I wanted a dog as soon as I could say the word dog. Unfortunately it would take another 28 years for my dream to come true. On February 28th of 2018 I met my best friend Lavender at the shelter she was living in. Lavender is 50% Aussie and 50% Scent hound. She's black with brown brindle, and in 2018 she was six months old searching for a home. I remember the first time I met her. My mom and I had come to the shelter looking for an older dog, a quiet dog, maybe a subdued dog. Instead I met this vibrant puppy who just wanted to snuggle and lick my face. It was like Lavender knew we were going to bring her home she was so excited. While I had been looking for dogs, I had been struggling deeply for some time. In 2017 I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental health condition that incapacitated me for over a year. It took almost three years to get myself stabilized. Lavender coming home in 2018 played a big part in my stabilization. As soon as we brought her home, Lavender immediately began to influence me positively. I was going outside to play! Going on daily walks! Meeting people and dogs at the dog park! My life had shrunk through my mental health struggles and Lavender slowly opened it back up for me. When I broke down and cried on the hard days Lavender was always there for me. She's never liked it when I cry. First she tries to lick the tears off my face and when that doesn't work, she snuggles in and rests her head on my chest. Laying with her and hearing her breathe deeply and slowly always calms me down. Lavender is 4.5 now and she's the best friend I ever could've imagined. She's so smart and she brightens my day at least 10 times a day. From chasing her tail to enjoying a delicious treat, I love watching Lavender experience the world. Her joy is infectious and it spreads to me constantly. She's my motivation on days I don't want to go to work and my trainer on days I'd rather not take her for a walk. My life is just better with Lavender on every level and marker I can think of. I was barely making it through every single day when I met Lavender. Now thanks to her presence in my life I think broadly. I can't wait to spend the next decade happy with my best friend.

Law school textbooks are shockingly expensive. It seems excessive, but if I had $1,000 right now I would use it to buy textbooks for school in the Fall. I've been lucky enough to be awarded a generous scholarship but unfortunately it still leaves me with tens of thousands of dollars to pay for with loans every year. I'm an independent older student coming into law school. I've worked for over 11 years and the last 3 in low income public services legal jobs. I adore what I do but it certainly doesn't pay well. Additionally my goal post law school is to stay in the legal aid field as a lawyer. Once again, not a lucrative career path. I'm not fueled by a giant salary, rather I want to use my skills productively to help my community. I know how hard it is to make $1,000 and I know how much I need an extra $1,000. I would be endlessly grateful to be granted this scholarship and I promise to use it as impactfully as I can. I've lived my entire adult life on a tight budget, I know how to make $1,000 go a long way.

I've been given so much in my life. It would be impossibly selfish to not give back. In my opinion, gratefulness and selflessness are some of the most important character attributes that I have embraced over time. I believe that people are happier and healthier when they are grateful. Most importantly I've learned that I don't need to receive something to be grateful, but giving to other people makes me feel grateful because of what I'm able to offer others. My biggest selfless act has been going for 13 years now. When I was in college my father got very sick for a very long time. After months in the hospital the only thing that gave him any energy at all was getting a blood transfusion. He received a gift not many people would give: a part of their body. The positive emotions I felt when I saw my dad after his transfusions were enough to convince me I needed to give blood for the rest of my life. I've been giving both blood and platelets as often as I'm able to for over a decade now. For me the best form of selflessness is really going out of your way for someone else. Blood donations aren't incredibly easy, and they aren't incredibly quick. When I donate platelets my appointments tend to run for over an hour. I'll also never know who received my donation. The anonymous aspect makes it better for me. I feel that I'm able to give back to humanity as a whole, not to one known person. Helping others makes everyone feel good, not just the person who is getting.

"Live below your means, invest early, and invest often." As a broke millennial I never thought investing would be on my horizon for at least a decade. After all you have to have extra money to invest extra money right? When I turned 30 I started to look at any help I could possibly get to grow what little money I had. So I turned to Instagram. Instagram is FULL of personal finance advice. Granted Instagram is mostly full of pictures of food and cats, but personal finance is real and thriving. Over the next 6 months I read as much as I could about investing, saving, all the basics of personal finance that I wasn't taught in school. Finally I came across an amazing Instagram page called "Personal Finance Club." Thanks to the guidance of the page runner I finally saw information in a way that makes sense to me. His slogan is "Live below your means, invest early, and invest often." Thanks to personal finance Instagram I learned that if I made a few small cuts out of my weekly budget I do have enough money to invest. I started with an app called Acorns and signed up for their "round up" feature. This means that every time I spend money the full dollar amount rounds up and gets invested for me. For example, if I spent $1.75, .25 will be taken out of my bank account and invested. While my investing isn't lucrative yet it is consistent. I took that piece of advice to heart and it's helping me save towards my future.

I've been given so much in my life. It would be impossibly selfish to not give back. In my opinion, gratefulness is the most important character attribute that I have embraced over time. I believe that people are happier and healthier when they are grateful. Most importantly I've learned that I don't need to receive something to be grateful, but giving to other people makes me feel grateful because of what I'm able to offer others. My biggest act of giving back has been going for 13 years now. When I was in college my father got very sick for a very long time. After months in the hospital the only thing that gave him any energy at all was getting a blood transfusion. He received a gift not many people would give: a part of their body. The positive emotions I felt when I saw my dad after his transfusions were enough to convince me I needed to give blood for the rest of my life. I've been giving both blood and platelets as often as I'm able to for over a decade now. For me the best form of giving is really going out of your way for someone else. Blood donations aren't incredibly easy, and they aren't incredibly quick. When I donate platelets my appointments tend to run for over an hour. I'll also never know who received my donation. The anonymous aspect makes it better for me. I feel that I'm able to give back to humanity as a whole, not to one known person. Giving makes everyone feel good, not just the person getting the gift.

