or challenges you overcame. Growing up I didn't really understand the connection our body had to our mind. Let me explain; I knew our brain controlled our bodies, right, but I never realized what our bodies were doing to help/hurt our brain. In March of 2023, I was diagnosed with a condition called Hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism by Google definition is the "low activity of the thyroid gland, resulting in the slowing of growth and mental development in children and metabolic change in adults." Hypothyroidism causes high levels of anxiety and depression, fatigue, and memory impairment. All of which can affect one academically, which you will see examples of in the following. I thought that all of my academic faults came from a concussion that I got back in 2019 in high school, but realized that was just the tip of the iceberg. Looking back at medical records, my blood TSH levels (which diagnose thyroid issues) rapidly back in 2018, but pediatricians aren’t well versed in looking for those issues. Two things happened in the school year of 2021-22, when I attended the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee for the first time as a freshman. Firstly, I got mono. The dreaded kissing disease that I unironically got from sharing the same water bottle with 15 girls on a weekend trip, ew. Because of that my tonsils had a hefty reaction and my removal surgery fell on the same week as finals. I got that semester medically exempt. More importantly, never in my life had I been so sad and scared. I don't like using depressed or anxious anymore, because I think they carry a lot of excuses and extra weight. In high school I was popular and happy in sports and choir; I felt like I had the best life ever. So how come when I got to college, so much changed? I would ask myself that so often and I never had a very good answer. But instead of focusing on school and finding friends through classes and clubs; I found friends in bars, basements, and boys. It soon became the worst few months of my life. Constantly drunk, crying, or chasing deadlines with classes - it felt like I couldn't catch a break. Excuse after excuse, I became a chronic liar and a really bad friend. Those who stuck around weren't happy with me very often and tried pointing out the spiral I was falling down but I refused to listen. Until one day my friend pulled me out of bed bright and early Sunday morning and forced me to go to church with her. I was grumpy and hungover from the night before but for some reason sitting there felt like a hug, and the color gold. Every week she would bring me, and after a while it became something I looked forward too!