Billie Eilish is an artist that was a part of my upbringing, specifically in my middle school transitioning into high school. Billie Eilish’s sound has evolved as I have gotten older. I have found myself enjoying her sound consistently as it has evolved. My top three Billie Eilish songs are Ocean Eyes, Everything I Wanted, and Birds of a Feather. Ocean Eyes was the first song that I ever heard of Billie Eilish similarly to most people. Alongside the blissful and gentle vocals, the lyrics are touching. The lyrics talk about the beauty in someone’s eyes and how she is overcome with emotions afterwards. This song resonates with me because I feel like it can be attributed to many of the beauties in life. It is easy to miss sight of the little things in life. This song leaves me feeling more appreciative of those beauties in life. Everything I Wanted is a song released in my junior year of highschool. The contrast of vocals from the first verse to the chorus gives me goosebumps. This song has a dark theme and meaning to it that exposes vulnerability. This song resonates with me because I feel like throughout life, especially your younger years, there’s constant uncertainty in your social circle. Especially being in highschool, soon transition into college, the paths with your friends start to become more diverse. Some may move further, some may be close in location but feel distant to you. Her feelings of insecurity in the support of people around her is valid especially in a time where she was exponentially rising in stardom. Birds of a Feather is one of Billie’s most recently released songs and also my current all time favorite. The song has a bittersweet tone that embraces a deep love for someone. This song resonates with me because I hold loved ones close to me. I feel like the song can be attributed to a family member, friend, or even a past version of one’s self. Whenever I listen to it, I don’t think of the same person. The first time I listened to it, I was in a huge change of who I am as a person as I opened myself up to my loved ones sharing a part of myself that I kept private for many years. It made me remember the deep love that I feel for that version of myself that I was too scared to. I will always love that part of myself but I am better because of her. Overall, I have enjoyed watching Billie grow as an artist. Not only growing her audience and fan-base, but she has experimented so much with her sound. From each album that she has released, there is always at least one song that resonates deeply with me. I am excited to see how she continues to grow as an artist.

Being a good role model to young people is something that is of great importance to me. With the expansion of technology and social media, children and young people have become more impressionable than ever before. They encounter various challenges with age, including changes in their likes and dislikes, appearance, shifts in social life, home life, and more. Technology and social media heighten these problems by making it easier for individuals to compare themselves to others. Recognizing the impact of these issues, I decided during my junior year of college that school psychology was where I wanted my career to be. As a school psychologist, I would like to improve children’s experiences academically, emotionally, and mentally. I would want to ensure that my presence is known and welcoming in the community not only when problems arise. I aim to provide personalized support based on each student's individual needs with a basis of understanding. I bring valuable skills from hosting leisure activities and client-based interventions. I excel in organization, leadership, and facilitation, ensuring good coordination and inclusive environments. My expertise in teamwork, time management, and active listening allows for effective collaboration and understanding. I excel in progress evaluation and detailed documentation, exhibiting my commitment to professionalism. These skills make me well-prepared to contribute meaningfully to the school psychology master’s program and future school psychology roles. I believe in creating a welcoming and supportive environment that caters to each child's unique needs. While I am just now entering the school psychology field, I took the time to interview a faculty member at a graduate school I was considering attending. This faculty member has over 20 years of experience in the school psychology field. I gained lots of insight through our interview. Something that she mentioned that is important to do when out of the classroom is to get hands-on experience. Classes with readings, tests, and lectures can only tell you so much about a field. Actively being in the field and experiencing things first hand is priceless. A hurdle she overcame was realizing the importance of reaching out to parents to ensure that resources are being practiced at home and in the classroom. Some assessments require that parents are notified regardless, but it’s important to follow up with parents consistently. An important advice she gave was to embrace the role of a school psychologist. In the role, you typically get to define the role. You can focus on specific areas, get creative with your interventions, and individualize things to individual students. Many aspects of my career aspirations became clear after conducting research and interviews. One such aspect was the significant amount of assessments that school psychologists conduct. This is understandable, as a thorough understanding of a child often requires not only tests and assessments but also observations and testimonies. Another factor I had not previously considered is representation. Minorities like myself are underrepresented in the psychology field, so entering this field as a minority can help other children and young people see themselves in their future goals and aspirations. It can be challenging to envision pursuing something if you’ve never seen someone like you do it. In closing, I am eager to work towards my goals and objectives to thrive in my future endeavors. I will utilize the resources and experience I have received and will receive to shape into a great practitioner. As I progress through my journey, I will continuously refine my skills and knowledge. Eventually, I will become the one providing the resources and guidance to others.

