I was never told that I was loved as a child. This small tidbit of information is only a prologue to my life. Other issues throughout my life caused me to suddenly begin spiraling, quickly. Before I knew it I went from being a 4.0 student to someone who held zero motivation to turn in assignments and would continuously procrastinate until the last hour of a due date. I was unable to recognize myself and felt myself slipping from reality. Especially, when COVID-19 hit I was unable to see the point of trying and am still reeling from decisions I took far too lightly. Yet one decision that has stayed with me is wanting to make a difference in the mental health field. This sentence is quite surprising because all I've ever known is to not know mental health. In my culture, us Panjabis do not reference mental health. People are called crazy or name-called but the true root of the issue is never identified. Before, I knew it I was struggling with everything and the root issue was finally able to be identified: mental health. I realized at a young age that I wasn't okay. Many instances of trauma, neglect, and harm led to me struggling with mental health and becoming quite ill. Even simple daily tasks became a struggle. I had no one to talk to about this and felt nothing but ashamed. As someone who is Panjabi mental health talks are frowned upon. It was quite difficult for me to accept that I wasn't okay. I've never truly had anyone to tell what has happened in my life or why I am the way I am. However, I've realized that I've suffered with my mental health as far back as I can recall. The deterioration of my mental health led to many issues including but not limited to an eating disorder, loss of care for myself, feeling numb, and being left unable to complete simple tasks. Despite this, I've chosen to forge a path for myself and at 21 am beginning to choose to improve myself by working on self-care. I have no one and that is my strength. Since I've suffered I want to assist in making life easier for others. I don't want anyone to feel as alone as I have in this life. To combat this we must make systematic changes in both healthcare and its pricing and how we label mental health itself. Mental health outreach is a big step to take and we must start educating children in schools with mandatory lessons in all 50 states. Not only this, the cost and lack of access to care create barriers for anyone to obtain help with mental health. My school itself had a school psychologist that no one knew about! When services are available they're never advertised or presented to the public. We must also work so employers are required to provide mental health benefits to workers. The system must change in all forms for improvement. I was never shown love and may never experience it being given to me. However, I've found love in the purest form and that is to give and spread love. Through mental health outreach, I want to give the love I was never shown. I worked on the school board throughout high school and worked to create space for anyone who was silently suffering like me. This scholarship would greatly be appreciated. Regardless, of who wins this thank you for making a difference and I hope someday I have the power to do so as well.