Complex PTSD with auditory and visual hallucinations along with conspiracy/ paranoia ideations. To some, this may seem like an insignificant group of random words or a bunch of terms they have heard before, but never in one sentence. Well, this is my mom. She is a wonderful, smart, and funny 49-year-old woman who raised her twins as a single mom and she strives every day to continue to do so. She is my inspiration to keep going and she is the main gear in our small family that keeps everything turning. Growing up we did not have much family or money and we had to rely solely on one another. Although we did live with our grandpa as well (my moms dad), he was never really there as a reliable support system. So, growing up my mom, brother, and I would talk to each other about Everything! Before I had even hit double digits I understood my moms diagnosis I previously listed and she always encouraged us to use what we learned from her life to better our future and to try to get through this world without hurting others. So, I always had this belief that I wanted to help others and I still believe that one small action can change the world. However, it took me a while to decide I wanted to go into the field of Mental Health. Despite watching my moms journey and fight with her mental health struggles, and watching her overcome it every day, I still had some hesitation on this path. That was until I went through my own struggles. It started from the age of nine but, in actuality, the underlying reasons happened years prior. Before I turned six I was sexually abused by a cousin and never thought about it or even remember a lot of it. Fast forward back to the age of nine, I suddenly developed two eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. I went from an extroverted and happy child who felt confident in any situation to being anxious, unmotivated, and just not happy. I did not like myself and made it obvious. I changed my clothing to either match what others were wearing or to hide my insecurities. After dealing with these issues for several years, I have recovered from one of my eating disorders, I am trying to be more active and motivated, and most of all I am determined, now more than ever, to make a difference. I was stuck between two different careers for about a year: ER Doctor and psychologist. Both make big differences. However, I think being a psychologist would give me extra time to spend with my family and pursue volunteer work or even activism for many issues I am genuinely passionate about. Additionally, it is my belief, because of my mom, that I have to use what I went through and what I have learned in my 17 years on earth so far to make other people's futures just as bright as the one I am working towards. I also believe that you never really know what someone is going through and should treat everyone as an equal because you never know the full story. For the majority of the time I spent struggling, I smiled every day in school, I listened to others' problems, and I never showed weakness outside of myself. This makes me have a new level of awareness because how many people around me are going through what I have gone through? Moreover, what can I do to help?

@hfirez13

In life everyone has a different definition of “Passion” and in order to begin I have to write out my definition. To some, it is something you like to do, to others, it is something that gives them a purpose. To me, passion means this and so much more. A passion is something that makes you want to wake up every morning and seize the day, it means ambition, drive, and impact. I am a 17-year-old high school senior who loves to sing, write poetry, eat food, and hanging out with my mom and twin brother. However, from the time I was really young, I always believed I could make a difference, change the world, and help others. I was never sure how I was going to do it but I knew it was going to be a slow process. Then something incredible happened! In my sophomore year of high school, we were able to have one elective period. I had done yearbook as my elective the previous year and although I learned a lot from it, it wasn’t something I thought I wanted to do again. As I read through the electives before registration, one stood out to me: “Peer Education”. As I read the description it said it was a class where students learned how to educate peers and talk about difficult conversations like sexual violence, bullying, domestic violence, vaping, drugs, teen pregnancy, etc.. It jumped right out at me and I started the class sophomore year. Once in the class, I learned the description was right but it was also so much more. I immediately looked forward to the class and dedicated hours out of school or during lunch to set up campaigns around our school and community! In my junior year, Covid was becoming something people worried a lot less about which allowed us even more opportunities. I got to go to a couple of leadership trainings on the island where I got to meet other students just as passionate about the same things as me, I couldn’t believe it! Eventually, we won a local contest in Hawaii because of our “Stop If You Love Me” campaign and won a summer trip to Wichita, Kansas. The trip would be about a week long in July so we could attend the NSSP Traffic Safety conference. I and one other member of our program went up there and represented our school. Now, it is my senior year. I am saddened to leave Peer Education since it has become a big part of my life these past few years but I hope to take everything I’ve learned and make a bigger impact or even revisit the program after high school. I have learned how to lead with empathy, how the 5 stages of grief work, how people function, and how we interact with one another. My passion is helping others and being that change that has to be made in our world to better it. The best thing is I know I am not alone. Through Peer Education, I have so many resources that I can take with me to do just this. After High school I plan on doing an online internship with NHTSA, getting a graduate degree in psychology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and starting a YouTube channel where I cover these issues and more, while covering music or writing music that relates to these topics and my own experiences. I want to show people that they are not alone, that they matter, and that I am there to listen when they are ready.

