Ghandi once proclaimed, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Growing up, I'd often shadow my mother in her work as a caretaker. Even being as young as I was, I could see the delight and ebullience in the eyes of the patients when my mother and I would enter the room. This gratification is what inspired me to pursue a nursing career at a young age. I wanted to bring the people that sense of joy and companionship that my mother had. When I was 14 years old, I lost my brother to suicide. The unfortunate happening left me mentally damaged but also motivated me to, again, help others. I began to take part in community service, church festivals and camps, local cleanings, school fundraisers, and blood drives. From these experiences, I learned the values of humility and understanding but also integrity and grit. I was taught to understand others rather than yearn to be understood. I learned the true importance of listening and caring. Volunteering was a big factor in my recovery from my brother's unexpected death. It also set in stone my passion for helping others. After many long nights researching careers that encompassed my talents, passions, and values, I finally found one that seemed to suit me perfectly, psychiatric nursing. Psychiatric nursing is a type of mental health nursing that combines the values and strategies of nursing with a side of psychiatry. Through this career, I will be honoring my mother through her caretaking work, and my brother, to help save others before they get to the point of disaster that he did. Pursuing a degree in nursing will allow me to exhibit my personal abilities and carry through with implementing my most cherished values through all my work. Coming from a low-income, single parent household and being that I am about to become a first generation college student, getting through college debt free seems right now an unattainable task but with my drive to make an impact, I know that I will reach my goals, however challenging. Through my nursing career I will also be given the opportunity to contribute to my community as well. This contribution will include standing up for more affordable and available mental health resources and women in healthcare advocacy. I hope to bring to my community the chance to thrive in and out of our local health systems. Where I come from there is a prevalent shortage of healthcare employees and mental health services so through my career in nursing I will help make these programs more available and advocate for them endlessly. So when people ask me why I have decided to pursue a career in nursing, I tell them that I have been thoroughly inspired by my mother's endearment, my brother's forfeiture to life, and the everlasting motivation brought upon me from my community. My inspiration is all-embracing. I can only hope that through my career I will be able to inspire others just as much as the people in my life have inspired me and like Ghandi said, thrive to find myself through my service and hardwork.

Marcandangel once said, “If you have the power to make someone happy today, do it.The world needs more of that.” Growing up I would often shadow my mother in her work as a local caretaker. I often admired the esteemed level of care and compassion she showed her patients. After witnessing such humility, I dedicated my life to providing the same care and respect to others as my mother had shown to her patients. I often remember the smiles I received walking into the homes of the elderly sufferers. I vividly recall the way my mother's presence could turn their bad day into a delight. Even as a young child, this heartfelt exchange was noticeable to me and a prevalent cause towards my future endeavors. I continued to shadow my mother throughout her career until her retirement. By this time I had become a teenager yet I still yearned for the chance to put a smile on someone's face. With this, I turned to local volunteer work, from church fundraisers and school tailgates to local cleanups and bible camps. My volunteer work brought to me not only the ability to satisfy and aid others, but a great love of philanthropy that I still obtain today. This appreciation for kindness that derives from such a young age has enabled me to pursue a degree in nursing and inspired me to hopefully one day become a psychiatric nurse. I look forward to both honoring my mother's passion for helping others as well as continuing my education through a career that entrusts all my personal values and ethics. I truly believe that being placed in a situation where I was forced to keep close to my mother in her work at a young age is the primary reason I have gained such a keen interest for nursing. This just goes to show the impact of kindness as a next generation continues to be inspired by a little selflessness. As our ever changing world continues to evolve, we endure a lack of not only kindness, but the ability to be inspired as well. So as Marcandangel insisted, we must seize the opportunity to make someone's day, to act as a small ray of sunshine on the cloudiest of days, and to never fail in bringing a smile to someone's face, stranger or not. With this kind of compassion, we are liable to inspire the next generation, just as I was influenced by my previous one and bring ourselves one step closer to changing the world.

Dave Glynn once said, "Don't ever question the value of volunteers. Noah's Ark was built by volunteers, the Titanic was built by professionals." I have never been one to be prideful. In fact, I have always strived to show respect and understanding. Growing up adopted into a single-parent, low-income family, I was taught that a single person can help change the perspective of many. We have faced struggles and hardships. I have seen the unbelievable and experienced grief, guilt, and shame. I have faced depression one on one after losing my brother to suicide when I was 14 years old. Growing up in austerity has allowed me to gain discernment and understanding. During my time of struggle, I had nowhere to turn so I turned to volunteering, a safe place for me to give back and bring the joy that I lacked so much of to the faces of other people just like myself. Volunteering throughout my community was a light at the end of a dark tunnel of anguish. My specific volunteer experiences include working as a bible camp art counselor, acting as a face painter as part of my community's summer festival, participating in tailgates and fundraisers for my school's National Honor Society program, volunteering at community fish fries, and helping out a local Century 21 housing agency by cleaning houses and apartments that people move out of so they are safe and clean for the next residents. I have learned so much from each of these experiences and have allowed myself to continuously give back to my community without compensation. Most importantly, my community service has taught me the value of simple kindness. Being kind to others costs nothing and yet we live in a world full of cruelty and resentment. I do and will continue to convey kindness in all my endeavours, present and future. My specific volunteer experience and exhibition of kindness has permitted me to not only help my community but become a part of it. I have helped teach, give, guide, lead, and shepherd. I was able to give something so little and provide wisdom and help to those who needed it most and overall increase the beauteousness of my community. And while my impact on the community is prominent, so is the sagacity I received from the people as well. I may have been a volunteer, but the people have taught me so much. I was taught how to be strong, yet humble. Confident, yet demure. Understanding, yet thankful. I was given a pass to contentment and remission to sanctification. The events that have shaped my character and my life have inspired me to pursue a degree in nursing and more specifically, psychiatric nursing. Being a senior in high school and a soon to be first generation college student, the pressure on my shoulders is immeasurable but with some hard work and grit, I know I will make my dreams a reality. Through this career, I will bear only the utmost kindness and respect to my patients and honor Janie Mae through our shared values. Like Janie, I believe in the importance of education, determination, and most of all, humility. So as I continue through life, I will take the wisdom I gained from my impactful volunteer experiences and use it to continue better serving my community and keep the cycle flowing because giving so little can mean so much. I may just be one star in a galaxy of volunteers but to many in my community, I am their sun, their hope. We can all use a little more kindness.

Ghandi once proclaimed, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Growing up, I'd often shadow my mother in her work as a caretaker. Even being as young as I was, I could see the delight and ebullience in the eyes of the patients when my mother and I would enter the room. This gratification is what inspired me to pursue a nursing career at a young age. I wanted to bring the people that sense of joy and companionship that my mother had. When I was 14 years old, I lost my brother to suicide. The unfortunate happening left me mentally damaged but also motivated me to, again, help others. I began to take part in community service, church festivals and camps, local cleanings, school fundraisers, and blood drives. From these experiences, I learned the values of humility and understanding but also integrity and grit. I was taught to understand others rather than yearn to be understood. I learned the true importance of listening and caring. Volunteering was a big factor in my recovery from my brother's unexpected death. It also set in stone my passion for helping others. After many long nights researching careers that encompassed my talents, passions, and values, I finally found one that seemed to suit me perfectly, psychiatric nursing. Psychiatric nursing is a type of mental health nursing that combines the values and strategies of nursing with a side of psychiatry. Through this career, I will be honoring my mother through her caretaking work, and my brother, to help save others before they get to the point of disaster that he did. Pursuing a degree in nursing will allow me to exhibit my personal abilities and carry through with implementing my most cherished values through all my work. Coming from a low-income, single parent household and being that I am about to become a first generation college student, getting through college debt free seems right now an unattainable task but with my drive to make an impact, I know that I will reach my goals, however challenging. So when people ask me why I have decided to pursue a career in nursing, I tell them that I have been thoroughly inspired by my mother's endearment, my brother's forfeiture to life, and the everlasting motivation brought upon me from my community. My inspiration is all-embracing. I can only hope that through my career I will be able to inspire others just as much as the people in my life have inspired me and like Ghandi said, thrive to find myself through my service and hardwork.

Ghandi once proclaimed, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Growing up, I'd often shadow my mother in her work as a caretaker. Even being as young as I was, I could see the delight and ebullience in the eyes of the patients when my mother and I would enter the room. This gratification is what inspired me to pursue a nursing career at a young age. I wanted to bring the people that sense of joy and companionship that my mother had. When I was 14 years old, I lost my brother to suicide. The unfortunate happening left me mentally damaged but also motivated me to, again, help others. I began to take part in community service, church festivals and camps, local cleanings, school fundraisers, and blood drives. From these experiences, I learned the values of humility and understanding but also determination and integrity. I was taught to understand others rather than yearn to be understood. I learned the true importance of listening and caring. Volunteering was a big factor in my recovery from my brother's unexpected death. It was also set in stone my passion for helping others. After many long nights researching careers that encompassed my talents, passions, and values, I finally found one that seemed to suit me perfectly, psychiatric nursing. Psychiatric nursing is a type of mental health nursing that combines the values and strategies of nursing with a side of psychiatry. Through this career, I will be honoring my mother through her caretaking work, and my brother, to help save others before they get to the point of disaster that he did. Pursuing a degree in nursing will allow me to exhibit my personal abilities and carry through with implementing my most cherished values through all my work. Coming from a low-income, single parent household and being that I am about to become a first generation college student, getting through college debt free seems right now an unattainable task but with my drive to make an impact, I know that I will reach my goals, however challenging. So when people ask me why I have decided to pursue a career in nursing, I tell them that I have been thoroughly inspired by my mother's endearment, my brother's forfeiture to life, and the everlasting motivation brought upon me from my community. My inspiration is all-embracing. I can only hope that through my career I will be able to inspire others just as much as the people in my life have inspired me.

Charles D. Larson once said, "Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you greater than any obstacle." Having overcome some of life's greatest challenges myself, I'm inclined to agree with this statement. While I'm not a tennis player like Sloane Stephens, her and I do share similar ethical values. We both believe in the power of giving back. We share the attributes of understanding, humility, and integrity. Just like Stephens has overcome challenges on the court, I have faced life's difficulties as well. I have been posed with the death of my brother to suicide, social anxiety disorder, and now, being a senior coming from a low-income, single-parent household, struggling to obtain enough money for college as I go on to become a first-generation college student this fall. These challenges posed a threat to my happiness and overall well-being but with the probity and rectitude I possess, I have and continue to overcome these obstacles. I was 14 when I found out my brother had taken his life. I was babysitting that day, a day full of finger painting and blanket forts. It was that night that my mother stopped by to give me the news. After previously losing my birth mother a few months earlier, since I am adopted, I already knew what was coming, the dropping feeling in my stomach, the intense feeling of resentment and despair. Losing my brother was the point of desperation for me. I ended up closing off myself from the world for a while, blaming everyone in my life for my brother's decision. After years of living this way, I decided it was time for a change. In my time of disparity, I turned to volunteering. I began with simple volunteering activities, church bible camps, fish fries, face painting at small festivals. I slowly approached bigger activities such as local cleanings, community festivals, and blood drives. Giving back to my community in my time of need helped me just as much as it did them. I learned how to attain the precious attributes of understanding and affection. I learned to love others unconditionally and try to understand rather than try to be understood. I was taught how to gain lasting relationships and make true connections with others and I now appreciate the value of listening more than ever. But most importantly, I learned the true importance of integrity and how to push back against life's unexpected obstacles. This new resilience, along with the loss of my brother, inspired me to pursue a degree in the nursing field and more specifically, psychiatric nursing. I want to be able to save others and convey all of the mass qualities my journey has instilled in me. But with the rising cost of secondary education, getting through college debt free seems right now to be an unattainable goal. I know though, with this overpowering resilience, I will conquer this unfortunate module and continue on to a life of success and gaiety. My integrity and resilience has given me a gift of hope and a free spirited, hard working character along with the strength to continue on a path to reaching my dreams in the midst of defeat. There are those who can write a better essay, those who are more athletic, those who are pursuing a higher costing career, but I can assure you there is no one who exhibits near as much resilience as I do. I will continue to use my racket of resilience to stroke all of life's difficulties from my life and out of my court.

From Alicia Keys and Halle Berry, to Eddie Murphy and Barack Obama, so many people we know and admire were raised in single-parent households. Having been raised by a single mother myself, I am a mass admirer of these prominent figures. Their single-parent circumstances were only the seed to a lifetime of growth which brought upon them success and a will to triumph against all the odds of life. Being raised solely by my mother has greatly impacted my own educational journey and continues to encourage me to admit to a life of success by reaching my desired goals and making the future for myself that I so yearn for. Growing up in a low-income, single-parent household is hard, but becoming a first-generation college student with barely enough money saved up to pay for half of a semester is simply arduous. My stunted circumstances often made me feel different from my peers. There was an indescribable irregularity associated with coming from my type of household. My friends would often be able to afford clothes and items that I desperately wanted but I instead would have to settle for the off-brand, hoping to one day save for the items. Along with this, I was often forced to quit the extracurriculars I enjoyed, soccer, cheerleading, gymnastics, and reading competition. From an educational aspect, I was left struggling from a young age due to not having enough to afford tutoring services. With this, I relied on myself to teach. I became my own mentor and encouraged myself to succeed at all costs, to break the chain of command when it came to my line of family high school dropouts. By the time I was in middle school, I had gained such positive recognition for my grades that I was awarded with the High Honors Achievement award. Now graduating high school, I end with a 4.15 GPA and have not scored below the Highest Honors academic level. I have secured a spot in my school's National Honor Society program and with endless support from my administration, have been able to participate in my school's drama program after trying out for the musical and landing the role I desired. Being from a single-parent household has educationally left me in the dust but this educational adversity has taught me to be independent and to form my own opinions. Non-educationally, I was taught by my single mother to be hardworking, determined, and to possess full integrity in everything that I do. My first opportunity to exhibit these traits started with my entrance into the world of community service. I began with simple activities such as church festivals and Bible camps then worked my way into school fundraisers and community festivals. More recently, I have been working on local cleaning and donating blood. Through my volunteer experiences, I have been taught how to create lasting relationships and convey pure humility and understanding through my actions. My volunteerism inspired me to go into a nursing field and after the loss of my brother to suicide, I decided to pursue a degree in psychiatric nursing. Because I am low-income, my goal of graduating from college debt free seems right now to be unattainable but with the help of this, among many other scholarships, I will be able to achieve my goals and succeed in all my endeavours. So while growing up in a single family home has come with some challenges, my circumstances have given me the gift of conscientiousness and discernment. What I thought were stunted circumstances were actually the biggest blessing of all.

Jessica Pan once said, "We are social animals. We want to be accepted by our peer groups and we do not want to be rejected." As a person who suffers from social anxiety disorder, who wants nothing more than to be accepted by others, I am inclined to agree with this statement. Social anxiety seems to be more and more common in the people who surround us. But those, like myself, who deeply suffer from the condition understand the true misery and woe that social anxiety encompasses, the constant straining feeling of being different, unlikable, inadequate to others. Social anxiety has brought to me a sense of irregularity and entrapment, a tunnel of doom that never ends. My social anxiety came with the need to dissociate from others. I stopped participating in activities I enjoyed such as soccer, gymnastics, and reading competition. I became detached from my peers and from society. I spent more time in my bed than I did outside. My room became my safe haven and sleep my best friend. Social anxiety takes from you the will to succeed because you are so afraid of being a disappointment to others. This comes from many circumstances, mine being a critical household. Social anxiety allows a person to value the opinions of others over their own. After suffering years from this seemingly uncontrollable disorder, I decided to finally make a change. I began to succumb myself to more socially based events, pushing myself out of my comfort zone as I turned to community service. I volunteered for my church, school, and at local community festivals. At first, it felt like a disastrous attempt with the overall awkwardness, but after a while, serving others became a natural delight and brought to me not only the ability to connect with others but a sense of control over my life and my social anxiety. I even decided to try out for the school's musical, and after landing the role I desired, I decided I had finally reached the peak of personal accomplishment. My experience with social anxiety has affected me for the good and the bad. I will never forget my days of peril, and with this, being completely rid of social anxiety is impossible. I have a tendency to overthink imprinted in my identity. There are times when I still hear whispers and turn red, believing that I am the reason for them. But my experience with social anxiety has also brought to me a journey. A journey that, even decades from now, will never end. A journey to success, to true happiness, and to being rid of the constant nagging my mind entails. I was taught through my trek to success that it is ok to make mistakes and that patience is the key to unlocking achievement. Because of my journey and my battles with a poor mental health, I have decided to pursue a degree in psychiatric nursing, to help others and to stabilize them and provide them with a will to live rather than yield to defeat. Pursuing this degree means the world to me, having lost my brother to suicide in the midst of suffering from social anxiety. From his loss, and my experiences with social anxiety, I have committed myself to doing all I can to make my way to and through college debt free. It seems like an unattainable goal right now but my expedition to conquering social anxiety did too, now look at me. So to all my fellow social anxiety acquirers, breathe, everything will be okay with a little integrity, determination, and patience.

