As the great Maya Angelou once said, "You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated." In order to grow in life, one must fail. Throughout my life, I have become familiar with the phrase "fail forward". Failure leads to knowledge and lessons. Over the past year, I have grown in many different ways. The way that I believe I have grown most is by placing my faith over my fear. A huge part of self-growth is knowledge. Having the ability and willingness to educate one's self and actually apply what's learned is key to growth. I have always been told that faith will help one face fear but I never understood the logic behind it. That is, until I educated myself on how to apply that to my life by reading. I have set out a goal to read at least three self-help books per month. This, for me, is a challenge as I have never enjoyed reading. Let me tell you a short story. I have been an athlete all my life and have been known to keep myself fit and in shape. After graduating undergrad and no longer played basketball, I had the opportunity to stop working out and eat what I wanted. I learned quickly that those things did not serve me well. Earlier this year I took a leap of faith and joined an online health and fitness program. I had to take pictures of my body before the 8 week challenge and after the 8 week challenge. I was terrified to say the least. I talked myself out of it a million times over again. I was concerned about how others in the group would perceive my body, even though they were coming along the same journey as me. I knew I would compare myself to the progress of others and believed I would be defeated along the way (this may be a result of my competitiveness). I even told myself that I have proved time and time again that I am not consistent and wouldn't last the entire 8 weeks. To my surprise, one of the trainers in the group said, "Fear is putting faith in the wrong what if." This changed everything for me. This one quote helped me to change my perspective and to eliminate, or sometimes replace, the negative thoughts that I had about myself in my head. I was able to complete the entire 8 weeks of the program. I did not win the grand prize of 10k, but I was able to apply putting faith in the right "what if". So what has changed about me in the past year? Everything! I am confident, I am stronger, I believe that I am capable, I have a new perspective on life. These things changed for me because I placed faith over fear and took the step to getting healthy again, regardless of the fear talking. I have always been one to achieve what I set out to achieve, unless I felt defeated. I would never quit, but I wont give it my all either. What I've learned through my self discovery is that with a little bit of faith, I can do anything I set my mind to. Fear is false evidence appearing real and the more I allow fear to dictate my decisions, the less faith will take over and propel me forward. I continue to grow daily and I continue to have fear creep up in certain situations. Now, I am able to face my fears by applying my faith. Thank you!

We live in a society that idolizes unhealthy food. Often times when we go out to eat with our friends and we choose the healthiest thing on the menu, our friends look at us like aliens. They say things like, "Why are you eating all healthy?" or "You're out to eat with friends, enjoy yourself and get something good to eat." This, for me, can be extremely frustrating. I believe that it is important to have healthy eating habits because it's better for your body. Healthy eating lowers the risk of heart disease and other health problems. Obesity is a prominent issue that face in America but, unfortunately, it has become normalized. From experience, healthy eating can increase energy, contribute to a sound and strong mind, and it can positively improve one's physical appearance. Healthy eating can be challenging for most because we have been eating bad for so long. It takes a committed mind and discipline to change from a bad diet to a healthy diet. However, it is worth the struggle. When I am eating healthy, I notice that I sleep better, I have better moods, I have more energy, I have healthy looking skin and hair, my confidence is very high, I'm able to think clearer, and I just feel better all around. The most positive difference for me is my mental state when eating healthy. I am more positive, able to think more logically and critically, and I am a pleasure to be around. I have enough energy to fill the cups of others around me and offer encouragement to those who need it. I am more willing to meditate and engage in self-care activities. Unhealthy eating has been linked to anxiety and depression, which are both very high mental health diagnosis today. Most people are ignorant to the fact that what we put in our bodies determine how we feel. Healthy eating can also be a challenge because it is said to be much more expensive. With inflation, eating unhealthy is just as expensive so there is no longer much f an excuse. I once heard a quote that stated, "Make time for your health today, or you'll be forced to make time for your illness tomorrow." That quote reminds me to be mindful of what I put in my body daily. Healthy eating should come as natural to one as breathing does. In order to live, breathing is not an option and nor should healthy eating be. I like to think that health is wealth and to achieve wealth one must have a sound mind. Thanks.

