I believe my mental health is important not only for myself, but for the people I am around. If I am in a bad state of mind, that thought process can be infectious. I personally have been working in the field of exercise and health as a personal trainer. In this field it is important to keep a positive attitude. It is hard not to let hard times show, but I believe that this is one great thing about this field. I am able to talk and make relationships with the people I'm working with. Getting to know them, I get to understand the things that they similarly have gone through. This has been great for my mental health because it tells me that everyone has a relationship with struggles in their lives that can create mental health issues. The great thing about being upfront with these individuals that I'm working with is that many of them are older than I am and have amazing advise that I can take to heart. It's okay to talk about the things we are going through with others because they may be able to help you talk through some of it. I maintain my mental wellness by being active and making time for my friends and family. I am very busy between working and saving up for physical therapy school. Even so, I believe that making time for the people in my life that support and look towards me for help as well is important. This is a great way to not let things like loneliness set in. Being alone can create a dark space in my head personally and maybe that is why I have chosen the career path I'm on. Being around those that are important in our lives and meeting new important people plays a huge roll in keeping me in a good head space. I love learning where others have come from and where they started at. This gives me hope for myself and for the generation to come, that we can beat our mental health issues and soar to our full potentials. Being overwhelmed with work, school, and family life can be difficult to deal with. If everyone can figure out what truly makes them unstressed and feel like they are going towards a goal or aspiration in life, then I believe many of us can find happiness within our own mental states. This is at least what has been working for me, and I hope that some of what I can tell other generation about my hardships can inspire or teach them a way to cope.

I have been working with military clients as a personal trainer, helping them gain strength and proprioception through weight training and balance drills. I have also volunteered at a private practice clinic in my hometown of Kennewick Washington called Hughes Physical Therapy. I’m applying to shadow/volunteer at a nearby veteran affairs clinic soon as well. Living in a medically underserved area has shown me the number of people that truly need help from physical therapists. Between shadowing the clinic and working as a personal trainer, I’ve met people with different and similar stories to that of my father’s military career. Taking their experiences in mind made me realize I have to help these amazing individuals. My father fell off a cliff in the Marine Corps and shattered his vertebrae and dislocated his shoulder. I've seen him live with pain my whole life. Seeing his struggle to move correctly and seeing his face in pain makes me want to help others with these issues. Over the years I have helped him lose over 120 lbs. between training with me and his licensed physical therapist. I believe him working closely with the both of us helped him achieve his goal to hunt and hike again. I've seen how amazing movement can be for people through him and other clients I've worked with. This is what got me started on the career of physical therapy. Seeing others with similar stories like my father helped me understand that I need to help this group of individuals. I went back to school at 22 years old to get my degree in business management, as I knew that this would further my understanding of how a business ran. I then took a year of science pre-requisites ranging from physics, to organic chemistry, to anatomy and physiology. I did this with one goal in mind at the end, to get into physical therapy school. I have finally achieved the goal of getting into a school with a 3% acceptance rate, and a neurology focus on therapy. I am now working towards my dream of becoming a business owner of a physical therapy clinic that focuses on helping underserved veterans and their families. My father and I have always been like best friends. He taught me how to hunt, fish, and enjoy outdoors. He has been an essential role model in my life and a big reason why I am pursuing what I am today. He is finally doing well enough that I am able to leave to the school I have been accepted to. There are many instances where we've had incredible moments together in life. Whether it was camping in Idaho together hunting for elk, or just throwing a baseball, we've always had an amazing time together. He's my best friend and it's hard to be leaving him, but I'm glad we have the years of memories that most wish they had.