My full name is Halley Tomie Oshiro; I am a 17-year-old high school senior with an overwhelming amount of dreams and goals for my future. This includes a graduate degree in Psychology to later work with the Oahu SATC, NHTSA, or online practices. I am also part of a small family: my mom, twin brother, grandfather, and myself. My mom acts as a single mom since we all help to take care of my grandfather after having strokes and other health complications during my junior year of high school. Now for the interesting part, I have always had a drive to work hard and help others. I always believed that one person can change the world if they put their mind to it and I plan to continue that belief and apply it to my own life. So, why psychology? Well, I grew up with a mentally disabled mom with a diagnosis many could not understand just by hearing it: Complex PTSD with Auditory and Visual Hallucinations and Conspiracy/Paranoia Ideations. I love to talk to her about her life, her mental illnesses, and how it all affected her. I realized that I love to learn about peoples' "origin stories". I believe we all have habits or traits that are a result of events we experienced growing up and I also love to analyze all of this to see how I can use this information to help others. In addition, I understand what it is like to struggle with mental health. My mental health journey began 12 years ago. I was born on September 2, 2006, at 10:29 a.m., and my brother was born a minute later at 10:30. At the age of 5 I disclosed being abused by a cousin and after getting an SA kit decided against pressing charges. I was only 5 and did not understand the gravity of the situation until I was 9. At the age of 9, I started to think about it and eventually, it became a lingering thought every day. I went from being happy, confident, and girly to changing drastically, I slowly became more introverted, my esteem took a turn for the worse, and I did not want to dress the way I used to. I was depressed, and anxious, and suffered from two eating disorders. Moreover, I could not open up about my feelings to anyone, not even my therapists and tried to put a smile on my face for everyone around me. But, my mom and brother saw right through it and tried to be there for me. Despite having a decent support system I would say that I did not start healing until these past couple of years. I have mentally acknowledged my struggles, I am trying to find myself again, I am genuinely happy to be here, and I am still trying to analyze my own life to get a better idea of mental health. This leads me to my next point, what makes me stand out from the crowd and how would a scholarship like this help me? Well, due to my experiences, I try to lead a life with ambition, determination, and most importantly, compassion. I have a drive to help others and succeed in any goal or challenge I take on. I do not expect to change the world but if I change the life of one person then it is all worth it and this scholarship would make it possible for me to get the schooling to do just that.

