Struggling with mental health has influenced my career aspirations because I plan on going into the Social Work Field to help those who are stuggling and let them know that just because they struggle with mental health does not make them less than anyone else. Everyone struggles with mental health and we need to talk more about it that way it can becomes less of a taboo subject and can become a more widely known topic. Mental Health stuggles have shaped me into who I am and why I chose to go down this route. Without these mental health struggles, I would have been lost and not have known what to do.

There are many resources and tips I love to use to clear my mind, however, my top one is journaling. Journaling allows me to clear my mind and put all of my thoughts from my head onto my paper and allows me to truly understand why I may be feeling anxious, worried or stressed. Journaling has allowed me to write down how I feel without feeling like I am being judged because I struggle with mental health. I also love talking to people who I can really trust and let them know what is going on and then we can discuss a plan to help me overcome these worries and fears and how I must keep them updated on the plan and how it is working for me. Without these methods in my life, I would not be where I am today and would be afraid to try new things with all these worries and anxiety I would have about trying new things

Junior high was some of the toughest years of my life and when I really became aware of the stigma surrounding mental health. I was bullied because I would have panic and anxiety attacks because I had to present in front of the class and could not do it but thankfully I had teacher's who were understanding when I had to present. My relationship with mental health has shaped my goals as I want to become a Social Worker and want to help those who are struggling with all types of mental health and let them know it is okay to not be okay and that you should not be ashamed of the struggles you face. Understanding my own struggles has made me realize I never know what someone is going through and to always be kind to those around me. My relationships with my parents have strengthed ever since I reached out and let them know I needed help with my anxiety and needed to get on medication, but my friendships have been seterriatinig because they do not understand the struggles I face with my mental health.

There are many ways we can help some more people who are struggling with mental health, however the one solution is making mental health resources more accessible and more affordable for everyone in all different types communities and walks of life. By providing more affordable and more mental health resources, the topic of mental health will become less of a taboo subject and more people will be willing and open to talking about it without feeling like they are burdening someone. Mental health is something that needs to be talked about more and not something that gets pushed to the side where their mental health gets so bad they end up unaliving themselves. Providing more mental health resources whether they be free or more affordable, we can help those who are struggling no matter their race, age, sexual orientation and gender and will allow people to reach out to crisis lines, national suicide hotline and places that provide mental health help and other resources for those who are struggling with domestic violence, substance abuse and other mental health and physical abuse.

We are always learning something new in life, however over the past two years my perspective on how I view life and how I view discrimination has changed so much. In 2020, my eyes were finally opened to how the disabled community gets treated on a day-to-day basis. Every day disabled people have to worry about whether their accommodations will be met or if they will have to suffer more pain and agony fighting for their rights to have an accessible world without everyone looking down on them like they are a burden. 2020 was a year for change and a lot did change and a lot got worse as well. Everyone saw how POC get treated by cops and their communities whereas white people can live their lives without fear of being shot by the police, not having to worry about not getting a job because of the color of their skin or their hairstyle. As life goes on, I am trying to figure out ways to help my community and make a change for the better in this world. When change starts happening, then the world will finally be able to live in peace and harmony and get back to a life where we no one is judged for who they are.

If I am being completely honest, being a Texan does not mean anything to me as I am not proud to say I am a "Texan" due to the fact of all these new laws being put into place and pushing us back 150 years or so when women had no rights. Being a Texan is something no one should be proud of especially since we have becoming the laughing stock of the country due to Greg Abbott fleeing Texas during the winter storm, not taking covid seriously and is just another trump. I know this essay is supposed to be "What does being a Texan mean to you" but in reality, how can being a texan mean anything to someone? I would be proud to be a Texan if we had a leader who took things seriously and cared about other people besides himself.

The pandemic was definitely something none of us suspected would happen when the covid virus had just hit the us. The pandemic made it not only hard for students, & essential workers but small business as well. Small businesses were forced to shut down because of not getting any business and therefore were not able to make ends meet to keep their business open. The pandemic has affected my life and aspirations in a positive way because being stuck inside 24/7 and on my phone 24/7, I was able to find what I was truly passionate about which is Social Work and owning a bakery. Social work has always been a passion of mine but the pandemic confirmed that this is something I was meant to do and was meant to help kids in anyway I could. Baking is another passion of mine and with being stuck inside, I was able to open my own bakery business as baking is one of my favorite ways to pass the time and not make it feel like I was in a rut 24/7.

