Mental illness is a vice but also provides an abundance of wisdom for those who learn to cope with, and power through it. Mental illness is one thing in my family that affects us as lower-class individuals. When I was a kid I lost the life of my biological dad who had Bipolar. Having gone through that and the divorce of my mom and stepdad who I am very close with was hard as a 7-year-old kid. On top of that a couple of years later as puberty started to hit I was struggling with gender and sexuality identity issues that which my household was not very supportive of. Slowly my family saw the disintegration of the happy bubbly kid they once knew. Depression for me has always been about not feeling good enough for others and not good enough for myself. I found myself dwelling in negative thoughts before medication I was Idealizing suicide as an escape from the world. As a kid in my household mental health was something that was not talked about and was something that was just dealt with in silence. That was until my mother found a cop at the door telling her I had thoughts about ending it all. That prompted little time in therapy where not much happened because I couldn't make most of the appointments because my mother's anxiety about driving made us always reliant on the bus. Anxiety too has been a thing for most in my family. My sister and I both have had issues with communication due to GAD my sister had interventional help when she was a kid, but since I grew up "extroverted" when I started showing symptoms of anxiety I was told that I was faking it. With the current state of the U.S. and fear for my rights being taken away feeling depressed is still a common thing I find myself feeling. Only now as an adult, I have been able to get the resources I have always needed to deal and cope with my depression. Therapy, depression and anxiety meds, and hormone replacement therapy have put me in a much better spot today as I try to push myself to do and accomplish the great things I know I am capable of doing. Going to college as a Psychology major I plan to work in the future with mental health particularly with LGBT+ and neurodivergent Persons to give them the help I wasn't able to receive.

Mental illness is a vice but also provides an abundance of wisdom for those who learn to cope with, and power through it. Mental illness is one thing in my family that affects us as lower-class individuals. When I was a kid I lost the life of my biological dad who had Bipolar. Having gone through that and the divorce of my mom and stepdad who I am very close with was hard as a 7-year-old kid. On top of that a couple of years later as puberty started to hit I was struggling with gender and sexuality identity issues that which my household was not very supportive of.Life hasn't always been easy as a low-income Bisexual Transgender Man. Growing up, like it is for a lot of lgbt individuals was rough. I started to question my Identity In late elementary- early middle school when I started to go through puberty. I felt like an outcast and like I didn't belong in society, and In some ways today I feel Like I still Have a hard time relating to others due to my experiences in life. Slowly my family saw the disintegration of the happy bubbly kid they once knew. Depression for me has always been about not feeling good enough for others and not good enough for myself. I found myself dwelling in negative thoughts before medication I was Idealizing suicide as an escape from the world. As a kid in my household mental health was something that was not talked about and was something that was just dealt with in silence. That was until my mother found a cop at the door telling her I had thoughts about ending it all. That prompted little time in therapy where not much happened because I couldn't make most of the appointments because my mother's anxiety about driving made us always reliant on the bus. Anxiety too has been a thing for most in my family. My sister and I both have had issues with communication due to GAD my sister had interventional help when she was a kid, but since I grew up "extroverted" when I started showing symptoms of anxiety I was told that I was faking it. With the current state of the U.S. and fear for my rights being taken away feeling depressed is still a common thing I find myself feeling. Only now as an adult, I have been able to get the resources I have always needed to deal and cope with my depression. Therapy, depression and anxiety meds, and hormone replacement therapy have put me in a much better spot today as I try to push myself to do and accomplish the great things I know I am capable of doing. Going to college as a Psychology major I plan to work in the future with mental health particularly with LGBT+ and neurodivergent Persons to give them the help I wasn't able to receive. This scholarship will help me achieve my goal of completing college as a low-income person. It is important to me that I receive scholarships to ease the anxiety of not having the funds to complete my education and to remain as Debt-free as possible to make the hardworking path I have set myself Up to succeed just a little bit easier.

Mental illness is a vice but also provides an abundance of wisdom for those who learn to cope with, and power through it. Mental illness is one thing in my family that affects us as lower-class individuals. When I was a kid I lost the life of my biological dad who had Bipolar. Having gone through that and the divorce of my mom and stepdad who I am very close with was hard as a 7-year-old kid. On top of that a couple of years later as puberty started to hit I was struggling with gender and sexuality identity issues that which my household was not very supportive of. Slowly my family saw the disintegration of the happy bubbly kid they once knew. Depression for me has always been about not feeling good enough for others and not good enough for myself. I found myself dwelling in negative thoughts before medication I was Idealizing suicide as an escape from the world. As a kid in my household mental health was something that was not talked about and was something that was just dealt with in silence. That was until my mother found a cop at the door telling her I had thoughts about ending it all. That prompted little time in therapy where not much happened because I couldn't make most of the appointments because my mother's anxiety about driving made us always reliant on the bus. Anxiety too has been a thing for most in my family. My sister and I both have had issues with communication due to GAD my sister had interventional help when she was a kid, but since I grew up "extroverted" when I started showing symptoms of anxiety I was told that I was faking it. With the current state of the U.S. and fear for my rights being taken away feeling depressed is still a common thing I find myself feeling. Only now as an adult, I have been able to get the resources I have always needed to deal and cope with my depression. Therapy, depression and anxiety meds, and hormone replacement therapy have put me in a much better spot today as I try to push myself to do and accomplish the great things I know I am capable of doing. Going to college as a Psychology major I plan to work in the future with mental health particularly with LGBT+ and neurodivergent Persons to give them the help I wasn't able to receive.

Life hasn't always been easy as a low-income Bisexual Transgender Man. Growing up, like it is for a lot of lgbt individuals was rough. I started to question my Identity In late elementary- early middle school when I started to go through puberty. I felt like an outcast and like I didn't belong in society, and In some ways today I feel Like I still Have a hard time relating to others due to my experiences in life. Growing Up I didn't feel comfortable coming out to my family for fear of judgement and scrutiny. I sought comfort In friends and GSA groups in school where I felt like I was part of a community. In GSA I took part in running and attending different workshops for my school and other schools in the area. One subject I focused on within the club was LGBT rights and what they were and are today. In today's climate, I believe that building community with others in the LGBT community is crucial to sticking up for our rights. I also in my younger days attended lgbt camps and conferences to see and be a part of the greater common community In New England. These groups made me feel like I had a place where I belonged and I learned so much from other's experiences. When I turned 18 I quickly caught out to do what I've always wanted, HRT, and I have never been more happy and confident with myself since starting. I am now almost 2 years on testosterone and plan to get top surgery very soon when I don't have to worry about my academics. Currently, I am pursuing a degree in Psychology at a community college and plan to switch to a 4-year school to continue my education. my ultimate goal is to one day be able to be a Psychologist and work with adolescents who are neurodivergent and adolescents who are a part of the LGBT+ community because I like them and know what they're going through and I want to be the person to them that I didn't have growing up. As a psychologist, I particularly want to research the mental health of young LGBT+ people to help find better resources and outlets for them. This scholarship will help me achieve my goal of completing college as a low-income person. It is important to me that I receive scholarships to ease the anxiety of not having the funds to complete my education and to remain as Debt-free as possible to make the hardworking path I have set myself Up to succeed just a little bit easier.