Selfcare is not selfish. You should always be your priority. The world can wait, but your body cannot. You can't help people if your body doesn't work. Make sure to eat right and do exercise. It doesn't have to be an entire gym routine, but going on a run or walk would help you a lot. If you're not okay, the people in your life would catch onto this and would have more to be worried about. There's also nothing wrong with telling someone no if you know it would affect you negatively. If the people who are asking for help care about you, they would understand that it's something you can't do.No matter what circumstance you're in, you come first because you don't know if someone is putting you first. They might all be putting themselves first, which isn't a bad thing. A favor for someone else shouldn't come with sacrificing a bit of you.

As someone with atychiphobia (a severe fear of failure), I was always forcing myself to succeed. I couldn't stand the thought of me failing. During school, I was always making sure I had high grades that could push me to the next level. It worked, and I was put into honors classes and now an AP class. But the mental toll it has taken on me was something I couldn't handle anymore. I couldn't keep up with my grades because the work was getting harder and harder, and the expectations I had set out were too high for me to achieve. In my junior year, the stress finally got to me, and I broke. I broke down crying when looking at my test grades because they weren't a score I was proud of. I was getting all of my work done, but some of the answers weren't right anymore. I had so many assignments that I had to do, and it got to a point where I was turning in some late. I had never done that before, and I hated it. It felt like I wasn't trying my hardest when I was and that I was only disappointing people. The feelings I was bottling up were overwhelming, and I couldn't take it anymore. After realizing the amount of pain I was putting myself through just for the approval of others, I decided that I needed a break. Spring break was right around the corner, so I did my best to keep up with my work until then. During spring break, I refused to do any work and focused on myself. I spent more time watching shows that I put off for months, I painted, sewed, and took care of my body more. I had neglected my physical health for so long that it forced me to take care of it. I slept in more and ate better food. I spent more time with my family and spoke with my friends more. It didn’t accrue to me how much I was missing out because of how focused I was on my work. Coming back to school after Spring break ended didn’t feel as exhausting as it normally did. I was more social and more energetic. I felt more motivated to do my work and did it so much quicker. Taking care of myself for just a week changed how I felt so drastically. After noticing the difference, I kept up with the changes and my life has greatly improved. I do slip back into my old habit occasionally, but I try my best to break out of it as quickly as possible. My mental and physical health is very important to me now, and now I know better than to neglect it.

My dog Milo is very energetic. He's small so we can run around the house with no problems. Growing up I didn't have anyone to play with, so getting our dog from a young age helped me become more social because I was getting used to playing more. His energy also forced me to be more energetic since I needed to keep up with what he wanted. I'm less tired around the house because of him. I love my little furball and his naked butt. Having a pet of any kind is like a friend you don't need to talk to. You just need to spend time together, which is what some people need. Having a pet is proof that communication isn't the only important part of any kind of relationship. He also taught me responsibility since he's a lot to take care of. He has a skin condition that we've been trying to take care of and his fur is slowly growing back. We have to constantly make sure he isn't scratching or biting his butt and elbows. It's taking a long time since we aren't home at the same time, so he has a lot of time to bite himself. Constantly checking in on him takes a lot of energy, but it's worth it because he's my dog.

My dog Milo is very energetic. He's small so we can run around the house with no problems. Growing up I didn't have anyone to play with, so getting our dog from a young age helped me become more social because I was getting used to playing more. His energy also forced me to be more energetic since I needed to keep up with what he wanted. I'm less tired around the house because of him. I love my little furball and his naked butt. Having a pet of any kind is like a friend you don't need to talk to. You just need to spend time together, which is what some people need. Having a pet is proof that communication isn't the only important part of any kind of relationship.

The first thing I do is see if they are up to talking. Sometimes we aren't ready to talk and people push us to speak, which we would find annoying. If they are, I'll let them take their time and only speak if they are stuck on a word or expect a response from me. I don't want them to shut down because I'm interrupting too much. If they want advice I will give it to them, but only if it's clear that they want advice. Some people just want an ear to listen. I won't change the subject because they might have more that they want to say but they need some more time to get there. To me, listening means that you don't push for an answer, and you let them take their time to speak. Taking in all of their words and taking their side into perspective is important. You may feel differently than them about the situation, but you shouldn't invalidate their feelings.

A way that I make sure that the people in my life are okay is routinely checking in on them and getting them small gifts that remind me of them. I know that not everyone is willing to talk at random so I make sure that they know that I think about them by getting them a small gift. It could be a plushie that I thought they would like, any pastries that I made and wanted to share, or something that they mentioned wanting. If I don't know what to get them I'll focus on talking to them and making sure they feel heard. I know what it feels like for people to check in on you but do not care what you're saying, so I want to prevent them from feeling that way. I want to be there for my friends as best as I can because I didn't have anyone there for me.