Being independent to me means having freedom and being able to take care of yourself without needing the help of your parents. You can be independent and realize that you still may need help from your parents and that is perfectly okay. Independence is not only just having freedom from your parents but it also means maturing and letting your judgement guide you to make the right choices even though you would rather have fun. The impact being independent means to me is having the freedom to do what I want but also letting my parents know where I am at all times even though I am an adult and do not need to but it eases the minds of my parents so I do so

There have been many times where people have been kind to me and where it meant a lot but i can recall a time back in July of 2020, I was not doing too well mentally and one of my friends spent 2 hours of her time just texting me making sure that I was okay when she could have been doing something else with her time. What she did will forever mean the world to me and i am so lucky and so grateful to have someone like her in my life. Having her just randomly check up on me like that shocked me as i have never had anyone just text me and make sure I was okay but she did and i had tears in my eyes. Being kind to someone is the easiest thing you can do and even when you are busy, it never hurts to take a quick second to text someone you love and ask them "how are you doing?" and usually, if you reach someone out of the blue like that, it will mean everything to them and then they will not be afraid to tell you how they really are doing instead of the usual responses like "I am fine" or "I am okay". When you reach out to someone out of the blue, they are more likely to respond with a phrase like "Im not doing too well. Can i talk with you about how i am feeling if its okay with you?" to the person who asked if they were doing okay. With everything going on, everyones mental health is not the greatest and it is always great to have a support system to talk to when you are not feeling the greatest. The person who texted me one day out of the blue has become one of my biggest supporters through everything i do and i could not be more thankful. All because of her, I have found someone I can confide in and will treat me with the upmost respect and will always let me go to her for anything, even when she is super busy with school, she still finds time to text me and make sure everything is going well with me and I do the same for her. With that being said, this is your reminder to check on your friends because you never know what someone may be going through. They could look perfectly fine and happy on the outside but could be fighting their own battles on the inside. Check on all your loved ones, even if its as simple as sending a text and saying "Hey I was just thinking about you. I hope all is well", its that simple and you can really make someones day with small actions like that.

The ways i am giving back to my community are by babysitting kids when parents are out of town and helping the parents when they need it the most. Everyone deserves a break every now and then so by babysitting i give parents the opportunity to get away for a couple hours or a few days depending on what time of year it is. During the summer, i help out by taking kids for the day and getting them out of the house and away from technology for a couple hours and help those parents who work from home. Other ways i give back is by mowing lawns, house sitting and pet sitting so my neighbors do not have to higher pet sitters or house sitters for a ridiculous price such as $500, i only charge by the hour instead of a flat rate. My actions have impacted my community by showing that there are still people out there who care and love to help others despite everything going on in the world and that if anyone ever needs anyone, i am always a message or call away and will not hesitate to help out where it may be needed. I will jump up to help wherever i am needed. I have shown my community that i am willing to help no matter what the job is and that i can handle anything they turn my way. My community has also shown me love back by buying my things so i can help pay for college without having to ask my mom for help to pay for college and so i can take out as few loans as i possibly can. If all of us allies came together, we would make a huge difference in this world and would have a more welcoming community but with what has been happening in the past few months, it shows which neighbors are your true allies and which ones do not have a care in the world about you and that those are the people you should not go to for help. Sticking up for my neighbors and friends that are black and people of color is something i have always done and will continue to do, they have my support always and i will listen to their voices about what needs to be done in our community to make it a safer and loving place for them to be. We all need to be willing to make our community a better place or else nothing will change and things will not change and our neighbors will not know who to trust if the neighborhood does not become a more inclusive and welcoming place so what i hope to do in the future to leave my community better than the way i entered it is to make sure everyone feels welcomed.

My experience with mental health has not been the easiest and i've struggled with it since 8th grade. The way my mental health has shaped my relationships is i lost the ones who did not care that I was struggling but ended up finding the ones who cared for me and had seen me at the lowest. Having a mental illness such as anxiety has changed my understanding of the world in both a good and bad light. Mental health is overlooked which something needs to be changed about that. If our mental health gets super bad, we do not have the motivation to do any school work or turn in anything and with the pandemic at hand, SO many of us are struggling with our mental health because we need the social interaction but we all want to keep our peers safe so we let our mental health deteriorate instead of going out and being with friends. Mental health needs to be taken more seriously because once it is, us teens and young adults will finally feel like our elders are listening to us and do not think we are being overdramatic as that is what the older generations feel since they had to hide their struggles with mental health. At the end of the day, I hope I can make a difference in this world by talking about mental health more openly and letting people know its okay to not be okay and to get help when you need it. No one should ever be ashamed to admit they are struggling and have to hide it. The world can be a cruel place especially when it comes to dealing with mental health and something needs to be changed and I will do anything in my power to help the younger generations it is okay to not be okay and struggle with their mental health.

