When I was 16 years old, I tore my shoulder muscle and was prescribed pain killers and muscle relaxers. I was beginning to feel depressed and unworthy of living life. In 2006, after graduating high school in the top 10 of my class, I began my Associate's degree in the hope of finding a purpose in life. In 2008, my depression was getting out of control and my dependence on controlled substances got worse. I started self-mutilating. My great grandmother, who I was extremely close to, was losing her fight with the Leukemia that she had lived with a majority of her life. In my last semester of college at Delaware Tech, I failed two courses. Luckily, with the SEED Program, you are given another chance. In the summer of 2008, I was able to finish those courses and obtain my degree. I still couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with my life. On December 31, 2008, my great grandmother passed away. This sent me spiraling into depression and my drug use was the worst it had ever been - I didn't want to live without her. I was barely living, just showing up for work and doing the minimal amount of work to get by without getting fired. My parents kicked me out of their house and I hit rock bottom. In 2009, I met my best friend, who would eventually become my husband. When I moved into his house, I was still extremely dependent on drugs and self-mutilating to cope with the depression. In October 2009, he was so fed up with me constantly being high, he dumped every single pill down the toilet and flushed them. It was in this moment, well, after the initial shock, that I knew I was going to die if I didn't stop. After 3 years of working on myself and my relationships, in June 2012, we got married and moved into a new home. I'm proud to say I have been sober since that fateful day in 2009. I have gained a new relationship with both my mother and father. I have helped my husband successfully build his professional wrestling company. I began my marketing career in 2015 with Delaware Farm Bureau as a marketing assistant and have worked my way up to Directir of Marketing at Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity. Mental health and suicide prevention advocacy has become a priority in my life. I am extremely excited to begin my journey to obtaining my Bachelor's Degree in Visual Communications.

When I was 16, I was prescribed pain killers and muscle relaxers after an injury. I began feeling depressed and unworthy of living life. In 2006, after graduating high school in the top 10 of my class, I began my Associate's degree in the hope of finding a purpose in life. In 2008, my depression was out of control and my dependence on controlled substances worsened. I started self-mutilating. My great-grandmother, who I was extremely close to, was losing her fight with Leukemia. In my final semester of college, I failed two courses. Luckily, with the SEED Scholarship Program, I was given another chance. In the summer of 2008, I obtained my Associate's degree. On December 31, 2008, my great-grandmother passed away, sending me spiraling into depression. My drug use was the worst it had ever been. My parents kicked me out of their house. I hit rock bottom. In 2009, I met my husband. When I moved into his house, I was still extremely dependent on drugs and self-mutilating. In October 2009, he was so fed up with my addiction, he flushed every single pill down the toilet. It was at this moment that I knew I was going to die if I didn't stop. In June 2012, we got married and moved into a new home. I'm proud to say I have been sober since 2009. I have built new relationships with my parents. I began my marketing career in 2015 as a marketing assistant and have worked up to Director of Marketing. Mental health and suicide prevention advocacy have become a priority in my life. I decided to finish my Bachelor's degree so my future will continue to be bright!

When we went into lockdown last year, I began working from home. Once I was finished with my work for the day, I would become bored of my usual hobbies - playing video games and watching movies. One day, I decided to pursue my dream hobby of creating art. That's when a friend suggested diamond painting. I quickly ordered "The Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh thinking the canvas would be small and the detail wouldn't be that great. Boy, was I completely wrong. The canvas was actually 16 inches by 20 inches and the detail was fantastic! It took me about three weeks to finish and I was absolutely hooked. This painting is now hanging in my office and everyone who visits me compliments it. I then began deeply researching different diamond art companies and found one that I particularly liked. The first canvas I purchased from them was significantly bigger - 22 inches by 30 inches - and even better detailed! I have since finished four diamond paintings which have now spurred my imagination to make my own original artwork and start my online store.

