Mental health affects everyone, whether directly or knowing someone who has struggled or even a friend of a friend. From when I was a little kid, from when I was born to around age 5, I always had an optimistic view of the world, and I could do big things if I reached it. That mindset started to change when I developed nightmare problems and became afraid of everything. Parents don't always listen to a little kid complaining about being sad or not feeling like they're ever going to get better because it's commonly associated with a "phase" kids go through. When a little kid cries, it is always me throwing a temper tantrum, not feeling valid emotions every kid goes through to learn more about themselves and the world. Over time, my fears and hopes for my future were never repaired, and it became a concern to my doctor. She told my mother to schedule an appointment with a counselor, which I often reminded her to do. She said she would do it but never ended up doing it. As a young kid, I felt like my feelings weren't valid enough, and I had to be independent and not rely on others to help me. I felt like I was on my own. Not to mention, I've had a family history of mental illness on my mom's side, so the fact that she would avoid obvious signs hurt me when I made this realization. My mom's mother, aka my Grammy, had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her inability to walk or do anything on her own anymore. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals and want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech and, hopefully, work up to running an animal shelter one day. When middle school came around, my mental health issues started to show to others around me, but people have not picked up on my struggles even after years of repetitive behaviors. 5th grade was my first year of middle school. I was always a pretty good student, but I had a hard time motivating myself to do the work, but I was capable of it. In my science class, I often became frustrated with the immense workload compared to middle school. When I became frustrated, I would hit my head on the desk because I didn't know how to process my emotions. In 6th grade, the self-destructive behaviors turned into digging my nails into my arms and worsened over the years into 7th and 8th grade. During those years, teachers took my behaviors as attention-seeking, and I often got in trouble with detentions or calls home. All of these were met with scoldings from my parents, only solidifying the continuation of those behaviors. The friends I made in middle school were much like me, except we were all still a bit immature and naive, so some of them didn't realize that self-destructive behaviors were not something to show off or be proud of. And it certainly wasn't something to brag about, especially regarding people's traumatic experiences. I continue to struggle with self-harming behaviors and have been working on stopping those habits as much as possible. I didn't get my first therapist until 10th grade when I was 15 after I had the courage AGAIN to ask my mom for a therapist after many failed attempts. My views on the world have significantly changed from all my experiences, especially now that I am getting mental health care and have been given diagnoses to finally confirm my suspicions that people previously denied all my life. I won't put it lightly; my view of the world as a whole is much more pessimistic than when I was young, but I also think everyone ends up that way over time and more and more things affect their personality growth. Now that I'm a senior in high school, I've made great friends, have a loving partner of six months, and continue to work on my mental health every day and try my best to push through my daily conflicts. My mom has also improved in understanding and listening to my mental health concerns. Over time, she became very supportive and tried to help me out, even if she was not the most educated in that area. My experiences with mental health have also significantly impacted my career aspirations because of how I was raised. As I mentioned before, my Grammy suffered from multiple sclerosis and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. She's why I became so attached to animals, and I found it easier to empathize with animals and relate to their emotions and how they felt neglected too. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They cannot communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake for one another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences connected me with animals, which is how I figured out what I was most passionate about and what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing, which motivates me.

My Grammy had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her inability to walk or do anything independently. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals, and I want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech and, hopefully, work up to running an animal shelter one day. She had cats for my entire life, and it was also because of her that I got my first cat, Sparky. My major will be veterinary technician and business to achieve my goals. In 2012, my Grammy had to stay at a hospital for a while for surgery, and she had three cats. With no one to watch the kitties while she was gone, my parents opted to bring the cats to our house to watch them for over a week. I was only about seven years old at the time, but I immediately fell in love with having animals to take care of and being in their company. When my Grammy was healed and ready to go back home, she made a request to my parents. Sparky was what we called a "spirit cat," which is a cat that prefers the company of other animals rather than humans and is often much shyer. Sparky would often hide, and it was hard for Grammy to take care of him and give him the attention she needed when she was constantly stuck in bed. My Grammy asked my parents if we would take Sparky and keep him, which they reluctantly agreed to. From then on, I knew having cats and taking care of animals would be the thing I wanted to fight for and give animals better fighting chances at life. I want to be able to fight for animal rights, ban animals fighting in different areas, ban breeding mills because of their poor living conditions, and focus more on the nonprofit organizations that focus their goals on helping homeless animals and their families. My experiences with loss have also greatly impacted my career aspirations. As I mentioned before, my Grammy suffered from multiple sclerosis and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. My Grammy passed away on May 8th, 2019, and it was one of the most heartbreaking losses I've ever had to cope with, and I've lost many family members in my lifetime. Her being there for animals despite everything she had been through gave me the motivation to push myself to work with animals more. She would be proud to see me now, working at a cat shelter, where I had adopted out and found homes for hundreds of cats and have fostered about 80 cats and kittens from them in the last four years when I was just a volunteer. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They cannot communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake for one another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences connected me with animals, which is how I figured out what I was most passionate about and what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing, which motivates me.

