The past few years have been tough for my family. My dad's ALS has worsened, making him have to leave work and be put on disability. My mom has had to go back to school in order to secure health benefits for the family because after my dad's absence for work, our family did not have any healthcare. Additionally, my grandmother's schizophrenia returned and led her to attempt suicide two times. We had to make the hard decision to put her into a home so she can get the care she needs and we have taken over the additional costs that come with her not having her own place. Because of my family's financial situation, I am responsible for providing for myself and paying all my expenses for school, including rent, tuition, grocery bills, fees, school supplies, etc. This has affected my education because although I do well in school, it has been increasingly harder to make the grades I want while working so many hours a week to cover my expenses. I am taking 5 classes, 15 hours, at LSU and am expected to be spending 10 hours a week on each class, 50 hours in total. I also work 20 to 30 hours on top of that. It is very stressful trying to keep up with all my assignments in addition to working to pay my bills. A scholarship would take a little bit of the financial burden off of me so that I can focus on my school work more and continue to advance my education into my masters program. I have a year and a half left of my undergraduate degree and I want to do as well as I possibly can because my education is very important to me. My dream is to have a masters in Accounting and get my CPA. I feel my work as an accountant will have a positive effect on society because as they say, money makes the world go round. Money is a part of every aspect of life and helping people manage their money takes off the burden of doing it themselves and opens up more room for them to think about other things. I am thinking about being an auditor. As an auditor, I can definitely make a difference in people's lives by making sure the companies they are investing in are being honest about their financial situation. This will help many people make safe investments and make them money instead of make them lose it.

My mental health is a direct influence on how capable I am at excelling school. I have recently been having issues with anxiety that randomly give me pains in my chest and sometimes keep me up at night. When I cannot breathe well and I am running on very poor sleep, it is harder for me to focus in my classes and be able to comprehend the material being taught. It also makes taking exams extremely difficult because while I know I need to study, I feel I have to do a million other things just so I can calm myself down and focus on learning. My anxiety also affects my personal life by affecting my connections with other people. If I am in a state of overthinking or having panic attacks and I have assignments to complete, I have to isolate myself to deal with the stress, taking me away from joining my friends on outings throughout the day. It can be extremely debilitating to have so much stress while trying to maintain friendships, hobbies, work, and school. Sometimes I have very hard days where I feel like I cannot go to the gym or go out with friends because I am so overwhelmed with stress. Thus far, I've been implementing a few techniques to destress myself. First, I make sure to maintain a clean environment because a clear space for me means a clear mind. My room being clean and my dishes being washed, for example, helps life be a little less overstimulating. Second, I make to-do lists to keep track of everything I need to accomplish. To-do lists help me because instead of thinking about all the things I have to do, I can trust that the list has everything on it and I can focus on one thing at a time. Lists take a huge amount of pressure off of my shoulders. Sometimes, I even make lists that have times dedicated to each task if I know I need to be more productive one day. Eventually, I get everything done much quicker than I thought I would originally. Lastly, I try to prioritize working out and eating healthy because it has helped my anxiety a ton. Weightlifting, cardio, and just going out to go to the gym really helps my mental health because it relieves built up stress and makes me feel good that I am actively bettering myself. I have felt alot more confident and calm every since I implemented a good gym routine. Sometimes, even if I am not going to the gym that day, I still try to go on a walk or run outside to get some sunshine, see some faces, and get my heart pumping. It makes me feel much more calm and at peace. In conclusion, my mental health impacts my everyday life and I actively take steps to prioritize lowering my anxiety. My anxiety hugely influences how much sleep I get and how well I focus on studying and paying attention to material being taught. It becomes a problem when I cannot focus on taking exams because my mind is racing and I am having pains in my chest. Stressing out also worsens my personal relationships by making me prone to isolation when I get overwhelmed. I cope with my anxiety by keeping a clean space, making to-do lists, and working out. These techniques help me prioritize my mental health as much as possible so I can do my very best in school.