Bruce Dickinson, "If heavy metal bands ruled the world, we'd be a lot better off." From Iron Maiden to Motorhead, heavy metal has always been a huge influence on my life. Growing up in a low-income, single parent household, I wasn't given much opportunity during my childhood to excel beyond the four walls of a classroom. I often had to retire from the activities that I enjoyed most including gymnastics, soccer, and reading competition, just so that my mother could afford to pay the rent every month. Coming from such adversity, I was taught to be selfless and to convey humility in every aspect of my life. After suffering the loss of my older brother to suicide when I was 14, I found myself tripping into a deep hole of depression, anxiety, and all around resentment for myself and for the world. My life turned upside down and it was hard for me to find joy in anything, that is until I became a metalhead. My brother had always enjoyed heavy metal music, his favorite song being Wild Side by Motley Crue. I would often hear the music drifting down the hallway. "Greed's been crowned the new king..." In all honesty, I absolutely used to despise heavy metal. The annoyance that encapsulated me when my brother would blast this unbearable music made me hate the genre even more. But after my brother's death, heavy metal was no more annoying but somewhat tranquilizing. Metal music became my therapy and four years later, I can say that I'm a true fan of the music. I now see the truth behind the lyrics, the suffering and prosperity the writers exhibit through the words of their songs, the stories and the candors of the world. While I do spend a lot of my time listening to heavy metal music, I also spend a large portion of my days studying. My grades and future aspirations are most important to me right now. I have been the four time winner of the highest honors award in my high school, the secretary of my National Honor Society Program, founder of our school's new Never Alone Program, and member of the school's drama/musical club. With this, I also volunteer throughout my church, school, and neighborhood communities through festivals, local cleanings, bible camps, blood drives, and many more. I find it revitalizing to the soul to spend a good amount of time giving back to others but I also manage to find time for studying to maintain my 4.1 GPA, and of course, to listen to my metal music. With all that I do in high school, it's quite obvious that I will attend college. I aspire to become a psychiatric nurse by attending a four year nursing program. While I've received two very cherishable scholarships, I still have over sixty thousand dollars over the next four years to pay off, without the help of my family and with the avoidance of student loans. I plan to work to pay for my education, and hopefully gain enough in scholarships to make a significant impact. I've worked tirelessly applying to scholarships, making it my part time job, applying to two or three scholarships a day, working to the bone to make my lifelong dreams a reality. So why do I deserve this scholarship? There are those who are more athletic. There are those who can write a better essay. There are those who have a higher GPA. And there are those who are pursuing a higher degree. But I can assure you there is no one as determined to make a difference in their community as I am, no one as hardworking who possesses as much integrity as I do. There is no one as passionate and as confident in what they plan to do for themselves, the community, and the world as I am. And most importantly, there is no one who has listened to Fade to Black by Metallica as much as I have.

It was Rosa Parks who claimed, “One person can change the world” in the midst of a worldwide conflict of iniquity and misconduct. Being a dream chaser myself and suffering my own deteriorating battles, I am inclined to agree with this proclamation. I was raised by a single mother after having been adopted out of a drug addict family when I was six years old. Previously, I was in a household where I often witnessed the unimaginable: drugs, abuse, prostitution, and beyond. I watched my parents, along with numerous others struggle with drug addiction and kneel to relapse after relapse. The adversity I was put through at a young age because of substance abuse left an imprint in my mind and on my emotional well-being. I grew into an anxious, depressed, and often agitated teenager. I resented the world for making me different, for allowing me to suffer. To make matters worse, at the age of 13 my biological mother's life was taken due to a drug overdose, only leading me into a deeper hole of hatred and anguish, furthering my disgust for drugs and all that they stand for. At 14, I lost my older brother to suicide and that is when I finally made the decision to pursue a degree in a mental health related field, to help those struggling both like my brother and my mother. My brother was my biggest supporter and the only father figure I had after the adoption. After a ton of research and late night Google searches, I finally decided that I wanted to get a higher education to become a psychiatric nurse. After the loss of my loved ones at such a vulnerable age, I knew that I was mentally unstable, but instead of receiving help, I decided to fight my battles alone. It took a long time but eventually I succeeded in regaining a stable mental mindset and I can now say I am in the best mental health that I have ever been in. I want to be able to aid others in their pursuit for a positive mental well-being and let them know they aren't alone in their suffering like I thought I was. Navigating through my mental health journey included taking a mass amount of time to myself and understanding myself and my feelings like I never had before. I started meditating, working out, eating and sleeping better, praying more, and being more organized. I began reading from my Bible everyday and focusing on the present rather than what could've or should've been done. I will forever be grateful for my suffering and the version of myself that I have become in return but I will never forget the deep sense of despair and shame that once controlled my life and deteriorated my sense of self. Drugs and suicide took away my childhood, an unforgivable deed, so instead I will help others so that their children will live the life I never got to. While I was not an addict myself, I was affected tremendously by the use of drugs and as an outsider, I saw the true harm of the drugs, even from a young age, a hurt that wasn't even visible to the users themselves. This hurt that once encapsulated me will remain a fossil in my memories but the intrepid, determined, hardworking girl who emerged from this living hell will continue to be an artifact that will remain with me forever as I continue on to follow my dreams and help change the world.

STEM, a term commonly associated with scientists, those who build rocket ships and find a cure for cancer, or mathematicians, whiz geniuses and engineers. But one field commonly overlooked that does fall under the STEM category is nursing. Nursing is a biological science. After all, a person must take dozens of scientific courses to even consider becoming a nurse of any sort. I fell in love with nursing at a young age, shadowing my mother at her caretaking job and knowing that I wanted to be somebody's angel just as she was. After losing my older brother to suicide, I decided to pursue a career that focuses on psychiatric nursing, a complex but rewarding side of the nursing practice. From a young age, it was clear I would go to college. From my straight A report cards in elementary school, to my 4.15 GPA in high school. After deciding on a career path, I stayed determined to follow through with my goals, although with the rising cost of college, a secondary education debt-free is near impossible. But with my determination and grit, I plan to conquer student debt and obtain my degree, then continue on to contribute significantly to my future endeavours. I have always been incredibly interested in the sciences, how the world works, and why people do what they do. My curiosity fuels my integrity and compels me to prevail forward. Through my nursing career, I will be able to contribute and convey the potential of the science field. I plan to do this through activism for equality, in regards to equal opportunity healthcare, female equality in STEM, and equity in race diversity in the field. With this activism comes an increase in the unification of various personality and in return, an escalation in the performances of the sciences. No one person can change the world, but with the merging of different people of different backgrounds with different ideas, STEM careers can implore so much for our country, nation, and the world. My advocacy for this change will be unwavered and earnest. My probity and rectitude will permit me to give back to the field of science and impact it for the better. Through my nursing degree, I won't only be able to aid my patients, but fellow science lovers as well. Science is the pathway to adventure and the gateway to exploration. As Abdul Kalam once said, "Science is a beautiful gift to humanity..."

Emma Stone once famously proclaimed, “What sets you apart can sometimes feel like a burden and it’s not. And a lot of the time, it’s what makes you great.” Being different from the majority of my peers and encapsulating disparity, I am inclined to agree with this statement. I have grown up adopted into a low-income, single parent household and was raised differently from many others. I couldn’t participate in the same things they could, buy the clothes that hung in the store window that I longed for, or invest in that one pair of high brand shoes it seemed every single one of my friends had but me. I was forced to be “responsible and mature” rather than a kid. I watched my mother, who’s attempt at being discreet was foundering, as she let her finances drain the color from her face and the joy from her being. At first, I allowed myself to perceive this as arbitrary and frankly, a cruel punishment from God. I sheathed in shame, guilt, and embarrassment because of my stunted circumstances. It wasn’t until I’d suffered a major loss that I was able to realize my full potential and apprehend the righteousness that lies within me. I was 14 when I lost my brother, who wasn’t just my brother but my best friend, confidant, and father figure I prominently lacked. For a while, I let the loss take over my body, life, and relationships. I enveloped myself in anger and resentment. But over time I started to heal. I turned to volunteering and became actively involved within my school, church, and community. I began pushing myself out of my comfort zone, making new friends, and engaging in weekday workouts. I started focusing on the mental aspect of my life and started answering to the need part of my mind rather than the want. I turned to my religion as well, reading my bible and praying daily. I developed better sleep, healthier eating habits, and adequate hydration. All of this, my community and the people who surround me, with a lot of time and patience, has allowed me to become the best version of myself, permitting me to enter into a life of gaiety and success. This new realization of myself also gave me a new perspective on life as well. Instead of looking at life as a challenge and a nuisance as I was, I now look at it as a gift and a privilege. I live in a country where I can get a good education and apply my skills diligently in a job of my choosing. I am surrounded by people of the same or equally important aspirations. I no longer look at my peers with envious eyes but with adoring ones. I now focus more on being able to understand others than trying to be understood. I learn from others and their own experiences and apply their knowledge and success into my own life. There is so much that I am now so grateful for that I wouldn’t have been able to conceive if it weren’t for my brother and my financial circumstances. I’ve taken life’s challenges and turned them into motivation for my future endeavors. My failures continue to shape me into the person I aspire to be. It’s thanks to my destitution and my supermom’s efforts in my life that I have been led into a new understanding of myself, others, and the reason of life itself. The adversity has taught me to be resilient and convey integrity and understanding in everything I do, all thanks to my mother and my community. Just like Emma said, my circumstances weren’t a burden but a path to prosperity and acceptance. And we can all use a little of that.

David Goggins once claimed, “Resilience is a choice. It’s choosing to rise above your circumstances, no matter how difficult, and become the person you’re meant to be.” As one to deeply convey resilience, I am inclined to agree with this statement. I have always prided myself on determination and grit. I know what it takes to climb the pyramid to success and I understand the adversity that awaits me. This resilience is not what allows me to stand out from others, but the way I have used and exhibited it throughout my own struggles is. I could tell you that I am a football player like Jonas Griffith or that I am the pitcher for my school’s softball team, but that wouldn’t be true. In fact, I had to defer my love of sports after a knee injury in the ninth grade, leading me to quit my soccer and gymnastics teams. I continued on with reading competition but the club just didn’t seem to satisfy my need for vivacity and therefore my participation in the reading competition team came to an end during my sophomore year of high school. At that point, I felt astray, especially after enduring the loss of my brother due to suicide in the same year. Being an anxious and vulnerable teenager, I tripped into the hole of depression, letting myself spiral out of control mentally, adhering to the despair and all that came with it. For months I lived this way, emotionally drained, until one day I woke up with an aspiration to do something good. If I couldn’t make myself happy I promised myself that I would do what it took to make others happy. This watershed moment remains with me today, the instant epiphany of hope, desire, and fixation. I started volunteering throughout my church, school, and community. I became involved in community festivals, camps, local cleaning, and blood drives, among other activities. My experiences gave me a strong ability to connect with others and a desperate urge to do something with my life that would leave an imprint on the lives of others just as my community had me. That’s when I finally decided to pursue a degree in psychiatric nursing. Starting my senior year of high school was terrifying, not only because of the everlasting sadness and because it was my bittersweet last year, but because of the pressure I knew I had to endure being that I would soon become a first-generation college student. Growing up low-income, college wasn’t an option, but a question of if. Before even starting school, I had been accepted into three colleges and had decided to commit to a local one. I knew, and still know, the difficulties that are soon to come, considering I am to graduate soon. I also knew the importance of socialization I will need as I move towards college, and because of my lack of participation in extracurriculars, I decided it was time to put myself back out into the world of interaction. I began making new friends, volunteering for fundraisers, and most impactfully, I decided to try out for my school’s musical. Trying out for the musical was the scariest and most vulnerable thing I had ever done.I had never sang in front of anyone before and frankly, I thought I was terrible. That is, until I found out I had landed a role in the show, The Drowsy Chaperone. Not only had I landed the role I desired, but I was asked to be an understudy for the most prominent role in the whole show, the Drowsy Chaperone herself. This acceptance led me into not only falling in love with theater, but with pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Since the musical, I have pushed myself to do things I would have never thought I would do. I have prevailed forward and given myself a second chance at happiness and success. I know there are so many others out there who are full of success stories as well, those that are smarter, those that are more athletic, those that are better storytellers, but I can assure you that there are none who are more resilient than I am. Just as Goggins said, I chose to be resilient and I chose to rise above all my struggles. I will continue to do so to and through college. I won’t kneel to college debt and student loans. I won’t let down my guard again. If I were to win this scholarship, I can assure you that it will be put to good use. Those years of encapsulating so much disappointment and grief have given me the gift of determination and the ability to push back against the forces of despair that try to knock me back. I will continue to pursue the things that make me the most happy and I will become the psychiatric nurse that I aspire to be. There is no recipe for success but if there were, resilience would be the secret ingredient.

Tony Robbins once pronounced, "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." I have always prided myself on setting goals. I was taught to follow my dreams at a young age regardless of how wild or unreachable they seemed. It was just after I'd suffered a major family loss due to suicide that I decided I wanted to pursue psychiatric nursing. Coming from a low-income household, my dream sometimes look to be unattainable and going to college debt free seems to be an unlikely prospect but because of my hard work and integrity, I know I will succeed in making my dream a reality and lead myself into a life of favor and success. Being a senior in high school, I understand what struggles lie ahead of me. I have and will continue to endure adversity, all for the good of my dreams. Having no choice but to give up my love of soccer and gymnastics because of a knee injury in the ninth grade, I turned to volunteering, which in turn brought me a strong connection to my community. My volunteering experiences range from church festivals and school fundraisers to local cleaning and blood drives, among other activities. My involvement in community service is what led me into falling head over heels in love with philanthropy. This love for serving and my ability to form strong relationships with others will help me succeed in my future endeavours. With this, I know I possess the qualities and abilities needed to make my future aspirations a reality but there is one important aspect to realizing my dream that holds me back. That aspect is money. The cost of an education is atrocious and leaves millions of students in debt, trapped in the chains of student loan companies, yet I refuse to kneel to college expenses. My present journey includes a pursuit of success that entraps my whole being. I believe that my willpower is the primary reason I should be accepted or at least considered for this, among the hundreds of other scholarships I've applied for. I acknowledge that there are so many others who are in the same position but I can guarantee I convey the most strength and rectitude. Through my struggles and volunteer experiences, I learned to convey humility, understanding, and kindness but I also learned that to be able to put a checkmark in the empty box next to my list of goals, I need to possess the attributes of resilience, strength, and determination. This rigorous resolution that lies inside me is a fire that burns rapidly through my soul. I have worked tirelessly day after day, studying, applying to scholarships, calculating, and praying in order to bring some ease to my never ending doubts but not once have I given up. I will continue to apply for scholarships. I will continue to prevail through high school with my 4.0 GPA. I will continue to keep my head high when others let theirs hang. I will continue to look college in the eye and refuse to blink. I will continue to yearn for the day I will be able to give back to others as my community has me. My head strength is incomparable and my urge to aid is stratospheric. So as college continues to approach, I will work even more diligently to gain just a little bit of hope that will ease the burden of college finances from my mind, to bring me just one step closer to changing from the invisible hardworking underdog to the visible, dream chasing achiever.

