Legacy, to me, means the continuation of a positive impact. Continuing a cycle that impacts those around you positively is key in creating a tomorrow that you want yourself and those you care about to be a part of. It means that understanding and learning from the negative impacts from the generations previous and understanding how they came to be and what it takes to move apart from them to create a cycle that cultivates as much prosperity as possible. Within my life, legacy is much of following the academic and career goals of the generations before you, even if it means throwing away the dreams you have personally. Through my upbringing, this meant that there was a stress on performing well in the maths and sciences. This is what is needed to create a good engineer or a great nurse. This is what I imagined as a child I would be doing. Due to the stress of performing well in the maths and sciences, I found it only natural to follow the same path in undergrad because I was able to do well with it in high school. One thing that I did not expect to happen is to have my eyes opened to the world of possibilities that come along with getting a degree in biology with a minor in math. I have taken my degree to move forward with different things than my older sibling and parents. This has helped me to feel more connected to my future, and carry more excitement about what I have learned and what I have chosen to move forward to. With this step, I have gained more confidence on my path, and a greater sense of independence. As much as having a legacy looks great, or can be very helpful in forging a strong path in the work you are doing, it is just as important to understand that not everyone who falls within it, will fit the mold. Breaking out of the mold is needed to exemplify the strength of the legacy. Show that it is more than a show, and that it fosters greater things within it. I personally am deciding to break some of the cycle, but taking the parts that continue to resonate, with me. I am proud of the people that have come before me, but it is more important to be proud of yourself when it comes to building your own future.

College is a mental health road trip for everyone. When I was first given the map that I was going to follow through my undergraduate career, I couldn't believe it. Within just my freshman year, I had gotten two new major health diagnoses, which then in turn, completely threw my mental health for a loop. Sophomore year came around and I thought that I was getting a grip on things when in reality I was covering things up with other activities. This was very apparent when it was time to switch to online school due to the pandemic. After my sophomore year ended, I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands and start talking to someone about what I am going through. I realized that while I can tackle some small issues on my own, I cannot resolve every issue I come across without any help. Getting myself therapy was a real turning point for me. More issues kept popping up within my life, as life tends to throw into your path, and I now had a new tool within my arsenal to help combat what I was facing internally and externally in daily life. I know that for a fact, without my mental health team I would not be where I am today. I am lucky to have found the support and the help I truly needed. My experience with my own mental health is not unlike many other college students, but one of the biggest things that I see within my own school is the societal stigma around mental health. Many people suffer in silence in fear that they will be castrated from their social circles. One of the things that I fight for is the right to speak about what you are going through without being judged. Ways to get help if you need it, and if you'd like, ways to get help discretely so that you can better yourself and possibly build to the conversation of what you have been going through. One of the largest things that I had to work through is the fact that progress within the mental health battle is most likely not going to be a linear progression. And that is okay. Knowing that you are not the only person to experience the ups and downs of tackling something aids in the overall goal. Knowing that you are not alone in things helps, even if others are too afraid to talk about it first. My goal is to be open about my mental health with show people younger than me, all that you can do. You are not defined by your mental health or anything else you struggle with. My end-goal career is to become an optometrist. I know that I wouldn't be continuing to pursue this pathway if my mentors weren't open with me on how they tackled the difficult issues they faced, and I am going to continue that cycle so that more people like me know that no matter what, your dreams are valid and they are something to continue to fight for.