My mental health journey began when I was 9 years old. My parents separated in 2018, leaving my family torn and scarred. I was in 4th or 5th grade at the time, and I was being heavily bullied in school. As a kid, I wasn't fat, but definitely chubby. Unfortunately, 10-year-olds love using that as ammunition to tear down others' self-esteem for their own entertainment. Without any knowledge of how to cope with these experiences, I felt as though my world had completely shattered. As I mentioned before, though, this was just the beginning of my journey. At this point in my life, I was completely ready to give up. Obviously, I didn't, but I did try many, many times over the next 7 years. My parents' divorce was the definition of messy (custody issues related to it are still ongoing), and my older brother and music were the only things that got me through it alive. When I entered middle school about 2 years after the initial separation, I was "dating" (in the only way 11-year-olds can do so) a boy, but it never felt right, and I didn't understand why. A few months later, we "broke up" and I dated a girl for 4 years. In that time, I figured out that I only like women. My struggles with my sexuality were not off limits for bullies either. However, this time, it wasn't at school, it was at home. My parents are pretty conservative, so coming out to them wasn't easy, and they are still struggling to understand. I have thrown myself into my studies since my journey began to 1) make my parents happy and 2) distract myself from wanting to die. My grades only disappoint me, but they can always be better. All of this barely scratches the surface of everything I have been through, but this is not a therapy session, it's an essay, so I'll refocus to the question. Depression and anxiety absolutely crippled me for years, but now, I am taking medication to help me manage my symptoms. This has allowed me to view my struggles in a more objective light and see how they have shaped me. My journey has also shone a new light on everyday issues faced by those with mental health issues. I have many new goals because of my story. For example, I want to put a foundation in place that allows teens access to quality mental health resources regardless of their financial situation. As it relates to my relationships, my new understanding of my mental health has allowed me to communicate more effectively, which has improved most of my relationships. My relationship with my parents will likely improve when I move past my teen years, so I will not speak much about them. My world view has also become much more realistic since my journey began.

When we were younger, almost every year, my older brother and I went up to Oregon from our home in the suburbs around Memphis. Our great aunt lived in Salem, so we spent our time hanging out with her as she showed us around the beautiful state. Every time we visited, she took us to OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. My brother and I would run around with excitement that I now look back on with indescribable love and pride. Our eyes would light up when we walked in and saw the model space shuttles sitting there. Of course, we loved hiking for hours and being dragged around the grocery store by our Aunt Resa, but nothing could compare to the passion we had for everything in OMSI. I realize that I sound like a huge nerd, but I really could spend all day learning about spaceships and planes and all the math behind putting them in the sky. I couldn’t get enough of the space section of that museum, and neither could my brother. We always bonded over our love for everything people seem to hate. From math and science to metal music, we never seemed to match the norms of what people found interesting. Sure, that fact made it a little difficult to “fit in,” as is the parlance, but we never cared. We had each other. I hate to sound cheesy, but my brother and I have been joined at the hip forever, which made it difficult when he left for the Navy. My brother is part of the nuclear program in the Navy, which basically means he controls nukes on submarines in the middle of the ocean for months at a time. Much like me, he has been a math person since he knew what math was, so I’m pretty confident he chose a great field to match his interests. My hope is that I pick one right for me. Not only has math always been my strongest subject, but it also held a strong grip onto my heart, and it never let go. Sinking my teeth into a challenging math problem will always be my preference over reading a good book. As for space, I never learned as much as I wanted to learn about it, thanks to the public school system, but its vastness and mystery always that piqued my interest.

My mother and I can barely buy groceries. Allow me to provide some context: I grew up in a lower middle class home about 5 miles from Memphis. My father is currently a Lieutenant in the Hernando Police Department, but he has had several different jobs since I was born to provide for his family. When I was born, he worked as a mechanic. Then, he tried to join the Marines in the height of the second war in Iraq. Miraculously, he was denied and instead joined the police force in Olive Branch. My mother works at Regional One Health as a nurse. She works at several different locations across Memphis, helping in any way she can. Clearly, both of my parents are paid far less than is due for their service to our community. My parents divorced in 2019, leaving my mother to care for me (and my older brother, who has since joined the United States Navy and moved out) on a nurse's salary plus minimal child support, which has since been terminated due to custody issues. My father remarried to an accountant in 2021 and now has a 4 year old son with her. I love them all deeply - in fact, I would kill anyone who messes with my little brother - but my mother and I are struggling, and bills seem to keep piling up. Between medical bills, utilities, mortgage, car payments, student loans, and general expenses, we barely scrape by, but I refuse to give in. I am currently looking for a simple part-time job to help out. I used to work at Domino's, and I offered my mom every cent I made, but she always refused. What she doesn't know is that I plan to save as much money as I possibly can for the next decade or so and give it all to her. Due to our financial situation, I will likely have to pay for college with scholarships and federal loans, as I do not have any college savings. However, I plan to enter the rather lucrative field of aerospace engineering and give back to my mother in any way that I can. My true passion is music, as can be seen in my Bio, but aerospace engineering is a far more stable and assured career choice. My dream college is Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and I am looking to gain as many scholarships as I possibly can to make my dream come true. I aim to avoid debt like the plague because of what I learned in a Resource Management course that I took as a freshman in high school. That course taught me the importance of financial intelligence and how to be financially independent. I want to use every morsel of knowledge I gained in that course and my experiences to become a financially healthy adult.

