My dream is to use my skills and personality traits to benefit those around me, radiating a sense of belonging and peace.

Going in as a freshman this year, I'm overwhelmed with a myriad of emotions. But I'm excited to be able to flourish in my own space. Being in control of my time and the ability to put myself first. I'm the oldest sibling, so it is often hard not to put my siblings and my parent's needs before my own. Although it might be an uncomfortable process of moving two hours away-- I think it's needed. I plan to major in health sciences on a pre-occupational therapy track, I'm excited to take classes I'm genuinely interested in. Primarily psychology. The brain has always fascinated me the most. I feel like I've always tried to understand all of my reactions and behaviors, I guess you could say I'm big on Tetris. The pieces clicked together after realizing what had been with me all along-- personality traits, habits of behavior, mental being. The big aha moment once I realize why I had been acting, feeling, or even thinking a certain way. Taking psychology and sociology last year opened a whole new door of opportunities for me, a new type of awareness of those around me which is part of the reason I want to go into occupational therapy. But, I also figured my own brain out, more than before. At that time, I was a student that took on other people's responsibilities, constantly overworked myself, never spent time alone with myself, and never asked for help. Lesson learned: terrible combination. But taking the time to understand how my brain worked gave me the opportunity to understand what it needed. I'm definitely still in that process but I have reached many high points because I became more aware of how important my mental being was. I began by dedicating Sundays to self-care days. This consisted of me spending time with myself to plan out my week, clean my room, do laundry, meditate, and do something that made me happy. I put my phone, schoolwork, and all my other responsibilities down for three hours and dedicated that entire time to me. I would say that this unlocked my love for self-care. I learned how important and honestly fun it was to put myself first. I got my first plant around this time of working on my well-being. It probably sounds cheesy, but I learned and continue to learn how similar we are to plants. While needing the same nutrients, we also behave in quite similar ways as well. I was a terrible plant mom at first. But I began to learn the looks of the leaves when they're needing water or the way they droop down when overwatered. The importance of the unexposed roots being the center of its health. And understanding how the plant is always growing and going through change despite me noticing or not. These lessons gave me the skills I needed to care for myself by listening to my body and its signals, as well as caring for myself mentally and physically. Now I'm not saying that you need to buy a plant to learn how to care for your mind and body. But, more of a reminder that we often forget all the answers we need are sometimes within us. If there is one thing I learned in the last few years, it's to fall in love with your solitude. With a hobby, meditation, reading, literally anything, for even just an hour. Because of all the stress in school, and life in general, we forget we deserve to take a minute to just let ourselves be.

I believe mental health is the center of everything. Our brain is the most powerful instrument we have. And when it comes to countless hours of studying, trying to get as much sleep as possible, needing to remember to eat three meals a day, and balancing classes while working a part-time job or sometimes even two-- our brains get tired. This is the case for myself, but also for 90% of college students. When it comes to that packed schedule as well as trying to maintain a social life, stress is common. There are often two common outcomes when this happens: begin working yourself even harder or put it off until tomorrow. But nothing good comes from either of these options, and both typically result in burnout. I was going through these cycles where I'd bounce from the two options and always get overworked and stressed and I always felt defeat. I concluded that I needed something to change. I was so tired of living through the same cycle over and over again but somehow never getting anywhere. I had no regular speed when it came to work, I was either completely in overdrive and stressing myself out even more, or I decided to give up and give myself some "time". This downtime consisted of scrolling on Instagram to distract myself from actual problems. Very productive, huh? So I began reading-- but I hate reading. I always doze off and think of all the other things I should be doing, rather than anything related to the characters. So I started with a book about plants and remedies because it's something I enjoyed. I began turning the pages with wonder and unlocked a new version of myself. These remedies were targeted around self-care so I experimented. Sometimes it would be a five-minute meditation, other times a bath soak, and even a mini journaling activity. And I loved it. Then I started getting more books that were related to self-care and moved into self-help books. For me, it's a lot easier to read these sorts of books because I still feel like I'm being productive in some way. Once I began spending time with myself to figure out my emotions, my well-being, my level of mindfulness, and how to treat myself-- everything else became a lot easier around me. I revealed the different patterns in my behavior and how to avoid them. For example, procrastination was typical for me. But now, I remind myself that even doing 1% of the work benefits me in the long run, and I often get a lot more done than I think. Mental health is our emotional and psychological well-being, and once you take the time to understand yourself through activities you enjoy-- big or small, stress gets a lot easier to manage.