Later in life, I plan to run an animal shelter to give animals the homes they deserve. I currently work at a cat shelter called Here Today Adopted Tomorrow in Brimfield, Massachusetts. I've been volunteering there since I was 11 years old, and when I turned 16 they hired me as a shelter tech. Working with shelters from such a young age has given me a passion for working with animals and helping families who struggle to afford food or care for their animals. As a shelter tech, I would do the more thorough cleaning shifts in the mornings, process adoptions, counsel adoptions with the general public, manage spay/neuter appointment payments, and provide different types of medical care for the cats. Medical attention can vary greatly; it can be giving microchips, dewormers, flea medication, drawing blood, giving subcutaneous fluids, or any liquid or pill-form medication. I also supervise volunteers during the cleaning shifts because help is needed oftentimes. I've worked to influence change in my community from my work at the shelter and other volunteering I do. I work for the shelter, assisting with our pet food pantry. Our pantry is a program where we use excess donations and additional pet food to give to low-income families who struggle to afford pet food. Every two weeks we make bags for people who have signed up with free pet food and other supplies, we get as needed by our clients. We also offer free TNR(Trap, neuter, return) for feral cat colonies to prevent the number of feral and stray cats in the surrounding towns of the shelter. All spay/neuter operations for ferals are free of cost, and for people's owned cats, we offer low-cost options of $60 or less, which is a vast difference compared to what the surgery costs would be if you just brought your cats to the vet. All of these things have made a huge difference in the towns surrounding the shelter, and I plan to continue to do this type of work for people struggling financially but still wanting to own animals. I believe anyone who wants to should be able to own animals, regardless of their financial status. I want to continue to work with animal shelters to make programs like this much more common so low-income people can get the help they need because everyone should be able to have pets and love them. I believe I am deserving of this scholarship because I will use the money to further my education in Veterinary Technician and Business management. Learning how tor un a shelter will allow me to make the great impact on my local community that I strive to do.

I believe my leadership qualities make me stand out, especially with the community service I've done and what I do for my local community. I'm passionate about making changes in the environment and for things related to my desired career path, which is Veterinary technology. It was my idea to volunteer for an animal shelter, so my mom looked into it and saw a small cat shelter called Here Today Adopted Tomorrow in Brimfield, Massachusetts, that looked like a great fit. They only adopted our cats but were also cage-free so that cats could roam around on their own accord. We started volunteering by working during adoption hours and assisting those looking for cats to adopt. Then we would help with the end-of-day cleaning routine, such as litter boxes and feeding. About a year later, at 12 years old, my parents decided I was old and mature enough to foster cats and kittens for the shelter. To this day, I have fostered over 80 cats and kittens, including those with injuries that need medical attention, pregnant cats, newborn kittens, and semi-feral kittens. I continued volunteering every Saturday at the shelter from 2016 to 2021 until they offered me a job as a shelter tech. As a shelter tech, I would do the more thorough cleaning shifts in the mornings, process adoptions, counsel adoptions with the general public, manage spay/neuter appointment payments, and provide different types of medical care for the cats. Medical attention can vary greatly; it can be giving microchips, dewormers, flea medication, drawing blood, giving subcutaneous fluids, or any liquid or pill-form medication. I also supervise volunteers during the cleaning shifts because help is needed oftentimes. I've worked to influence change in my community from my work at the shelter and other volunteering I do. I work for the shelter, assisting with our pet food pantry. Our pantry is a program where we use excess donations and additional pet food to give to low-income families who struggle to afford pet food. Every two weeks, we make bags for people who have signed up with free pet food and other supplies, we get as needed by our clients. We also offer free TNR(Trap, neuter, return) for feral cat colonies to prevent the number of feral and stray cats in the surrounding towns of the shelter. All spay/neuter operations for ferals are free of cost, and for people's owned cats, we offer low-cost options of $60 or less, which is a vast difference compared to what the surgery costs would be if you just brought your cats to the vet. All of these things have made a huge difference in the towns surrounding the shelter, and I plan to continue to do this type of work for people struggling financially but still wanting to own animals. I believe anyone who wants to should be able to own animals, regardless of their financial status. I plan to address social issues relating to my career by trying to shut down non-ethical breeding facilities for animals in the future and hope to give as many homes as possible to shelters that euthanize animals that have been there too long. I plan to protest the allowance of breeding mills that aren't checked to make sure the animals are well taken care of and given all required vaccinations before being sold to owners.

