When I first started high school, I was clueless as to what I wanted my future career to be. I often found myself dreading questions such as "what are my plans after graduation?" or "what do I wanna go to college for?" I would often stay up and dread graduating because I was afraid I would amount to nothing in my future endeavors. When I moved from regular high school to a middle college my junior year, I started taking college-level courses and finally stumbled across an intro to psychology class. Taking this class ended up being the best decision I have ever made, my professor was extremely engaging and excited to teach us about every sector of the brain and why we feel the way we do. Through her eagerness to teach us more about ourselves, I was excited to learn more about mental disorders, things that make us happy, things that make us sad, and why we behave the way we do. My professor did such a great job at keeping me engaged in our work, I wanted to spread this information to everyone I know. During our signature assignment for the class, which included choosing a mental disorder and studying why it happens, I chose addiction. Addiction is common with those around me, and as a kid, it would be traumatic to see family members continue to do things that hurt them and others around them. While writing and researching for my assignment, my professor opened her office to me and allowed me to ask questions and get personal with her to find a source as to why addiction can happen. Talking to her made me feel so validated and understood in my research, and to this day that assignment is one of my favorite things I have ever written academically. My professor's love for teaching psychology and eagerness to make her students feel welcome has inspired me tremendously and helped me decide to make psychology my field of study. Teaching others how the brain works is something that I could see myself doing forever, and being able to even use it in my personal life, and I want to spread that education to others. I want to continue to inspire the spark she ignited in me to others in my community.

Education means providing a better life for myself and my loved ones. Furthering my education would mean that I can pursue higher-paying jobs that strive for the change I know I can deliver once I finish my education, and that is why it is so important to me to strive for a higher education. Being able to provide comfortably for myself and my family and eventually make a change for everyone around me is why I strongly push myself to strive for better in terms of education. A higher education can also be rewarding in terms of learning more about myself and the world around me, college is a great place to get to meet new people of all cultures, and understanding how the world works among different people. The skills I learn in college will allow me to navigate the real world and use it to my advantage in my searches for career development. Art and music are extremely important to me due to how they allow me to express myself. I started photography my junior year of high school, during this year I had switched schools and had to start brand new in a new environment. Photography helped me capture my new environment through my own eyes and helped me feel more comfortable in my new school, these pictures even allowed me to make friends as people became curious about my work and wanted to be involved. Music, however, is one of the most important things in my life. Music allows me to express, describe, and discover feelings and experiences I've never thought of before. Music has provided me emotional outlets when words couldn't describe how I feel. Being able to grow with an album or an artist is one of the most human things you can do, and I try and grow and learn from each song I listen to. Both music and art, specifically photography, have helped me feel understood and validated in my feelings. I have unfortunately been affected by crime in my environment. When I was younger, both my dad and uncle were arrested. I was young at the time, but I still understood the implications of being arrested and the gravity of the situation, not being able to see them both for a couple of years was a lot for me to handle at the time, however, this caused me to feel even more passionate about my studies. I wanted to impress my father and uncle when I was able to see them, I wanted to let them know that I would not fall into the same unfortunate circumstances they fell under and that I could make a name for myself as an educated young woman in my school and entire community. Music and photography also helped me cope with the incarceration of my father and uncle, being able to listen to songs about others missing their loved ones, but wanting to be better for them in the future made me feel validated in my feelings. In essence, furthering education is important to me because I am able to provide a better life for my family and other communities around me. A higher education also allows me to enrich myself in new cultures and experiences that I can use to navigate the world around me. Art and music help me cope with the developing world around me and my everchaning feelings, such as moving and the past incarcerations of the male figures in my household.

