Growing up in the ghetto of Dallas, Texas, in a big, financially unstable family meant we all had to do our part to help out our parents and endure life filled with struggles, hardships, and obstacles. My family and I have always had a knack for helping others; ever since my three other siblings and I were born, we were taught that helping others was the right thing to do; it was built into our blood. We believed that if we helped others in need, it would eventually come back around, and life would return the favor to my family. And it did; a new opportunity arose, and we found a trailer-like house in ol' Royse City, Texas. We knew that this had to be some good karma for everything my family had done for others, and this was God giving us a sign that if we kept doing what we were doing, life would continue to be better. So why stop here? Why not continue to help others in the name of God? So that's what I set out to do, to be as helpful as possible from then on. At every opportunity I got, I would take my time in class to help my classmates with their schoolwork, making sure they got good grades and got compliments from the teacher because everyone struggles and can't do everything alone all the time. I would stay at the school after football practice some days, mentoring younger guys with specific drills and techniques that the coach needed help to get them to complete during practice. I would go the extra mile if someone needs help carrying something heavy or even as small as picking up a piece of trash and throwing it in the trash. Even weekly at my local church on Wednesday nights, I would help the pastors teach young children about the story of Christ and the Bible. Even this year, as a senior, I was placed into an ESL class as a special request to help Spanish-speaking kids learn better English. Most importantly, on top of that, I still tried to make time to help out my family. Because of my strenuous efforts to improve my community and high school and my instinct to help others, I've been blessed to win the Royse City Bowers Beacon Award two times, once in my freshman year and the other in my junior year. Winning these awards helped me realize something. This may be my calling, and I should pursue it in college. I have chosen to major in psychology and child development services to become a children's psychologist. It is imperative to help others as it can create a new generous feeling within yourself and improve happiness, social connection, and psychological stress. Helping others gives us a sense of belongingness, allowing us to feel needed and reducing loneliness and isolation. Helping people is a beautiful thing that everyone can do and should do. Some ways you can help or help your community include volunteering for soup kitchens, shelter homes, boys & girls clubs, food drives, clothes drives, and picking up trash on the ground. More importantly, help your parents; they work their hardest to provide a better life for their kids, and most of their efforts go unnoticed nowadays. Parents deserve more recognition and praise because if it weren't for them, you wouldn't be placed in such an astonishing world with many great life moments, memories, and wonders that no soul should miss.