My mothers childhood along with my childhood and upbringing are really what has sparked my interest in the social work field. My mother was a victim of severe child abuse when she was younger. Her mother would severely beat her and her siblings, and they were removed from their home on multiple occasions and put into foster homes, always to be returned to the same situation. It was the 1980’s and abuse was looked at differently in that time period. She was abused, bullied and constantly Torn down and told she wasn’t good enough. It breaks my heart when my mother sometimes shares stories from her childhood, and I would give anything to be able to be a social worker in that time to step in and prevent even one of those moments of abuse. I believe that victims of abuse as children tend to follow that pattern into their adult life, like my mother. She met my dad in high school and they went on to have me. My dads family verbally and emotionally bullied and abused her for years, and as a child I had to just watch it happen because i could do nothing to stop it. They made her feel like she was nothing, was worth nothing, and could be nothing without them. She eventually left that situation, but the cycle didn’t end there. She went on to join the Military, and somehow found her way back into that cycle. She was sexually assaulted, and it caused her to suffer from PTSD for a long time. Thankfully, she found counselors and doctors to help her work through the trauma, and she came out the other side a strong and confident woman, mother and wife. I want to be apart of the system that helps women (and children) like my mother avoid those situations if possible, and if they are unavoidable, be part of the system that helps them recover. I believe addiction has a lot to do with childhood trauma. My late grandfather was abused and neglected by his parents as a child. His stepfather would constantly use him as a punching bag. When he was 13, his mother would give him bags of marijuana to sell for her, which started him down a dangerous path. By the time he was 20, he was addicted to painkillers and was struggling with mental issues like anxiety and depression. His addictions spiraled out of control, and by 59 he was found dead in a car of a fentanyl overdose. I truly believe that if he had had a different upbringing, one without physical and emotional abuse and without drugs and childhood trauma, he wouldn’t have become an addict. His life wouldn’t have ended in such a terrible way. He would be here to have met my little sister, would have made it to my high school graduation and watch me go off to college. He had a good heart and loved deeply, but he couldn’t beat his addiction that in my opinion was caused by his childhood trauma. The cycle stops with me. And I hope to help stop the cycle for others.

I honestly wake up striving to make my life, the lives of those around me, and my community a better place. I grew up in a small town where drugs were sold on every corner, including my schools. I watched my dad get sucked into that life and go to prison because of it. I had to watch my mom start her life over because she refused to let me grow up like that. She struggled doing it alone, but she did it and I’m so thankful. I’ve watched my community be plagued by hate, by violence, and unspeakable acts. I knew from a young age I wanted to change that, in whatever way I could, and I start each day knowing even the smallest acts can make a difference. Although I go to school full time and am graduating valedictorian (as well as working a mostly full time job) I still find time every day to do something that will impact my community in a positive way. Most days it’s something simple. I walk around our community and pick up loose trash. It may not seem like much but our home is a beautiful place and I want to have a hand in keeping it that way. I also volunteer for road cleanup whenever it comes available. I offer tutoring services for free for struggling kids in my community. As a military child myself, One of my favorite things I do (although it sounds gross) is help spouses with deployed family members pick up animal waste In their yards. It’s a tough job when one parent is gone and you are raising kids alone. I watched my mom do it alone for years and it was tough on her while also cooking, cleaning, working, and keeping us happy and healthy. I also do community service involving the LGBTQ+ community. I believe everyone has the right to be their authentic selves, and many times need someone to just stand by them and tell them they are worthy, even if you aren’t dealing with the same things. Too many lives are lost because they don’t feel loved and accepted, and I refuse to stand by doing nothing when one kind word or one kind act could change or save a life. I also volunteer when I can to help provide aid to the battered womens shelter. My mom was a victim of assault, and although she survived, not everyone does. The stories of her life make me so proud of the woman, mom and wife she has become, so together we try and give that strength to other women in whatever ways we can. Each of those may not be saving the world individually, but each and every one are my small ways of making a positive impact on the world. Saving one life, helping one spouse take some of the load off, keeping are roads clean, are all ways I hope I’m making a positive impact in the world.

