When I was in middle school all the way to the end of high school, I went on mission trips to low income areas all over the United States. I have saw many things in these areas that absolutely broke my heart but at the same time these experiences have inspired me to help even more. I have given food to starving school children whose only hot meal a day was provided by the school. I have brought clothing to children and adults who had nothing to keep them warm in the winter. I have put shoes on the feet of children who had been walking barefoot because they had no shoes and their parents had no money to get them any. My favorite donations to pack for mission trips were packing up goodie bags with feminine hygiene products, bras, underwear, soap and makeup. I always made sure that these women and young girls had plenty of hygiene products for future needs. I loved watching them pick out makeup. Their eyes lit up with excitement. I could tell that this meant a lot to them. It isn't a typical donation item. It is ​the little things that a lot of us overlook when serving communities. I listened to these people's stories and never marginalized any of them. I treated them as equals. I made sure none of them felt ashamed or embarrassed. I loved when they would hug me and I wouldn't hesitate to hug back. I have learned so much from these experiences and it has fueled me to keep helping those who get overlooked and are in need. I am willing to advocate and be the voices for these people. They deserve equality and to be taken seriously.

It is so hard to pick one major problem in the world right now when so much goes on with war, climate change, politics, healthcare, education and starvation. I think we can all agree that our biggest problem at the moment is COVID-19. In almost 2 year , COVID has reeked havoc on the entire world. COVID-19 has interfered with every single human beings life on Earth. We have all been affected by COVID in some way. Either we've been infected, we've known someone who had it or we've had to bury someone we love. COVID has caused so much grief but on top of that so many people are scared. Jobs are lost, economies are failing and nothing is open. There have been many shortages on basic items needed for living. There are now more people who are dangerously misinformed, misled and uneducated about COVID. It is scary how many people no longer trust science and evidence right in front of their faces. COVID has caused selfishness, a divide, and a mistrust amongst people. It is obvious that to help stop the spread of COVID would be to get vaccinated, wear a mask, and social distance correctly. Unfortunately, not everyone believes this will work or will actually commit to doing these things. A way to help this whole situation would be to get people to trust science again and cooperate with the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines. If we can weaken the divide and gain trust once again, COVID will get better. The more people we are able to get to wear a mask, social distance and get vaccinated, the more we can improve the living nightmare we have all been in.

Dorothea Dix is one of the historical figures I admire and respect the most. Dorothea never gave up on what she believed was right. She spent the first part of her life opening school houses to educate the poor. She worked to get donations to keep the schools going all while she was battling tuberculosis. Dorothea was also one of the first mental health advocates in a time when mental healthcare was scarce and above all abusive and neglectful. Dorothea looked into these asylums and institutions with disgust at how they treated the mentally ill. She was the voice for these patients and victims. I admire her strength and persistence to change these mental institutions. When her first attempt to change the laws on how the mentally ill were treated was vetoed, she headed to England. In England she made major headway in being an advocate for change. Dorothea was able to help these people with their living conditions and treatment in these facilities. Dorothea's success in England led her to be able to make changes in America. I admire Dorothea's fighting spirit and confidence. She put aside her own hardships to help others. Dorothea was persistent and determined to make a change. I admire her for being the voice of people who were overlooked. She was the voice for these poor overlooked children and the mentally ill. I admire her for continuing her work until she passed away. I admire how selfless she was and how she never gave up a hope for change. She inspires me to be a voice of change for those who cannot speak for themselves. Dorothea made me realize that change is always possible. She inspires me to work hard and never give up on what I believe is right.

There are many people who suffer from mental health including myself. I understand how much it can impact someone's life. A practical solution to help more and more people who suffer would be to provide affordable and accessible health services. In my own experience, getting medicated and being in therapy has helped me more than anything ever could. Many people, however, do not have the same access as I was lucky enough to have. Mental health is like any other medical condition. Many people have chemical imbalances that make them have a mental illnesses. It should be treated like any other medical condition. Healthcare is a basic need for people. We all deserve access to healthcare. We go to the doctor when we are sick, so why do we not get help when we are sick mentally? It is something just as debilitating as a physical ailment. Providing healthcare to these people will positively impact everyone. There would be less suicide and heartache for families. People would no longer have to suffer in silence. People will be able to get help and be more successful, which in turn is beneficial to the rest of society. No one should have to suffer from mental illness alone.

