An experience that's have influenced wanting to complete my current career goals was when I tore my ACL. During this time, I was struggling with my mental health barley keeping my head afloat feeling like I was drowning, this continued as the school year progressed getting so bad that I was sent to the hospital for passing out in a practice(basketball).Right, when I felt like I was done with everything track season came up, the outside air brushing against my face, filling my lungs felt like heaven; I felt like I could finally breathe, mentally I was getting better my grades came up, I was running amazing this was the best shape I've been in my whole life, I felt wonderful until in May of that same year I tore My ACL and partially my meniscus at a track meet forcing me to have reconstruction surgery. While in recovery I was motivated until I got towards a block two months in and got very depressed, feeling useless but with the help of family and friends I started to see the brighter side of things. As I sat and moped and thought I decided to try and figure out what I actually wanted to do, for a long time, I wanted to go into the health profession but wasn't sure what field. I thought about cardiology because of my family's high heart disease conditions but after the events that I went through I saw how much orthopedic surgeons change people's lives (athletes or regular civilians). As my senior year went on, I researched and asked those around me about the ways to go about getting my medical license and being able to help those around me. Also, with this time I made a second path for myself just in case my path changed. Still staying in the health profession, I would go into PT school to become an athletic trainer. These events and steps that I took have brought me to how I am now, an undergraduate student at the University of South Carolina Columbia as an exercise science major and a minor in psychology with a concentration in premedical studies. This time of my life has pushed me to see the most negative things in life as a learning experience and allow myself to grow and embrace it, using my own education to help those around me and further.

Since I was little, I loved being able to help others. As I got older and joined the National Beta club and National Honors Society. These organizations allowed me the opportunity to find more events for me to help others, meet new people, and get out in my community. My biggest accomplishment while performing community service is the lesson I have learned. The more community service projects I am involved in, the more I want to give back. Community service has taught me many new things and helped me to mature into a young adult who shows respect for those who are less fortunate and taught me that even though I am one person, I can make a stark difference for someone in need. Along with me being apart of the National Beta Club and National Honors Society giving me opportunities to learn and help those around me my sports helped me too. My basketball team in high school would have a few times every season when we help in a basketball camp for special needs individuals teaching and connecting with them for a day, playing games and learning new skills. I feel like to help my community become better than it is is to allow for more people to fit in make our fun celebrations more broad, accept more cultures in the town.

As my senior year comes to a close another chapter in my life opens called “The Pathway Toward Adulthood.” This title shows that I am on my way to being more independent and doing things on my own but still testing how things are done and learning about other aspects of life. In the beginning of this chapter there will be a lot of new experiences, especially being away from home and being away from my family for the first time. This is a loneliness that most high school graduates experience once at college will become one of my first obstacles. I feel that would fit in after a while but for others it takes longer in the sense that people are better at making friends than others. Then comes the taking more responsibility of myself I will not have my parents behind me to keep telling me to do this or that and I need to get my tasks done. The lack of action in the academic look comes to harsh reality consequences. This thought could also be applied to the money aspect. I am going to have to learn to use my money wisely and not going to be able to constantly ask for money every day. I must save it for something else that could actually benefit and not buy too spontaneously. As my college days start, continue, and eventually come to an end I can see from here that I will make some mistakes that will shape me, but I hope I have learned enough to give me a good start in my adult life.