In the future, I dream of being a supportive mom of beautiful children, having a well-paying job that I enjoy going to every day, and being financially stable to provide for my family.

I remember the first time i was asked the question, "What makes you unique?" I was in the fourth grade sitting with my friends at our grey round work tables learning about characters in a book. My teacher asked us what things made the main character of the story stand out from the others. When we gave examples such as different colored hair, different eye color, and different heights we learned that these were characteristics that made us "special" or "one of a kind." Our teacher then instructed us to make a list of things that made us different from our peers. I struggled with this assignment because there were plenty of other girls in the class with long brown hair and brown eyes. I became frustrated and convinced myself that nothing set me apart from the other peers in the classroom. Eventually, I understood that uniqueness is not defined by the way you look on the outside, but can also be characterized by your personality and beliefs. Growing up in this chaotic and opinionated world, I have quickly learned that I do not agree with everyone on specific matters. My attitude toward my future can be very different from other people in my generation. I aspire to attend college and graduate with all "A's" at the top of my class. Succeeding is very important to me, and I strive to make sure I do everything I can for me to reach my goals. Another strong characteristic about myself is that I am a problem solver, which is an ideal skill for me to have when longing for a career in Forensics. I enjoy challenges and understand that not everything comes easy in life. Working for things only makes me feel more accomplished when completing a task. Finally, I would say that having a big heart is my most unique trait. It is truly something that I am proud to have, but it often backfires on me in this generation. When it comes to being kind, I tend to make sure everyone else's needs are before mine. I thrive knowing I was the reason someone smiled today, rather than being upset and angry toward them over things they cannot control. I believe that everyone deserves a second chance in life, and understand that we are all dealing with things on our own. I plan to give back to my community by sharing the importance of understanding what makes you unique and teaching the younger generations the value of generosity and compassion. Being kind to one another does not make us weak, but only lifts each other up to make the world a little better.

In 2021, I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression after struggling for a few years. I was afraid to speak up and ask for help from my parents out of fear of being looked at differently by others. Ever since my diagnosis, I have been interested in helping out others who struggle with identifying their thoughts and feelings. By overcoming a mental illness of my own, I believe I will be able to understand and connect with others suffering from similar situations and illnesses. I have been fascinated with psychology and learning about how our brains work. I enjoy a challenge and am also a really good problem solver. The feeling of satisfaction I get from even doing just brain puzzles makes me feel accomplished. I would say I am a fixer when it comes to describing myself and how I deal with situations. I like solutions to problems and in psychology, being able to provide a client with a treatment plan or prescription is a form of solution. Being able to explain that we are in control of our minds and can control how our lives play out will be critical to proving to them that they are in control. With the great amount of research and classes I have taken so far in high school, I feel that this field of study is going to benefit me the most when finding a future career. I plan to attend West Virginia University to major in Psychology and obtain a minor in Forensics. With my higher education, I hope to provide a safe space for those suffering from mental illnesses and be available to listen to people talk about the everyday challenges they suffer from. Understanding how mental illnesses affect human behavior is important and should be taken seriously. I look forward to helping out a community of people who want to be heard and seek help. I will also gain a great deal of knowledge and joy seeing how much of an impact my dedication and experience are making throughout my community, which is better than any paycheck. Being able to make a positive impact on someone's life will make all of the hard work and energy worth it. I aspire to bring people more hope for their future and a better understanding of how we can control our emotions through therapy. And maybe somewhere along this journey, I will be able to heal my inner child by providing others with the help I was too afraid to ask for.

From teaching elementary children about pi day to raising money for my school and advertising local businesses, I have learned the importance of helping out my community. Although I cannot pick just one experience as being my favorite, I truly enjoyed working with elementary school children. As a volunteer, I had the joy of assisting kindergarten, first, and second-grade students dye eggs for field day. The experience taught me patience, and compassion, along with an understanding of what it means to give back to my community. Seeing the kids so excited to be assisted by the "older kids" and knowing they look up to me made me feel important and needed. As I left the school after field day was over, I realized how important it was to me that these kids, along with future generations, grow up in a safer world. As I get older I want my children to be able to go out in the world and not have to worry about being in danger or threatened by a criminal. I now understand that pursuing higher education will allow me to make sure I am doing my part in protecting these children. I have always been interested in the minds of criminals and just crime scenes in general. Growing up, I found myself wanting to become more involved in the criminal justice system to keep offenders off the street and away from our future generations. I have taken a forensics class along with a criminal justice class in high school to become more exposed to the terminology and information about perpetrators. Now, I plan to attend West Virginia University in the fall to further my education and pursue a degree in Psychology along with a minor in Forensics. By being involved in Forensic Psychology, I will be able to help the criminal justice system in court determine the fate of the accused. My role in this position will ensure I am doing everything I can to keep future generations safe. With these children in mind, I plan to open up rehabilitation facilities for these perpetrators. This will not only keep them off the streets, but also provide them with a more stable environment to adjust to before being released back into the real world. These mental health facilities will benefit the surrounding communities, including the children, and also the convict by providing the help they need. And maybe, this will be enough for them to understand just how valuable life truly is.