Personally, I believe that by me simply opening up about my experience with mental health, and listening to others when they are opening up about their struggle, could help be the solution we need for mental health. It would create this sort of safe space for people to be vulnerable and not feel judged by someone who may not truly understand the effect mental health has on a person. People fear being treated differently, but if they know that you share something with them, they're more likely to open up to you. Personally, it is hard to be open with a therapist or counselor because you may not know them on a personal level. It's easy to be open with someone in your circle who you can trust. As someone who struggles, and knows people who struggle with mental health, I know how big of a deal it is. That is why I believe that we all need to come together and be there for the people we love, be someone that people who have mental illness can trust, or rely on. You never know what the person beside you is going through, so be kind and be willing to listen if they decide to speak up. Never shut someone down or try and make them feel like your situation is worse. You should never turn down a person who is struggling because you are "too busy". Just be someone that others can trust. Our willingness to listen, and our willingness to speak up, could make all the difference in other people's journeys.

I think that it is so extremely important to be an active, involved, member of your community. Even if you're just doing simple things like picking up trash or hosting donations, like a canned food drive, or even helping the elderly do things that they cannot do on their own. Helping your community allows you to get a foot in with the people of your community and it allows you to develop new skills and talents. You can gain new confidence and leadership roles in your community through the service you provide. Being involved gives you the ability to grow your relationships with the people of your community. One way that I have been helping my community is by volunteering with my county's fire department. While working alongside the men and women of Polk County Fire Rescue, I have been able to be so active in my community. I help the people of our community who are in need physically, mentally, or even emotionally. We give them aid and assistance, and I even get to help them care for the patients, for example, I have been able to assess patients, give them medications, check their blood glucose, set up their IVs, and have been able to assist the firefighters when there is a house fire. Helping the people of my community has allowed me to grow as a leader and a person. I have grown a relationship with these people; since they need love and support when they are in need. I have even gained new skills when serving the community. I plan to be a Paramedic as my future career. Being a Paramedic has a major involvement in the community because you are caring for the people in your community. I will be doing the exact same thing I am doing now as a volunteer, but I would have a bigger job since I would be even more trained. I plan to continue my volunteering until I get an actual job with the county, where I will still be actively involved in my community.

I am currently enrolled in the Certifed Nursing Assisting class at Bartow Senior High School and I am volunteering with Polk County Fire Rescue. My Certifed Nursing Assisting class allows me to go to nursing homes and care for the elderly people there. It has been an amazing opportunity to give these seniors the care, support, and love they need, especially in these times. I was able to help feed them, dress them, and do their daily activities with them. With Polk County Fire Rescue, I go on the calls with them, which consist of a lot of senior citizens, helping them take care of the people. I help transport these people to the emergency room, take their vitals, perform EKGs, set up their IVs, and so much more. Sometimes, I help them with lift assists when elderly people fall. My time helping the elderly have taught me so much about caring for others, about patience, and overall, it's taught me that these people may not have family that visits them or cares for them, so you have to treat them with the care that you would want your mom or you dad to be treated with.

Hi, my name is Avery, I am 17 years old, I go to Bartow Senior High School, and I would describe myself as an outgoing, bubbly, ray of sunshine. I am extremely hard working and I am determined to succeed. I would call myself hardworking because I never stop and I have always achieved all of my goals. I've been an A+ student my whole life and I am number five in the entire senior class at my high school. I am ambitious, motivated, and dedicated.

have been serving with Polk County Fire Rescue for the last two years as a cadet. I have served alongside them for about 105 hours and I'm still currently with them helping the community. There have been days where nobody needs our help, so we have to find other things to do and there have been days where we will run 15 to 20 calls and we don't even get a break to eat lunch. While with them, I have the people in the county I live in by providing care to them with the firefighters' help. They have shown me how to do a number of things from setting up IVs to doing an EKG on the person to just simply taking vitals on the patient. They've also taught me how to run a structure fire and the things that it takes to put a fire out. Those experiences have set me up for my future career in the medical field. One thing I love about serving my community alongside the teams I work with is that it always feels like a home and they feel so welcoming. Whenever we are out on a call they have taught me how to make a patient feel comfortable and safe. This is why I love to be a part of the team. A significant takeaway from the experience is that no matter the situation, or what someone is going through to always be compassionate and sympathetic to everyone and everything you see. You never know what they are going through nor do you know the extent of the injuries or illness. So you must always treat people with kindness and respect. That's why I do it. I have never experienced a firefighter or fellow volunteer treat someone negatively and I hope I never have to experience that. You have to think to yourself... what if this was me? What if my life was in this person's hands? You'd want them to treat you carefully and gently. So that's what I have taken away from the experience and from the patient and the firefighters. They have taught me so much in the time I've been with them and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had while serving with them. There is truly nothing that will ever compare to the time I spend doing what I love, which is volunteering with Polk County Fire Rescue. Seeing people happy because we helped out their loved ones is what makes the service worth it. Volunteering with them is the reason I want to go into this field. It has impacted me in such a huge way and I will be forever grateful. It has overall been an amazing experience where I have been able to expand and grow to a new level and I have been able to learn so many new techniques and strategies in saving people's lives.

