My mental health is my priority. I have seen what my life is like when I have been unfit, unwell, and mentally unstable, and I will not allow anything to become more important than my wellness. I maintain my health by taking a minimum of thirty minutes each day to practice mindful self-care. Some days, my self-care may look like writing in a journal and meditation; other days it looks like a trip to the park to get sunshine and exercise. Each day, I have to overcome the dark side of mental illness, and it is a conscious effort to stay above the struggles I face. Living day to day with anxiety, PTSD, and an eating disorder, I have to make more conscious decisions about my health than most people do each day. It is non-negotiable for me to skip a meal or to sacrifice sleep to study for a test. As important as my education is to me, my wellness comes first. Sacrificing my health will get me nowhere in my education or career. To ensure my safety and wellness, I have scheduled time each day for all of my needs, and I don't let stress dictate my routine. If I need to do homework or review my material, I have scheduled times to do that. I don't study during the times that I have blocked out for lunch or dinner, and after 9 pm, my rest takes priority. For the first year of university, I tried to eat and sleep around my 11-hour work day, and I became very mentally and physically ill. My grades reflect my health. I'm still recovering from the damage that those habits caused, and I will have lifelong consequences because of my poor stress management during that time in my life. I deserve better. My mental wellness depends greatly on my eating, exercise, and sleep habits, so my routine includes intentional time to practice better behaviors. The fear of going back to that dark place keeps me moving forward. I put more distance between my current self and that unhealthy version of me every day. Progress is not linear, nor is it easy, but when I do find myself giving into the negative thoughts in my head, I remind myself how much I have gained in my life since putting these mindful exercises in place. I am in a better place now than I have ever been in. My struggle with mental illness began in early childhood, and without correction, it spiraled into a deep pit by my late teens. Each day, I become a better student, daughter, employee, and spouse. My mental wellness is important to me because without it, I wouldn't be here today. Contrary to my fears, putting my wellness first has not hurt my grades and I have not failed at school because I put something else above it. Taking care of myself has actually helped my grades. I was apprehensive to change my life around because I worried that I would flunk out of college if I didn't make school my priority, but each and every semester since choosing my health, I have become a better student. I get better each day. My health has improved, my test scores and GPA have gone up, and my overall happiness and motivation have soared. Being intentional about my health has only helped me, and it is important to me to keep moving forward. I have no regrets about the way I am living today, and I thank my younger self for being brave enough to start these good habits.

My name is Cheyenne Rose. I am a senior at Utah Tech University (formerly known as Dixie State University). I am studying biochemistry, and I will go on to get a master's in genetic counseling to become a certified genetic counselor. I will use my love of science to help families through some of the most challenging experiences an expecting family can face. I have always wanted to help others, and genetic counseling gives me the opportunity to pair that desire with my love of STEM. It is the perfect career for a girl like me. I have always gravitated towards the sciences. From the time I was little, I showed that girls belong in STEM. I would challenge my teachers in class, striving to learn above and beyond the curriculum, only to be told that my skills would be better suited as a housewife. I fought tooth and nail to prove that I could be-- would be-- a scientist one day. Today, I marvel at how far I have come. From being a girl without a chance to being less than a year away from receiving my bachelor's degree. That fire inside of me burns as brightly today as it did when I was young. I am a scientist. Being a woman in STEM comes with its challenges, but I am ready to face any challenges which are foolish enough to face me. I don't allow others to talk down to me, and I prove every day that women belong in the classroom. It is strange to think in 2023, women still have so far to go in terms of equality. We are creative thinkers who are not afraid to overcome barriers in our research and learning opportunities. It is hard to believe that anyone wouldn't want girls on their team. We strive for perfection, we aim for success. Women are so valuable in STEM. I have no doubt in my mind that women can change the world. Men ironically talk of women being too imaginative and talkative, when most of the issues they face in the workforce come from a lack of communication and in-the-box thinking. They could learn a lesson or two from the girls who have had to fight their entire lives to get where we are today. We could solve their problems with our curiosity and discussion. They just need to listen. Women fight every day to get where we deserve to be. We are the ones who will change the name of science. We are scientists and we will be the diversity we seek to have in the world. By winning this scholarship, I will go on to show that women are just as valuable to STEM as men are. I will overcome my financial burdens as a low-income student and show that no matter who you are, where you come from, or what barriers stand in your way, you can overcome them and become the person you have always dreamed of being. I have never given up on my dream. I want to encourage other women who want to pursue STEM to reach the goals they set for themselves, and stand up against the obstacles others put in our way. Women deserve a place in STEM. I am living proof that a woman from an underprivileged life can become a scientist. I am a biochemist and I will soon become a genetic counselor. Thank you for your consideration for this opportunity. Make a difference today, and be the change you seek to find in the world.

My name is Cheyenne Rose and I am a student at Utah Tech University. I'm a senior, studying biochemistry, aiming to get a bachelor's degree and a certification in genetic sequencing. I will become a maternal-fetal genetic counselor and serve my community by guiding families through one of the most challenging things about parenthood: the unknown. I know what it is like to face the unknown. To know something is wrong, but not be able to name it. At the age of 19, I started therapy for seasonal depression and anxiety, and at 22, I was finally diagnosed with the right condition. I have Bipolar Disorder Type 1. For nearly three years, I was searching for answers that nobody could put a pin in. The sleepless nights, the hopelessness, and the crushing uncertainty are all engraved in my mind like a bleeding heart carved into a tree. I have known there was a problem since I was five when I began seeing and hearing things that weren't real. Others convinced me that it was normal but I always knew there was something wrong with my mind. Like me, parents always know when there is a problem with their child. They have a fifth sense. For many of the families who seek genetic counseling, there is strong evidence pushing them toward it. They need answers to the lingering questions. Every parent worries about what struggles their child will face in life, but only a select few are ever given the guidance they need. Individuals with genetic conditions, parents of children with disabilities, and genetic counselors are among the best advocates for the help that these families and individuals need. Genetic counselors have the answers that these expectant parents need to move forward with their lives. For these families and myself, being stuck in such a dynamic situation is exhausting. When I was looking for answers about my mood swings and paranoia, I felt like I was treading water for months. I went to the doctors and then they told me that they’d see me again for a follow-up. This repeated over and over I received no answers. I would meet with my therapist twice a week, and we would talk about all of my feelings and experiences, and I would be told to schedule an appointment with a doctor to finally start the right treatment for me. I was not given any answers. Finally, after four years, I received the diagnosis. I had an answer! It was such a relief. So, then, why must fear come into play? What does this diagnosis mean for me? For my family? For my future? Parents are given their child’s diagnosis by a doctor, and they are cast off to figure out the answer to all of those questions, and more. Genetic counselors work to ease the minds of these new parents and guide them through this journey. It may be a rough road and a bumpy ride, but when all is said and done, we arrive at a point where these families can use the tools we give them to tackle the unknown. The hardest thing I have had to overcome is learning how to manage my BD and how to make the most out of a difficult situation. This condition will stay with me for the rest of my life, and so will my passion to serve others. I choose to bring comfort to my community. This scholarship will allow me to finish my bachelor’s degree and step into graduate school with a steady foot forward. Thank you for your consideration.

My health is my priority. I have seen what my life is like when I have been unfit, unwell, and mentally unstable, and I will not allow anything to become more important than my wellness. I maintain my health by taking a minimum of thirty minutes to two hours each day to practice mindful self-care. My self care some days may look like writing in a journal and meditation; other days it looks like a trip to the park to get sunshine and extra, low-intensity exercise. Each day, I have to overcome the dark side of mental illness, and it is a conscious effort every day to stay above the struggles I face. Living day to day with anxiety, PTSD, and disordered eating, I have to make more conscious decisions about my health than most people do. It is non-negotiable for me to skip a meal or to sacrifice sleep to study for a test. As important as my education is to me, my wellness comes first. Sacrificing my health will get me nowhere in my education or career. To ensure my safety and wellness, I have scheduled time each day for all of my needs, and I don't let stress dictate my routine. If I need to do homework or review my material, I have scheduled times to do that. I don't study during the times that I have blocked out for lunch or dinner, and after 9 pm, my rest takes priority. For the first year of university, I tried to eat and sleep around my 11-hour work day, and I became very ill. My grades reflect my health. I am still recovering from the damage that those habits caused, and I will have lifelong consequences because of my poor stress management. I deserve better. My wellness depends greatly on my eating, exercise, and sleep habits, so my routine includes intentional time to practice better behaviors. I cannot allow myself to go back to how things were. I was so sick. The fear of going back to that dark place keeps me moving forward. I put more and more distance between myself and that version of me every day. Progress is not linear, nor is it easy, but when I do find myself giving into the negative thoughts in my head, I remind myself how much I have gained in my life since putting these mindful exercises in place. I am in a better place now, than I have ever been in. My struggle with mental illness began in early childhood, and without correction, it spiraled into a deep pit by my late teens. Each day, I make progress to becoming a better person, student, daughter, employee, and spouse. Contrary to my fears, putting my wellness first has not hurt my grades and I have not failed at school because I put something else above it. Taking care of myself has actually helped my grades exponentially. I was apprehensive to change my life around because I worried that I would flunk out of college if I didn't make school my priority, but each and every semester since choosing my health, I have become a better student. I get better each day. My health has improved, my test scores and GPA have gone up, and my overall happiness and motivation have soared. Being intentional about my health has only helped me, and it is important to me to keep moving forward. I have no regrets about the way I am living today, and I thank my younger self for being brave enough to start these good habits.

When I think of my community, I think of the people who gave me their time and their support when I was growing up, so that I could become the woman I am today. My community is my backbone. From arranging neighbourhood study groups to hosting educational activities around town and encouraging my interests, they went above and beyond for me. To show my gratitude, I feel it is a privilege to offer what I can to the next generation of kids in my neighbourhood. I do my best to provide the same opportunities for the new generation that is growing in my area. I serve my community by providing free, resourceful child care. Many of the parents in my community are widowed grandparents who are raising their grandchildren or they are single teenage mothers who are still in high school. These adults were there for my parents when I was young, and now I want to be there for them. I want to give back to my community by offering the opportunities they gave me, to their children and grandchildren. As a single, working guardian, it can be hard to spare an hour or a penny for these kids. I help my neighbours by offering to take the kids whenever possible. It gives the adults peace of mind and a night off. For the children, I intend to feed the flame within them, like their guardians did for me not too long ago. When I have the kids, I give them new opportunities to grow and to explore the world around them. I take them for hikes with scavenger hunts, I build sensory bins for them, and I find age-appropriate STEM and art projects for them to do. My community built me, and now I want to return the favour by building up the new generation. I serve my community by providing children the opportunity to learn and grow through resourceful child care, free of charge. If I can help to inspire one child in my neighbourhood, then I have served my community. I believe that my goal is to give these kids the best that I can give, with no expectation in return. Many times I worry that the kids won't like the activities that I provide, but I ease those thoughts by reminding myself that if one of the seven kids likes the project, then it was a success. I try to inspire them as their loved ones inspired me. I didn't love every activity that was put on for me, and I may have taken for granted what they were trying to introduce to me, but looking back, I am more than grateful for the work that these adults put in so that I could have the childhood that I had. I am passionate about giving back because I would not be who I am today without those men and women. I love my neighbours for all that they did for me, and I hope that I can provide the same opportunities for their children and grandchildren. Who I am today is the result of dozens of helping hands that provided me with nurturing lessons, interesting field trips, fascinating science projects, and more. I can never repay my neighbours for the endless opportunities they created for me. To show my appreciation, I am trying to give the same to the next generation in my neighbourhood. I provide free, child care for the adults in my community so that their kids can have resourceful experiences and guardians can take the day off.

Mental health is a serious concern for many college students. One-in-four adults struggle with mental illness, and I am one of them. I am proud of the person I have become despite my mental illnesses, and I am proud of where I am today. In 2020, I had a choice to make. It was the summer before my sophomore year of college, and I was struggling each day to make it through. Haunting memories kept me awake at night, intrusive thoughts plagued my mind causing brain fog, and I struggled to eat thus I became physically unwell. I had to choose a better path for myself. The road I was going down was a certain one-way to nowhere good. I cannot imagine where I'd be if I didn't seek professional counseling and support from close friends and family. I may not have survived with the rate at which I was declining. But, I did survive, and today I am thriving. The first step I had to take to put myself back on track was to remember why I began going to college. I had to find the motivation to go back to school after summer vacation. I had to figure out why I wanted to study biochemistry and why I wanted to go into genetic counseling. The first task that I remember doing for myself as I climbed from that emotional pit was writing down all of the reasons that I wanted to go back to school. I had to prove to myself that despite the chemical imbalances in my brain and the illnesses I was dealing with, I could find my passion for education again. I had to reignite my flame that had been slowly burning out. The first word that came to mind was "purpose." Who am I if I can't use my intelligence to help others? When I chose biochemistry as my major, I knew that I wanted to become a genetic counselor at the end of my education. I want to be the guide and support that individuals and their families need as they navigate life with a genetic condition. Helping others gives my life purpose. Using my love for science to give comfort to people is my calling in life. If that isn't reason enough to go back to school, I came up with a second: "fun." Science is fascinating, it is fun. Depression can make it hard to remember what fun is, but as I began healing, I became reintroduced to the feeling of seeing something incredible happen inside a test tube. The third and fourth reasons were: "talent" and "love". I am good at science, and I love it. My mental illness made me forget those things. I believed that I wasn't smart enough and I lost connection with my core desires. The connection I had to my inner child had been damaged, and thus my love for the unknown was wavering. I love science because inside of me is a child that had read a book about animals for the first time. I had to relearn to love science the way I did as a child. The steps that I took to overcome my adversary began as a list of things to prove that there was a piece of me that hadn't been taken away. It was hard to find the first four words, but after that, the list grew and grew. Three pages later, I had my answer. I was ready to fight my mental illness and heal myself so that I could continue my education and become a genetic counselor.

My experience with mental health has changed who I am as a person. My life has had to change due to the consequences of my mental illnesses, and because of the things that I experienced due to post-traumatic stress disorder and anorexia, I had to adjust a lot of things in my life. To say that my journey has changed me is an understatement. At my worst, my life was turned upside down and I have spent the last few years recovering from what was the greatest roadblock in my life. I am proud of who I am today. In the summer of 2020, I realized that I was not living a lifestyle that was compatible with success. I was on a road to nowhere good. I struggled with an eating disorder that compromised my physical health and a stress disorder that distracted me from the future. I was stuck in an endless downhill spiral and had I given into that one-way road, there is no saying where I would be today. I put an end to that cycle and I sought help. I felt everything good in my life disappearing, and that cold emptiness was terrifying. Losing my passions, my hope, and my energy to care was devastating. Without help, I felt like I had no way of getting them back. I knew I could not let these things throw off the master plan that I designed for myself. I could not give in. I have always been persistent, but an Olympic swimmer is not nearly as persistent as a person caught in a riptide. I had to save myself from the path I was going down, but I had to find somewhere to start. The first step towards getting help was the hardest part of this entire journey, and that is where my life changed the most. When I began healing, I realized that some of the driving forces of my downward spiral came from people in my life that were dragging me down. My mental illness was a significant piece of the problem because it drew me to people who felt as miserable as I did. They say misery likes company, and I believe that now. My experience with mental health influenced my relationships by making me aware of who I am spending time with, and how they affect me. I had to relinquish many relationships to save myself. Regarding how my beliefs have changed, I had to accept that I deserved better. I had to believe that I deserve to be healthy. My recovery from anorexia is dependent on my steadfast hold on that. My progress stands upon a foundation of believing that I deserve to feel happy and strong. Without that belief, I would still be struggling as much as I did back then. The biggest change that I faced with my aspirations was the initial apathy that drove me to my recovery. When I began my experience with mental health, I struggled to see the future. I was stuck in a memory from 2015, and I could not escape it. Back then, I couldn't look ahead, and now that I can, I have regained sight of what I want. I have gotten myself back on track to become a genetic counselor. My experience with mental health has changed me as a person, and I hope that it continues to change me. To see the difference in my life today after almost three years of recovery makes me look forward to what the next ten years could like like as I continue down this path.

I am a gay woman in STEM and I have had to defend my presence in the classroom since childhood. The average sexism and homophobia that exists worldwide is amplified in Utah, where I grew up and currently live. Women are the background workers and the caretakers. They are to be seen and not heard. Or so they say. I choose to disrupt the peace. If I have to fight to be accepted in a room full of men, then I will. My gender will not stop me. As for being gay, in Utah, it is publicly looked down upon. But, being queer is not about to get in my way. I am a gay woman in STEM, and the world needs to accept that. I will pave a path for young women in science and I want to prove to the world that gay people exist outside of art studios. The stereotype for women is to be silent observers, especially in the classroom. This seems outdated, but in Utah, it isn't. Women still have to fight to be seen on the same wavelength as men in academics, and specifically STEM. The predominant religion in this area describes men as the breadwinner while women support them and watch the kids. I have never been okay with that narrative. When elementary school teachers silenced me, I fought back. When peers put me down through high school, I proved them wrong. I made it to university level with the odds against me and I won't stop there. Women deserve a place in STEM fields and I'm going to pave a way for future women to follow me. In college, my average class is two men to every one woman. That statistic is nice, considering at one time in history women weren't allowed to step foot in the classroom, but it isn't enough. I had one math class in particular, where the professor had a public bias against women. By the end of the first week and after exam scores for the first test had been posted, that much was clear. Of the six women in this class of thirty, none of us passed the test, yet every man passed. This trend continued until two of the girls dropped out and I spoke up. This professor acted so out of line, I had to bring it to the attention of my Dean. A mistake on my paper was docked four points while the same mistake on my male peers' tests were only marked down by one point. I would not stand for that. No woman should face that, and I made sure no other women had to go through that. My experience being queer in college is not reflective of my university, but rather reflective of the culture in Utah. Around here, queer people are viewed as radical and artistic criminals. That is not an overstatement. Gay people are assigned to a profile that discredits all conservative, scientific and analytic do-good'ers. I cannot subscribe to that. I am here to show that gay people can exist in STEM and that we can be anything we want to be. Sexuality does not define us. I will defend the space I take up and I will encourage others to join me. We're here and we're queer, and we are going to make leaps and bounds in STEM. If someone wants to pursue science and math, their gender and sexuality absolutely should not stand in their way. I am a gay woman in STEM and I am going to pave the way for the next generation.

My name is Cheyenne Rose. I am a twenty-one-year-old student from Utah, and I currently attend Utah Tech University. I am majoring in biochemistry and Molecular Biology and I will graduate with my bachelor's in the fall of 2023. Then, I will apply to graduate school in the fall of 2024. I want to become a genetic counselor. As I am excitedly looking ahead toward graduate school, I feel it's important to see where I started and how far I have come. I began college in 2019, fresh out of high school. I walked into my advisor's office on the first day of the semester and I declared biochemistry as my major. He tried to talk me out of it, insisting it was too difficult, but I didn't listen. From early childhood, I knew that I wanted to work in the medical field, and I designed my path to get me there. I began my university coursework, and I was off to a great start. In 2020, I was still unsure of what specific career I wanted to go into. I enjoyed learning about genetics and I enjoyed the thought of working with patients. I wondered if I wanted to be a nurse like my sister, or if I wanted to become a doctor, or if I wanted to do something else entirely. I worried about what I wanted to do with my life for months. I felt like the answer would never come, but then, overnight, I became a full-time caretaker of my grandmother and my uncle. My grandmother had broken her hip, and my uncle was slowly declining due to an infection that would soon take his life. During the time I spent with them, I asked my grandma what I should do. She told me many stories about how medical professionals had failed her when my uncle was brought into the world. In 1960, my uncle was born with what was called "Mongolism". Doctors told my grandma that her son was not viable and that she should throw him in an institution and get on with her life. Thirteen years later, word got out that the condition my uncle was born with was called Down's Syndrome and it was caused by a genetic mutation in the 21st chromosome. For thirteen years, my grandmother didn't have support for choosing to raise her child, and she was scrutinized for "causing" his disability. It broke my heart to hear that. I know there is no way to go back in time, but I wondered what I could do to help other families so they don't experience what my grandma had gone through. I learned of genetic counseling. Though times have certainly changed in the medical field, there is still a lot of question about what causes genetic conditions and how to help individuals who have them. That is why I want to become a genetic counselor. I want to help families understand that they are not to blame for these conditions and to support them through their journey. I can never relieve the pain that my grandma went through, but I hope I can become the kind of person my grandmother had prayed to have. I want to be the person that people can come to with their questions and leave our discussions feeling peace and comfort. Having an answer and having support was all my grandmother wanted, and today I can provide that to other families as they balance the good and bad that comes with raising a child who has a genetic condition. Thank you for this opportunity.

The social issue that I am passionate about is acceptance and awareness of accessibility for people who have disabilities. I offer a challenge: as you continue through your day, notice all of the things that can be only accessed due to your abilities. Notice the out-of-order sign on the elevator that says to take the stairs. Notice the curbs along the road that have potholes and puckered lips. Notice the doors on public buildings with small, turn knobs. While these things may be minor inconveniences for able-bodied people, all of these things create inaccessibility for disabled people. I cannot change the world in a day, but every day I can do something to change the world. I notice these things every time I leave my house, and because I notice them, I am able to bring them to the attention of people who can fix them. I have no authority over the infrastructure of the cement, or the handle on the door, but somebody does, and as soon as I see these obstacles, I start writing letters to those people. Without awareness of accessibility, nobody would take care of these things unless they are affected by them. One in four adults in the United States have a disability, and those individuals deserve to access the world the same way that the other seventy-five percent of the nation's adult population can. Able-bodied people may never be able to understand inaccessibility the way that someone who is disabled would understand it, but that doesn't mean that the two communities cannot work together to make things better. If enough people notice these issues, more can be done to fix the barrier. I don't claim to innovate new technologies to help disabled people access the world, but I do take it upon myself to not allow my community to work backwards. We have the means to build ramps into buildings and to offer hand rails on walkways. We have the technology to make print larger on important documents. We have services that allow people to communicate non-verbally. These things are not new, but it surprises me how easily they are over looked. I try to remind people how important accessibility is. Earlier, I mentioned that I try to promote accessibility acceptance, as well as awareness. Awareness is the more common issue-- people don't know what they don't know until someone teaches them. But, unfortunately, there are people in the world who are aware of inaccessibility, who just don't care, or who believe that it is the responsibility of a disabled person to create it for themselves. That is a bigger issue than ignorance ever will be. Every day, I hear people murmuring about how ugly the the rumble strips on cross walks are, and muttering about how handicapped parking is unfair to able-bodied people. I do not hesitate to start a conversation with these strangers. I tell them why accessibility is important, and I tell them that they can either be part of the problem or part of the solution. This does not always change their mind, but there is always a possibility that it will, and that is why I spark a discussion with them. It's always worth it to speak up. Accessibility is a big deal to me. I notice the things that divide our world, and I want to put an end to them. I email businesses and city officials to make them aware of the barriers they are creating, and I aim to spread acceptance for accessibility mechanisms. Disabled people deserve access to the world we all live in.

The key to financial literacy is being open about your finances. I always hear people talk about how asking about someone's income or budget is inappropriate and rude, but growing up my family openly discussed finances. For me, discussing money allowed me to have financial structure and to be able to have conversations about money with people who need to be involved in them. Today, I continue to learn about finances through open discussions. I am not afraid to ask others for tips and tricks. I want to help myself become more successful by learning from others, and if others are willing to ask me about my habits, I will happily share what I know. Talking about finances is the key to financial literacy. In my home, we were considered low income. Both my parents worked sixteen hour days, seven days a week, and brought home just enough to keep a roof over our heads and food on our table. For my family, money was a hot topic of conversation, and most of these discussions were positive in nature. They were educational. My parents didn't scream and yell about how we couldn't afford toys; they sat down with me regularly and we discussed what the consequence of reckless spending could be. It was a conversation. If I had questions, my parents answered them calmly and with an open mind. They tried to see my ignorance from my eyes. I couldn't understand why we didn't get to have the most luxurious things, so they got down to my mental level and they helped me get the concept of finite resources. They were willing to be honest with me, so that I could learn. As I got older, people became more reserved about talking about money. When I needed those conversations the most, I was not educated. Nobody outside of my parents discussed how to fill out taxes or how to build budgets, and I became very overwhelmed despite my strong foundation. I cannot imagine going into emerging adulthood with less than what I had. I was drowning in confusion! Because I know what it feels like to struggle and to feel like I had nobody to turn to, I choose to help others who are willing to come to me. It's not comfortable to talk about money, it is hard, but the only way to learn is to be open about it. We can't know what we don't question. I regularly hold conversations with people about our financial situations so that we can each learn and grow in our financial literacy. Now that I am beginning to share my life with my partner, discussions about money come up frequently. How to afford rent and bills, how to budget and save for rainy days, and more. These conversations were explosive in my fiancee's home growing up. They were off limits to talk about and they led to fights. That is not the relationship I want with my partner or with our future family. My partner and I choose to host small conversations regularly so that they don't become large arguments, and for us, that has been a success. It has saved my relationship from guaranteed disaster. Communication about finances is the key to financial success. I have always believed in open conversations about money. That is how I was raised and how I continue to live my life. The only way to learn is to ask questions and to be shown new ways of doing things. To help myself and others with our financial literacy, I choose to talk about finances openly.

The autoimmune disease that I have is called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). I was diagnosed with POTS in mid to late 2022 after a series of medical emergencies throughout the year. What began as mild inconveniences in childhood became an almost debilitating condition that stole months of my life away from me. I fought back against POTS. I am proud of the strength I've gained since taking control of my autoimmune disease. During the spring semester of 2022, I began struggling with day to day functions. Standing up caused me to lose consciousness for several minutes, I had brain fog that made it hard to remember my name, and I struggled with chronic low blood pressure that may it hard to stay conscious even while sitting. I lost a lot of independence as the condition worsened. I couldn't drive, I had to wear a device that alerted my girlfriend about my heart rate and blood pressure 24/7, I couldn't shower without help, and more. My physical health suffered, so my mental health suffered. All aspects of my life were impacted by this deterioration. On top of everything, I struggled academically, and that devastated me. Academics have always been my strong suit, and so to suddenly struggle to recall information, miss class because of medical emergencies, and to be so mentally drained that I lost passion for learning was the lowest point in my life. I would never wish that state of being on anyone. I couldn't care about my interests and I had no motivation to excel because I didn't have the energy. My physical body was wearing out from the stress of POTS, and I was falling apart at the seams because of it. Doctors dismissed me as a young healthy woman, and they left me with many unanswered questions. A cardiologist said that I would grow out of the symptoms, a family practitioner took one look at me and said it was persistent low blood pressure and told me that there was nothing he could do, an emergency room doctor concluded that I had no reason seeking care after passing out and obtaining a concussion. I had to advocate for myself every step of the way. I grew tremendously because I had to take my health into my own hands. I learned about POTS, I researched the condition, and I taught my doctors about it. I got myself the help that I needed. Currently, there is no cure for POTS, but there are many remedies and treatments to take care of the symptoms of the condition. Since beginning home remedies, I experience less syncope and the brain fog has decreased, but it is still hard to function day to day. I function anyway. I have a reason to push forward. Since beginning my treatment, I have regained interest in my passions, I have gotten myself back on track, and I believe that there are important activities in my life that I need to pursue despite the symptoms I experience. I have to push myself and that makes me stronger every single day. Looking back, I could have curled up in a ball, dropped out of school, and given up because I couldn't manage the pain and disorientation. We all have that option every single day. But I chose to get up, to get help, and to get on with my life. I did not allow POTS to consume my life. It affects my life, but it does not control my life. I have grown as a person due to my autoimmune disease, and I continue to fight.