"Kindness is the most important tool to spread love among humanity." - Ractivist I have always prided myself on humility and understanding. Coming from a dissimilar and often critical family, I recognize the importance of kindness and its significant impact. I have learned through many trials and tribulations that the greatest remedy to despair is affection and the best solution to a quarrel is forgiveness. Kindness derives from trying to understand rather than yearning to be understood. It comes from loving and learning from others rather than adhering to envy and detestation. So what have I personally done to convey kindness and how will I continue to make a positive impact not only in my community but throughout the world? I've grown up in a low-income, single-parent household where ideas were often pushed aside and where room for imagination was nonexistent. The lack of affection I received as a child turned me into a confused and often distressed teenager. I am a highest honors high school student and a soon to be first generation college student and yet it seems my successes go unrecognized by the people I am surrounded by. This anguish and feeling of being pushed aside has led me into the world of community service, a place where I am not judged or lambasted. Through my volunteer work, I can help others but and also benefit as well by gaining a deep appreciation from others that brings to me a sense of joy and contentment. I have completely fell in love with philanthropy and the ability to help others willingly. My volunteer experiences range from church activities and school fundraisers to local cleaning and blood drive donations. I work hard to provide for the people in my community, the people who have truly helped shape me into my being. I plan to continue my work helping others through nursing, and more specifically, psychiatric nursing. My darker teenage years admitted me into a life of depression, anxiety, and bereavement. Luckily for me, I was able to climb out of this hole but there are so many others who can't seem to grasp the edge. Because of this, I want to focus in on the mental health aspect of well-being and help guide those in need into a life of gaiety and contentment. While one single nurse can't save the whole world, I will bring a smile to those who need it most, inspiring others to do the same, and bring the world one step closer to total goodwill. Because after all, one single act of kindness can bring substantial joy to someone's life. And what's easier than just being kind?

Dr. Noah Sphancer, once pronounced, "Mental health...is not a destination, but a process. It's about how you drive, not where you're going." We're constantly surrounded by people who focus exclusively on their physicality but who do not put in the effort to properly maintain a healthy mentality. In today's society, with the impact of social media, children and teenagers often let the opinions of others control their needs and wants. They cornerstone trying to fit in with social norms rather than being who they are, leading them into a whirlpool of self-hate that is impactful into their adult years. My friend Brandyn was only 17 when he took his life last month because of constant bullying. Hearing of such a young life taken, and being friends with Brandyn, I was completely aghast and in denial. The day after his death, I almost expected him to walk into class, I prayed he would. Suicide is a mark of a life lost to internal pain, resentment, and the feeling of being misunderstood. Brandyn's death was extremely grievous for me considering that four years prior, my older brother took his life with a firearm. My brother's loss brought to me a sense of awareness. The mental entrapment that is felt by so many can seem so shrouded, unexpected. The minds of these victims are often clouded by a feeling of loveless indignation, they are blinded from seeing the truth in that they are truly loved by so many people and that their loss doesn't just affect them. The deaths of these two loved ones has inspired me to make an impact, within not only my school, but my community as well. Having personally suffered from depression, I know what it's like to face conceptual difficulty and deal with anxiety and constant fear of criticism. Being bipolar, retirement's similar to a noose waiting to pull. But unlike Brandyn and my brother, I've recovered from this mental insecurity and survived the cognitive misery. My journey, along with the stories of so many others, have allowed me to begin a renewal of change within my school. I've helped hang anti-bullying and positive mental health affirmation signs throughout my school and neighborhood. I now participate in my school's new Never Alone program, a club created by those of us who want to end this detrimental crisis, meant to bring awareness to those struggling who are in need of help and providing more accessible resources and guidance for those in need. So much has been set in motion and I'm proud to say that I've become part of that change, a path that will go on to save the lives of so many sufferers. Being a senior in high school, there's only so much I can do to help support my cause. With this, I plan on becoming better educated on the prospect of mental health by obtaining my bachelor's degree in psychiatric nursing. The stories of lost loved ones has pushed me into wanting to help, to be a hand to hold in peril. Having a degree in the subject will allow me to streamline ideas such as more affordable counseling services and cheaper antidepressants as well as rallies and congregations to stand up against bullying in our school districts all to provide better support for those in my community. I will be able to more formally spread the ideals of self-care. I will help people through their journey so that they can reach their destination of pure bliss and contentment. After all, there's no better reward than being able to say you saved someone's life.

Jackie Chan once pronounced, "Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person's life." As a person who has been significantly impacted by kindness and its influences, I am inclined to agree with this statement. Growing up in a tumultuous and often critical household, it was only natural that I acquire significantly low self esteem. This lack of self confidence played a considerable role in my mental development and grounded me into a world of anxiety, depression, and resentment. Being in high school, and coming from a low-income household, I was often looked over in school, and sometimes even harassed for my uncontrollable circumstances. I started to believe in the notion that everyone hated me and that I was not good enough for my family or school let alone the world. This grave thought encircled my mind often, creating a whirlpool of despair. On my first day of tenth grade I walked into my eighth period, which happened to be gym, and looked around. I was shocked to see I didn't know anyone in my class. I stood away from everyone as I watched the clock, hoping and praying that the period would fly by so I could leave. That's when the person who would go on to change my life and the way I think walked through the door. A girl I'd never seen before came into the gym and stood near me. I decided that she was just as isolated as I and decided to make the bold first move. After introducing myself I learned that her name was Dakota. She'd just moved to my school from across the country and she just so happened to be in my grade. Dakota and I stuck together after this, becoming close friends. We fit one another to a tee. While she was tall, I was short, she was common sense smart, I was booksmart, she liked playing sports, I liked reading books, and the most dramatic difference, she was an internally enraptured human being while I was disconsolate. Throughout the course of the year, Dakota became not only a best friend but a mentor of sorts. We would talk about why I felt the way I did and she would advise me on how to be a happier and more confident being. Dakota didn't have many friends but she was the kindest person I had ever met. She could make you smile at an instant and would laugh at your jokes even if they weren't funny. She was the queen of compliments and the greatest friend I could have ever asked for. It is sort of cliche, my best friend being the life changing personage I needed in a time of grief and despair, but it's absolutely true. Dakota was an inspiration to me. I loved how she could ignore the eyeballs of every other person in the room. I loved her whimsical being and selfless qualities. I loved that she was so different from me and yet we shared the same aspirations and goals. I loved that she taught me to love myself even if I felt no one else did. I love that she told me she would always be there for me. I loved that she was my best friend. I talk of Dakota in past tense because it just so happens she ended up moving ten hours away last summer. The ordeal was heartbreaking but we still keep in contact. Our time together was short-lived but I will never forget what Dakota has taught me, resilience, kindness, determination, and humility.

Former president George H.W. Bush once proclaimed, "There could be no definition of a successful life that does not include service to others." As one who has been inspired by the ideal of allocation I am inclined to agree with this statement. I grew up in a low-income, single-parent household where opportunities were limited and dreams seemingly unattainable. But from a young age I knew that I had a passion for helping others. My aunt served as a nurse in the United States Army and throughout her life traveled as far as Iraq and Vietnam to aid those in need. Being in the military, she suffered detrimental effects; she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia at the age of 64. My mother and I would often take care of her whenever my uncle had to go on business trips until one day she sat down on the chair weakly and toppled over. She never woke up. Watching the death of my aunt take place at such a young age was heartbreaking and pernicious to my being. Seeing what my aunt had gone through for others and often listening to her mistake me for her grown daughter, I felt the remorse within me inflame and was inspired to succor the way she had her entire life. While I knew the military was not in my future, I did decide that I wanted to become a psychiatric nurse, and to pursue this career I needed some experience in philanthropy. I started volunteering when I was 14, from church festivals and bible camps to school fundraisers and blood drives, I prevailed. I completely fell in love with philanthropy and you can still find me participating in community service to this day. Now, as a soon to be first-generation college student with barely enough money in savings to surpass my first semester of college, I worry that my dreams are unreasonable and unreachable. Still though, I push forward toward my future aspirations, creating goals to help as many patients as I can when I become a nurse and changing my community for the better, making a difference through my hardwork and determination. I am no superhero, I am no Einstein, and I am surely no God. I cannot save the world but I can help everyone I see who needs the assistance. And I know that no matter the circumstances, my aunt will be with me, her drive and willpower she possessed her whole life will be reflected in everything that I do. I can only hope that I can inspire others as much as my aunt has inspired me. I know that with my attributes of humility and understanding, alongside my faith and eminent imagination, I will succeed in reaching my maximum potential and continue to triumph, defying all odds, and become a momentous inspiration to my community and everyone who needs a hand to hold.

From K.C. Undercover and Shake it Up, to Spiderman and Euphoria, Zendaya has encompassed many a role and done so with great passion and ascendancy. Zendaya is greatly known for her time on the movie screen as well as being an exceptional song artist and prominent fashion icon. But one aspect of Zendaya that is often looked past and taken for granted is her ability to be generous and selfless. The hit star not only juggles all of the undertakings of her own life, but takes part in activism as well to support the lives and freedoms of others. And this, to me, is her most beloved aspect and undoubtedly her most admirable. I am inspired by Zendaya's altruistic self and will to succor. Growing up as an 06' baby, I often watched and admired her on her Disney platform shows and would commend her confidence, elegance, and style. Even from such a young age, I looked at Zendaya as a discerning star and as I grew up, I watched her grow up as well. Zapped, Frenemies, The Greatest Showman, Dune, Challengers, you name it, I've seen it. Honestly, my liking of her may have turned into a bit of an obsession... If I recall, Zendaya was 18 years old when she played in her Disney hit, K.C Undercover. The show is what led her into activism, even at a young age. Zendaya claimed that she would only play the lead role if the family in the show were black as well. This therefore brought attention to equal rights and the notion of fair representation of race to young viewers like myself. Growing up in a somewhat discriminatory household, I was inspired by Zendaya to take my own stance and form my own opinion on inequality. Since her time on Disney, Zendaya has also participated in activism in regards to feminist rights, voting rights, and anti-bullying. This activism is what has helped shape her character and has incorporated itself into her loving personality. Zendaya does not officially consider herself an activist. Rather, she sees herself as a morally just being. This proves the humility and nobility Zendaya possesses and gives us an insight to her true character. On top of this, Zendaya isn't afraid to speak the truth and be herself. She doesn't fear the criticism but reciprocates against it. Zendaya has taught so many young girls the power of self love and generosity. She isn't only the most stunning and solicitous human being I know, but she is the most pure. So while Zendaya continues to excel in her careers, her drive to inspire shines as well. I will continue to take from Zendaya and her person. It's ironic how Zendaya has played so many roles of various different characters and yet she never fails to be herself. Her determination and grit is an emblem of self confidence and success. In this way, I will always continue to be inspired by her diligence and constant grind. I think the biggest lesson that Zendaya has taught me is that to make your dreams a reality, you need to possess not only kindness and generosity, but grit and determination as well. As Zendaya once said, "Determination, no matter what field you're in, determination will surely get you to the top."

Imagine if you will, it's the mid-2000's and you're sitting on your couch waiting for the Disney Channel show to begin. At last, Ross Lynch appears on the screen with a wand in his hand, and by what seems like magic, draws the familiar mickey mouse icon in the corner of the screen. Finally, it's starting. "Good Luck Austin and Ally!" fills the screen in large print letters. You've been waiting for this evolutionary crossover for months and it's finally here! You've grown up watching Austin and Ally, falling head over heels in love with the storyline and wishing, hoping, praying that they end up together for good. But for you, this beloved show has some tough competition when it comes to your favorites list. Good Luck Charlie is a close second. I mean, who wouldn't fall in love with the Duncans and their everyday hilarious chaos? And when you saw the commercial that there would be a crossover event between the two, you went bezerk!! This episode is called Good Luck Austin and Ally: Struck by Cupid. You grab your bowl of popcorn and settle on your couch in your comfy pajamas. It doesn't get better than this. Oh, but it does get better. You end the night in sobs of hysteria and a pain in your right side from all the laughter you experienced over the course of the episode. The plot was crazy yet it fit the characters to a tee. As it goes, Teddy was a fan of Austin's through social media. She found out that he was having his next concert one weekend and decided to travel all the way to Miami to see him perform. Unfortunately, Bob and Amy went away on their honeymoon for the weekend so Teddy and P.J were left in charge of Gabe, Charlie, and Toby. With a lot of convincing though, she got her siblings to agree to go with her. The plane tickets round trip cost her all of her savings and it was a pretty wild ride with five kids traveling from Denver, Colorado all the way to Florida but somehow they made it to Miami safely. Shocker! As the storyline progresses, of course the characters from the shows end up meeting and becoming acquaintances but what we didn't expect was that Gabe would take one look at Ally and instantly fall in love with her! As if this isn't enough, Trish ends up getting feelings for P.J too!! We can see where this is going. Gabe ends up using his "love" for his younger siblings as bait to get Ally to like him. Of course, in the end, his plan epicly fails and leaves him just about as single as he was upon arriving in Miami, just with a beach tan, of course. As for Trish, her hopes were dashed with P.J the second she saw him picking his nose. While nobody actually ends up getting together in the end ( besides the undeniable fling between Austin and Ally), the groups do end up becoming friends and promise one another to keep in contact. Austin and Ally prophesied that next time they would go to Colorado to see the Duncans. Teddy and her family end up arriving back in Denver just before Bob and Amy get home from their honeymoon. Everything would have been fine except Charlie accidentally blurted that she was on a plane. A confused and angry Bob grounded the children and the episode concluded with a long lecture and a video from Austin and Ally ending with "Good Luck Charlie!"

Ryan Rimmel once said, "I would have to sneak out to somewhere and go all minecraft in the forest." Not only does this jollification game provide players with the intellectual skills needed to survive, it also promotes creativity, patience, and teamwork. I started playing Minecraft when I was eight years old and at that time the game was the talk of all gamers. I more or less prefer creative mode being a very artistic and ingenious type of person. Not to mention as a young child I had a massive fear of creepers, but you never heard that... Minecraft for me isn't just a game, it's a place to escape especially growing up in a strict and disordered household. Now, being a senior in high school and about to go on to become a first-generation college student, pressure encircles me significantly. With this, I use gaming as a way to escape from this pressure and enter into my own world of fun and exploration. I was 14 years old when I lost my older brother to gun violence. My older brother was my best friend, confidant, and the much needed father figure I lacked all my life. One activity that me and my brother enjoyed doing together was fishing. I have never been fishing with anyone but him and I haven't been fishing since his death for fear of poignancy. We would sit and wait, I would constantly blab on and on about how bored I was but in all honesty it was the most fun I had ever had. Every time we went fishing I would make him take the fish off the hook and make him promise to throw it back. These memories are still very vivid in my mind and wash me with a sense of contentment. While I don't fish anymore in real life, I am still able to experience this gaiety through Minecraft. Fishing is probably my most treasured aspect of the game. I can do something that I used to love without having to experience the grief and despair that I would physically fishing without my brother. The relaxing music on top of an alluring Minecraft sunset brings to me a sense of tranquility. Minecraft has helped me and numerous others in so many ways. It has allowed me to express myself through its game objectives and has delivered to me substantial delight. There is no other game that will let you divulge into your worlds of creativity, passion, and glee like Minecraft does. Every single aspect of the game is perfect for anyone of any age...unless you're an eight year old who's terrified of creepers!

