I entered a therapeutic boarding school during a very challenging period of my life when I struggled with the loss of executive functioning and feeling unable to manage my thoughts. I was navigating my persistent mental patterns on my own, felt invisible to the staff and my attempts at reaching out were neglected. My negative experience at my therapeutic boarding school spurred me to create a long term goal: helping those like me. Once I moved home, I slowly gained more knowledge about myself and became more aware of my persistent thoughts and nervous habits. I began to try to dig deeper on what was causing my fast-paced thoughts. After much analysis over a period of many months, I learned that my problems ranged from my desire to have control of everything including my academic performance, what happened in social situations, and what I did in a day. Every time a situation or something that I had planned didn’t go exactly as I pictured, or something interrupted my thought loop, I would have repetitive thoughts that blamed the person or thing for disrupting my routine or regulation that I had in a situation. This attempt to control was hindering me from being able to live a full life and caused a lot of the persistent thoughts I was having. I was recently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and I was able to link what I was experiencing to this. I learned to identify that I was seeking to control things and labeling my thoughts allowed me to step back and observe the ebb and flow of them as they passed. I balanced my academic workload with hanging out with my friends in our “Friday Fun Club” at school, and participating in activities like embroidery to calm my mind. I felt I was getting better. I had a bit of pity looking back on old times, where I struggled without understanding why. I would give anything to try to help myself from a few months before. If I could change my mindset, I know I have the capacity to help others in my position. That is when I identified my long term goal: I was going to make my own therapeutic boarding school. I know I have a long way to go in this process, but the first step is to gain some experience in the practice of psychology and some additional knowledge. I started volunteering at Brain Balance, where I learned a lot about brain connectivity and research-backed curriculums that can make life-changing impacts on social and emotional well being. However, I did find that there was a need for more individualized support and for compassion based language when approaching the clients. I strive to make this a core factor in the care of those I serve in the future. I plan to go to college to gain the educational tools to be able to make this impact a reality. I also would like to continue my work as a volunteer at Brain Balance to gain some additional knowledge from those who are current practitioners in the field. I want to make a therapeutic boarding school for people with experiences like my own as I have discovered that my purpose is to change lives, and I will do whatever I can to make that possible.

As I have listened closely to Olivia Rodrgio’s music, I have felt amazed by the vulnerability Olivia exhibits through her pieces. These beautiful masterpieces allow the audience to connect with her lyrics and feel seen. The lyrics that most resonated with me are, “And I make light of the darkness I've got sun in my motherfucking pocket, best believe”. I have held positivity close to my heart from a young age and the importance of making the best of any situation. When I entered my therapeutic boarding school, I prided myself in viewing this as an opportunity to grow and develop in ways that not everyone has access to. I made sure to attend all of our outings and help support my peers. As a mentor for one of my teammates, Mo, I made sure she felt welcome and supported the moment she came to the facility. Knowing how hard it can feel to be new, I introduced her to other teammates and was always there for her to go to when she needed help on therapy assignments or just someone to talk to. Once, when I was called a mean name she told me I should have said something mean back. Understanding where she was coming from, I told her that there is always something positive to look at in any mean name you are called. I saw this as a teaching moment for her and want to share a technique that was so meaningful to me. I believe she was able to take this information in and I started to see her being less reactive with others and more understanding. Since then, I have realized that positivity is something that I can share and use to make an impact on others. During my volunteering at Brain Balance, a center that helps people of all ages through social-emotional challenges, I was able to use positive and compassionate language to uplift one of my clients. Seeing the same effect this had on him, I knew what I wanted my long term goal to be: to encourage positivity in those I serve. I believe Olivia’s message of positivity that she communicates through this song lyric is an inspiring one, and one that should be shared with teenagers all around the world. I want to share Olivia’s music as well as the messages presented by her. The vulnerabilities in her music is something I want others to learn from.. I want to carry her message forward as we teach the new generations valuable lessons of positivity and work towards building more resilient adults.

Since a young age, I knew I wanted to help others. Whether it be studying for an anatomy test or working hard to compete in science field day, I wanted to acquire as much knowledge as I could to make a difference in the lives of others. In my teens, I entered a therapeutic boarding school and this spurred me to realize that I wanted to change lives in the mental health industry. I entered this program due to challenges with accepting change and needing to control everything. I believe the care I received in these programs had some problems. I was overlooked at times and I wished I was approached with more compassion. A year later, I began volunteering at Brain Balance, where I first started to help others who struggled like I did. During my training, I learned how the exercises in the curriculum positively influenced the brain. Due to my past experiences, I particularly noticed a gap in treatment for one client, William, who seemed especially similar to me. From my history, I know that positivity and compassion are crucial traits in those who support us. I worked with William and encouraged him along the way, using what I knew about the basics of human psychology. I saw the change in William: in no time, he smiled and seemed more engaged in the exercises. Ever since I saw the positive impact of my actions on William, I became determined to help others who struggled as I did. All during my high school career, I wrote more than 150 cards to seniors struggling with behavioral health, provided hope to those struggling with memory loss, pitched unique solutions to benefit the mental well-being of children in the CHOC Children’s Hospital and planned a mental health fair at a high school in order work towards creating a brighter future for the next generation. Throughout these experiences, I hope to gain knowledge about psychology and start making my impact early, paving my way toward my future goals. I want to create my own therapeutic boarding school program. It would be geared to focus on the psychological impact of patience, empathy, and grace I have seen has made a huge difference both for myself and those I worked with. In the program, I would like a majority of my client's time to be with therapists and those best qualified to support them through their time away from home. I hope to acquire an extensive education to broaden my perspective on what impacts mental health. I want to research the impact and effectiveness of various treatment methods, so I can not only provide helpful input from my past experiences but also incorporate research-backed methods to benefit those who seem to fall through the cracks of the established system. Ever since I was a child, helping others has been a guiding principle in my life. I look towards what steps I can take towards making this goal a reality and I hope to improve lives with each move I make.