The song that has the greatest meaning to me was written by Phil Collins for the Tarzan soundtrack. It is called "You'll Be In My Heart." I fell in love with this song when I was very little, because Tarzan was the only Disney movie that my mom liked to watch. It was important to me because there were a handful of times that she would sit down with me to watch it. She would sing along as the movie continued and on those nights she told me that I would always be in her heart. It was such a little thing to her, but it meant the world to me. As I prepare to get married, my fiancee and I have planned to have a mother-daughter dance where we each dance to a song with the important women in our lives. I chose this song. As we have been preparing the playlist for our reception, I have had a lot of time to go through all of the music that I listen to, and even though I have not heard this song in weeks, this was the only song that came to mind before scrolling through the thousands of songs I have saved. I knew it needed to be on our soundtrack. Many times, we forget that the most important things in life are the smallest things. As I prepare for one of the biggest days of my life, I cannot help but think back to those nights where my mom and I would sit down to watch Tarzan, and she would hum along to "You'll Be In My Heart." I'm very grateful for the memories that are attached to this song, and I cannot wait for her to find out that I chose this song for our dance.

I am drawn to math because there are numerous ways to come to a single answer, proving that no matter how our minds work, we can still all come to the right answer, somehow. Math makes sense because there are very few ways to do it wrong. Two plus two is four, but so is two plus three minus one. I think of solving math equations as a way to view the world, too. No matter how we are all raised and what experiences we go through, if we are earnest to reach a final destination, we can get there. Whether we solve our problems the way the textbook says to or we pioneer a new approach. There is always a way to find a solution. Growing up, math was easy for me because there were so many ways to do every problem. I could approach problems from any angle and still come to the right answer just as quickly and accurately as my classmates did. If one method didn't make sense to me, I came up with another that I could understand, using previous material. I didn't struggle with math because I knew how to find patterns and I could connect concepts easily. Multiplication and addition are related, and once I could do one, I could do both. I try to look at life the same way. A lot of things in life may seem too complex and too overwhelming, but when we pick it apart, we may be able to find out that we do know how to solve some of our problems, and little by little, find a solution to our problems of life. Sure, you can solve a twelve digit multiplication problem all at once. But, you can also solve it two digits at a time and still come to the right answer. An elementary school math teacher once told me, "to keep it simple." I let that quote stick with me for the rest of my life. Math, life, anything-- just keep it simple. As we all get older, life gets harder, and so does math. Taking college calculus has been challenging for me, just like entering a new phase of a long term relationship and moving out of my parents house has been. But, my basic understanding of math and the way the world works has prepared me for these hard times. Because I know how to take each hurdle one by one, I have made it through this semester. During the past nine months, I have had to rely on my previous knowledge of everything to get me through. I may not understand everything there is to anything, but I do know a little bit about everything, and with that, I can make it through. Math has taught me that all things can be done with only a few pieces of information and a whole lot of working backwards. I am grateful for all that math has taught me. I know a lot about problem solving and I look at the world through a wide lens because of my experiences with math. I am hopeful for my future because I know that even if I don't know what I am doing, I can still find a way to where I want to go. There is a level of guessing in math that I think also applies to life. We can all afford to make educated guesses when problem solving. With some background knowledge and a goal in mind, anything is possible. Any problem in life can be solved with the principals of math.

My health is my priority. I've seen what my life is like when I have been unfit, unwell, and mentally unstable, and I will not allow anything to become more important than my wellness. I maintain my health by prioritizing self-care. My self-care may look like writing in a journal about my relationship with food or preparing a healthy meal while mentally walking myself through the positive consequences of consuming it before sitting down to enjoy it. Each day, I overcome the dark side of mental illness, and it is a conscious effort every day to stay above the struggles I face. Living with an eating disorder, I have to make more conscious decisions about my health than other college students do. Every day, I have to set alarms on my phone to remind me to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is non-negotiable for me to skip a meal, even if I'm in the middle of studying. I know my demons, and I cannot allow them to reemerge. As important as my education is to me, my wellness comes first. Sacrificing my health will get me nowhere in my education or career. To ensure my safety and wellness, I don't allow stress to dictate my routine. If I need to do homework or review material, I have scheduled times to do that. I don't study during the times that I have blocked out for lunch or dinner, and at 7 pm, preparing dinner takes priority. During my first year of university, I struggled to find time to eat due to my 11-hour work day, and I became very ill. My grades from that time in my life reflect my health. I'm still recovering from the damage that those eating habits caused, and I will have lifelong consequences because of my negligence. I deserve better. My wellness depends greatly on my eating and exercise habits, so my routine includes intentional time to practice better behaviors. I cannot allow myself to go back to how things were. I was almost hospitalized. The fear of going back to that dark place keeps me moving forward. I put more and more distance between myself and that version of me every day. Recovery is not linear, nor is it easy, but when I do find myself giving into the negative thoughts in my head, I remind myself how much I have gained in my life since putting these mindful exercises in place. I am in a better place now, than I have ever been in. My struggle with anorexia began in early childhood, and without correction, it spiraled into a deep pit by my late teens. Each day, I make progress to becoming a healthier person. Contrary to my fears, putting my wellness first has not hurt my grades and I have not failed at school because I put something else above it. Taking care of myself has helped my grades exponentially. I was apprehensive to change my life around because I worried that I would flunk out of college if I didn't make school my priority, but each and every semester since choosing my health, I have become a better student. I get better each day. My health has improved, my test scores have gone up, and my overall happiness and motivation have soared. Being intentional about my health has only helped me, and it is important to me to keep moving forward. I have no regrets about the way I am living today, and I thank my younger self for being brave enough to start these good habits.

My name is Cheyenne Rose and I am passionate about redefining leadership. Leadership is not a position of a higher power, it is a position of equal potential with the sole goal to help everyone succeed together. Leaders are typically described as the person who delegates tasks to others while sitting back and reaping the rewards of their team's efforts, but I have always believed that leaders need to be a part of the team to help the whole group. Leaders may have additional roles to fill, and they need to be able to step up to fill those needs for their team. My experience with leadership has taught me that for a group to succeed, the person "in charge" must be just as willing to put in as much effort as everyone else. Humility goes a long way in creating a successful leader. I am entering into my senior year of college, with the plan to go on to become a genetic counselor. Throughout my extensive education, I have been able to participate in numerous groups and organizations where I have been modeled quality leadership skills. The leaders I want to become like were the ones who acted like they were just another member of the team. Behind the scenes, yes, they had more to juggle than any other member, but unless I gained a peek into the background work, I would have assumed they were there to work like the rest of us. I gained so much more appreciation for teamwork and authority from the leaders who played it down. Arrogance is not a trait that I see in good leaders. Humble and hard working leaders create the most efficient teams. In many aspects of my life, I am a leader. I am in charge of many great organizations where my role is to delegate tasks, supervise my team, and address concerns as they arise. My role is not to "command" my "inferiors" to do things and make them grovel to beg for my mercy. That's not me. I know what needs to be done, and I make my team aware of what is needed from them. I know who on my team is best equip to handle each item of business and I am ready to step in if they need me to. My job is to supervise, see where improvements can be made, and lending a helping hand to my team members. I'm not known for chastising my employees. If there is work to be done, I will not shirk from it. I'd never criticize my team for their human flaws or downplay their strengths just because of my title. I do have to take into account what is going on and I must make weekly reports on our progress and our losses, but my workers and volunteers rarely see that side of things unless there is a legitimate issue. If I notice a lack of work being done, I step in and I ask questions about the situation. I'm not quick to blame individuals or fire team members. We are all human and we are all part of our project. I see myself as their equal. We all want to meet our goal. The examples I have had in life have shown me that the greatest leaders are those who are passionate about teamwork and humility. I am passionate about leadership because I think we need to redefine what a leader is. My hope is that one day we will have brilliant, successful leaders amongst us who we would never expect. Stay humble.

@cheyennelrose (private account) My best back-to-school tips are to design a routine and to be patient with yourself! Going back to school can be hard. The first few days, reading the syllabi in your courses can be overwhelming, so my biggest tip is to be patient with yourself. You are capable of doing the work expected of you, and you're ready to take on the responsibility again. Be courageous enough to try! It's hard, and that's okay. It's okay to struggle at first, but never give up. Believe in yourself. Building a routine is also essential. It's not always possible to have the same schedule every week, but try to get into a routine and stick to it. Start the semester by making a 7-day, 24-hour table, and account for every hour of the day. Start with designating a time to wake up and a consistent bed time, start this habit a week before school starts. Then block out hours for class time and work time, followed by all commute times. With the extra hours of the day, prioritize meal times, homework/studying time, social and personal time. Don't allow stress to decide how you spend your days. Plan ahead.

I am drawn to math because there are numerous ways to come to a single answer, proving that no matter how our minds work, we can all still succeed. Math makes sense because there are very few ways to do it wrong. I think of solving equations as a way to view the world, too. No matter how we are raised and what experiences we go through, if we are earnest to reach a destination, we can get there. Whether we solve our problems the way the textbook says to or we pioneer a new approach. There is always a way to find a solution. Growing up, math was easy for me. I could approach problems from any angle and still come to the right answer. If one method didn't make sense, I came up with another that I could understand, using previous material. I found patterns and connected concepts easily. Multiplication and addition are related, and once I could do one, I could do both. I look at life the same way. A lot of things may seem too complex and overwhelming, but when I pick it apart, I realize that I do know how to solve some of my problems. Little by little, I find a solution. A middle school math teacher once told me, "to keep it simple." I let that quote stick with me. Math, life, anything-- just keep it simple. As we get older, life gets harder, and so does math. Taking college calculus has been challenging for me, just like preparing to move out has been. But, my basic understanding of math and the way the world works has prepared me for these hard times. Because I know how to take each hurdle one by one, I didn't stumble. I may not understand everything there is to anything, but I do know a little bit about everything, and with that much, I can succeed. I'm grateful for what math has taught me. I know a lot about problem solving and I look at the world through a wide lens because of my experiences with math. I know that even if I don't know what I am doing, I can still find a way to where I want to go. With some background knowledge and a goal in mind, anything is possible. Any problem in life can be solved with the principals of math.

My favorite Disney character is Elsa from Frozen. There are many reasons, but the main two are because of her experience with concealing her powers and her LGBT representation. Growing up, I was often told that I had a cold heart. My monotone voice was insulting to others and I didn't know that I am autistic until I was twenty years old. Without understanding why, I had to learn to mask my autism, just like Elsa had to conceal her powers. I didn't have a pair of gloves to slip on; I had hours of Googling things such as: "How do you make people like you?" and "how to sound friendly?" Like Elsa, I was forced to either be alone or to perform an anxiety-inducing role. I spent most of my childhood alone because other kids didn't understand me and I didn't understand them. Unlike Elsa, I never got to take off the gloves or remove the mask. To exist in a neurotypical world, I have to adjust my behavior to fit the mold. I'm just glad that there is representation available so that people like me don't have to go through the childhood that I did. Beyond her masking, Elsa is also probably queer. She heavily implies that she does not need romantic love in her life to be happy, meaning she is likely aromantic. As someone who is queer, this representation was crucial to my younger self. She was a queen and she didn't need a prince to make her happy. Some say she is a lesbian, but as a lesbian, I feel that she better represents aromantism. Either way, her story line empowers queer women. Seeing Frozen didn't make me gay, but seeing it represented so casually made me feel a lot better about that part of myself. Frozen is a deep story that teaches children about grief, isolation, fear, and platonic love. It is a wonderful movie and all of the characters are great-- except Olaf, please let him melt away-- but Elsa is my favorite Disney character because of her self-acceptance and the representation she gives to young kids. Being able to take off her gloves shows neurodivergent kids that it is possible to remove the mask they wear, and Elsa being a queen without a king shows queer kids that it's okay to not need romantic love in their life.

Whenever, I think of technology advancing, I think of all of the screenings and genetic tests we have readily available today for expectant parents and babies in-utero. There are tests for fetuses to allow the mother to know exactly what is going on with her bundle of joy before it has even developed a heartbeat. To me, advancement in healthcare technology means finally having answers for expecting mothers who need that comfort in knowing. Sixty years ago, we didn't know what Down's Syndrome was, today we can test for chromosomal mutations from amniotic fluid. I won't say getting a diagnosis for a child is a good thing, but I am saying there is comfort in knowing and I think this cruel and unpredictable world needs just a little bit more comfort, especially for mothers. There is no singular technology that amazes me because when I think of the advancements in healthcare technology, I think of all of the different genetic testing we can do nowadays that five decades ago, we could not do. There are fetal screenings for conditions that my grandmother's generation didn't even know the name of. For example, in 1960, my uncle was born with what we now know as Down's Syndrome. When he was born, doctors knew that almond shaped eyes and webbed toes meant Mongolism, and back then it was a death sentence. My grandma didn't get the comfort in knowing that my uncle's condition was not a curse or a punishment like her mother said it was. My grandmother didn't have any answers until he was almost eight years old. He had an extra chromosome! But the genetic testing wasn't available then. It is now. My friend was able to find out that her baby born in 2009 had Trisomy 21 when she was sixteen weeks pregnant. My friend had the comfort in knowing what her daughter may face in this life due to her disability. It took two weeks for her to get twice the information that it took my grandma ten years to get. That's incredible to me! Genetic testing is mind blowing to me and the technology required to analyze the genome is amazing in my opinion. There is no one biomedical technology that I would consider above the rest, but the technologies that bring comfort to expectant mothers are the ones that I think make the world a better place.

In 2002, my family adopted a dog named Keesha. She was a golden retriever-chow mix (see definition for loyal and protective.) She was my best friend from day one. Keesha taught me about responsibility, friendship, and the circle of life. I am a well rounded adult because of the fourteen years I got to spend with my furry friend. The day that we got her, Keesha wouldn’t leave my side, and from that day on, we were inseparable. I didn’t know it then, but that dog was going to be the most loyal friend I have ever had. When I began walking as a toddler, Keesha would let me grab onto her fur while I stumbled around. She gave me the security I needed to trust myself. I am grateful for the patience she had with me as I was learning to depend on myself. She helped me to gain my independence at nine months old. It took a few years, but having Keesha around meant that I had to learn about responsibility and caring for another living thing. Dogs need to be fed, watered, and walked. Over the years, I was able to perform age-appropriate tasks for my pet. I was responsible for her. If I was slacking, she let me know. Having to take care of Keesha also taught me how to take care of myself and others. I had the same needs that Keesha did, and I had to learn at four years old how to make my own meals and get myself ready for school. She helped me learn responsibility. When I was eight, I lost my grandfather. I had a lot to learn about loss. I believe that Keesha communicated to my younger self that as she protects me in this world, someone is protecting him in another. She taught me to manage grief and she taught me to trust in a higher power. In 2013, the vet noticed a mass growing on her ear. He told us that he would have to surgically remove the benign tumor. I found my passion for medicine as the vet was explaining the situation. The vet even let me sit in on the surgery. Keesha helped me find my passion for medical science. When I was fourteen, we noticed that Keesha had another mass in the corner of her eye. When we went back to the vet and he concluded that she had an aggressive form of cancer that could not be treated. As I was becoming an adult, she was also entering into her next stage of life, and it was important for me to embrace our respective aging. It was difficult, but soon enough, I did realize that there is beauty in aging. In 2015, my family made the decision to euthanize Keesha. She needed to be released from the physical body that she was trapped in. Nobody wants to lose an animal, but I choose to think of all of the times that Keesha responded to my needs. When I was scared or hurting, she was there for me. When I needed to be strong, she supported me. It was my turn to be there for her. In those last moments, I knew she was saying, “Thank you.” Putting her down was difficult, but I learned that love knows no physical body. Keesha is still in my heart and the love that she had for me is still present in my life today. I am grateful for all of the lessons that having a dog taught me. I know unconditional love because of my Keesha.

My favorite book is Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. Reading this novel as a young child changed who I became as I grew up and it helped me find my passion for disability advocacy. Despite growing up with many real-world situations to teach me, I believe this story taught me a lot of empathy and compassion. I am grateful that I have this book in my home library and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to view the real-world from another person's perspective. The first time I read this fictional book was when I was eleven years old. At that time, I never could have guessed the impact this book would have on my life. Back then, it was a bunch of words that made me giggle and pages that made my heart hurt. Today, it is so much more to me. The book is written from the perspective of a young girl, named Melody, who is the same age as I was when I first read the book. Melody has Cerebral Palsy which makes her look different and act different than her classmates. She describes how she is unable to speak or move most of her body, and explains in great detail what it means to be a prisoner in her own mind. Throughout the story, she writes about the barrier between her and her classmates due to her disability. Reading this book opened my eyes. In the story, Melody has to fight to be included in the classroom and participate in activities at school. She had to create her own accessibility. The book itself was not my first experience with people who have disabilities, but it was the first time that I tried to see the world from their eyes. I grew up with family members who had disabilities. I knew that people who look different from me, who talk differently than I do, or who need certain accommodations are not to be feared or excluded, but this book was the first time I had heard it from their perspective. After reading this book, I began finding ways to include everyone in the classroom and on the playground. I tried to make school accessible. From seventh grade until my senior year of high school, I participated in peer tutoring and I made many great friends with the students that I got to work with. At sixteen, I became a peer mentor for my church to invite people with disabilities to grow closer to God. I was a part of that incredible weekly program for two years, and I learned so much from my friends there. I'm very grateful for my experiences. I know some of the purest souls in the world and I have made some of the strongest friendships because I read this book at such a young age. I credit a lot of my decision to go into disability advocacy to this story. Many of my loved ones who live with disabilities are discriminated against and alienated by most people, and as a child, I didn't know what half of those words meant, but after reading this story, I had a small glimpse into what that isolation felt like. I knew there needed to be more accessibility and acceptance in this world. I did my best to change what I could at my school, and now I work to change things at a community level. Someday, I will make leaps and bounds at the global level. I am passionate about advocacy because I read Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.

My health is my priority. I have seen what my life is like when I have been unfit, unwell, and mentally unstable, and I will not allow anything to become more important than my wellness. I maintain my health by taking a minimum of thirty minutes to two hours each day to practice mindful self-care. My self care some days may look like writing in a journal and meditation; other days it looks like a trip to the park to get sunshine and low-intensity exercise. Each day, I have to overcome the dark side of mental illness, and it is a conscious effort every day to stay above the struggles I face. Living day to day with anxiety, PTSD, and disordered eating, I have to make more conscious decisions about my health than most people do each day. It is non-negotiable for me to skip a meal or to sacrifice sleep to study for a test. As important as my education is to me, my wellness comes first. Sacrificing my health will get me nowhere in my education or career. To ensure my safety and wellness, I have scheduled time each day for all of my needs, and I don't let stress dictate my routine. If I need to do homework or review my material, I have scheduled times to do that. I don't study during the times that I have blocked out for lunch or dinner, and after 9 pm, my rest takes priority. For the first year of university, I tried to eat and sleep around my 11-hour work day, and I became very mentally and physically ill. My grades reflect my health. I'm still recovering from the damage that those habits caused, and I will have lifelong consequences because of my poor stress management. I deserve better. My mental wellness depends greatly on my eating, exercise, and sleep habits, so my routine includes intentional time to practice better behaviors.The fear of going back to that dark place keeps me moving forward. I put more and more distance between my current self and that unhealthy version of me every day. Progress is not linear, nor is it easy, but when I do find myself giving into the negative thoughts in my head, I remind myself how much I have gained in my life since putting these mindful exercises in place. I am in a better place now, than I have ever been in. My struggle with mental illness began in early childhood, and without correction, it spiraled into a deep pit by my late teens. Each day, I become a better student, daughter, employee, and spouse. My mental wellness is important to me because without it, I wouldn't be here today. Contrary to my fears, putting my wellness first has not hurt my grades and I have not failed at school because I put something else above it. Taking care of myself has actually helped my grades exponentially. I was apprehensive to change my life around because I worried that I would flunk out of college if I didn't make school my priority, but each and every semester since choosing my health, I have become a better student. I get better each day. My health has improved, my test scores and GPA have gone up, and my overall happiness and motivation have soared. Being intentional about my health has only helped me, and it is important to me to keep moving forward. I have no regrets about the way I am living today, and I thank my younger self for being brave enough to start these good habits.

My health is my priority. I have seen what my life is like when I have been unfit, unwell, and mentally unstable, and I will not allow anything to become more important than my wellness. I maintain my health by taking a minimum of thirty minutes to two hours each day to practice mindful self-care. My self care some days may look like writing in a journal and meditation; other days it looks like a trip to the park to get sunshine and extra, low-intensity exercise. Each day, I have to overcome the dark side of mental illness, and it is a conscious effort every day to stay above the struggles I face. Living day to day with anxiety, PTSD, and disordered eating, I have to make more conscious decisions about my health than most people do. It is non-negotiable for me to skip a meal or to sacrifice sleep to study for a test. As important as my education is to me, my wellness comes first. Sacrificing my health will get me nowhere in my education or career. To ensure my safety and wellness, I have scheduled time each day for all of my needs, and I don't let stress dictate my routine. If I need to do homework or review my material, I have scheduled times to do that. I don't study during the times that I have blocked out for lunch or dinner, and after 9 pm, my rest takes priority. For the first year of university, I tried to eat and sleep around my 11-hour work day, and I became very ill. My grades reflect my health. I am still recovering from the damage that those habits caused, and I will have lifelong consequences because of my poor stress management. I deserve better. My wellness depends greatly on my eating, exercise, and sleep habits, so my routine includes intentional time to practice better behaviors. I cannot allow myself to go back to how things were. I was so sick. The fear of going back to that dark place keeps me moving forward. I put more and more distance between myself and that version of me every day. Progress is not linear, nor is it easy, but when I do find myself giving into the negative thoughts in my head, I remind myself how much I have gained in my life since putting these mindful exercises in place. I am in a better place now, than I have ever been in. My struggle with mental illness began in early childhood, and without correction, it spiraled into a deep pit by my late teens. Each day, I make progress to becoming a better person, student, daughter, employee, and spouse. Contrary to my fears, putting my wellness first has not hurt my grades and I have not failed at school because I put something else above it. Taking care of myself has actually helped my grades exponentially. I was apprehensive to change my life around because I worried that I would flunk out of college if I didn't make school my priority, but each and every semester since choosing my health, I have become a better student. I get better each day. My health has improved, my test scores and GPA have gone up, and my overall happiness and motivation have soared. Being intentional about my health has only helped me, and it is important to me to keep moving forward. I have no regrets about the way I am living today, and I thank my younger self for being brave enough to start these good habits.

On average, mammals experience approximately one billion heart beats in their life. If nothing preys on them and they live in optimal conditions, a rabbit-- whose heart rate is typically around two-hundred beats per minute-- can live for four years. An elephant, with the same conditions, will live sixty-three years, because their heart rate is only thirty beats per minute. We as humans are told that we have about eighty years from birth until death, but that measurement has never been significant to me. It is the minutes that truly count. I believe that life is measured by the moments that take our breath away and by the moments in which we find out why our heart beats. My resting heart rate is fifty-two beats per minute, so what can I do with one billion heart beats? Unbridled stress induces a faster heart rate, and so does mindful exercise. Looking into the eyes of a loved one increases my heart rate, and so does watching a horror movie. Whenever it comes down to a choice between two actions, I ask myself which one would serve me more. Which choice would conserve or more strategically use my heart beats? If an activity does not benefit me, I will not waste my heart beats on it. Time is too easy for me to waste. Thinking in terms of a pulsing heart beat makes me more aware that I am paying for an activity with something that is tangible and finite. Since learning this fact, I have promised myself that if I sacrifice my heart beats to an activity, it must be important. My heart beats for a reason and I actively search for the meaning why. I only have so many beats, and I intend to live my life to the fullest.

I enjoy breathing, as I am sure most people do. I also enjoy hiking clean trails and seeing wildlife thriving in their natural environment. However, these are luxuries that future generations may not have access too. At the rate we are progressing, by 2050, air quality could be as poor as requiring permanent oxygen masks in some parts of the world and 50% of all species could be extinct. I cannot allow that to happen. I must do my part to preserve biodiversity, reduce pollution, and protect air quality. The first step I take to reduce my impact on increasing climate starts within my home. I use energy efficient windows and I recycle and compost waste as much as possible. In my home, I have reduced my plastic waste completely, simply by reusing containers, skipping out on disposable products, and by using biodegradable products whenever possible. The next step I take to preserve my community is utilizing a morning walk to pick up garbage. Often, I will walk around my town, picking up garbage. On one hand, it is very rewarding and I like to see the garbage bags fill up. On the other, it is disgusting how much waste is improperly disposed of in my community. Finally, I turn my key to be idle free. When I was young, I heard that phrase, and it has stuck with me to this day. I design my daily commute to be as efficient as possible, and I walk as often as I can to reduce my carbon output. I take my responsibility to fighting climate change personally. I will not single-handedly save the world, but I can lead my community in making a difference. We are capable of turning things around. We are capable of change.

My experiences with anorexia, anxiety, and post trauma stress disorder (PTSD) have made me persistent. Giving up was always an option, but I chose to fight. I choose to fight every single day to rise above these obstacles. By overcoming my mental illness, I am persistent. Each day, I battle thoughts of inadequacy and fear. It is an understatement to say the thoughts in my mind are loud, but I choose to drown them out with mantras of gratitude and strength. I have come so far since my initial diagnoses because I challenge my demons daily. I do things each day that scare me in order to steal the power away from the diseases that try to steal my life away. My persistence looks like courageously taking the first step towards the things that I want. I must conquer my fear of rejection in order to have an opportunity to be accepted in my life. I must set aside my fear of death in order to live the life I do have. I have to be on top of my game in order to defeat these obstacles in my life. Overcoming mental illness takes persistence. When I was diagnosed with these disorders, I was terrified that I was never going to get through the worst of it. The life I had was gone, and there was nothing left. I thought I would live the rest of my life in crippling dread and chronic pain from the events that triggered these disorders. That very well could have happened to me, but I chose to change my fate. I am persistent. Today, I do not let these traumas hold me back. I go out of my way to prove them wrong. My life is not over. My life is just beginning.

I am a gay woman in STEM and I have had to defend my presence in the classroom since childhood. The average sexism and homophobia that exists worldwide are amplified in Utah, where I have lived my whole life. Women are the background workers of our society. They are to be seen and not heard. Or so they say. I choose to disrupt the peace. If I have to fight to be accepted in a room full of men, then I will. My gender will not stop me. As for being gay, in Utah, it is publicly looked down upon. But, being queer is not about to get in my way. I'm a gay woman in STEM, and the world needs to accept that. I will pave a path for young women in science and I want to prove to the world that gay people exist outside of art studios. The stereotype for women is to be silent observers, especially in the classroom. This seems outdated, but in Utah, it isn't. Women still have to fight to be seen on the same wavelength as men in academics, and specifically STEM. The predominant religion here describes men as the breadwinner while women support them and watch the kids. I have never been okay with that narrative. When elementary school teachers silenced me, I fought back. When peers put me down through high school, I proved them wrong. I made it to the university level with the odds against me and I won't stop there. Women deserve a place in STEM and I'm going to take up space until every woman has the equal opportunity to thrive. In college, my average class is two men to every one woman. That statistic is nice, considering at one time in history women weren't allowed to step foot in the classroom, but it isn't enough. I had one math class in particular, where the professor had a public bias against women. By the end of the first week and after exam scores for the first test had been posted, that much was clear. Of the six women in this class of thirty, none of us passed the test, yet every man passed. This trend continued until two of the girls dropped out and I spoke up. This professor acted so out of line, I had to bring it to the attention of my Dean. A mistake on my paper was docked four points while the same mistake on my male peers' tests was only marked down by one point. I would not stand for that. No woman should face that, and I made sure no other women had to go through that. My experience being queer in college is not reflective of my university, but rather reflective of the culture in Utah. Around here, queer people are viewed as radical and artistic criminals. That is not an overstatement. Gay people are assigned to a profile that discredits all conservative, scientific, and kind individuals. I cannot subscribe to that. I'm here to show that gay people can exist in STEM and that we can be anything we want to be. Our sexuality does not define us. I will defend the space I take up and I will encourage others to join me. We're here and we're queer, and we are going to make leaps and bounds in STEM. If someone wants to pursue science and math, their gender and sexuality absolutely should not stand in their way. I am a gay woman in STEM and I am going to pave the way for the next generation.