A diploma. A trophy. A ribbon. All items that are thought to convey success. But to me, success is more than an artifact. Success to me is a feeling, an internal awakening of gaiety that can be earned through hard work and determination. Success is an untouchable infatuation of bliss, something that proceeds a weighty accomplishment. Esther Hicks supports my declaration through her axiom, “The only true measure of success is the amount of joy we are feeling.” We can’t buy success or acquire it in a short period of time. We must work for it, thrive for it, and open it with welcoming arms. For a long time, I circumvented away from the joy of success being as how I lacked the self confidence needed to absorb the sense of accomplishment success adheres to. But after a mass amount of self empowerment and motivation, I was able to welcome success whenever it knocked upon my door. Now, being a senior in high school and a soon to be first generation college student, I have never longed to feel the warmth of success more than I do now. I see four years ahead of me and a lot of money needed staring me in the face. Coming from a low income, single parent household, I have barely enough saved to pay for half of my first semester of college! The question of whether or not college is even plausible often surfaces in my mind. I long to be successful and carry out my dreams but with such atrocious compensation these establishments require us to pay in return for a simple degree, success feels significantly unobtainable, which is the primary reason winning this, or any scholarship, would be a momentous opportunity for me. My trek to success started when I decided that I wanted to enter a career that will explore the subject of mental health. After a lot of research and assembling my hobbies, passions, and talents, I was introduced to my dream career job, psychiatrist registered nursing. The question now isn’t what is my dream, but how do I realize it coming from such extremity? Each step that I take in my college journey brings me one step closer to success and the utter feeling of attainment and joy. I entered on my path to succession by applying to hundreds upon hundreds of scholarships. I then started to work on my social interaction with other people so I started participating in community service and completely fell head over heels in love with philanthropy. Along with my devotion to volunteerism, I also obtained a newfound likeness to exercise: classic workouts, yoga, pilates, you name it. I began reading my bible and focusing on my religion. All of this has aided me in developing a better, more positive mindset and overall ameliorated mental health that will be beneficial as I navigate through my stressful college expedition. Each of these steps, with a lot of time, patience, and diligence, have brought me accomplishment and one step closer to success. So as I continue to trudge through high school and make my way to college, oppression will continue to increase, but I will continue to prevail, working tirelessly because one day that feeling of gaiety, called success, will wash over me and declare to me that it was all worth it. Because that’s just what success is, hard work, determination, and an internal feeling of jubilation.

Emma Stone once famously proclaimed, “What sets you apart can sometimes feel like a burden and it’s not. And a lot of the time, it’s what makes you great.” Being different from the majority of my peers and encapsulating disparity, I am inclined to agree with this statement. I have grown up adopted into a low-income, single parent household and was raised differently from a lot of other people. I couldn’t participate in the same things they could, buy the clothes that hung in the store window that I longed for, or invest in that one pair of high brand shoes it seemed every single one of my friends had but me. I was forced to be “responsible and mature” rather than a kid. I watched my mother, who’s attempt at being discreet was foundering, as she let her finances drain the color from her face and the joy from her being. At first, I allowed myself to perceive this as arbitrary and frankly, a cruel punishment from God. I sheathed in shame, guilt, and embarrassment because of my stunted circumstances. It wasn’t until I’d suffered a major loss that I was able to realize my full potential and apprehend the righteousness that lies within me. I was 14 when I lost my brother, who wasn’t just my brother but my best friend, confidant, and father figure I prominently lacked. For a while, I let the loss take over my body, life, and relationships. I enveloped myself in anger and resentment. But over time I started to heal. I turned to volunteering and became actively involved within my school, church, and community. I began pushing myself out of my comfort zone, making new friends, and engaging in weekday workouts. I started focusing on the mental aspect of my life and started answering to the need part of my mind rather than the want. I turned to my religion as well, reading my bible and praying daily. I developed better sleep, healthier eating habits, and adequate hydration. All of this, with a lot of time and patience, has allowed me to become the best version of myself, permitting me to enter into a life of gaiety and success. This new realization of myself also gave me a new perspective on life as well. Instead of looking at life as a challenge and a nuisance as I was, I now look at it as a gift and a privilege. I live in a country where I can get a good education and apply my skills diligently in a job of my choosing. I am surrounded by people of the same or equally important aspirations. I no longer look at my peers with envious eyes but with adoring ones. I now focus more on being able to understand others than trying to be understood. I learn from others and their own experiences and apply their knowledge and success into my own life. There is so much that I am now so grateful for that I wouldn’t have been able to conceive if it weren’t for my brother and my financial circumstances. I’ve taken life’s challenges and turned them into motivation for my future endeavors. My failures continue to shape me into the person I aspire to be. It’s thanks to my destitution and my supermom’s efforts in my life that I have been led into a new understanding of myself, others, and the reason of life itself. Just like Emma said, my circumstances weren’t a burden but a path to prosperity and acceptance. And we can all use a little of that.

The trials and tribulations we must endure to hail success comes with many reverberations. Albert Einstein supports this in his statement, “Failure is success in progress.” Coming from a lifetime of foundering and defeat, I am inclined to agree with this statement. I have suffered loss, heartache, and grief. I have learned to adapt and repossess, to thrive for success when all seems lost. This determination is what leads me into what I call “the handyman state of mind.” I always think I can fix situations and people, that it’s my responsibility to withdraw the pain and despair out of someone's life. But I have come to realize the falsity in that ideal. Growing up in a low-income household has brought me shame, guilt, and embarrassment. I constantly find myself wrapped around the stereotype that only the wealthy are meant to succeed. Being adopted, I have always felt pressured to fit in, to fit in with family, fit in with kids in school, fit in with my teammates. With this, I grew up trying to impress my family, and often myself, by joining sports teams and extracurricular clubs. I just wanted to be like everyone else. But what I have come to figure out is that I am not like everyone else. I am not athletic. I do not enjoy the activities that other kids do. I enjoy reading. I like volunteering. I am a high standing academic successor and I like reading books for fun. This cognizance has taught me that there is no need for me to fit in. I am who I am because it was who I was meant to be and I can’t resent myself for it. I ended up leaving my soccer, gymnastics, and reading competition teams and started focusing more on the things I truly do enjoy such as community service. I have become part of local festivals, fundraisers, church activities, community cleaning, and blood donations. All of these have taught me more than what I could ever learn in a classroom. Philanthropy brings to me a sort of peace and allows me to escape my reality, transporting me into my “handyman state of mind” and allowing me to give back to the community who has provided me with so much growing up. And while I can’t fix the lives of everyone I see in the midst of challenge, I have committed myself to becoming a first-generation college student to study psychiatric registered nursing, a position where I can support and uphold people in the worst of times, steer them in the right direction, and give to them abet that they need. So why should I be considered for this scholarship? I have faced challenges and bounced back from them. I exhibit compassion and humility through everything that I do. I have realized myself and my dream through my defaults. Not to mention, I barely have enough money to cover half of my tuition for the first semester of college! With the fact that I will have nobody to help me pay for my education, any award amount is important and will be put to good use to help me achieve my dreams.

Les Brown once pronounced, “Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.” As a mass believer in goals, I am inclined to agree with this statement. I have always set goals for myself, anticipating the wholesome feeling of accomplishment. Most recently, being a senior in high school, I have been working towards setting long term goals, some of which include gaining a more positive mental mindset, seering through college debt free, and one day becoming a psychiatric registered nurse. While the idea of these goals seem so far off, I realize that they are only a few short years away. So to prepare for and work towards these goals I have been scrutinizing my time and pushing myself to the maximum. To improve my mental health, I started journaling, praying more often, reading my Bible, and meditating, all of which have made an obvious improvement in just a short amount of time. Making my way through college debt free is a more daunting task considering I come from a low-income household and am soon becoming a first generation college student with no one to help me pay for my education. My goal of having a debt-free college education starts with me applying to numerous scholarships, too many to count. I write about five to six essays a week hoping to get just a little bit of the 80,000 dollars paid over the next four years. Once I complete this goal, I can focus on becoming a psychiatric nurse. This task should be undemanding once I gain my college degree but will be a large stepping stone in my life. To pursue this goal, I have been taking classes that will benefit me in my future endeavors and consistently doing my research on the subject of psychiatric nursing. The goals I set for myself now derive from many hardships I have faced previously. I have faced trial after trial of loss and bereavement. I have absorbed the feelings of shame, guilt, and embarrassment. I have fought back against depression and anxiety more times than I can count. At just four years old, I was diagnosed with displacement disorder. At eleven, I was told that I have social anxiety and I need to start practicing effective communication. At 15, it was bipolar disorder. These diagnoses had a great impact on my mental health. I believed I was a crazed lunatic and a freak. But this resentment towards myself only made me more unstable, leading into an endless cycle of depression, anger, hatred, and sadness. These struggles are still prevalent today, but minute. I have learned to overcome these setbacks by focusing more on myself rather than what I was told I was. With this, I continue to excel in school and in my community and have become the best version of myself possible. What seemed like endless battles became my primary motivator to enliven myself and lead me into a life of dreaming, goal setting, and most importantly, goal reaching.

Yes, I was in the foster care system. Napoleon Hill once proclaimed, “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” Coming from substantial adversity and struggle, I am inclined to agree with this statement. For a large portion of my childhood I grew up in an environment where I was surrounded by drug usage, prostitution, and homelessness. I was placed in and out of the foster care system, never knowing who’s couch I would be sleeping on that night. Luckily for me, I was adopted out of this atrocious situation and was given a second chance at a childhood, family, and life. But instead of balling my resentment for my situation into anger, I use it as motivation to make change. I am committed to turning my adversity into success and positivity. .When I was 13 years old, my biological mother passed away due to a drug overdose. This happenstance opened my eyes to the world as it was and the tribulation my local community faces. At 14, my brother passed away at the hands of a firearm. His death took a significant toll on me both mentally and emotionally. For a while, I felt distraught and futile but as I realized the mental catastrophic repercussions I was allowing myself to be dragged into, I decided it was time for a change. I wanted to take all my challenges and heartache and turn it into something optimistic. I started participating in community service, hoping that giving back to others would help ease the tragedy that lived in my head. With much success, I continued my volunteering journey and completely fell in love with philanthropy. The mental health journey I trekked on as I overcame adversity led me to deciding on a dream career that would suit me best. I decided to become a psychiatric nurse and lead the fight for change in my community. I fancy becoming the helping hand that I didn’t have during my times of struggle. I thrive to give back and assist those who need it. I want to construct an efficacious impact in my work and change the lives of others who need the support to regain a positive mental mindset. Through my hardwork and determination, I have overcome major adversity and desire to take that diligence to provide others the opportunity to overcome their own adversities. Napoleon’s seed of adversity has helped me sprout a bud of alacritous zeal that will continue to grow into a flower of success.

Mahatma Gandhi once proclaimed, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” As a fellow acolyte of volunteerism, I am inclined to agree with this statement. Growing up in a single parent, low income household, I wasn’t given bulk opportunities and was taught to work for what I earn. I became interested in the arts at a young age, diving into the world of drawing and theater. I was fortunate enough to be given the chance to participate in different extracurricular activities including cheerleading, gymnastics, soccer, running program, reading competition, drama, and girl scouts but each experience became abolished due to the increased cost to participate in the programs. With this, I felt excluded, debarred. After going through a couple of major losses within my family during my early teenage years, I was engulfed by resentment and exasperation. Never before had I experienced such loneliness and seclusion in my life. When I could no longer direct my anger at myself and the people around me I decided it was time to transmute. So I turned to volunteering. My specific volunteer experiences include working as a bible camp art counselor, acting as a face painter as part of my community's summer festival, participating in tailgates and fundraisers for my school's National Honor Society program, and helping out a local Century 21 housing agency by cleaning houses and apartments that people move out of so they are safe and clean for the next residents. I have learned so much from each of these experiences as they have allowed me to continuously give back to my community without compensation. Volunteering provided me the chance to give back to people who have felt and understood the anguish that I have battled. I have been taught to convey kindness and understanding, a leading reason I want to become a psychiatric nurse and be the lending hand my patients will need. Being a first generation college student, I understand the importance of education, just as Aserina did, and its significant impact on society and a person's well being. Heroes like Aserina have not only given back but given up the privilege of education to help others, a primary motivation for myself moving forward towards college. Because of my fond likeness for education, if given the opportunity, I would also start a charity for education but it would not only serve students with financial need, but those who are part of minority groups, previous military veterans looking to pursue college education, and students of older ages attempting to go back to college and get a degree. I would pursue this through fundraisers, product selling, and sponsoring events. I believe that there’s mass potential in every single person no matter their circumstances. Being part of the often overlooked financial need categories helps me to realize the importance of an equally provided education. As college approaches, I continue to appreciate those like Aserina who have given so much to provide students with an education, hoping to be included in that grouping. This appreciation will be used as motivation moving forward and I will continue to thrive to and through college, all the while continuing in my volunteering endeavors because the key to success derives from humility.

Amanda Gorman once said, "There is always light. If only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it." This world today is full of so many possibilities and hope and yet we suffer from a surfeit of self-downing and bashfulness, despondency and hopelessness. Why is this? Why is it as the world continues to advance and as we people become smarter, our self-esteem decreases into self-consciousness? I myself have dealt with poor self-esteem and a sufficient lack of motivation. I grew up in a home where I was constantly criticized for my looks. My outstanding report cards and award after award were never enough. I ended up losing my older brother to gun violence when I was 14. I was lost, numb. Without anywhere to turn, I turned to God. And at last, I found where I was meant to be. Clique it is, I agree. But truly, God has shaped me into who I am today and what I want to be. He has, for sure, been the most influential person in my life. His spirit has carried me through both the upstanding times as well as the tumultuous ones. I was purposely placed into a life full of unfortunate experiences that each gave me the strength to find the confidence to be who I truly am. I have had many experiences, both positive and negative. I have experienced debt, near poverty, the death of many loved ones, criticism, bullying, and much more. But with these, God has allowed me to experience triumph, success, nobility, recognition, intelligence, optimism, and hope. I have learned to adapt, accept, and accomplish. I have learned to be brave yet vulnerable when necessary. I was given a gift of compassion and I exhibit empathy to all around me. I received so much throughout my lifetime all thanks to the man who matters most. And while there are those out there who do not have the same values as me, or do not accept and believe the same ideals as I do, we can all agree there is an inner self within each and every one of us that makes the decisions every second of every day that provide us with the lasting memories. So what did God really give me? God gave me life, and a second chance to be happy when I was torn down. He gave me strength to continue on with life as I should and to never give in to temptations leading me elsewhere. Most importantly though, God gave me the ability to find who I truly can and should be and who I am today. A classic essay a young girl writes about her religious beliefs and she expects to win money for it? Money or no money, I will be satisfied knowing that I have God by my side and a confidant who will never leave me.

I have always prided myself on strength, leadership, and humility. Coming from a low-income, single-parent household and being a first-generation college student isn't easy but I have worked very hard to get to where I am today, my 4.1 GPA will prove it too. Being adopted, I was given a second chance at life, to be a kid. But I have also dealt with great loss, so I understand the importance of mental health and the strain it can have on a person, the never-ending tug at your throat like a noose waiting to pull. I was 14 when I lost my brother to suicide. My brother was a lot older than me, and the only father figure I'd ever had in my life. He accepted me from the beginning of the adoption. Losing him, I lost myself for a while. His loss is primarily what led me to want to study mental health. Now here I am, a senior in high school, and I have decided to become a psychiatric nurse, to help others before they end up paying a visit to my brother. The downward spiral of depression took with it my ability to interact with other people. I locked myself in a jail cell of hatred. I looked at everything with such resentment and hostility. Relationships were shattered, friendships culminated. What had I done to myself? I was a completely different person, drowning in feelings of shame, guilt, and despair, even if I had nothing to be ashamed of or to feel guilty for. Times were rough. Slowly though, I realized something. I realized that if I continued as I was, I would just end up just like my brother. I decided to honor him instead of sitting in a bedroom and staring at the wall of pity everyday. I decided to live my life, to the fullest and greatest possible, to travel, to make new friends, and to push myself out of my comfort zone. As things got better, so did I. I was able to repair some damaged friendships and relationships, to fix myself for the better. I won't ever forget my brother's voice or face, his laughter whenever I got angry at him for blasting his terrible rock music, the way he hugged me, the way he scrunched up his nose to make me laugh when I was upset. But even with his loss, I see the world as a gift rather than a nuisance. Life is taken for granted and many lives gone too soon. I completely understand the full impact of crippled mental health because I stood face to face with depression itself. So as I attend a four-year college for psychiatric nursing next fall, I know I will feel the strain of pressure, being that I am left on my own to pay for my degree and am planning on working my way through college. Still yet, I plan on pushing myself to the maximum, remembering my brother and why I was called to do what I plan to do. And whenever I finally get to where I want to be, I will give my all to my patients, I will help them all that I can. I will guide them to the right and just decisions and lead them to a sanctuary of self-forgiveness. Even if I can just change one person, the ripple effect will go a long way throughout my community and the world itself. Jana Stanfield once said, "I cannot do all the good the world needs. But the world needs all the good I can do."