Exemplifying a spirit of excellence means putting my best effort into everything I do, whether it's schoolwork, club activities, or helping my mother around the house. I like to stay motivated in my everyday life by setting goals for myself as a reminder of why it's so important to work hard. Things such as maintaining good grades will allow me to continue to pursue my career and build the skills that will help me succeed in my career as a therapist. I also take the time to remind myself that excellence is not always about being perfect, there are times when I constantly make mistakes over and over. Exemplifying a spirit of excellence is about learning from those mistakes and growing. Giving back to my community is extremely important to me. I started volunteering to follow in the footsteps of my mother, who constantly volunteers at our local church and at my siblings' school. My mother inspires me and allows me to see how giving back leaves such a hopeful impact on your life. I believe that small actions, like listening to someone's struggles or offering support can have such a huge impact on someone's life. This is why I am pursuing psychology, so I can continue to give back to my community by listening to their struggles and being able to give them advice and tools they need to improve their lives. I consistently give back by volunteering at church with my mother and doing things such as running drives for women's shelters and back-to-school giveaways for families in need. I also organized a club in my school in which students can join and share special interests and hobbies with each other to find common ground, feel heard, and potentially meet new friends. These are the ways I give back to my community so that I can stay connected to them and make sure everyone around me feels heard and safe. By exemplifying a spirit of excellence in all that I do and consistently giving back and staying active in my community. I believe that my efforts will help me build a strong foundation for my future and inspire others around me such as how my mom did for me and how Harriet Russell did for others. The constant giving back is my way of making an impact while staying connected to my roots and paving way for the future I wish to see.

India's life was a beautiful reflection of compassion, kindness, and dedication, all of which I strive to embody in my day-to-day life as an African-American woman looking to pursue psychology. As I was growing up, my mother always taught me that showing up for others around you is extremely important to become the change you want to see in the world. I've carried that lesson with me throughout my entire educational career. One moment that stands out as an example of how I've exhibited India's qualities is when I started a club at my school where students could get together and discuss their artistic interests and activities with each other. Running the club allowed me to observe my fellow students enjoy the safe space where they get to be themselves. I spent my time listening to my peers share their niche interests in art, music, and movies. I loved getting to know everyone who worked through the club's doors, and I began to see just how important the club is to the students who attended. I became dedicated to serving my club members and created a space where kindness was welcomed in the community. This experience fueled my desire to pursue psychology. I want to create spaces where people feel seen, heard, and valued. Personally, I believe that mental health and being listened to are a necessity and should be accessible to everyone who wants them. As I move into my career, I want to continue with my mother's advice and become the change I want to see in the world. My goal is to break down those barriers and offer the same compassion and care that India had and use it for my future patients. In regard to academics, this commitment allows me to learn more about the mind, body, and behavior, equipping myself with the knowledge and tools needed to support others around me. Personally, India's qualities inspire me to be someone who advocates for others, sees a problem, and works to solve it. As I move forward with my career in psychology, I wish to carry forward India's legacy in everything I do. I wish to be a dedicated psychologist who takes the time to serve communities such as mine and provide safe spaces for others to feel heard and appreicated. This may be through community programs, counseling or educating others, I want to empower others to use their voices and thrive. India's compassion will serve as a reminder to me thoughout college and eventually my career that compassion is extremely important and her legacy is worth honoring everyday.

Ever since I was young, I've always been surrounded by people who inspire me to give back. My mother is extremely generous to everyone around us, whether it's giving money to a homeless man on the street, paying her tithes in church, or donating our old clothes and toys to women's shelters across North Carolina. Watching her be selfless in everything she does inspires me immensely to give back to those around me, even in small ways you can see how a community thrives when one person is kind enough to give back. My passion for assisting those in my community undoubtedly came from her; I try to follow in her footsteps by participating in our church's back-to-school giveaways and women's shelter drives. I loved watching others be able to come up and take what they needed without the stress of how they were going to be able to afford it. What started as a way to resemble her turned into something much deeper for me. Seeing the appreciation and gratitude on other's faces made me understand why she always went out of her way to help others. It also showed me that helping others in your community doesn't require a lot, just heart and a will to help out. As I got older and started to wonder about the career I wanted to pursue in life, I wanted to keep up that passion for helping the people around me. This passion for helping others helped me decide to major in psychology so I can help others in ways the normal person might not be able to, making sure our minds are as healthy as possible allows people to understand more and more about themselves. I see how dismissed mental health is for black communities around the world, and I think pursuing a career in psychology while being black can allow me to show other people how real and important it is to stay educated on the topic. Being black in America comes with its challenges, but it also comes with a responsibility to uplift others in my community. For me, community service is a way to be the change I wish to see in the world, especially for young people like me. Community service also serves as a way for me to honor my mother through everything I do. Seeing how she inspired me to start giving back, I want to make her proud by using my degree to give back and serve my community every day.