I live a very good comfortable life and I'm about to turn it all upside down. I have a stable job with people I love, I have a steady group of friends, and hobbies that enrich my life. In a few months I'll be giving up most of those wonderful things and moving to Oregon, one state away. Why am I uprooting my life and moving to Oregon? Two words- law school. I'm moving away from everything I know because I've discovered what fuels my life. My life is fueled by legal aid work, and along with my comfortable life I want to pursue the fuel of affordable legal work for the rest of my life. I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My life right now is good, however my passion for myself is to have a great life. I believe I can temporarily leave everything that I love to set myself up for a better more stable life.

Speaking with a clear honest voice can be scary and difficult. Growing up I wasn't the most confident child, teen, or young adult. I was anxious and never thought my words would measure up to other people's. I would tell people what they wanted to hear or what would make them feel better. I didn't think that my truth mattered. Over time I started trying to work within myself to speak my mind more often. I realized the key component in my sharing what's on my mind was to always speak with honesty and conviction. As an adult now I can speak my mind all day every day. I can speak my mind because I realize that when I speak I speak honestly and my words have value. I'm going to law school this Fall and I'm excited for a whole new educational avenue to speak my mind. Law school can be very challenging and easy to hide amongst the crowd. I'm not afraid of speaking my mind in law school even if in the end I don't get the right answer. As long as I'm honest and true, I can value myself enough to speak my mind .

My father died when I was 19. It was absolutely devastating and I grieved for many years. My dad didn't have a long life. He died when he was 63. After he died I started thinking about the life I want to lead. The word that kept coming back to me was long. I want to live a long life. So I got started thinking and reading about how people lived long lives. I read and I read and I think it comes down to one thing. Gratitude. Gratitude makes you healthier, it makes you calmer, and it makes you happier. Grateful people have better blood pressure and better heart rates. Grateful people also have less anxiety. So I decided I needed to start practicing gratitude every single day. My gratefulness practice has helped me re-frame my life. Instead of feeling grumpy in the morning because I have to go to work, I'm grateful I have a paying job to go to every day. At the end of the day when I've driven home and I'm exhausted, I used to feel resentful I had to walk my dog. Now I am so thankful I have my wonderful dog and of course I want to walk her. She makes me happy, why shouldn't I try to make her happy. I believe gratefulness will help me live a long healthy life if I can avoid cancer. I believe that this practice of gratefulness will benefit every part of my body and soul. I'm thankful I began practicing years ago.

I didn't think I was remarkable for most of my life. I'm an average weight, an average height, with an average shoe size. I got average grades in school and when I graduate college I had a series of unremarkable average jobs. It wasn't until I started paralegal school in 2018 that I really started to appreciate one of my most valuable characteristics. Paralegal school can be very difficult, particularly if one is coming in with no background knowledge. I struggled through much of school, but I kept getting good grades despite my struggles and I realized what character trait school had revealed about me. I might not be the smartest, or the best, but I will work and continue to keep working, long after everyone else is done, so I can learn absolutely everything I can possibly learn. My mother would say: "you have no quit in you Holly." I finally love and appreciate that about myself. I'm going to be starting law school in the Fall and not having any quit is going to help me thrive. I know school is going to be fantastically difficult but at the same time I know I won't give up. If I fail I know I failed trying my hardest. Tenacity is under-appreciated but in pressure situations it can be the best thing I have going for me.

My major passion in life is building a career full of successful legal aid lawyer work. Building my dream life full of my passion has been a focus of mine since I turned 30. I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. Through my legal aid internship I realized I didn't want to stop at becoming a paralegal. I came to the point where I realized I could only live out my true passions and goals if I became a lawyer. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My passion might be simple, but its mine and I'm proud of it. Having a concrete way forward feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies.

Live below your means, invest early, and invest often. As a broke millennial I never thought investing would be on my horizon for at least a decade. After all you have to have extra money to invest extra money right? When I turned 30 I started to look at any help I could possibly get to grow what little money I had. So I turned to Instagram. Instagram is FULL of personal finance advice. Granted Instagram is mostly full of pictures of food and cats, but personal finance is real and thriving. Over the next 6 months I read as much as I could about investing, saving, all the basics of personal finance that I wasn't taught in school. Finally I came across an amazing Instagram page called "Personal Finance Club." Thanks to the guidance of the page runner I finally saw information in a way that makes sense to me. His slogan is "Live below your means, invest early, and invest often." Thanks to personal finance Instagram I learned that if I made a few small cuts out of my weekly budget I do have enough money to invest. I started with an app called Acorns and signed up for their "round up" feature. This means that every time I spend money the full dollar amount rounds up and gets invested for me. For example, if I spent $1.75, .25 will be taken out of my bank account and invested. While my investing isn't lucrative yet it is consistent. I took that tip to heart and it's helping me save towards my future.

I have a passion for practical crafts. Over the years I've learned a variety of art forms involving hand crafts. I've hand carved stamps, crocheted, knitted, collaged, quilted, and cross stitched. However after years of practice I decided to focus on two hobbies: quilting and crocheting. Quilting and crocheting are my favorite hobbies because of what I can make with them. My favorite items to make are blankets. Blankets mean comfort and love to me. I love making quilted or crocheted blankets to gift to friends and family. My cousin has one of my earliest crocheted blankets and she photographs it often on her social media. Seeing that blanket thrills me every time she posts about it. I love watching her dog or her child on it relaxing. I love seeing her reading a favorite book under the blanket. Unlike a painting or a photograph, blankets give people interactive experiences every time they're used. I also believe blankets and quilts are a way to leave a legacy. I have a quilt that was passed down to me by my grandmother and it's nearly 75 years old. I love the idea of leaving something for my relatives to be comforted by after I'm gone. Quilting and crocheting help me be a better friend to others by allowing me to give thoughtful and meaningful gifts while practicing my skills.