It was my idea to volunteer for an animal shelter, so my mom looked into it and saw a small cat shelter called Here Today Adopted Tomorrow in Brimfield, Massachusetts, that looked like a great fit. They only adopted our cats but were also cage-free so that cats could roam around on their own accord. We started volunteering by working during adoption hours and assisting those looking for cats to adopt. Then we would help with the end-of-day cleaning routine, such as litter boxes and feeding. About a year later, at 12 years old, my parents decided I was old and mature enough to foster cats and kittens for the shelter. To this day, I have fostered over 80 cats and kittens, including those with injuries that need medical attention, pregnant cats, newborn kittens, and semi-feral kittens. I continued volunteering every Saturday at the shelter from 2016 to 2021 until they offered me a job as a shelter tech. As a shelter tech, I would do the more thorough cleaning shifts in the mornings, process adoptions, counsel adoptions with the general public, manage spay/neuter appointment payments, and provide different types of medical care for the cats. Medical attention can vary greatly; it can be giving microchips, dewormers, flea medication, drawing blood, giving subcutaneous fluids, or any liquid or pill-form medication. I also supervise volunteers during the cleaning shifts because help is needed oftentimes. I've worked to influence change in my community from my work at the shelter and other volunteering I do. I work for the shelter, assisting with our pet food pantry. Our pantry is a program where we use excess donations and additional pet food to give to low-income families who struggle to afford pet food. Every two weeks, we make bags for people who have signed up with free pet food and other supplies we get as needed by our clients. We also offer free TNR(Trap, neuter, return) for feral cat colonies to prevent the number of feral and stray cats in the surrounding towns of the shelter. All spay/neuter operations for ferals are free of cost, and for people's owned cats, we offer low-cost options of $60 or less, which is a vast difference compared to what the surgery costs would be if you just brought your cats to the vet. All of these things have made a huge difference in the towns surrounding the shelter, and I plan to continue to do this type of work for people struggling financially but still wanting to own animals. I believe anyone who wants to should be able to own animals, regardless of their financial status. My experiences with loss have also greatly impacted my career aspirations. My Grammy suffered from multiple sclerosis and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. She passed away on May 8th, 2019, and it was one of the most heartbreaking losses I've ever had to cope with. Her being there for animals despite everything she had been through gave me the motivation to push myself to work with animals more. She would be proud to see me now, working at a cat shelter, where I had adopted out and found homes for hundreds of cats and have fostered about 80 cats and kittens from them in the last five years when I was just a volunteer. My personal experiences connected me with animals, which is how I figured out what I was most passionate about and what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing, which motivates me.