My mother and I can barely buy groceries. Allow me to provide some context: I grew up in a lower middle class home about 5 miles from Memphis. My father is currently a Lieutenant in the Hernando Police Department, but he has had several different jobs since I was born to provide for his family. When I was born, he worked as a mechanic. Then, he tried to join the Marines in the height of the second war in Iraq. Miraculously, he was denied and instead joined the police force in Olive Branch. My mother works at Regional One Health as a nurse. She works at several different locations across Memphis, helping in any way she can. Clearly, both of my parents are paid far less than is due for their service to our community. My parents divorced in 2019, leaving my mother to care for me (and my older brother, who has since joined the United States Navy and moved out) on a nurse's salary plus minimal child support, which has since been terminated due to custody issues. My father remarried to an accountant in 2021 and now has a 4 year old son with her. I love them all deeply - in fact, I would kill anyone who messes with my little brother - but my mother and I are struggling, and bills seem to keep piling up. Between medical bills, utilities, mortgage, car payments, student loans, and general expenses, we barely scrape by, but I refuse to give in. I am currently looking for a simple part-time job to help out. I used to work at Domino's, and I offered my mom every cent I made, but she always refused. What she doesn't know is that I plan to save as much money as I possibly can for the next decade or so and give it all to her. Due to our financial situation, I will likely have to pay for college with scholarships and federal loans, as I do not have any college savings. However, I plan to enter the rather lucrative field of aerospace engineering and give back to my mother in any way that I can. My true passion is music, as can be seen in my Bio, but aerospace engineering is a far more stable and assured career choice. My dream college is Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and I am looking to gain as many scholarships as I possibly can to make my dream come true. I aim to avoid debt like the plague because of what I learned in a Resource Management course that I took as a freshman in high school. That course taught me the importance of financial intelligence and how to be financially independent. I want to use every morsel of knowledge I gained in that course and my experiences to become a financially healthy adult.

My mother and I can barely buy groceries. Allow me to provide some context: I grew up in a lower middle class home about 5 miles from Memphis. My father is currently a Lieutenant in the Hernando Police Department, but he has had several different jobs since I was born to provide for his family. When I was born, he worked as a mechanic. Then, he tried to join the Marines in the height of the second war in Iraq. Miraculously, he was denied and instead joined the police force in Olive Branch. My mother works at Regional One Health as a nurse. She works at several different locations across Memphis, helping in any way she can. Clearly, both of my parents are paid far less than is due for their service to our community. My parents divorced in 2019, leaving my mother to care for me (and my older brother, who has since joined the United States Navy and moved out) on a nurse's salary plus minimal child support, which has since been terminated due to custody issues. My father remarried to an accountant in 2021 and now has a 4 year old son with her. I love them all deeply - in fact, I would kill anyone who messes with my little brother - but my mother and I are struggling, and bills seem to keep piling up. Between medical bills, utilities, mortgage, car payments, student loans, and general expenses, we barely scrape by, but I refuse to give in. I am currently looking for a simple part-time job to help out. I used to work at Domino's, and I offered my mom every cent I made, but she always refused. What she doesn't know is that I plan to save as much money as I possibly can for the next decade or so and give it all to her. Due to our financial situation, I will likely have to pay for college with scholarships and federal loans, as I do not have any college savings. However, I plan to enter the rather lucrative field of aerospace engineering and give back to my mother in any way that I can. My true passion is music, as can be seen in my Bio, but aerospace engineering is a far more stable and assured career choice. My dream college is Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and I am looking to gain as many scholarships as I possibly can to make my dream come true. I aim to avoid debt like the plague because of what I learned in a Resource Management course that I took as a freshman in high school. That course taught me the importance of financial intelligence and how to be financially independent. I want to use every morsel of knowledge I gained in that course and my experiences to become a financially healthy adult.

My mother and I can barely buy groceries. Allow me to provide some context: I grew up in a lower middle class home about 5 miles from Memphis. My father is currently a Lieutenant in the Hernando Police Department, but he has had several different jobs since I was born to provide for his family. When I was born, he worked as a mechanic. Then, he tried to join the Marines in the height of the second war in Iraq. Miraculously, he was denied and instead joined the police force in Olive Branch. My mother works at Regional One Health as a nurse. She works at several different locations across Memphis, helping in any way she can. Clearly, both of my parents are paid far less than is due for their service to our community. My parents divorced in 2019, leaving my mother to care for me (and my older brother, who has since joined the United States Navy and moved out) on a nurse's salary plus minimal child support, which has since been terminated due to custody issues. My father remarried to an accountant in 2021 and now has a 4 year old son with her. I love them all deeply - in fact, I would kill anyone who messes with my little brother - but my mother and I are struggling, and bills seem to keep piling up. Between medical bills, utilities, mortgage, car payments, student loans, and general expenses, we barely scrape by, but I refuse to give in. I am currently looking for a simple part-time job to help out. I used to work at Domino's, and I offered my mom every cent I made, but she always refused. What she doesn't know is that I plan to save as much money as I possibly can for the next decade or so and give it all to her. Due to our financial situation, I will likely have to pay for college with scholarships and federal loans, as I do not have any college savings. However, I plan to enter the rather lucrative field of aerospace engineering and give back to my mother in any way that I can. My true passion is music, as can be seen in my Bio, but aerospace engineering is a far more stable and assured career choice. My dream college is Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and I am looking to gain as many scholarships as I possibly can to make my dream come true. I aim to avoid debt like the plague because of what I learned in a Resource Management course that I took as a freshman in high school. That course taught me the importance of financial intelligence and how to be financially independent. I want to use every morsel of knowledge I gained in that course and my experiences to become a financially healthy adult.