I grew up incredibly observant. I took my time to sit back and watch those around me and understand those reactions. The biggest thing I cared for was emotions. My mom is an incredible woman who always goes out of her way to help any walk of life. And the times she would purchase gift cards for the man sitting alone in a booth, stop to give people in need a water bottle or any extra snacks she had, or buy extra band-aids for the neighborhood kids-- I learned she always won. Her smile beamed when she saw people's expressions, but the look in the other people's eyes was what did it for me. They were people that needed help and didn't ask. The looks my mother got were eyes full of grace and wonder. People saw that she was simply trying to help them in any way possible. I began to understand the superpower of helping others. At this time, my mom was a single mother that didn't have much but she still chose to give. She understood that those around her were in the same boat as her. Everyone was trying their best. She taught me that if you were giving, you were helping someone else, as well as yourself. It didn't occur to me how much I will go out of my way for others until this year. It became a natural instinct at a young age because of my mom, but it has taught me so many lessons. There have been instances where I've given up too much and I had to learn my boundaries. I've realized that my favorite memories began with helping someone and ended with having a new story to tell or even sometimes a new friend. This drive for helping people sometimes makes me forget how to ask for help from others when I need it. I insist that I can help myself, because I help everyone else, right? Wrong. Learned that the hard way, but I came out way stronger than before. I was hanging on by a thread and finally walked into my psychology teacher's classroom. I made eye contact with him, my shoulders fell, and I told him I needed help. It felt like all the grey clouds in my head began to uncover light. Once I told him what I needed and what was going on, it made it a lot easier to talk to my parents and my friends to get back where I wanted to. The power of help is truly incredible. It's a domino effect of love and kindness, which always wins. It's a reminder to someone else that they matter. It teaches you not to always be in a rush. It shows you how to empathize with others. It's a life-changing mindset: learning the value of non-material items. I believe that the most extraordinary superpower that we all have, is the ability to help others.

Hi! I'm Kylie Magaw, who would be a first-generation college student. My mom got her GED and struggled with severe anxiety and PTSD that would have made college incredibly hard for her. However, although she and I may be similar, since fourth grade I've known I wanted to go to college. Younger, I wanted to be a lawyer and attend Capital University. However, times changed when I realized what had always been luring me toward. Kids have always been my first priority. Starting in second grade, I would skip my recess to hang out with the kids in the special education program, I hadn't realized how much I loved it until later. I began babysitting at eleven, and then later certified by the Red Cross at thirteen. Once I got to high school, I joined the Peer Mentor Club, which is just hanging out with people in aided education. I've learned so much about the people around me and how incredible I find their talents, that many aren't aware of. A whole designated group to work on spreading kindness is more than amazing in my opinion. Learning about the people I'm around, as well as helping them with whatever they need is how I defined my purpose. About two years ago, I had decided I wanted to major in psychology and eventually become an occupational therapist for kids with developmental disabilities. I had two teachers' aid jobs planned but because of COVID-19, it had made it quite difficult but I hope to in the next few months. I like the challenge in occupational therapy, which forces me to think outside of the box to find a solution. My brother growing up had terrible sensory issues, that would affect his eating habits, clothing choices, and more. This inspired me to find his own solution to make life even just a bit less stressful. I'm currently in AP Psychology to clarify with myself that it truly is something I want to do. Although we're not even halfway through the year, it may be hard to find the motivation to do hours of notes but, I strongly believe I've found my purpose. It has turned into a whole different way I view life because of the class, as well as even more aware of my environment, and genuinely makes me feel a sense of clarification. Because of me truly feeling confident in my decisions and goals, I'm constantly trying to push myself more and more each day to get closer to reach even 1% closer. I plan to major in psychology as well as minor in Spanish to be more available to all children eventually. I would love to study abroad, particularly to a Spanish-speaking country to make myself more comfortable, I'm currently in Spanish 4 and I plan to continue within high school. Within all of my goals, I hope that motivation as well as perseverance will continue to help me reach my goals to become an occupational therapist and possibly attend Otterbein University.

