For a time, I did not take my own mental health seriously and believed that I ought to handle it on my own. As a result of this, as well as tragedy compounding upon this, it showed in my academic performance and worsened the state of my mental health. However, when I had been given the chance to do better, I took said chance and began to open up and to seek help. Upon reaching out, I found that I was not alone in my suffering. While I knew this beforehand, it was comforting to realize that it was not just me. With the improvement of my mental health, I saw my academic performance recover and I saw more opportunities coming my way. More importantly, I saw what sort of standards I set for the life I led when I cared more about my health and my life. There had been times I did not care to see anything "get better", and where I did not want to connect to anyone any longer. These dark times required some level of perseverance, and I believe that mental health support is moreso a necessity now than ever, considering what the world has been faced with. Tragedies and uprisings around the world have left people, including myself, tired and anxious. Without the right mindset, there is no point to setting goals. Bad mental health will have anyone believing that it is pointless to do so, or that it simply will not work out due to lack of competence, regardless of how apt one is. Physical health is closely tied to mental health, and that, too, will be negatively impacted by unresolved mental health issues. For this reason, I advocate strongly for others to seek what is best for their mental health. Whether this be by seeking professional health or engaging in hobbies which bring out the best in them and allow them to flourish. In addition to this, I use this to research the best ways to portray mental health struggles in fiction so that it may one day be of help to someone. While my mental health still is a work in progress, I maintain it by attending therapy and reaching out to friends I know I can trust. Despite the trust issues I have faced, I have had to fight to overcome these issues as I have academic obstacles. Furthermore, I realized that I had to stop tying my self worth to my achievements as a student, but to myself as a person.

Many people expect for us to convey if we have a problem or not, and most will not intuitively figure us out the way those close to us will. For this reason, I choose to make my opinions known and to communicate loud and clear what it is that I need or what it is that I think. The notion of playing mind games and expecting someone to know what is on your mind is a grand waste of time on everyone's part. Why can't we tell each other something that makes us uncomfortable or about something that needs to be improved upon? There are many reasons in which someone may not pick up on subtle hints, and clear communication of one's thoughts is highly valued for this reason. It is unfair to expect others to know that I am upset or uncomfortable about something when I do not outright and overtly voice the fact. We were given abilities to construe our feelings and thoughts for a reason, and it is one way we can ensure to know what it is that someone wants or does not want. While it is unfortunate to expect others to know of a need for clear communication, it does provide the opportunity to communicate such a need.

When I study, I choose to fully immerse myself into the subject, whether it is in literature for one of my classes or for a language I am learning. I may choose to watch a portrayal of a classic literary work or listen to a story being read out, or I may listen to or watch my target language being spoken for me to better enunciate the words myself. If one is to approach language learning, I have found that one must regard themselves as a child in that language and therefore must see learning the language through the eyes of a child. It is when we are young that a great deal of our development in our primary language is forming actively; we must speak as the people we surround ourselves with if we want them to understand us. To immerse myself in Spanish when I took it in high school and in college, I chose to actively engage in conversations with Spanish speakers, who have helped me tremendously. As for literature, which is to do with my major, I immerse myself into the language that the author uses and read between the lines in order to better understand what it is the author is trying to say, as well as to understand beyond what the author is saying. A particular choice of words or a stylistic pattern in writing can convey more than the writer even realizes, and to study this, I observe the choices the author makes in their descriptions, and I share and receive feedback from my peers.

When I realized that everyone could be struggling with something, I decided that I did not want to be what's wrong with the world. Instead, I want to change the course of someone's day for the right reasons. Whether it's a stranger on the street, an employee in the store, or someone I know personally, I wish to approach them with understanding and empathy at all times. The notion that the way I treat people could either help them to have a better day or add onto an already good day makes me feel good, and because of this, I want to do good. For me, it is refreshing to be approached with a kindness that has no selfishness hiding behind it. Authentic kindness and empathy are highly valuable for me to show to others. I consider the reasons behind what sort of mood a person might be in, and I choose to be patient and to attempt to understand them. When I do so, I find that I uncover more about people and that they are grateful for me having taken the time and having made the effort to make them feel heard, even when they do not fully explain themselves.

The sentence I hope to share with the world is a quote my older brother has often shared with me, which is "youth is wasted on the young". From the point that I have heard this saying, my goal was to disprove it, namely with my ambitions and by acting on said ambitions. I would share this with younger generations as well, as I am certain that they would not just sit there and take it. Chances are, there is someone out there who, like me, would hear such a thing and wish to disprove it by making a significant difference. And in disproving this quote, these people would give us hope for our future and amount to doing greater things than most of us would think possible. While I can see the point of the quote, which is that younger generations waste their time on things that are trivial and later regret it when they wish they had the energy to do what was really important, I continue to see it as a challenge. A challenge for me to prove it wrong. I do not want it to stop with me, but I aim for it to continue on with even the generations that come after me so the world can evolve and its problems could be resolved, even if it's all done by youth who wanted to prove a sentence wrong.