Complex PTSD with auditory and visual hallucinations along with conspiracy/ paranoia ideations. To some, this may seem like an insignificant group of random words or a bunch of terms they have heard before, but never in one sentence. Well, this is my mom. She is a wonderful, smart, and funny 49-year-old woman who raised her twins as a single mom and she strives every day to continue to do so. She is my inspiration to keep going and she is the main gear in our small family that keeps everything turning. Growing up we did not have much family or money and we had to rely solely on one another. Although we did live with our grandpa as well (my moms dad), he was never really there as a reliable support system. So, growing up my mom, brother, and I would talk to each other about Everything! Before I had even hit double digits I understood my moms diagnosis I previously listed and she always encouraged us to use what we learned from her life to better our future and to try to get through this world without hurting others. So, I always had this belief that I wanted to help others and I still believe that one small action can change the world. However, it took me a while to decide I wanted to go into the field of Mental Health. Despite watching my moms journey and fight with her mental health struggles, and watching her overcome it every day, I still had some hesitation on this path. That was until I went through my own struggles. It started from the age of nine but, in actuality, the underlying reasons happened years prior. Before I turned six I was sexually abused by a cousin and never thought about it or even remember a lot of it. Fast forward back to the age of nine, I suddenly developed two eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. I went from an extroverted and happy child who felt confident in any situation to being anxious, unmotivated, and just not happy. I did not like myself and made it obvious. I changed my clothing to either match what others were wearing or to hide my insecurities. After dealing with these issues for several years, I have recovered from one of my eating disorders, I am trying to be more active and motivated, and most of all I am determined, now more than ever, to make a difference. I was stuck between two different careers for about a year: ER Doctor and psychologist. Both make big differences. However, I think being a psychologist would give me extra time to spend with my family and pursue volunteer work or even activism for many issues I am genuinely passionate about. Additionally, it is my belief, because of my mom, that I have to use what I went through and what I have learned in my 16 years on earth so far to make other people's futures just as bright as the one I am working towards. I also believe that you never really know what someone is going through and should treat everyone as an equal because you never know the full story. For the majority of the time I spent struggling, I smiled every day in school, I listened to others' problems, and I never showed weakness outside of myself. This makes me have a new level of awareness because how many people around me are going through what I have gone through? Moreover, what can I do to help?

Complex PTSD with auditory and visual hallucinations along with conspiracy/ paranoia ideations. To some, this may seem like an insignificant group of random words or a bunch of terms they have heard before, but never in one sentence. Well, this is my mom. She is a wonderful, smart, and funny 49-year-old woman who raised her twins as a single mom and she strives every day to continue to do so. She is my inspiration to keep going and she is the main gear in our small family that keeps everything turning. Growing up we did not have much family or money and we had to rely solely on one another. Although we did live with our grandpa as well (my moms dad), he was never really there as a reliable support system. So, growing up my mom, brother, and I would talk to each other about Everything! Before I had even hit double digits I understood my moms diagnosis I previously listed and she always encouraged us to use what we learned from her life to better our future and to try to get through this world without hurting others. So, I always had this belief that I wanted to help others and I still believe that one small action can change the world. However, it took me a while to decide I wanted to go into the field of Mental Health. Despite watching my moms journey and fight with her mental health struggles, and watching her overcome it every day, I still had some hesitation on this path. That was until I went through my own struggles. It started from the age of nine but, in actuality, the underlying reasons happened years prior. Before I turned six I was sexually abused by a cousin and never thought about it or even remember a lot of it. Fast forward back to the age of nine, I suddenly developed two eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. I went from an extroverted and happy child who felt confident in any situation to being anxious, unmotivated, and just not happy. I did not like myself and made it obvious. I changed my clothing to either match what others were wearing or to hide my insecurities. After dealing with these issues for several years, I have recovered from one of my eating disorders, I am trying to be more active and motivated, and most of all I am determined, now more than ever, to make a difference. I was stuck between two different careers for about a year: ER Doctor and psychologist. Both make big differences. However, I think being a psychologist would give me extra time to spend with my family and pursue volunteer work or even activism for many issues I am genuinely passionate about. Additionally, it is my belief, because of my mom, that I have to use what I went through and what I have learned in my 16 years on earth so far to make other people's futures just as bright as the one I am working towards. I also believe that you never really know what someone is going through and should treat everyone as an equal because you never know the full story. For the majority of the time I spent struggling, I smiled every day in school, I listened to others' problems, and I never showed weakness outside of myself. This makes me have a new level of awareness because how many people around me are going through what I have gone through? Moreover, what can I do to help?

