I believe everything, good or bad, we experience shapes who we are, or are to become, having multiple sclerosis, is no exception. As a person living with an auto-immune disease, some days are harder than others. Harder to walk, to think, to stay awake, to swallow, amongst others. I was diagnosed in 2017, with this debilitating disease. A disease where no two people have the same symptoms and there is no cure. My symptoms include difficulty walking, balance issues, trouble swallowing, chronic pain, and fatigue. Recently, I was told that my multiple sclerosis has progressed to progressive MS which means it's only a matter of time before I can no longer walk. With that said, this disease also made me realize exactly how fragile life is. I realized that there were so many things I want to do, places I want to go, and people I want to meet, starting with, my dream of becoming a teacher. The biggest way I feel living with auto-immune disease helped shape me into who I am today is it gave me the tenacity to go after what I want out of life. The way I turned my struggles, and let's face it I have quite a few of them, into strengths is by always trying to keep a positive attitude. There is always someone who is worse off than you. A positive attitude can help keep depression at bay. Many people who suffer from auto-immune diseases have depression. I try to keep a sense of humor because let's face it, as many people living with MS know, we are not always the most graceful people, we fall... a lot. As hard as it may be, I try to embrace my pain. I remind myself that pain is part of the process. I challenge myself by learning different yoga poses and breathing techniques to help me control the pain in a way that helps me get through my day. How my experience living as a person living with an auto-immune disease has shaped my life is it made me realize how fragile life is and gave me the tenacity to go after what I want. The way I have kept my struggles into strengths is by having a positive attitude, keeping a sense of humor, and embracing the pain. This disease has taken so much from me, but as much as this disease has and will continue to take from me it will never define who I am. I do that!

When most people don’t see the homeless, or if they do they choose to ignore them, but they are people too. In today’s world, there are many people living on the streets. There is a homeless man in my town, his name is Vincent, How do I know his name? Simple, I asked him. When I see Vincent I buy him a coffee and sometimes a donut, then I sit and talk to him for a few minutes. In the many talks, I have had with Vincent, I found out a lot about him, including when his birthday is. On his birthday, I went to the local Wawa where I usually see him, I made sure I brought a candle with me I purchased a coffee and a cupcake, putting the candle in the cupcake and lighting it I sang him “Happy birthday,” with tears in his eyes he thanked me. The quality I value most about myself is my kindness. Kindness is such an important quality, it gives me a sense of accomplishment, knowing that I made someone’s day. The definition of kindness according to Psychology Today is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Basically, It means to care about someone and make their lives better. My husband and I are currently fostering my niece. I am trying my hardest to show her how much she is loved, but she has so much trauma, she thinks she doesn’t deserve to be loved. She started a new school and doesn’t want friends, she was tormented at her prior school. Being Kind will help me in my life journey because the kinder you are to people the kinder those people are to others. I plan on becoming a teacher, I feel the most important characteristic that is needed to be a successful teacher is kindness. Maybe if I shower my niece with more kindness will also help her start to realize that she does deserve to be loved and happy.

The most helpful piece of financial advice I ever received is to set a budget and stick to it. The reason why setting a budget and sticking to it is so important is it allows you to always have enough money available for the things you need. It will also keep you out of debt.

I started my family young, I didn't think I ever would be able to finish my degree. I was 20 years old in a verbal and physically abusive relationship and I was pregnant. He tore me down every day, slowly isolated me from my family and friends. Every time I was getting ready to leave, I found out I was pregnant. Ten years and three children later, I finally had the courage to leave. Then suddenly, I was a single mom, I took an English class a few years before but my husband and I were poor and we had to pay for the class first and now being a single mom there was definitely no way I was going to finish my degree. Being a parent has affected my journey to higher education by putting my journey on hold until my family was raised. In 2017, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, which made me rethink my life, I realized I can not take my life for granted, and now that I am remarried to an amazingly supportive man, I am able to finally pursue my dream of getting my B. Ed with a minor in deaf studies or maybe even an M.Ed Reading Specialist degree. I will use my higher education to support my family by becoming a teacher of the hearing impaired. Doing this will help my husband and I become financially stable. We will finally be able to buy the house we want, and we will be able to support our children and our foster daughter without living paycheck to paycheck. Since my husband is a teacher we both have the summers off already, but we will be able to take kids sightseeing around the U.S., maybe even rent an RV for the summer.