My Grammy had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her inability to walk or do anything independently. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals, and I want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech and, hopefully, work up to running an animal shelter one day. She had cats for my entire life, and it was also because of her that I got my first cat, Sparky. My major will be veterinary technician and business to achieve my goals. In 2012, my Grammy had to stay at a hospital for a while for surgery, and she had three cats. With no one to watch the kitties while she was gone, my parents opted to bring the cats to our house to watch them for over a week. I was only about seven years old at the time, but I immediately fell in love with having animals to take care of and being in their company. When my Grammy was healed and ready to go back home, she made a request to my parents. Sparky was what we called a "spirit cat," which is a cat that prefers the company of other animals rather than humans and is often much shyer. Sparky would often hide, and it was hard for Grammy to take care of him and give him the attention she needed when she was constantly stuck in bed. My Grammy asked my parents if we would take Sparky and keep him, which they reluctantly agreed to. From then on, I knew having cats and taking care of animals would be the thing I wanted to fight for and give animals better fighting chances at life. I want to be able to fight for animal rights, ban animals fighting in different areas, ban breeding mills because of their poor living conditions, and focus more on the nonprofit organizations that focus their goals on helping homeless animals and their families. My experiences with loss have also greatly impacted my career aspirations. As I mentioned before, my Grammy suffered from multiple sclerosis and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. My Grammy passed away on May 8th, 2019, and it was one of the most heartbreaking losses I've ever had to cope with, and I've lost many family members in my lifetime. Her being there for animals despite everything she had been through gave me the motivation to push myself to work with animals more. She would be proud to see me now, working at a cat shelter, where I had adopted out and found homes for hundreds of cats and have fostered about 80 cats and kittens from them in the last four years when I was just a volunteer. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They cannot communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake for one another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences connected me with animals, which is how I figured out what I was most passionate about and what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing, which motivates me.

From when I was a little kid, from when I was born to around age 5, I always had an optimistic view of the world, and I could do big things if I reached it. That mindset started to change when I developed nightmare problems and became afraid of everything. Parents don't always listen to a little kid complaining about being sad or not feeling like they're ever going to get better because it's commonly associated with a "phase" kids go through. Over time, my fears and hopes for my future never were repaired, and it became a concern to my doctor. She told my mother to schedule an appointment with a counselor, which I often reminded her to do. She said she would do it but never ended up doing that. As a young kid, I felt like my feelings weren't valid enough, and I had to be independent and not rely on others to help me. I felt like I was on my own. Not to mention I've had a family history of mental illness on my mom's side, so the fact that she would avoid obvious signs hurt me when I made this realization. My mom's mother had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her inability to walk or do anything on her own anymore. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals and want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech and, hopefully, work up to running an animal shelter one day. When middle school came around, my mental health issues started to show to others around me. In my science class, I often became frustrated with the immense workload compared to middle school. When I became frustrated, I would hit my head on the desk because I didn't know how to process my emotions. In 6th grade, the self-destructive behaviors turned into digging my nails into my arms and worsened over the years into 7th and 8th grade. During those years, teachers took my behaviors as attention-seeking, and I often got in trouble with detentions or calls home. All of these were met with scoldings from my parents, only solidifying the continuation of those behaviors. The friends I made in middle school were much like me, except we were all still a bit immature and naive, so some of them didn't realize that self-destructive behaviors were not something to show off or be proud of. And it certainly wasn't something to brag about, especially regarding people's traumatic experiences. I continue to struggle with self-harming behaviors and suicidal thoughts and have been working on stopping those habits as much as possible. I didn't get my first therapist until 10th grade when I was 15, after I had the courage AGAIN to ask my mom for a therapist after many failed attempts. At 17 years old, I have three therapists, one being a primary therapist, a trauma specialist, and a practical medicine specialist in anxiety management. I won't put it lightly; my view of the world as a whole is much more pessimistic than when I was young, but I also think everyone ends up that way over time, and more and more things affect their personality growth. Now that I'm a senior in high school, I've made great friends, have a loving partner of nearly a year, and continue to work on my mental health every day