In 2002, my family adopted a dog named Keesha. She was a golden retriever-chow mix (see definition for loyal and protective.) She was my best friend from day one. Keesha taught me about responsibility, friendship, and the circle of life. I am a well rounded adult because of the fourteen years I got to spend with my furry friend. The day that we got her, Keesha wouldn’t leave my side, and from that day on, we were inseparable. I didn’t know it then, but that dog was going to be the most loyal friend I have ever had. When I began walking as a toddler, Keesha would let me grab onto her fur while I stumbled around. She gave me the security I needed to trust myself. I am grateful for the patience she had with me as I was learning to depend on myself. She helped me to gain my independence at nine months old. It took a few years, but having Keesha around meant that I had to learn about responsibility and caring for another living thing. Dogs need to be fed, watered, and walked. Over the years, I was able to perform age-appropriate tasks for my pet. I was responsible for her. If I was slacking, she let me know. Having to take care of Keesha also taught me how to take care of myself and others. I had the same needs that Keesha did, and I had to learn at four years old how to make my own meals and get myself ready for school. She helped me learn responsibility. When I was eight, I lost my grandfather. I had a lot to learn about loss. I believe that Keesha communicated to my younger self that as she protects me in this world, someone is protecting him in another. She taught me to manage grief and she taught me to trust in a higher power. In 2013, the vet noticed a mass growing on her ear. He told us that he would have to surgically remove the benign tumor. I found my passion for medicine as the vet was explaining the situation. Dr. Wells even let me sit in on the surgery. Keesha helped me find my passion in medical science. When I was fourteen, we noticed that Keesha had another mass in the corner of her eye. When we went back to the vet and he concluded that she had an aggressive form of cancer that could not be treated. As I was becoming an adult, she was also entering into her next stage of life, and it was important for me to embrace our respective aging. It was difficult, but soon enough, I did realize that there is beauty in aging. In 2015, my family made the decision to euthanize Keesha. She needed to be released from the physical body that she was trapped in. Nobody wants to lose an animal, but I choose to think of all of the times that Keesha responded to my needs. When I was scared or hurting, she was there for me. When I needed to be strong, she supported me. It was my turn to be there for her. In those last moments, I knew she was saying, “Thank you.” Putting her down was difficult, but I learned that love knows no physical body. Keesha is still in my heart and the love that she had for me is still present in my life today. I am grateful for all of the lessons that having a dog taught me. I know unconditional love because of my Keesha.

I am drawn to math because there are numerous ways to come to a single answer, proving that no matter how our minds work, we can still all come to the right answer, somehow. Math makes sense because there are very few ways to do it wrong. Two plus two is four, but so is two plus three minus one. I think of solving math equations as a way to view the world, too. No matter how we are all raised and what experiences we go through, if we are earnest to reach a final destination, we can get there. Whether we solve our problems the way the textbook says to or we pioneer a new approach. There is always a way to find a solution. Growing up, math was easy for me because there were so many ways to do every problem. I could approach problems from any angle and still come to the right answer just as quickly and accurately as my classmates did. If one method didn't make sense to me, I came up with another that I could understand, using previous material. I didn't struggle with math because I knew how to find patterns and I could connect concepts easily. Multiplication and addition are related, and once I could do one, I could do both. I try to look at life the same way. A lot of things in life may seem too complex and too overwhelming, but when we pick it apart, we may be able to find out that we do know how to solve some of our problems, and little by little, find a solution to our problems of life. Sure, you can solve a twelve digit multiplication problem all at once. But, you can also solve it two digits at a time and still come to the right answer. An elementary school math teacher once told me, "to keep it simple." I let that quote stick with me for the rest of my life. Math, life, anything-- just keep it simple. As we all get older, life gets harder, and so does math. Taking college calculus has been challenging for me, just like entering a new phase of a long term relationship and moving out of my parents house has been. But, my basic understanding of math and the way the world works has prepared me for these hard times. Because I know how to take each hurdle one by one, I have made it through this semester. During the past nine months, I have had to rely on my previous knowledge of everything to get me through. I may not understand everything there is to anything, but I do know a little bit about everything, and with that, I can make it through. Math has taught me that all things can be done with only a few pieces of information and a whole lot of working backwards. I am grateful for all that math has taught me. I know a lot about problem solving and I look at the world through a wide lens because of my experiences with math. I am hopeful for my future because I know that even if I don't know what I am doing, I can still find a way to where I want to go. There is a level of guessing in math that I think also applies to life. We can all afford to make educated guesses when problem solving. With some background knowledge and a goal in mind, anything is possible. Any problem in life can be solved with the principals of math.

I am an autistic adult, and studying can be difficult for me. To achieve academic success, the strategy I use is to over or under stimulate myself while studying. My brain works in one of two ways: organized or chaotic. Those are my options and there is no in-between. I have learned to use these opposite mindsets to my advantage. When I feel diligent and calm, I will excite my senses while studying. I will chew flavored gum while listening to white noise. These two things in combination help me to focus on my material and also be able to recall it more effectively in class. During tests, I chew the same flavor of gum that I used while studying. It is proven that the more senses you connect to a piece of information, the more likely you will retain it. By stimulating my senses, I can effectively study while I am focused. On the other hand, I can become too distracted at times and end up feeling too overwhelmed to work. If I don't manage this chaotic energy, I will earnestly reread the same paragraph over and over and still not know what I've read. To counter my flighty mind, I starve it of distractions. I can't be bothered by the high-pitched buzzing from the fridge if I have noise cancelling headphones on. I cannot fixate on the bird outside or the brightness of the room if my curtains are drawn and the lights are dimmed. Sometimes, I have to limit my sensory experiences so that I can focus on my material better. Silence and darkness while studying may not help everybody, but under-stimulation does help me when I can't focus on schoolwork. To be successful while studying as an autistic adult, I have to manage my sensory input.

I was always taught to give more than you get. I'm fortunate to have a lot of selfless people in my life who encourage me to put others first. My parents have taught me to treat others well and to give my time and resources to help others whenever I can. The reputation I want to have is to be worthy of being my parents' daughter. I'm selfless because I was raised by example. My parents showed me how to take care of people and I brought those experiences into my adult life. When I was young, my city experienced a devastating flood. A dike had broke and flooded dozens of homes and businesses overnight. It completely destroyed the city valley. At the time, my family was starting up a restoration company, and lucky enough, my dad specialized in flood restoration. My parents donated hundreds of hours of labor and thousands of dollars of equipment to serve our community. Their selflessness allowed our community to recover from that massive disaster. As I mentioned, I was a child, I had no concept of money or work or anything like that, but what I saw was my family and I getting ready at five in the morning to go down to spend sixteen hours a day, helping teams clean up mud and rebuild fences and restore landscaping for strangers for an entire summer. It was the best summer of my life! I never question whether or not to put others first, it's my nature to help. When I have the opportunity, I spring into action. I was raised by example. Serving is all I know. I'm grateful that I have had so many opportunities to help others. I volunteer my time whenever possible to help my community because it's in my blood.

My name is Cheyenne Rose and I was born and raised in Utah. I currently attend Dixie State University and I expect to graduate with my bachelor's degree in molecular biology in Fall 2023. For graduate school, I'm planning to join a Genetic Counseling Graduate Program. There are 55 accredited programs in the United States, and I'm fortunate enough to have one in my home state. I want to go into genetic counseling to help families navigate medical trials. In my own family, I have seen how genetic conditions can cause strife in the family unit and I want to be a guiding hand in helping families through their medical struggles. I want to use my love for human development to help strengthen families and restore the family unit. I will assess at-risk individuals and I will give them direction in their next steps when coping with and managing a genetic condition. From common genetic conditions to one-in-a-million cases, I want to give answers and guidance to individuals and their support systems. Since childhood, I have been exposed to health struggles in my own family and I know just how scary it can be when parents are unsure of why their child is sick, or when an individual is unable to find answers for their own symptoms. I hope to alleviate some of that stress. Genetic counselors guide individuals and their families through the diagnosis process, through the first stages of care, and they offer available resources to help these individuals. We are the anchor for these support systems in their first stages of their loved one's care. I chose to go into genetic counseling because I have always been fascinated with genetics. From an early age, I found myself reading about biological phenomenons from heterochromia in dogs to Down's Syndrome in humans to codominance in plants. I found chromosomes interesting from the time I was six or seven and I always wanted to learn more about them. I liked to teach adults about how the double helix was discovered and why it is shaped the way that it is. I could understand complex concepts about genetics in elementary school, and I found a love for learning about the science of life. In high school, I was finally able to partake in a biology class and I loved every minute of it. The teacher was not fond of my advanced questions, but I took it upon myself to dig deeper into the material. My interest never plateaued. Every day, I find myself more intrigued and I have more questions. I can see myself solving these genetic puzzles for the rest of my life and I want to use my love and understanding of biology to help others. Genetic counseling, like any healthcare profession, is not for the faint of heart and it is not for the apathetic. I believe that I was born to go into healthcare. From my earliest days, I have been able to help people navigate through stressful situations. I was born to help others, and I was given the skills to get myself started down the right path. I develop these skills more each day and I find ways every day to strengthen my problem solving and critical thinking skills while still engaging my empathic and caring side. Healthcare is a serious battle between fact and feeling. On one hand, a genetic counselor must be matter-of-fact and make life changing news seem professional, while on the other, they must support individuals through what can arguably be the worst case scenario in some cases. Medical struggles are not easy to cope with, and I have seen in my own family how medical stress can overcome a support system. A genetic counselor must be a balanced individual that can tap into both their minds and their hearts. I believe I am capable of doing that, and I work to become more well rounded every day. As I mentioned before, I have had experience coping with medical stress in my own life, and that gives me a special key to success in genetic counseling. In my family, genetic conditions pop up left and right. Over the past thirty years, as science has grown, we now have answers to our struggles that previous generations didn't have. I'm grateful that science is expanding and that doctors are learning more about genetic conditions. The growth of genetic understanding has saved my life. When I was nineteen years old, my health started deteriorating very quickly, and my doctors had no answers for me and my family. When describing my symptoms to my grandmother, she told me she has had the same symptoms since she was in her late teens, and we decided there had to be a genetic component to our illnesses. Our doctors worked together to find out that my grandmother and I had the same genetic condition and they gave us the answers that we needed to manage our disease. My grandmother struggled with this disease for 70 years before getting an answer and the relief that she felt when she finally knew a name for her condition and a course of treatment for her symptoms is indescribable. I was grateful to get help, but for my grandmother it was a lifetime of chronic illness that was resolved in a matter of weeks. I hope to offer another family that peace of mind. I want to give individuals and their families answers and support through their journey with genetic conditions. I hope that one day, I will be able to guide individuals and their support systems through the diagnosis process and into their first stages of care. I want to help others as I have been helped. My love for science and my desire to help others will push me through. I have the brains and the heart to do it, and I hope to be a genetic counselor for the rest of my life. Thank you for your consideration.

I am grateful for every experience I gained from taking in my uncle in his final months of life. I was fortunate enough to get to know a great man during the end of his time on this earth and I have been blessed because of it. My experience with caring for my uncle gave me the reassurance that I needed to know that working with individuals who have disabilities is the career that I can see myself doing for many decades to come, and he also allowed me to get to know myself better. I am so grateful. My uncle Brad was born in 1960 and he was born with Down's Syndrome. At the time, little was known about Trisomy 21. My grandmother was told that he would never be able to learn, he would never be independent, and that he would die early. They told her to institutionalize him for her own good, but she refused. She became his lifelong primary caregiver. It was not until 2020, that my family took on the role, and Brad came to live with us for his final months of life. Brad was very routine. It was hard to stick to his schedule as his health began failing, but being so hooked on schedules myself, I knew how hard it would be for him to give up his habits, so I did everything I could to help him complete his tasks for as long as possible. Most of his routine revolved around watching Star Trek and eating meals. Those two things made his world go 'round. His declining health made it impossible for him to watch TV or eat. He was always in pain and he couldn't stay awake long enough to watch his show. He couldn't eat either. After having to have all of his teeth pulled, many stomach ulcers, and a colon infection that ultimately took his life, there was no way we could incorporate his snack schedule into the new daily routine. Without Star Trek and Twinkies, his spirit fled and his physical body deteriorated overnight. The week before he passed made me realize how strong our spirit is. When our spirit is fed, our body can survive anything, but once our hope is gone, there is nothing left. I learned a lot about my uncle during the time he lived with us. I got to know an incredible man, and I also got to learn a lot about myself. I learned where I got my quirks. Brad would sit on the floor with his legs crossed over his hips and rest on his elbows in front of magazines and news papers for hours, and I realized that I do the same thing. I learned where my love for organization comes from and where my gift of empathy comes from. Brad helped me get to know myself. I always thought I was the only person who had these quirks, but I learned that I'm not. Caring for my uncle was difficult. Seeing someone you have only begun to know dwindle to a shell of a man, seeing their skin turn to grey, and hearing them cry out in pain and fear is exhausting, but I choose to remember the best of my time with him. Brad taught me all about Star Trek and we had fun going through magazines every day. He taught me patience and he reminded me that being flawed is beautiful. Brad was an amazing human and I am very grateful for my time with him. Rest in peace, Uncle Brad.

I am a gay woman in STEM and I have had to defend my presence in the classroom since childhood. The average sexism and homophobia that exists worldwide is amplified in Utah, where I grew up and currently live. Women are the background workers and the caretakers. They are to be seen and not heard. Or so they say. I choose to disrupt the peace. If I have to fight to be accepted in a room full of men, then I will. My gender will not stop me. As for being gay, in Utah, it is publicly looked down upon. But, being queer is not about to get in my way. I am a gay woman in STEM, and the world needs to accept that. I will pave a path for young women in science and I want to prove to the world that gay people exist outside of art studios. The stereotype for women is to be silent observers, especially in the classroom. This seems outdated, but in Utah, it isn't. Women still have to fight to be seen on the same wavelength as men in academics, and specifically STEM. The predominant religion in this area describes men as the breadwinner while women support them and watch the kids. I have never been okay with that narrative. When elementary school teachers silenced me, I fought back. When peers put me down through high school, I proved them wrong. I made it to university level with the odds against me and I won't stop there. Women deserve a place in STEM fields and I'm going to pave a way for future women to follow me. In college, my average class is two men to every one woman. That statistic is nice, considering at one time in history women weren't allowed to step foot in the classroom, but it isn't enough. I had one math class in particular, where the professor had a public bias against women. By the end of the first week and after exam scores for the first test had been posted, that much was clear. Of the six women in this class of thirty, none of us passed the test, yet every man passed. This trend continued until two of the girls dropped out and I spoke up. This professor acted so out of line, I had to bring it to the attention of my Dean. A mistake on my paper was docked four points while the same mistake on my male peers' tests were only marked down by one point. I would not stand for that. No woman should face that, and I made sure no other women had to go through that. My experience being queer in college in not reflective of my university, but rather reflective of the culture in Utah. Around here, queer people are viewed as radical and artistic criminals. That is not an overstatement. Gay people are assigned to a profile that discredits all conservative, scientific and analytic do-good'ers. I cannot subscribe to that. I am here to show that gay people can exist in STEM and that we can be anything we want to be. Sexuality does not define us. I will defend the space I take up and I will encourage others to join me. We're here and we're queer, and we are going to make leaps and bounds in STEM. If someone wants to pursue science and math, their gender and sexuality absolutely should not stand in their way. I am a gay woman in STEM and I am going to pave the way for the next generation.

I am pursuing a degree in STEM because my goal is to become a genetic counselor. I want to work with families to assess medical complications and guide them through their journey with these trials. I want to strengthen the family unit through medical hardships and support their needs. I know what it is like to go through medical hardship and I want to help others find answers and find resources that will help them through. Disease can be very scary and no one is immune to everything, so it will be my job as a genetic counselor to provide answers for genetic conditions and provide individuals and their families with information that will help them succeed in spite of their medical hardship. In order to become a genetic counselor, I must first graduate with my bachelor's degree. I am a current undergraduate student at Dixie State University and I will graduate with my bachelor's in molecular biology and biochemistry. My major required coursework will prepare me to apply to work as a genetic counseling assistant and it will also allow me to apply to a genetic counseling master's degree program. After I graduate from Dixie State, I will attend grad school at one of the 55 accredited universities that offer a genetic counseling program. The genetic counseling field is very competitive and I must sharpen my skills at every level to be considered in any graduate program or job position. With 55 programs and only 250 available spots nationwide each academic year, I must prove that I am the best of the best to be considered. I have begun working with my advisors and professors to network with prospective program directors and other opportunities such as research opportunities, internships, part-time work experience, and more to build my name in the field. I will continue to apply myself throughout my undergraduate career and I will work to advance myself. I want to go far in my career and it all starts now. I will become a genetic counselor, and I will spend the rest of my life doing the kind of work that I love. I love interacting with people and I love science. Human development and genetics speak to me in a way that nothing else does, and getting to research these things and apply them every single day is something that I am looking forward to. I will get to help others and solve puzzles. I could not ask for anything better! I am very excited about my future, and the only way to make my goals a reality is to work hard for them. I have been interested in STEM since childhood, and my love for math and science has only grown as I have. I was lucky enough to discover my passion early and by the time I began college, I knew my path. Getting my bachelor's degree in biochemistry is the first step to a long life of enjoyment and fulfillment. My only intentions with becoming a genetic counselor are to help others and love the work I do. Like everyone, I want to enjoy my job, but despite that selfish motive, my other intention is that I will get to use my skill and my knowledge to strengthen and support families and individuals through their struggles with genetic complications. Medical stress is a real thing and I know that I am prepared to guide others through it. Getting my degree in STEM is the first step.

My goal is to become a genetic counselor. I want to work with families to assess medical complications and guide them through their journey with these trials. I want to strengthen the family unit through medical hardships and support their needs. I know what it is like to go through medical hardship and I want to help others find answers and find resources that will help them through. Disease can be very scary and no one is immune to everything, so it will be my job as a genetic counselor to provide answers for genetic conditions and provide individuals and their families with information that will help them succeed in spite of their medical hardship. In order to become a genetic counselor, I must first graduate with my bachelor's degree. I am a current undergraduate student at Dixie State University and I will graduate with my bachelor's of molecular biology. After I obtain that certification, I will attend grad school at one of the 55 accredited universities that offer a genetic counseling program. With 55 programs and only 250 available spots nationwide each academic year, I must prove that I am the best of the best to be considered. I have begun working with my advisors and professors to network with prospective program directors and other opportunities such as research opportunities, internships, part-time work experience, and more. I will continue to apply myself throughout my undergraduate career and I will work to advance myself. I will become a genetic counselor, and I will spend the rest of my life doing the kind of work that I love. I love interacting with people and I love science. I am very excited about my future, and the only way to make my goals a reality is to work hard for them.

Passion fuels my life, truly. I am passionate about my future and I am excited to meet the woman I am becoming. Each day, I am one day closer to my happily ever after. I am closer to my degree now than ever, I am closer to being the wife of my partner and the mother of my children. It is all coming, and that is very exciting. The thought of who I will become and the things that I will do in this life motivate me and they keep me going. When I struggle to find joy in life, I find myself daydreaming about my future. I am on track to becoming a genetic counselor. I am going to do the work that I love and I am going to get to spend the rest of my life being paid to do the things that I enjoy most in this world. My career goals motivate me more than anything, but I am also excited for the other things I will do in this life. I am in a happy and healthy, long-term relationship, and someday, I will get to marry the woman that I love. I will get to be the wife of my number one supporter and spend the rest of my life by her side. I could never ask for anything better. Beyond being her wife, I will also be the mother of her children. I get to be the person that guides a new generation through this life and prepare them for the world to be. How exciting is that? My family and my career push me forward. The excitement I have for my future keeps me going. I am passionate about my future, and I cannot wait to meet the woman I will become.

I stay committed to speaking my mind because I was kept silent for far too long. In my early childhood, I was often told by abusers "don't speak up," "don't tell Mom and Dad," etc. I was sworn to silence because I felt threatened to keep the peace and not disrupt the way of things. They told me I was too young, and that nobody would believe a child. I believed that nobody would listen if I said anything, so I kept quiet. When I was a preteen, my friends began asking me to keep their secrets. They threatened that they would do bad things to themselves, to me, or to my loved one if I told anyone what was going on. So, I stayed silent even though it hurt me. That silence almost destroyed me. I held intense feelings of guilt, remorse, anger, and confusion, and I kept them locked in a vault in my mind. At nineteen years old, that vault became too heavy to hold. I had a serious breakdown. Those secrets that other people put in my young mind became all I could think about for months. I couldn't silence the thoughts and I finally spoke to a therapist. I owe it to myself to speak up and speak out. I deserve to live looking forward, not reliving the past. I am through wasting my time now, trying to cover up what's been done. I deserve it to myself to speak out. If I feel unsafe, I deserve to seek help. If I am worried about another person, I deserve to express my concern. If I have something to say, I deserve to be heard. I am committed to speaking out because I have been silent for too long. It is my turn to speak up.

To the world, I may only be one person, but to one person, I may be the world. I want my legacy to live in the hearts of those I connect with in this life. I do not need to change the world, I just need to bring light and love into the lives of those around me. I don't believe one person can change the world. I can't make a dent in the way of things today or even if I dedicate all day, every day of the rest of my life. I am too insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and I think that in of itself is beautiful. I cannot change the world and I am glad that I can't. No one person should have that responsibility. We all share the burden of making the world a better place. We all need to work together to make a change. I may not change the world, but my example can encourage others, and together we can make humanity better. My community is the extent of my efforts. As much as I try, I cannot single-handedly influence any greater than my close circle, and I am perfectly okay with that. If I can treat my loved ones well, and they, in turn, treat their loved ones well, then eventually, it will reach the ends of the earth. Did you know, it only takes six or seven connections to connect every single person on this earth? It all starts with one person, but it takes everyone to truly change the course of humanity. My tombstone will not say "here lies the woman who changed the world." But, my hope is that when that day comes, I am laid to rest with my loved ones saying, "she changed my world."

We don't know what we have, until it's gone. I took my health for granted for a long time. I was the poster child for perfect health and immunity. I never got sick as a kid and I never spent a day in the hospital. That all changed when I hit twenty years old. In 2021, I started to get really sick, seemingly out of the blue. I was fainting randomly, I had constant migraines that would last days on end, and I would have heart palpitations that caused a lot of anxiety. I was collapsing under the stress of my workload and I got very sick. I did not realize how lucky I was to be so healthy until I had to fight for my wellness. I live with gratitude because I have been humbled. Everything I have can be taken away at any minute. I went from being alert, enthusiastic, and well to being pallor and depressed. In a matter of weeks, I deteriorated to a thin, hollow shell of the woman I once was. Coming back from that experience has taken two years. After months and months of blood work, habit tracking, and medication, I have found the cause of my ailments and I have gotten some of my liveliness back. I am still not 100%, but I am grateful to be past the worst of it. Being aware of how much I have to lose has made me realize that I am not guaranteed anything in this life. I live with gratitude because I know how fragile my luxury is. Being healthy is something that we all take for granted, but I am grateful for mine. I have a lot to be thankful for and I count my blessings every day. I'm lucky to be healthy.

I was put on this earth with great purpose. I was born to help people, to take care of people, and to assist people on their journey through life. I know this because I was born with the gifts needed to accomplish these things. I have innate empathy to the highest extreme and I was given the gift of patience by a higher power. I have the skills needed to advise, tend, and love others in a way very few people can. My purpose in life is to help others. At a young age, I saw my empathy as a curse, rather than a gift. I would wake up with bruises and scars on my skin that mimicked the injuries my loved ones had faced, and I would take on first hand memories that I never experienced. It was an evil curse before I knew how to control it. Now, I see it as a gift. I have the ability to put myself in other's shoes in a way that very few people can. I have an easier time addressing injuries and assessing other's emotions because I feel them as if they were my own. This can be quite dangerous, but as I've gotten older, I have learned to filter these experiences. I can distinguish my own sensations from other people's, despite experiencing both. My gift of empathy is the reason that I believe my purpose in life is to help others. I can see the world from another person's eyes in a way that very few people in the world can. I can do more than figuratively put myself in their place. It isn't a curse, it is a blessing. I have this extraordinary ability and I know that I was put on this earth to help others.

My favorite pieces of advice that I have been given to clear my mind is to prioritize time in my week to be in "flow mode" and applying the 5-5-5 rule. These two concepts have saved me a lot of heartache and stress especially as I am advancing in my schooling and career. Learning to put myself first and learning how to eliminate unnecessary stress has been a lifesaver. In a book by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, flow mode is essentially going with the flow. I tend to spend a majority of my time in "go mode" in order to push forward and get things done. I am hardworking and my anxiety drives me to go above and beyond with everything I do. I have an irrational pattern of thoughts that basically say I am like a shark, and I have to keep moving or I will die. These thoughts have led me to burn out and as I have gotten older, my exhaustive episodes have gotten longer in duration and worse in terms of symptoms. I learned about the go and flow model a few months ago, and I have begun applying it to my life. By prioritizing time each week to read a fictional book, spend time outside in nature, or meditating, I have found that my burn out symptoms are far and few between. I currently work three jobs and go to school full-time. Chopping out five hours a week or even just thirty minutes a day isn't an easy task for me, but I know my life is better when I take the break that I need. I cannot exist in go mode all day, every day and expect my performance to be optimal. If I can spend a half hour away from my homework, I will be able to come back and complete my assignments, not only faster, but more accurately. Burn out is a real thing and teaching myself to combat it hasn't been easy. Going with the flow is not my style, but for my safety and well being, it is an adjustment I am willing to make. I was taught to go with the flow and I am better off because of it. Going along with my irrational thoughts, I tend to be an over-thinker-- especially when I am exhausted. By applying the 5-5-5 rule, I have disciplined myself to eliminate unnecessary stress in my life. The 5-5-5 rule encourages me to ask myself: "Is this going to matter in five days? Five months? How about in five years?" If the answer to any of those questions is no, then I deserve to move on. I owe it to myself not to spend more than five minutes worrying about something that will be irrelevant in the long-term. This way of thinking isn't as black and white as it seems and it has taken a lot of practice to appreciate the peace it offers me, but it has been worth it for me to give this method a chance. Too often, it is easy to blow things out of proportion, especially when I am stressed out and tired, but by applying this method, I am able to relieve myself of extra burdens that I don't need to carry. These two pieces of advice have helped me be more capable as I advance in my education and career and I am grateful that I was taught them. I recommend reading Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's work to anyone who struggles with burn out, and I would advise everyone to consider the 5-5-5 rule in their everyday life.

