Numerous types of mental illnesses have various effects on individuals. These ailments can range anywhere from mild to severe. I suffer from moderate anxiety. For me, anxiety leads to many distractions and challenges in my life. I have learned and created a variety of coping mechanisms throughout the years to assist me to deal with my anxiety. Even though I have discovered many strategies to manage my anxiety, there are still many situations that make me feel anxious. When I initially became aware of my anxiety, I allowed it to control my life. After battling anxiety for nearly a year, I understood that I needed to discover techniques to control it. Both my parents and I agreed that I needed to go to therapy to learn strategies for managing my anxiety. My therapist taught me how to breathe, which is one of the most useful techniques I have ever used. This enables me to mentally reboot and focus on my current task. My therapist also taught me how to assess whether a scenario directly impacts me and whether it is a large or small problem. Both of these techniques have significantly reduced my anxiety. Although it has decreased, I still experience anxiety in some circumstances. Some of these situations are those in which I am unsure of what is happening or do not have a solution to a problem. My anxiety affects many relationships for me. It causes me to constantly overthink every situation. I am always thinking about the what-ifs. My anxiety has ruined many relationships for me, but it has also helped me gain some really important people. Anxiety has helped me because it showed me that there are people out there who care for me no matter what. My best friend has been by my side through everything. She knows that when I question her, it is because of my anxiety. Because of that, she insures that she will never leave me and will always be by my side. Even though I still suffer from anxiety, there are things I can do to support people who share my experience with anxiety and other mental illnesses. One of the things I can do is describe my management style to handle my anxiety. I may also let people know about the coping mechanisms that work for me. I have personally used these strategies to assist others. Although it usually works, there are still some people for whom these tools are ineffective. If I encounter someone who is experiencing this, I advise them to find something that makes them feel good about themselves as a diversion. Because of my experience with anxiety, I now have a strong desire to support anyone who faces mental instability. I have learned what I want to do with my life and how I can help others who suffer from anxiety. It can be difficult to live with a mental disorder. Although many mental illnesses distract people, they also help them discover their life’s purpose for them.

Hello, my name is Halie Arrants, and I am a senior at Gadsden City High School in Gadsden, Alabama. Once I graduate I plan on going to Auburn University. I plan to major in Collaborative Education/Political Science. My goal is to end up teaching regardless of the field of education. Since I was a little girl, I remember playing 'teacher' with my stuffed animals, or even with my imagination. Once I became a little bit older, I realized that I have the right heart and mindset to become a teacher. After I told my mom what I wanted to be, she said, "Halie, I knew that was what you were going to end up doing with your life." When I got to high school, I realized that my school offered an Education and Training program. So, in my junior year, I decided that I was going to engage in this program. Through this program, I was able to observe a teacher named Mrs. Day, who taught a transition class. In her class, she helped students who have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) learn to cope and to self-advocate for themselves. She also helped her students learn life skills that would help them transition into adulthood. She did activities with them that helped everyone in the class learn about all the different things that can cause someone to have an IEP. In Mrs. Day's class, is where I truly found my love for education and especially for special education. This year, my senior year, I took the Education and Training program again. This time, I was able to observe a teacher, Ms. Thornton, who majored in History/Political Science. In her class, I was able to experience what it is like to come up with lesson plans for a unit and also what it was like to teach a class. Ms. Thornton allowed me to create a lesson plan for a lecture on the Boston Massacre along with a lecture on the Constitutional Convention. Another thing that she allowed me to do, was to teach her class on these two subjects. I also experienced how to create effective study guides that enabled all students with different learning capabilities in her class. While teaching her class and going over the study guides, I got to experience what it is like to teach. Through these experiences, I realized how much I love teaching and helping others grow. From my experiences, I have truly found why I am passionate about teaching. I am passionate about early childhood education because students deserve to have a teacher that is willing to fight for them and be there for them no matter what. I want to be that teacher that is a ray of sunshine for all students on their dark and cloudy days. I also want to help encourage all students to be their best and to help them succeed. I want to ensure students know that they will always have someone there for them willing to advocate for them. I want to be an inspiration to all the students that I can be. I want to spark wonder and imagination, along with the joy of education within younger students.