I want to become a nurse because I have a passion for helping people and I believe Nursing is the best path for me to take in order to have the highest impact on the most amount of people. Nursing isn’t easy, but the risk is worth the reward. Growing up, my parents spent 10 years fighting for custody of me. Because of that, I spent a lot of time at my grandmothers house since she was the safe middle ground. My grandmother spent her whole life serving and helping others as a nurse. She was kind and compassionate, and she always had a way of making people feel at ease at their most vulnerable moments. As she got older and her health started to decline, I would spend my days helping make her as comfortable as I could. She developed diabetes and she would ache all over. Without a second thought I would rub her back and her feet, clip her toenails, help her bathe. My heart would swell when I saw the impact it had on her. I knew then that this was the field I wanted to be in. I know that nursing isn’t exactly a glamorous job. It is not the way it is portrayed on television and in the movies. I completed the CNA program in high school and saw the nitty gritty. I’ve heard the stories of how tough it can be mentally and physically, and I’ve seen the impact Covid has had on the healthcare field, but especially for Nurses. There is a shortage partly because it can be such a thankless job. But I don’t want to be a nurse for the thank yous. I want to be a Nurse because a nurse is usually the first experience a patient has when they are being seen or treated. Every patient deserves to be seen, to be heard, to be treated like I would treat my own family. Maybe that’s just me being naive to think it should be that way, but I believe that with every ounce of my being. My main focus is to become an Emergency Room Nurse. To me, those are the front lines and where I think I would be the most useful. ER nurses see the worst of the worst (in most cases) and I want to be prepared for those people at their worst and most vulnerable moments. I know my passion and drive will steer me in the right direction, and at the end of the day I will have made the right choice in my decision to become a nurse.

Being a caregiver to my grandmother has shaped my entire future, and my journey to becoming the young woman I am today. My father lived with his mother, my grandmother. When my mother was gone with the military and also during my parents very long court battle, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. When my father went to prison, I stayed with her and as her health declined, I became her main caregiver. She had been a nurse her whole life. I grew up watching her care for others, and I wanted to care for her the same way. I would help her bathe, cook and clean for her, brush her hair, rub her feet, cut her toenails, etc. my love for her fueled me. After taking care of her for so long and seeing the impact she had had on others (and the many former patients she had that still reached out to her) I decided nursing was the career path for me. I wanted to touch lives the way she did. I want to care for other people the way She cared for others, and the way I was able to care for her. Being a caregiver also helped shape who I am as a person. The impact of that part of my life had and caring for the lives of others, I’ve been able to see who I truly am and who I want to be. Part of being in the nursing field is accepting others as they are, who they are, and be unbiased. Everyone deserves care no matter what their race, religion, ailment, sexual orientation, or financial status. Truly believing that has given me the room to grow into the unique person that I am. I may not be great at sports. I’m not the best singer in the room. My acting skills are sub par. But what I am, is a beautiful thing. I am kind. I am truly open minded. I am unbiased. I don’t judge. I look in the mirror and love who I see. I am not afraid to be who I am, no matter who’s looking and what their option may be. And all of this, all of the good that I am and who I’ve become, I attribute to being a caregiver to my grandmother. Without her and my time caring for her, my journey may have been different, but I’m so thankful that it was not. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me.

My dog Bruce changed my life in the biggest way. When I was a kid and my parents split up, my dad went to prison and my mom joined the military. I was lost and alone. There were moments I felt so depressed I didn’t know how I would wake up each day. My dog Bruce got me through that. I felt like He felt my pain and sadness and made me his whole world. Being solely responsible for him got me through the toughest time of my life, and I made not be here today if it hadn’t been for him. I will forever be grateful for the time I had Bruce in my life.

I’ve had many pets over my lifetime. I’ve had fish, cats, dogs, and even a hamster. Having my dogs throughout my life have gotten me through some of the toughest moments over ever had. My parents split up when I was very young, and i was an only child. I was shuffled back and forth for years. During those years, my dad was sent to prison. My dogs were my constant through that, holding them and getting loved on by them made me feel so loved when I was feeling so alone. My mom left for a few months when I was younger (during the time my dad was in prison) for Army basic training and specialized schooling after that. I don’t know if I would have made it through both of them being absent from my life if it hadn’t been for my dogs, sleeping with me, counting on me and loving me, and giving me a reason to be happy everyday they were gone. There was a time that my love for my pets had convinced me I wanted to be a veterinarian, to be there for those animals that are constants for other kids when life throws them curve balls.