I was informally diagnosed with postural othrostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) when I was twenty years old. From the time I was young, I have had a hard time coping with intense head rushes upon shifting position, specifically when standing, but after suffering from COVID-19 in the winter of 2022, I found it nearly impossible to regulate my blood pressure and heart rate. A simple shaking of my head would cause my heart to race, my BP to plummet, and I would black out for a few seconds. I had to be very careful how I coordinated myself for several weeks after my positive COVID test. In February 2022, I actually passed out in the middle of a calculus exam. I had bent down to pick up an eraser off the ground and I fell unconscious as I tried to sit up. I had to be taken out of the testing center without completing the test. I did pass my exam, thankfully, but I also had to begin jumping through hoops to find out what was the cause for the fainting episode. I had been looking into treatment for my head rushes several months prior to that episode, but my doctor needed documentation of several instances over at least a six month period before he would consider treatment, or even a proper diagnosis. I am still waiting for a confirmation report. So, technically, I am not diagnosed yet, but it is pretty clear that I am suffering from POTS. My experience with this condition has only affected my academic and career goals when my symptoms become extreme, but even on good days, POTS does affect my daily life. Each day, I have to record eight to ten instances where I have over exerted myself and caused a head rush, or worse. I monitor my heart rate one to five times a day, and I have a blood pressure cuff in my backpack at all times. The thought is always in the back of my mind whether I am capable of doing certain risky activities that someone without my symptoms would not have to reconsider. It is not debilitating on good days, but on bad days, I have to be very cautious. Academically, I have suffered because of my condition. My symptoms have caused me to miss classes since starting college and struggles with my overall health did put me behind during my third semester. Even though I passed, I retook two courses because my memory was so out of whack at that time. I could not remember the material, let alone move forward. That semester of catching up was quite costly, and I used everything in my college savings fund to afford to retake those two courses. This scholarship will help me recover from that burden. I cannot afford to move forward with the weight of that financial strain tied around my ankle. POTS has only affected my life so much as I have let it. Due to COVID-19, remote learning is accessible when before it wasn't. Had I had the opportunity to stay home on bad days, I may have been able to recover more quickly during episodes, rather than having to tough it out and risk worsening my condition. I've managed to bounce back from my worst point, but there is no knowing what the future entails. I still have two years of college left, and I am going to continue to do my best, despite my condition. Now that I know more about my condition, I am able to find ways around my limitations. I am a conqueror.

For two years, I volunteered in my local church organization for our special needs branch to be a peer counselor. Every Thursday, I was able to participate in activities with my peers and explore our relationship with ourselves and our religion. It was a fruitful experience, enriched with life long friendships. My intention each week was to model a respectful attitude towards others and towards situations that we each navigated. Those individuals taught me more than I could ever teach them. As a mentor, my job was to accentuate their innate values and guide them towards a better version of themselves. In turn, they helped me discover who I am and what I believe. I am so grateful for that experience. I also have had an opportunity to be a peer tutor from my 7th grade year of school to my current level as a college junior. For eight years, I have been working with my peers, teaching them and helping them help themselves to be able to work more independently and complete their schoolwork in a way that allows them to learn from the material. My intention with tutoring is to dissect their abilities and help them find the study methods and testing strategies that allow them to succeed in academics. My hope is that the students I have worked with take those skills to heart and use them to go far. I'm thankful that I have the characteristics that allow me to help others. My whole purpose in this life is to help others. I was given skills and traits that allow me to teach others and guide them. Through my mentoring, I am able to learn a lot of things that I will need to take into my future career as a genetic counselor.

My favorite scientific discovery was proposed in 1981 by Temple F. Smith and Michael S. Waterman. The Smith-Waterman algorithm changed the future of bioinformatics. By reducing the time it takes to compare and contrast similar genetic structures, biologists can work more efficiently. We have discovered so much more in the last thirty years than we have in the last one hundred years. Dr. Smith and Dr. Waterman Through this algorithm, scientists can analyze more than fifty times more data in the time it once took to dissect one strand of DNA. I think that is incredible! Technology and research are booming this century and we are learning more than ever before. There is so much out there to be discovered! The Smith-Waterman algorithm is the key to quick, efficient data analysis. Using this technique, we can compare and contrast thousands of specimens and determine their common ancestry, if there is any between them. It is a fast and accurate way to find lineages. I love working through matrices. I had the opportunity to analyze a strand, and I found it very rewarding to find the patterns. I can only imagine how it feels to do dozens in a short time. My favorite scientific discovery is the Smith-Waterman algorithm. I learned about it during a research project in my physics class and I fell in love with the concept. I began searching for opportunities, and I was able to analyze the comparison between two genomes. It was amazing, and I am grateful for the algorithm. It pushes bioinformatics forward, tenfold. It is an interesting and complex process and a genius concept. I love it!

The art piece that inspires me was crafted by Alexandros of Antioch and stands in Paris, France as a symbol of feminine divinity, purpose, and beauty. The statue of the Venus de Milo inspires me. When I first saw a photo of the Venus de Milo, I was twelve years old. I was an impressionable preteen coming into my skin as a woman. Society looks down upon women, as our bodies are more fragile with softer armor and smoother texture than men's, but this statue ignited pride in my young mind. Venus was a catalyst to my coming-of-age story. I am proud to be a woman. Like the statue, I am the embodiment of sacred purpose. Not only am I blessed with a beautiful vessel to aid me in my earthly duties, but I am also filled with feminine energy to guide me. Because of the Venus de Milo, I was courageous enough to step into my skin as a woman. When I was eighteen, I had the opportunity to visit the Louvre and stand before the statue that I admired in photos for years. I stood in the vicinity of one of the most famous figures of womanhood. The presence in that room is unforgettable. My soul connected to grace and power that spilled from her marble frame. She helped me build my testimony of what being a woman means, the values it possesses, and the responsibilities I have to this earth. As a gay woman, the Venus de Milo not only inspired my connection with my feminine nature but with the radiance of other women's gentle strength. We are equipped with comforting hands, strong hearts, and all-seeing eyes. We portray the pure love, empathy, and courage it takes to change the world. Venus inspires me to be proud.

I believe some people are naturally more optimistic than others. I tend to see the brighter side of things, but I also rely heavily on realism. There is always a bright side, but things can still be difficult. Through times of trial, I have struggled to stay optimistic for the future, but I have never given up hope. Hope for a better future gets me through. When I was eighteen, I had the opportunity to visit Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany. When I stood in the middle of the courtyard, I was surrounded by watch towers. There was nowhere to hide. There was not a single place that I could stand in that yard where I was not able to see into at least one tower. It was a bone chilling experience for me. I took time after visiting that location to read first hand accounts of victims of the Holocaust. Those people experienced the cruelest of circumstances, yet hope got many of them through. In one journal, written by Viktor E. Frankl, he writes, "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances..." I have never forgotten that quote. During my hardest moments, I think back to that day when I visited Dachau, and I remind myself that if the men, women, and children in those camps can keep their hope, so can I. Nothing can take away my attitude. Life can get messy at times, but holding onto hope gets me through. As rough as a situation may be, there is always a bright side. It may not be apparent to the naked eye, but upon closer inspection, good can be found in everything. Optimism has saved my life.

One financial tip that I have taken to heart is to never place all of my eggs in one basket. This means, never putting all of my savings in one asset, one stock, one bank account, one piggy bank, etc. I have seen firsthand how badly things can go if I were to put everything I have in one place. Fortunately, I was raised to divide my wealth and protect my finances. I could have had a very different story had I not learned this key advice. To keep my money safe and to optimize my investments, I make sure to keep my savings in multiple places, such as having different bank accounts with different interest rates, investing in multiple low-risk stocks instead of placing everything in one high-risk stock, and by always keeping cash on hand in case of a dramatic turn of events. I am careful to keep each of these "baskets" secure and to manage each individually. The last thing I want is for my "eggs" to break or go missing. By separating my investments and managing multiple stocks and several bank accounts with different interest rates, I'm able to optimize my net gain while still having a piggy bank of cash tucked away for a rainy day. Having multiple bank accounts has protected me from losing everything that I had when things went south. As a precaution for the worst, I also keep liquid cash in several locations to ensure that I have money accessible to me in any event. By keeping my eggs in separate baskets, I have saved myself a lot of grief. If I could share one piece of advice to those who are learning personal finance: start with dividing your wealth. It will keep you safe.

Each day, when I wake up, I am immediately drafted back into a chronic war with fear. Anxiety tries to keep me tied down, it tries to silence me, and keep me hidden away from the dangers of the world. Every day, I make the choice to get out of bed and face the fear that tries to limit my potential. Some people need to jump out of planes to feel brave, I just need to walk out the front door. The constant nagging of fear is exhausting. There is a reason that many mental illnesses can be described as tiring with fatigue being a common symptom of them all. With post traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety, I put up with a lot of demons. The fears that don't cross many minds plague mine during every waking moment. What if I get into a car wreck and die today? What if I stop breathing in class? What if... what if? What if I didn't just survive today, but I thrived today? I challenge these fears every single morning as soon as I open my eyes. A solid fifteen minutes of my morning routine is talking myself down and rationalizing these intense fears. For every question that aims to scare me, I propose another to thwart it. As hard as my anxiety tries to keep me tucked away and hidden under the covers, I taunt it ten times more. I am brave because every morning I choose to fight a battle that nobody knows about and I win every single day. It isn't easy, but I've never let it keep me down. I will not let my mental illness win. Living boldly means breaking out of my shell each day and taking on the world around me. I'm not afraid.

When I was twenty years old, I was diagnosed with PTSD. My diagnosis came almost eight years after the events had taken place. In those eight years, I was so young that the effects of my condition became solidified in my personality and thus affected every part of my being. Today, I do not know what my life was like before my trauma. I don't know who I could have become without it, but I have gotten to a place in my life that I no longer worry about who I could have been. I concern myself with who I will be. I will not let my illness be the cause of my downfall. I will rise above it and I am going to become the woman that I am meant to be. Until I began therapy in the fall of 2020, I did not know who I was. Back then, I was a girl who had horrible things done to her as a child. I didn't know anything, other than that I was only worth so much as people treated me as. In the last two years, have come to truly know myself, and I am proud of the woman I have become. I have respect for myself, I value my positive thoughts above other's negative ones. My self image and my esteem are higher than they ever were before. I learned that I deserve good company, and that I am not a object for other's to use and abuse. I found worth in myself and I met a strong, ambitious woman behind the veil I once wore. I know myself today, and I love myself for all of my strengths and all of my weaknesses. I have promised to myself to respect myself and love myself through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I deserve compassion from myself and I deserve to live the life that I design. My experience with post traumatic stress disorder has taken me through the darkest of days and the lowest of lows, and today I am grateful for those experiences. Because of the pain and evil I have seen and felt, I know goodness and light. I know peace, love, and joy. Without my struggles, I would have never known happiness or sorrow. I have experienced feeling nothing, and I cannot express the gratitude that I am past that. I feel things today that my young self could never imagine, and I never want to take these experiences away from myself. In my life, I have known many people who have PTSD and I have learned a lot from them. I have learned to give myself grace and forgiveness, and I have learned to cope with the experiences that PTSD survivors go through. They have helped me so much and I hope that I can create an environment that allows others to heal. When others confide in me, I stand by them and support their needs. When they ask for advice, I take from the mouths of my mentors and I guide them through their next steps. As I build my strength back from those events, I will be able to help others more. Right now, I am only able to do so much. My job right now is to experience things while healing, so that one day I will be old and wise.

1. I deserve this scholarship because I have the courage to ask for it and I am putting in the time it takes to submit my application. I am putting myself out here and it would be really embarrassing for me if my application is not accepted. I also deserve this scholarship because I'm willing to spend a Monday morning writing this application instead of playing video games. 2. My academic goal is to survive this semester, like everyone else. Calculus may kill me, but I still get up every morning and do what I need to. I need some extra caffeine to take on my eight-to-five schedule, but I will make it through. As for my career, I want to go into genetic counseling. I enjoy solving other people's problems, so I should at least get paid for it. 3. I overcome mental illness every single day. If there is a bigger obstacle than that, I'd like to hear it. Fighting my own mind all day, every day is something that I have mastered over the years. Between the post traumatic stress and anorexia, if I'm not constantly overcoming the thoughts, I'd never get anything done. As long as I keep fighting, there is nothing that I can't achieve.

Generosity is important because it is becoming a lost practice. Giving is not only the gifting of materials and money. It is offering time to your loved ones, giving compassion and aid to those who are struggling. Giving is seen as something only the rich and privileged can do, but the richest people are those who have kindness in their hearts and share it with those around them. I have been given much love and support from my community, and I give back by encouraging and educating the children around me and giving time to serve my community. I am a broke college student, and the most generous thing I can give to others is my time. Life is very busy and many of us get caught up in the things we have to do, and we lose sight of the things we get to do. I juggle three jobs and a full school workload. I fall into the category of busy bodies. Often, busy bodies lose sight of what is truly important. I do my best every day, not to get so wrapped up in making a living that I forget to make a life and to share my time with those who have given me much. In my area, we have a lot of families who don't have a lot, and the best thing that I can give them is my time. I give back to the adults that have helped me by taking their kids to local museums so that the parents can get a break and the kids can learn about the world they live in. My heart is fullest when I give my time back to those who have given me their support. That is why generosity is important to me.

My name is Cheyenne Rose and I am a lesbian. My goal is to become a genetic counselor to help build stronger, healthier families. I will not let my sexuality get in the way of my ambitions and serving others. I once thought that I had to choose between my love for science and who I love, but I know now that was far from the truth. I have come a long way with my self acceptance, and I am proud of the woman I have become. I continue to grow every day, and experience the blessings that pride has brought into my life. I came out at nineteen years old after working through many years of internalized homophobia. My first experiences with the community were not the best. My young mind associated being queer with hatred, pain, and anger. For a long time, I hated myself for being gay. As a Christian, God helped me through this darkness. Even when I couldn't love myself or tell anyone what I was going through, I knew I wasn't alone. Discovering my identity, accepting myself, and living my truth has brought me unimaginable happiness and has invited so much love and light into my life. While I still have work to do, I have come so far and I am proud of myself. For years, everyone knew, except me. Adults told me that they were worried about me and who I would grow up to be. Friends always whispered behind my back. I was given unsolicited advice by religious leaders, saying that I was in for a hard life with no other explanation. I had no idea what any of them were talking about, but everyone in my life knew something I didn't know. At that time, all I knew is that I wanted to become a genetic counselor. I wanted to go to college one day and study physical sciences. I wanted to use my love for chemistry and biology to help families through medical trials. I wanted to help restore the family structure and bring peace to others. I was born to be a scientist, just like I was born to be gay. I was twelve when I realized I liked girls. I intended to keep it to myself. I thought that being gay would ruin my life and that I could never become a genetic counselor if I was gay. I chose my education and career over the thought of loving another person. I told myself I'd stay in the closet for the rest of my life, but that didn't last long. When my peers found out and rumors spread, I was in for hell. My homophobic classmates beat me and they called me slurs every day for six years. I hid myself deeper in the closet and I hated myself even more day by day. I didn't want to be gay. When I graduated, it was clear to me that I could not live life the way I had been. Masking something so innate was exhausting! If I kept following that path, I would never become a genetic counselor. I would never become anything. I stopped fighting it and it was that day that my life changed for the better. On July 22, 2020, I met my girlfriend. There was an undeniable connection that surpassed human hand. There was a greater force guiding me to her, and she had the answer to the question I had been asking for years. The answer was, "You will make it. You will be okay. You will become a genetic counselor."

Out of all the issues that we as a society are facing, the biggest is suicide. In 2020, 45,972 individuals lost their lives due to suicide. That is only three percent of the suicide attempts made that year. 130 attempts were made per day. Suicide is a social issue, and frankly, it is preventable if we change how we talk about it. Each one of those people had the potential to change the world, but due to society's reluctance to talk about the issue, these individuals saw no other option than to end their lives. Suicide is a preventable death. Help is possible for individuals who struggle with suicidal thoughts and tendencies. From 2006 to 2021, I lost six loved ones by suicide. In those fifteen years, the conversation surrounding their cause of death did not change. For those who were struggling, they were told not to talk about it, told to get over it. For those who were successful in their attempts, their deaths were discussed as a tragedy and people coped with victim blaming. That is unacceptable. Society needs to change how we discuss mental illness and suicide. The leading cause of suicide is mental illness. Call it what it is: an illness. These illnesses are a mixture of chemical imbalances and trauma related brain damage. Trauma changes the chemistry of the brain and manifests as emotional disturbance, among other things. The brain is an organ. Society needs to stop treating mental illness as a personality trait that people choose to have. Mental illnesses are real and they are the cause of suicide. Telling people to "get over it" is counterproductive. Awareness is growing, but until the conversation about mental illness and suicide changes from victim blaming to support, there will never be an end to this plague.

I believe that the most backhanded change that has been made was implementing the "No Child Left Behind" Act in 2002. I have seen both sides of the argument, and I believe that reversing this act is one way to make education better for future generations. Growing up, my sister and I had our own troubles in the classroom. My sister struggled academically due to her learning disabilities, while I struggled due to boredom. I was intellectually several grade levels above my classmates, while my sister needed to repeat a level. We had different educational experiences, but the common theme was that we were both held in an uncomfortable position for the majority of our education. Due to this program, she was held in for recess every single day to "help" her math and reading skills. For me, this program meant sitting through hours of repeating the alphabet to ensure my classmates knew the material. My sister and I were frustrated. We were always told the same thing, "No kid left behind." This euphemism was haunting. Students who struggle are barred from extracurricular activities, forced to do school work while the other kids played outside. They were integrated with all of the other students, expected to keep up with their speed. For them, the program is meant to support them and keep them on track to graduate high school with their cohort. But at what cost? My sister was isolated from everyone because she couldn't understand fractions the instant they were taught. Even when she did understand a concept, she was still locked up, reviewing the concepts. She was cooped up all day, forced to work twice as hard to keep up with the other kids, instead of being in a classroom full of students who work at her pace while still being allowed to experience freeze tag at recess. Segregating kids based on test scores can be a breeding ground for bullying, but truthfully, it couldn't be any worse than what they go through now. Those kids are bullied for missing out on recess and spending time in the resource library anyway. For students who excel, "no child left behind" means working at the pace of the average student. Teachers review material over and over, and there is no room for the students who understand it to move on. In school, I was so bored because I understood concepts quickly. I would complete my homework, then be scolded for working ahead. I would read during math lessons and be sent to the principal's office. I was kicked out of classrooms for asking relevant questions. For me, school was a punishment. I taught myself concepts, I read about math and science. I was always in trouble. This program forced me to crawl when I was ready to run. One way to improve education for students is to end the "No Child Left Behind" program. There is no reason to isolate students who struggle and trap students who excel.

The most helpful piece of advice I was given was to never keep all of my eggs in one basket. Financially speaking, this means to never put all of your savings into one asset, one stock, one bank account, one piggy bank, etc. I have seen firsthand how badly things can go if I were to put everything I have in one place. Fortunately, I was raised to divide my wealth and protect my finances. I could have had a very different story had I not learned this key advice. To keep my money safe and to optimize my investments, I make sure to keep my savings in multiple places, such as having different bank accounts with different interest rates, investing in multiple low-risk stocks instead of placing everything in one high-risk stock, and by always keeping cash on hand in case of a dramatic turn of events. I am careful to keep each of these "baskets" secure and to manage each individually. The last thing I want is for my "eggs" to go missing. By separating my investments and managing multiple stocks and several bank accounts, I am able to optimize my net gain while still having a piggy bank of cash tucked away for a rainy day. In the case of what I have experienced, having multiple bank accounts protected me from losing everything I had when things went south. As a precaution for the worst, I also keep liquid cash in several locations to ensure that I have money accessible to me in any event. By keeping my eggs in separate baskets, I have saved myself a lot of grief. I am grateful that I was given this advice at a young age. It has kept me safe from the turmoil of finances in this crazy world.

Out of all the issues that we as a society are facing, the biggest is suicide. In 2020, 45,972 individuals lost their lives due to suicide. That is only three percent of the suicide attempts made that year. 130 attempts were made per day. Suicide is a social issue, and frankly, I want to know how many people have to lose their lives before something changes. Each one of those people had the potential to change the world, but due to society's reluctance to talk about the issue, these individuals saw no other option than to end their lives. Suicide is a preventable death. Prevention and treatment is possible for individuals who struggle with suicidal thoughts and tendencies. From 2006 to 2021, I lost six loved ones by suicide. In those fifteen years, the conversations did not change. For those who were struggling, they were told not to talk about it, told to get over it. For those who were successful in their attempts, their deaths were discussed as a tragedy and people coped with victim blaming. That is unacceptable. Society needs to make a change. The leading cause of suicide is mental illness. Call it what it is: an illness. These illnesses are a mixture of chemical imbalances and trauma related brain damage. Trauma changes the chemistry of the brain and manifests as emotional disturbance, among other things. The brain is an organ like any other. Society needs to stop treating mental illness as a personality trait that people choose to have. Mental illnesses are real and they are the cause of suicide. Telling people to "get over it" is counterproductive. Awareness is growing, but until the conversation about mental illness and suicide changes from victim blaming to support, there will never be an end to this plague.

My favorite book is Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. The first time I read this book was when I was eleven. At that time, I never could have guessed the impact this book would have on my life. The book is about a girl, Melody, who is the same age as I was then. Melody has cerebral palsy which makes her look different and she is unable to speak. There is a barrier between her and her classmates due to her disability. Reading this book opened my young eyes. In the story, Melody fights to be included in the classroom and participate in activities at school. The book itself was not my first experience with people who have disabilities, but it was the first time that I had the importance of inclusion blatantly spelled out for me. I grew up with family members who had disabilities. I knew that people who look different from me, who talk differently than I do, or who need certain accommodations are not to be feared or excluded, but this book was the first time I had heard it from their perspective. After reading this book, I began reaching out to my peers to include everyone in the classroom and on the playground. From seventh grade until my senior year, I participated in peer tutoring and I made many great friends. At sixteen, I became a peer mentor for my church to invite people with disabilities to grow closer to God. I am very grateful for my experiences. I know some of the purest people in the world and I have made some of the strongest friendships because I read this book at such a young age. This book teaches compassion and empathy. Out of My Mind made me a better person.

Growing up, my community always had my back. The adults in my neighborhood gave me their time to ensure that I could grow up to be successful in my ambitions. They were always there for me. As they have watched me grow older, I have watched them grow older. I know every person in my neighborhood, and I have seen them pass through the stages of their lives as I have gone through my own. As I grew from toddlerhood, they became empty-nesters; when I became a preteen, they became grandparents; as I began college, they were progressing into their senior years. We have grown up together. They have always had my back, and now it is my turn to support them in their new stage of life. They deserve a break. The adults in my neighborhood are single grandparents raising their grandchildren. The people who helped my family raise me are now the sole care providers for their children's kids. It is hard to see the adults that once hiked the national park trails with me on Saturday mornings struggle to keep up with their grandkids walking around the block. They offered me everything they could back then, and they are expected to give the same energy to the new generation twenty years later. It's not possible. To help the seniors in my community, I offer free and resourceful childcare, like they once gave me. There are fifteen kids in my neighborhood, raised by grandparents over the age of 55. For a few hours each week, I take the kids to go on field trips and do STEM activities and art projects, so that their guardians can take a break. I help the seniors in my community by providing their families with free and resourceful childcare. They deserve it.

Learning has always been my passion. It seems odd, but when I was a kid, I loved going to school! My parents worked long days, and they were gone a lot, so to keep my mind busy, my parents told me that, like they have jobs, my job was to go to school. To me as a kid, that made education important. I was just like Mom and Dad, I had a responsibility. Education was a key part of my upbringing because my parents believed that I was college bound from the time I was tiny. My passion said everything they needed to know. Nobody made me love schooling, nobody forced me to love math and science. I was born with a desire to learn. Education is important to me because, without it, I wouldn't have anything to be passionate about. Education is the path that my foundation was built upon and as I continue following this path, it is leading me to new horizons. I am going to begin a career soon, I am going to find that the world is the greatest teacher, but until then, I still have more work to do within my education. Education is important because learning gives my life purpose. As stated before, my parents knew that I had a gift and they did not want me to lose the opportunities I had before me. Growing up, college was a nightly discussion at the dinner table. How to afford it, how to apply for it, which colleges were the best options for me, what I wanted to major in. I got to design my path because my parents listened to me and they wanted to support me. My parents were unable to attend college. They didn't have the means to pursue higher education. They are comfortable and happy with the lives they have led, but they wanted more for me. They did not want me to face the same struggles they did in life. They didn't choose to work seventy hours a week while their daughter was tended by a nanny, but they did what they had to, to give me the opportunities I have today. Education is important to me because some day I am going to have a family that I want to support while still being involved in their lives. My parents didn't want to go to college back then, but they regret not giving themselves the chance to. I know that I am fortunate to have the desire to challenge myself academically because with it, I can do what it takes to afford college and give myself the opportunity. I work three jobs and I apply for as many scholarships as I can to be able to overcome the financial barriers. I have too much potential to let money stand in my way. I began saving for college when I was six years old and I have done everything I can to stay above the rising costs of tuition. Education is important to me, and I work hard for the things that I want in this life. Nothing comes to fruition without hard work. Education has always been a part of my life. It was my foundation. My natural desire to be curious and to absorb information led me down a path to success in my eyes. Like everyone else, I have a job to do and right now, going to college is my responsibility. I have to work hard for it, but the opportunities it will give me in this life are worth every bit of it.

In college, I was taught to view goals as strategic plans, not dreams. Each goal must be accomplished with small, deliberate steps. We must think SMART about our career goals. Each letter of "SMART" represents a word related to a goal. To become a genetic counselor, I must set "S"-specific, "M"- measurable, "A"- attainable goals that are "R"- relevant and "T"- time based. Specifically, my goal is to become a genetic counselor working in Utah by the year 2025. I would like to graduate with my Master's degree and become certified by the University of Utah. These details are important to the likelihood of me accomplishing my goal. I will measure my progress by the completion of each college semester until I receive my Master's degree and submit my first job application. To date, I have completed five semesters and I have six more to go, including graduate school. I will measure my progress by time, but goals do not always need to be measured this way. Now, the fact of the matter is that not all "goals" are going to be attainable, which is why it is important to understand what attainable means. To become a genetic counselor, I must be able to do a lot of complex math, biochemistry, and have good communication skills. This goal would not be attainable if I did not have a passion for numbers and for psychology. Good thing I do! My passion for science and helping others makes this goal relevant to my life. Finally, goals must be time based. I said that I will be working as a genetic counselor in the year 2025. That is three years from now. I have to make each year and each semester count. I will achieve my goal if I am SMART.

One financial tip that I have taken to heart is to never place all of your eggs in one basket. This means, never putting all of your savings in one asset, one stock, one bank account, one piggy bank, etc. I have seen firsthand how badly things can go if I were to put everything I have in one place. Fortunately, I was raised to divide my wealth and protect my finances. I could have had a very different story had I not learned this key advice. To keep my money safe and to optimize my investments, I make sure to keep my savings in multiple places, such as having different bank accounts with different interest rates, investing in multiple low-risk stocks instead of placing everything in one high-risk stock, and by always keeping cash on hand in case of a dramatic turn of events. I am careful to keep each of these "baskets" secure and to manage each individually. The last thing I want is for my "eggs" to break or go missing. By separating my investments and managing multiple stocks and several bank accounts, I am able to optimize my net gain while still having a piggy bank of cash tucked away for a rainy day. In the case of what I have experienced, having multiple bank accounts protected me from losing everything I had when things went south. As a precaution for the worst, I also keep liquid cash in several locations to ensure that I have money accessible to me in any event. By keeping my eggs in separate baskets, I have saved myself a lot of grief. If I could share one piece of advice to those who are learning personal finance: start with dividing your wealth. It will keep you safe.