A quality that has proved particularly important to me over the course of the last several years is my perseverance. Despite the difficulties that have been thrown my way, I have managed to overcome said difficulties. As far as I am concerned, it is my only choice. When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was seven years old, there was no other option but to take care of my medical condition, even if it is difficult. When my grandfather and my great grandmother passed away in the same year, I had spiraled into a profound and severe depression. In spite of the tragedy, I had family to support and to offer comfort to. I drew strength from the people who have been there for me. During the pandemic, my parents both were diagnosed with cancer and have taken turns taking care of each other with help from my younger brother and myself. As much as I have broken down over the fact, I could not give up when my family needed me. Not only have I continued attending school, but I also took care of my own health and took measures to avoid exposing myself to any illnesses unnecessarily. I have had to not only be vigilant in caring for my family, but I have also had to hold on to hope for the future. The future in which treatment was over, the future in which I earn a degree, the future in which my family can freely see everyone in person and embrace them.

Ever since I was a child, I have always been an avid reader and have thoroughly enjoyed reading. In particular, I enjoyed having the ability to slip into another world, and the authors I have read about have inspired me to make my own worlds for other readers to slip away into. Not only does creative writing, whether as the writer or the reader, provide an escape, but it also provokes thought. While I do realize that not everyone can be a best selling novelist, I will admit that this idea has motivated me to pursue a career in Creative Writing. On top of that, I feel safe knowing that there is a variety of careers to pursue, and therefore opportunities to express my creativity. Nobody has been able to make me waver in my decision, and from a young age I have written stories. I am determined to publish the stories that I write and to influence others through my writing the same way I have been positively influenced. I have noticed that females are more into reading than males, and that this shows even in schools. One of the goals I have is to write stories that would pull males into reading as well to close up the male to female discrepancy in literature classes and to pique their curiosity. Additionally, I intend to raise mental health awareness and to provoke thought about what our current society considers acceptable or normal, such as cancel culture. There are timeless classics in creative writing because they continue to hold relevance, and in the same way, my goal is to hold even a portion of that same relevance and to encourage not only for other creative writers to take up this exciting path, but also for readers to immerse themselves into something that I have created. Because of what creative writers have done for me and what they have inspired me to do, I would like to pass that on, whether that means by creating other creative writers or by providing something for a reader to enjoy. I currently attend Santa Ana College, although I plan to transfer into the University of California, Irvine for their creative writing program. I have heard amazing things about the curriculum that they offer for people who take on the creative writing major, and I look forward to seeing what it is they have to offer. I am someone who is quick to make plans into reality, because they cannot simply take up headspace forever. Others around me have remarked that I am ambitious, and I have a lot that I would like to do with this ambition within the world of creative writing. Past achievements of mine include but are not limited to winning National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) three times, a challenge in which writers dedicate themselves to writing 50,000 words within one month.

As one who battles with mental illness and knows others who battle with it, I remember the ways in which I was the shoulder for them to cry on. I want to be their support system, even if I have yet to address my own needs. Now especially, I have a greater understanding of how mental illness makes one feel utterly useless or better off dead. I have fallen into thoughts that I have failed everyone around me and I am not doing enough, nor am I at where I should be at. To better help others who struggle with their mental illnesses, I want to raise awareness and to challenge stigma that surrounds mental illness. Yes, I struggle with thinking negatively, but merely addressing the issue is not enough to resolve it. My depression and anxiety accompany a physical condition, and for those who additionally fight to manage their physical health as well as their mental health, they will understand the burn out of having to take care of themselves. To help those who struggle with mental illnesses, as well as I do, I wish to provide an outlet for it. I aspire to have a career as an author, as I feel inspired by those who have given me that outlet and have advocated for mental health awareness. I hope to establish an escape from the problems that those with mental illnesses face, but also to give them inspiration and to help them to take necessary steps to better their mental health.

Ever since I was a child, blood or needles have never scared me. While I'm healthy today, I fight an autoimmune condition which has rendered my pancreas unable to create insulin; I'm type one diabetic. My body quickly became frail, and despite me being a tall seven year old, my parents were able to carry me as if I were a baby. I had to adjust to a new way of life, which involved getting poked in the fingers and taking insulin shots. I didn't feel fearful, but I felt like it was normal. People tell me I'm brave.