I don't have a single piece of inspiring art, my favorite art is a full category. My favorite art is a category of art, not an individual piece. I am deeply passionate about the folk art of quilting. From a quilt made of flour sacks from the 1920s to a modern quilt made in 2022, I love them all. Quilting is an amazing art because you can track the changes in culture and time through quilts. In the early days of modern American quilting, fabric was scarce and money was short. Most of the country was barely making ends meet. Quilts tended to be made of old garments. Some were made out of flour sacks. As the flour companies started to hear about how their sacks were being used they started to print designs on them to make them more attractive fabric. Another thing I love about quilting is, it's a heavily female centric art form. The vast majority of quilters throughout history and to present day are women. As a feminist I feel very honored to help contribute to the art form in my own small way. In addition to deeply admiring the quilts made by others, I love making quilts myself. The best quilt is one made for a friend, and I love giving quilts as presents. You can't snuggle on the couch with a painting but you can with a quilt. Quilts are art and quilts are comfort, that is why I love them.

"Law is an access to justice issue." The chair of the paralegal department stood in front of class on the first day and said that sentence. Her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. Her wisdom is important because it's a rallying cry for justice. That phrase made me want to be a lawyer. To me those words of wisdom are important because they've helped so many people pursue a civically minded legal career. Her wise words were simple, clear, cogent, and they inspired the current trajectory of my life. I believe these words can be influential to more than just law students. Everyone can do their part towards a more equal world.

Talking on the phone seems easy. For me sometimes it's almost impossible. I've had a stutter my entire life and while my speaking in person to person conversation is still difficult, talking on the phone gives me the most challenges in day-to-day life communication. My turnaround story has encompassed my entire working life. For years I didn't practice the self love I needed to learn to embrace my stutter. I was embarrassed by my limitations and felt less than other people. Over time however, with the help of good friends, self reflections, and therapy, I learned to be brave with my stutter. My brain works differently and that's okay. Unfortunately other people tend to not share my radical acceptance about my disability. When you stutter in person the other person being spoken to can see your body language and identify your disability. I decided as long as I spoke with conviction and valued my words I could be brave enough to talk on the phone at work. I turned around my attitude towards speaking on the phone. I realized that I could change my attitude and fear through inner work and I'm proud of the accomplishments I've made. In my current job as a legal aid paralegal I have to talk on the phone frequently. When I started I was terrified and it impacted my work. I was still holding on to the belief that I was incapable because I stuttered. I now realize that, I can stutter on the phone, it's okay. My brain works differently and I can't expect the same level of speech that a fluent speaker has. I talk on the phone all the time and I'm not afraid to do it anymore.

I had to learn to be confident, unfortunately it has never come naturally. Growing up I was easily swayed by what my peers were doing and my approach to life never seemed to measure up. As a perpetual late bloomer, it took me until my late 20s to learn for me confidence means always being true to myself. I learned for me to honor myself, I had to learn to love myself each and every day. Once I learned to love myself, everything else became much easier. The other thing I had to learn to be confident was speaking with integrity and conviction. I can stand behind everything I say and do because I say it with a purpose. I work on confidence through practice, self reflection, and therapy. I believe working on my confidence will be a daily journey for the rest of my life. For me I build confidence through practicing appreciation for the things I have done right each day. Every time I know I've made the full effort on a task that I tried, my confidence soars. A valued mentor told me once that you'll know you're honoring yourself with confidence and grace when each night before you go to sleep you can think about the actions you took that day and fall asleep peacefully. I'm happy to say I can do that.

I don't really believe in bucket lists. I think they can put too much pressure on a person. However, when considering the primary goal in my life I realized I just had a very short bucket list. I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My bucket list might be simple, but its mine and I'm proud of it. Having a concrete way forward feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies. I believe I've made great progress with my one bucket list item so far. However I'm very sure of the fact that as my life and career progresses, I'll have more and more to add to my bucket list.

Loving your friends takes effort. I make my friends and family feel loved by putting forth the necessary effort to help our relationships thrive. Friendships don't build themselves, and they certainly don't maintain themselves. Building friendships takes work, honesty, and the mutual appreciation of the other person. Friendship to me is the most joyous effort I put out on a weekly basis. Friendship is sending a special card to a friend who is having a bad month, it's going out of your way to attend their kid's soccer game just so they know you love their kids as much as you love them. Friendship can be light and fun, but friendship can also buoy dark depressing days. In the deepest darkest parts of my life, my friends saved me from myself. They were there to support me, to cheer me up, make me laugh, and always make sure I knew I was valued. Family is supposed to love you forever just because, but friends are different. We don't spend time with people we're ambivalent to. Life is just too busy to bother. Friends are different though, unlike family, friends haven't been paired with you through an accident of birth, friendship is a choice every single day. My friends brighten my life, they make me laugh, they show up when I need them, and I always know I can reach out when I'm in need. I try every day through showing up to make them feel loved.