Parties. Driving around screaming your lungs out to the lyrics of probably a song that makes no sense. Being able to sleep a little later the following day. Having pounds of weight lifted off your shoulders. We call this Friday. The fifth day of the week, which seems like an eternity when it's Monday morning and all you're waiting for is the weekend. However, I've learned over the years that I hate always rushing to get to Friday, so I became more patient with each week. We have a limited amount of time on earth, and when everyone is persistent for the end of the week, there's nothing to look forward to in the meantime. Thus, my crucial epiphany. To be patient during the week, and actually take every moment for granted. I became so tired of always pushing to the end, then once I reached it, I realized it had not been worth wasting a bunch of time. Higher expectations, lead to a higher chance of defeat.

A common statement is the inevitability of death, well so is change. Changes can be typically seen in daily routines, your favorite TV shows, a book you’re reading, literally everywhere around us. However, a change that many don’t pay attention to is the human mind. Your mind is constantly obtaining information instantly changing the way you think about certain topics or maybe even the way you act. Something that completely changed my mind and the way I thought was not a person, nor an inspirational speech, but a singular drawer. You’re likely asking, how can a drawer change the way you think? How does something that insignificant with such little value change a person? I was in my small room sitting in my cold, uncomfortable, wooden desk chair. Pissed off at the world for handing me such troubles that I was so tired of dealing with. Clenching my fists, tension spreading from my hands to my jaw. I held back the tears with all the might in my body. I didn’t understand. Why was I always in so much pain? Why did I dread waking up in the morning? Why did people use such words where it flooded my head, spiraling all day? Why was my family constantly picking a quarrel about anything I did? I stared at myself in the mirror with such cold looks I couldn’t recognize myself anymore. I looked down to reach a pen that I would use on my wrists to get my mind at ease for even a minute. That feeling of the cold tip of the pen while watching the ink slowly create a mural on my arms kept me sane. Except the pen was gone. I eagerly began searching through the drawer tearing everything apart. Looking for the only thing that had tended to calm me down. That’s when the tears just burst. The feeling of frustration I had been keeping inside of me all day finally broke out like a fire; spreading rapidly. I threw myself on the floor with all of the papers I had just thrown out looking for my pen. All of my pain built up and came out all at once. I caught my breath to get the tears to stop falling. The tension began to leave my body. I closed my eyes and let out a breath with all of the air in my lungs. I slowly inhaled feeling a cold sensation within my nose calming me down. I looked around my room realizing how weak I felt for throwing a tantrum like an upset toddler. Quite embarrassing if I’m going to be honest. However, something caught my attention. I saw a picture in the pile from my drawer I had thrown, now on the ground. A picture of me and my dad from when I was two, he naturally became a stranger to me after he left. To the right of the picture, I saw a note. A note from my fifth grade best friend saying how thankful she was to have me. Now, she and I have grown our separate ways with different friend groups. I searched through more papers from the pile to find more notes, cards, and pictures I had never truly looked at before. Notes from past friendships about our crushes or gossip in middle school. Cards from birthdays with small paragraphs from those I loved and that once held a 20-dollar bill that I immediately spent. Pictures of family members that I had lost or just weren’t close to anymore. They all displayed memories that I had never really cherished before but sat in my sorrow about them when they were gone. All of these past relationships I’ve had with people I never thought of how important they were when I had them. I had a mindset that no one in my life was forever. I constantly thought of the future and never that I’m living and I need to treasure the moments in the present. I went through the papers for hours, and rather than skimming the notes, I read them intensely and read all the details, some even twice. I had thought for so long that there was always bad to come, that my mindset was to only expect bad outcomes. Looking for the pen in the small white drawer ended up changing my life for the better. I now look at things from a different perspective cherishing all of the memories I make every day. Whether it’s vacations with family and friends or even a moment with friends I spend laughing for the majority of the time. I began talking to those that I may not be close to, including my father. Asking how they were or just telling them how thankful I am for them whether I’m still close to them or not. I’m much happier in general, and becoming more optimistic has definitely changed my life in a myriad of ways. Now, I don’t think about all of the bad that can come out of situations, but I look for the good, even if it seems impossible.