One practical solution for helping more people who struggle with mental health is to be kind to everyone. If you show kindness to one person that person will be more inclined to show kindness to another person. I believe that if you spread a little kindness, you can change the world. Being kind to one another may not change the past, but it can change the present. We need to realize that no matter how many mistakes we make or have made, we can still change our future by being kind. We can learn a lot from being kind and showing each other kindness. We learn empathy, a sense of belonging, and most importantly, how to be the best versions of ourselves. I also find it interesting that kindness has been proven to increase our happiness, reduce stress and improve well-being. Plus, being kind is free, it doesn’t cost anything. All through my life, I have treated everyone I encounter with kindness. One rule I live by is to treat others the way you want to be treated. Most people want to be treated with kindness. Kindness means different things to different people. But basically, kindness is caring about others and doing things to make their lives better. There is a homeless man in my town, Vincent. How do I know his name? Simple… I asked him. Whenever I see Vincent, I buy him coffee and talk to him for a few minutes. By being kind to Vincent, will that change the world? Probably not. But it will change his world. Since the pandemic, there has been an uprise in violence in the United States. There have been an uptick in road rage, and domestic violence cases. The number of murders hit 20,000 for the first time in 25 years.

My name is Dina Baine, I have worked as an instructional aide for the past twenty-five years I was married to an abuser. I was with him for thirteen years, married for five. We had three wonderful kids, Alexis who is twenty-two, Kylie who is eighteen, John who is fourteen. My children are my whole world. I made a plan to leave, it took two years to finally have everything in order so I could leave. When I found out my ex-husband threw hot coffee on my oldest daughter, then ten. That was it I had it, when he came home from work I had all his bags packed, I told him it was me, I needed time, surprisingly he left. He would come over in the middle of the night and terrorize me and my children. Then I reconnected with a wonderful man, he helped raise my children. We have been through so much together. About two years into our relationship Kylie, then eight told me that a friend of my parents touched her inappropriately. He was there at all the court proceedings. After the birth of my youngest daughter, who I share with my current husband I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. That was when I decided I wanted to go back to school to be a teacher before I can no longer walk.

My goal in life is to become an elementary teacher. My reason behind becoming a teacher is I have worked as an Instructional Aide for the past twenty-five years. Five years ago my life crumbled before me. It was about one year after the birth of my youngest child. My body stopped doing what I wanted it to. I started falling, If I closed my eyes, I would fall over. My knee started buckling when I walked. I started having accidents and I had a c-section, so that definitely should not have been happening. I went to ae a neurologist. The neurologist ran multiple tests, MRI’s and CT scans. They found lesions on my brain; I was told they were from migraines. The more time passed the more things with my body started to go wrong, I had double vision, my eyesight started doing bizarre things, when I look at a white wall I see grays, blues, pinks, and yellows. I was told it was a visual migraine. My legs started to go numb and I had trouble walking. I was in constant pain all the time. The worst part for me was incontinence, I had a c-section, I could not understand why I was having accidents. Even though I had lesions on my brain, the doctor ruled out Multiple Sclerosis. She could not figure out what was wrong with me, after a year of seeing her monthly, right after I had my MRI redone. She sent me to a rheumatologist to have me tested for Lupus. However, I had all my scans sent to the rheumatologist. She looked at the scans and asked me when my next appointment with my neurologist was. I told her I didn’t have one, as she handed me the scans, she said that she suggested I make one. When I got to my car, I looked at the scans, there in black and white, it said I had lesions on my brain consistent with Multiple Sclerosis. I called my Primary Care Physician immediately, he referred me to a new neurologist, Dr. McCarrin My first appointment with Dr. McCarrin went well, he explained that he was going to run a bunch of tests. He did more MRIs of not only my brain but of my spine too, I saw a psycho-neurologist and had a lumbar puncture. What my original neurologist couldn’t diagnose in over a year, within four months, I had an answer. When we were called into Dr. McCarrin’s office, I was unsure of what he was going to be able to find. Ever since I was in my twenties, I have been in constant pain. After I left his office my life changed forever, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I was diagnosed with a degenerative disease that has no cure. I was mad at everyone. It took a few weeks before I realized life is short, but this wasn't a death sentence. I decided I wanted to pursue my dreams. I wanted to be a teacher. I love my job, I love working with the students. I want to positively impact the next generation of students. If we start teaching students at a young age about diversity and acceptance of all people then the future leaders of tomorrow will grow up learning not to hate, making our world a better place.

I learned at a young age not to hate. When I was about 8, I went to my grandparent's house after school. I was very angry with my teacher. I told my grandpop that I hated her. My grandpop looked at me and said, Dina, hate is such a strong word, you should never hate anyone. You can dislike them but never hate them. What my grandfather said has stuck with me through the years. I do my best not to hate. I try to be kind to everyone I meet. There is a homeless man in my area, his name is Vincent when I see him I buy him a coffee. Sometimes it is hard not to hate, and trust me I have been tested. We are currently fostering my niece. My sister and her husband are on drugs with no intention of getting help. The things that I am finding out that happened to her are really making it hard to not hate my sister. I love my niece, I want what's best for her. What I really am having trouble with is understanding how they can decide not to get help if it means not getting their child back. My sister is my sister, no matter what, but my heart breaks for my niece.