There are two types of leaders: those who lead by vocalizing and asserting themselves publicly as well as those who lead silently, by example. I am a senior at my high school and with this newfound status, a lot of responsibilities are put onto my class. We are expected to be a good example for the underclassmen while getting ready for our future beyond high school. In fact, at the beginning of the school year, all the seniors go to an assembly and are told just how important this responsibility is, and it is a meaningful one. I consistently strive to be a leader on and off campus. I always try my best and remain friendly to my peers, teachers, family, and strangers. In addition, I try to make it known that I am there for anyone and everyone if they need anything whether it be help on an assignment or if they just want someone to give them their ear while they vent about a bad day. Now, when talking about leaders the first thing that comes to mind is a program at my school called Peer Education. In the program, peers educate peers on topics that aren't normally discussed. This includes teen pregnancy, dangerous driving (distracted driving, drowsy driving, etc.), and domestic violence. Although we are a small group of only about 25 people we believe we can make a big difference and are constantly pushed out of our comfort zones whether it be tasks such as public speaking or approaching random students, it forces us to lead. We are expected to know these important issues and we have to have the creativity and demeanor to share the information with others. In addition, this past summer our advisor, one other student, and I went from Hawaii to Kansas to represent our school program at a National Safety Conference. Although I do not always set the best example or some days I just can not be that voice that speaks up in the crowd, I learn from it. One of the most important traits in a leader, in my eyes, is the ability to acknowledge mistakes and learn from them. It is not an easy task to own up to a mistake and make an effort to change the narrative but once you can do this you are able to become a better person, inevitably becoming a better leader.

I have a belief that big impacts can be made with small changes and those changes have to start somewhere. Well, one place this might start is online. Especially after the pandemic people spend hours a day on their devices whether it be at work, home or school. I believe that many new and improved virtual mental health care/ counseling services available are a great step in the right direction. However, many of these systems or platforms are also unaffordable to many. So what is something I can do within my ability to improve both the convenience and cost of mental health care services? Here is where my idea begins. The ulimate goal would be to create a practical and secure foundation or website that cost the bare minimum for maximum mental health care. It would start with a small group of people with the capabilities and knowledge to assess and assist those in need including those who are considered low-income like I currently am. Although it would take others who have the same goal rather than a monetary one, this could be built into a standard system for those who aren't normally allowed these services. Another thing anyone could do is to try and build a safe online community, meant to support one another through social media platforms or a networking process. The possibilities are endless as long as you are willing to make the first move.

Hi, my name is Halley Tomie Oshiro. I am currently a 16-year-old on her summer break ready to take on my senior year of high school but by the time this piece is judged, I will most likely be 17 years old. I was born on September 2, 2006. Myself and my twin brother were raised by my single mom in a house with my grandfather, uncle, my uncle's girlfriend (and her son from her previous marriage). The first few years of my life were pretty perfect. But, this changed when, at the age of six years old, I told my aunt that her son had been abusing me. After telling my mom, I did a sexual assault exam, talked to police officers at the Justice Center and chose not to press charges. After some time my uncle, aunt, and her son moved to California and cut contact with us completely. This move changed everything. You see, my grandpa was retired by this time and my mom is mentally disabled and has an official diagnosis of Complex PTSD with Auditory and Visual Hallucinations with Conspiracy and Paranoia Ideations. In the end, this meant no one in our household could bring in a current income. However, my mom, through all of this stayed strong and despite everything, she cared. She showed physical affection, did all the grocery shopping, paid the bulk of the bills, and never forgot to ask us how our day was. My mom also did her paperwork every couple of months to renew her disability benefits which gave us enough food stamps and money to cover most of our expenses. It was one of these months when her social security was up for renewal when another big event occurred in our household. After turning in her paperwork and continuing our month like normal my mom discovered something alarming. One month in 2016 her money did not come in. My mom made every call she could and was told that Social Security had lost her papers. Due to this my mom only recieved about one-thousand dollars that entire year. This caused us to go to food banks, and use up my brother's and my college fund. Additionally, we ended up losing our electricity and water later on in life. Now, some may think this sounds pretty negative but the beauty is the fact that those four years, without electricity, (one without water) were some of the best years of my life. Although I did struggle with a lot of mental health issues due to the abuse and growing up in general, I learned how to find the positives in the negative, how to persevere, how to have fun without a phone or electronic device, and how to make an amazing cake on a butane stove. I realized that I wanted to help people and be just like my mom, a strong, brave woman who does not let her problems stop her from being her. This leads me to my main point: If I were to earn this scholarship I would use it to better the world and to make a better life for my mom, brother, and me. I dream of using scholarships and financial aid to go to UH Manoa to get a Psychology degree to help people using other skills I have learned such as compassion, empathy, kindness, etc. I also plan on using my free time to follow my other ambitions such as singing, volunteering, and hanging out with those who matter. Thank You For Reading!

