I have a singular drive to be of service, to be a part of the solution. Like most kids, I asked a lot of questions: Why? Why is that man homeless? Why does dad drink so much? I would become red in the face angry at the typical answer I got, “That’s just the way things are.” I found it completely unacceptable. I was certain that there had to be a reason and, if I could find out the reason, I could do something to make it better. I have suffered most of my life from trauma related mental illness and maladaptive behaviors like addiction. I became too sick to be of service to anyone and lost the ability to even care to ask “why,” and the angry little girl who only wanted to help went into hiding. Now that I’ve found some relief from much of that suffering in recovery, that incredulous little girl inside me is awake again. She is wiping the sleep from her eyes, yawning and stretching her way into this life, this new adult me. This new awakening rekindled the fire to question everything. So, to welcome her home, I’m in school to give her a voice, to give her the tools she begged for when we were little, to give us the right to use the power we were born to wield, to do some good, to help. My goal as a social worker is to mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). I believe the answer is in universal prevention programs that take a child from kindergarten all the way through to high school graduation. Politicians will say “we can’t afford to do this,” I intend to compile enough evidence that will prove we can’t afford not to.