Over the course of 99 years, Disney creators have produced some amazing characters. No matter a person’s gender, race, or ethnicity, these writers have created characters that everyone can identify with. My favorite Disney character is Cinderella. In my essay, I am going to discuss how I relate to the story of Jane Porter from Tarzan. Even though Cinderella is my favorite character, I wanted to take the opportunity to discuss how Disney created a character(s) that everyone including myself can relate to. The movie Tarzan is a very heartfelt movie for me. It starts with this infant baby boy whose parents get killed and a gorilla takes him in. After Tarzan grows up, he comes across this female, Jane, who is the daughter of a gorilla hunter. Jane ends up seeing Tarzan and falling in love with him. I relate to Jane because no matter what her father thinks, she follows her heart and feelings. For me, I have constantly battled with trying to fit in everyone else's cookie-cutter views instead of being myself. I have personally experienced what Jane goes through in this movie. In my experience, I am attracted to people who my parents don’t think I should be with because of their race. I have had a hard time learning that even though they are my parents sometimes, I need to do what is best for me even if it goes against what they believe. For me, Disney has been an outlet for finding a character(s) that I can relate to. I appreciate Disney for giving me and others who suffer from things that characters also suffer from. I believe that it is good for children and even adults to have representation. I believe that Disney has done this and will continue to do this for many years to come.

Another Way Scholarship There are numerous types of mental illnesses that have various effects on individuals. These ailments can range anywhere from mild to severe. I suffer from moderate anxiety. For me, anxiety leads to many distractions and challenges in my life. I have learned and created a variety of coping mechanisms throughout the years to assist me deal with my anxiety. Even though I have discovered many strategies to manage my anxiety, there are still many situations that make me feel really anxious. When I initially became aware of my anxiety, I allowed it to control my life. After battling anxiety for nearly a year, I understood that I needed to discover techniques to control it. Both my parents and I agreed that I needed to go to therapy to learn strategies for managing my anxiety. My therapist taught me how to breathe, which is one of the most useful techniques I have ever used. This enables me to mentally reboot and focus on my current task. My therapist also taught me how to assess whether a scenario directly impacts me and whether it is a large or small problem. Both of these techniques have significantly reduced my anxiety. Although it has decreased, I still experience anxiety in some circumstances. Some of these situations are those in which I am unsure of what is happening or do not have the solution to a problem. Even though I still suffer from anxiety, there are things I can do to support people who share my experience with anxiety and other mental illnesses. One of the things I can do is describe my management style to handle my anxiety. I may also let people know about the coping mechanisms that work for me. I have personally used these strategies to assist others. Although it usually works, there are still some people for whom these tools are ineffective. If I encounter someone who is experiencing this, I advise them to find something that makes them feel good about themselves as a diversion. Because of my experience with anxiety, I now have a strong desire to support anyone who face mental instability. I have learned what I want to do with my life and how I can help others who suffer from anxiety. It can be difficult to live with a mental disorder. Although many mental illnesses distract people, they also help them discover their life’s purpose for them.

Another Way Scholarship There are numerous types of mental illnesses that have various effects on individuals. These ailments can range anywhere from mild to severe. I suffer from moderate anxiety. For me, anxiety leads to many distractions and challenges in my life. I have learned and created a variety of coping mechanisms throughout the years to assist me deal with my anxiety. Even though I have discovered many strategies to manage my anxiety, there are still many situations that make me feel really anxious. When I initially became aware of my anxiety, I allowed it to control my life. After battling anxiety for nearly a year, I understood that I needed to discover techniques to control it. Both my parents and I agreed that I needed to go to therapy to learn strategies for managing my anxiety. My therapist taught me how to breathe, which is one of the most useful techniques I have ever used. This enables me to mentally reboot and focus on my current task. My therapist also taught me how to assess whether a scenario directly impacts me and whether it is a large or small problem. Both of these techniques have significantly reduced my anxiety. Although it has decreased, I still experience anxiety in some circumstances. Some of these situations are those in which I am unsure of what is happening or do not have the solution to a problem. Even though I still suffer from anxiety, there are things I can do to support people who share my experience with anxiety and other mental illnesses. One of the things I can do is describe my management style to handle my anxiety. I may also let people know about the coping mechanisms that work for me. I have personally used these strategies to assist others. Although it usually works, there are still some people for whom these tools are ineffective. If I encounter someone who is experiencing this, I advise them to find something that makes them feel good about themselves as a diversion. Because of my experience with anxiety, I now have a strong desire to support anyone who face mental instability. I have learned what I want to do with my life and how I can help others who suffer from anxiety. It can be difficult to live with a mental disorder. Although many mental illnesses distract people, they also help them discover their life’s purpose for them.