"My name is Halley Oshiro and we're talking about Disney!" I grew up in Hawaii in a small family and I was raised watching classics like Mulan, Beauty and The Beast, etc. I later grew to love the newer movies such as Inside Out and Big Hero Six. Through all this time and with every movie I grew to love Disney because of its relatable emotions and real world lessons. To me, Disney is a lot more than a great world it is a wild universe of its own. One thing I use to always talk to my family about is why in every disney movie does someone pass away? I mean, it was, what I thought was a kids company but they put these odd scenes in these movies, sad ones. When I grew up I really came to this realization that the ideas in these films, they were a tunnel that lead straight to compassion and empathy. For instance, in "UP" we see one of the main characters deal with loss, Carl loses his wife, Ellie and he ends up being this super grumpy man who's only dream is to live the life him and Ellie wanted. Throughout the course of the movie we watch him form a relationship with a young boy, Russell who kind of shows him how great the world is again. Furthermore there are other messages such as in " Inside Out" we watch a young girl deal with a new beginning in her life when she moves, something all of us have had to deal with at one time or another. We also see how messy emotions can get when feelings like Joy and Sadness can be felt all at the same time. This allows us to not only get insight on our friends and family but also ourselves. In the situations like the ones I mentioned we can use it as a portal to understand how our loved ones feel and allow ourselves to give in to these same emotions when we are not at our best. So, when I think Disney I think of fantasy and action but I also think of impact and relatability. In a way I feel like we have all "lived Disney". We go around everyday making mistakes, learning from them, and continuing on. Sometimes it doesn't go the way we want it but it never goes straightforward in Disney movies, right? Otherwise we wouldn't watch them if it was just easy. The characters are brought to life on a daily basis here and they carry with them all these ideas of strength and integrity which I have taken into my own values and will continue to use this as a constant reminder in my life.

My mom raised me to listen to and love a variety of music. Everything from Adele to Barry Manilow to Linkin Park I grew up with and later I started to venture out to find more music that made me feel good or made me feel like someone else understood me. In my life, I have had multiple experiences including two eating disorders and a severe bout of depression. However, I always had music throughout this. No matter how I felt if I just put on a song or sang (usually the latter) it gave this wholeness to me, an experience that has shaped my world forever. My best example of this is something a bit more recent. Since last October things have been hectic at home. In summary, we had a few health scares and concerns which have inevitably left our family of four pretty broken (My twin brother, my mom, my grandfather, and me). My grandfather has had seizures, a heart attack, strokes, etc. throughout these past months. This has left us in a state of shock since we were not prepared for it. However, I believe everything happens for a reason and I've been trying to focus on the positive. Music helps me through tough times and this is no exception. I made a killer playlist that has about 30 songs on it which I pretty much listen to once a week, I sing daily (loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear) and I am still working on writing a few songs of my own. In addition, other than coping with my problems, I have a genuine belief that music has the power to heal and bring people together. It also makes me realize that we're not as different as some may think. For instance, if you are reading this you probably like at least one song or artist that I do or maybe you have that in common with someone else who has already read my writing and that is not a bad thing at all, not in the slightest! This one fact has created communities of people who love music on platforms like Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, and more. In relation to this, music and the impact it makes have brought me to another goal of mine: A Youtube Channel. For some, this may seem small, but to me, this could have a big impact. I would love to cover songs and sing originals that align with my struggles, universal emotions, and other relatable content to form a community of people who can show compassion and empathy, and spread it to make a larger difference, one song at a time.