Taking care of yourself is so important. When I was younger I used to fill up my schedule so that I was always busy and that started to take a major toll on my life. It was starting to cause me to be drained. It also stressed me out because I filled it up so much that I wasn't able to fully complete my tasks. So, to manage that I started taking things out of my calendar. I had to start saying no to other people and start saying yes to my mental health. Without that change, I don't think I would've made it. Another way that I try to relax is by turning my phone off and reading a book. Reading relaxes my mind and allows me to clear everything out of my head. My phone causes so many of my problems and so much of my mental strain, it causes me to become detached from the real world. So it's good to just power it off and allow time for me to recharge. I used to go on runs to help my mental health as well. Running made me feel good and it allowed me to clear my thoughts and get out of the house. It was also good for my physical health as well, so it was a win-win. My mental health is a really big deal to me and I still struggle with it sometimes. Doing things to manage it has made it so much better for me and for the people around me. The people I'm closest to have told me that after started to do things to manage my mental health, they have seen a major change in me.

One way I've tried to have a positive impact on the world is simply with kindness. Saying positive things constantly to uplift people's spirits. I've made it a goal to compliment at least 3 people, preferably strangers, every day. Whenever I receive a compliment from someone I don't know it makes me feel really good, it makes my day better. So I want to be that person for other people, I want to be able to brighten other people's days. You never know what someone is going through and being rude never helps anything. So a simple act of kindness always wins. I also enjoy doing things like helping a neighbor take the groceries in or helping an elderly person do tasks that they can't do Anything to help the community. Making an impact on the world doesn't mean you have to invent something or donate all of your money, it can just be something like kindness and your will to help others.

I have been serving with Polk County Fire Rescue for the last two years as a cadet. I have served alongside them for about 105 hours and I'm still currently with them helping the community. There have been days where nobody needs our help, so we have to find other things to do and there have been days where we will run 15 to 20 calls and we don't even get a break to eat lunch. While with them, I have the people in the county I live in by providing care to them with the firefighters' help. They have shown me how to do a number of things from setting up IVs to doing an EKG on the person to just simply taking vitals on the patient. They've also taught me how to run a structure fire and the things that it takes to put a fire out, which is a sweaty and stressful thing to do. Those experiences have set me up for my future career in the medical field. One thing I love about serving my community alongside the teams I work with is that it always feels like a home and they feel so welcoming, for me and the people we serve. Whenever we are out on a call they have taught me how to make a patient feel comfortable and safe. A significant takeaway from the experience is that no matter the situation, or what someone is going through to always be compassionate and sympathetic to everyone and everything you see. You never know what they are going through nor do you know the extent of the injuries or illness. So you must always treat people with kindness and respect. I have never experienced a firefighter or fellow volunteer treat someone negatively but I have heard stories of people cussing and being aggressive with patients. You have to think to yourself... what if this was me? What if my life was in this person's hands? You'd want them to treat you carefully and gently. So that's what I have taken away from the experience and from the patient and the firefighters. They have taught me so much in the time I've been with them and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had while serving with them. It has overall been an amazing experience where I have been able to expand and grow to a new level and I have been able to learn so many new techniques and strategies in saving people's lives.

The future seems so far away but it is approaching faster than I thought it would. Only last year, my junior year of high school, did I finally figure out what I wanted to do in the future. I want to be a paramedic. I have to go to college first, so I'm going to go to Polk State to get that done. I'm already partially there and it has already been a hard journey. There have been lots of ups and downs and late nights studying, but I'm determined to get there and I will do it. After I finish fulfilling my dreams of becoming a paramedic I am going to get employed and then start working towards getting my nursing degree. Since I am doing both it is going to get a little expensive, so having extra funding would extremely help me make my dreams come true.

Joy... It's a feeling of happiness, a good feeling, a pleasurable feeling. In life, some days are really hard and people can stress you out or make you feel upset, and it can be hard to be joyful. I know that firsthand. I live a chaotic and stressful life and it is so difficult to be happy in times when it's easier to be mad or frustrated with the world. Between school, helping take care of my sister, my extracurricular activities, and the hassle of senior year (and all of the stress that comes with growing up), I have to remember to be joyful. One way I do that is by trying to create a joyful atmosphere for others, maybe by complimenting them or hugging them, or simply paying for the person behind me in line. It makes me extremely happy to know that I could have made one person's day just a little better by bringing joy to their life. Another way I try to be joyful is by trying to be present-minded and not thinking about the future and the things that may hold. I also try to make self-care part of my routine, so that I am not a constant mess all of the time and it will allow me to be happier with my lifestyle. Joy means a lot to me because nobody wants to be in a bad mood all of the time.

My favorite book is The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. It is a psychological thriller, as well as a mystery book, and the entire book is filled with suspense. I love books that keep me on my toes, where I never know what is going to happen next, and with this book, every time you turn a page you something you are never able to predict what happens next, all the way to the very last page of the book. Ive read a lot of books, from romance to horror, and this book is the best book I have read out of all of them. In the book, a nanny is telling the story while awaiting her trial for a murder. She babysat two kids and it takes a turn for the worst when one of the kids ends up dead. She tries to tell the story from her point of view to show that she isn't guilty, at least not of murder. So she is trying to get to the point, who killed the kid. Another reason I love it is because its a case of "who done it" and you try and figure out the entire book who the murder is. I know a book is good when I pick it up and I'm not able to put it down. While reading the book, people had to practically pry the book out of my hands. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery books as much as I do.