I have always had a fascination with the world around me. When I was in second grade, my teacher taught us to explore the world with open eyes and open hands. We were taught to water flowers, instead of picking them. She taught us how to set spiders free, not squish them. In Utah, we have a remarkable world right outside our door. We have many national parks within a few miles of our homes. I have had many opportunities to connect with the earth. Now, it is more important than ever to take care of the environment. In my area, we have five national parks. These beautiful landscapes are home to hundreds of species of plants and animals. The diversity in our backyard is astounding. Every spring, I wonder how many new creatures breathe new life in our desert. Year-round, I do my part to prep the land for new baby animals to come into a clean environment. I pick up garbage when I see it on hikes and I organize clean-up days where my friends and I volunteer our time to spend a few hours with nature. We gather trash and we brush off the trails so hikers don't stray. We do our part to keep our national parks looking nice. I care about nature because I know the importance of wildlife. I refuse to use plastic straws and I limit waste when I can. I do my part to reduce my carbon footprint by picking up my trash and by responsibly disposing of others' waste. I do not want to see cigarette butts and plastic wrappers all over on hiking trails, and I am sure the animals don't want to either. I appreciate nature by cleaning up.

As a naturally analytical person, I have to expend a lot of energy to be creative. Most of my creativity exists in my story-telling. I spend a significant amount of my free time writing stories. Most of the books that I yearn to read have not been written yet, so I take it upon myself to create them. I use story-telling as a creative escape from the rigidity of math and science that my waking mind gravitates towards. At night, my creativity awakens. My passion for writing stems from my dreams. Every night, I dream of vivid, realistic scenarios that I become immersed in. I can recount the smallest details from my dreams, and I can visualize them years after they have occurred. I write the stories that I dream about because I have yet to find a better author than the writer behind my sleep visions. Stephan King is a close second. I write for my own enjoyment, but I do share my talents with others. I want others to spend time in the same realms that I get lost in. I feel my visions are captivating. I am often encouraged by loved ones to pick up a pen and write after relaying scenes to them. When I am awake, my mind is a logical, methodical system of ideas. Everything must be organized and the continuity of information must be intact. Asleep, my mind becomes a playground for the absurd. These night-time movies in my head inspire me to be curious of the whacky and weird. I use my free time to bring my dreams to life in the hope to satisfy the desire to explore the unknown. I write mysteries stories and romance novels. I pour my creativity into tales inspired by visions. Writing is my creative outlet.

My name is Cheyenne Rose and I am 21 years old. I was raised by a nanny while both my parents worked long days. My nanny, Miss D, gave me the foundation that I needed in order to be the successful woman I am today. I have always been gifted academically, but I believe that my desire to learn and grow is linked to the years that I spent with Miss D. When I was old enough, I was enrolled in public school. I could not get out of there quick enough! I struggled socially due to being gay and neurodivergent, and I struggled academically because I wasn't challenged in the classroom. College is much more enjoyable. University courses go at my speed and professors want to go in depth about their subjects. I absolutely love college! My academic and career goals are shaped by my ambition. I see great things for myself and I have set myself up on the right path. I will become a genetic counselor and my role in healthcare will be to assess and support families. In my personal life, I am still becoming the woman I am meant to be. While I am proud of myself for how far I've come, I know that I still have a lot of growing to do. I was diagnosed with PTSD at the age of nineteen, and I have been developing my social and emotional skills in order to be a better member of society. I work hard to meet my goals. My mental illness will not be the cause of my downfall, that I can promise. I let my anxiety inspire me. It pushes me to do great things each day. I will not let anything stand in my way.

My favourite scientific discovery was proposed in 1981 by Temple F. Smith and Michael S. Waterman. The Smith-Waterman algorithm changed the future of bioinformatics. By reducing the time it takes to compare and contrast similar genetic structures, biologists can work more efficiently. We have discovered so much more in the last thirty years than we have in the last one hundred years. Dr. Smith and Dr. Waterman Through this algorithm, scientists are able to analyze more than fifty times more data in the time it once took. I think that is incredible! Technology and research are booming this century and we are learning more than ever before. There is so much out there to be discovered! The Smith-Waterman algoirthm is key to quick, efficient data analysis. Using this technique, we can compare and contrast thousands of specimens and determine their common ancestry, if any. It is a fast, accurate way to find lineages. I love working through matrices. I had the opportunity to analyze a strand, and I found it very rewarding to find the patterns. I can only imagine how it feels to do dozens in a short time. My favourite scientific discovery is the Smith-Waterman algorithm. I learned about it during a research project in my physics class and I fell in love with the concept. I began searching for opportunities, and I was able to analyze the comparison between two genomes. It was amazing, and I am grateful for the algorithm. It pushes bioinformatics forward, ten fold. It is an amazing process and a genius concept. I love it!

In college, I was taught to view goals as strategic plans. Each goal must be accomplished with small, deliberate steps. We must think SMART about our career goals. Each letter of "S.M.A.R.T" represents a word related to a goal. To become a genetic counselor, I must set "S"-specific, "M"- measurable, "A"- attainable goals that are "R"- relevant to my life and "T"- time based. My goal is to become a genetic counselor working in Utah by the year 2025. I would like to graduate with my Master's degree and become certified by the University of Utah. These details are important to the likelihood of me accomplishing my goal. I will measure my progress by the completion of each college semester until I receive my Master's degree and submit my first job application. To date, I have completed five semesters and I have six more to go, including graduate school. I measure my progress by time, but goals do not always need to be measured this way. Now, the fact of the matter is that not all "goals" are going to be attainable, which is why it is important to understand what attainable means. To become a genetic counselor, I must be able to do a lot of complex math, biochemistry, and have good communication skills. This goal would not be attainable if I did not have a passion for numbers and for psychology. Good thing I do! My passion for science and helping others makes this goal relevant to my life. Finally, goals must be time based. I will be working as a genetic counselor in the year 2025. That is just over three years from now. I have to make each year and each semester count. I will achieve my goal if I am SMART.

Many of us may struggle each day to carry our load when it seems like the world keeps giving us more to hold. Some days are harder than others. I encourage those around me by being the light they need in the darkness. I offer a listening ear to those who need to let things off their chest. I offer advice to open ears who need kind reassurance and guidance. I offer hugs to those who feel alone and I share smiles with those who can only weep. I serve those around me as much as I can. My purpose in life is to ensure that those around me are happy, healthy, and safe, to the best of my abilities. That is why I was given the gift of empathy, why I was given the strength of a dozen men, and why I was given a soft heart. I was designed and placed on this earth to care for others and to help them along in their journey. My favourite thing to do with my loved ones when they are struggling is to surprise them with acts of service. Sometimes, people don't want to talk about their troubles, they just want to get the weight of the world off of their shoulders. By taking things off of their to-do list, it gives them time to focus on what is important: their mental and physical health. Whether it is making them dinner, cleaning the house, or doing the grocery shopping, I do what I can to make their day a bit easier, so they can have time to rest, relax, and recover during their woes. I cannot remedy all of their troubles, but I can do my best to give them the opportunity to be happy, healthy, and safe.

My bucket list is short: I want to live, truly live, until I die. Bucket lists scare me. The greatest people in my life made a to-do list and died with regrets. I do not want to die remorseful because I was unable to do one thing or another. I want to live until the day I die. Death has been a big part of my life. I have lost loved ones, young and old. Most were unexpected and they were all were gone too soon. I live each day to honour those who do not get that opportunity. I wake up each morning and face the day with a smile because I was lucky enough to be given the chance to make another day count. I don't want to jump out of airplanes or see the pyramids. I want to see my relationship with my partner bloom, I want to meet the children we bring into the world. I want to have a medical office where families come to me for guidance and leave my room feeling hopeful. I want to have a house that I am proud to call my home. The things on my bucket list are ordinary to most, but to me, they are extraordinary. When I think about the things I can accomplish in this life, I do not see myself living life on the edge. I see myself taking each day as it comes and being thankful for every sunrise and sunset I witness. I have seen three wonders of the world, but nothing is more wonderful than the routine days that I am blessed to have. I have the chance to live today. I can do anything. So, I am going to watch the sunset and pray for another day just like today.

Empathy has always been a scary word for me. I have the gift of empathy in the highest extreme. My skin has markings of scars that I have never experienced and my mind holds first-hand traumatic memories that were never mine. For many years, I saw my gift of empathy as a curse, rather than a blessing. Feeling what others felt meant feeling excruciating pain. Over the years, I have learned how to manage my psychosomatic empathetic response to keep myself safe, but it is still a daily struggle to show compassion to others. I make the effort every day because I know how important it is to see the world from the eyes of another. Without understanding other's experiences, we cannot experience anything of our own. I can feel any and every physical and emotional pain that people who are close to me can feel. As a child, that put me in danger. To keep myself safe, I was taught to shut off my empathetic response. I had to distance myself from the trait that makes me human. I know what it feels like to feel nothing for anyone. To feel robotic and empty and alone. When I got older, I was taught how to create boundaries and how to filter other's suffering so it cannot become my own. You cannot understand the importance of something until you cannot have it. I wouldn't wish true apathy on anyone. The absence of caring is the presence of evil. Being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes is what makes us human. If we cannot have compassion for others, we lose touch with our own selves. I have the ability to care for others in a way that very few people can. I do not take my gift lightly.

Confidence means having your own back when nobody else supports you. The ones who stand alone in a crowd have more courage than anyone who hides in the masses. Standing your ground for what you believe in is confidence in my eyes. Supporting yourself is the truest form of confidence. There is a social experiment where a group of people are told to answer a simple question incorrectly and one person is singled out when they reveal their -- correct-- answer. That person is the subject of the experiment, and the goal is to see if they will change their response to match the response of the group. Many people succumb to changing their answer to the incorrect response, as to not stand alone. Those who do not change their answer show confidence. They believe in their truth, and they stand by it. Another example of having confidence comes to each of us, whether we are a test subject or not. At one point in our lives, we will inevitably stand alone. This typically occurs in our teenage years, or it may happen later in life. For some, it may occur more frequently. For me, I stand alone quite often. I stand by my choices, even when others do not support me. I am a gay woman. I have confidence that sharing my life with another woman is what will make me happy, despite others' doubts. I am a woman in STEM. I believe in my ability to think analytically, and I see myself on the same level as a man. Others may disagree. Not allowing others to persuade your truth is confidence. To those who doubt me, I say thank you. It is because of those people that I am able to practice supporting myself. I have confidence.

I enjoy learning languages. I use this hobby to broaden my opportunities in life. Proficiency in two or more languages can open many doors and I would like to give myself the chance to experience as much as I can in this lifetime. I began learning French when I was twelve. I studied with apps like Duolingo and I designed flashcards. I taught myself for four years. When I was in high school, I became president of our French Club and I participated in our Literacy Fair. In 2019, I was named the Sterling Scholar of World Languages. For my senior trip, I went on an educational tour through Western Europe, including France. I learned so much through that experience! I went on to study French in college. Today, I continue to nurture my fluency by listening to music and watching movies in French. I took up learning American Sign Language (ASL) when I was fourteen, and I grew fascinated with Deaf culture. I got involved with the Deaf Community in my town and I made some great friends. When I began high school, I joined our ASL program and I became a peer counselor for the special needs branch of my church. I participated in the program for two years, and I grew so close to the individuals I spent time with. We keep in touch to this day. Learning French and ASL has blessed my life. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had. I hope to use these skills to pass onto my children. I must continue to nurture these talents, so in my free time, I practice my skills. I consider language learning to be my favourite hobby. I hope to learn Spanish someday soon, until then, <belle journée à toi.> (Have a beautiful day.)

My talent is writing fiction novels. What started as a hobby when I was six, turned into a creative outlet. Story telling has always come easily to me. I have been babbling on since I was a baby. My mind creates scenarios and plots that I find captivating, and I choose to share them with an audience. I have a desire to read certain stories, and when I cannot find them on the shelf, I turn to pen and paper and I write them myself. I enjoy writing and I am good at it, why not nurture this talent? The first story I wrote was thirty-six pages long! For being six years old, I find that impressive. I use that "book" as a measure of my progress. I have the original copy sitting on my desk and I flip through it whenever I fall into writer's block. I like to remind myself of how far I have come. Today, my stories are much longer and they are a lot better. As I have gotten older, I have had many opportunities to become a better writer. I took a creative writing class in high school and I have attended several writer's workshops held at my local library. These activities have allowed me to paint more vivid images in a reader's mind and have taught me how to follow the rules of grammar. Writing is my passion and it is a natural talent I have always had. I create vivid scenes in my mind, and in order to write them as intricately as I see them, I try to take writing courses during my free time. I attend writer's workshops when they are offered and I also try to read at least eight books monthly. Thank you for your consideration.

To me, joy means existing in a harmonious balance between excitement and dissatisfaction. Too often, joy is seen only as an extreme form of happiness, but I have come to realize, in my life, joy is a comfortable emotion to feel. Happiness can be too much at times, as if my emotions are out of balance. If I am too happy, there is not enough stress to push me forward, or to move me in any way. There is only an uncomfortable bubbly feeling inside me that I shy from. I tend to collapse under the weight of happiness. Joy, on the other hand, is the most pleasant feeling to me. Joy is when there is enough comfort to know that I am satisfied, while having just enough discontentment to crave more from the moment. Joy, to me, is like making cookies. Ooey, gooey cookies that are the perfect blend of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. The only issue is that these cookies aren’t being served at a party with all of my closest friends. The dissatisfaction of the event fuels me to do more to relish in the feeling. By inviting friends over, I find myself lost in a moment. Sharing cookies and sharing stories with my best friends. Once the party has concluded and the cookies have all been eaten, joy can still be found within me, knowing that I savoured every moment and every bite. If I had been happy just eating cookies, I never would have seen my loved ones or shared those precious moments. The balance of goodness can only be completed with inadequacies. To me, finding joy means finding the balance between exciting things and giving in to what more could be done.

Math is important in the STEM field because it challenges critical thinking. Mathematics prove there are many ways to arrive at an answer, and the process challenges students to consider other methods. Currently I am enrolled in a calculus class, as well as a few other courses pertaining to a biochemistry major. In calculus, we learn multiple methods to elucidate a phenomenon. When I get out of math class, I head to chemistry or physics, and I learn another different method. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the options, I seek to understand why each method works and how each method is beneficial to certain circumstances. Calculus is not only about getting an answer, it is about approaching a problem and finding the best way to solve it. Math classes teach critical thinking. It is too easy to learn one way of doing things, to stick to one way of doing things, and then struggle with calculating an answer when the circumstances vary in the real world. We can practice the same problem over and over again, until the process becomes muscle memory, given the conditions. But, when the conditions change, or there is less available information, many students would struggle to come up wit an answer. Without taking courses like calculus and understanding multiple methods of coming to an answer, students may get stuck. Memorizing equations or patterns is not enough. Math teaches students to engage their critical thinking and inspires them to think outside the box. We are taught to combine methods when information is not readily available. The real world is not as easy as having all of the facts, plugging in numbers, and receiving a solution. Students must learn to work through a problem with multiple approaches in order to correctly answer the questions that their career relies on them to find. We go to college to prepare ourselves for our career. Students who intentionally use math as a way to understand calculations do much better in their field than students who take math classes to get a C and be done with it. My future career is going to be genetic counseling. My entire career is based around problem solving and working around barriers. I must guide families through the ups and downs of medical trials. I may not need to know what the integral of f'(x) is, but I need to know how to work backwards. I may not need to know what the graph of a derivative trigonometric function, but I need to be able to find patterns with limited information. These skills come from purposeful education. I love math because it encourages me to think outside the box. Math classes make me excited about my future as a genetic counselor. My calculus class teaches me how to approach a problem forwards, backwards, and how to work around conditions. That sounds exactly like the job description of a genetic counselor. Math is hard. It forces students to develop their critical thinking skills, which challenges some students who have always done the bare minimum to come to an answer. Thinking outside of a box, working around conditions, and approaching problems in multiple ways allows students to come up with an answer with any set of information. If students rely on memorizing equations and formulas, they will miss out on the opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills and will ultimately struggle more in their future STEM field career. The world is not as simple as it seems. Math is not about equations, it is about critical thinking. Math is important in the real world.

I am passionate about writing queer teen fiction novels. I write cliché love stories between sapphic women because I believe that every teenage girl should be able to see their ideal relationship modeled for them, regardless of their orientation. I am passionate about age-appropriate representation for the queer community. I hope that my stories reach those in need of an innocent, uplifting love story. I hope to be the author who makes a young lesbian feel secure while exploring her young love for other girls. Many queer folk, including myself, find confidence in our identity after we have seen a healthy example of a same sex partnership modeled for us. Unfortunately, most queer literature is explicit, portrays abusive narratives or tragic endings, and is always full of homophobia. We deserve better! I create stories for young queer people so that they don't feel like their attraction is explicit or that they are destined to a life of misery. It is my duty to provide my community with the guilty-pleasure stories that every preteen and teenage girl reads. I write the stories that I wish I had had access to as a teenager. As I began exploring my sexuality, I was lost, confused, and alone. As my friends talked about their fictional crushes, I couldn't join in the conversation because I couldn't find any books that represented my ideal relationship. I was on the outside of every conversation in middle school. I create stories with queer main characters so that no other girl has to go through the isolation that I went through. Gay kids deserve better. We deserve for our relationships to be talked about like heterosexual relationships are. We deserve stories without sex, drugs, or unnecessary negativity. I am passionate about creating sapphic romance novels for teenage lesbians.

To apply for higher education, I have had to overcome significant financial struggle. I come from a low income family and I am a first generation student. In order to afford my first degree, I worked every day for three years during high school to save up and I relied on a scholarship awarded to me for my outstanding academic performance, extracurricular involvement, and overall engagement during high school. As I am wrapping up my third year of college, I am working three jobs to cover my expenses and I am applying to every scholarship available to me in order to stay out of debt. It hasn't been easy, but I know that college is worth every penny. I have known since the beginning of my education that I would not allow money to be the limiting factor to my success. I have done everything I can to invest in my education, but it is to a point that my hard work is no longer enough. I may still have to take out a loan, despite everything I've done to prepare for the financial burden. I began investing for college when I was six years old. All of my piggy bank money, all of my birthday and Christmas money, and all of my allowance went into a fund for my college. I have used all of it in order to pursue higher education. I still have three years left to get my master's degree. It's not easy to come up with my tuition every semester, but I do what I can. My education is important to me and I am willing to do what it takes to graduate debt free. I will continue to work and apply for scholarships, and I will keep moving forward. . Right now, I am working towards a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at Dixie State University. I will use this degree to attend graduate school and get a master's degree in genetic counseling. I will become a genetic counselor. My goal with becoming a genetic counselor is to help build stronger families through medical trials. I have seen first hand how medical stress can tear a family apart, and I want to be the person who helps guide families through the ups and downs of medical struggle by offering them assessments, structure, support, and resources. My goal is to strengthen the family unit and restore the integrity of the modern family structure. In order to get certified, I have to be accepted into a program. There are fifty-five programs in the United States, and most only accept four to eight students per academic year. To stand out against other applicants, I have to participate in active education. My bachelor's degree will not be enough to stand out, so I must gather extra circulars, research experience, and miscellaneous skills. My plan is to begin student-lead research projects in the spring of 2023. To do that, I am building and strengthening my relationships with my academic advisor and the biology and chemistry department heads. Building relationships in my field will help me to become a better candidate and increase my chances of being accepted into a graduate program. . Each day I work to improve myself. The natural state of being is ever changing, and I would like to embrace the divinity of growth and change. My overall goal each day is to be better than I was yesterday. For myself, this means putting aside time each day to weigh my strengths and weaknesses and find where I can improve. Lately, I have been trying to improve my mental strength as I battle the daily struggles of having post traumatic stress disorder. I intentionally document what I have done to accomplish my goals and I go over with myself what I can do to keep moving forward. I have made great progress, and I am no longer the person I was a few months ago. I know that I still have a long way to go to become the woman that I am meant to be. For my career, my goal is not to win awards or to become the best genetic counselor in the nation. If I can help one family overcome the stress of medical complications and help guide them through their journey, then I have done everything I wanted to do. I am not going into the medical field for the status or the title. I am working towards becoming a genetic counselor to help people. I will assess an individual's risk for certain inherited diseases and disorders, and give them comfort in knowing. I will offer support to the patient and their family after their assessment and diagnosis. Medical stress is a real thing and it can cause the family unit to break down. I'd like to restore the integrity of the family structure that is slowly being lost over time. To achieve my goal of helping one person, I am going to dedicate this time to preparing myself for my career. In order to be a good healthcare provider, I need to understand molecular biology. The courses I am taking today will affect my success so I work intentionally each day to get the most out of my education.

As someone who has auditory processing difficulties, being an active listener can be hard for me. I can't watch movies without captions, I struggle to hold coherent conversations over the phone, and if there is more than one person talking at a time, I can get lost in the noise. I must make a conscious effort each time I converse with others in order to correctly interpret their verbal messages. I dedicate a lot of thought to how to become a better listener, and I do my best to improve my skills each day. To become a better listener, I imagine myself overcoming hurdles. The first barrier to listening is being distracted. I must be sure to stay focused in a conversation. Small sounds, like the air conditioning, birds chirping, or a phone ringing can make it hard for me to accurately understand what someone is saying to me, so I do what I can to block it out. If it is entirely too distracting, I will ask my counterpart if we can talk somewhere else. Secondly, I would rather be honest with someone and ask them to repeat themselves than smile and nod. I want to know what they are saying, and if I don't understand them the first time, I may ask them to rephrase it or say it again. A lot of people struggle with audio processing. Most people are accommodating. The last barrier is talking too much. To be an active listener, I had to learn to stop talking. When others are speaking, I wait for cues to speak. I listen to comprehend, not to respond. This makes me a better listener.

Calculus is important in the STEM field because it challenges critical thinking. Calculus proves there are many ways to arrive at an answer, and it challenges students to consider other methods. Currently I am enrolled in a calculus class, as well as a few other courses pertaining to a biochemistry major. In calculus, we learn multiple methods to elucidate a phenomenon. When I get out of math class, I head to chemistry or physics, and I learn another different method. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the options, I seek to understand why each method works and how each method is beneficial to certain circumstances. Calculus is not only about getting an answer, it is about approaching a problem and finding the best way to solve it. Calculus teaches critical thinking. It is too easy to learn one way of doing things, to stick to one way of doing things, and then struggle with calculating an answer when the circumstances vary in the real world. We can practice the same problem over and over again, until the process becomes muscle memory, given the conditions. But, when the conditions change, or there is less available information, many students would struggle to come up wit an answer. Without taking calculus and understanding multiple methods of coming to an answer, students may get stuck. Memorizing equations or patterns is not enough. Calculus teaches students to engage their critical thinking and inspires them to think outside the box. We are taught to combine methods when information is not readily available. The real world is not as easy as having all of the facts, plugging in numbers, and receiving a solution. Students must learn to work through a problem with multiple approaches in order to correctly answer the questions that their career relies on them to find. We go to college to prepare ourselves for our career. Students who intentionally use calculus as a way to understand calculations do much better in their field than students who take calculus to get a C and be done with it. My future career is going to be genetic counseling. My entire career is based around problem solving and working around barriers. I must guide families through the ups and downs of medical trials. I may not need to know what the integral of f'(x) is, but I need to know how to work backwards. I may not need to know what the graph of a derivative trigonometric function, but I need to be able to find patterns with limited information. These skills come from purposeful education. I do not go to class, expecting to get a passing grade and never applying the concepts again. I use each class period to develop my critical thinking skills. Calculus teaches us how to approach a problem forwards, backwards, and working around conditions. That sounds exactly like the job description of a genetic counselor. Calculus is hard. It forces students to develop their critical thinking skills, which challenges some students who have always done the bare minimum to come to an answer. Thinking outside of a box, working around conditions, and approaching problems in multiple ways allows students to come up with an answer with any set of information. If students rely on memorizing equations and formulas, they will miss out on the opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills and will ultimately struggle more in their future STEM field career. The world is not as simple as lower level math classes may make it seem. Calculus is not about equations, it is about critical thinking.

I believe that communities start within the family unit. In a world that is slowly falling away from a united family structure, I hope to help my community stick together through the ups and downs in this life. My community is part of my family. They have offered me many opportunities to strengthen my relationship with my family. They have helped my family stay together. I have seen firsthand how stress can tear a family apart and how quickly a community can be divided in times of trial. My neighbours gave my parents the break they needed from me to salvage my relationship with my parents. From arranging study groups to hosting educational activities, they gave my parents time to straighten out the struggles they faced, and gave them more time to create a relationship with me that I otherwise may have never had. To show my gratitude, I now offer my community members my time and my support for their family's needs. I strive to provide the same opportunities for the new generation that is growing in my area while offering the guardians the opportunity they once gave my parents. I serve my community by providing free, resourceful child-care to the families in my area. My goal in doing this is to help strengthen and restore families in my community. Many of the adults in my community are grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. I want to help these adults by offering the same opportunities to their grandchildren that they gave me as I was growing up. Many of these kids need quality time with a person who cares about them. As a single, working guardian, it can be hard to find time and money to spare, so I offer to spend time with these kids whenever possible. I give the adults a chance to decompress. For the children, my intention is to feed the flame within them. When I have these kids, I give them new opportunities to grow and to explore the world. I take them for hikes with scavenger hunts, I build sensory bins, and I find STEM and art projects for them to do. When we are done with our activities and they go home, the first thing they do is show their guardian what they had worked on. I have seen children create deep bonds with their family members through this reunion. It is never too early or too late to have core memories with those that we love. Those memories are what we hold onto through the ups and downs in life. My neighbours have always been there for me as I have grown up and now I would like to be there for them as they continue into their next stage of life. Many of them are at the age of retirement while still caring for young kids. Many still work two jobs. I can relate to the stress of balancing work and home life. I know the strain that stress can have on a relationship. I have seen in my own family how stress can break down the family structure. Whenever possible, I try to offer the guardians in my community a break to relax. This gives them to chance to manage stress that they otherwise have no time to take care of. When I drop off the kids, I see a new light in not only the child's eyes, but in the guardian's as well. They need that break. I believe that night-off for a guardian can do more for a child-guardian relationship than many other quick-fixes can. I believe that this service reduces the strain that stress has on the families in my community. My goal is to help strengthen the family units in my community. In the future, I will continue to help my community by strengthening families through difficult situations. I am going to become a genetic counselor. My job will be to assess individuals' risks for inherited disabilities or conditions, and to guide families through the path of coping with a life-long, sometimes terminal, genetic condition. I know how difficult it is for a family to navigate the ups and downs of a medical diagnosis. I have experienced this in my own family. I have seen how the stress can tear families apart. I have also seen how the joy and comfort of having an answer for illness can bring families together. My job will be to strengthen families through their trials. I will offer them a sense of direction after their diagnosis and I will support them through their journey. All around me, I see fragmented families. The family structure seems to be shattering more and more, day by day. Loved ones in my life come from broken homes, and many of my family members are estranged. Not all of these circumstances are due to medical struggles, but most of them are. By becoming a genetic counselor, I hope to help families stay together through the ups and downs. I hope to give back to my community by offering them guidance and support, so they do not feel alone. I believe that the activities that I put together today for the children in my neighbourhood help to strengthen their bonds with their families. The strain that stress has on a relationship is relevant whether it is from medical struggles or from burn-out. I won't give myself credit where it isn't due, but I have seen the relationship between a grandfather and his granddaughter strengthen after having some time apart. When guardians are too stressed to offer a child their time, feelings of abandonment and distance can begin to consume a child. By giving guardians a break, it allows them to manage their stress and ultimately decrease the strain on their relationship. My goal from the beginning has been to help families, and in my future career, I will continue to strength familial bonds and hopefully see the family structure regain its integrity.