I have always prided myself on strength, leadership, and humility. Coming from a low-income, single-parent household and being a first-generation college student isn't easy. I have dealt with great loss, so I understand the importance of mental health and the strain it can have on a person, the never-ending tug at your throat like a noose waiting to pull. I was 14 years old when I lost my brother to gun violence. My brother was a lot older than me, but he was the only father figure I had ever had in my life. Losing him, I lost myself for a while. His loss is primarily what led me to want to study mental health. Now here I am, a senior in high school, and I have decided to become a psychiatric nurse, to help others and to be the person there for them that I never had. The downward spiral of depression took with it my ability to interact with other people positively. I locked myself in a jail cell of anger, and hatred. I forgot about all the good in the world and looked at everything with such resentment and hostility. Relationships were shattered, friendships culminated. What had I done to myself? I was a completely different person, drowning in feelings of shame, guilt, and despair, even if I had nothing to be ashamed of or to feel guilty for. I guess that was just a side effect of depression. The times were rough. Slowly though as things got better, so did I. I was able to repair some damaged friendships and relationships, to fix myself for the better. That is why I completely understand the full impact of crippled mental health because I stood face to face with depression itself. Going into psychiatric nursing, I will give my all to my patients, I will help them all that I can, I will guide them to the right and just decisions and lead them to a sanctuary of self-forgiveness and gratitude. I can help change my community for the better, a clique but true statement. I will use my hard-earned intelligence and drive that I have today to propel myself even further in my life. Even if I can just change one person, the ripple effect will go a long way. Jana Stanfield once said, "I cannot do all the good the world needs. But the world needs all the good I can do."

Imagine a place where you can be transported into the mesmerizing world of dance and music, where you can just lay back and relax, where you can be told a story of passion, and ardor, a blissful wonder filled with hope, intensity, apprehension, dismay, happiness, gaiety, excitement, pleasure, and success all in one. You don't think it exists? Well, let me prove you wrong and show you the real power of music. In today's world, there is a preeminent lack of joy and delight. We are constantly surrounded by detestation, vexation, and anguish. The stress and anxiety being felt by every single human being inhibits the assimilation of inspiration. But for me, that infliction of detachment only inspires me to want to influence others. I am most creative in times of need and in times of worldly creative destitution. I am brought up whenever I see others down. I am the hope of a dimly lit candle in a tunnel of utter darkness and I am always ready to be the comfort to all others and transport them to this place of complete nirvana and ecstasy. I do this through the storytelling power of the stage and music. Trying out for the school musical was one of the scariest, most vulnerable experiences of my entire life. Before that one audition in high school, I had never sung or danced the way I had to then in public before. But after making it into the musical, I started to understand that satisfaction only starts with confidence. I had always thought of music as a comfort in times of loss and heartbreak but never the way I did after starting musical. The musical gave me merriment as well as the audience. It was an escape from my own stress-filled life and a way to pour my heart out to the world and receive approbation back. It became a large part of my life. But where would any of us theatre geeks be without any music? From Wicked's "Defying Gravity" to the Music Man's "Ya Got Trouble," every beat is enjoyed, every harmony perceived. The music is really what takes us to that heaven. Without that rhythm, we wouldn't have a musical but a singsical...even the name is boring. So while creativity is cultivated in many a way, my way is through the stage, the lights, the dancing, the singing, dramaturgy, and most importantly, music. I can only hope that others will understand what I do about the impact of music and feel the story being told in each song through every part of their bodies. So as this world continues to convey execration and hostility, music will act as a beacon of hope. As Jean Paul Friedrich Rich once said, "Music is the moonlight in the gloomy light of life."

Imagine a place where you can be transported into the mesmerizing world of dance and music, where you can just lay back and relax, where you can be told a story of passion, and ardor, a blissful wonder filled with hope, intensity, apprehension, dismay, happiness, gaiety, excitement, pleasure, and success all in one. You don't think it exists? Well, let me prove you wrong. In today's world, there is a preeminent lack of joy and delight. We are constantly surrounded by detestation, vexation, and anguish. The stress and anxiety being felt by every single human being inhibits the assimilation of inspiration. But for me, that infliction of detachment only inspires me to want to influence others. I am most creative in times of need and in times of worldly creative destitution. I am brought up whenever I see others down. I am the hope of a dimly lit candle in a tunnel of utter darkness and I am always ready to be the comfort to all others and transport them to this place of complete nirvana and ecstasy. I do this through the storytelling power of the stage. Trying out for the school musical was one of the scariest, most vulnerable experiences of my entire life. Before that one audition, I had never sung or danced the way I had to in public before. But after making it into the musical, I started to understand that satisfaction only starts with confidence. The musical gave me merriment as well as the audience. It was an escape from my own stress-filled life and a way to pour my heart out to the world and receive approbation back. It became a large part of my life. While others enjoy other reticent arts such as painting or drawing, I enjoy dancing around and singing in front of hundreds of people like nobody is watching with loud music blasting into my ears. An often overlooked art, musicals bring people the same escape that I feel, a place to travel to when the world seems so chaotic. They bring joy to the despondent and laughter to the dreary. They simply enhance the exhilaration in every single individual in a way that nothing else can. As musicals slowly become more accepted again, they will have a chance to continue spreading goodwill to more and more people and overall make the world a better place. I enjoy being in musical so much, that if I had an extra 24 hours in my day, I would continue practicing for our upcoming show, "The Drowsy Chaperone," and continue practicing until my throat is sore and my feet feel like they are going to fall off. I would practice to make myself proud, my family, and my friends. I would practice so that on show day, our audience will be taken to that planet of bliss. So while creativity is cultivated in many a way, my way is through the stage, the lights, the dancing, the singing, and the dramaturgy. I can only hope that others will understand what I do about musicals and feel the story being told rifle through every part of their bodies. As Willem Dafoe once said, "Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasize about a world we aspire to."

As I watched the school bus pull away, I stood on the sidewalk in fear. Fear that turned into anguish. The anguish turned into terror. Where was my mother? Where was I? Who do I go to for help? Being a five-year-old all alone in the middle of a town full of drugs and needles, I was confused and petrified. Finally, as I walked down the street, that door opened. And in that doorway stood the girl who would go on to save my life. I never saw that girl again. Nor did I ever ride that bus again. Or stand at that bus stop again. I have never done drugs, nor will I ever even think about doing drugs. I strive to push myself as far away from drugs as I can. Which, if I think about it, is pretty ironic considering drugs are the one thing that has forever impacted my life and made me who I am today. I was born into a family of drug addicts. Being the youngest of three children, eight years younger than the previous child, I seemed to be more of a nuisance than anything. For the first five years of my life, I witnessed things that no person of any age should ever have to witness. I was surrounded by drugs, prostitution, and abuse. I watched my father proceed in and out of jail countless times, I watched my mother make her money through sinister ways while he was in jail. I slept on couches of strangers' houses, never knowing where to call home. My siblings and I were placed into the corrupt foster care system twice and repeatedly were put back into the hands of drug addict criminals who were clearly not stable or sane enough to provide and take care of us. I was forced to grow up at an unbelievingly young age. It was most literally a living hell for a young child like myself. That is, until the day I was abandoned at my bus stop in Kindergarten. I was placed with a woman of whom I knew from a family friend and in a safe household. After living with the woman for two years, the custody quickly went into adoption and I eventually settled well into my new home, but the memories from my past still haunt me to this day and will never be forgotten. Those memories and drugs that ended up taking my biological mother's life when I was 13. To discharge my mind from all the dreadful evocation, I decided to open my religious doors and turn toward God. I previously had believed that I was good for nothing and a helpless accident waiting to happen but after some long years of spiritual meditation, I truly believe that we are all here for a reason and that those who need help can get help, leading me into my dream career field. Living through all that uproarious tumult, and facing depression one on one, I was inspired to provide help to other people that my biological family never got and become a psychiatric nurse. I had watched relationships that my parents had crumble to pieces because of their drug use. I myself struggled to maintain healthy relationships as I dealt with anxiety and depression caused by being born from drug addict parents. Getting off the bus that day, little did I know that I would be given a blessing and a second chance at life. And while the effects still linger with me today, I am prepared to help others who need it.

Dave Glynn once said, "Don't ever question the value of volunteers. Noah's Ark was built by volunteers, the Titanic was built by professionals." I have never been one to be prideful. In fact, I have always strived to show humility, respect, and understanding. Growing up in a single-parent, low-income family, I was taught that a single person can help change the perspective of many. We have faced struggles and hardships. I have seen the unbelievable and experienced grief, guilt, and shame. I have faced depression one on one. Growing up in such austerity has allowed me to gain discernment and understanding. During my time of struggle, I had nowhere to turn so I turned to volunteering. It was a safe place for me to give back and bring the joy that I lacked so much of to the faces of other people just like myself. Volunteering throughout my community was a light at the end of a dark tunnel of anguish. My specific volunteer experiences include working as a bible camp art counselor, attending and acting as a face painter as part of my community's summer festival, participating in tailgates and fundraisers for my school's National Honor Society program, volunteering at community fish fries, and helping out a local Century 21 housing agency by cleaning houses and apartments that people move out of so they are safe and clean for the next residents. I have learned so much from each of these experiences and have allowed myself to continuously give back to my community without compensation. My specific volunteer experience permitted me to not only help my community but become a part of it. I have helped teach, give, guide, lead, and shepherd. I was able to give something so little and provide wisdom and help to those who needed it most and overall increase the beauteousness of my community. And while my impact on the community is prominent, so is the sagacity I received from the people as well. I may have been a volunteer, but the people have taught me so much. I was taught how to be strong, yet humble. Confident, yet demure. Understanding, yet thankful. I was given a pass to contentment and remission to sanctification. So as I continue through life, I will take the wisdom I gained from my impactful volunteer experiences and use it to continue better serving my community and keep the cycle flowing because giving so little can mean so much. I may just be one star in a galaxy of volunteers but to many in my community, I am their sun, their hope.

Once upon a time, there was a wee little cell. A cell so tiny it was not visible to the human eye. And yet this one single cell was composed of thousands of protons, electrons, and neutrons? And these too were made of teeny objects called quarks? And these quarks were made up of elementary particles? And so it goes. To think that something so little can contain so much. But isn't that how our world is? One single universe, one single planet, can hold so much more than we could ever imagine. I was always told that I make things too complicated. That I am too curious. I was that one pesky annoying kid who would always ask "why why why why why?" I have always wondered why things are the way they are and why things do the things they do. If you haven't figured it out by now, science is most definitely my favorite subject. Well, if I am being honest, I hated chemistry. But on the first day of my junior year of high school, I stepped into my AP Biology classroom and I knew it was going to be a good year. I was fascinated at how one single living cell could be the basic structure of all human life. One cell. One cell with a mitochondria and a nucleus. A cell with so many ribosomes and a rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum. A cell that carries out functions like movement, reproduction, nutrition, excretion, and growth. A cell that can give birth to new life. I learned how one recessive allele carried by each of a child's parents can pass down to the child a dominant, life-threatening disease, and how parents can literally hand death over to their child through their very own genetics. A grim topic, but necessary to understand the importance of dominant and recessive alleles. My year ended with tears, a dismal goodbye and farewell to Mrs.McCloskey's class where I had grown broccoli plants and radish on the windowsill to learn about photosynthesis. As my heart died that summer, so did my plants, unfortunately. To be frank, I never was the best gardener. As I anticipated the new school year, my SENIOR year of school, I entered a class that gave a closer look into the human body itself and engaged in how the human him/herself exists. I was launched into the investigative, provisional, unique world of Mrs.McCloskey's (yes, her again) Anatomy class. As I continue through my year, I have already learned so much. From the body regions to the body muscles, I have gained enough knowledge to write an actual book. I have learned about the arrector pili muscle, found near our hair follicles, that contracts in frightening situations or cold temperatures, causing the hair on our bodies to stand up. Growing up in Pennsylvania, my arrector pili muscle sure gets a good workout from October until April. I have learned that our hair itself grows in stages, the anagen stage is the stage where the hair grows longer. I'm pretty sure my hair decided to skip the anagen stage and skip right to the telogen stage when the hair stops growing and starts shedding. I am almost positive my hair is always in that telogen stage. I shed more than a horse in the summertime. The sciences have transported me into a world of fascination and wonder, a world that I want every person, and every child who comes after me, to have the opportunity to visit. But to explore this world, we have to put in the effort. Sean Carroll once said in an aspirating quote, "The world keeps happening, in accordance with its rules; it's up to us to make sense of it and give it value." It is our responsibility to promote the exploration of the major sciences: physical sciences, earth sciences, and life sciences. With the technology we acquire today, we can investigate our world, its people and its appurtenances, in much greater depth. In my own opinion, studying concepts such as astrology, psychics, and cosmology will help us human beings gain a much larger and broader understanding of where we came from, how, and why we are here. Being a Catholic, religion has taught me that a lot of scientific answers lie within the Bible itself but I defy all the odds. I need to know for sure. Studying ideas such as the Big Bang Theory (no, not the show), the Black Hole Theory, the Big Freeze, and the Flat Earth Theory will lead to discovery and an endless waterfall of answers to elusive questions. So just as cells keep undergoing mitosis and creating more and more human beings, our scientists can employ more and more concepts and ideas to better understand our universe. Because who knows...maybe the universe we know is just one tiny cell and it isn't actually the largest object we know. So let's go. Let's take the 30 trillion cells that we are made of and explore, create, imagine, execute, and inspire. After all, a whole universe awaits.

I have always prided myself on strength, leadership, and humility. Coming from a low-income, single-parent household and being a first-generation college student isn't easy. I have also dealt with great loss, so I understand the importance of mental health and the strain it can have on a person, the never-ending tug at your throat like a noose waiting to pull. I was 14 years old when I lost my brother to gun violence. My brother was a lot older than me, but he was the only father figure I had ever had in my life. Losing him, I lost myself for a while. The journey to recovery wasn't easy but I made it. And here I am today, I can clearly say that I am in the best mental health than I have ever been. So how did I get here? What did I do? During my years of depression, I turned to community service, whether it was for community festivals, my church's camp organizations, or National Honor Society volunteer work. Being able to give back to others helped me to find myself again, to give people the joy that I didn't have. I have always pushed myself to the maximum when it comes to academics. My 4.1 GPA will prove it too. But during those few abysmal years, I started to realize that I was pushing myself too much. I started to take breaks and limit myself to fewer hours of intense studying with more time in between study sessions. This way I could lessen the weighted stress as well as perform better in school with more confidence and less anxiety. My brother's loss and those endless years of depression have led me to become a psychiatric nurse, to be the helping hand to others suffering that I never had. So how do any of these things help me to continuously give back to my community? The drive and determination that I put into my schoolwork and personal values every single day will allow me to thrive as I graduate and make my way through college. In this way, I will be able to become the psychiatric nurse that I dream of being and help the many others who need a shoulder to lean on. Even just the little things every day now can help so many others in my community years down the road. It'll be a long journey but as Lao Tzu once said, " The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."