Who am I and what brings me here? My name is Erica Warren and I am the baby of 6 children. I was not the poorest growing up but nothing was handed to our family either. I watched my mom work three jobs and my dad two, to provide for us. I am bi-racial, African-American and White. I was always taught that no matter where you come from or what you have, always work as hard as you can to achieve all things possible. Growing up, me and my siblings were always involved in extracurricular activities. I enjoyed playing basketball and softball. In fact, I played softball, basketball, and volleyball in high school. Sports helped to keep my head on straight and stay out of trouble. It gave me the opportunity to surround myself with like minded peers as well. Eventually I went on to play college basketball on a scholarship. Sports has taught me so much about life; accountability, leadership, teamwork, hard work, critical thinking skills, relationship, discipline, health, trust, etc. Because I've learned so much through sports, I plan to make a positive impact on African-American children across the world. So one my ask how sports contributed to my plan to impact the world. I currently work with youth and the justice system. Since beginning my mental health career in 2013, I have learned a lot about resources, or the lack thereof, in the community. My plan is to begin a nonprofit organization that helps African-American court involved youth cope with behavioral and mental health struggles through sports. If more children were able to benefit from lessons learned early on in sports, I believe the world would be a better place. African-American's are very athletic, intelligent, and strong. Our culture makes us who were are but our generational cycles can sometimes make us feel trapped. I want to focus on helping our African-American youth utilize their athletic ability to overcome things that keep us trapped in our generational environment. We are in control and just because it's hard doesn't mean it's impossible. I strive to motivate, educate, and lead our African-American youth to a better future through sports. We as African-American's often have a stigma for hiding our mental health struggles. This ultimately leads to deeper struggles. I choose to get a graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling because I want African-American youth to know that it's okay to struggle. Addressing and facing that struggle is what helps to overcome it, not suppressing it. In order to make a change in our culture, it must start with a leader in our culture and I hope to be that for these youth. Thanks.

What does living a life of my dreams look like for me? Living the life of my dreams simply looks like helping minority youth cope with mental health issues, having my own mental health practice, and advocating for African-American youth to have equal opportunities in society. I do not wish to work for someone else in my future. Instead, I would love to model for African-American youth what it's like to own your own business. I desire to help these youth see that we do not have to be owned but instead we can own things. I want to introduce youth to financial literacy. My dream would be to see thousands of African- American youth that I work with, become successful and reflect knowledge learned form spending time with me as their leader. Living a free, dedicated, and happy life will reflect in the youth that I work with. In today's world, youth are exposed to high crime, violence, and hatred. My dream includes reminding youth of what's important, exploring success, and creating generational wealth for our culture. Most of all, instead of hating your neighbor, love your neighbor and life can be different for them. Personally, with the life I plan to create for myself, my dream would be to take care of my mom and dad until they pass. I never want to place them in a home leaving their healthcare up to people who work for a paycheck. I want to travel the world with those who are near and dear to my heart. I want to show my future children that they can create their life and not conform to the life society can create for them. Ideally, traveling out of the country 6 times a year is a dream of mine. I would love to visit as many countries as I possibly can and take the ones that I love with me. Through technology and being my own boss, I will be able to work as I travel the world. I will be able to record my experiences and share those experiences for motivation for the youth that I work with as well as for those I love. Finally, living my dream life consists of having the ability to give back to charities and causes that are important to me. I want to be able to build houses and help low income families break the cycle of poverty. African-Americans are talented, feared, and intelligent and it is my dream to highlight this. My dream life is full of giving, love, motivation, belief, and advocacy. Most of all, my dream life is centered around freedom and opportunity for myself and others. Thanks for the opportunity to share my dream.