When life gets overwhelming, especially during graduate school, it can be quite a struggle to find ways to clear your mind. With multiple life responsibilities and the importance of maintaining high grades, it is critical to keep the small everyday things that bring you joy in mind. To clear my head, I weave workouts into my week. This can range from lifting weights to working out on the elliptical or walking on the treadmill. These exercises provide a physical release from my stress and allow me to engross myself in the euphoria of exercise. However, a step above the rest in successfully clearing my mind is swimming. It’s the place my mind and body are blissfully unaware of my assignments and papers. Within the confines of the natatorium, the stressors of my graduate education simply cease to exist. Along a similar vein of exercise-related de-stressors, I engage in what I have dubbed hot boy walks. These are walks where I stroll through campus or around my neighborhood, noticing my environment and focusing on my surroundings. While these activities have exercise benefits, their true purpose is to destress and focus. In terms of sensory relaxation techniques, I partake in listening to audiobooks and music as self-care. These self-care strategies engage my brain in ways outside of the class; however, they continue my fervor for learning and listening. I have found it difficult to enjoy reading due to my classwork, therefore, I switched to audiobooks to engage different brain areas. Similarly, audiobooks and music bring me joy and levity amidst my hectic course load. During periods of low academic reading, I turn to my stack of LBGTQ+ romance novels for comfort. Reading can be a great escape from reality but being wrapped up in the pages and vivaciousness of a story can transport the reader elsewhere. This form of escapism helps me to recalibrate myself. Another key feature of my self-care is relating to my surroundings. This includes making time to explore new environments. Examples can be sitting by the pool, finding a new body of water, or embracing the beauty of nature. It can be a beach, river, mountain, whatever tickles my fancy at the time. I can feel enraptured by the sounds of nature and experience the calmness of nature. My favorite place is the beach, as I feel a spiritual connection with the water. The sounds, sights, and sensations of water relax me immediately. The conglomeration of self-care regimens is how I can balance joy and work. Lastly, I partake in the exercise of “3 good things”. I get to pick out three occurrences, conversations, and moments I like from that day I give them my attention. Emphasizing the positive aspects of life, help give it meaning, and worth living. Bringing attention to the small but positive events of the day helps to minimize and outweigh the bad. Reflecting is the most critical part of self-care because no matter the level of engagement in physical or sensory tangential activities, a life worth living is full of moments to reflect and smile upon. The aspects of mind, body, and soul, are important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. In addition to physical and mental health, I must keep my nutrition in check. Having Celiac Disease I must maintain a gluten-free diet highlighting the necessity for healthy eating. This adds a layer of complexity to my health maintenance. For me, health is a matter of necessity and joy to continue leading a productive and fulfilled life. Overall, the integration of self-care into a routine is critical for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

When life gets overwhelming, especially during graduate school, it can be quite a struggle to find ways to clear your mind. With multiple life responsibilities and the importance of maintaining high grades, it is critical to keep the small everyday things that bring you joy in mind. To clear my head, I weave workouts into my week. This can range from lifting weights to working out on the elliptical or walking on the treadmill. These exercises provide a physical release from my stress and allow me to engross myself in the euphoria of exercise. However, a step above the rest in successfully clearing my mind is swimming. It’s the place my mind and body are blissfully unaware of my assignments and papers. Within the confines of the natatorium, the stressors of my graduate education simply cease to exist. Along a similar vein of exercise-related de-stressors, I engage in what I have dubbed hot boy walks. These are walks where I stroll through campus or around my neighborhood, noticing my environment and focusing on my surroundings. While these activities have exercise benefits, their true purpose is to destress and focus. In terms of sensory relaxation techniques, I partake in listening to audiobooks and music as self-care. These self-care strategies engage my brain in ways outside of the class; however, they continue my fervor for learning and listening. I have found it difficult to enjoy reading due to my classwork, therefore, I switched to audiobooks to engage different brain areas. Similarly, audiobooks and music bring me joy and levity amidst my hectic course load. During periods of low academic reading, I turn to my stack of LBGTQ+ romance novels for comfort. Reading can be a great escape from reality but being wrapped up in the pages and vivaciousness of a story can transport the reader elsewhere. This form of escapism helps me to recalibrate myself. Another key feature of my self-care is relating to my surroundings. This includes making time to explore new environments. Examples can be sitting by the pool, finding a new body of water, or embracing the beauty of nature. It can be a beach, river, mountain, whatever tickles my fancy at the time. I can feel enraptured by the sounds of nature and experience the calmness of nature. My favorite place is the beach, as I feel a spiritual connection with the water. The sounds, sights, and sensations of water relax me immediately. The conglomeration of self-care regimens is how I can balance joy and work. Lastly, I partake in the exercise of “3 good things”. I get to pick out three occurrences, conversations, and moments I like from that day I give them my attention. Emphasizing the positive aspects of life, help give it meaning, and worth living. Bringing attention to the small but positive events of the day helps to minimize and outweigh the bad. Reflecting is the most critical part of self-care because no matter the level of engagement in physical or sensory tangential activities, a life worth living is full of moments to reflect and smile upon. The aspects of mind, body, and soul, are important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. In addition to physical and mental health, I must keep my nutrition in check. Having Celiac Disease I must maintain a gluten-free diet highlighting the necessity for healthy eating. This adds a layer of complexity to my health maintenance. For me, health is a matter of necessity and joy to continue leading a productive and fulfilled life. Overall, the integration of self-care into a routine is critical for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