I describe living with my disability as a plague and a curse. My disability may not be seen on the outside, but it is debilitating to those of us who live it and those of us who must live around someone who suffers from it. This might seem like a harsh description for a mental condition but living with bipolar disorder on a day-to-day basis proves otherwise. I often catch myself saying that I would not wish this disorder on my worst enemy. My diagnosis did not happen until the summer of my eighth-grade year in school. I was only 14 at the time. I started showing signs when I would switch rapidly between moods. I would go from feeling like I am on top of the world to having no will to live in a matter of hours. It was constantly back and forth. I finally could not handle it anymore and had a mental breakdown. I finally wen to a doctor. I met with the doctor and discovered what was wrong. I was devastated. I was told I could go through extreme depression or extreme impulsiveness in a matter of hours. It was dangerous. I was prescribed medication and therapy. I felt ashamed and embarrassed. My family did not talk about mental health. I had my bipolar under control until my sophomore and junior year of high school. I had not told people what I had. I suffered in silence. I was so scared I would be viewed as insane and treated differently. I had taken a medication that made had very significant side effects. It made me gain weight and destroyed my health. My body was not producing insulin like it should have and I was developing heart disease. I immediately had to stop taking this medication because it was killing me. I experienced severe withdrawals that threw me into a severe depressive state. I would lay in bed for days at a time with no will to live my life. I lacked a motivation to eat, shower, brush my teeth or even talk to anyone. I would sit and stare at the ceiling in a daze and sleep. That was it. I felt empty and dead inside. Eventually it got better with a change in medication. I ended up dropping over sixty pounds in a matter of 6 months my junior year of high school. Somehow my depression manifested even worse. I had a teacher confront me and tell me mental health was not real. She made a big impact on the way I felt at school. I dreaded school and would try to get out of going every day. I was miserable. I had no friends. I lacked picking up on social cues and how to socialize correctly. I felt so alone. I was alone. I ate my lunch by myself every day. I did group projects on my own. I felt like an outcast. I felt as if I was looking in from the outside. I spent my day in a daze and on “auto-pilot”. I would come home and go straight to my room. I did not eat much at this point and I was so drained I did not want to talk to anyone. I distinctly remember sitting in my bathtub every night with a knife to my wrist crying. I would sit and try to talk myself out of ending it all. I wanted to so badly, but I would find something to hold on to. I would say things like “I cannot burden my family anymore”. I got more help. I did weeks of therapy and had medication adjustments. My parents finally openly talked about it. I was free to talk about my struggles. It helped me. I am now a sophomore in college. I still go through bouts of depression, but it is not near as bad as what I experienced through my teens. I have had to come to the realization that I will always have bipolar disorder. There is no cure. I will take medication for it for the rest of my life. These medications have a lot of side effects as well. I always joke and say it's not “if” the side effects happen its “when” since you are on them for so long. It sucks but I push through it now. I, however, don't let my disability run my life now. I am now at my dream college living my life for once. I push through every day to achieve my dreams. I am working so hard on a medical degree so that I can help people with what I went through. My struggles have fueled my compassion to help others with their mental illnesses. I would never want anyone to feel and go through what I felt. I wake up and conquer my worst days. I deserve to have a career I enjoy. I now have friends who care about me and do not judge me. I don't fight alone and I don't want anyone to have to fight alone. I want to use my college degree to help end the stigma of mental health and achieve getting/providing help and resources for others who suffer. I will always describe bipolar disorder as a debilitating plague and curse. I understand how this can affect unmedicated individuals and completely ruin their lives. I couldn't function in society without being medicated. I still struggle every day. I have taken years of behavioral therapy so I can socialize normally. This disorder negatively affects people and always will. We have no cure but only medication and therapy to make it less intense. We can, however, help each other push through and accomplish our dreams. Together we can make this disorder less intense and not let it run our lives anymore. Let’s end the stigma now.

I describe living with my disability as a plague and a curse. My disability may not be seen on the outside, but it is debilitating to those of us who live it and those of us who must live around someone who suffers from it. This might seem like a harsh description for a mental condition but living with bipolar disorder on a day-to-day basis proves otherwise. I often catch myself saying that I would not wish this disorder on my worst enemy. In high school it was the worst. I felt no will to live. I felt dead and empty inside. I would come home and go straight to my room. I did not eat much and I was so drained I did not want to talk to anyone. I did not want to scare or burden my parents. I distinctly remember sitting in my bathtub every night with a knife to my wrist crying. I would sit and try to talk myself out of ending it all. I wanted to so badly, but I would find something to hold on to. My parents always supported me and helped me. I was so thankful for that. I did weeks of therapy and got medicated. I was free to talk about my struggles. It helped me. I don't let my disability run my life. I am now at my dream college living my life for once. I push through every day to achieve my dreams. I am working so hard on a medical degree so that I can help people with what I went through. My struggles have fueled my compassion to help others with their mental illnesses. I wouldn't want anyone to feel and go through what I did. I wake up and conquer my worst days. I deserve to have a career I enjoy. I don't fight alone anymore, and I don't want anyone to have to fight alone. I want to use my college degree to help end the stigma of mental health and achieve getting/providing help and resources for others who suffer.