If I were a highly influential figure, there are two main things I would stand for. The first would be to fight for what's right. I would make sure all schools offer equal education to their students, making sure all students no matter their economic status or the color of their skin are offered the same opportunities. I would try to stop the hatred in the world, after all, we are all people. The other thing I would stand for is making sure homeless people are taken care of. There are so many programs out there to help. I would offer training to help them get jobs so they can support themselves and their families. I would make sure they all had a place to sleep and to call home. A lot of the homeless population are veterans. Veterans fought for our country, they should have a place to call home for the rest of their lives.

My name is Dina Baine, I am a student at Eastern Gateway Community College with a cumulative GPA of 3.96. I am a member of Phi Theta Kappa. I am currently working as an Instructional Aide at Colonial School District in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and have been for the past twenty-five years. The reason I chose to go into education is there have been so many teachers throughout my life who have positively impacted me as a person. I would like to show these teachers what they have done for me, by becoming a teacher who can carry out the same traditions and positively impact the lives of my students. I feel as though being a teacher holds a lot of responsibility, by allowing me to help shape the minds of the next generation of children. Teaching has always been a dream of mine, I only regret it has taken me this long to fulfill my dreams. Twenty years ago, I started classes and I stopped to raise my family. After the birth of my last child, my neurologist diagnosed me with Multiple Sclerosis. I always thought I had time to complete my degree, after I was told I had M.S., my life crumbled before me. I was mad at the world. After I came to terms with my diagnosis, I realized that life is short, and I need to take every opportunity I can to better myself. I plan to utilize my education in the future as a teacher. I want to become a fourth-grade teacher. There is so much hate in the world, I believe if we teach kids at a young age to be tolerant of all disabilities, races, religions, and how others identify, maybe we can stop the hatred early. I would start by explaining everyone is different, but we all bleed red. Education is important to me because I love to learn, I find it interesting to learn about diverse cultures and religions. Education helps children learn to be better people. It instills morals and values in children. Education offers better opportunities and better-paying jobs. Fulfilling my dream will allow me to help mold the future leaders of tomorrow.

I persevere every day, after the birth of my youngest daughter, Sophia, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis is a degenerative disease, where my immune system attacks the protective covering of my nerves. The birth of Sophia was anything but ordinary, I suffered from preeclampsia, needed an emergency C- section, and I was septic. The day after we got home with Sophia, I was back in the hospital with a migraine and high blood pressure. Lesions were found on my brain; I was told they were from migraines. My doctor ruled out Multiple Sclerosis, despite my MRI. She sent me to a rheumatologist to have me tested for Lupus. However, since the rheumatologist had access to all my scans, at my first appointment she handed me the scans, she told me to make an appointment with my neurologist. I sat in my car, looking at the scans, I had lesions on my brain consistent with Multiple Sclerosis. I called my Primary Care Physician immediately, he referred me to a new neurologist, Dr. McCarrin. Dr. McCarrin , ran a bunch of tests. He did MRI’s of not only my brain, but of my spine too. I wanted answers but I wasn't prepared for what he told me. I had Multiple Sclerosis. Being diagnosed with M.S. has been a constant struggle, but I haven’t given up. In fact, it's the reason I decided to go back to school. I realized life is too short, I need to follow my dreams. There are a lot of things I want to accomplish before I can’t walk. I want to travel, I want to take my children to Walt Disney World, I will not give up until I fulfill my dreams, becoming a teacher will be the first step.

Dina Baine Future Female Educators 01/07/2022 Why I Chose Education My name is Dina Baine. I am a student at Eastern Gateway Community College with a cumulative GPA of 3.96. I am a member of Phi Theta Kappa. I am currently working as an Instructional Aide at Colonial School District in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and have been for the past twenty-five years. The reason I chose to go into education is there have been so many teachers throughout my life who have positively impacted me as a person. I would like to show these teachers what they have done for me, by becoming a teacher who will carry out the same traditions and positively impact the lives of my students. I feel as though being a teacher holds a lot of responsibility, by allowing me to help shape the minds of the next generation of children. Teaching has always been a dream of mine; I only regret it has taken me this long to fulfill my dreams. Twenty years ago, I started classes and I took a break so I could raise my family. After the birth of my last child, my neurologist diagnosed me with Multiple Sclerosis. I always thought I had time to complete my degree, after I was told I had M.S., my life crumbled before me. I was mad at the world. After I came to terms with my diagnosis, I realized that life is short, and I need to take every opportunity I can to better myself. Even though I sometimes wonder if I will ever be able to become a teacher. How many teachers do you know that are hired in wheelchairs? Furthermore, I plan to utilize my education in the future as a teacher. I want to become an elementary teacher. There is so much hate in the world, I believe if we teach kids at an early age to be tolerant of all disabilities, races, religions, and how others identify, maybe we can stop the hatred early. I would start by explaining everyone is different, but we all bleed red. Education is important to me because I love to learn, I find it interesting to learn about different cultures and religions. Education helps children learn to be better people. It instills morals and values in children. Education offers better opportunities and better-paying jobs. Fulfilling my dream will allow me to help mold the future leaders of tomorrow.