In order for me to be able to embody a gritty mindset through the obstacles and challenges I have faced, I always look at this quote by Lionel Richie, "I always like to challenge myself. I never want to be put into a box. Greatness comes from fear. Fear can either shut us down and we go home, or we fight through it." This means so much to me, He is saying that you can persevere and get through it. He is saying that failure could be beneficial, and based on psychological studies, it does! Another thing that helped me was going through steps and checking off them as I went along. First, I clarified my goals. Which is to make something out of myself, to help the world. My second step was to identify my interests, and they had everything to do with kids I have great communication skills, I am organized, etc. After I clarified these steps, I strived to find what type of person I am. I finally did that! My challenges and obstacles consist of the loss of loved ones, financial issues, and striving to be perfect in anything and everything I do. In order to overcome most of these challenges, I had to follow the previous steps I stated above, but there is just one obstacle, I can't quite overcome. That is the strive to be perfect. I grew up in a house where I was the stability, where I had to help and be there while my mom and dad were at work. Whenever I do anything, I always think, I could have done better, or let me fix that. I push my feelings down and bottle them up. I don't want anyone to show any signs of weakness. I always want to be strong and reliable for my family. I am the oldest child, so a lot is expected of me and I feel like I can't live up to my parents' expectations, but in reality I exceed them, but my mind just stays thinking, no, you have to do more. You have to be perfect. Nobody can achieve perfection, we are put on this earth to fail every once in a while, stuff happens, and some things just aren't for you and that is okay. I can write all this but I can put into my mind that all this is okay, everything is just fine. It is the worst possible thing, but I have overcome every other challenge or obstacle that came my way and I am going continue to work on this and I am going to listen to Lionel and not be afraid to fail.

The reason why I am so passionate about being helpful to younger children, especially through the field of psychology is that I have always struggled with anxiety and moving between school and extracurricular activities, it is so stressful, and having to socialize and talk to others makes it so much worse. I realize that younger children are more prone to mental disorders because of school and social settings. Younger children are not open about some things, especially mental disorders, and even when they do try to tell their parents, they probably will not believe them. This is why I want to be the person to be there, I want to be a parent figure to any child who needs it. I want to help, I want people to know that they are being heard and helped to the best of my ability. I will make things relevant and easy for them in such hard times. I will bond with them enough to be able to get some important issues and traumatic settings out of them. I want to make a difference, I want to shape the future of this world. I want to ensure that love is spread in this world and that the people I try to help know they are loved. A quote that relates to this is “Tears fall for a reason and they are your strength, not weakness.” by Charlie Mackesy. This quote says that It's imperative for children to understand that it's okay to cry and express their emotions. I want to be the person these kids can open up to. Being there for others can help them with their school, and other situations. Being around people who say " Children are confused, they don't know what they are talking about, they are okay. Nothing is wrong with my kid." I know that parents don't want their kids to be mentally unstable, but your child knows their body. Your body does whatever it needs to survive. When your brain sends messages to your body, you know when something is off. Some kids may indeed exaggerate, but when something is going on, it is normally around the same area that they are exaggerating. It is weird, but we know how our body is supposed to feel, react, etc., so when something is off, we need to understand that we need help. It is okay to need help. I want to be that help. I want to be the one people go to, I want to be the person who helps.

There is a quote that I go by daily and it says, " I think the whole world is dying to hear someone say, 'I love you.' I think that if I can leave the legacy of love and passion in the world, then I think I've done my job in a world that is getting colder and colder by the day." The famous Lionel Richie says this quote. This quote means so much to me because it shows me that there is good in people and that you have to give good to receive good. I mean there are two sides to every person and deep down people want that loving feeling, that validation. Showing your love towards others, even if they do not show it back, could possibly alter their life forever. The life of showing love and care also plays into the choice of my career. Ever since I was a little girl I have always thought about having a career that helps others. There were some obvious choices like a doctor, a nurse, a retirement home assistant, etc. but there is one career that never came into my mind until my sophomore year of high school, and that is a Children's Psychologist. This not only helps people, but it also helps the molding of the future of the entire world. Children need to have good mental health in order to want to live and in order to help and get into the real world. By being a Children's Psychologist, I can do this. The future of the world is in my hands and in those children's minds. There are multiple steps I will have to take to achieve this goal. First, I will have to apply to colleges with a good psychology program. Second, if I get into that college, I will have to stay there for years and years on end, working hard every day to get my doctorate. Within my years of doing college work, I will be able to intern at a psychology clinic, which will give me experience in the work part of it. Third, I will have to find a clinic to work at. Lastly, I will be able to spread kindness and helpfulness into this world through little kids and in return mold the future of the world. Having this plan will help me in the long run because if I have my goals set, I am the type of person to want to achieve them. I want to thrive. I want to make this world better by medicating it with love and kindness.