I grew up in a household besides my twin brother with my mom and grandpa. My mom is mentally disabled. Her full diagnosis is longer than any of the medications she has to take to deal with it: Complex PTSD with Auditory and Visual Hallucinations and Conspiracy Ideations. Included in this are anxiety, depression, and OCD. On the other hand, there is me, I was only nine when I started restricting my eating and later, my drinking (water). I developed anxiety and depression and I am still trying to deal with the latter three. But, what is my purpose in sharing this information with you? Well, I am now 16 and all my life I was raised to believe that everything happens for a reason. When I was younger this idea was pretty hard to accept but I have used these experiences to set myself up for a path to become a psychologist and hopefully, work at the S.A.T.C, here in Hawaii. I have also used this to gain compassion, ambition, and an endless drive to help others. For starters, These experiences have influenced my core values and instilled the values of compassion, ambition, and the value of helping others in me. Despite what my mom is going through she never forgets to ask me how my day was and what I am learning in school. She knows every one of my teachers' names, my subjects, and my interests. Despite everything, she cares about me and my brother and tries to show it whenever she can. Sometimes people mistreat her for it, but she stands up for herself and is my biggest role model. She encourages me to dream big, get an education and strive for all of my dreams, which has honed my ambition. However, she also reminds me to strive as far as I can without stepping on other people. Also, I have seen in my own life how easy it is to hide all your struggles behind a facade so I try to be kind and compassionate since we aren't labeled with signs that say "I'm going through a rough time, please be kind" because I have felt this way while having people tell me that my life is perfect and it is a rough battle to win. Secondly, this battle has led me on another career path. All my life I knew I wanted to help others but I also went through multiple phases in my life where I couldn't decide how I'd spend my adulthood. I thought of being a singer, fashion designer, chef, an ER doctor, and so much more. But, I am currently 16. I now have straightforward plans on studying at my local university to get my Ph.D or Psy.D in Clinical or Counseling Psychology, and I hope to work at the local SATC (Sexual Abuse Treatment Center) to help others. I am also currently in my school's Peer Education Program and I hope to continue volunteer work and philanthropy throughout my life even after high school/college. Mainly, I want to help people with similar issues to my own and help them deal with things I have seen or experienced first-hand. However, I am always willing to learn, grow, and do better to make a bigger difference in this world. In conclusion, despite these dark events and circumstances I honestly believe (and was raised) with the idea that everything does happen for a reason, even if that reason does not make sense now. What seemed to be a massive hurdle for my younger self and still can be for the present, current me, has shined this bright light on a new career path for me, it has given me tools and values that will help me succeed and help those around me do the same. Mostly, it has made my life what it is today and will shape my future for a better tomorrow.