"Franny and Zooey" isn't considered a great book. It never makes any best of the generation lists. It's not even considered the author's finest work. I however believe it's a wonderful book and I'm here to tell you why. "Franny and Zooey" by J.D. Salinger is a short novel about family, death, resilience, and mental health. Franny and Zooey the title characters are two siblings who are former child prodigies and struggling with stabilizing their adult lives. Franny has recently taken up meditating with an ancient book, she's struggling with her mental health, and is in the process of ending her long time relationship. No one knows how to help her until her brother Zooey intervenes. Simultaneously the whole family is still mourning the death of their brother by suicide some time ago. Understanding builds empathy and that's what I think "Franny and Zooey" shines at. The personal accounts of just trying to get through daily life are compelling and they help people consider their own lives. Loss, love for a sibling, and trouble adjusting to adulthood are very common issues young adults have to deal with and this book helps reflect on your own situation and helps you act with empathy towards others who are struggling. No one gets saved in this book. There are no knights in shining armor. No one wins in the end. That's what makes this book so perfect. By not having a defined conclusion the book reflects real life. There are very few grand endings in regular life. "Franny and Zooey" helped me understand myself better and consider other people's situations more deeply. That is why I consider it an excellent book.

"Franny and Zooey" isn't normally thought about as an inspiring book but I'm here to disagree with you. "Franny and Zooey" by J.D. Salinger is a short novel about family, death, resilience, and mental health. Franny and Zooey the title characters are two siblings who are former child prodigies and struggling with stabilizing their adult lives. Franny has recently taken up meditating with an ancient book, she's struggling with her mental health, and is in the process of ending her long time relationship. No one knows how to help her until her brother Zooey intervenes. Simultaneously the whole family is still mourning the death of their brother by suicide some time ago. Understanding builds empathy and that's what I think "Franny and Zooey" shines at. The personal accounts of just trying to get through daily life are compelling and they help people consider their own lives. Loss, love for a sibling, and trouble adjusting to adulthood are very common issues young adults have to deal with and this book helps reflect on your own situation and helps you act with empathy towards others who are struggling. No one gets saved in this book. There are no knights in shining armor. No one wins in the end. That's what makes this book so perfect. By not having a defined conclusion the book reflects real life. There are very few grand endings in regular life. "Franny and Zooey" helped me understand myself better and consider other people's situations more deeply. That is why I consider it an excellent book.

"Law is an access to justice issue." The chair of the paralegal department stood in front of class on the first day and said that sentence. Her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. Her wisdom is important because it's a rallying cry for justice. That phrase made me want to be a lawyer. I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. As I get older I think more about the legacy I want to leave the more I learn that I want it to be through providing affordable legal services. I will probably be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. To me those words of wisdom are important because they've helped so many people pursue a civically minded legal career.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. As I get older I think more about the legacy I want to leave the more I learn that I want it to be through providing affordable legal services. I will probably be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My goals may be simple, but they're mine and I'm proud of them. Having a concrete way forward the legacy I want to leave feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies. I believe the world is lacking in compassionate attorneys and I can change that.

Talking on the phone seems easy. For me sometimes it's almost impossible. I've had a stutter my entire life and while my speaking in person to person conversation is still difficult, talking on the phone gives me the most challenges in day-to-day life communication. For years I didn't practice the self love I needed to learn to embrace my stutter. I was embarrassed by my limitations and felt less than other people. Over time however, with the help of good friends, self reflections, and therapy, I learned to be brave with my stutter. My brain works differently and that's okay. Unfortunately other people tend to not share my radical acceptance about my disability. When you stutter in person the other person being spoken to can see your body language and identify your disability. Over the phone people get more harsh and judgmental. In order to meet judgement with calm I needed to push through and be brave. I told myself that my words have value and I would stand up for my disfluency and the harsh words of others. I decided as long as I spoke with conviction and valued my words I could be brave enough to talk on the phone at work. In my current job as a legal aid paralegal I have to talk on the phone frequently. When I started I was terrified and it impacted my work. I was still holding on to the belief that I was incapable because I stuttered. I now realize that, I can stutter on the phone, it's okay. My brain works differently and I can't expect the same level of speech that a fluent speaker has. I talk on the phone all the time and I'm not afraid to do it anymore.

Talking on the phone seems easy. For me sometimes it's almost impossible. I've had a stutter my entire life and while my speaking in person to person conversation is still difficult, talking on the phone gives me the most challenges in day-to-day life communication. For years I didn't practice the self love I needed to learn to embrace my stutter. I was embarrassed by my limitations and felt less than other people. Over time however, with the help of good friends, self reflections, and therapy, I learned to treat my stutter as a neutral part of my life. My brain works differently and that's okay. Unfortunately other people tend to not share my radical acceptance about my disability. When you stutter in person the other person being spoken to can see your body language and identify your disability. Over the phone people get more harsh and judgmental. In my current job as a legal aid paralegal I have to talk on the phone frequently. When I started I was terrified and it impacted my work. I was still holding on to the belief that I was incapable because I stuttered. I decided to practice talking on the phone to get more comfortable. I called people dribing to work and driving home. Part of solving this obstacle involved me never giving up. Over time my co-workers and family encouraged me. I now realize that, I can stutter on the phone, it's okay. My brain works differently and I can't expect the same level of speech that a fluent speaker has. I talk on the phone all the time and I'm not afraid to do it anymore. Through the help of loved ones I was able to persevere and tackle this obstacle.

