about it. People including me. Although I'm serious about moving to the city to attend school, its frightening and unreal. I grew up in a small town in Arizona, so the idea of doing anything other than community college is breathtaking to my younger self. I want to see all the doors of my future open to me like what everyone always told me it would be like. However, money plays a huge factor in whether your goals and dreams are reached or not. To have to turn against my dreams because of affordability would be devesting to me, to anyone. Watching both of my older siblings graduate high school and not going forward with any form of higher education, fills me with sadness and despondency. Their reasons for pursuing work straight out of high school were born from nothing other than financial discouragement. They both believed that there was no hope of them getting any scholarships or financial aid, so they didn't bother applying for any. Acquiring a Bright Lights Scholarship would not only fuel my never ending optimism, but could also spark hope in the eyes of my sisters, who haven't yet run out of time for advancing their education. Having any extra financial support I can obtain would be of great use and appreciation. Which is how I know the Bright Lights Scholarship would benefit me in future endeavors. With this financial support, I could be not only one step closer to my ultimate dream of moving to New York City to attend a university. But also prove to my family, my younger self, and people just like me that no dream is too big if you just work hard enough. No matter how many no's you get told, it may only take one yes and tons of strength to get you to where you belong.

Three songs from Taylor Swift's 1989 (Taylor's Version) that I'd choose to represent my year on a soundtrack would be, "Welcome To New York", "Now That We Don't Talk", and "This Love". These songs represent times this year when I've felt motivated, bittersweet, and lonesome. All combing together to make one emotional playlist. "Welcome To New York" because this year has been the year to get serious about my dreams of moving to New York to start my post-secondary exploration. When talking about this song on ABC News back in 2014, Swift describes her inspiration behind it being born from her long-lived desire and aspirations to one day live there. When she did finally move to New York, she didn't start seeing it as a crowded, overplayed place as people tend to. Instead, she kept her wide-eyed optimism as she made the city her home. So, as I further research this year about the place I hope with all my heart to live in soon, I can't help but imagine this song playing in my ears as I step out into the city. "Now That We Don't Talk" because back in sixth grade I had a best friend, the only best friend I've ever had. She was destructive and mesmerizing. This year I had a dream about her. It was an ordinary dream just of us getting along and being carelessly close. When I woke up, I was left feeling the sense of loss I had when our friendship first ended. When I first heard "Now That We Don't Talk", I immediately thought of this friend. Now I know, I know. This song is most likely about a romantic relationship, but to me, it represents a one-sided friendship I had with this girl. Who, for some reason, enchanted me with her hurtful presence. I hate the ways she's changed now, I hate the way I'm not kept up to date with her life. But as Taylor Swift said, "Guess this is how it has to be. Now that we don't talk". That line is the main reason this song deserves a spot in my hypothetical year soundtrack. "This Love" because I long to feel what she's describing. It's my senior year of high school, and I've never had any kind of love that I grew up hearing Swift sing about. It's all I've been thinking about. "This love is good. This love is bad. This love is alive back from the dead". How about this love is none existent? This song is not only a lyrical masterpiece but also produced in a way that makes me feel like I'd imagined falling in love to feel like. At the end of the day you can catch me sitting reading a romance novel with this song blasting in my ears. Now that describes my year so far. "Welcome To New York", "Now That We Don't Talk", and "This Love" are without doubt on my soundtrack for this year. Each one of them has their own memories and explanations behind them. Displaying the importance of them in my mind. Although these songs mean a lot to me because of how I connect them to my life. I also believe them to be some of Swift's best works. Her writing, production, and execution all panned out perfectly, as always. Creating very emotional, connective songs makes others, including me, feel seen and special.