For the past six years of my life, I have watched nearly all of my friends struggle with mental illness and self-acceptance, some unable to receive help either due to financial reasons or parental intervention. This experience has molded the person I am today, leading me to major in clinical psychology and cementing my future goals. The change I wish to see in the world is accessible mental health care, especially for disadvantaged communities, and widespread mental health awareness; I will do my best to enact it. As it stands, there are rampant misconceptions about receiving mental health care. Some believe that only "crazy" people go to therapy, while others mistakenly conflate psychology and psychiatry. I believe one of the most important actions that must be taken is heavily increasing the amount of education that is given on mental health, while also taking measures to counteract disinformation. Of my friends who struggle with mental illness, several have been denied therapy by their parents due to outdated views of therapy that paint it as a negative. Watching them continue to struggle when there are steps that could be taken has been both infuriating and heartbreaking, and it is a strong motivator for my actions and goals. Alternatively, some of my friends have lacked access to therapy and diagnoses as a result of their financial status. This is unacceptable, especially considering the intersection of mental illness and poverty. Queer people, BIPOC, and disabled people are all statistically more likely to be homeless or low-income, and queer people and homeless people have higher rates of mental illness and substance abuse. Making mental health care, or any healthcare, unaffordable is inherently discriminatory and harmful to already disadvantaged communities. To combat this, I believe the solution lies primarily in universal healthcare, but on a personal level in income-based pricing, free-of-charge outreach, and debt-free payment plans. Therapy can also be difficult to access for neurodivergent people as a result of more personalized individual preferences, environmental triggers, and outdated views in the field. I believe all therapy should be tailored to the client and what makes them most comfortable, and I would like to see wider spread implementation of that idea as well as a stronger effort within the psychology community to understand autism and how to interact with autistic people without infantilizing, triggering, or otherwise disrespecting them. Overall, I hope to see a general shift in the mental health field towards accessibility, awareness, and multiculturalism because I have watched the current system fail those close to me. This goal is what drives me in the pursuit of my degree, and I plan to spend my life working towards it.