Talking on the phone seems easy. For me sometimes it's almost impossible. I've had a stutter my entire life and while my speaking in person to person conversation is still difficult, talking on the phone gives me the most challenges in day-to-day life communication. For years I didn't practice the self love I needed to learn to embrace my stutter. I was embarrassed by my limitations and felt less than other people. Over time however, with the help of good friends, self reflections, and therapy, I learned to treat my stutter as a neutral part of my life. My brain works differently and that's okay. Unfortunately other people tend to not share my radical acceptance about my disability. When you stutter in person the other person being spoken to can see your body language and identify your disability. Over the phone people get more harsh and judgmental. In my current job as a legal aid paralegal I have to talk on the phone frequently. When I started I was terrified and it impacted my work. I was still holding on to the belief that I was incapable because I stuttered. Over time my co-workers and family encouraged me. I now realize that, I can stutter on the phone, it's okay. My brain works differently and I can't expect the same level of speech that a fluent speaker has. I talk on the phone all the time and I'm not afraid to do it anymore. Through the help of loved ones I was able to persevere and tackle this obstacle.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. I will probably be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My acts of service might be simple, but they're mine and I'm proud of them. I want to serve my community through providing affordable legal assistance.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. If I was a highly influential figure I would work towards changing representation rules. 80% of family law litigants in my home state of Washington are unrepresented in court. I would stand for making sure that every family law litigant has access to an attorney for a reasonable cost or free. You shouldn't have to be rich to get justice. The poor need people to fight for them. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. I want to take a stand even though I'm not an influential figure. I don't believe you have to be an influential figure to enact the change you want to see.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. As I get older I think more about the legacy I want to leave the more I learn that I want it to be through providing affordable legal services. I will probably be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My bucket list might be simple, but it's mine and I'm proud of it. Having a concrete way forward the legacy I want to leave feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. I will probably be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. I've learned that the most effective way I can help people is navigating them through the legal system. I believe that every one of us has at least one passion or talent that we can use to assist others. My way might be slow and tedious but I believe that the judicial system can bring tragic results to unrepresented litigants and I can help them avoid those tragic results. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My goals might be simple, but they're mine and I'm proud of them. Having a concrete way forward feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. I will probably be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My goals might be simple, but they're mine and I'm proud of them. Having a concrete way forward feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. I will be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My goals might be simple, but they're mine and I'm proud of them. Having a concrete way forward feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies.

Independence can be scary early on. It's easy to try and surround yourself with people who will help bail you out of any issue. However, that doesn't mean you can't turn to others for help while being an independent person. Independence was scary to me initially until I realized my understanding of what independence was was very skewed. I thought to be independent I had to do every single thing by myself no matter how difficult it was. That's simply not true. I believe now that independence comes from knowing yourself, trusting yourself, and realizing when a problem is too big and you need to call in help. You don't need to live alone to be independent, you don't need to be single to be independent. Independence is a state of mind. Independence is wanting people in your life, not needing people in your life. Until recently I was in a long-term relationship. I was afraid at the beginning of our relationship that I would quickly lose my independence. For the first time in my adult life I was letting someone else pay for things or make plans for me. However I learned that it was possible to love having someone in my life, want to be with them, and still maintain my own life. We had time apart, we did things with our own friends, and we learned how to live individual lives while still enjoying all of our time together. Independence is important in life because it helps one realize their own value and strengths. To me being an independent woman means that I honor my own decisions, live my own life, but still deeply want others around me.

I like to call it a gallop. There's no other way to describe the free rein run of a dog living her best life at the dog park. The dog in question is named Lavender. Lavender is four, she's a hound, her favorite hobby is eating my socks, and she's my best friend. Finding happiness during the pandemic has been a challenge for everyone. The isolation and fear can be debilitating. My mental health has suffered throughout the pandemic. Thankfully my simple pleasure was accessible even through the depths of Covid. Taking Lavender to the dog park and watching her play and romp off-leash brings me more joy than most things ever have. No matter what happened that day I know I'll regain a sense of peace as we walk the trails together. Watching Lavender trot ahead of me as we walk through the woods reminds me that if I take a moment, breathe, and try to experience life as a happy dog, all the day's troubles will quickly fade away. My anxiety and worry slips away while I'm walking Lavender through the par. To me, happiness can be as big or as simple as you want it to be. Personally I seek happiness through the small things which bring me peace during the week.

Living with a disability helps one develop empathy. I've been different all my life. I have a life long severe stutter and I've spent the last 30 years watching people act cruelly towards me without a hint of empathy in their demeanor. Because of this treatment, I quickly learned to deeply empathize with others, particularly fellow members of the disabled community. Not that you should only show empathy to people with disabilities, rather, it's an undisputed fact that their lives are more difficult. When you're facing challenges from birth, it's an act of kindness and ease to be treated with empathy. I know how hard it is to be treated like you are less then a full person. Empathy serves me in all aspects of my life. Empathy helps me assume the best out of people's actions. Empathy helps me serve my community in my job as a legal aid paralegal. Empathy has helped me better my relationship with my mother. I believe that acting with empathy towards others will improve your life as well. I developed empathy through adversity but I'm proud to be able to use it to serve others.

People tend to be impatient with me. It's truly the hardest daily part of my life. Why are people impatient with me? I have a verbal disability, a stutter, and speaking can be very difficult for me. Stuttering is relatively rare impacting about 1% of the population. Stuttering is so rare that many people have never encountered someone with a stutter. That's where the impatience comes in. Making a stutterer flustered is a self fulfilling prophecy. The more I feel like someone is trying to cut me off or hurry me the more I stutter. People can be cruel in their impatience. I've heard things like, "what don't you know how to talk?", "what is wrong with you?" and "oh did you forget your name?" It's easy to forget the importance of verbal communication unless you're unable to communicate fluently. The words that flow off other people's tongues so easily get stuck in my mouth in a jarring way. Patience is a virtue and patience makes my life easier. My friends and family help me relax by being patient with me. Their ease puts me at ease and helps me remember that they are truly listening to my words and not just hearing my stutter. I realize it can be difficult to be patient but I believe the entire disabled community would be better served if the world could develop a bit more patience. We're different and sometimes we need more patience but our thoughts are as valuable as anyone else's.