In my junior year of college, I began working with the McDonough County Recreation Association. I have had the opportunity to work with some amazing people with disabilities. They ranged in age from middle childhood to late adulthood, and they had cognitive impairments and physical disabilities. I created leisure activities for groups with different physical capabilities. I then had to facilitate these activities at local group homes and nursing homes. A year later, my role evolved into creating a client-focused therapeutic recreation intervention based on my client’s needs. Additionally, I am responsible for following up with weekly field logs to monitor if my client is reaching their goals. This hands-on experience solidified my realization that school psychology is the perfect path for me. This realization was cultivated through patience, a quality I acquired while working with children through babysitting and volunteering. Each experience is one-of-a-kind, creating a mutually educational environment. Considering that children are so impressionable, I think it is important to provide them with resources to be successful early. I want to be someone who has the skills to be that listener and advocate, offering the understanding and encouragement they require to overcome challenges and achieve their full potential. My passion for helping children stems from my belief that all children deserve to be set up with the resources to thrive. School psychology alongside its many different roles aligns with my aspirations. Having the opportunity to contribute to children’s success excites me. Recognizing the impressionable nature of children, their initial learning often stems from observation. Parents or guardians become their first teachers. However, when a child’s home environment is troubled, it significantly impacts their development. In my thesis, I explored the outcome of a father’s absence on the romantic relationships of daughters, revealing the long-lasting effects of parental relationships on mental health outcomes. This research further solidified my interest in understanding how parenting styles and practices can shape self-esteem and overall mental well-being. With a strong foundation in psychology, my research interests have expanded to include the field of positive psychology and mindset improvement. I am eager to investigate how positive parenting techniques and fostering a growth mindset can enhance self-esteem and promote mental wellness in young children. As a school psychologist, I aim to improve children’s experiences academically, emotionally, and mentally. I want to ensure that my presence is known and welcoming in the community not only when problems arise. In a future school psychology role, I will bring my leadership skills, research skills, and personal characteristics developed through hosting leisure activities and client-based interventions. My expertise in teamwork, time management, and active listening allows for effective collaboration and understanding. I excel in progress evaluation and detailed documentation, exhibiting my commitment to professionalism.

Growth is something that I am constantly trying to achieve in many different aspects of my life. Being honest with myself is one of the largest ways I’ve grown in the past year. A situation that inspired this growth was a breakup. I initiated the breakup at the end of 2021. I convinced myself and told my ex-partner that my reason for doing so was that I felt distant. In 2022, I spent a lot of time being with myself and simply reflecting on my feelings and thoughts. After journaling my raw emotions and truths, I uncovered that there was a bigger reason why I initiated the breakup. I realized that I was feeling uneasy about the relationship and that the future didn’t look as it did before. Instead of being vulnerable with my ex-partner, I pushed him away. I was afraid to hurt his feelings and I wanted to avoid that guilt. A lot has changed in the past year. I am more honest with myself about my feelings. It has helped me put up healthy boundaries with people. It was a hard thing to do initially, but I realized that the small moments of sadness I felt couldn’t amount to the comfort and happiness I felt after drawing that line. One other thing that has changed is my gratitude. Months later after breaking up with my ex-partner I realized that I should have gone about my situation a different way. It made me realize that I should fight harder for things and people that I care about. It also made me see that I should be vocal with the people I care about and ensure that they know. The other thing that has changed is I’ve been upfront more. I’ve become more willing to have tough conversations with people even if I know it may make both parties uncomfortable. One thing that has stayed the same is my positivity. Striving to be self-aware of your emotions and thoughts is not easy. Some days were harder to get through than others. Yet, I reminded myself that it was a rewarding learning process that would ultimately bring me greater inner peace. Being the best version of yourself makes it easier for you to excel in most aspects of life. There are many things I’ve learned and am continuing to learn throughout my journey. One thing that I’ve learned is experiences that may not have ended the way you would’ve hoped are always teaching moments. There was a quote I read in a book that went “grief is a faster teacher than joy.” Grief can be experienced without death. If we never experience pain or sorrow, life would be boring and we’d never be forced to grow.