When I think of my community, I think of the people who gave me their time and their support when I was growing up, so that I could become the woman I am today. My community is my backbone. From arranging neighbourhood study groups to hosting educational activities around town and encouraging my interests, they went above and beyond for me. To show my gratitude, I now offer them my time. I provide the same opportunities for the new generation that is growing in my area. I serve my community by providing free, resourceful child-care. Many of the adults in my community are widowed grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. I want to give back by offering the opportunities they gave me, to their grandchildren. As a single, working guardian, it can be hard to spare an hour or a penny for these kids. I help by offering to take the kids whenever possible. It gives the adults peace of mind and a night off. For the children, my intention is to feed the flame within them, like their grandparents did for me not too long ago. When I have the kids, I give them new opportunities to grow and to explore the world around them. I take them for hikes with scavenger hunts, I build sensory bins for them, and I find age-appropriate STEM and art projects for them to do. My community built me, and now I want to return the favour by building up the new generation. I serve my community by providing children the opportunity to learn and grow through resourceful child-care, free of charge.

Many of the adults in my community are grandparents who are raising their young grandchildren. I want to give back to these guardians by offering to their grandchildren the opportunities that they gave me when I was young. As a single, working caretaker, it can be hard to spare an hour or a penny to entertain and educate kids. The stress can become unmanageable without help. I help the elders in my community by taking the stress off of their shoulders whenever I can. I offer free, resourceful childcare for families in my community. My services give the adults peace of mind and a night off. For the children, my intention is to feed the flame within them, like their grandparents did for me not too long ago. When I have the kids, I give them new opportunities to grow and to explore the world around them. I take them for hikes with scavenger hunts, I build sensory bins for them, and I find age-appropriate STEM and art projects for them to do. When the kids are tired and the sun goes down, I drop them off to their guardians and I watch as they reunite. Those few hours allow the grandparents to decompress from all of the pressure they're under, and upon drop off, they are rejuvenated. They are ready to take on their duties again. My community built me, and now I want to return the favour by building up the new generation. I want to help the people who have taken care of me by taking care of their new dependents. I am happy to serve my community and I feel grateful to be in a position where I can offer these services to my neighbours. I help the elderly by giving them a night off.

When I think of my ideal future, I think of being a working mother and wife, living in a comfortable home, and spending my days with those I love, doing what I love to do. I am working towards having this future each day. My dreams will not come true without intentional effort. I will not stumble upon the life I want to have. I live each day by design. Each day, I perform tasks that will forever change my life for the better. Each weekday, I work two jobs and attend classes from eight am to six pm. On weekends, I work a third job. Between all of this, I find three hours a day to study for my exams to succeed in my classes. I choose to do this so that I can receive my bachelor's degree. With that degree, I will be able to go on to acquire my master's. To become a genetic counselor, I need to put in the work now. I was always told to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done, so that when the time comes, I can do what I want when I want. This is how I will become a genetic counselor. To fulfill my dream of being a wife and a mother, I work to strengthen my relationship with my partner. We set aside meaningful time together in order to bond. Relationships are serious commitments, and I diligently put in the work to have a successful relationship with my partner. Then, when the time comes, my wife and I will need to pay to have children, so I have intentionally begun saving money for that time. These things will help to ensure that I am able to have the life I dream of having.

The art piece that inspires me was crafted by Alexandros of Antioch and stands in Paris, France as a symbol of feminine divinity, purpose, and beauty. The statue of the Venus de Milo inspires me. When I first saw the Venus de Milo, I was twelve years old. I was an impressionable preteen coming into my skin as a woman. Society often looks down upon women, as their bodies are more fragile with softer armour and smoother texture than men's, but this statue ignited pride in my young mind. She was a catalyst to my coming-of-age story. I am proud to be a woman. Like the statue, I am the embodiment of sacred purpose. Not only am I blessed with a beautiful vessel to aide me in my earthly duties, I am filled with feminine energy to guide me. It is because of the Venus de Milo that I was courageous enough to step into my skin as a woman. When I was eighteen, I had the opportunity to visit the Louvre in Paris, and stand before the statue that I admired in photos for years. I stood in the vicinity of one of the most famous figures of womanhood. The presence in that room is unforgettable. My soul connected to grace and power that spilled from her marble frame. She helped me build my testimony of what being a woman means, the values it possesses, and the responsibilities I have to this earth. As a gay woman, the Venus de Milo not only inspired my connection with my feminine nature, but with the radiance of other women's gentle strength. We are equipped with comforting hands, strong hearts, and all-seeing eyes. We portray the pure love, empathy, and courage it takes to change the world. Venus inspires me.

My perseverance has saved my life and allowed others to live on. I choose to live each day. My story is not over. This is my beginning When I was young, I was surrounded by people who were not making the best choices. Their behaviour and actions affected me, and I carry the memories of that time in the form of post traumatic stress disorder. The events that took place are not mine to share, but the story of how I over came them is mine. I am proud of my story. I was diagnosed with PTSD when I was nineteen years old. It was a life changing experience to finally know why I was struggling so much. The symptoms I had were debilitating. I couldn't sleep for days on end, I couldn't eat, I could barely function because I was reliving those memories all day and all night. I wanted it to stop. I wanted the struggle to magically go away and I would have given anything to make the suffering end. I had a choice to make. I did not give up, I choose to seek help. My perseverance would not allow me to succumb to the struggle, so I got myself the help I needed. Each day, I wake up to the consequences of those events. There are people no longer with us that will never be back, and I have to choose each day to persevere in their names. I have to move forward. I have to do what they no longer have the opportunity to do. I wake up each morning and I promise myself to not only tolerate the day, but to live each day. My perseverance has saved my life and has allowed me to bring life back to those who are gone.

My favourite way to help others is to perform small tasks for them. I like to take mundane, simple tasks off of my loved one's plates so that they can focus on the bigger things in life or get some much-needed rest. Specifically, I do the things that need to be done that certain people in my life would rather not do; things such as: doing dishes, doing laundry, and running errands. I enjoy doing these small, unnoticeable acts of service. We have all experienced being so overwhelmed by small things that we have forgotten about bigger projects. I like to help my loved ones by allowing them to focus on the things they want to do or other things that they need to prioritize. Acts of service is definitely my love language, and I tend to predominantly show my love in this way. Often times, small gestures are just as appreciated as grand gestures. Right now, I am in a position that my time is valuable, offering thirty minutes to help someone is a big deal. I may not have a lot of time or a lot of money to help others, but if I can, I will happily volunteer to clean the house for my parents or run errands for my partner. My loved ones are busy people. They do not have the time to sit around and scrub dishes, so I do it. I take those minuscule tasks off their checklist, so that they can have an extra hour of sleep or a few minutes to read their favourite book between classes and work. It is the small things that mean the most to those in my life. I am happy to help others by performing acts of service.

One simple pleasure that fills my life with joy is building my relationship with my girlfriend by writing her love letters and surprising her with hand-made gifts. Relationships take a lot of work and there is a lot of give-and-take within a partnership. My simple pleasure is doing small things to make her day. I enjoy ringing her doorbell and dropping off a bouquet of freshly grown roses and a box of chocolates with a letter signed and sealed with a kiss on her porch. The warmth that spoiling her with surprises illuminates my passion for things in all aspects of my life. The process of designing these surprises reminds me to have gratitude for the small things I have in my life. Too often, life is overwhelming and the stress can give me tunnel vision. I lose sight of the blessings I have in my life. I am a very grateful. I am able to put together these flower arrangements because I have been taught to have the patience to allow my flowers to bloom in my garden. I can dip chocolates because I have a great-grandmother who gave me the time to teach me to make home-made chocolates. I can write love letters because I have had the opportunity to learn to read and write. Finally, I can perform these tasks because I am lucky enough to have my partner in my life. I have so much to be grateful for. By doing these simple tasks, I regain sight of what is important in my life, and it inspires me to give my all in each aspect of my life. When something is important to me, I do everything to take care of it. That is why my simple pleasure is surprising my partner with hand-made gifts.

Giving is important because it is becoming a lost practice. Giving is not only the gifting of materials and money. It is offering time to your loved ones, giving compassion and aid to those who are struggling. Giving is seen as something only the rich and privileged can do, but the richest people are those who have kindness in their hearts and share it with those around them. I have been given much love and support from my community, and I give back by encouraging and educating the children around me and giving time to serve my community. I am a broke college student, and the best thing I can give to others is my time. Life is very busy and many of us get caught up in the things we have to do, and we lose sight of the things we get to do. I juggle three jobs and a full school workload. I fall into the category of busy bodies. Often, busy bodies lose sight of what is truly important. I do my best every day, not to get so wrapped up in making a living that I forget to make a life and to share my time with those who have given me much. In my area, we have a lot of families who don't have a lot, and the best thing that I can give them is my time. I give back to the adults that have helped me by taking their kids to local museums so that the parents can get a break and the kids can learn about the world they live in. My heart is fullest when I give my time back to those who have given me their support. That is why giving is important to me.

Each person receives love differently. The greatest lesson that I have been given is to love others in their love language, not my own. To each person, receiving love means something different. I show my loved ones that I care by responding to their needs. My mother receives love through acts of service. When I clean her house and prepare a meal for her, I know that I've touched her heart. For my mom, words of affirmation don't go very far, but my sister depends on kind messages. I take every chance I have to tell my sister that I am proud of her and that I love her. Recently, I have been writing her notes and leaving them around her house for her to find. For my dad, words are not enough. I show my dad I love him by spending quality time with him. We love to go on off-road drives through the desert. Even though my whole family likes to spend time together, we don't interact physically. Physical touch does nothing for my immediate family, yet my partner receives the most love from hugs and high fives. She knows that I care about her when I hold her hands and make eye contact with her. Each person in my family feels love differently, and I do everything I can to meet their needs. For most of my friends and for people outside my family, I use words of affirmation and acts of service to share my love for them. I like to send meaningful text messages and help them with projects. A few of my friends rely on quality time, for whom I go out of my way to plan special events for. I always show my love to others in their love language, not my own.

My partner motivates me every day. Every morning I wake up to a person whom I would do anything for. I have a lot of passion that drives everything I do, but some days my ambition can be clouded with self doubt and fear. My partner inspires me to believe in myself. I want to be the person that she thinks that I am. Deep down, I know my worth. I believe that I am destined for great things, but I put a lot of weight on my shoulders by setting my self expectations so high. I often feel as if I am not doing enough to fill the shoes I've made for myself and sometimes I feel that my effort is not worth the hassle. At my worst, my girlfriend picks me up with a simple smile and a pat on the back. I would give the world to see her smile. When it feels like I cannot handle everything I've put on my plate, I remember what I am doing all of this for. I am working three jobs and going to school full time to provide us the life that we deserve to have. She is my biggest cheerleader, and most times my only support system. Small or large, she celebrates my achievements. Then, when it seems like everything is going wrong, my girlfriend is there to remind me of my capabilities. She thinks I am a superhero. If she can always believe in me with her whole heart, I can believe in myself through the bad times. Doing great things for myself is nice. Being able to say, "I did it," is a great feeling, but knowing that my actions are adding to her life and our future gives me motivation. My partner motivates me.

My best skill is my ability to write novels. I proudly write cliche romance stories. I write love stories about childhood friends that grow into lovers, I write "the new girl next door" stories, I write the summer camp romance tropes that we all secretly wish we had experienced. My twist with these stories is that I always make the love interests gay women. These stories improve as I grow into my queer identity and learn more about my community. I write for my own enjoyment, but I do hope that my stories reach those in need of an innocent, uplifting sapphic love story. I hope to be the author who makes a young lesbian feel secure while exploring her young love for other girls. Many queer folk, including myself, find confidence in our identity after we have seen a healthy example of a same sex partnership modeled for us. I do not know one LGBTQ+ person who has come-out without reading at least one queer romance story on Wattpad. It is a part of our culture! I hope to inspire other gay women to embrace their love through reading, in the way that straight girls can. It is my duty to provide my community with guilty-pleasure stories that every teenager reads. I write the stories that I wish I had had access to as a teenager. I improve this skill as I collect more experience in my own life. The more reality that I am able to put into my characters, the more impact my work will have. I also take writing classes whenever possible to bring my work to life. I am passionate about representation for the queer community, and I want my work to reflect the delicate beauty of our experiences. Writing is my best skill.

The sentence I would like to share with the world is: "What other people think about you is none of your business." The phrase "it is none of your business" and its euphemisms are triggering words for me. These phrases are like a slap in the face to a child who is merely curious of the world around her. This piece of advice was given to me by someone who knew the power that those words had on me. Those six words could bring my wonder to a screeching halt. I never ventured near certain topics again because of the blunt remark so many adults used with me. This advice is powerful to me. I do not care what others think of me because it is none of my business. I work hard, I do what is right, I treat others kindly, and I follow my path. I am doing exactly what I need to be doing. I will not let another person dictate what I should and should not do or what I can and cannot do. My self worth is not based upon other's approval, acceptance, or admiration. That mindset will never serve me. Regardless of my good intentions, my brilliance, and, or my charisma, there will always be someone who does not approve of me. The value I have as member of this society is not reliant on other's opinions of me. My success is not limited by what other's believe my capabilities are. If someone does not believe in me that is their problem. If someone does not like me that is their problem. I do my due diligence to be a good person. My only concern at the end of the day should be that I am pleased with myself.

I have the gift of empathy in the highest extreme. My skin has scars of injuries that I have never experienced and my mind holds first-hand traumatic memories that were never mine. For many years, I saw my gift of empathy as a curse, rather than a blessing. Feeling what others felt meant feeling excruciating pain. Over the years, I have learned how to manage my psychosomatic empathetic response to keep myself safe. Today, I am able to see the value in this gift, when once I was blind. My nature is to help others, my nature is to tend to others' needs, whether their struggles are emotional or physical. I have learned that I can provide care for others in a way that very few can. I do not take that lightly. I can sense pain in others, when outsiders cannot see that any injury has occurred. I can visualize the best approach to tending emotional and physical wounds because I can feel the comfort and discomfort of each scenario possible. This gift isn't an exact science, nor is it always correct, but I do see it as a valuable gift that I possess. I can feel any and every physical and emotional pain that people who are close to me can feel. As a child this put me in a lot of danger, and I had to shut off this response completely to save myself from suffering immense, ongoing trauma. In therapy, I learned how to regulate the sensations that I feel, and ease the physical toll that this gift takes on my body. I also learned how to build a filter to protect myself mentally. I am honoured to have the gift of empathy and I am grateful that I have learned to manage it.

My favourite way to help others is to perform small tasks for them. I like to take mundane, simple tasks off of my loved one's plates so that they can focus on the bigger things in life or get some rest. Specifically, I do things that need to be done that certain people in my life would rather not do; things such as, doing dishes, doing laundry, and running errands. I enjoy doing these small, unnoticeable acts of service. We have all experienced being so overwhelmed by small things that we have forgotten about bigger projects. I like to help my loved ones by allowing them to focus on the things they want to do or other things that they need to prioritize. Acts of service is definitely my love language, and I tend to predominantly show my love in this way. Often times, small gestures are just as appreciated as grand gestures. Right now, I am in a position that my time is valuable, offering thirty minutes to help someone is a big deal. I may not have a lot of time or a lot of money to help others, but if I can, I will happily volunteer to clean the house for my parents or run errands for my partner. My loved ones are busy people. They do not have the time to sit around and scrub dishes, so I do it. I take those minuscule tasks off their checklist, so that they can have an extra hour of sleep or a few minutes to read their favourite book between classes and work. It is the small things that mean the most to those in my life. I am happy to help others by performing acts of service.

I keep a growth mindset by practicing mindful manifestation. I visualize my growth each morning and night. I take thirty to forty five minutes, twice a day, to sit and reflect on my progress. I visualize how far I have come and the progress I still have to make. I do this by visualizing a plant in a vast, open field. There is no fences. I see myself reaching the heavens and burrowing down through the soil. I keep a growth mindset by allowing my progress to motivate me. There is no limit to my potential, and I refuse to impede my success by settling for less. I was born with great purpose. My potential for greatness has only grown since my birth. Each day, I learn more and have more opportunities to share my purpose. There is no end in sight for my progress in becoming the woman I am destined to be. I will continue to have a growth mindset into my adult years because I know there is always more to learn and do in this life. The only limit is the limit I create for myself, therefore, the limit does not exist. By making my growth something of an observable nature, I am able to visualize it growing. I like to envision myself as a plant. A plant that is growing and maturing each day. My root can stretch deep into the soil and my petals can climb to the clouds. There is nothing constraining my progress, so I can only stretch further. There is something motivating about visualizing my growth this way. I am able to see myself develop over time. I started as a seed, and I have seen myself grow miles tall and miles deep.

The challenge I have had to overcome throughout my adult life is due to my sexuality. I am a lesbian. I have a long-term female partner and we have faced challenges such as denial of housing and harassment. There are places in 2022 that will not hire a woman who loves women. The discrimination against homosexuals is still prevalent in today's world. With the exception of freedom of religion, there is no other reason why, in today's day, that a person, such as myself, should face discrimination based upon their sexuality. I was nineteen when I entered a long term relationship with my first female partner. Since our beginning, we have faced housing insecurities, employment insecurities, and we have been treated disrespectfully by strangers. We have been refused service at a public restaurant and we have been forced to leave public spaces because of the torment we have faced. These struggles relate directly to our orientation. In the last five years, I have faced more struggles in my personal life than I ever experienced while I was in the closet. In fact, my coming out was a struggle in of itself! My educational experience was affected by my same-sex attraction. I was outed by a classmate and for the weeks after that information was shared, I was physically assaulted and verbally insulted by other classmates almost daily. The homophobic slurs have continued into my junior year of college. Most of the struggles I face in life directly relate to my sexuality. Yes, one could argue that I went from a fifteen year old high school student, to an -- almost-- twenty-one year old woman, and there are a lot of changes that exist for everyone during that time. But my challenges, such as being denied housing (despite the Utah Fair Housing Act) and losing work and education opportunities due to harassment, comes down to the fact that I identify as a lesbian. I do try to respect freedom of religion for individuals and private businesses. However, I also support discrimination laws that state that sexual orientation is a protected class under federal law. I should not be able to be denied a job opportunity at a public institution because I am a woman in a relationship with another woman. I should not face workplace harassment due to the gender of my partner. My partner and I should not be able to be turned down public housing, solely based upon our same-sex relationship. On every application I have ever filled out, there has been a question regarding sexual orientation. I have found that if I select the option of, "rather not say" instead of "homosexual" I have a greater chance of my application being accepted. Gender and sexuality should not be on those questionnaires. LGBT people deserve an equal chance for housing and employment opportunities. That question alone denies us countless opportunities. I am going to use my education as a way to directly help LGBT families. With my degree, I will become a genetic counselor. I will be involved in the family planing process for families of all backgrounds. If a couple of any orientation comes into my office, I will help guide them through the ups and downs of family planning. Even if private practices turn down same-sex guardianship, I will help LGBT individuals have their dream family. It is my responsibility to help my queer community build healthier, stronger families. The world is much more beautiful under a full rainbow. Thank you for this opportunity.

I hope to leave this world kinder than I found it. I was born in 2001, right before the attacks on September 11th that forever changed the United States of America. For as long as I can remember, every person has been on the defense against the rest of the world. I am growing up in a world where people start fist fights over toilet paper in the middle of the grocery store and in a technological age where eleven year old girls are told to take their lives by their elementary school peers. I do not want the world to continue this way. There is a lot of evil, which many of us choose to focus on, but each day I challenge myself to seek positivity and to be the good in the world. I want my example to have a ripple effect. Next time I come across a peer struggling, instead of making their life harder, I want to offer them friendship and compassion. Next time my order is wrong at McDonald's, instead of yelling at a teenager that is making minimum wage, I will offer my meal to a stranger on the street. I do not want my behaviour to add to the dissonance of this world. I want my actions to bring goodness into others lives and leave a positive mark on the world. I want my example to ripple outward and touch the lives of others. I want to leave this world better than I found it, and I want my kindness to be a catalyst to world peace. I cannot change the world, but if I can change one person's life for the better, then I have done no wrong. Each day, I try to make the world a kinder place.

In my house, a quote is hung above the front door that reads, "friends are God's way of taking care of us." As my loved ones come and go through my door, I like to remind them that it is my belief that I am in their life to bless their life and they are in mine to bless me. I do believe with every fiber of my being that my friends, the individuals who I may seem to stumble upon by chance, are actually a guiding spirit who will bring goodness into my life. I believe the same for myself. I have qualities and experiences that will bless others' lives, and that is why God guides me to these people. Too much can be said from a religious perspective, so I'll digress to my second belief. My friends are spirits crafted from the same vat of energy that I am created from. I was made from a specific piece of the universe, at some specific point in its eternal existence and I've been placed on earth now, for a significant reason: to come into the lives of those who have kin energy. I have a spiritual bond to the people I call friends. We may seem to meet by chance, but our energies connect us on a deeper level than any human chance can synthesize. There is a reason. My friends and I are guiding angels in the lives of one another. We are creations with unique human experiences that will bless one another. I fully believe that friends do not happen by chance. They are pulled from the same cosmic dust that I was and our energy finds its way back to itself, uniting us in this life. Friends are important to me and each is a blessing.

I have two routines for self-care. Whenever I am feeling stressed or I have gone a few days without indulging in my routines, I will set aside two hours of "me time." During this time, I shut my phone off, put aside homework, and I begin by determining if I am feeling over stimulated or under stimulated. Both extremes can cause burn out and I can worsen the matter if I am not careful. If I am over stimulated or nearing that point, I use this "me time" to cancel out distractions and mindfully come back into my skin. Some indicators that I am overstimulated may be that I am experiencing unprovoked agitation or hypersensitivity. When I have too much going on, either externally or internally, I will use this time to lay in a dark room with a weighted blanket. This allows me to block out light and sensation. I also like to listen to guided meditations or an ambient playlist so that I don't hyper-fixate on anxiety inducing sounds and rather turn my focus inward on healing myself. I may use this time to journal as I begin to relax or I may use this time to mindfully rest. If I am under stimulated or nearing that point, I will practice grounding activities to engage my senses and bring me back into my body. I may recognize that I am under stimulated if I begin dissociating more heavily than usual or if I am having trouble focusing. During this routine, I will often times take a warm shower, massage my arms and legs, light aromatherapy candles, and I will listen to uplifting audio books while I stretch my body. I have to reconnect with my senses. The goal of my self-care is to regain mind and body alignment.

The most important life lesson I have had to learn is how to have confidence when faced with disapproval and mockery. From the time I was young, my peers sought to find quirks about me to tear me down. My happiness and potential for success threatened them, so much so they did everything they could to stand in my way. My classmates exploited my insecurities, they abused me for my sexuality, and some even violently traumatized me in order for them to feel less alone at the bottom. These people pried at everything they could to try and distract me from my goals and throw me off my path, but they never could. I held fast to my ambitions and I was not going to let some kids cause me to ruin my life plans. When I graduated high school, I expected the violence, harassment, and bullying to stop. It did not. Adults can be just as cruel as children, and I am grateful for the lessons that my childhood experience with bullying taught me. I can climb my ladder in life despite the people who try to stop me. I am stronger than they ever will be. I have had to have a lot of confidence in myself because for every one nice thing I say about myself, these people in my life will say a thousand nasty things. They couldn't distract me then, and they can't distract me now. These people, for lack of a better term, will be called my haters. Now, my haters have different reasons to stand in my way. Some are misogynistic and homophobic individuals, who don't want to see a gay woman, such as myself, excel in a "man's field." Some are jealous of my intelligence, and they want to try to drag me down to their level. Others just don't like me as a person, and I'm fine with that. Not everyone in this world is going to like me. The reason I am okay with them not liking me is because I know that I have a greater purpose in my life than pleasing my haters. I know that I am a good person with good intentions and a healthy goal for the future. I don't need people's approval to do the things that I want to do in life. I am confident that I am capable of getting myself there with or without the support of others. My goal is to become a genetic counselor. I want to help families grow and become stronger during their loved one's experience with a lifelong genetic condition. What I will do in my future requires a master's degree and board certification. I will not become a genetic counselor overnight, but I am on my way to becoming one. My haters are intimidated by this, and that is nobody's fault but their own. The lesson I learned in my youth is that people will abuse those who have what they do not. If so many people are out to get me, then I must have something extraordinary. I know my potential and I know my worth. Others can see it too, whether they like it or not. Despite everything, I know that I am on the right path for me and I know that I am capable of achieving the goals I set for myself. Adult bullies will continue to try to knock me off my path, and they will fail, just as my childhood bullies did. I will continue to climb my ladder.

One billion. Every mammal experiences about one billion heart beats in their life. If nothing preys on them and they live in optimal conditions, a rabbit-- whose heart rate is typically around two-hundred beats per minute-- can live for four years. An elephant with the same conditions, will live sixty-three years, because their heart rate is only thirty beats per minute. We are told that we have about eighty-seven years from birth until death, but I never cared about that. It is the minutes that truly count. I have come to learn that life is measured by the moments that take our breath away and the moments that cause our hearts to skip a beat. My resting heart rate is fifty-two beats per minute, so what can I do with one billion heart beats? Unbridled stress induces a faster heart rate, and so does mindful exercise. Looking into the eyes of a loved one increases my heart rate, and so does looking at a TV screen while a horror film is playing. Whenever it comes down to a choice between two actions, I ask myself which one would serve me more? Which would conserve or more strategically use my heart beats? If an activity does not benefit me, I will not waste my heart beats on it. Time is too easy for me to waste. Thinking in terms of heart beats makes me more aware that I am paying for an activity with something that is finite. Since learning this fact, I have promised myself that if I sacrifice my heart beats to an activity, it must be important. Writing this essay took me twenty eight minutes. That is one thousand four hundred and fifty-six heartbeats. Thank you for this opportunity.

My favourite book is titled "Girl on the Train" and it is written by Paula Hawkins. I like this book because it allows me to explore my fears in a healthy way. This book traps me in warped sense of reality. With this book, the perception I see is that of someone who has lost all control of reality, due to alcohol abuse and manipulation. The narrator's interpretation of the world around her is so different from my own perception of reality. She engrossed me in a mindset that I pray I never have to truly experience. The plot of the story is dark and twisted, but it wasn't the plot that drew me in. At first, I was quick to say that it is a cliche murder mystery and that the husband did "it". I didn't indulge in the game at first, but the intense visualization that comes after the first few pages, sucked me in. She describes mundane things in such a distorted way, that I can't help but be confused about what she is referring to, prompting me to analyze the words in every which way. She is a black out drunk, so on top of her misinterpretations of situations, she now makes me suffer the same amnesia blocks that inhibit her from making sense of the mystery. Emotional manipulation is something that I fear in my life. To lose touch with reality is terrifying to me. This book offers me a simulation of that, due to the main character's abuse. It allows me to explore this detachment from reality without experiencing that same abuse. I am able to see her come out of this warped reality, and it offers me comfort that there can be a way out, if that were to ever happen to me.

The person I admire is Sappho. She was a poet from Eresos, Greece, born in 630 BC. Her early poems described intimacy between women, infatuation with other women, and yearning for a female companion in great detail, with no shame or remorse for her homosexual feelings. She is seen as a gay icon and a strong figure in the history of the women-loving-women community. She bled truth into her pages, and did not allow fear to hold back the words she desperately wanted to share. Her name alone, Sappho of Lesbos, defines her mark that she left on the world. As a lesbian, I choose to also identify as a sapphic woman because of my connection to Sappho's writings. Her words resonate with me so deeply so that I find the essence of my own being within her words. She wrote things that I feel, but could never describe, and she did so during a time that "eros" between women was never thought of. I found myself through her writing. I admire Sappho and I do read her writings earnestly, when the opportunity arises. So much of her brilliance has been lost. Of her thousands of lines, only a few hundred can be found today. Historians are still trying to piece together the life of Sappho and restore her works. It could be her incompleteness that I admire, in a sense. She stands alone as one of the greatest figures in queer history, yet so little is known about her. She made her mark without ever being truly known. Part of me yearns to become successful in this way and leave behind only my name and the influence of my work. To have my name synonymous with greatness and to change the world in my own exceptional way.