I don't have a single favorite piece of art and I'm alright with that. My favorite art is a category of art, not an individual piece. I am deeply passionate about the folk art of quilting. From a quilt made of flour sacks from the 1920s to a modern quilt made in 2022, I love them all. Quilting is an amazing art because you can track the changes in culture and time through quilts. In the early days of modern American quilting, fabric was scarce and money was short. Most of the country was barely making ends meet. Quilts tended to be made of old garments. Some were made out of flour sacks. As the flour companies started to hear about how their sacks were being used they started to print designs on them to make them more attractive fabric. Another thing I love about quilting is, it's a heavily female centric art form. The vast majority of quilters throughout history and to present day are women. As a feminist I feel very honored to help contribute to the art form in my own small way. In addition to deeply admiring the quilts made by others, I love making quilts myself. The best quilt is one made for a friend, and I love giving quilts as presents. You can't snuggle on the couch with a painting but you can with a quilt. Quilts are art and quilts are comfort, that is why I love them.

It's amazing how far kindness goes. In 2018 I was in the lowest depths of my life so far. I had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and I had been struggling with my deeply disturbed mental health for over a year. All I wanted to do was cry. At the time I also had a job that did nothing to help my mental health. My boss was unkind and not understanding in the slightest, so I knew I couldn't show emotion at work beyond happiness. I felt like crying all the time and finally found a place to do it during the work day. My friend Eli owns the bookstore that is three doors down from my old job. One day I just came in crying and Eli ushered me into the back office. He hugged me and listened to me and after I had stopped crying and needed to go back to work, he told me something that I'll always thank him for: "You can always come in the back office, you don't need to ask anyone, just come back." I cried a lot that year and Eli was there every time I needed him. His kindness helped buoy me through the darkest time of my life. I believe that one of the most practical situations for helping people struggling with their mental health is showing kindness and empathy. It's amazing how far a little kindness goes.

Getting diagnosed with ADHD changed my life. All of the attributes I had always seen as personal failures were revealed as symptoms. Irritability, inattentiveness, lack of energy, and poorly regulated moods were suddenly a sign that my brain worked differently, not that I was a poorly managed adult. It was one of the biggest reliefs of my life but it also came with a surprising amount of regret and "what ifs". What if I had known earlier and hadn't spent all of college trying to not fall asleep in class? What if I had known earlier and been able to quell my debilitating anxiety. After I had the revelation of a diagnosis it made me sad to realize some of my past struggles could've been prevented. However, with some time and careful thought I came to realize that no matter how much I wish I could change my past; it simply wasn't possible. So I set my eyes on using this new knowledge to change my future and help me go after my goals. I'm going to law school so I can serve my community. Currently I work on a tribal reservation guiding my clients through the court system. I love my job flaws and all. The challenges of working on a reservation are plentiful but the community is tight-knit and wonderful. Generations of inherited trauma and abuse still run rampant through the community as many of us work to right the damage as much as we can. My work as a paralegal on the reservation inspired me to go to law school. As much as I love my job, working as a paralegal comes with far more limitations then working as an attorney does. I want to be an attorney to fully represent my clients and let them know they still have a voice in a system that is deeply biased towards the rich and powerful. I think I'm a good candidate for this scholarship because I have clear achievable goals with plans to reach them. I've learned how to effectively manage my ADHD to the point where I'm confident I'm ready for the workload of law school. I make lists, write everything down, and always take my meds. I openly discuss my ADHD with others without fear of judgement or stigma. I'm at a point in my life where I'm proud of my ADHD. It has brought me many challenges in life and I've worked through them to get to the point where I'm at now. I'd like to be considered for the scholarship because I can be an example of an attorney thriving with ADHD, therefore helping to sway some of the bias society still holds towards learning disabilities. Thank you for considering my application.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. I will probably be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My goals might be simple, but they're mine and I'm proud of them. Having a concrete way forward feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. I will probably be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My goals might be simple, but they're mine and I'm proud of them. Having a concrete way forward feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. I will probably be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My goals might be simple, but they're mine and I'm proud of them. Having a concrete way forward feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. I will probably be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My dream life might be simple, but its mine and I'm proud of it. Having a concrete way forward feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies.

I fell in love with legal aid in 2019. I was working for the county legal aid organization as a paralegal intern in a clinic for domestic violence survivors with custody issue. It was long, hard, occasionally emotional work, but getting results was simply joyous. Being a legal aid paralegal was what inspired me to apply to law school for Fall 2022 enrollment. I will probably be leaving my state for law school, but I have a goal of coming back. After living in a small island town for the last 11 years I've grown to love the connections that are made. My community is extremely important to me and I want to spend the rest of my work life serving them through providing free or affordable legal services. "Law is an access to justice issue" said my favorite paralegal professor and her statement rings truer to me every day I work with low income clients. The judicial system is strongly biased towards the rich and powerful. Low income litigants who often have educational gaps or weak knowledge of technology are left to fend for themselves. It's easy to feel like you don't have a voice when everything is working against you. I want to be that voice for my clients. My goals might be simple, but they're mine and I'm proud of them. Having a concrete way forward feels really good and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path as I begin my law studies.