"Once upon a time in Hollywood." A phrase so pensive and prodigious. A place so unreal for a girl from the seemingly forgotten state of Pennsylvania, so far away, unreachable even. Words that convey to me a life of glamour, hope, and endless possibilities. Hollywood is an entertainment industry filled with power and potential, not to mention money. From where I live, a thirty-eight-hour drive ( 2,613 miles), separates me from the busy, ever so fabulous city of Los Angeles. Home to over 800,000 movie productions, Hollywood is the world's oldest, most beloved film industry in the world. How has Hollywood influenced my life personally? Growing up in a small town, some can say poor in a way, there are not a lot of opportunities to go on to become anything but the usual- a teacher, an engineer, a farmer, a cashier, or, unfortunately, a drug addict. Becoming a movie star and such is simply unheard of coming from these parts. Living my whole life here was a challenge. Luckily for me, I live in the finer area of the county so I can attend a bigger, more affluent school district compared to some others in the area. Still, there is a constant nagging. A nag so strong that I can not ignore it. Watching Hollywood movies, I am transported into a world of allure and attraction. I look at these movies and look at myself, my life, and where I am from. I am inspired. I am inspired to make one of two choices. I can either leave this place as soon as possible or stay and try to change it for the better. While we will never be any Hollywood, I sure can try. Hollywood brings to America eyes filled with glitter and a sky full of stars. A place to escape to no matter where you are from. The impact Hollywood has had on the film industry is beyond belief. What Hollywood has brought to me is an opportunity, a chance to help my neighbors, my family, my people. So what does the phrase "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" spark in me? It sparks hope. It sparks joy. It sparks possibility. It sparks a never-ending tug to help those who need help. To become someone to lean on. To dream. Being able to write my own story. This era and this country are filled with successful figures. So why not me? Why not you? I want to be a success and the producer of my own film. I want to create my own Hollywood.

I have always prided myself on strength, leadership, and humility. Coming from a low-income, single-parent household and being a first-generation college student isn't easy. I have also dealt with great loss, so I understand the importance of mental health and the strain it can have on a person, the never-ending tug at your throat like a noose waiting to pull. I was 14 years old when I lost my brother to gun violence. My brother was a lot older than me, but he was the only father figure I had ever had in my life. Losing him, I lost myself for a while. His loss is primarily what led me to want to study mental health. Now here I am, a senior in high school, and I have decided to become a psychiatric nurse, to help others and to be the person there for them that I never had. During those years of depression, I had nowhere to turn, so I turned to God. I have always been a Catholic but I never really paid too much attention to God and his existence in my life. My struggle with mental health really opened my eyes to his greatness, his power. He is like a built-in best friend and he has helped me substantially overcome my depression and decrease my anxiety. And yes, I am not perfect, I do get sad sometimes, and I do get depressed. I am human. However, my mental health experience has led me down a religious path that I intend to follow for the rest of my life. The downward spiral of depression took with it my ability to interact with other people positively. I locked myself in a jail cell of anger, and hatred. I forgot about all the good in the world and looked at everything with such resentment and hostility. Relationships were shattered, friendships culminated. What had I done to myself? I was a completely different person, drowning in feelings of shame, guilt, and despair, even if I had nothing to be ashamed of or to feel guilty for. I guess that was just a side effect of depression. The times were rough. Slowly though as things got better, so did I. I was able to repair some damaged friendships and relationships, to fix myself for the better. That is why I completely understand the full impact of crippled mental health because I stood face to face with depression itself. I was able to take a life full of execration and abhorrence and turn it into peace and fulfillment. If that doesn't convey resilience, then I don't know what does. Overcoming these challenges and losses and allowing myself to take a step back and be at ease with where I am at in life has taught me that it is ok to face challenges and obstacles head-on. Life is a rollercoaster and it won't always be so easy. Going into psychiatric nursing, I will give my all to my patients, I will help them all that I can, I will guide them to the right and just decisions and lead them to a sanctuary of self-forgiveness and gratitude. Even if I can just change one person, the ripple effect will go a long way. Jana Stanfield once said, "I cannot do all the good the world needs. But the world needs all the good I can do."

I have always prided myself on strength, leadership, and humility. Coming from a low-income, single-parent household and being a first-generation college student isn't easy. I have also dealt with great loss, so I understand the importance of mental health and the strain it can have on a person, the never-ending tug at your throat like a noose waiting to pull. I was 14 years old when I lost my brother to gun violence. My brother was a lot older than me, but he was the only father figure I had ever had in my life. Losing him, I lost myself for a while. His loss is primarily what led me to want to study mental health. Now here I am, a senior in high school, and I have decided to become a psychiatric nurse, to help others and to be the person there for them that I never had. During those years of depression, I had nowhere to turn, so I turned to God. I have always been a Catholic but I never really paid too much attention to God and his existence in my life. My struggle with mental health really opened my eyes to his greatness, his power. He is like a built-in best friend and he has helped me substantially overcome my depression and decrease my anxiety. And yes, I am not perfect, I do get sad sometimes, and I do get depressed. I am human. However, my mental health experience has led me down a religious path that I intend to follow for the rest of my life. The downward spiral of depression took with it my ability to interact with other people positively. I locked myself in a jail cell of anger, and hatred. I forgot about all the good in the world and looked at everything with such resentment and hostility. Relationships were shattered, friendships culminated. What had I done to myself? I was a completely different person, drowning in feelings of shame, guilt, and despair, even if I had nothing to be ashamed of or to feel guilty for. I guess that was just a side effect of depression. The times were rough. Slowly though as things got better, so did I. I was able to repair some damaged friendships and relationships, to fix myself for the better. That is why I completely understand the full impact of crippled mental health because I stood face to face with depression itself. My overall experiences with poor mental health have led me into my dream career field, allowed me to strengthen my relationship with God, and fortify my relationships with others. Going into psychiatric nursing, I will give my all to my patients, I will help them all that I can, I will guide them to the right and just decisions and lead them to a sanctuary of self-forgiveness and gratitude. Even if I can just change one person, the ripple effect will go a long way. Jana Stanfield once said, "I cannot do all the good the world needs. But the world needs all the good I can do."

I have always prided myself on strength, leadership, and humility. Coming from a low-income, single-parent household and being a first-generation college student isn't easy. I have also dealt with great loss, so I understand the importance of mental health and the strain it can have on a person, the never-ending tug at your throat like a noose waiting to pull. I was 14 years old when I lost my brother to gun violence. My brother was a lot older than me, but he was the only father figure I had ever had in my life. Losing him, I lost myself for a while. His loss is primarily what led me to want to study mental health. Now here I am, a senior in high school, and I have decided to become a psychiatric nurse, to help others and to be the person there for them that I never had. The downward spiral of depression took with it my ability to interact with other people positively. I locked myself in a jail cell of anger, and hatred. I forgot about all the good in the world and looked at everything with such resentment and hostility. Relationships were shattered, friendships culminated. What had I done to myself? I was a completely different person, drowning in feelings of shame, guilt, and despair, even if I had nothing to be ashamed of or to feel guilty for. I guess that was just a side effect of depression. The times were rough. Slowly though as things got better, so did I. I was able to repair some damaged friendships and relationships, to fix myself for the better. That is why I completely understand the full impact of crippled mental health because I stood face to face with depression itself. Overcoming depression allowed me to gain the important attributes I have mentioned earlier, strength, leadership, and humility. With these qualities, I know I will push myself to the maximum, through and after college. Going into college headfirst is scary, terrifying in fact. Being that my family doesn't have a lot of money, and I do plan on being the first to attend college, any type of scholarship helps. The littlest to me can mean so much. I was never one to ask out of pity and shame. I am aware there are many other great people out there just like me who need the same help that I do. But I can guarantee you they don't hold the integrity that I do. I promise to push myself out of my comfort zone, try my very best, and give it my all as I go into and complete my higher education. And hey, if you ever know anybody who needs a psychiatric nurse, you know who to call!

Imagine, if you will, you are only five years old, barely old enough to know what 3+3 is let alone the meaning of the word "foster care." And yet you had been placed into the foster care system two times already, in both cases the corrupt system lets you land back into the hands of parents who clearly couldn't provide for you. They continue to do this until it is too late. Your parents are gone, you are left alone, scared, confused, petrified. Your brother is gone. Your sister is gone. Your family is gone. And now you are with a new family. A new mom. A new life. If you haven't figured it out by now, that "you" is me. I was only an infant when I was first placed into the foster care system, a toddler the second time. While it was only a brief period of time, I grew up with a brother who remained in foster care until he was 18, and the horrid experience left him with very few opportunities when he was out in the real world. I was taken in by a single woman when I was five years old and at the age of eight, I was officially adopted. Before that, I had witnessed things that nobody, especially a toddler, should ever have to behold. My experience in foster care was short, but I learned a lot in that small bit of time placed into the system. I watched our "caretakers" force my sister to eat the large amount of food that my brother and I couldn't finish, I watched fistfights and nose bleeds happen, as well as listened to the screams, cries, and calls for help as I walked down the halls of what seemed more like a prison than a safe place. It is crazy how eerie a place that is supposed to be calming can feel. Seeing these things happen in front of me at such a young age taught me to never let myself be degraded into the people that surrounded me. I instilled in myself the qualities of integrity, compassion, and humility. While these are some special qualities, conveying them can be considered a skill. There are very few who can exhibit all three of these qualities honestly. Being through poor experiences and dealing with mental health struggles growing up has inspired me to become a psychiatric nurse and be the helping hand to others that I never had. Using the constitute of integrity will allow me to push myself to the maximum, putting my patients first and never letting anything stop me from being my best. Showing compassion for others will let me see my patients in an unequivocal manner and listen without judgment. Finally, displaying humility will help me to set aside everything to provide my patients with the help they need to get better and stay better. Using all three of these qualities will allow me to benefit my patients and overall have a positive impact on my community and its people. Even the little things can make a big difference.

I have always prided myself on strength, leadership, and humility. Coming from a low-income, single-parent household and being a first-generation college student isn't easy. I have also dealt with great loss, so I understand the importance of mental health and the strain it can have on a person, the never-ending tug at your throat like a noose waiting to pull. I was 14 years old when I lost my brother to gun violence. My brother was a lot older than me, but he was the only father figure I had ever had in my life. Losing him, I lost myself for a while. His loss is primarily what led me to want to study mental health. Now here I am, a senior in high school, and I have decided to become a psychiatric nurse, to help others and to be the person there for them that I never had. During those years of depression, I had nowhere to turn, so I turned to God. I have always been a Catholic but I never really paid too much attention to God and his existence in my life. My struggle with mental health really opened my eyes to his greatness and his power. He is like a built-in best friend and he has helped me substantially overcome my depression and decrease my anxiety. My mental health experience has led me down a religious path that I intend to follow for the rest of my life. The downward spiral of depression took with it my ability to interact with other people positively. I locked myself in a jail cell of anger, and hatred. I forgot about all the good in the world and looked at everything with such resentment and hostility. Relationships were shattered, friendships culminated. What had I done to myself? I was a completely different person, drowning in feelings of shame, guilt, and despair, even if I had nothing to be ashamed of or to feel guilty for. I guess that was just a side effect of depression. The times were rough. Slowly though as things got better, so did I. I was able to repair some damaged friendships and relationships, to fix myself for the better. That is why I completely understand the full impact of crippled mental health because I stood face to face with depression itself. Going into psychiatric nursing, I will give my all to my patients, I will help them all that I can, I will guide them to the right and just decisions and lead them to a sanctuary of self-forgiveness and gratitude. Even if I can just change one person, the ripple effect will go a long way. Jana Stanfield once said, "I cannot do all the good the world needs. But the world needs all the good I can do."

I have always prided myself on strength, leadership, and humility. Coming from a low-income, single-parent household and being a first-generation college student isn't easy. I have also dealt with great loss, so I understand the importance of mental health and the strain it can have on a person, the never-ending tug at your throat like a noose waiting to pull. I was 14 years old when I lost my brother to gun violence. My brother was a lot older than me, but he was the only father figure I had ever had in my life. Losing him, I lost myself for a while. His loss is primarily what led me to want to study mental health. Now here I am, a senior in high school, and I have decided to become a psychiatric nurse, to help others and to be the person there for them that I never had. The downward spiral of depression from my brother's death took with it my ability to interact with other people positively. I locked myself in a jail cell of anger, and hatred. I forgot about all the good in the world and looked at everything with such resentment and hostility. Relationships were shattered, friendships culminated. What had I done to myself? I was a completely different person, drowning in feelings of shame, guilt, and despair, even if I had nothing to be ashamed of or to feel guilty for. I guess that was just a side effect of depression. Slowly, as things got better, so did I. I was able to repair some damaged friendships and relationships, to fix myself for the better. That is why I completely understand the full impact of crippled mental health because I stood face to face with depression itself. During those years of depression, I had nowhere to turn, so I turned to God. I have always been a Catholic but I never really paid too much attention to God and his existence in my life. My struggle with mental health opened my eyes to his greatness and power. He is like a built-in friend that has helped me substantially overcome depression and decrease my anxiety. Although God helped me considerably in overcoming my depression, I also had to help myself, and I still continue to today. I give myself breaks when they are needed. It is okay to sit back and relax once in a while when you are feeling overwhelmed. I also read the Bible to keep internal peace and wellness. You do not have to read the Bible but any good book is a nice escape whenever a big time break is needed in a person's life. I eat healthy, work out, get a decent amount of sleep and drink plenty of water. Not that I am in bad health, but taking care of my physical health helps me to set goals every day and reaching those goals helps me feel successful and triumphant mentally. I pray often, I try to see the bright side of every situation, and I maintain healthy relationships, all of which help lead me into a better place mentally and emotionally. So being that I have dealt with poor mental health one-on-one, and have found my own ways to help myself overcome the horrid situation, I take mental health very seriously and believe it is very important for a person's overall physical, mental, and emotional well-being. So slow down, take a break and breathe. As Noam Shpancer once said, " Mental health... is not a destination, but a process. It's about how you drive, not where you're going."

Have you ever read a book or seen a movie that just captures your mind, takes you to another world or hits you where it is least expected? That is exactly what happened when I first watched, "All the Bright Places," a film directed by Brett Haley. "All the Bright Places," came out on Netflix in 2020 and oddly enough, was a controversial topic for many viewers because of the mood and central theme of the movie. The movie was suggested to me by a friend of mine a few years ago right after it was released. From the very beginning, I was filled with wonder and delight. You could say I was entranced. The movie spoke to me and I wouldn't doubt that anybody else who watches this movie would feel the same way that I did. The movie encaptures the story of two teenagers who fall in love but the overall theme encompasses battles with mental disorders. The main characters, Violet and Finch, both suffer from mental health disorders, PTSD and bipolar disorder. There is a constant struggle throughout the movie for both Violet and Finch as they both try to combat their own battles as well as help one another overcome theirs. Not to spoil it, but the movie is most definitely a tear-jerker, totally inevitable and unexpected. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who suffers from mental health struggles themselves, or knows someone that does. Being that I have personally suffered from great loss and hardship, and know others personally who have, this movie hits an emotional pinpoint for me. Even though the targeted audience is aimed at adolescents, I believe that people of all ages will find "All the Bright Places," a thrill. The emotional rollercoaster will keep you guessing until the very end, and even then we wonder what happened after and what could have happened. Even if you don't know somebody who has or you yourself haven't suffered in this way, the movie is still a wonderful example of why we people should be more selfless and show more humility. And yes, other movies are funnier and/or scarier, maybe more informational, but I can promise you that there is no better movie to watch that will touch your heart like this one. As I have mentioned, reviews on the movie have been quite controversial, so why don't you check it out for yourself?