When life gets overwhelming, especially during graduate school, it can be quite a struggle to find ways to clear your mind. With multiple life responsibilities and the importance of maintaining high grades, it is critical to keep the small everyday things that bring you joy in mind. To clear my head, I weave workouts into my week. This can range from lifting weights to working out on the elliptical or walking on the treadmill. These exercises provide a physical release from my stress and allow me to engross myself in the euphoria of exercise. However, a step above the rest in successfully clearing my mind is swimming. It’s the place my mind and body are blissfully unaware of my assignments and papers. Within the confines of the natatorium, the stressors of my graduate education simply cease to exist. Along a similar vein of exercise-related de-stressors, I engage in what I have dubbed hot boy walks. These are walks where I stroll through campus or around my neighborhood, noticing my environment and focusing on my surroundings. While these activities have exercise benefits, their true purpose is to destress and focus. In terms of sensory relaxation techniques, I partake in listening to audiobooks and music as self-care. These self-care strategies engage my brain in ways outside of the class; however, they continue my fervor for learning and listening. I have found it difficult to enjoy reading due to my classwork, therefore, I switched to audiobooks to engage different brain areas. Similarly, audiobooks and music bring me joy and levity amidst my hectic course load. During periods of low academic reading, I turn to my stack of LBGTQ+ romance novels for comfort. Reading can be a great escape from reality but being wrapped up in the pages and vivaciousness of a story can transport the reader elsewhere. This form of escapism helps me to recalibrate myself. Another key feature of my self-care is relating to my surroundings. This includes making time to explore new environments. Examples can be sitting by the pool, finding a new body of water, or embracing the beauty of nature. It can be a beach, river, mountain; whatever tickles my fancy at the time. I can feel enraptured by the sounds of nature and experience the calmness of nature. My favorite place is the beach, as I feel a spiritual connection with the water. The sounds, sights, and sensations of water relax me immediately. The conglomeration of self-care regimens is how I can balance joy and work. Lastly, I partake in the exercise of “3 good things”. I get to pick out three occurrences, conversations, and moments I like from that day I give them my attention. Emphasizing the positive aspects of life, help give it meaning, and is worth living. Bringing attention to the small but positive events of the day helps to minimize and outweigh the bad. Reflecting is the most critical part of self-care because no matter the level of engagement in physical or sensory tangential activities, a life worth living is full of moments to reflect and smile upon. The aspects of mind, body, and soul, are important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. In addition to physical and mental health, I must keep my nutrition in check. Having Celiac Disease I must maintain a gluten-free diet highlighting the necessity for healthy eating. This adds a layer of complexity to my health maintenance. For me, health is a matter of necessity and joy to continue leading a productive and fulfilled life. Overall, the integration of self-care into a routine is critical for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Imagine a young elementary school child sitting in his classroom during a class party filled with sugary treats and colorful baked goods galore. Cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and many more sitting for each child on the festive paper plates brought in by the class mother, every plate but one. Me, a young seven-year-old often forgotten during the holidays, not being able to indulge in the sugary celebration with my classmates, unable to eat the gluten-full treats like my peers. From then on, I knew the value of bringing food for myself and advocating for myself. Growing up with Celiac Disease, I’ve always known the value of food, the individual ingredients, and is this food safe for me to eat? Being on a gluten-free diet from the age of 7 was difficult due to the inability to carelessly eat and be hyper-aware of my diet. Every meal is a cost-benefit analysis of, has this food been cross-contaminated, will I react to gluten, is this meal safe? Every gambled meal can result in unpleasant symptoms that I would rather not waste your time describing, but it is nonetheless; unappealing. With these possible outcomes, every meal outside the sanctity of my kitchen is a risk. While highly manageable, there are always the what-if moments of chance that could trigger my autoimmune response at any meal. Thus, my trend of culinary hypervigilance has persisted throughout my life, and it impacts my graduate studies. As a part of my master's in Clinical Psychology, I have accepted an extern position with Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital working in the feeding disorder unit. In this role, I will be able to help children with feeding disorders that may rely on NG tubes to receive meals. Much of this work will also deal with children with food sensitivities, allergies, and aversions to help them regulate feeding habits. Thus, I believe my background with Celiac has led me to wed my passion for psychology into this population. This scholarship will help me pay for my studies and offset the cost of the higher-priced gluten-free food I must purchase to manage my autoimmune condition. The higher cost of products is not subsidized, therefore, to eat safely, I must pay more to prepare food that will not cause an adverse autoimmune response. Offsetting this cost will benefit me critically, having more time to devote to my studies, internship, and research pursuits by not having to worry about gluten-free food costs racking up. Additionally, as a graduate student, I am paying out of my savings to afford myself the highly valued education at Towson. This psychology scholarship will help release me from the financial burdens associated with tuition and food bills allowing me to wholeheartedly devote myself to my clinical psychology studies.