I like to joke that I go to work so my dog can live her best life. Seriously though, on days when I'm down, that does become my motivation for the day. In a simple way I think that my daily motivators are thinking about things that will bring me happiness and peace and try to work towards them every day. The biggest motivator to me is my own self improvement. In the 11 years since I graduated college, I've had a long road of ups and downs, but every day I wake up and tell myself if I can keep going, I can build the life I want. When I'm trying to save money I motivate myself with a reminder that I want to buy a house some day. When I'm trying to get out the door for work in the morning I motivate myself to leave earlier with a gentle reminder that being late makes me anxious. I think motivators are there to better our lives. Most importantly though, is my mom. My mom is my biggest cheerleader and my biggest motivator. Every time I doubt myself, there she is with kind encouraging words. My mom helps motivate me to be the best person I can be by reminding me that in her eyes I am already great but have room to do so much more.

I like to call it a gallop. There's no other way to describe the free rein run of a dog living her best life at the dog park. The dog in question is named Lavender. Lavender is four, she's a hound, her favorite hobby is eating my socks, and she's my best friend. Finding happiness during the pandemic has been a challenge for everyone. The isolation and fear can be debilitating. Thankfully my simple pleasure was accessible even through the depths of Covid. Taking Lavender to the dog park and watching her play and romp off-leash brings me more joy than most things ever have. No matter what happened that day I know I'll regain a sense of peace as we walk the trails together. Watching Lavender trot ahead of me as we walk through the woods reminds me that if I take a moment, breathe, and try to experience life as a happy dog, all the day's troubles will quickly fade away. To me, happiness can be as big or as simple as you want it to be. Personally I seek happiness through the small things which bring me peace during the week.

I don't think I'm old enough to have a handle on what the meaning of life is. But I'll take a stab at it. I think the meaning of life is working through fear and arriving at joy and contentment. Everyone is scared, more then they tend to let on. Death, disease, unemployment, public speaking, bears, car accidents, lightning strikes: the list can go on and on. The point however is, everyone lives in fear to some extent. That's okay and completely normal, fear to a certain degree is healthy, it's an evolutionary development to help humans stay alive. However, fear isn't productive and managing it is vital to a happy and fulfilled life. The joy comes from facing your fears and finding ways around them. I try to achieve this through a combination of things but my predominate methods are therapy and long walks with my dog Lavender. I try to achieve joy over fear through thoughtful discussions and time in nature. I've found that these two things tend to help my fears melt away.

If you told me five years ago what I'd be doing this year I'd have thought you were lying. Five years ago I was battling my mental health struggles to the deepest depths of my soul. Staying alive felt impossible for months on end, every single tiny amount of focus I had left was spent keeping myself breathing one more day. After a manic episode which led to a bipolar diagnosis I would spend the next two years in a constant cycle of guess and check as my care providers struggled to help regulate me and prescribe me the right medications. Three years ago I could feel myself starting to emerge. I could breathe again, I could laugh again, and vitally I could finally start thinking long term rather than slogging through life day by day never thinking about what was next. I sat with my thoughts long enough to realize my dream of working in the legal field was entirely possible. So I started paralegal school that summer. It was the first time in many years I had been enrolled in formal school. I was deeply intimidated. And I loved every minute of it. As much as I love being a paralegal, when working in law offices I quickly realized the deep limitations of my job. Paralegals are a vital part of the legal system, but they can't give legal advice, and they can never make the final decision about what happens with a client. I wanted to do more, so I decided to apply to law school. I'm going to law school this Fall, and without the last five years of struggle I would have never grown to the point where I could embrace the challenges of law school. My challenges brought me here and I love it.

I think a big mistake about friendships is the belief that they should be easy. Now I'm not saying that one shouldn't be comfortable around their friends, have easy banter, and just enjoy quality time with each other. They absolutely should. Friendships don't build themselves however, and they certainly don't maintain themselves. Building friendships takes work, honesty, and the mutual appreciation of the other person. Friendship to me is the most joyous effort I put out on a weekly basis. Friendship is sending a special card to a friend who is having a bad month, it's going out of your way to attend their kid's soccer game just so they know you love their kids as much as you love them. Friendship can be light and fun, but friendship can also buoy dark depressing days. In the deepest darkest parts of my life, my friends saved me from myself. They were there to support me, to cheer me up, make me laugh, and always make sure I knew I was valued. Family is supposed to love you forever just because, but friends are different. We don't spend time with people we're ambivalent to. Life is just too busy to bother. Friends are different though, unlike family, friends haven't been paired with you through an accident of birth, friendship is a choice every single day. My friends brighten my life, they make me laugh, they show up when I need them, and I always know I can reach out when I'm in need.

Growing up in Los Angeles I didn't think much about nature. Sure we had parks and bike paths, but you had to make a significant effort to get out into extended large plots of nature. As a busy kid without a drivers license, I didn't have those opportunities very often. Moving to a small island in Washington state was my nature awakening. I had never been around so many trees! There are lakes! And an ocean six blocks from my house! The casual opportunities to enjoy yourself in nature are as endless as your imagination where I live now. Walking in the woods with my dog Lavender is my favorite way to appreciate nature on a weekly bases. The beauty of the trees makes both of us happier for the entire day. All of the stressors of daily life are gone as I'm walking with Lavender through the woods. I try to appreciate even the simple fleeting moments of fresh air, green trees, and a beautiful ocean. To me appreciating nature is about finding the outdoor avenues that bring me joy and peace and going to them as often as my schedule allows.

