It has always been a dream of mine to fulfill a career that helped others. It took me many years to think about what career could possibly be the best to help as many people as possible until one day I decided on nursing. More specifically I want to continue my education and become a nurse practitioner. My whole life I feel my purpose was to help others. I want to be a positive influence in people's lives, whether that's at the beginning, middle or end of their lives. To be a nurse that made just a small impression will mean I accomplished my goal in life. I have always felt very strongly about where I needed to be, after many years of praying and working towards this goal, I am proud to say I have been accepted into nursing school fall of 2023. The military has always been an option for me, and it's something I am still unsure of. My brother-in-law has been in the military since he was 18 years old, during that time he was also going to college. However, he had to take time off of school because of a deployment to Iraq. He has been in my life since I was seven years old, and I have grown up with him. During his time in Iraq, he watched his best friend get blown up right next to him. This has forever changed him. Since then his life was altered, and he deals with a small form of PTSD as well as difficulty reliving the memories. He is now 34 years old and ranks high up in the National Guard. During his time in the military, he also worked in jail as an officer and then became a State Trooper nearly 3 years ago. I chose this career because I truly enjoy helping people, I have over 150 community service hours, and help greatly within my school. I have spent a lot of my time in hospitals for injuries and sickness and for some reason I always enjoyed the work that nurses did and always felt like that is somewhere I would like to work when I was older. I know the schooling is hard but I have a very strong drive to do my absolute best. My purpose on this earth is to help others and I feel very strongly about that. May God push me through.

My name is Cara, I am a high school senior. I play soccer, am involved in Key Club, Ski Club, National Honor Society, and Student Council. My only goal in life is to help as many people as possible, and that can only be accomplished if I put forth the effort to do so. I am in Key Club and national organization, that is based solely on community service, and volunteering. I have over 150 community service hours after being in the club for three years. And I have also decided to take a leadership position within the club. I am the vice- president. Those duties include that everyone sees to showing up and providing nothing but their best efforts at each and every event. I have met so many wonderful people while volunteering, something I am extremely grateful for. Outside of Key Club, I also help within my church as an assistant teacher, my duties include, teaching a lesson, providing a snack, cleaning up, and art and crafts. I truly enjoy this act, not only to see the children’s faces every Sunday but also to know I left a mark on someone that day. I think if you’re capable of lending a helping hand, you should. It’s an incredible feeling after volunteering, it’s a feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment. Everyone should volunteer, and I am grateful that I have done so throughout my life.

I thought it was the end. The end of what? My career, my soccer career was within ends meet. I was so devastated, it was a big game. And there was nothing I could do but sit the bench and hold back my tears because I couldn’t play. I couldn’t even walk, it was even harder to see someone play my position. My knee gave out on me and I tore my MCL I was out for eight months, not including therapy. It wasn’t just hard physically but also mentally. It led me into a Great Depression, I felt as though I had lost my identity. Soccer was all I knew, I played everyday all year around. My coach saw me struggle, and allowed me time to process what had happened to me, gave me a safe place to share my sadness for what had been taken away. Until one day he took me off the bench about 5 months after tearing my MCL and told me to go kick a ball. Devastated I exclaimed, “But I can’t,” but that wasn’t enough for him. He told me to use my other leg and kick the ball, and so I did. Little did he know this was exactly what I needed, just to touch a ball, to feel capable again. I slowly started doing more and more, with supervision. Although still majorly discouraged, slowing I was regaining confidence in my abilities again. I am a center defender, so I get beat up in most games, that being known I had a huge mental block. After my recovery I was scared to come back, scared to get re-injured. But my first practice back my coach ran right through me, after falling straight on my butt totally amazed, he helped me up and said, “See now the only thing that hurts is your butt.” We both laughed and I continued with the drill, and I accomplished my first practice, with absolutely no fear in my head after he pushed me down. Tough love is a huge thing on my team, and I truly don’t know what I would have done if he didn’t pull me off the bench and make me kick a ball that day. I fought my way back to who I am, laughing my entire way through with nothing but love for the sport. Falling in my butt was only a small part of what we do, but encouraging and spreading awareness for athletes is something each and every one of my coaches and teammates thrive to do. David reminds me a lot of myself in many ways, I’m sure he would have laughed if he got knocked on his butt too.

The love I have for my cousin is beyond a love I could feel for anyone else. My cousin Katherine is Autistic, she behaves still like a child even though she is 21 years old. She is the most innocent, loving, caring girl I know. She truly means the world to me, and I will always be grateful to call her family. It has been a strong life goal of mine to work with disabled and gifted children, and I plan to accomplish those goals. Therefore, to also be able to obtain my life meanwhile helping gifted children, I have chosen Nursing as a career. Nursing can exhibit all aspects, I could save a gifted child’s life if necessary, and I can work with gifted children just like I always wanted to. So many gifted children are abused or bullied just for being who they are. But why? It’s because they are God’s most special people, and they are cherished in the eyes of those who care. I had the opportunity to go to high school with my cousin Katherine, she was in the special education program that allowed her to stay in school until she turned 21. During that time numerous people bullied her for her medical conditions: autism, scoliosis, and lazy eye. This broke my heart, and I did everything in my power to protect her, I just couldn’t allow for it. I just couldn’t understand why others didn’t see the beauty in her as I did. The older I got the more I understood, I understood that some people just have no love in their hearts, but luckily enough I have enough in mine. Katherine and I have gone through a lot together, she is the first person I go to see at family events, or when I go over to visit her. And she always gives the warmest hugs. By becoming a nurse, I can better take care of her, and more children like her. It will allow me to work with more gifted children, also protecting their mental and physical beings. From the time I was little, I have always loved children and I have always had a special place in my heart for gifted/disabled children. I have continued to open opportunities for myself, and as soon as I turn 18, I will be able to be a caregiver for my cousin Katherine. But to me, it’s not a job, I will be able to spend more quality time with her and take her to do the things she has never been able to do. Unfortunately, she didn’t have parents capable of taking care of her and her older sister. Both my cousins lived with my grandma, and she wanted to make sure when she was gone that they would still both be taken care of, which led to my mother becoming financially responsible for them, therefore they will always be safe with us. Katherine is an incredibly smart young lady and is extremely capable of many things. She can cook with assistance, clean, do laundry, and so many other amazing things. None of this would have ever been possible if it wasn’t for the school, my grandmother, and my family. The key to making a good connection with gifted children is to be interested in what they are interested in. It only takes a small amount of time to learn about someone, and you can do it just by watching them or having a simple conversation. Katherine enjoys watching Paw Patrol, eating cheese, and wearing bright colors. I learned those things just by going over to take her a birthday present. It doesn’t take much to genuinely care about someone and their emotional needs. She enjoys going to the park, playing outside, and going to the store to look at new toys. And as soon as I can, we will be doing those all the time. Luckily, I was able to work with the gifted children in my school after Katherine graduated from her program. I even wrote some stories about them for the school newspaper. Gifted children will forever hold a special place in my heart, and I can’t wait to be able to work with them every day.