Well, most of my life, since the age of 3, I have lived in mobile homes, low-income apartments, and with my grandparents. And during the 2008 recession, my dad was let go from his job, which made it extra hard to pay bills. He had to take himself down to the welfare/unemployment office to try to find a job, which was hard to find for months. And living paycheck to paycheck made it a whole lot harder. And to add, our food stamps were on the verge of getting cut off, which was our main source of having a full fridge. But we made do with what we had. Fast forward to a few years, in 2017, we were evicted from our home because our dad lost his job, and bills were piling up on top of that. My mom, who was pregnant at the time, busted her kneecap climbing to find loose change to pay for gas and formula. Then we were hopping from motel to motel, trying to keep a roof over our heads, and to add to that, it was during Hurricane Irma, so we were without power for days when we stayed at the motel. I wish I had a lot of peace during that time, but I didn't; my parents were stressed trying to find a stable home for us, since it was just my three sisters and me. We then came to live with this lovely old lady named Patty, with whom we have been neighbors as long as I can remember. So it's not hard to say that I don't come from a rich family; it is far from that anyway, but it's our experiences that shape us. And I want to add, no matter where we come from, poor or rich, we all need to work together on becoming better people. So I plan on saving money little by little to at least have a pallet for me to land on as I enter/ exit college. In all my points show, my experience coming up from poverty will show how the world is at times. But that shouldn't discourage me from at least trying to learn from what other people go through. And with this money, I will be able to show myself that there are people out there who still care about them and know from their experiences firsthand. And I thank whoever took the time to read this.

Because as someone who has gone struggles psychologically and came out the other end I’m glad the counselors/ psychiatrists were there to help me. And it made me realize how important their job is. I really want to express my gratitude to all of the people in that field. And ever since I was young I always was passionate about talking to people who were going through problems and being able to provide comfort at such a young age. But then when I came out as gay at 14 it made me realize how much everyone around me really cared for me and my mental health especially my counselor. And all that together made me want to pursue psychology field. Because, it gives me a more in depth perspective on how people are feeling. And I want to be the person people can talk to whenever they have a problem I can count a numerous time where I helped a friend or a loved one who wasn’t in the best spot just by talking. Our words have a lot of meaning to people and i believe it makes the world a better place. Do you know one in five people have suffered or are suffering from psychological distress or disorders. I know because I was that person once. Over 9 percent to 42 percent go without psychological help due to cost, which is mind boggling to say the least, because why are people going without? I know because the US doesn’t care so little has been done to help the mentally unwell people of the US. I want to help people and be there to talk to or help whenever they need it that is why I am passionate for psychology or the psychological field. And I believe with this scholarship, it will be able to help me do what I am passionate about, and what I can do in the future once I get my doctorate. I’m gonna help people, change lives for the better. Because that is what I believe in, people deserve empathy not stares and laughs the situation they are in is due to neglect by their peers, I know first hand since I had to go through thick and thin to find my cousin who has schizophrenia or was missing for almost a month, and no one wanted to help, people were so cruel during that time. And this is why I am passionate about psychology