I like to call it a gallop. There's no other way to describe the free rein run of a dog living her best life at the dog park. The dog in question is named Lavender. Lavender is four, she's a hound, her favorite hobby is eating my socks, and she's my best friend. Finding joy during the pandemic has been a challenge for everyone. The isolation and fear can be debilitating. Thankfully my simple pleasure was accessible even through the depths of Covid. Taking Lavender to the dog park and watching her play and romp off-leash brings me more joy than most things ever have. No matter what happened that day I know I'll regain a sense of peace as we walk the trails together. Watching Lavender trot ahead of me as we walk through the woods reminds me that if I take a moment, breathe, and try to experience life as a happy dog, all the day's troubles will quickly fade away. To me, joy can be as big or as simple as you want it to be. Personally I seek joy through the small things which bring me peace during the week.

I like to call it a gallop. There's no other way to describe the free rein run of a dog living her best life. The dog in question is named Lavender. Lavender is four, she's a hound, her favorite hobby is eating my socks, and she's my best friend. I've learned over time that taking Lavender to the park is the most effective self-care I can do in an hour. Finding joy and self-care during the pandemic has been a challenge for everyone. The isolation and fear can be debilitating. Thankfully my self-care was accessible even through the depths of Covid. Taking Lavender to the dog park and watching her play and romp off-leash brings me more joy than most things ever have. No matter what happened that day I know I'll regain a sense of peace as we walk the trails together. Watching Lavender trot ahead of me as we walk through the woods reminds me that if I take a moment, breathe, and try to experience life as a happy dog, all the day's troubles will quickly fade away. Self-care helps calm my mind and body while helping me tackle the next challenge life will bring.

I had to learn to be true to myself, unfortunately it has never come naturally. Growing up I was easily swayed by what my peers were doing and my approach to life never seemed to measure up. As a perpetual late bloomer, it took me until my late 20s to learn how to always be true to myself. I learned that for me to honor myself, I had to learn to love myself each and every day. Once I learned to love myself, everything else became much easier. The other thing I had to learn to do was speak with integrity and conviction. I can stand behind everything I say and do because I say it with a purpose. Finally I stay true to myself by honoring what brings me joy and doing those things as often as possible. A valued mentor told me once that you'll know you're honoring yourself when each night before you go to sleep you can think about the actions you took that day and fall asleep peacefully. I'm happy to say I can do that.

I never thought I would return to school after graduating with my Bachelor's degree, yet, here I find myself. My mother has always told me that there's no age limit on an education and I've finally taken her wisdom to heart. After leaving college I had funny thoughts about returning to school. I clearly needed to do it before I turned 25, because who wants to be in school past 30 right? 11 years post college graduation, and 3 years into working as a paralegal, I find myself admitted to law school for a start date of August 2022. I started on this path in 2018 when I decided to enroll in Whatcom Community College in Bellingham WA for their paralegal certification course. After many years of entry-level retail work I had decided I needed to enter a career track job. Having always been interested in the law and government, I decided to go towards the paralegal field. In September of 2019 I started my first paralegal internship at Law Advocates in Bellingham WA. I was lucky enough to work in a legal clinic devoted to serving survivors of domestic violence who were facing custody issues. The client interaction, document preparation, and attorney supervision made me fall in love with the practical job of being a paralegal. After completing my certificate program in March of 2020 I devoted myself to looking for a full-time paralegal job. I landed my first full-time paralegal position at another legal aid office in April 2021. Currently I work for the Tulalip Office of Civil Legal aid for the Tulalip Tribes in Marysville WA. My job at Tulalip was my final inspiration for applying to law school. As much as I love being a paralegal I want to serve my community further as an attorney. As I pursue and start to practice law I will be able to offer full services to my clients, not the limited services I'm able to offer now. I believe I can bring a lot to my law school this fall. Eleven years of lived experience has made me feel prepared: professionally, socially, and academically. I know I want to be of service to my community for the rest of my working life and taking time between undergraduate work and law school helped me realize that goal. As an independent adult student I believe I'll be able to filter out some of the distractions along the way that can be harder for a younger student to ignore. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Loving myself hasn't come easily. Growing up with a disability, people can be cruel, both intentionally and unintentionally. No matter how much my parents loved me and supported me, the voices of people telling me my life would be small sounded louder and more influential in my head. I have a very obvious verbal disability so I was never able to hide it. I didn't like myself very much. I felt that my disability was a negative aspect of my character. I felt stuck. I didn't know how to appreciate and love myself for all that I am. It took time, and lots of good friends, but I came to the point of loving myself with my stutter and not in spite of it. My stutter is a part of me, and I love it now. It has helped me learn patience, and most importantly empathy for other people's struggles. I want to purse a legal career to serve my community and my stutter will be a plus and not a minus. I love my stutter because of the person it's helped me become. I believe I'm a better more well-rounded person than I would be without a disability. My disability is my super power with other people. Sometimes it takes me awhile to get a word out, and it's helped my loved ones learn patience and understanding. I'm thankful for and love my stutter for how it's enriched my life.

I like to call it a gallop. There's no other way to describe the free rein run of a dog living her best life. The dog in question is named Lavender. Lavender is four, she's a hound, her favorite hobby is eating my socks, and she's my best friend. Finding joy during the pandemic has been a challenge for everyone. The isolation and fear can be debilitating. Thankfully my simple pleasure was accessible even through the depths of Covid. Taking Lavender to the dog park and watching her play and romp off-leash brings me more joy than most things ever have. No matter what happened that day I know I'll regain a sense of peace as we walk the trails together. Watching Lavender trot ahead of me as we walk through the woods reminds me that if I take a moment, breathe, and try to experience life as a happy dog, all the day's troubles will quickly fade away.