I support equality and diversity by being a decent human being. I encourage others to be the best version of themselves while supporting equal opportunities for myself and my peers. If someone is living their best life and they are not causing harm to others, then it is none of my business what they are doing. My job as a friend to all is to encourage everyone to live their truth and express themselves authentically and unapologetically. I also believe that having equal opportunity for success is important. In my opinion, as a gay woman, the most important thing anyone can do to support me is to stay out of my business. I extend the same courtesy to others. My orientation should not affect the opportunities I have, nor should the skin colours, disabilities, sexualities, or gender expressions of my friends affect their opportunities. Being a minority should not affect the resources and opportunities we have. It's that simple. I believe that nobody should have to explain or apologize for how they live in their skin and their skin should not define what is accessible for them. I may not be out there promoting certain organizations and movements to be "supportive" of diversity, but I do support minority groups by buying local products, being kind to all, and to support every walk of life. I treat others how I want to be treated. I believe that we all benefit from strengthening our communities. Extending resources and an inviting hand is the best way to be inclusive of all. Providing opportunities for success and allowing others to be comfortable in their skin may not seem like a big deal, but it is. At the end of the day, we all just want to feel accepted and we want to succeed.

My goals are to become a genetic counselor and a loving wife. I will live by design, not by default. I will work hard to achieve the things I want in this life. I want my life to be full in every aspect of living. I will turn my goals into my realities. Academically, I would like to graduate from the University of Utah's Genetic Counseling Program (UUGCP.) I will apply to the UUGCP in the spring of 2022, one year before I graduate from Dixie State University with my Bachelor's in Molecular Biology. To achieve this goal, I will work hard during my undergraduate schooling to maintain a healthy GPA and to gather as much knowledge as I can to put me ahead. Professionally, I will continue to build my networking connections. In this world, it isn't always what you know, but who you know. I actively connect with other students interested in the UUGCP and I build positive rapport with my future colleagues. I have the contact information of the director of the UUGCP and the contact information for the hiring staff at Intermountain Health Care in order to put my name across their desks early. I will stand out against my peers. Personally, I have plans to build my life with my long term partner. We will continue to support one another in our individual paths as we grow together. She will become a police officer and I will become a genetic counselor. Together, we will relish in the fruit of our hard work and we will share our love and knowledge with the children we adopt and those we bring into this world. My goals are ambitious, but so am I. I will live by design, not by default. My goals will become my reality.

The best way to live a long and healthy life is to choose to have a strong support system and a healthy environment. I emphasize: choose to have. As humans, we are all victims to chance. Some people are better off than others and that is a fact of life. That is the unfair reality of this human world, but something that we all have, and that we can all benefit from, is our free will. Exercising our agency to choose who we have around us and where we find ourselves is the key to a happy, healthy life. Having a strong support system means something different for every person, but the root of a healthy life comes from having people in your life that build you up and help you when times are tough. These people may be family, friends, teammates, and coworkers. An effective support system has the tools to offer advice, comfort, and relief to the center of the system. A support system can be a single person or an entire community. We cannot always choose who comes into our lives, but we can always decide who is in our support system and who we are better off without. Our support system is up to us. Another key to a happy life is placing yourself in a healthy environment. Flowers grow where they are nourished and where they can flourish. We have no need to place ourselves in unhealthy, unsafe environments. As humans with free agency, if a situation does not serve us, we have the choice to remove ourselves from it. Weak people will make excuses and will settle for less, wise people will never settle. Having a healthy support system and living in a healthy environment are the key to living a long, happy life.

I believe some people are naturally more optimistic than others. I tend to see the brighter side of things, but I also rely heavily on realism. There is always a bright side, but things can still be difficult. Through times of trial, I have struggled to stay optimistic for the future, but I have never given up hope. Hope for a better future gets me through. When I was eighteen, I had the opportunity to visit Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany. When I stood in the middle of the courtyard, I was surrounded by watch towers. There was nowhere to hide. There was not a single place that I could stand in that yard where I was not able to see into at least one tower. It was an unfathomable experience for me. I took time after visiting that camp to read first hand accounts of victims of the Holocaust. Those people experienced the cruelest of circumstances, yet hope got many of them through. In one journal, written by Viktor E. Frankl, he writes, "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances..." I have never forgotten that quote. During my hardest moments, I think back to that day when I visited Dachau, and I remind myself that if the men, women, and children in those camps can keep their hope, so can I. Nothing can take away my attitude. Life can get messy at times, but holding onto hope gets me through. As rough as a situation may be, there is always a bright side. It may not be apparent to the naked eye, but upon closer inspection, good can be found in everything. Optimism has saved my life.

It took a long time to learn the importance of patience. Before developing this skill, I was miserable. I never want to feel that way again. Growing up, I felt like I needed to count the minutes left in my life. I was in a race against my own hourglass. My inability to sit still got me in trouble a lot. But I believed if I slowed down for even a second, I would die. I didn't have time to take a breath or relax. I didn't have time for anything! Tick-tock. I would often get myself into trouble for interrupting others, being distractible, and never finishing projects. I felt like everything was a race against the clock. If I didn't do a million things every minute, I was behind and I'd never catch up. It got to a point I had panic attacks daily because I would over exert myself, trying to keep up with the ticking clock. The human body can only move so fast and do so much in a day before it reaches its limit. If you have ever ran a marathon, you've felt a percent of what my brain feels like 24/7. Before I began learning patience, I could not grasp the concept of waiting for good things or enjoying the little things in life. It is heartbreaking to know now how much I missed out on. I had no respect for my own limits. My inability to slow down cost me my physical and emotional health, many friendships, and a lot of opportunities. I was in a rush, and I cut corners that I cannot get back. It took a severe breakdown before I realized how hard I was pushing myself. I'm grateful that I have learned to slow down. Patience saved my life.

My favourite hobby is writing fiction novels. Story telling has always come easily to me, I have been babbling on since I was a baby. My mind creates scenarios and plots that I find captivating, and I choose to share them with an audience. I have a desire to read certain stories, and when I cannot find them on the shelf, I turn to pen and paper and I write them myself. I enjoy it, and I am good at it, so I spend a lot of time with my characters. The first story I wrote was about a family of twelve going on a summer vacation. I called it, "The Winter Family." It was thirty-six pages long! For being six years old, I find that impressive. I use that "book" to inspire me to continue. I have the original copy sitting on my desk. Today, I am working on a novel about an eternal, faceless entity that steals the appearances of her victim's by seducing them and playing mind games with them until they believe they are no longer alive. This figure, currently inhabiting a woman's body, accidentally falls in love with a woman that she is trying to claim, and it turns into a queer romance novel from there. I am enjoying the story so far. As you can see, my writing has changed dramatically over the years, but one thing that has stayed is my passion for story telling. I create vivid scenes in my mind, often when I am asleep, and I use my waking free time to tell these stories. To see these interactions and plotlines brought to life between the pages fills me with a satisfaction nothing else can match. I love writing, and it is my favourite way to spend a Saturday.

Confidence means having your own back when nobody else supports you. The ones who stand alone in a crowd have more courage than anyone who hides in the masses. Standing your ground for what you believe in is confidence in my eyes. Supporting yourself is the truest form of confidence. There is a social experiment where a group of people are told to answer a simple question incorrectly and one person is singled out when they reveal their -- correct-- answer. That person is the subject of the experiment, and the goal is to see if they will change their response to match the response of the group. Many people succumb to changing their answer to the incorrect response, as to not stand alone. Those who do not change their answer show confidence. They believe in their truth, and they stand by it. Another example of having confidence comes to each of us, whether we are a test subject or not. At one point in our lives, we will inevitably stand alone. This typically occurs in our teenage years, or it may happen later in life. For some, it may occur more frequently. For me, I stand alone quite often. I stand by my choices, even when others do not support me. I am a gay woman. I have confidence that sharing my life with another woman is what will make me happy, despite others' doubts. I am a woman in STEM. I believe in my ability to think analytically, and I see myself on the same level as a man. Others may disagree. Not allowing others to persuade your truth is confidence. To those who doubt me, I say thank you. It is because of those people that I am able to practice supporting myself. I have confidence.

I would like this scholarship because I need to focus on my studies. Currently, I work three jobs while going to school full time. It is a lot. I will graduate debt free, if I continue to apply for scholarships and work hard, but at what cost? It is hard to juggle so much. I would like my story to be different than my family's. I have the opportunity to go to school, and I have resources available to me that my family never had. I would like this scholarship so that I can focus on school. I do not want to worry about working full time while going to school full time. With this scholarship, I will be able to cut back my working hours, and dedicate more time to my studies. I am a hard working person. I have been brought up to optimize my time and to keep busy. At the age of six, I had my first job. I got to go to work with my parents and help them do restoration work in our community and even once or twice out of state. I loved working with my parents. They taught me many valuable lessons on the job, like how to fix a water heater, how to treat mold, and how to restore a home that has been engulfed in flames. But, the most important lesson my parents passed onto me, was the importance of education and what it takes to go to college. I do not remember when I began saving for college, but I remember that when I was eight or nine years old, my parents sat me down and they talked with me about the importance of school and higher education. From the time I was tiny, I knew that I was college bound and there was never a doubt in my mind that this is where I would be. I have worked hard to get this far, and I will continue to work hard to complete my degree. I know the importance of school, and I know that it is worth every minute of work that I put in. When I was born, my parents invested in a college savings fund for me. They started me off on the right path, and now it is my responsibility to maintain that savings fund. I put into it what I don't spend on student fees, books, and tuition. I also invest 35% to 40% of my monthly income into my fund. I continue to put into this account and I continue to manage my finances so that I can graduate, and not have to hear the words "student loans" for the rest of my life. I got my first job outside of my parents' business when I was seventeen. I started at thirty hours a week, during my junior year of highschool. Every dollar I earned went towards my education. I invested my money and I watched my fund grow. When I began college, it dwindled quicker than I could replenish it. By my third semester of college, I was working fifty hours a week while carrying nineteen credits. My health suffered and my grades suffered. I was not getting the most out of my schooling. Now, I juggle three jobs and fifteen credits. I am managing, but this scholarship would allow me to focus on my education. Not on having to worry about picking up extra shifts, not on having to decide if I can handle a fourth job. I would appreciate this scholarship, and I thank you for your consideration.

One investing tip that I have taken to heart is to never place all of your eggs in one basket. This means, never putting all of your savings in one asset, one stock, one bank account, one piggy bank, etc. I have seen first hand how badly things can go if I were to put everything I have in one place. Fortunately, I was raised up to divide my wealth and protect my finances. I could have had a very different story if I had not learned this key advice. To keep my finances safe and to optimize my investments, I make sure to keep my savings in multiple places, such as having different bank accounts with different interest rates, investing in multiple stocks instead of placing everything in one stock, and by keeping cash on hand in case of a dramatic turn of events. I am careful to keep each secure and to manage each "basket" individually. The last thing I want is for my "eggs" to break or go missing. By separating my investments and managing, multiple stocks and several bank accounts, I am able to optimize my net gain while still having a piggy bank of cash tucked away from a rainy day. Even if one stock crashes and I lose money on it, I still have many others. In the case of what I have experienced, having multiple bank accounts protected me from losing everything. I also keep liquid cash in several locations to ensure that in any event, I have money accessible to me. Practicing keeping my eggs in separate baskets, I have saved myself a lot of grief. If I could share one piece of advice to those who are learning to invest: start with dividing your wealth. It will keep you safe.

My talent is writing fiction novels. What started as a hobby when I was six, turned into a creative outlet. Story telling has always come easily to me, I have been babbling on since I was a baby. My mind creates scenarios and plots that I find captivating, and I choose to share them with an audience. I have a desire to read certain stories, and when I cannot find them on the shelf, I turn to pen and paper and I write them myself. I enjoy it, and I am good at it, why not nurture this talent? The first story I wrote was about a family of twelve going on a summer vacation. I called it, "The Winter Family." It was thirty-six pages long! For being six, I find that impressive. I use that "book" as a measure of my progress. I have the original copy sitting on my desk. Today, I am working on a novel about an eternal, faceless entity that steals the appearances of her victim's by seducing them and playing mind games with them until they believe they are no longer alive. This figure, currently inhabiting a woman's body, accidentally falls in love with a woman that she is trying to claim, and it turns into a queer romance novel from there. I am enjoying the story so far. As you can see, my writing has changed dramatically over the years, but one thing that has stayed is my passion for story telling. I create vivid scenes in my mind, and in order to write them as intricately as I see them, I take writing courses during my free time. I attend writer's workshops when they are offered and I also try to read at least eight books monthly. Thank you for your consideration.

1) When I think of my community, I think of the people who gave me their time and their support when I was growing up, so that I could become the woman I am today. My community is my backbone. From arranging study groups to hosting educational activities and encouraging my interests, they went above and beyond for me. To show my gratitude, I now offer them my time. I provide the same opportunities for the new generation that is growing in my area. I serve my community by providing free, resourceful child-care. Many of the adults in my community are widowed grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. I want to give back by offering the opportunities they gave me, to their grandchildren. As a single, working guardian, it can be hard to spare an hour or a penny for these kids. I help by offering to take the kids whenever possible. It gives the adults peace of mind and a night off. For the children, my intention is to feed the flame within them, like their grandparents did for me not too long ago. When I have the kids, I give them new opportunities to grow and to explore the world around them. I take them for hikes with scavenger hunts, I build sensory bins for them, and I find age-appropriate STEM and art projects for them to do. My community built me, and now I want to return the favour by building up the new generation. 2) My name is Cheyenne Rose and I am a junior at Dixie State University. I am majoring in biochemistry with a plan to go onto the University of Utah and join their Genetic Counseling Program. My vision for the future is simple: I want to help families become stronger and healthier. I will become a genetic counselor, and I will help families venture through the ups and downs of a genetic condition. I have many relatives and many friends who have genetic conditions and I have seen how these diagnoses can affect the family structure. My goal is to be a guide for those who are navigating this journey in life. The assessments that genetic counselors do are a big deal. They change people's lives. Sometimes for better, and sometimes for worse. My hope is to make the process easier for families. The stresses and fears that run through a parent's mind can tear a family apart over time. It will be my job to counsel these families and offer advice and resources. My love for science can only be matched with my love for helping others. I am going into this field because genetics fascinate me, but my true goal at the end of the day is to help others navigate something that I have been through with my family. My experiences only inspire me more. This is what I am meant to do. My dream is that someday the family structure can regain its integrity during trials. Thank you.

I enjoy learning languages in my free time. I love numbers, math, and science, but they can become draining over time, so I like to spice up my life with studying languages. I use this hobby to broaden my opportunities in life. Proficiency in two or more languages opens many doors and I would like to give myself the chance to experience as much as I can in this lifetime. I began learning French when I was twelve years old. I studied with Duolingo, Babbel, and other apps. I designed flashcards to flip through when I was bored, and I began keeping a daily journal for myself. I taught myself French for four years. When I was in sophomore year, I joined the Level 1 French course offered at my high school. I became president of our French Club, and I participated in our Literacy Fair in 2017, and again in 2019. In the spring of 2019, I was named one of the Sterling Scholars of World Languages in my district. Then, for my senior trip, I accompanied our World Languages department on a tour through Western Europe, including France. I learned so much through that experience! Did you know it is inappropriate in French culture to leave doors open in the house? It creates a draft and they do not like that. I had no idea. After returning from France and graduating high school, I went on to study French in college. Today, I continue to nurture my fluency by listening to French music, watching movies with French subtitles, and continuing my journal. My love for the French language grows each day. I can't wait to go back to France! I also took up learning American Sign Language (ASL) when I was young. I began teaching myself ASL when I was fourteen and I grew fascinated with Deaf culture. I got involved with the Deaf Community in my town and I made some great friends at Saturday Night Ice Cream Socials. When I began high school, I joined our ASL program. At the same time, I became a peer counselor for the special needs branch of my church. Every Thursday, I met with a group to do fun activities that brought us closer to the Lord. I participated in this program for two years, and I grew so close to the individuals I spent time with. We keep in touch to this day. Learning French and ASL has blessed my life. I have had many opportunities that I am grateful for, and I continue to reap the fruit of my hard work. I hope to use these skills to pass onto my children so that they can have the opportunities I have had. I must continue to nurture these talents, so in my free time, I continue to develop my skills. I enjoy language learning and I consider it my favourite hobby. I hope to learn Spanish someday soon, until then, <belle journée à toi.> (Have a beautiful day.)

In college, I was taught to view goals as strategic plans. Each goal must be accomplished with small, deliberate steps. We must think SMART about our career goals. Each letter of "SMART" represents a word related to a goal. To become a genetic counselor, I must set "S"-specific, "M"- measurable, "A"- attainable goals that are "R"- relevant to my life and "T"- time based. Specifically, my goal is to become a genetic counselor working in Utah by the year 2025. I would like to graduate with my Master's degree and become certified by the University of Utah. These details are important to the likelihood of me accomplishing my goal. I will measure my progress by the completion of each college semester until I receive my Master's degree and submit my first job application. To date, I have completed five semesters and I have six more to go, including graduate school. I measure my progress by time, but goals do not always need to be measured this way. Now, the fact of the matter is that not all "goals" are going to be attainable, which is why it is important to understand what attainable means. To become a genetic counselor, I must be able to do a lot of complex math, biochemistry, and have good communication skills. This goal would not be attainable if I did not have a passion for numbers and for psychology. Good thing I do! My passion for science and helping others makes this goal relevant to my life. Finally, goals must be time based. I said that I will be working as a genetic counselor in the year 2025. That is just over three years from now. I have to make each year and each semester count. I will achieve my goal if I am SMART.

I believe that the No Child Left Behind Act, implemented in 2001, has failed the United State's education system. Gifted students are not engaged and students who struggle, struggle more because of it. I want to see a change in the classroom. Young students should be in charge of their education. We need to stop trying to keep every kid at the same level as all of the others. I saw my sister grow up in a system that failed her. She was always told that she was not doing enough to keep up in the classroom, when she was putting hours in everyday. She was told that it was her fault that she was confused when really, it was the instructor's fault. She was being taught one concept five different ways, each one progressively harder than the last. It was all shoved down her throat, one after another, with the hopes that one of them would make sense. They got blended together in her mind. What she needed was more time, learning one concept one way. She struggled through elementary school and even had to redo a grade level because the teachers were floundering, trying to blow through every approach so they could get the lesson over with. She struggled until college. In college, she was finally taught one concept, one way, and had time to sit with the material and get to know it before moving onto the next topic. She went from a C student to graduating with a degree in nursing. She has always been brilliant, but the primary education system failed her. I was failed too. In my experience, I struggled to stay engaged in the classroom. I was not challenged. Teachers moved at the pace of my peers, and they neglected to care for the advanced students. I was kicked out of classrooms for asking relevant questions because they confused my classmates. I spent most of high school in the vice principal's office because I had finished the workload early and had asked a question that was too difficult. I was not given the opportunity to step outside of the pace that my peers set. I was a straight A student, yet I still struggled. I hoped college would be better, but the real world slapped me in the face. All of a sudden, I was expected to set my own pace for learning. I had missed weeks, if not months, of my primary education because teachers didn't want to deal with my eagerness. It caught up to me on the first day of undergrad. I had no skills to guide my own learning because I was never given the opportunity to learn how to when I was in primary education. This system has failed kids on both ends of the spectrum. Those who need to catch up, can't. Those who need to move on, can't. We are so focused on keeping every child at the same level of their peers, that nobody succeeds.

The wisest thing I was ever told, came from my father when I was twelve years old. He said, "What other people think about you is none of your business." The phrase "it is none of your business" and its euphemisms are triggering words for me. These phrases are like a slap in the face to a child who is merely curious of the world around her. This piece of advice was given to me by someone who knew the power that those words had on me. Those six words could bring my wonder to a screeching halt. I never ventured near certain topics again because of the blunt remark so many adults used with me. This advice is powerful to me. I do not care what others think of me because it is none of my business. I work hard, I do what is right, I treat others kindly, and I follow my path. I am doing exactly what I need to be doing. I will not let another person dictate what I should and should not do or what I can and cannot do. My self worth is not based upon other's approval, acceptance, or admiration. That mindset will never serve me. Regardless of my good intentions, my brilliance, or my charisma, there will always be someone who doesn't approve of me. The value I have as member of this society is not reliant on other's opinions of me. My success is not limited by what others believe my capabilities are. If someone doesn't believe in me, that is their problem. If someone doesn't like me that is their problem. I do my due diligence to be a good person. My only concern at the end of the day should be that I am pleased with myself.

Generosity means giving what you can, when you can, and offering more than you receive. Giving is not measured by price tags. I strive to give what is most important to me in the name of generosity. I give my time to those in need. A moment is worth more than a thousand pay-days. Time spent with another person, perhaps a stranger, will mean more to that individual than a fancy car or brand new IPhone ever will. If sparing a few hours of my week, to visit with strangers at a veteran's home will change the life of one person, I will do it. There is nothing more important to me than the time I can give to someone to potentially save their spirit. In a world of isolation, I want to give my time and my presence to those who are in need. Children growing up without parents, parents grieving the loss of their child, a college student struggle with their studies. These people don't need diamonds or pearls, they need company. They desire someone's time. A moment can change a person's life. A smile can save a soul. Generosity to me means sacrificing something important for something more important. To me, nothing is worth a life. There is nothing I would rather do than give someone a moment of my time if it means making their day better. To me, generosity means offering my valuable time to help someone. A short visit or a long conversation can go a long way. I give others my presence above all else because what matters to me is providing someone with safety, comfort, and joy. Generosity is not about money or lavish supplies. It is about quality moments that can never be bought.

When I look into a child's eyes, I see a world that is better than the one I grew up in. I grew up in a time right after the attacks of September 11th, 2001. I grew up in a world where people were afraid of their neighbour because his skin is darker or he doesn't speak the same language. Look into the eyes of a baby. Look from the perspective of a child. There is no hate, no malice, and no fear in the eyes of a newborn. They see the world as a clean slate, and they only intend to learn from the world around them. When I meet young children, I offer a silent prayer that they are a part of a changing the world, and I pray for myself to have the strength to change the world for them. Children give me hope. Adults are too narrow minded, they think they know everything. Kids yearn to know more about the world around them and they accept every message you tell them. If we share good lessons with the children of today, then the adults of tomorrow will be less stubborn to change their ways. Kids with outspoken opinions are the trailblazers of a new way of life. The boys and girls who speak up when they hear something ignorant or cruel, or those who act when things are going wrong will be the kids that shape the future. I wish only good things for those souls. They have a great responsibility on their shoulders. They are destined to change the world as we know it. I often hear people say that the younger generations are responsible for the downfall of a great system, but I stand to disagree. We are the front runners of innovation and acceptance. We are slimming the great divide between groups. We are uniting people around the world for the greater good. We want to see a day where no man feels afraid in his skin. We want to see a day where gay people can have normal, violence free lives. We want to see a day where the rich and poor are divided by moments of joy, not bank accounts. The younger generations are the leaders in a changing world, and I cannot wait to see what the next generation has in store for our world. Children give me hope for the future.

As a woman, majoring in the sciences has been difficult. When I was young, I was encouraged to outsmart the boys, and I was told to never let anyone tell me that I was less-than because of my gender. At the start of high school, the messages began changing. There were snarky comments about the girls being on the "lower" end of test averages. Teachers told me I bit off more than a woman can chew. I have to prove them wrong. I am a queer woman, and that information is not private. I do not feel that my sexuality reflects my ability nor dictates my passion, but many people, upon finding out my orientation, begin to question why I would pursue STEM as a lesbian. They try to convince me that I need to be interested in art because that's what "my kind" do. My only response to that is that I love science. I am going to school to become a genetic counselor because I love the field. I put in the effort because I am passionate about biochemistry. Yes, I do choose to share my life with my partner, but that does not erase the fact that I have my independent hopes and dreams. I want to succeed in science because I love it. Neither my sexuality, nor my gender, should determine my goals. It is time we retire the narrative that women cannot excel in STEM, and time to destroy the stereotype that queer people only exist in the arts. I intend to break the stigma about queer women in science and tech. I will inevitably go into the medical field as a genetic counselor and I will prove to the sexist and homophobic people I've encountered that they are wrong. It is not a hard concept to understand that anyone can be anything they want to be, but for some narrow-minded people, they cannot wrap their heads around women being anything more than housewives or gay people as anything more than radical dreamers. I have faced my fair share of adversary, but my loved ones and my community have always stood behind me. My family has supported my choices in life and I could not be more grateful for their guidance and encouragement. When I began looking into what it takes to be a genetic counselor, my dad began looking for ways to help me get ahead. When I came out as gay, my family welcomed my girlfriend in with loving arms. They give her the same advice that they gave me, and that is: do not take ignorance personally. There are going to be people in this world who do not want us to succeed because of the body we are in or for the person we choose to live this life with, and that is not our fault. I may lose opportunities and I may face more challenges than a straight male, but I am never going to give up my dreams, and I am never going to change who I am. I overcome the adversity by turning a blind eye. I don't need approval to be the best version of myself that there is. I will become successful apologetically. The people who do not support me will just have to live with it. My resilience will help me in life because I do not see a time in my life where I am not going to be discriminated against and I have to be okay with that. I have to believe in myself when nobody else does. I can do that.

As a woman, majoring in the sciences has been difficult. When I was young, I was encouraged to outsmart the boys, and I was told to never let anyone tell me that I was less-than because of my gender. At the start of high school, the messages began changing. There were snarky comments about the girls being on the "lower" end of test averages. Teachers told me I bit off more than a woman can chew. I have to prove them wrong. I am a queer woman, and that information is not private. I do not feel that my sexuality reflects my ability nor dictates my passion, but many people, upon finding out my orientation, begin to question why I would pursue STEM as a lesbian. They try to convince me that I need to be interested in art because that's what "my kind" do. My only response to that is that I love science. I am going to school to become a genetic counselor because I love the field. I put in the effort because I am passionate about biochemistry. Yes, I do choose to share my life with my partner, but that does not erase the fact that I have my independent hopes and dreams. I want to succeed in science because I love it. Neither my sexuality, nor my gender, should determine my goals. It is time we retire the narrative that women cannot excel in STEM, and time to destroy the stereotype that queer people only exist in the arts. I intend to break the stigma about queer women in science and tech. I will inevitably go into the medical field as a genetic counselor and I will prove to the sexist and homophobic people I've encountered that they are wrong. It is not a hard concept to understand that anyone can be anything they want to be, but for some narrow-minded people, they cannot wrap their heads around women being anything more than housewives or gay people as anything more than radical dreamers. I have faced my fair share of adversary, but my loved ones and my community have always stood behind me. My family has supported my choices in life and I could not be more grateful for their guidance and encouragement. When I began looking into what it takes to be a genetic counselor, my dad began looking for ways to help me get ahead. When I came out as gay, my family welcomed my girlfriend in with loving arms. They give her the same advice that they gave me, and that is: do not take ignorance personally. There are going to be people in this world who do not want us to succeed because of the body we are in or for the person we choose to live this life with, and that is not our fault. I may lose opportunities and I may face more challenges than a straight male, but I am never going to give up my dreams, and I am never going to change who I am. I will give back to my community by being the one to break the chain. There are young girls in my neighbourhood who want to go into STEM, and I am going to pave the way for them to have the same opportunity that I have. I will give them resources to get themselves started now, so that when they are my age, they can attend college and pursue their dreams. I cannot change the minds of the ignorant, but I can inspire the minds of the bold.