What if every day could be a great day? What if you could manifest every negative event into a positive one? Well, I believe there are two types of reactions to tragedy. You can either let it define who you are or you can get up, learn from the experience, and "keep on moving". Throughout my life, I have had quite a few hurdles which made me a much better person and have caused me to live life through a slightly different lens. Because of this message, my favorite song from Taylor Swifts' '1989' album is "Shake It Off". For better context, I am currently sixteen years old and a junior at Aiea High School. During these sixteen years, I have had quite a range of experiences. For example, I was raised in a single-parent household alongside my twin brother. Despite living with our mom and grandpa, our mom was, really, the only parent we had. Our grandpa did not make any effort to show his affection and criticized us when he found the opportunity. So, money was always tight. I grew up going to several food banks and things only got harder when the Social Security Administration messed up my mom's paperwork (she's disabled so can't work and gets government assistance). In one year she only made about one thousand dollars. Because of this, we lost our electricity for about five years and later our water for one. Additionally, around this time I was becoming a teenager and my mental health started to decline quickly. Now, this is where the song comes in. Despite these struggles, we made the best of it and these became some of the best years of my life. Since my brother and I could not just watch TV or play on our console we made up new ways to have fun. We played board games and cards, and my mom chose some of the food bank food and let us play "Chopped" with it as a fun way to use new foods ( Did I also mention how much this expanded my palate!). But most of all, it made me appreciate everything more. Despite everything we just kept on moving, just like this song. There is also another main theme of this song of not letting others get to you or change who you are. Not changing who you are is super important and a task that I have yet to master. This is a work in progress for me, someone who is constantly striving to be better. However, when I think about this main theme of the song it reminds me of my mom. She has had lots of people try to "correct" her parenting and the way she is because many people see her as unfit or have told her that she was not able to do this but here she is sixteen years later and I am happier than ever. She never lost her sense of humor and always takes time to ask me how or what I am doing. She never stopped being that parent or person people told her time and time again she should not be and that also makes her someone I one hundred percent, without a doubt, look up to and always will. So, if ever I feel like giving up or changing I remember this song and everything it reminds me of.

Despite everything she is empathetic, helps others, and always chases her dreams.

Every day I come home from school and whether she is tired or anxious, she poses the same question, without fail: how was your day and what did you do? She will listen to me excitedly rant about my Peer Education class or talk about the struggles I am facing in Precalculus. She is the wonderful woman I am so thankful to have in my life: my mom. From the time I was young, I knew I wanted to make a difference and I also have a passion for a million and one different things. I love to sing, paint, read, learn, etc. My mom always encouraged me to do these things and anything else I love to do. When I told her that I wanted to be a fashion designer at the age of eight she got me a practice sketching board to make designs for outfits and when I told her I wanted to be a chef at the age of ten she subscribed to a free year of Food Network magazines for and judged mini cooking competitions between my twin brother and me. Now that I want to be a Psychologist and have told her this, after being dead set on an ER doctor for the last five years, she is still supporting me and says that as long as that is my passion then I should pursue it. Additionally, she always tries to remind me to still be a kid and enjoy high school while I am living it and she is always super supportive of my academic journey and tries to make it as smooth as possible by letting me choose my electives based on what I love and encouraging me to pursue outside hobbies like writing poetry or singing. She always tells me two things that I hold super close; she says that, at the end of the day, I can have all F's but if I eventually understand the subject then the letter grade means nothing to her. She also tells me that I can do anything in life and am perfectly capable of it but to get a good education first, in some form. We are a low-income household and she just wants a better life for me and my brother despite her struggles. Finally, she does all of this despite being mentally disabled. She is smart, funny, witty, and amazingly empathetic. But, she suffers from high anxiety, OCD, and a few other things in her tongue-twister-like diagnosis which is mainly from her complex PTSD. Yet, she never lets it stop her from being with me and my brother. Even though we also live with our grandfather she has always been the person to take care of us and care about us even when we were not doing the right thing. She makes fun of her diagnosis and tries to use it to teach me and my brother how to treat others, especially since you never know what they are going through and she inspires me every day in my academics, personal choices, and future plans.

Giving, Saving, Trying All things we do to stop us from dying Laughing, smiling, yelling All things we do to stop us from crying It’s better to be angry than sad, Pretend not to see the bad, or for it to only be bad so we won’t hurt our own hearts from the high expectations, hovering us over like the tallest mountains. But mountains take time to form like our strengths Exercising once won’t get you to the Olympics but it sure as hells a start Getting out of bed tomorrow, a week from now, or in ten years is a start - A start to a new adventure, A start to a new age, A start to the song you know you wanna write but just never had the motivation to, A start to your future since it is 100% not over. Life is what you make of it - not how much is left.

