My name is Hannah and I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. As a child, I was always pretty shy and quiet and kept to myself. That followed me into my middle school and high school years. I remember always feeling very empty and hopeless along with being very nervous and having a sense of uneasiness. There was also this empty feeling that would not go away, it felt like a black hole. There were so many moments when I felt like I could not breathe and my heart would not stop pounding. My parents were always arguing and there were other problems at home which did not help my anxiety and depression that I was already having trouble dealing with and expressing. When I got to the sixth grade, I started to develop an eating disorder and I started to self-harm. I felt like I could not control what was going on at home or my emotions, and my eating was something I could control. I would obsessively count my calories and exercise as much as I could. Not knowing the calories in any food I was eating would send me into a panic. Self-harm was also something I could control. I could not verbally express what I was thinking and feeling, so I took it out on my body. I felt like I could take the pain I had on the inside and place it on the outside. As an adult, I still deal with a lot of anxiety and depression along with post-traumatic stress disorder. I still have a lot of feelings of hopelessness and a sense of uneasiness. I have to go to therapy every week and take medication daily. Having trouble with relationships is also an issue. I isolate a lot and that makes it difficult to maintain friendships or intimate relationships. I tend to feel like a burden so that also makes me stay away from making and keeping friends, along with asking for help. Small tasks take a lot of extra effort because of the lack of energy and tiredness. Even though I still deal with the depression and the symptoms that come with it along with the anxiety and PTSD, I have to make an effort to make sure I stay a functioning adult. I make sure that I exercise and find healthy ways to deal with my emotions. I have found a handful of women that I can reach out to if I get into a rough patch.

@darksparkle143

My whole life I have loved to read. Since elementary school, I have always felt that I could find a book that I was able to get lost in or relate to. Books were always my escape from reality and also a way to keep myself entertained. I have learned a lot from the books that I have read. When I read I can work on keeping my memory sharp and help make sure I have good concentration. I am also able to continue to learn new vocabulary and as such will help me be a better communicator. Also, being able to read many writing styles can make me a better writer. I can strengthen my knowledge of anything that I choose to read, such as The Diary of Anne Frank. In reading, I am also able to see things from the author's point of view. I can see something the way the author would want me to see it. I can see things in a different light and examine the way I think and feel. When I read I am also able to grow, as well as be exposed to so many topics and ideas I would otherwise not know about. Reading has shaped my goals by helping me to be a more understanding person. I am pursuing a master's degree in psychology, and by reading books about individuals who have been through hard times such as depression, eating disorders, personality disorders and so on, I can have a better understanding of their lives. In reading, I can be more aware of someone's beliefs and difficulties, and in that, I can have a better understanding of their life. That will help me in my goal to become a psychologist because I will be able to help more people with their issues. I can learn about mental and emotional disorders, such as bipolar, schizophrenia or generalized anxiety disorder, and by doing that I will be able to help someone become diagnosed properly. My goal is to help teenagers and young adults the way I was helped, and reading to have more knowledge about the world of psychology will help tremendously with that. I have read so many books on young adults and teenagers who have struggled, and I was able to see myself in those books. Reading those books made me want to help as many teenagers as I could.

The Ode to Millennials-Gen Z is a great description of what is going on. The Greatest Generation does not seem to get that things have changed since they were young and that we cannot just "do it" their way because the economy is not the way it was when they were young. In saying that, the Ode does a great job at describing all the similarities that both generations have in common, such as incomes being low and unemployment both being at 25 percent for both generations. I like how the Ode describes that Millennials are at a "war" of their own in that the economy is on the course of bankruptcy and the medical system charging younger people at a much higher rate to the benefit of the older generation. It explains that Gen Z now has a rendezvous with destiny just like the two generations above them except they seem to be taking it with stride, even though some have explained that the generations before have "created this mess." It does a great job of pointing out that even though millennials seem to resent so many circumstances, Gen Z does not seem to have resentments at all and is polite and kind. I think that the Ode to Millennials-Gen Z is a great description of the similarities and differences between all three generations.

I remember growing up feeling very anxious and melancholy. I was very shy, had trouble focusing in school and did not know how to reach out when it came to dealing with my emotions. As I got older my anxiety and depression kept getting worse and my parents did not do anything to help with it. As a teenager, I was able to reach out to one of my counselors in my high school. She became a safe person for me and was a great help in getting me out of a dark place. I am passionate about pursuing a career in therapy because I see so many teenagers and young adults who deal with so many mental health issues and do not have somebody to help them with it. According to Counseling Today, about 37% of the population, which comes out to about 122 million Americans, live in an area where there is a mental health professional shortage. I would like to be able to help teenagers and young adults who do not have someone to go to and need a safe person to help with any of their mental health issues. According to the World Health Organization, there is an estimated 4.6% of 15-19 year olds that experience an anxiety disorder. There is also an estimated 2.8% of 15-19 year-olds that struggle with depression. Also according to the World Health Organization, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death in older adolescents. Since there are so many mental health issues, there are many risk-taking behaviors that go along with them. These risk-taking behaviors tend to start in adolescence. I think that if you can start taking care of these issues, such as anxiety and depression, early on then there would not be so many issues in people as adults. I believe that intervention early on will help individuals be able to regulate their emotions and be able to manage any difficult situation that they should come across. Ultimately, there is a shortage of mental health professionals and I am passionate about seeing teenagers and young adults be able to get help with their mental health situations. If there is not someone to help them then their situations will only get worse. There is such a stigma in getting help as well and I would like to help lessen that stigma. I would like to have a career in therapy and let people know that things can get better.

Zendaya Coleman is recently well-known for her role as Rue in the HBO hit Euphoria. She started her career as a child model and eventually got her role as Rocky Blue on the Disney Channel show "Shake it Up". She went on to produce and star as K.C. Cooper in Disney's "K.C. Undercover". Films that she has starred in include "The Greatest Showman" and "Spider-man: Homecoming". Zendaya has had many roles and continues to work. She is an amazing actress and has kept a level head along the way. The aspect I admire most of Zendaya's career is that she does not let it go to her head. Even though she has had so much success when it comes to her acting along with her singing and her fashion, her clothing line is Daya by Zendaya, she has not let herself become a diva. With all the aspects of her career that she has going on she is an ambassador for the Convoy of Hope. She stands up for what she believes and is very down to earth given the amount of success she has had. She has talked about having a good relationship with her parents and how she looks up to her older sister as well. Overall, Zendaya is a great role model for young women. She has a level head and uses her platform for good.