"Always continue to strive for greatness." This quote was spoken to me by my great-grandmother before she passed away. I have held this quote in my heart since the day she spoke those words so eloquently. My great-grandmother and I were extremely close and her passing devastated me - so much so that it sent me spiraling into depression and drug addiction. In 2008, my depression was getting out of control and my dependence on controlled substances got worse. I started self-mutilating. My great-grandmother was losing her fight with the Leukemia that she had lived with the majority of her life. In my last semester of college at Delaware Tech, I failed two courses. Luckily, with the SEED Program, I was given another chance. In the summer of 2008, I was able to finish those courses and obtain my degree. On December 31, 2008, my great-grandmother passed away. This sent me spiraling into depression and my drug use was the worst it had ever been - I didn't want to live without her. I was barely living, just showing up for work and doing the minimal amount of work to get by without getting fired. My parents kicked me out of their house and I hit rock bottom. In 2009, I met my best friend, who would eventually become my husband. When I moved into his house, I was still extremely dependent on drugs and self-mutilating to cope with the depression. In October 2009, he was so fed up with me constantly being high, he dumped every single pill down the toilet and flushed them. It was at this moment that I knew I was going to die if I didn't stop. After 3 years of working on myself and my relationships, in June 2012, we got married and moved into a new home. I'm proud to say I have been sober since that fateful day in 2009. Even though my great-grandmother passed early on in my journey, her inspiration to "always continue to strive for greatness" has inspired me to keep going no matter what life throws at me.

When I was 16 years old, I tore my shoulder muscle and was prescribed pain killers and muscle relaxers. I was beginning to feel depressed and unworthy of living life. In 2006, after graduating high school in the top 10 of my class, I began my Associate's degree with the hope of finding a new purpose. In 2008, my depression was out of control and my dependence on controlled substances worsened. I started self-mutilating. My great-grandmother was losing her fight with Leukemia that she lived with the majority of her life. In my last semester of college, I failed two courses. Luckily, I was given another chance. That summer, I was able to obtain my degree. But, I still couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with my life. On December 31, 2008, my great-grandmother passed away. This sent me spiraling into depression and my drug use was the worst it had ever been. I was barely living, just showing up for work and doing the minimum to get by without getting fired. My parents kicked me out of their house and I hit rock bottom. In 2009, I met my best friend, who would eventually become my husband. When I moved into his house, I was still dependent on drugs and self-mutilating to cope with the depression. In October 2009, he was so fed up with my addiction, he dumped every pill down the toilet and flushed them. It was at this moment that I knew I was going to die if I didn't stop. In June 2012, after three years of hard work, we got married and moved into a new home. I'm proud to say I have been sober since 2009. I successfully started my marketing career in 2009. I have been advocating for mental health and suicide prevention. I use my story to help others who are suffering see that it does get better when you have help.

My favorite artist is Van Gogh because of his painting "The Starry Night" and its history. "The Starry Night" is one of my favorite paintings of which I have hanging in my office at my full-time job. It is a constant reminder that even while a person may be at their lowest, they can continue to create masterpieces. Van Gogh has inspired me to continue creating artwork and never give up on my dreams.

When I was 16 years old, I tore my shoulder muscle and was prescribed pain killers and muscle relaxers. I was beginning to feel depressed and unworthy of living life. In 2006, after graduating high school in the top 10 of my class, I began my Associate's degree in the hope of finding a purpose in life. In 2008, my depression was getting out of control and my dependence on controlled substances got worse. I started self-mutilating. My great grandmother, who I was extremely close to, was losing her fight with the Leukemia that she had lived with a majority of her life. In my last semester of college at Delaware Tech, I failed two courses. Luckily, with the SEED Program, you are given another chance. In the summer of 2008, I was able to finish those courses and obtain my degree. I still couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with my life. On December 31, 2008, my great grandmother passed away. This sent me spiraling into depression and my drug use was the worst it had ever been - I didn't want to live without her. I was barely living, just showing up for work and doing the minimal amount of work to get by without getting fired. My parents kicked me out of their house and I hit rock bottom. In 2009, I met my best friend, who would eventually become my husband. When I moved into his house, I was still extremely dependent on drugs and self-mutilating to cope with the depression. In October 2009, he was so fed up with me constantly being high, he dumped every single pill down the toilet and flushed them. It was in this moment, well, after the initial shock, that I knew I was going to die if I didn't stop. After 3 years of working on myself and my relationships, in June 2012, we got married and moved into a new home. I'm proud to say I have been sober since that fateful day in 2009. I have gained a new relationship with both my mother and father. I have helped my husband successfully build his professional wrestling company. I began my marketing career in 2015 with Delaware Farm Bureau as a marketing assistant and have worked my way up to Marketing Manager at Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity with a goal to become Marketing Director. Mental health and suicide prevention advocacy has become a priority in my life. I am extremely excited to begin my journey to obtaining my Bachelor's Degree in Visual Communications.