June 1, 2024 To the Scholarship Selection personnel, “Be like a tree. Stay grounded. Connect with your roots. Turn over a new leaf. Bend before you break.” This is a part of a quote by Clinical Psychologist Joanne Raptis. This is also a quote that almost perfectly sums up my experience. My story began as a young child, who had her innocence taken several times before understanding what was taken, then uprooted from the home she knew to a foreign country. My mental health diagnoses of depression, anxiety, and PTSD have been a lifelong obstacle, the highs, the lows, the ebbs, and the flows. The tree, its roots, and its limbs represent my life; the roots that dug deeper when life threw obstacles at me that I didn’t have a choice, being my sexual assault by a Step-Parent who was the only father I had a relationship with, and his subsequent death by suicide which I was the one to hear and find him. For a very long time, I did not know how to ask for help, as I thought I was strong and could handle anything thrown at me because that is how I was raised. The truth of the matter is I was not wrong. However, eventually, without support, rest, or help, you get worn down, and like the tree and its roots, without nutrients, water, or in my case, self-care and support, I started to wither. I consider myself, in a sense, in recovery from my mental health, and I am certainly in a much better place. Truthfully, I should not be here today, and as I submit this scholarship application, today is the 5th anniversary of that day I would not have been here. It is a badge I carry because I know the struggles of mental health and trauma and how it affects the person on a personal level. I also know that it is a daily effort to stay rooted, and when obstacles and difficulties come up, it is okay to bend and take a moment or reach out for help. As a Social Worker, I have a level of empathy and understanding that is magnified by my own personal experience. Not only do I have the educational foundation, but there is a personal foundation that allows me to understand why an individual’s healing journey is important to them and how I can walk alongside them on their journey. This has proudly been my profession for the past ten years, and completing this next chapter of my education, completing my Master of Social Work, is a continuation of my story. There is an incredible amount of new strategies and research on how I can support the populations I work with, whether it be Foster Youth, Human Trafficking Survivors, Unhoused Individuals, Veterans, or Individuals who have experienced trauma. The knowledge I gain will enhance my clinical skills, allowing me to support others better. I will have the knowledge needed to pursue my licensure as a Clinical Social Worker, so I can continue serving professionally and personally. A principle I have lived by is, “If nothing else, leave this world a little better.” With the goals and desires I have for myself, sharing my story, and my experiences, I hope to have others see themselves through me and what they could achieve, even when it seems the odds are against them. I want to have an impact and, with this impact, encourage others so that they, too, can impact others. Respectfully, Simone Adderly, BSW