My name is Essence Traylor. I am 26 years old, and I'm from Los Angeles, California. I graduated high school in 2013 and had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. I had multiple people give me tips and ideas on what I should be, but hearing everyone's opinion did nothing but stress me out. I knew I loved babysitting my younger family members, and thought a career in childcare would be perfect for me. I began majoring in Child Development and finally felt like I discovered my calling. Unfortunately, I have an inflammatory illness that caused me to drop out of college and have everything in my life take a backseat to it. I had multiple surgeries on my arms, spent time and money in and out of the hospital, and had to find other ways to cope with the cards life had dealt me. After healing from my final surgery, I was able to control my illness better than before. I started working in the customer service field. Although I loved the jobs I had, I still heard the calling of childcare. I didn't enroll back in school right away, but I did get a job working as a Special Education Assistant, in an elementary school. Upon landing my job, I knew I wanted to continue working with children, but in a bigger capacity. I decided on becoming a Registered Nurse, and plan on using that degree to work with children that have mental and physical disabilities. I've seen so much since becoming a Special Education Assistant and know I can make an even bigger impact with more education, training, and a larger platform. Eventually, I want to get an Occupational Therapy Doctorate. I've worked side by side with some Occupational Therapists and I love the work they do with children. To see the many students I've worked with heal and learn how to cope with their ailments is a wonderful sight. I want to be a part of their growth. A book that I've read that made me interested in the medical field was, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Although her story is not about disabled children, her story is about her battle with cancer. Her book tells the story of her losing her life and how unprotected she was. Her body and cells were used for different medical experiments without permission from her family or herself. Her cells impacted the way modern medicine works today. This story made me want to work in the medical field and advocate for people that can not advocate for themselves.

Friendship to me means inside jokes, lots of laughter, and balancing out serious conversations with discussing each other's celebrity crushes. Friendship is about being loyal, dependable, trustworthy, and being a wonderful person. I met my best friends in middle school. One of them was my first friend at a new school when I knew no one. My other friend and I bonded over having the highest test score in our English class. When I met them, I didn't realize we'd still be best friends 15 years later. I met another good friend of mine six years ago. We worked at the airport with one another, cleaning airplanes. We bonded over having a shared zodiac sign, Taurus, and the fact that we lived 8 minutes away from one another. Years later, she's like a sister to me. I can't imagine life without those three girls. I love them and we've become family over the years. We no longer live in the same state as one another, but we talk every day, FaceTime multiple times a week, and refuse to lose touch with one another. Different time zones can't stop our friendship. We're only a plane ride away.

Self-care is something I had to learn how to do. I work in the education field with special needs children and it can be pretty taxing on the mind and body. In order to have balance in my life, I had to start prioritizing my needs, along with the requirements for my job and school. Every morning, I wake up bright and early and do a 10-minute morning yoga routine on Youtube. It is the perfect way to start my day. I usually wake up feeling pretty sore and tight from the day before, so a 10-minute yoga routine allows me to stretch and wake up my muscles. I follow the routine by drinking a cup of green tea with lemon. It gives me the right amount of energy to start my day. Besides morning yoga and some hot tea, I like to go walking around my neighborhood in the evening. I get home from work around 3:30pm, rest a little, prepare for my 4:30pm medical terminology class, and as soon as that is over, I'm putting on my walking shoes. I walk around my neighborhood for about 45 minutes. I take in the semi-fresh air, listen to some music, and enjoy my evening. The way I practice self-care on the weekends is by spending time with my family. Every Saturday, my family and I gather around my grandparents house. We laugh, watch TV, cook, and spend the day together. That is probably my favorite way to practice self-care; by spending time with people that bring me joy.

One thing I do to improve the lives of the elderly people in my community, is by working as a caregiver. As a caregiver, I help with the daily tasks the elderly population may have a difficult time completing on their own. I help make simple meals, tidy up their homes, and keep them company whenever they need. Recently, I spent the day with an elderly woman, and all we did was talk about her family and watch "Let's Make A Deal" together. It felt great to keep her company and learn more about her life. Besides working as a part-time caregiver, I also help take care of my grandmother. She has Dementia, and like I spend time with and take care of my clients, I do the same with her. She may not have the ability to remember my name at times, but that doesn't stop us from laughing at old movies and going on drives around the neighborhood together. I'll always cherish this time with my grandmother, and I know how much it means to her that she has someone to talk to, laugh, and spend time with.