When asked to pick a woman in my life that has influenced and helped me to become the person I am today, the first person to come to mind would be my older cousin Courtney. Growing up we were never close as she is 13 years older than me, and for a while, I didn't like her. However, as I’ve grown up she has become someone who has always made me feel heard and validated in my young adult life. Courtney came home from college when I was a freshman in high school, I would ask her for advice from how to deal with the school stress to being in a fight with my friends. She would never brush off my feelings and taught me to express how I felt because “close mouths don't get fed” as she would say. I knew I could go to her for help and I did; she helped me seek help for mental health issues that my mom would brush off as teenage hormones. When she moved out I felt as though I lost my mentor and I expressed that I missed her. She told me that I was always welcome to her home whenever I needed her for anything. Today she is one of my biggest supporters and has guided me through the college and scholarship processes, she has always wanted me to fulfill my potential, I couldn’t have asked for a better cousin.