Life can always seem easy as a child. We look up to becoming adults, having a car, and even having a family someday. However, as we all know, life takes us through twists and turns that can be hard to overcome. Developing skills for resilience and endurance is vital to pushing forward and helping others. During my childhood, I grew up as the only child in a single-parent, low-income household with my mom. I watched my mom work multiple jobs, lose jobs, and still manage to care for me with all her might. Around middle school, my mom and I got evicted from our apartment, and since then, it seemed I never had a stable place to live with my mom again. During the transition from junior high to high school, I experienced trauma that led to furtively rebellious behavior in high school. I always knew these things weren't creating the person I wanted to be. So in overcoming myself, I began to develop healthy coping mechanisms and heal from the past to engage in the future despite life's curveballs. First, developing my relationship with God through Christ allowed me to decompress and have guidance on when and how I should act in the situations I had (and have) trouble with. Also, starting to journal allowed me to analyze my situation and put my emotions into perspective to handle them better. Also, embodying selflessness rather than selfishness contributed to making every effort to live peacefully with others and contentment within my circumstances. Also, learning how to compartmentalize was a critical factor in knowing that self-control and emotional regulation are essential skills to master when facing adversity. I desire to delegate these skills to others in my community. Being a part of the upcoming generation, Gen Z, I have witnessed issues of teen pregnancy, gun violence, delinquency, and drug use become present among my friends and family. These issues can lead to unstable or unfortunate environments for children and adolescents, which even can be overlooked by the parent at times. So, taking a step back and considering why the child, teen, or parent partake in these issues is essential for tackling the cause of generational trauma. Thence, giving opportunities to know the right thing to do and guidance on implementing life skills can be done through positive role models and encouragement. So, to help the future community, there needs to be a different route of partnering with others who desire to impact children and teens from broken homes to love, teach, serve, and administer the correct life skills that will help them through life's adversities. These skills include self-discipline, stress/ emotional regulation, patience, and creative and healthy coping mechanisms. Since we cannot go into the houses of each person, we can meet them where they are (i.e., schools for children and recreation centers for teens) and bring the light that shows genuine love. Getting these skills into children and these same children back into the community to share these skills can cause an impact on the community to decrease violence and overall improve the world. As I recognize that unhealthy practices tend to get around quicker than healthy ones, continuing in prayer to God that He stirs the hearts and impacts the mind of the children and teens beyond what I can do to overcome any internal or external tribulation they may undergo, positively.

Education is one of the most important aspects of life. It provides many opportunities for people to grow and learn beyond academics. From assisting and advancing cognitive development in preschoolers to teaching graduate students how to balance ‘life’ in adulthood, the educational experience is unique to everyone. The beauty of education is that we can never “know enough,” leaving opportunities to be a student or a teacher at any given moment. My passion for education lies in: “The more you know, the more you grow, and at any age, at any time, and any stage of life, there is an opportunity to understand and apply what you know more. My education experience taught me many things that I have carried throughout life. Growing up, I moved around my town many times, leading to the transfer and attendance at many elementary schools. But finally, during high school, I settled at T2 Honors Academy. This school was like any other I have ever attended. It was more hands-on, socially equal, and academically challenging, which I loved to engage in. Our founder and principal, Dr. India Ford, implemented and enforced these favorable circumstances. During my four years there, the number one thing Dr. Ford taught was discipline and resilience. In positioning a mindset of never giving up, she continued to challenge me, building perseverance and preventing procrastination. Dr. Ford often increased the pressure on my classmates and me, keeping me faithful to completing my schoolwork effectively. In these times, she exemplified compartmentalization which taught me not to bring my feelings into the settings where I need to be focused, strong, and determined. This concept helped tremendously throughout college, bringing peace and a practice of not giving into unhealthy coping mechanisms nor ignoring the status of my emotions but a reminder to decompress my headspace and depend on God. Not only did Dr. Ford take time to equip us in school, but she also took time to implement the truth and nature of being a young lady. From cautioning me about boys and keeping it real about the teenage world, she taught me how important it was to keep the essence of my God-given purity. Her strong-minded yet approachable personality taught me how to maintain integrity in my character and never drift away from my Jesus, who is my eternal source. On my last night with her, at prom, she left me with the words, “Don’t let me down Da’Hani.” and hugged me and then sent me off into the world, both prepared academically for college and emerging adulthood. Since then, those words have stuck with me and reminded me of the life-teaching, discipline-filled, spiritually guiding, and scholastically challenging moments she and I had together. When I look back on these moments, I am encouraged to continue doing the things that seem impossible. By learning these things from Dr. Ford, I need not let these skills go to waste but pass them on to others. Navigating students courageously onto the same life path will enable them to know more, thus accomplishing more. I can create interpersonal bonds by becoming relational and accepting, encouraging an education that confidently impacts a student’s livelihood. Also, consistently reminding them of their worth and value in creative ways can open the door to believing in themselves. Even aiming to portray a spirit of humility and humbleness will teach them that life is more about selflessness than selfishness. The future is theirs, and I strive to be a part of raising an educated generation that is fully prepared and fulfilled, just as Dr. Ford was a part of for me.

College can be a challenging time for students. It is a season with many hurdles, hardships, and adaptations. College is often a time of learning from mistakes and exploring who we are and want to be. Although it can be challenging, handling and reacting to said challenges with resilience is the key to overcoming them. During high school, I excelled in schoolwork and enjoyed getting good grades, but I always needed help with procrastination and setting reasonable goals. I wanted to prioritize growth in those two areas during college. When I started my first semester of college at Liberty University, I initially enrolled as a full-time nursing student. From the start, I recognized nursing as one of the most challenging programs to keep up with. There was always minimal time to hang out with friends, an overload of material to study, and the classes were fast-paced. I struggled to find my flow for the first few months and sometimes became frustrated. During that time, the pressure to get my schoolwork done on time left me up at night and wondering how to overcome the stress of entering college. So, I engaged in one-on-one and group tutoring for specific classes and often met with academic advisors for guidance to maintain my grades and turn my work in on time. After doing well in high school, I assumed I would do well in college. But when I calculated my grades at the end of the semester and received multiple C’s, I found out that was not the case. So, going into the next semester, I was determined to get better grades, but little did I know that God would lead me to switch my major. Switching my major had been daunting because I felt I would be erasing everything and re-planning my entire life and career. I often questioned if it was the right decision. I knew I would add an extra semester and more reading and writing to my college journey, challenging me because I favored mathematical and science subjects. Throughout that time, prayer and talking to my spiritual mentor encouraged me to go forth in confidence to prioritize God and my education first. Therefore, I switched my major to Family and Child Development to better assist my love for children. Getting C’s, losing sleep, and the obstacles I encountered the previous semester were all used to motivate me to do well the following semester. I learned so much about myself through the earlier barriers that led to maintaining a successful college experience. Creating a schedule, sticking to it, and making daily lists helped me to excel. I also learned to implement 8 hours of sleep and realized I did not need one bit of coffee to keep me awake during the day. I also learned that my brain is at its most refreshed early in the morning, therefore, being the best time for me to study. It also works because most of my friends sleep in, so fewer distractions exist. Another help was continuing to use my school’s resources to excel academically. As a result, I became more diligent in reading and writing assignments, improved my networking and personal skills, and gained a balanced social life, school studies, and sleep. And lastly, my grades improved by earning 4 A’s and 1 B as my final grades. Through this experience, going into next semester, I will carry most of these habits and continue to improve them.