Growing up I was never taught to have compassion, but I felt it was placed in my heart anyway. Whether it was placed by God or instilled in my personality I knew I was put in this world to help people, and when in doubt of this claim I started to go to church. Being around people who also had compassion inside their hearts ignited something in mine. I watched their smiles when we sang in church, I saw the way their eyes lit up when seeing the people they loved, and I saw the tears of joy when Heavenly Father showed them He was there. Experiencing that was almost foreign to me, but I knew I had it inside of me the entire time. I grew up with parents who didn’t care about things beyond materialistic, and they were pulled into a life of addiction and anguish. During that time of my life I felt my compassion was harming me. I felt my forgiveness was making me small and only enabling the behavior around me. I only wanted to fix the world, fix my family, and was confused to why my efforts of unconditional love were flunking. Being the eldest daughter I was always in fight or flight, wanting to protect our lives, but I no longer recognized the people who were supposed to protect and care for me most. Abundantly, the only thing that lifted me from that dark time was the future. Trusting God’s plan almost felt like a risk but I knew in trusting Him, I would show that I was ready to bear what life had to offer. I never volunteered in chruch, but there was a reason for that. I knew I wanted to step outside of the comfort I knew and use my compassion to help people who needed it most. I used my life and my past to mirror what I thought others who were in a similar situation needed. I started volunteering for a woman’s group called Helping One Woman Fresno. We helped one woman at a time, every month, to get back on her feet during a tough time in her life. It was so rewarding seeing these women feel loved and cared for by other woman who truly knew how brutal life can be. It healed my wounds just being surrounded by a group of women who cared and nurtured. The prayers we gave during those meetings were always incredibly powerful and intentional. I looked up to these strong female leaders and honorees and it prompted me to stay humble and that I was never alone. They reminded me that I always had others to lean on, and most importantly, I had Christ and He should always be first. I intend to continue alluding compassion by simply giving others a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, and by showing the people around me that I am one who will always be there. I will continue to proudly show what I’ve been through, show my scars, and most evidently, my outcome and recovery. I’ve learned to take care of myself and protect my peace so I have the strength to lift others. I will continue to move through the world, praising and worshiping through tough times, putting in the work to make life more comfortable to live in. I will prompt others to follow through on their journey because one day we will see how good life can get.