I want to become a nurse because I have a passion for helping people and I believe Nursing is the best path for me to take in order to have the highest impact on the most amount of people. Nursing isn’t easy, but the risk is worth the reward. Growing up, my parents spent 10 years fighting for custody of me. Because of that, I spent a lot of time at my grandmothers house since she was the safe middle ground. My grandmother spent her whole life serving and helping others as a nurse. She was kind and compassionate, and she always had a way of making people feel at ease at their most vulnerable moments. As she got older and her health started to decline, I would spend my days helping make her as comfortable as I could. She developed diabetes and she would ache all over. Without a second thought I would rub her back and her feet, clip her toenails, help her bathe. My heart would swell when I saw the impact it had on her. I knew then that this was the field I wanted to be in. I know that nursing isn’t exactly a glamorous job. It is not the way it is portrayed on television and in the movies. I completed the CNA program in high school and saw the nitty gritty. I’ve heard the stories of how tough it can be mentally and physically, and I’ve seen the impact Covid has had on the healthcare field, but especially for Nurses. There is a shortage partly because it can be such a thankless job. But I don’t want to be a nurse for the thank yous. I want to be a Nurse because a nurse is usually the first experience a patient has when they are being seen or treated. Every patient deserves to be seen, to be heard, to be treated like I would treat my own family. Maybe that’s just me being naive to think it should be that way, but I believe that with every ounce of my being. My main focus is to become an Emergency Room Nurse. To me, those are the front lines and where I think I would be the most useful. ER nurses see the worst of the worst (in most cases) and I want to be prepared for those people at their worst and most vulnerable moments. I know my passion and drive will steer me in the right direction, and at the end of the day I will have made the right choice in my decision to become a nurse.

My eyes are closed. My heart is beating loudly and as I move the rhythm and tempo pick up. I’m whipping my long hair around as my head is bobbing and shaking . My arms are swaying, flapping, wiggling. My legs go from a small bounce, gradually getting higher, then finally they are kicking and flailing. Obviously I am no dancer, but when I’m feeling stress and anxiety, I dance. It helps me be free and crazy when I feel that my world is shrinking around me, threatening to swallow me up if I don’t let myself go and push the feelings lurking around the corner out of my fingertips and toes. Singing annoyingly loud also helps me when I’m dealing with mental health struggles. I hear the lyrics, really feel every single word and shed tears when the right ones come along, lifting weights off my shoulders instantly. You see, my mom and I have had a strained relationship for some time now. We rarely see eye to eye, and our opinions on mental health and what causes it are vastly different. My mom believes that most of my generations mental health issues come from the influence of social media, while I believe that it comes from the pressure society puts on us to be perfect. Our parents were taught that if you are struggling that you should hide those feelings, bury them deep down so no one sees your struggle. I believe that that is such a backwards way of thinking. Our mental health struggles should be faced head on with open minds and open hearts so we can fully process and find the problem and the solution. My Grandfather was the kindest and gentlest person I have ever know. His mother and father taught him his mental health issues were an embarrassment and should be hidden from the world. They tried to institutionalize him, which only pushed him further into depression. Once her and my grandmother divorced he lived his life mostly alone, refusing to ever live under the thumb of anyone ever again. Because of this, he chose to live homeless on the streets. My parents always tried to help him, but he would refuse. As a result, he fought his demons with drugs. He loved me fiercely, always writing me letters and poems and even dedicated his book of poems (largely talking about his mental health struggles) to me and my future children. Two years ago, my grandfather died of a drug overdose. He died alone in the back of a car. His final words were put on paper and read “I’m sorry. My demons are just too much to carry.” What if the world had been more accepting of his mental health struggles? What if instead of shaming those who choose to tackle them head on, we live and embrace them? Maybe my grandfather would have been here to meet my little sister, been here to see me graduate from high school. But instead, I have to hold onto nothing but my memories of him. I choose to learn from that amazing man. I choose to embrace my mental health. You’ll find me here, dancing and singing, for him, for myself, and as an example for everyone else who needs it.