About 49% of adolescents have experienced a mental health disorder at some point in their lives. I can truly admit, I am included in this 49%. When I was 14, I lost the one person who meant the whole world to me, the only man I could call a father. This loss led me into a heartbreaking tunnel of depression and anxiety, shame and guilt. But luckily for me, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I suffered from denial, shock, and grief, but finally, somewhere along the line, I stepped into the milestone of acceptance. With this acceptance came an unexpected draw to philanthropy. I started volunteering at church camps, community festivals, school organizations, and events for my National Honor Society program. Helping others was a way of healing myself mentally. I slowly got better, I can now say I am in a better state of mind than I ever was before. Volunteering and understanding the pain and grief that is attached to loss have taught me many virtues and core values that a person should live by. I was taught to be selfless. Selflessness is often said to be a sign of low self-esteem, but in my opinion, that is not at all what selflessness is or stands for. Being a selfless person means being kind, generous, and munificent. It means giving without rue, making someone smile and feeling the impact of that single smile. Selflessness is not a nuisance, it is a blessing. Along the way, I was also taught the virtue of compassion. While compassion and selflessness seem similar, there is a big difference. Compassion is solicitousness, the act of being there for others. It is understanding that people have other things going on and may internally be just as stressed as you. It is treating others the way you would wish to be treated...cliche I know! But compassion is an important value to understand and convey. Finally, I have come to embrace the core value of humility. Often enough, people do not understand the real meaning of the word humility and misuse it. Humility is a lack of pride, a display of humbleness, and a deficit of vanity. Humility simply means that you are showing modesty in the best way possible, you are not trying to boast about your achievements. Instead, you use these achievements to help understand others and do good. So why are these values so important to me? These virtuous beliefs are the attributes that will help lead me to success in my future career and help me to reach my lifelong goals. I grew up adopted into a single-parent, low-income household and I am a soon-to-be first-generation college student. This pressure along with my struggles with poor mental health have led me to want to help others who are like me, lacking the guiding hand to lead them to comfort. That is why I have decided to become a nurse, more specifically a psychiatric nurse, to do good for others. With the core values of selflessness, compassion, and humility I know that I will make a great nurse and I will reach my goals as I make my way through college and go on to be the best psychiatric nurse this community has ever seen. Being that helping hand to others and seeing their smile will be all the compensation I need. As Jon M. Huntsman once quoted, "Selfless giving onto others represents one's true wealth."

I have been told I convey humility. I have been told I show perseverance. I have been told I exhibit humbleness. See a common theme? Each of these qualities is an example of one single, important, and infrequent quality- selflessness. Growing up being adopted into a single-parent, low-income household, I used to carry a weight. A weight that included shame, guilt, and mortification. I have suffered loss and trauma, and I have battled depression and anxiety. I have dealt with being surrounded by people who did nothing but tear me down emotionally. I have been alone. My many experiences and what seemed like an endless road of grief led me to want to become a nurse, more specifically a psychiatric nurse. In this way, I can help others and be the guiding hand that I never had growing up whenever I was suffering. I may only be a senior in high school now, but I have already embodied the ideal of selflessness and the wonderful attributes that are included with it. I put others first, even though some see this as a bad thing. I would rather give than receive. At Christmas time I truly do not look forward to opening gifts, I would rather shop for other people. I have always been this way. My mother used to work as a caretaker, more specifically with one elderly lady named Betty, and as I was growing up, she would take me to work with her and I would help her out. Being the little kid that I was, I thought I was helping more than I was but it's the thought that counts I suppose! I would help my mother feed Betty, I would read to Betty, and I would talk to Betty, even though she couldn't respond. Betty became like a grandmother to me. When I was 9 years old, Betty passed away, she lost her life to Alzheimer's and Dementia. Losing Betty was hard, and I couldn't really understand it too well at my age. But this experience has taught me to value selflessness and to want to help others. With this selflessness, as a teenager, I started, and still, volunteer at different community events including holiday festivals, church activities and Bible camps, school fundraisers, and my National Honor Society events. I have realized just how much helping others means to me. If that doesn't show humility and selflessness, than I don't know what does! So here I go, on to become a first-generation college student and become one of the best psychiatric nurses my community has ever seen. It may be a struggle but as Napoleon Hill once said, "Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle."

Growing up in a single-parent, low-income family wasn't easy. And now, being a senior in high school, and a soon-to-be first-generation college student, the weight of the boulder of pressure I have been carrying is even heavier. Having suffered through loss, tragedy, and depression, I have been through, seen, and witnessed inexplicable feelings and actions, leading me to volunteer work. From these experiences, I have decided to be a guiding hand to help others and be the leader I lacked during my traumatic ordeals. I plan on going on to become a nurse, more specifically, a psychiatric nurse. This way, I can help others while doing something that I love. Psychology and its relations have always interested me. I have always wanted to study why people do what they do when they do; and what motivates people and drives them to make rational and irrational decisions. I took a psychology course last school year during my junior year of high school. Psychology always ended up being one of my highest grades, I always had a 100% or above throughout the entire year. I was raised to show courage, yet humility. I was given the qualities of intelligence, yet modesty. I was taught to be selfless and to put others first. Looking to the future is delineated as scary and frightening for most people but for me, the future means excitement, freedom, and privilege. I am excited to embrace my future, to become an adult and work hard to get where I am meant to go. I look forward to attending college for four to six years, to earn my bachelor's degree, and become a psychiatric nurse in either a prison or a hospital. As I have mentioned, I was raised in a lower-income family and being that I was also adopted, unexpectedly I should add, my mother isn't very prepared financially to put me through college. And with her being an older, more old-fashioned type of parent, I am not permitted to have a job and work until I turn 18, which is two months before I graduate. This leaves me very little time to save up for college, and any type of money will help me out, even the smallest amount. If I were chosen for this scholarship, it would be a huge honor because I am just one single girl out of the millions out there looking for help. But I assure you, I will not fail to succeed. With my drive, motivation, and intelligence, I will reach my intended goals and go beyond. As Tony Robbins once said, "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible."

Frank Clark once said, "If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." Growing up in a low-income, single-parent home handed me a sack of weight heavier than I could hold. Now, as a senior in high school and a soon-to-be first-generation college student, the sack is becoming intolerably burdensome. I have worked myself to the maximum to get where I am, my 4.1 GPA will prove it too. Schoolwork always came first. I taught myself the values of selflessness and humility, leading to my interest in volunteer work. So what specifically motivated me to convey these altruistic values? Let's rewind back to the beginning. My name is Isabella MacEwan, I was born into a drug family and for the first five years of my life, I was raised in drug houses, put into the foster care system twice, and didn't know where I was going to sleep every night. I had a father who would pop in and out of my life, in between jail time, and a mother who earned her money in some immoral and iniquitous ways. I had two siblings, one of whom was placed in a juvenile home, the other who had a baby at 17 and lived with her drug-addict boyfriend. My life was out of control but I was too little to even realize the severity of the situation. I witnessed things such as drug use, abuse, violence, and an endless list of other things that any person, let alone a toddler, shouldn't witness. Please have no pity on me though. When I was five, my life was changed forever. To put a long story short, I ended up getting adopted by a single woman whose kids were already raised and she lived alone. And while we never had a lot of money, she always made it work. When I was 14, my brother, from my adopted family, was killed in a firearm incident. My brother and I have always been close, he accepted me into the family almost instantly, and because of our large age gap, he was more like a father figure to me. To put it frankly, I have never loved anybody else in the world like I did him because I never really had that stable figure in my life to help guide me and teach me. Losing him, I lost myself. I locked myself away in a jail cell of resentment and hatred, hostility and anger. I hated myself, I hated him for leaving, I hated the world. I would hear my mother cry at night when she thought nobody could hear. Slowly with the help of a little friend named God, I was able to pick myself back up, stand back on my own two feet. I improved my mental health greatly and today, I am in a better state of mind than I have ever been. This poor mental health experience has led me to want to major in nursing, more specifically become a psychiatric nurse, to be the helping hand that I never had to cope with my brother's loss. I plan to be a guiding confidant for those who need it. I plan to give my patients my all. I plan to study harder than I ever have before and put every effort in to become the leader and inspiration I have always hoped would enter my life. I see a bright future for myself after college. So, yes, I have faced many obstacles in my life, but remember, the obstacles we face are the incentives we need to succeed.

Pressure. It is what I felt deep in my stomach and throughout every bone in my body. As a high school student and a soon-to-be first-generation college student, I feel like a colossal weight has been laid on my shoulders. I have always prided myself on giving, whether it was volunteering at community festivals, church organizations, or school events. Being raised in a single-parent, low-income household has taught me a lot about selflessness and humility. I have always believed that you must work until you drop, there was no time to take breaks when it came to things such as schoolwork. With my 4.1 GPA, any person who does not know me personally would be able to tell how hard I work. I used to prioritize school before anything else. It came down to the fact that I spent more time with my Chromebook and notebooks than I did with my family. There was no time for slacking. This year, as I entered my senior year of high school, I realized that soon I was going to be the first person in my family to attend and finish college with a degree. This feels like more pressure than I can bear right now. Having suffered through many losses previously and dealt with mental health problems, I have decided to extend my helping hand to others by being a psychiatric nurse. But also from these calamitous experiences, I have learned that stress can take over a person's life faster than they can even spell the word S-T-R-E-S-S. I just got stressed trying to type that. As I was stressing this year over my future endeavors, I realized that it will be impossible to try to work and attend college as well as get involved in my community and find time for family, friends, and relationships, if I am as stressed later on as I am now. I started to realize that it is okay to take a break once in a while, to put yourself first and your mental health. As I started giving myself some more space and taking mental breaks when they were necessary, my state of mind became a whole lot better than it was previously. Right now, my mental state is better than it has been in a long time. And as I become mentally healthier, I view life with a more positive outlook. It sounds cliche but I assure you it is true. So next time you need some motivation or you just feel like you are stuck in an inextricable situation, remember, take a break. It's okay to put yourself first sometimes. And believe me, it will definitely help you avoid S-T-R-E-S-S!

There is no feeling more validating than watching someone that you care for go on to succeed and do something that they love. I can't even begin to imagine how teachers feel, given that they educate their students and those students take that knowledge and use it to flourish. While I may never know that feeling, I do know what it's like from a student perspective to feel cared for and have a teacher there to support you and motivate you to become the best version of yourself. For me, that teacher's name is Mrs. Livermore. Melissa Livermore is an English/Language Arts teacher for grades 11 and 12 at Forest Hills High School. I had Mrs. Livermore for Honors Language Arts-11 and I currently have her now for Honors Language Arts-12. Aside from teaching, Mrs.Livermore assists in many other programs for the school including forensics and Drama, in which I am participating now. Throughout these past two years, Mrs.Livermore has been an inspiration to me, but especially this year she has motivated me the most. In regards to class content, Mrs.Livermore would have us read excerpts and books about worldly conflicts and discordances. A few of the lessons we were taught included the concepts of totalitarianism, corruption, and injustice. We look deep into the content and analyze the passages thoroughly. We ask questions and see the world through a different point of view, learn why people do what they do. With Mrs.Livermore's enthusiasm, it is hard not to get excited about a new topic, a new adventure. In Mrs. Livermore's class, we are often asked to write essays in response to prompts or in the same format of an example essay. For every essay I submit, she replies with a video response message, something I always look forward to watching. These videos are meant to be feedback essays but every time I watch a video, it seems like all that I hear is great feedback and endless compliments. Mrs. Livermore always talks about what a great writer and storyteller I am as well as a student. She tells us how proud she is of us and how we should realize our full potential. Nothing makes my day like Mrs. Livermore's feedback videos. Mrs. Livermore is a woman of all trades. As a teacher, she is obligated to show us her serious, "teacher" side, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun. Somehow, she always manages to make her class fun for us. Even outside class, drama rehearsals are a blast. She always finds a way to involve herself in our work as if she is a student too, as if we are equals. I mean, the woman has a fantasy football league! She makes us feel as if we are talking to a friend, rather than a teacher. She pushes us out of our comfort zones. As a person who struggles with social anxiety and self-consciousness, one thing I especially hate is being put in uncomfortable situations, more so with a lot of people involved. Mrs. Livermore, though, makes it easy to motivate us to work with other people, to discuss things in great depth, to write with plenty of detail, and to love ourselves for who we really are. While there may be other teachers out there, I would love to see them compete with the generosity, fondness, and warmth of Mrs. Livermore.

Have you ever had anybody who supported you unconditionally, prompted you to follow what you believe in, shaped you into who you are? I can honestly answer yes to this question. In regard to my education, I can truly say I had the most loving, solicitous, and supportive inspiration to guide me. This inspiration's name is Jason. Jason is my older brother, but more like a father figure. Being that I was adopted into a single-parent family, as well as a low-income one, it was hard for me to adjust, especially at such a young age. From the very start, Jason was extremely accepting of me. He was honestly the only person who could turn a bad day into a good one and put a smile on my face when I didn't want to smile. Jason always pushed me to be my best academically. Whether it was because he himself didn't get the best grades through school, or he just wanted to see me succeed, he always advised me to try as hard as I could. It didn't matter if I got perfect grades or not, he would have been proud. But for him, I always did get straight A's, which led me onto the honor roll and overall gained me confidence. He would support me endlessly, tell me how smart I was, help push me to be more confident in myself because without self-confidence, how are we to succeed in the classroom? When I was 14, I lost Jason to gun violence. Losing him, I lost myself for a while. His loss is primarily what led me to want to study mental health. Now here I am, a senior in high school, and I have decided to become a psychiatric nurse, to help others and to be the person there for them that I never had. During those years of depression, I had nowhere to turn, so I turned to God. I have always been a Catholic but I never really paid too much attention to God and his existence in my life. My struggle with mental health really opened my eyes to his greatness, his power. He is like a built-in best friend and he has helped me substantially overcome my depression and decrease my anxiety. After all the grief, came acceptance. And with this acceptance came self-confidence. While yes, I still miss Jason dearly and think about him every single day, I have accepted the fact that he is gone, but realized that now he is watching me even closer than he was before and that I should honor him by giving it my all instead of continuing to trap myself in a cell of depression. This struggle was hard for me but even after he was gone, Jason inspired me to reach my educational goals. I was motivated to make him proud even if he wasn't truly here. This just goes to show that being an inspiration for someone and motivating them to do their best goes a long way and will stay with them for the rest of their lives. So go, be that person. Be that inspiration. Be someone else's Jason.

I have always prided myself on strength, leadership, and humility. Coming from a low-income, single-parent household and being a first-generation college student isn't easy. I have also dealt with great loss, so I understand the importance of mental health and the strain it can have on a person, the never-ending tug at your throat like a noose waiting to pull. I was 14 years old when I lost my brother to gun violence. My brother was a lot older than me, but he was the only father figure I had ever had in my entire life. Losing him, I lost myself for a while. His loss is primarily what led me to want to study mental health and human behavior. Now here I am, a senior in high school, and I have decided to become a psychiatric nurse, to help others and to be the person there for them that I never had. Going into psychiatric nursing, I will give my all to my patients, I will help them all that I can, I will guide them to the right and just decisions and lead them to a sanctuary of self-forgiveness and gratitude. Even if I can just change one person, the ripple effect will go a long way. Jana Stanfield once said, "I cannot do all the good the world needs. But the world needs all the good I can do." So in total, my own horrific experience with poor mental health was overall what pushed me to pursue higher education in the mental health field. Being that I will be the first in my family to attend and finish college, I have been preparing both physically and mentally. Early applications were sent in, and all three colleges I applied to accepted me within the month. I have attended open houses and I have been constantly googling things that I do not understand. Still, I am full of questions. Should I live on or off campus? Should I take out student loans? Can I double my major? So many questions with so few people to give me answers. It all seems so scary right now, the inevitable, a new chapter in my life. But with a little bit of hope, some self-confidence, and a whole lot of prayers, I know that everything will be how it is to be and my journey to and through college will be altruistic.

Loss, pain, heartache, anguish. Feelings of doubt, self-consciousness, shame. These all describe how I felt after losing the one person who meant the world to me. I was 14 years old when my older brother, Jason's, life was taken at the hands of a firearm. Growing up as an adopted child in a single-parent, low-income household was hard enough, but after the loss of the only man I could truly say was like a father to me, a part of me broke. At first, I was in shock, shock slowly transitioning into denial and soon enough depression. I hid myself away, locked myself in a cell full of hostility and anger, rejecting the world and all it had in store for me. Over three years later, here I am, a senior in high school and going on to become a first-generation college student. I am a lot better now than I was three years ago. I am more confident, content, and hopeful. But it wasn't easy. It was a slow process, battling my depression. And if I am being honest, I didn't have a whole lot of people who were there for me to understand and guide me. There is one person though who helped to lead me to be the person I am today. His name is David Mayes. Dave is married to my cousin and as a veteran of the United States military, he's seen it all. Often I would visit my cousins to babysit for them, giving me and Dave some time to talk. Dave, being the person that he is, could sense my anxiety, my nervousness. Dave would always push me out of my comfort zone. One time he taught me how to play guitar, one of his many skills. Another time, he taught me how to take a person's blood pressure. Unlike everybody else, Dave would support me in all my decisions. He would say to me, " I have never met anybody like you. You are so smart, you never cease to amaze me. You can be anything you want because people like you, who have the drive that you do and grades have the willpower to do anything." He would instill confidence in me that I didn't know I had. Dave always spoke to me about God and how believing can bring you out of even your deepest, darkest moments if you allow him to. Dave has taught me more about life and what it means to live than anyone else I have ever known. Without him, I truly do not know where I would be. Dave was always there for me, to listen, to guide, and to lead. Like him, I want to be that helping hand for others. I have decided to become a psychiatric nurse so that I can be the difference in the lives of so many others just like me who don't have a Dave to help them. I want to show people that they are worth more than what their mind says they are. I want to help them reach their full potential as Dave helped me reach mine. I want to be the light at the end of the tunnel. I want to be a welcoming hand in a time of need. I want to be their confidant. I want to be their Dave.

