You could say that when I was born I was lucky, I was in a privileged middle-to-high-class town, surrounded by my loving parents who had me in their early twenties. As years went on my parents continued to have more kids, I had a nice childhood but nothing like what my friends had. As time went on I eventually had three younger siblings, the youngest one being born very sick with a rare condition, VACTREL. This caused a big uproot in my life as I had to put my teenage years on hold to be a second mother to my younger siblings. I also had to mature more advanced than many my age due to the lack of my parents being around but instead at the hospital with my brother. This rock in the road led to further perseverance that I was unfamiliar with at the time. Not only was I maturing and becoming a mother to my siblings but also to my friends. To this day I am known as a mother to my group of friends and the "group therapist", the one that everyone can come to for advice on their situations. I am honored to have this title and the uphill battle that stays with my family and me to this day will always be part of the reason why I am wired the way I am today. I believe that I deserve this scholarship because I have managed to go through multiple ups and downs in my life and still try and see a positive light in it all. I want to use my interest in helping others to my benefit and become a mental health therapist to help others cope. Many therapists are needed in the world today and I believe that helping others is what I am made to do. This scholarship would benefit me due to the cost of attending college. Since my brother was born my parents have done their best but my mother had to become a stay-at-home mom with my brother, this led to hard financial times, but looking back at it I never knew it at the time. I have had a job since I was fourteen years old and I pay for most activities I do and items. Saving for college is easier said than done. I would be more than grateful for this scholarship, as it would help me out wonders in the college process in being able to achieve my goal of becoming a therapsit and helping others.

Sunday, May 31, 2015, was a magical day, yet it was one that changed my life forever. Gone were the carefree afternoons I would spend playing Barbies and dressing up in my mother’s clothes as my nine-year-old self instinctively knew what was needed to help care for my younger brother and sister. I quickly learned how to care for their every need, making sacrifices of my own because that was what was needed at that time. My new baby brother, the youngest of the four, George was born with VACTERL, a condition that affected his organs. Surgery followed by more surgeries, thirty total to date, on his brain, heart, GI, and everything in between. George always seems to smile through his pain. After George was born, my two healthy siblings and I spent nearly every summer living with my cousins a couple of hours away from home. Mom and Dad had to be at what seemed to be their new home, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for George. My life changed more than I thought possible at such a young age, it's like I was living a new life, looking at my old life through a screen; I would see my friends at the beach or the ocean, by the pool, or at an amusement park while I was in the kitchen next to my aunt making lunches for my siblings. I wasn't the average 9 year old, although sometimes that's all I wanted to be. As years went on, my baby brother would come home for short periods at a time but something always seemed to be wrong. It seemed like a rarity for us to all be home together as a family. With all of his medical issues, my mom had to become his full-time caretaker. This meant our family of six would have to live off my dad’s single income. Some weeks were hard for my parents both financially and emotionally, but as I look back, they never let us know it. They tried hard to make things feel as normal as possible. However, my family had an amazing support system. One day as I was sitting in a school assembly, I was delightfully surprised to learn it was a Make-a-Wish for my baby brother. I started to notice my family, close and extended, on the stage. It was beautiful, I got to hold George while he was presented with his granted wish. Eight years have passed since George was born and I have grown into what my friends would call a motherly figure; as my friends come to me for daily advice, they know they can lean on me no matter how big or small the situation may be. They know no matter what is going on in my own life, I will continue to be their rock, their sounding board, being there for the people I love has always been of great importance to me. I believe that growing up at an early age helped me become who I am today and what I aspire to be in the future. George will battle with his medical condition for the rest of his life. He will continue to be the strongest, most admirable person I have ever met. Due to everything his body has gone through over the past 8 years, George has been diagnosed with anxiety, medical PTSD and ADHD. This has sparked my interest in psychology to be able to further help and understand others like my brother.