I have this unwavering belief that everything happens for a reason even if that reason makes absolutely no sense to me..... I was raised in a household with a single mom, my grandpa, my uncle, his girlfriend, their son and my twin brother. After I told my aunty that I was being abused by her son at the age of five he was sent away to live with another relative. After some time and him being sent back, my mom told them they had to take him away from me and my brother. So, they left and went to California. After that, my mom no longer had her rock to lean on either, my aunty. My mom is mentally disabled and her full diagnosis sounds like a deranged tongue twister but it is her everyday life. Complex PTSD with auditory and visual hallucinations with conspiracy ideations. This diagnosis also included anxiety, depression, and OCD. My mom had a rough time growing up but she is also the strongest person I have ever known. I learned about my moms' life, her diagnosis, and I figured out how to approach all kinds of people! I did pretty well until I was about the age of nine. Despite being in therapy from the time I was five to learn to understand and cope with my moms diagnosis, I never really felt comfortable in therapy and have never really been able to open up about anything regarding my feelings. So when I turned nine and I started to think about my previous abuse I went into a quick downward spiral. On top of that, me and my brother were sent to Camp Erdman. It was a promising three-day and two-night stay miles away from our home in Pearl City and everyone pressured my mom to send us. But, I became super distant afterward since I did not feel comfortable that far away from home. Depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, and two eating disorders soon followed. Although I do not love everything that happened to me or my family it taught me so much that you can not teach just anybody. All of these hardships fostered a love in me to help people around me. When I was younger, I understood that one small kind act could change a person's life so I would smile at people in the stores as my way of doing something small to help. Now, I volunteer with the Peer Education Program at my school and plan on doing volunteer work after high school. Additionally, I learned how to approach people like my mom, who suffer from trauma and mental health issues. So, after high school, I want to get my degree in psychology and hopefully work at the SATC one day to help people who have gone through what I have been through and what so many people I know have been through. I also hope to use my psychology degree to improve the hospital systems and teach medical professionals how to handle those who have been through traumatic events and put up a new standard for bedside manners (since I have also seen my mom mistreated due to her mental disability). Throughout this entire time, I never stopped hoping, dreaming, or believing that everything I was going through was for a reason. These are the things that mental health has taught me to strive for and it has also made me a much better, healthier person than I once was.

“What you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists.” This is a quote by Spencer Johnsons' "Who Moved My Cheese". This is one book everyone in the world should read because it is easy to understand, relatable, and motivational. First of all, Johnson uses the story of four friends to illustrate his message. In the book, there is Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw. Sniff and Scurry are mice while Hem and Haw are little people. These four individuals get up early every day, put on their running shoes, and leave home early to explore the giant maze they live in. Every day they look for cheese in the maze and sometimes find cheese to eat. Once full, they go home. The story is short and comes in multiple versions for kids so everyone can understand the message. Secondly, it's relatable for everyone. Every day we wake up and do things to reach a goal. Sometimes we make progress, other days we don't. The cheese in the book is whatever your dream is or, it's every goal and aspiration you have. In the story, one day, the four friends continue their routine but come across a giant area filled with exotic cheeses, this place is "Cheese Station C". After some time of having this new cheese storage Hem and Haw stop following this routine. Instead, they rely on the new cheese. They stop waking up early, they build a new home closer to the cheese, and they don't notice the cheese pile shrinking until it's gone. Hem and Haw demonstrate how easy it is to take things for granted and shows the negative effects of relying too heavily on what they've worked so hard to build. Finally, the book is motivational. Sniff and Scurry sniffed out the problem before it happened, they paid attention and never stopped working hard so when the cheese was gone they just continued doing the routine and they were okay. After sulking over the situation Hem goes out and resumes the old routine. Despite being anxious he continues, eventually coming across new cheese where he finds Sniff and Scurry already eating. Along the way, Hem writes multiple messages on the wall including the first quote written. However, the book holds so much more than this.