My greatest inspiration would be my mom because no matter the financial hardships we go through, she always made sure we had food on the table even if that meant she went without eating for a couple nights/ had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of what we had. Another inspiration in my life would be my friends because they've helped me realize my full potential and are pushing me to achieve my dreams. She's always been my biggest inspiration and has continued to support me in my dreams no matter how crazy they may seem to her or others and she just wants me to go after my dreams since she never got to achieve her. Without her, i do not think i would be going back to school to achieve my dreams of being a social worker but with my motivation and her motivation, i found the drive to go back to school and be able to help the kids in the foster care system. I have always been driven but what drives me the most is hearing people say they are proud of me and that i can actually accomplish anything no matter how big or small it may be as long as i put my mind to it, i can achieve it and that has been what drives me the most. With everyone in my life pushing me to go towards my goals, i have felt more passion and drive than i have ever had before and have started doing more and more research about what needs to be done in the foster care system.

Society can most effectively empower women by giving them more positions in power and letting women have a chance at running the world. With women in power, so many things could change but we are not given the chance because we are considered "too emotional" and "too weak minded", when in reality, women can hide their emotions when making decisions and are very strong minded. Everything needs to change from getting equal pay to equal opportunities. No one wants to admit it but women are still treated like they were in the 40''s and we're in 2021, times have changed which means pay needs to be equal and opportunities need to be given. The only way women can get these demands is by protesting and making sure our voices are heard and that we wont stop fighting until we have our demands met. Women are still looked at as "stay at home moms" who do not need to have a job or do any sort of work except for house work but we are not in the 1940's anymore, we are in 2021 and many women are going to school to change the world whether society likes it or not. Empowering women is a lovely thing and a lot more of it needs to be done through protests and strikes as that is usually how are voices are heard but sometimes that does not even work and it is very sad because we are doing everything in our power to make sure our voices are heard and our demands are met. Women are often looked at as the "underdog" but we just fly under the radar and do not need to show off our efforts but we would love to be appreciated.

People with disabilities are treated differently than able bodied people which i do not understand at all. Whether we have a disability or not, we are all human which means we should all be treated equally, sadly that is not the case when it comes to people with disabilities vs able bodied people. I have many goals and aspirations but the one i am excited for the most is working towards my dreams of becoming a social worker. I plan to pursue these dreams by going to school and getting my bachelors in social work while minoring in psychology and then from there, getting my masters to help kids out in the foster care system and change the system from the inside out, letting these kids know that there will always be someone their for them no matter what, someone they can go to for anything and won't be judged. The thing that excites me the most about going for these goals is, my generation will be the one to change things from every career force and let little kids know that they can do anything they can put their mind to and should not give up on their dreams even if someone does not believe in them because they can look at the world around them and they'll have a bunch of supporters whether they're family or not. Giving back to my community is something I have always wanted to do and the way I plan to do that is by giving money to different charities, donating proceeds from bake sales, community garage sales etc. to different children's hospitals because they can use a lot of help from the community. Other ways i hope to give back are to be able to work with kids and adults with disabilities and help them become independent while also having assistance if they so need it. Becoming a social worker has been a dream of mine since about sophomore year of high school and I am ready to give back to my community while also going to school to eventually be able to help those who need it the most and let my community know that someone is always going to be there for them no matter what. Everyone deserves to have someone they can rely on and I am going to be that person for my community.

A role model in my life was my Sophomore English teacher Mrs. Briggs who helped me when I was struggling and was always there for me when I needed it the most. She taught me that no matter who doubts me, I can achieve anything as long as I put my mind to it and that there will always be bumps in the road to get you to where you need to be. I've applied these lessons by helping kids who need it the most and reminding them of their worth and that they are capable of anything they put their minds to. The way I will pay it forward is by helping the kids in foster care and making sure that they know that they can come to me no matter what and I will be with them every step of the way and telling them that they are loved and that I'm proud of them for overcoming any challenges their way and that they are capable of anything even with all the hardships they have gone through. They'll also know that none of what is happening to them is their fault and that no matter what comes their way, they are strong and can do it.

My journey with self-love definitely hasn't been easy but as I have gotten older I've learned that it's okay to be different and that everyone has a different journey with self-love and acceptance. The way my journey with self-love and acceptance is I found out who my true friends are and friends who are willing to go the extra mile and help me with my journey and remind me that its okay to slip up every now and then and that I won't magically love me or my body overnight

We all could use a little change in our life and if I could change anything in the country, it would be providing free tutoring for kids who are less fortunate who don't necessarily have the funds to provide a tutor. I would also love to be able to help out children's hospitals across the country as they help all the sick kids to try and get the best possible treatment for whatever illness they are battling. Children's hospitals are a place I have always wanted to give back to because they deserve it for all their hard work they put in.