When I was a young girl, I scratched dragons on ruled paper and wrote out their stories on the lines beside them. If I could whip up a story with a missing eraser and torn-up notebook back then, I see no reason to stop in the face of technological advances that pretend to usurp the power of the creatives’ soul. To me, art is about exploring things “other” to our own lived experiences, whether that be the power fantasies of superheroes, the plight of an orphaned child in the 19th century, or the day-to-day life of a retail worker. Sure, some of us are retail workers, and those who are can laugh and cringe at the strikingly familiar events that take place. For those who are not, art acts as a window to the ways others go through life, the beginning of a very important virtue: empathy. In eleventh grade, I participated in Ms. Hillman’s “empathy project” for the second time. She was my high school theater teacher, and during the course one of the scripts we read from was the “The Laramie Project,” which explored the story of Matthew Shepard, a young gay student who was brutally murdered as a hate crime. I vividly remember how uneasy everyone was during the table reading; and knowing Mississippi, I knew not every student who read “agreed” with Matthew Shepard’s “lifestyle.” The empathy project stuck with me to the point that I would now say that empathy is the reason that I write. Even in the realms of fantasy, where most of my stories reside, you can find a way to discuss the real problems that face queer youth, people of color, and disadvantaged minorities across the world. Internationally acclaimed movies like Parasite bridge cultural gaps and bring a slice of the “other” life to the tables of those unawares. One of my long-term projects intends to do just that, and I have already made big steps toward it. In 2023, right after graduating high school, I finished my novella, “The Year Step,” a fantasy that touches on Yoruba culture and history. I have since become more involved in my research on both pre-colonial and current day African culture in hopes of expanding this setting in a way that is accurate, respectful, and empathetic. I do this not only out of a personal interest in African life, but also in a constant pursuit of understanding more of the “other.”

My mental health was key to my academic success during my first two years of college, and I made it a priority by avoiding known causes of stress, maintaining a decent work-life balance, and putting myself first. Since I attended a rural community college, it was easy to escape the hubbub of the main campus and walk out into the surrounding woods. Here I could take time to do some bird watching, snap a few interesting compositions, or decompress from the expectations given to me. I made it a point to do this at least once every week so I could relax before reentering the status quo. While I excelled academically, it came at a cost. My scholarships and membership in Phi Theta Kappa meant that I had to keep up my grades—or else. Fumbling more than one course would spell disaster for my future opportunities, and this was the root of most of my academic stress. When I found myself panicking over the prospect of a bad test or essay grade, I told myself not to study under stress or anxiety. I would find something else to do, like talk to my friends or get myself a treat, and return to my studies once I knew I could retain the information. Being under stress resulted in a negative feedback loop where I could not focus on my work. By taking a breather, I did better for myself in the long run. Like any college student, I know that procrastination does me more harm than good; however, this did not stop me from putting off classwork when I was eager to attend campus events or spend time with friends. As a workaround, I separated my social time from doing classwork and jotted down when I would complete each class’s work on each day after checking what I needed to do for the week. If I wanted to participate in an event early in the day, I simply switched things around and did classwork in the evening. This tremendously boosted my mental health because I did not feel dissatisfied with the time I spent with friends and I managed to get my work done before the weekends, a feat that many of my peers struggled with, and spent that time on hobbies like writing and art. While I still struggle to keep my academic-related anxiety at bay, being passionate about my mental wellness has allowed me to prosper and keep going forward. I was able to network with some of my professors, create new friendships, and graduate summa cum laude from my community college. Now, as I go into a four year university, I plan on applying these same steps and more to keep my mental health intact.