As a Division 1 collegiate swimmer and psychology major, mental health has always been a focus of mine. Through my experiences as an athlete, I slowly learned the interplay between the mind and the body. Growing up, I was always an accomplished swimmer, earning accolades since the age of ten. As a competitor, I was able to put my worries and anxiety aside, not having to think, and letting my body take control of every stroke, every race. For most of my swimming career all, I felt was the surge of adrenaline before a race and confidence in myself and my abilities. However, in my sophomore year of college, I understood and felt the impact of mental stress and anxiety on my performance. I did not sleep. I could not turn my brain off. Every little nagging intrusive thought of the "what if’s”. What if I wasn't good enough? What if I didn't win my race? What if I didn't live up to my own goals, but even worse, what if I let my coaches and teammates down? My spiraling doubts ate at me. They were centered around failure and disappointment. Not just in myself, but the disappointment of those closest to me; my team, my chosen family. My racing thoughts interfered with my performance in the pool. I became overwhelmed by the possibility of losing and disappointing my teammates, and more importantly myself. I was a high achiever, always wanting to win, and would not accept anything less than the best from myself. I was the reigning conference champion and couldn’t imagine not living up to the glory of winning again. Leading up to my conference meet in my sophomore year, I experienced what I believed to be my first panic attack. My thoughts were racing, I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed, sitting crying into my goggles, staring at the pool, unable to get in the pool. I was distraught and powerless to my thoughts. My focus on these thoughts brought my nightmare to life; not only did I not win my race. I didn’t earn a medal; I was a failure. My mental health was my demise. I realized that the outcome wasn’t what I wanted, and I had been my own worst enemy; having to fight off my mental demons. I began to realize that I was not taking care of myself and needed to focus on my mental health. I realized to help myself, I needed to learn about psychology and my inner workings. This began my journey in the field of psychology. I decided to take classes in psychology to test the waters, cross off some general education requirements, and learn about mental health to better myself. Little did I know, that this would lead to my passion and future career. These classes provided me an accumulation of an empathetic lens to view the world, and always question the behaviors of others and ask myself, “are they also struggling?” is their behavior a function of something else occurring in their life? I fell in love with my classes, found them exciting, and learned about myself and how to better help others. I enjoyed these classes so much so, that I changed my primary major to psychology. My coursework enhanced my mental fortitude and tolerance of my performance anxiety when it came to swimming. I implemented skills to manage my anxiety, saw a sports psychologist, and build my confidence in myself and my abilities. I was able to rebound, earning two more individual championships throughout the rest of my Division I swimming career. My schooling enhanced my view of the world by knowing how people function and why. It also has allowed me to reflect on my interactions with others, while also encouraging me to lead a life of introspection and challenge myself. From my undergraduate experiences, I have decided to pursue the field of clinical psychology, currently a candidate for a master’s degree at Towson University. I am furthering my pursuit of helping people that may have difficulty with their mental health. My experiences with my mental health have colored the path of how I am best able to help others, through therapy. I can use my skills of empathy and perspective-taking to help others that battle their inner demons. My own experiences have led me to become a child clinical psychologist and look to pursue doctoral training once I have achieved my master’s degree. I am deeply committed to helping others and will use my background in mental health, my own experiences and struggles with mental health, and my genuine nature to be a resource for children with mental health issues. I have accumulated this lens of genuineness and empathy in all facets of my life and will continue to do so in my future educational pursuits and career.