Growing up my family constantly made fun of how skinny I was. My grandmother would call me a skeleton whenever she could and my aunt and uncle would always tell me to eat more in a condescending tone. No matter how much I ate I couldn't gain weight. I was a child, so I had a fast metabolism. None of my efforts were working, so I had just stopped eating. I lost more weight because of it but it didn't change anything. They still poked fun at me no matter what. There was no concern for my health. I grew up barely eating anything and remained a small person. I'm still small to this day. I developed anorexia nervosa and it destroyed my mental health. I went through two years of isolating myself from friends and family, and no one noticed. Because of that I never broke out of my habits. I still haven't. During school, I had teachers who would compare themselves to me and tell me how they wanted my body type. They had no idea what kind of impact that had on me. At home, I had people telling me I needed to gain weight, and at school, people were telling me I should stay the same weight. No matter where I went I felt like people were dictating my weight. I never had the chance to take the time to help myself and get better. I'm going to college this summer, so separating myself from the family members that hurt me should help me stay on the path to getting better. They have free counseling and pet therapy on campus so I can get help from professionals. I plan on getting the all-access meal plan so I can start eating more and get to the weight I'm supposed to be. It's going to take a while, and it's going to cost a lot meal plan wise but it will be worth it. I'm hoping that the people I meet there will help and support me through my healing process. I don't plan on moving back in with my mom, as my grandmother lives there, but I might have to for a short amount of time. Hopefully, by then I will be better and will have the mental strength to stay strong and push through until I can live on my own. I'm determined to get to that point before I graduate college. I may not be able to afford it, but I'll do it anyway.

People don't realize how important the FAFSA and the HESAA are. I didn't know that I had to fill out the HESAA until last month when my brother reminded me. If I didn't send in my information, I wouldn't have gotten the grants that I need to afford college. I wish there were more resources to let people know exactly what they have to do, instead of running in circles praying that they're doing things right. My school counselor was flooded with work from the other students, and finding him to help me with my work was near impossible. We aren't given instructions on what to do after living our whole lives following instructions. Some of the seniors didn't even get the College and Career Planning classes so they had no information to go off. I was one of those students. I did nearly everything myself and it taught me a lot about making sure I have all the correct paperwork needed and that I read everything thoroughly before I submit it. I was so confused about a lot of it, but I managed to power through it and turn everything in on time. If I was never reminded about the HESAA, all my work would have been for nothing, as I could never afford college without the state grants.

My dream life looks like me living in my small house surrounded by trees with my partner and pets. I want to have a garden in the backyard where I grow my food and other types of plants. I want to make sure there are solar panels on my roof so I pay less for electricity. I want to be running my fashion line and work on costumes for plays. In the future, I want to be able to run a public garden where people can come and get whatever fruits and vegetables they need for free. I know how hard eating healthy can be, especially with the cost, so I want to be able to help in some way to make it easier. Contributing to the public has always been important to me. Making sure the local watersheds are protected and taken care of is also important to me. I want to go on weekly walks through the surroundings of the watersheds with friends and pick up any trash I see and recycle it. If it's possible I want to restore things too and gift them to those who need them.

I've taken the time to learn how to better my impact on the world by joining our Environmental Youth Leaders group. They've taught me so much about how important our decisions are. Whenever the weather is nice we go on hikes through the woods and pick up any trash, especially near the water and talk about all the important native plants and the land's history. They've taught us the importance of the watersheds and how to help them. We've just recently finished our lessons on the water cycle and how we can improve it will all the infrastructure getting in the way of it. In the next upcoming weeks, we're preparing to teach children about the area and how important it is to look after it. I plan on explaining to them the importance of native plants, infiltration, runoff, and what watersheds are. Hopefully, by doing so, they will spread the word to their families and friends and their actions will make a difference in how our city reacts to our environment.

My favorite piece of art would be my statue of the goddess Hecate. As the goddess of witchcraft, she has a strong position of power. The statue I have of her shows that. Her hell-hounds looking up at her for guidance demonstrates how she's the one who leads. She can be good or evil. Even after Zeus took control, Hecate retained her power. I view her as an inspiration. I don't want my power to be taken from me, so I won't let them. Hecate proves to me that it's possible. She had shrines erected as a way to ward off evil, so having one of my own give me peace of mind. Hecate can be a protector if treated properly. She can be very caring to those she pities and will help them. I want to be the type of person people can go to when they need help. Having a statue of her in my room gives me the motivation I need to get there.

To me financial freedom means that it's no longer something for me to worry about. It's something that I can help other people not worry about. It means that I can go over to someone and pay off something for them like groceries or this months rent. I want to be able to support people without worrying about myself. I want to be able to look at a local restaurant or store and think "Why not?" and not have to think about my own rent or other expenses. This has been something that I constantly worry about. I don't want to take student loans because I don't know if I'll be able to pay it off. I'm scared of being in debt. I don't want to pay part of it off only to see the number go up again because of interest. I've done everything that I currently can to make sure that I don't have to take any student loans, or at least take very little. I've saved every bit of money that gets given to me from birthdays, holidays, and the stipends that I earn from the programs that I'm apart of. I plan on getting a part-time job later this year so I can save up more money for college. I'm looking at sites that have either cheap textbooks that I'll need or free pdf versions. I've even started my own business (which did cost a bit of money but I think it'll be worth it.) because I know that a part-time job won't provide for me forever and I don't like working in retail or fast-food. I wanted to make sure that I have a safety net for myself so my business acts as that. I even plan on doing small things like hair or nails during college so that I can make some extra money when I have to quit my part-time job. I have thought this through time and time again. Coming up with new strategies or new ideas on how to avoid debt, and it's honestly stressful. I don't want to think like this anymore. I want to be free from the constant worry about money. I want to be able to spend the time that I would take to think about new strategies and spend it on something else, like my business and come up with new ideas for that. That's what financial freedom means to me. It means being free from worry and spending that time on more productive things that will make me happy in the long run.

Hi! This is my 8 year old dog named Milo! He was originally going to be named RJ (short for Reggie Jupiter) but that changed after we got him. He liked the boxed filled with packing peanuts but we unfortunately had to get rid of it as it took up too much space. Milo isn't one to stay still for photos so the best ones are of him asleep.

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