My bucket list is short: I want to live until I die. Bucket lists scare me. The greatest people in my life made a to-do list and died with regrets. I do not want to die remorseful because I was unable to do one thing or another. I want to live, truly live, until the day I die. Death has been a big part of my life. I have lost loved ones, young and old. Most were unexpected and they were all were gone too soon. I live each day to honour those who do not get that opportunity. I wake up each morning and face the day with a smile because I was given the chance to make another one count. I don't want to jump out of airplanes or see the pyramids. I want to see my relationship with my partner bloom, I want to meet the children we bring into the world. I want to have a medical office four stories up where families come to me for guidance and leave my room feeling hopeful. I want to have a house that I am proud to call home. The things on my bucket list are ordinary to most, but to me, they are extraordinary. When I think about the things I can accomplish in this life, I do not see myself living life on the edge. I see myself taking each day as it comes and being thankful for every sunrise and sunset I witness. I have seen three wonders of the world, but nothing is more wonderful than the routine days that I am blessed to have. I have the chance to live today. I can do anything. So, I am going to watch the sunset and pray for another day just like today.

As a naturally analytical person, I have to expend a lot of energy to be creative. Most of my creativity exists in my story-telling. I spend a significant amount of my free time writing stories. Most of the books that I yearn to read have not been written yet, so I take it upon myself to create them. I use story-telling as a creative escape from the rigidity of math and science that my waking mind gravitates towards. At night, my creativity awakens. My passion for writing stems from my dreams. Every night, I dream of vivid, realistic scenarios that I become immersed in. I can recount the smallest details from my dreams, and I can visualize them years after they have occurred. I write the stories that I dream about because I have yet to find a better author than the writer behind my sleep visions. Stephan King is a close second. I write for my own enjoyment, but I do share my talents with others. I want others to spend time in the same realms that I get lost in. I feel my visions are captivating. I am often encouraged by loved ones to pick up a pen and write after relaying scenes to them. When I am awake, my mind is a logical, methodical system of ideas. Everything must be organized and the continuity of information must be intact. Asleep, my mind becomes a playground for the absurd. These night-time movies in my head inspire me to be curious of the whacky and weird. I use my free time to bring my dreams to life in the hope to satisfy the desire to explore the unknown. I write mysteries stories and romance novels. I pour my creativity into tales inspired by visions. Writing is my creative outlet.

I have always had a fascination of the world around me. When I was in second grade, my teacher taught us to explore the world with open eyes and open hands. We were taught to water flowers, instead of pick them. She taught us how to set spiders free, not squish them. In Utah, we have a remarkable world right outside our door. We have many national parks within a few miles of our homes. I have had many opportunities to connect with the earth. Now, it is more important than ever to take care of the environment. In my area, we have five national parks. These beautiful landscapes are home to hundreds of species of plants and animals. The diversity in our backyard is astounding. Every spring, I wonder how many new creatures breathe new life in our desert. Year round, I do my part to prep the land for new baby animals to come into a clean environment. I pick up garbage when I see it on hikes and I organize clean-up days where my friends and I volunteer our time to spend a few hours with nature. We gather trash and we brush off the trails so hikers don't stray. We do our part to keep our national parks looking nice. I care about nature because I know the importance of wildlife. I refuse to use plastic straws and I limit waste when I can. I do my part to reduce my carbon foot print by picking up my own trash and by responsibly disposing of others' waste. I do not want to see cigarette butts and plastic wrappers all over on hiking trails, and I am sure the animals don't want to either. I appreciate nature by cleaning up.

Each person receives love differently. The greatest lesson that I have been given is to love others in their love language, not my own. To each person, receiving love means something different. I show my loved ones that I care by responding to their needs. My mother receives love through acts of service. When I clean her house and prepare a meal for her, I know that I've touched her heart. For my mom, words of affirmation don't go very far, but my sister depends on kind messages. I take every chance I have to tell my sister that I am proud of her and that I love her. Recently, I have been writing her notes and leaving them around her house for her to find. For my dad, words are not enough. I show my dad I love him by spending quality time with him. I bond with him on weekend road trips. We love to go off-road drives through the desert. Even though my whole family likes to spend time together, we are not a very physical group. Physical touch does nothing for my immediate family, yet my partner receives the most love from hugs and high fives. She knows that I care about her when I hold her hands and make eye contact with her. Each person in my family feels love differently, and I do everything I can to meet their needs. For most of my friends and for people outside my family, I use words of affirmation to share my love for them. I have a few friends that rely on quality time, for which I go out of my way to plan special events for us to go out. I always show my love to others in their love language, not my own.

My favourite way to help people is by performing small acts of service. If I can take the little things off of somebody's plate, I will. I want to see the people in my life have more time to do the things that they want to do, and spend less time doing the tedious things that they need to get done. For example, my partner loves wood-working. She is such a crafty lady, but unfortunately between school, work, and homework, she rarely has time to work on the beautiful box she's been making. On days when I have extra free time, I will take care of the small things on her to-do list so that she can have time to work on her projects. I will do dishes and take care of her grocery shopping. It takes me an hour, but these small things put a smile on her face. I would give anything to see her smile more. When I help others, I don't see it as something I am doing for myself, but I feel I receive more than I give. Seeing my mom sigh in relief when her house is clean or seeing my 96 year-old neighbour rest easy while I get her mail for her fills me with joy. I cannot imagine the sadness I would feel if I acted selfishly. My purpose in life is to help others and to make others' lives easier. I do what I can, when I can to take the small burdens off of my loved ones' plates so that they can have time to do the things that bring them joy. I help others by performing acts of service, like doing the dishes, cleaning the house, or getting the mail. If I can make someone's day easier, I will.

It will sound cliché, but the thing that motivates me is my partner. Every morning I wake up to a person whom I would do anything for. I have a lot of passion that drives everything I do, but some days my ambition can be clouded with self doubt. My partner inspires me to believe in myself. I want to be the person that she thinks that I am. Deep down, I know my worth. I believe that I am destined for great things, but I put a lot of weight on my shoulders by setting my self expectations so high. I often feel as if I am not doing enough to fill the shoes I've made for myself and sometimes I feel that my effort is not worth the hassle. At my worst, my girlfriend picks me up with a simple smile and a pat on the back. I would give the world to see her smile. When it feels like I cannot handle everything I've put on my plate, I remember what I am doing this for. I am doing it for me first and foremost, but I am also working and going to school to provide us the life that we deserve to have. On good days, she is my biggest cheerleader. Small or large, she celebrates my achievements. When it seems like everything is going wrong, my girlfriend is there to remind me of my capabilities. She thinks I am a superhero. If she can always believe in me with her whole heart, I can believe in myself through the bad times. Doing great things for myself is nice. Being able to say, "I did it," is a great feeling, but knowing that my actions are adding to her life and our future gives me motivation.

The most inspiring book I have read is by Sharon M. Draper. It is called "Out of My Mind." The story follows the internal narrative of a young girl named Melody as she shows the world why we should never judge a book by its cover. Melody is a brilliant person, but she is unable to share her knowledge with the world due to a medical condition called Cerebral Palsy. As an eleven year-old girl, Melody wants to participate in her school's extracurricular, or their basic curriculum for that matter. She can only learn the alphabet so many times. Throughout the story, Melody shares what her life is like with a working mind and a body that, in her words, only works in her thumbs. Melody is unable to speak, but that does not stop her from having the loudest opinion or the sharpest mind in the room. She receives a device that allows her to speak for the first time, and from there the world opens up to her. I learned a lot from this book and it inspired me to never let a circumstance get the best of me. At times in life, I have felt as if I had no voice and had a presence that seemed invisible to others. Like Melody, I often received glances and whispers behind my back, but it was seldom people confronted me. I was a passing thought and some people questioned my potential. I read this book for the first time when I was in fifth grade. I read it three times that year and a dozen times since. It made me hopeful that someday I'd be heard. There is so much within me, and those who give me a chance, meet a brilliant young woman. This book inspired me.

The strategy I use to achieve academic success is to over or under stimulate myself while studying. My brain works in one of two ways: organized or chaotic. Those are my options and there is no in between. I have learned to use these opposite mindsets to my advantage. When I am feeling diligent and calm, I will excite my senses while I am studying. I will chew flavoured gum while listening to white noise. These two things in combination help me to focus on my material, and also be able to recall it more effectively in class. During tests, I chew the same flavour of gum that I used while studying. It is proven that the more senses you connect to a piece of information, the more likely you will retain it. By stimulating my senses, I am able to effectively study while I am focused. On the other side of my wonderful brain, I have "mind weasels" that like to run around in circles and distract me. If unrestrained, I will earnestly reread the same paragraph thrice and still not know what subject I am supposed to be learning. To counter their chaos, I intentionally starve them of distractions. I can't be bothered by the high pitched buzzing from the fridge if I have noise cancelling headphones on. I cannot fixate on the bird outside or the brightness of the room if my curtains are drawn and the lights are dimmed. When I have chaotic energy, I choose one sense and I hone in on it. I typically stimulate my sight and use neon high lighters to follow along in my notes. Depending on my mood, I will either compensate by over stimulating or under stimulating my mind. That is my key to success.

My best skill is writing short novels. I proudly write cliche romance stories. I write the best love stories about childhood friends that grow up to be enemies-to-lovers, I write "the new girl next door" stories, I write the summer camp romance tropes that we all secretly wish we had experienced. I write all of these as if it were the first time they've been written because I enjoy a bit of Hallmark magic. My twist with these stories is that I make the love interests gay women. I write for my own enjoyment, but I do hope that my stories reach those in need of an innocent, uplifting love story. I write my stories on a platform where people like me are able to find exactly what we need to read. I hope to be the author who makes a young lesbian feel secure while exploring her innocent love for other girls. Many queer folk, including myself, find the confidence to live as our true selves after we have seen a healthy example modeled for us. I do not know one LGBTQ+ person who has come out without reading at least one queer romance story on Wattpad. It is a part of our culture. As a gay woman who has a passion for writing, I feel it is my duty to provide my community with the kinds of stories that every teenager has the guilty pleasure of reading. If I want to read a story and I cannot find it on the shelf at the library, I know that I can turn to my laptop and begin writing it. I improve this skill as I collect more experience in life. The more reality I am able to put into my characters, the more impact my work will have.

The sentence I would like to share with the world is: "What other people think about you is none of your business." The phrase "it is none of your business" and its euphemisms are triggering words for me. These phrases are like a slap in the face to a child who is merely curious of the world around her. This piece of advice was given to me by someone who knew the power that those words had on me. Those six words could bring my wonder to a screeching halt. I never ventured near certain topics again because of the blunt remark so many adults used with me. This advice is powerful to me. I do not care what others think of me because it is none of my business. I work hard, I do what is right, I treat others kindly, and I follow my path. I am doing exactly what I need to be doing. I will not let another person dictate what I should and should not do or what I can and cannot do. My self worth is not based upon other's approval, acceptance, or admiration. That mindset will never serve me. Regardless of my good intentions, my brilliance, and, or my charisma, there will always be someone who does not approve of me. The value I have as member of this society is not reliant on other's opinions of me. My success is not limited by what other's believe my capabilities are. If someone does not believe in me that is their problem. If someone does not like me that is their problem. I do my due diligence to be a good person. My only concern at the end of the day should be that I am pleased with myself.

The art piece that inspires me was crafted by Alexandros of Antioch and stands in Paris, France as a symbol of feminine divinity, purpose, and beauty. The statue of the Venus de Milo inspires me. When I first saw the Venus de Milo, I was twelve years old. I was an impressionable preteen coming into my skin as a woman. Society often looks down upon women, as their bodies are more fragile with softer armour and smoother texture than men's, but this statue ignited pride in my young mind. She was a catalyst to my coming of age. I am proud to be a woman. Like the statue, I am the embodiment of sacred purpose. Not only am I blessed with a beautiful vessel to aide me in my earthly duties, I am filled with feminine energy to guide me. It is because of the Venus de Milo, I was courageous enough to step into my skin as a woman. When I was eighteen, I had the opportunity to visit the Louvre in Paris, and stand before the statue that I admired in photos for years. I stood in the vicinity of one of the most blessed figures of womanhood. The presence in that room is unforgettable. My soul connected to grace and power that spilled from her marble frame. She helped me build my testimony of what being a woman means, the values it possesses, and the responsibilities I have to this earth. As a gay woman, the Venus de Milo not only inspired my connection with my feminine nature, but with the radiance of other women's gentle strength. We are equipped with comforting hands, strong hearts, and all-seeing eyes. We portray the pure love, empathy, and courage it takes to change the world. Women inspire me.

Empathy has always been a scary word for me. I have the gift of empathy in the highest extreme. My skin has markings of scars that I have never experienced and my mind holds first-hand traumatic memories that were never mine. For many years, I saw my gift of empathy as a curse, rather than a blessing. Feeling what others felt meant feeling excruciating pain. Over the years, I have learned how to manage my psychosomatic empathetic response to keep myself safe, but it is still a daily struggle to show compassion to others. I make the effort every day because I know how important it is to see the world from the eyes of another. Without understanding other's experiences, we cannot experience anything of our own. I can feel any and every physical and emotional pain that people who are close to me can feel. As a child, that put me in danger. To keep myself safe, I was taught to shut off my empathetic response. I had to distance myself from the trait that makes me human. I know what it feels like to feel nothing for anyone. To feel robotic and empty and alone. When I got older, I was taught how to create boundaries and how to filter other's suffering so it cannot become my own. You cannot understand the importance of something until you cannot have it. I wouldn't wish true apathy on anyone. The absence of caring is the presence of evil. Being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes is what makes us human. If we cannot have compassion for others, we lose touch with our own selves. I have the ability to care for others in a way that very few people can. I do not take my gift lightly.

Many of us struggle each day to carry our load when it seems like the world keeps giving us more to hold. Some days are harder than others. I encourage those around me by being the light they need in the darkness. I offer a listening ear to those who need to let things off their chest, I offer advice to open ears who need kind reassurance and guidance, I offer hugs to those who feel alone and I share smiles with those who can only weep. I serve those around me as much as I can. My purpose in life is to ensure that those around me are happy, healthy, and safe, to the best of my abilities. That is why I was given the gift of empathy, why I was given the strength of a dozen men, and why I was given a soft heart. I am designed to care for others and to help them along in their journey. My favourite thing to do with my loved ones when they are struggling is to surprise them with acts of service. Sometimes, people don't want to talk about their troubles, they just want to get the weight of the world off of their shoulders. By taking things off of their to-do list, it gives them time to focus on what is important: their mental and physical health. Whether it is making them dinner, cleaning the house, or doing the grocery shopping, I do what I can to make their day a bit easier, so they can have time to rest, relax, and recover during their woes. I cannot remedy all of their troubles, but I can do my best to give them the opportunity to be happy, healthy, and safe.

In college, I was taught to view goals as strategic plans. Each goal must be accomplished with small, deliberate steps. We must think SMART about our career goals. Each letter of "SMART" represents a word related to a goal. To become a genetic counselor, I must set "S"-specific, "M"- measurable, "A"- attainable goals that are "R"- relevant to my life and "T"- time based. Specifically, my goal is to become a genetic counselor working in Utah by the year 2025. I would like to graduate with my Master's degree and become certified by the University of Utah. These details are important to the likelihood of me accomplishing my goal. I will measure my progress by the completion of each college semester until I receive my Master's degree and submit my first job application. To date, I have completed five semesters and I have six more to go, including graduate school. I measure my progress by time, but goals do not always need to be measured this way. Now, the fact of the matter is that not all "goals" are going to be attainable, which is why it is important to understand what attainable means. To become a genetic counselor, I must be able to do a lot of complex math, biochemistry, and have good communication skills. This goal would not be attainable if I did not have a passion for numbers and for psychology. Good thing I do! My passion for science and helping others makes this goal relevant to my life. Finally, goals must be time based. I said that I will be working as a genetic counselor in the year 2025. That is just over three years from now. I have to make each year and each semester count. I will achieve my goal if I am SMART.

My generation terrifies me. I worry greatly for our future. Generation Z is comprised of the kids born in the 2000's. We are a damaged group of poor souls. We are the gayest, saddest, and most radical generation yet. We have no fear, yet we also have the highest rates of anxiety and stress disorders to date. We laugh to cope in the midst of a serious tragedy. Our inappropriate response to monumental disasters makes me worry. We have no respect for life, no fear of death, and we actively joke about suicide, the end of times, and the day hell freezes over. We challenge death on a daily by manifesting spontaneous combustion, and we place our will to live on the off-chance that we see an old dog stand on its own two feet that day. It is no longer funny. The experience that I have witnessed that makes me worry about the future of humanity is the way we, as a generation, handle the discussion about suicide. Suicide jokes make me worry greatly, and the perpetrators are typically Gen Z individuals. The jokes need to stop. Suicide is a major problem in this world, and it is only getting worse. One in four people have been affected by suicide, whether that be struggling personally with suicidal thoughts or by the loss of a loved one. Personally, I have lost four friends and one relative to suicide. I used to wonder why suicide was such a problem, but after spending one day with a group of Gen Z'ers, I realized what was causing the rising rates. I believe that how we approach the topic of suicide needs to change. We should not be joking about committing suicide, yet we do. The more we joke about suicide, the less help that struggling people receive. People make jokes when they are hurting, and they are ignored. We laugh while real people, and possibly ourselves, are in excruciating pain and need actual help. Suicide is not funny and making self depreciating jokes is causing more harm than good. Gen Z is wonderful. We bring a lot of big discussions to the table and we are deconstructing stigmas around many topics that were once taboo. We are the leaders of the changing world and we are responsible for the changing view on suicide. We are bringing awareness to an issue that has been kept quiet for generations. Unfortunately, we are going about it the wrong way. People are more open than ever about their mental health, but dropping a pen and saying, "that was my thirteenth reason," is not helping the problem. We promote and glamorize suicide while at the same time trying to dismantle the secrecy. Those who are struggling are speaking out, but they are being ignored because of the lightheartedness now surrounding suicide. We jokingly say, "I'm going to kill myself," as a coping mechanism for slight inconveniences. This worries me greatly. It needs to stop.

The turnaround story in my life that I am proud of is my coming out story. I have many other great achievements, but coming out changed my life. I was not the person I am today before I came out. I did not have a passion to include anyone in my life and I didn't have friends. I pushed everyone away because I did not want to accept that someday I would have to share my life with a man. I would rather be alone, so I was. I came to realize, that was no way to live my life. Each time I achieved great things, I kept them to myself. When I graduated high school, when I won Sterling Scholar, when I got my Associate's degree, the list goes on. Nobody knew I even existed because I did these things in private. My accomplishments were not celebrated. I was proud of them, but I had alienated myself and I had nobody to share them with, so the awards and degrees seemed obsolete. Why do these amazing things if nobody was around to care? I became unmotivated. When I received my first degree, I wanted to share that achievement with someone-- anyone-- for the first time. I wanted to run into someone's arms and have someone tell me congratulations. I was tired of celebrating these momentous things alone, so I began searching for the cause of my self isolation. When I realized that I was gay, I began branching out for the first time in years, and I regained my passion to work towards my goals. I am not the same person I was before coming out, and that is why I am proud of myself for turning my life around and coming out as my true self.

The best way to live a long and healthy life is to choose to have a strong support system and a healthy environment. I emphasize: choose to have. As humans, we are all victims to chance. Some people are better off than others and that is a fact of life. That is the unfair reality of this human world, but something that we all have, and that we can all benefit from, is our free will. Exercising our agency to choose who we have around us and where we find ourselves is the key to a happy, healthy life. Having a strong support system means something different for every person, but the root of a healthy life comes from having people in your life that build you up and help you when times are tough. These people may be family, friends, teammates, and coworkers. An effective support system has the tools to offer advice, comfort, and relief to the center of the system. A support system can be a single person or an entire community. We cannot always choose who comes into our lives, but we can always decide who is in our support system and who we are better off without. Our support system is up to us. Another key to a happy life is placing yourself in a healthy environment. Flowers grow where they are nourished and where they can flourish. We have no need to place ourselves in unhealthy, unsafe environments. As humans with free agency, if a situation does not serve us, we have the choice to remove ourselves from it. Weak people will make excuses and will settle for less, wise people will never settle. Having a healthy support system and living in a healthy environment are the key to living a long, happy life.

My goals are to become a genetic counselor and a loving wife. I will live by design, not by default. I will work hard to achieve the things I want in this life. I want my life to be full in every aspect of living. I will turn my goals into my realities. Academically, I would like to graduate from the University of Utah's Genetic Counseling Program (UUGCP.) I will apply to the UUGCP in the spring of 2022, one year before I graduate from Dixie State University with my Bachelor's in Molecular Biology. To achieve this goal, I will work hard during my undergraduate schooling to maintain a healthy GPA and to gather as much knowledge as I can to put me ahead. Professionally, I will continue to build my networking connections. In this world, it isn't always what you know, but who you know. I actively connect with other students interested in the UUGCP and I build positive rapport with my future colleagues. I have the contact information of the director of the UUGCP and the contact information for the hiring staff at Intermountain Health Care in order to put my name across their desks early. I will stand out against my peers. Personally, I have plans to build my life with my long term partner. We will continue to support one another in our individual paths as we grow together. She will become a police officer and I will become a genetic counselor. Together, we will relish in the fruit of our hard work and we will share our love and knowledge with the children we adopt and those we bring into this world. My goals are ambitious, but so am I. I will live by design, not by default. My goals will become my reality.

One simple pleasure that fills my life with joy is building my relationship with my girlfriend by writing her love letters and surprising her with hand-made gifts. Relationships take a lot of work, and there is a lot of give-and-take within a partnership, but my simple pleasure is doing small things to make her day. I enjoy ringing my partner's doorbell and dropping off a bouquet of freshly grown roses, a box of chocolates, and a letter signed and sealed with a kiss on her porch. The warmth that spoiling her with surprises gives me illuminates my passion for things in all aspects of my life. The process of designing these surprises reminds me of my love and gratitude for the small things I have in my life. Too often, life is overwhelming and the stress gives me tunnel vision. I lose sight of the blessings I have in my life. I am able to put together these flower arrangements because I have the patience to allow my flowers to bloom in my garden. I can dip chocolates because I have a great-grandmother who gave me the time to teach me to make home-made chocolates. I can write love letters because I have had the opportunity to learn to read and write. I can perform these tasks because I am lucky enough to have this woman in my life. By doing these simple tasks, I regain sight of what is important in my life, and it inspires me to give my all in each aspect of my life. When something is important to me, I do everything to take care of it. That is why my simple pleasure is surprising my partner with hand-made gifts.

Giving is important because it is becoming a lost practice. Giving is not only the gifting of materials and money, it is giving time to your loved ones, giving compassion and aid to those who are struggling. Giving is seen as something only the rich can do, but the richest people are those who have kindness in their hearts and share it with those around them. I have been given much love and support from my community, and I give back by encouraging and educating the children around me and giving time to serve my community. I am a college student, so the best thing I can give to others is my time. Life is very busy and many of us get caught up in the things we have to do, and we lose sight of the things we get to do. I juggle three jobs and a full school workload. I fall into the category of busy bodies. Often, busy bodies lose sight of what is truly important. I do my best every day, not to get so wrapped up in making a living that I forget to make a life and to share my time with those who have given me much. In my area, we have a lot of families who don't have a lot, and the best thing that I can give them is my time. I give back to the adults that have helped me by taking their kids to local museums so that the parents can get a break and the kids can learn about the world they live in. My heart is fullest when I give my time back to those who have given me their support. That is why giving is important to me.

My perseverance has saved my life and allowed others to live on. I choose to live each day. My story is not over, this is just beginning. When I was young, I was surrounded by people who were not making the best choices. Their behaviour and actions affected me, and I carry the memories of that time in the form of post traumatic stress disorder. The events that took place are not mine to share, but the story of how I over came them is mine. I am proud of my story. I was diagnosed with PTSD when I was nineteen years old. It was a life changing experience to finally know why I was struggling so much. The symptoms I had were debilitating. I couldn't sleep for days on end, I couldn't eat, I could barely function because I was reliving those memories all day and all night. I wanted it to stop. I wanted the struggle to magically go away and I would have given anything to make the suffering end. I had a choice to make. I did not give up, I choose to seek help. My perseverance would not allow me to succumb to the struggle, so I got myself the help I needed. Each day, I wake up to the consequences of those events. There are people no longer with us that will never be back, and I have to choose each day to persevere in their names. I have to move forward. I have to do what they no longer have the opportunity to do. I wake up each morning and I promise myself to not only tolerate the day, but to live each day. My perseverance has saved my life and has allowed me to bring life back to those who are gone.

I hope to leave this world kinder than I found it. I was born in 2001, right before the attacks on September 11th that forever changed the United States of America. For as long as I can remember, every person has been on the defense against the rest of the world. I am growing up in a world where people start fist fights over toilet paper in the middle of the grocery store and in a technological age where eleven year old girls are told to take their lives by their elementary school peers. I do not want the world to continue this way. There is a lot of evil, which many of us choose to focus on, but each day I challenge myself to seek positivity and to be the good in the world. I want my example to have a ripple effect. Next time I come across a peer struggling, instead of making their life harder, I want to offer them friendship and compassion. Next time my order is wrong at McDonald's, instead of yelling at a teenager that is making minimum wage, I will offer my meal to a stranger on the street. I do not want my behaviour to add to the dissonance of this world. I want my actions to bring goodness into others lives and leave a positive mark on the world. I want my example to ripple outward and touch the lives of others. I want to leave this world better than I found it, and I want my kindness to be a catalyst to world peace. I cannot change the world, but if I can change one person's life for the better, then I have done no wrong. Each day, I try to make the world a kinder place.

One thing that I love about myself is my caring nature and my empathy towards others. I used to obsess over my physical features, like my beautiful eyes, and would often name my physical attributes as my favourite thing about myself; however, as I have gotten older, I have come to realize that what is most important is what is on the inside. Today, my empathy and selfless heart are what I love most about myself. For many years, I struggled with emotional boundaries, and my empathy became a dangerous tool for abusers to take advantage of me. Due to years of trauma, I did my best to shut down my emotional and psychosomatic response to others and I found myself distant from the very thing that makes me human. I lost my touch with my human side. By denying this beautiful and innate gift of human nature, I became robot-like and I felt devoid of all emotion. Life wasn't miserable or wonderful, it was just wasted moments that were passing by. Today, I am in therapy learning to embrace this wonderful side of myself and to accept that my sensitivity is my strength, not my weakness. What once was a curse and a weapon used against me, is now a personal trait that I thank God for every day. Being human is a raw and vulnerable experience, and instead of condemning myself to a life of lifelessness, I want my years on this earth to be spent sharing my gift in a way that is healthy for me and those I come into contact with. What makes me human is my empathy for others, and I choose to love that about myself.

I enjoy breathing, as I am sure most people do. I also enjoy swimming in a clean ocean. However, these are luxuries that future generations will not have access too. At the rate we are progressing, by 2040, there will be two extra feet of ocean water, three times the amount of plastic waste in said water, and air quality could be as poor as requiring oxygen masks in some parts of the world. I cannot allow that to happen. I can preserve these luxuries for my children and grandchildren. The first step I take to reduce my impact on increasing climate starts within my home. I use energy efficient windows and light sources and I do my part to recycle and compost waste. In my home, I have reduced my plastic waste simply by reusing containers, skipping out on disposable products, and by using biodegradable waste products whenever possible. The next step I take to preserve my community is utilizing a morning walk to pick up garbage. Often, I will walk around my town, picking up garbage with friends. Our trips usually end up with plenty of strangers helping out too. It is a good community building activity while also decreasing our litter. Finally, I turn my key to be idle free. When I was young, I heard that phrase, and it has stuck with me to this day. I design my daily commute to be as efficient as possible, and I walk as often as I can to reduce my carbon output. I take my responsibility to fighting climate change personally. I will not single-handedly save the world, but I can lead my community in making a difference. We are capable of turning things around. We are capable of change. It all starts with me.