I have always prided myself on strength, leadership, and humility. Coming from a low-income, single-parent household and being a first-generation college student isn't easy. I have also dealt with great loss, so I understand the importance of mental health and the strain it can have on a person, the never-ending tug at your throat like a noose waiting to pull. I was 14 years old when I lost my brother to gun violence. My brother was a lot older than me, but he was the only father figure I had ever had in my life. Losing him, I lost myself for a while. His loss is primarily what led me to want to study mental health. Now here I am, a senior in high school, and I have decided to become a psychiatric nurse, to help others and to be the person there for them that I never had. During those years of depression, I had nowhere to turn, so I turned to God. I have always been a Catholic but I never really paid too much attention to God and his existence in my life. My struggle with mental health really opened my eyes to his greatness, his power. He is like a built-in best friend and he has helped me substantially overcome my depression and decrease my anxiety. And yes, I am not perfect, I do get sad sometimes, and I do get depressed. I am human. However, my mental health experience has led me down a religious path that I intend to follow for the rest of my life. The downward spiral of depression took with it my ability to interact with other people positively. I locked myself in a jail cell of anger, hatred, and negativity. I forgot about all the good in the world and looked at everything with such resentment and hostility. Relationships were shattered, friendships culminated. What had I done to myself? I was a completely different person, drowning in feelings of shame, guilt, and despair, even if I had nothing to be ashamed of or to feel guilty for. I guess that was just a side effect of depression. The times were rough. Slowly though as things got better, so did I. I was able to repair some damaged friendships and relationships, to fix myself for the better. That is why I completely understand the full impact of crippled mental health because I stood face to face with depression itself. So how will my mental health experience lead me to positively impact the world in the future? Going into psychiatric nursing, I will give my all to my patients, I will help them all that I can, I will guide them to the right and just decisions and lead them to a sanctuary of self-forgiveness and gratitude. Even if I can just change one person, the ripple effect will go a long way. Jana Stanfield once said, "I cannot do all the good the world needs. But the world needs all the good I can do."

Leadership is defined as "a set of behaviors used to help people align their collective direction, to execute strategic plans, and to continually renew an organization." In my opinion, leadership should be defined as, "guiding and driving people to be the best version of themselves." A leader is often looked at as someone who went through 12 years of college to become a surgeon or took in 15 children as a foster parent. In my opinion, the most forceful and impactful leaders are those who implement the small things, even during the toughest of times. Leadership means taking on challenges for the benefit of not only yourself but more for others who lack the confidence to do so. It means setting aside everything to help those who can't help themselves. Being that I am from a low-income, single-parent household, I have always struggled with confidence. I would avoid standing out in a crowd of people, I would conform to those around me. I suffered some great losses and I understand what it is like to suffer from anxiety and depression. But I didn't let this stop me. Instead, I picked myself back up and decided to take my hardships and use them to do good. I turned to volunteering at both school and church organizations. Helping out in my community, gaining confidence to help others as well as myself brought me a sense of joy and gratification. I believe that leadership is important because it teaches a person the virtues of independence, and confidence, but also humility and modesty. Leadership is something that we cannot hold in our hands, yet a quality that we all hold within ourselves. Everyone is born with natural leadership but it is only those who have the confidence to carry it out who will succeed in becoming a leader. Being able to take something so grisly and turn it into something beautiful is a true quality held by leaders. Leaders stand up for what they believe in. They guide. They teach. They see the best in everything. Wouldn't you like to be a leader? As a first-generation college student, I will succeed in being a leader within my own family. Pushing myself to the maximum, giving it my all, and striving for that degree will motivate me to continue pursuing leadership now, and forever. To convey leadership is to convey passion, drive, and guidance. I will be just one of those many leaders out there who will impact their communities and go on to change the world.

37,000. That is the number of psychiatric nurses that work here in America today. Compare that to the 150,000 cosmetologists and the 5 million fast food workers in our country current day. This shortage of psychiatric nurses is drastic, especially in my area, a poor town in Pennsylvania, where more people suffer with their mental health than they do with their credit card debt. I have been the victim of loss, grief and depression. I have lived and I understand that mental burden. This is what drove me to be a psychiatric nurse. Being a first-generation college student from a single-parent, low-income family has taught me one thing- it is okay to not understand some things. My family has dealt with hardship after hardship and I have been stuck in the eye of it all. Right now, as a senior in high school, I plan to attend college in the Fall of 2024. Being that I am the first to attend college, I have so many questions. How does it all work? Is it better to live on or off campus? Should I take out student loans? The list goes on. It has been a stressful time. It has always just been expected of me to attend college with my excellent grades and diligent drive. Now that I am about to graduate, it seems like things aren't quite as simple as everybody thought they would be. I understand what it is like to be confused and lost, both in regards to college and to one's own mental health, chiefly why I want to work as hard as I can to help others who need a lending hand themselves. I use this quote a lot and I will say it again, "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples"- Mother Theresa. I may only be one person in this giant chunk of world, but it is easy for one person to inspire another who will then go on to help another and so on. Giving my all for my patients, taking my career seriously, making that one person smile, makes a big difference. Being a hand to hold for my patients as they struggle to understand themselves, is just me taking one step closer to helping the world. So while I may not have it all together right now, I know that my future impact on the world is enough to motivate me to push through all my current struggles. Just like Mother Teresa, I will forge my own path, a path that intersects with the paths of so many others, and we can all travel down the same path hand in hand.

There are over 970 million people today globally who struggle with some type of mental health illness. Growing up with a difficult background, being in a low-income, single-parent home, and dealing with great loss, has taught me just how serious and important mental health is. I have always known I wanted to go into psychology of some sort. The idea of learning how people act, why they do what they do, and helping them through personal struggles, has always been intriguing to me. Recently, I have realized that in my area, which is a poorer area in Pennsylvania, there is a large shortage of nurses. This got me wondering if maybe a career in the nursing field would be wiser than that of psychology. I started to contemplate all my decisions. I had already been accepted into three colleges and I had put psychology as my major. I decided to sit down and think about ways that I could do both nursing and psychology. I then came to the realization that I wanted to be a psychiatric nurse. In this field, I will still get to work with people, help them, and be their confidant in a time of struggle, but I will also get to diagnose and treat the patient as well. In today's world and society, there are a lot more people who need help but are scared to ask for it. I confess to this as well. That is why I want to be a guiding hand for those who need it. I want to make people feel comfortable to talk about their problems, I want to make sure they are okay and will be okay. I want to lend them a sense of relief and reassurance amid a tumultuous world. While I am just one hand, a singular hand to hold, one hand can make all the difference to a person who has no hands to grasp as they are hanging on the edge for dear life. I plan to take my job seriously, to make an impact, even if it's just on that one person who will go on to impact another, then another. Mother Theresa once said, "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples." So while it may seem platitudinized, I really will help make a difference through my actions. Mental health is no joke and I plan to take my job seriously. So if you ever are struggling and need just a little bit of help, the door is always open.

Growing up in a low-income, single-family home, things were not always easy. We suffered financially, mentally, and emotionally. We dealt with a few great losses, one especially personal to me. A few years ago a good friend suggested a movie to me on Netflix called, "All the Bright Places." The movie is set in Indiana where the story of two teenagers, Violet and Finch, is told. Not only a classic love story, the movie shares an emotional journey through each of the character's struggles with mental health disorders. Violet struggles from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, more commonly known as PTSD, after being in a car accident that took her sister's life. Finch suffered from Bipolar Disorder, growing up with a physically abusive father who beat him and his mother for several years. Both Violet and Finch experience suicidal thoughts, more so Finch, and each aim to help one another through their disturbances to get on a better path and see the world through different eyes. The two would travel to unknown, forgotten places, remembering that there is something to appreciate about life. The movie, in a sort of cliche type way, created a storyline where the two fall into deep love with one another. All is well until the end of the movie. Finch goes missing and as it turns out, he couldn't beat his bipolar disorder and ended up drowning himself in one of the lakes where him and Violet would go to swim together. While it seems the world is over and the whole purpose of the movie is adrift, Violet decides that she doesn't have time to grieve and instead decides to honor Finch. She visited all the places they had done so together, remembering him and the lifelong lesson he left behind; appreciate life, look at all the little things there are to love rather than grieve over all the dreadful ones. There are more places to life than a jail cell of depression. This movie has an especially big impact on me because I can relate to the suicidal feelings of sadness, and depression. And while I was disappointed in the ending, it made me realize that life isn't always going to be fair, there is going to be loss, and obstacles. This movie helped open my eyes to see a world of inner beauty rather than an abominable one full of detestation and abhorrence. I highly recommend this movie for any of those other lost souls out there who need some type of motivation or inspiration. Because this movie inspired me. It inspired me to live freely, joyfully. Don't hide yourself away from this world, don't give up. This world has more things to give. You have more things to give.

Mental health is, to me, the most important component of a person's well-being. Taking care of your mental health means taking care of your emotional health and physical health, and Lord knows just how stressful it can be to be a teenage girl. Being a senior in high school, I have definitely realized that there is a constant mental strain and if you don't do something about it, it will haunt you worse than that bad dream about giant iguanas. My GPA at the moment is a 4.1 but this didn't come from pushing myself over the edge and forcing myself to work until my eyelids sag and I'm falling asleep atop my computer. I neatly organize my time and prioritize a time of day just for my self-care routine. Learning to love yourself is taking time to care for yourself, to take a break whenever it is needed. I allow myself to do schoolwork for a limited amount of time per day if I am not busy after school. During my bedtime routine, I take time to work out, the types of workouts vary, and then afterward I practice some yoga. If I really am not in the mood for yoga or I am just having a terribly bad day, I instead practice meditation. I have to say, that meditation is one of the most underrated habits. The act of just being with yourself, in the moment, the silence, not a worry in the world, is one of the most exhilarating feelings ever. It is so easy to be swept away with busy schedules, schoolwork, volunteer work, jobs, sports, extracurriculars, you name it. Sometimes it seems like all you want to do is crawl into a nice warm bed and sleep all your problems away. It is a fact that over 61% of college students seek counseling for anxiety, depression, academic performance, family issues, and relationship problems. Of these 61%, 23.5% actually suffer from anxiety, the number one culprit of crummy mental health. While I am here to promote mental health, that does not mean a person will ever be perfect. If there is someone out there who can truly say " I never suffer from any stress, anxiety, depression, or any other form of mental health-altering disorders," then I would really like to get their autograph. No one can ever be perfect. You will always struggle. But that doesn't mean mental health is unmanageable or impossible to fix and keep steady. As Noah Shpancer once said, " Mental health...is not a destination, but a process. It's about how you drive, not where you're going."

Imagine if you will, you're 14 years old, you stay the night at your aunt's house. Your mother left you there to help babysit your cousin while she went to look for your brother at his house, who wouldn't answer his phone for a few days. The next day your mom comes to pick you up. Something seems off. She calls for you and sits you down. The next words out of her mouth you will never forget. "I found Jason dead this morning." That was it. Your whole world came crashing down. A feeling of utter solicitude and terror runs through your body, starting at your toes and it makes its way the whole way up to your head. You think your life is done. You fall to the ground. You want to run. Run away. Go now. It's over. You start to hide yourself away. It was a gunshot, murder. They passed it off as suicide. They don't care. Nobody cares. You overthink. You just can't stop thinking about it. It's a thought gremlin stuck inside your head. GO AWAY! For the next two years, you hide yourself away and lock yourself in a prison of guilt and shame. You stop trying to be happy, stop caring. You cry at any song that comes on the radio that reminds you of him. You become suicidal. You want to forget it all. Your mother is devastated, different. She's melancholy, pessimistic, heartbroken. You hear her cry sometimes at night when she thinks no one is listening. Pictures of him bring back all the feelings, even the bad ones. Her weeping is soft, almost fragile. You start to see things, and you're losing your mind. He was everything. He meant the whole world. He WAS the whole world...It is a literal living hell. That was me. Over three years ago my brother Jason, who was my only father figure ever in my life, died due to gun violence, leading both me and my mother into a dark hole of depression. Now, I am doing a lot better than I once was. I am happier, more social, religious, outgoing, and understanding. Mental illness is no laughing matter and something to be taken seriously. My personal experience with mental illness led me to the idea of becoming a psychiatric nurse, to help diagnose and treat those who can relate to me, those ugly ducklings who haven't gained their confidence or inner beauty yet.

There are almost 200 MILLION tons of trash in our world's aquatic oceans right now. Growing up a kid always interested in the environment and recycling, it's no wonder I am now so passionate about conservation. One year for Mother's Day I took a used water bottle and made it into a flower pot, another year scraps of paper and a green colored pencil became a fake flower which my mom described as "very interesting." Living in Pennsylvania in a low-income family means I am not very close to the beach. This also means I don't get to go to the beach very often. In fact, I have only ever been to the beach two times in my whole life. Being at the beach so little made my appreciation for it surge and I realized just how dirty our beaches actually are. This is what led me to recycle more, talk to others about recycling, and take part in road clean up events for my NHS school program. While I come from a very small community, I still do my best to promote conservation. If there is one message I could leave to all the other solicitous conservancy representatives and those who care but do not know how to act, I would say that it is better to act now in the littlest ways possible because if we don't act together, that two million tons of trash can easily become 400 million.

Growing up in a low-income, single-parent family, and coming from a rough background has taught me many things. Like Trevor himself, I am a part of a family. I am an aunt, a daughter, a niece. While my hobbies never included baseball, I have always had a love for the arts- painting, drawing, theatre, dancing, you name it. Going into my teenage years, I struggled with the loss, a few actually, of some family members who meant a lot to me and of whom I was very close to. This hardship led me into a deep and abominable depression. I became a different person, a hostile, internally angry, disconsolate child, with no room for cheerfulness or contentment. The next few years were a struggle, my mental health at a steady decline. I struggled to keep all A's, I barely was able to. My relationships became more distant, I found myself wrapped up in my art, distancing myself from the world. About a year ago though, I met somebody who would constantly instill the idea of God and worship into my head. Growing up a Catholic, I always believed in God, but never so much as to consider him a friend. Slowly though, he started to grow on me. I started reading the Bible, started volunteering in my community, and started really thinking about how I wanted to help people in the future. Now here I am, I am 17 and a senior in high school. While my mental health is much better, I will never forget just how horrific those times were. That drastic mental shift shepherded me to figure out that I wanted to go into nursing, more specifically, psychiatric nursing, to help others the way God helped me. I once had a friend who struggled worse than me with their mental health. She was only 12 years old when she ended up attempting suicide, sending herself into the mental hospital for a while. Her time there was atrocious and I only wish I had the mental stability and confidence I do now back then to help her through it all. Improving my mental health, enjoying all the little things, and making the most of what I had also improved my overall well-being. Looking at life as an opportunity rather than a never-ending road of despair has changed me for the good. It sounds cliche but I am most definitely in the best state of mind than I have ever been. I guess the "self-fulfilling prophecy" is real. As I gained confidence, my grades became top-notch, my GPA now a 4.1, I started participating in more extracurriculars, and even pushed myself to audition for the musical this year. While I am not perfect, and I will never be perfect, I am just here to prove that you can really overcome any adversity that is thrown your way. I am just another example of a lost soul who has found their way.