I made the decision to study psychology in hopes to one day become a child psychologist myself. From a very young age I participated in cognitive behavioral therapy. I had a lot of anxiety as a young kid and by the time I was 7 years old my parents had enrolled me in therapy. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I really began to reflect on how attending therapy on and ff for so long and at such a young age really impacted my life. As a young kid with generalized anxiety disorder, I did not want to attend therapy. I was anxious and did not want to stand out. none of my peers attended therapy and I felt isolated from them because of this. as a kid I viewed having to go to therapy as a bad thing, as something to be ashamed of. Now, my views are quite different. Now I see that fact that I was able to fight this head on and work through it as a good thing. I see it as a strength. I had a hurdle that I had to fight to get over. I can now appreciate how much therapy has change my life. It has given me the coping skills that I needed to combat my anxiety. Today I still struggle with this disorder but, I have the several coping skills I learned in therapy to combat the disorder. Going on in my career I want to b the safe space and help that my therapist was for me asa kid. I want be able to have a similar impact on their lives as my therapist had on mine. In order to achieve a doctorate in psychology I know I am going to have to put in countless hours of work, a lot of years of school, and a lot of money. I am willing to do whatever it takes for me to achieve the high-level of education and the job that I so strongly desire. One way I have begun to chase this dream is by working with children. while I am not yet elegance to council children, I can work in school environments. I am currently employed at Rogers Middle school as a recreational aid as well as an avid volunteer at Signal Hill Elementary school's kindergarten and TK programs. Working at these schools is a great start to my career given that I am already working with kids. While I won't be a repaid and student volunteer forever, I know that we all have to start somewhere... This is just y begining.

As a kid I always struggled a lot with anxiety. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder at the age of 7. I always attended cognitive behavioral therapy to lean coping mechanisms throughout my elementary school years. While my therapists tried really hard to help me as a little kid, nothing ever worked. I would get so worked up when something went wrong and felt out of my control in life that I would often time have panic attacks. my fear of having a lack of control only grew stronger the older I got. Around the time I was entering high school my need for control over my own life lead to me developing an eating disorder. I went on to battle with this for two years. I felt as if my life was completely spiraling out of control with very little hope for ever getting better. It wasn't until later in high school and even early into my college career that I discovered the first 2 copying mechanisms that really worked for me. These were working out and planning out my weeks ahead of time. Many people who struggle with anxiety like I do like to meditate, journal, or do yoga to cope and relax. while I have tried all of these, they never worked for me. I always found my anxiety worsen in quite situations like meditating or journaling. Something about being left in silence to think about myself always made me incredibly uncomfortable. I recently fell in love with the gym. I have found working out intently to be a form of meditation for me. There is something about putting al of yourself into something physical that I find relaxing. this is a way I take my mind off of my daily stressors. Since I began working out I have noticed more energy, less anxiety, and a lot more confidence. I have also realized that when I have a well organized calendar, my anxiety significantly decreases. When I know exactly what the day and week is going to look like, I feel confident, in control of my life, and relaxed. Planning out my weekly schedule and working out daily has changed my mental health for the better. While I still do struggle on some days, I now have the tools to manage my anxiety. I plan on continuing to do these things and even hope to share my coping skills with others like me.