I myself consider myself unique because I aim to help local businesses and aid in animal shelters. It was my idea to volunteer for an animal shelter, so my mom looked into it and saw a small cat shelter called Here Today Adopted Tomorrow in Brimfield, Massachusetts, that looked like a great fit. They only adopted our cats but were also cage-free so that cats could roam around on their own accord. We started volunteering by working during adoption hours and assisting those looking for cats to adopt. Then we would help with the end-of-day cleaning routine, such as litter boxes and feeding. About a year later, at 12 years old, my parents decided I was old and mature enough to foster cats and kittens for the shelter. To this day, I have fostered over 80 cats and kittens, including those with injuries that need medical attention, pregnant cats, newborn kittens, and semi-feral kittens. I continued volunteering every Saturday at the shelter from 2016 to 2021 until they offered me a job as a shelter tech. As a shelter tech, I would do the more thorough cleaning shifts in the mornings, process adoptions, counsel adoptions with the general public, manage spay/neuter appointment payments, and provide different types of medical care for the cats. Medical attention can vary greatly; it can be giving microchips, dewormers, flea medication, drawing blood, giving subcutaneous fluids, or any liquid or pill-form medication. I also supervise volunteers during the cleaning shifts because help is needed oftentimes. I've worked to influence change in my community from my work at the shelter and other volunteering I do. I work for the shelter, assisting with our pet food pantry. Our pantry is a program where we use excess donations and additional pet food to give to low-income families who struggle to afford pet food. Every two weeks, we make bags for people who have signed up with free pet food and other supplies, we get as needed by our clients. We also offer free TNR(Trap, neuter, return) for feral cat colonies to prevent the number of feral and stray cats in the surrounding towns of the shelter. All spay/neuter operations for ferals are free of cost, and for people's owned cats, we offer low-cost options of $60 or less, which is a vast difference compared to what the surgery costs would be if you just brought your cats to the vet. All of these things have made a huge difference in the towns surrounding the shelter, and I plan to continue to do this type of work for people struggling financially but still wanting to own animals. I believe anyone who wants to should be able to own animals, regardless of their financial status.

My name is Lauren Vaill; I'm a trans masc AFAB that uses they/them and he/him pronouns. My most immense passion is for animals, and I aim to spend my life doing everything in my power to give back to them and give animals the best lives possible. This scholarship would help me get closer to achieving my goal of helping animals for the rest of my life and assist me in my education I'm currently 17 years old, but I've been volunteering since I was 11. It was my idea to volunteer for an animal shelter, so my mom looked into it and saw a small cat shelter called Here Today Adopted Tomorrow in Brimfield, Massachusetts, that looked like a great fit. They only adopted out cats but were also cage-free so that cats could roam around on their own accord. We started volunteering by working during adoption hours and assisting those looking for cats to adopt. Then we would help with the end-of-day cleaning routine, such as litter boxes and feeding. I continued volunteering every Saturday at the shelter from 2016 to 2021 until they offered me a job as a shelter tech. As a shelter tech, I would do the more thorough cleaning shifts in the mornings, process adoptions, counsel adoptions with the general public, manage spay/neuter appointment payments, and provide different types of medical care for the cats. Medical attention can vary greatly; it can be giving microchips, dewormers, flea medication, drawing blood, giving subcutaneous fluids, or any liquid or pill-form medication. I also supervise volunteers during the cleaning shifts because help is needed oftentimes. My major going into college will be veterinary technicians. Similar to my job now, it's like being a nurse for animals.

My Grammy had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her inability to walk or do anything independently. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats. Because of her, I discovered my devotion to animals and want to work with aiding them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech and, hopefully, work up to running an animal shelter one day. I grew up without any cats in my household, but my Grammy had three, and she inspired me to want to work with animals, so I asked my mother if we could volunteer for an animal shelter. It was my idea to volunteer for an animal shelter, so my mom looked into it and saw a small cat shelter called Here Today Adopted Tomorrow in Brimfield, Massachusetts, that looked like a great fit. They only adopted our cats but were also cage-free so that cats could roam around on their own accord. We started volunteering by working during adoption hours and assisting those looking for cats to adopt. Then we would help with the end-of-day cleaning routine, such as litter boxes and feeding. About a year later, at 12 years old, my parents decided I was old and mature enough to foster cats and kittens for the shelter. To this day, I have fostered over 80 cats and kittens, including those with injuries that need medical attention, pregnant cats, newborn kittens, and semi-feral kittens. I continued volunteering every Saturday at the shelter from 2016 to 2021 until they offered me a job as a shelter tech. As a shelter tech, I would do the more thorough cleaning shifts in the mornings, process adoptions, counsel adoptions with the general public, manage spay/neuter appointment payments, and provide different types of medical care for the cats. Medical attention can vary greatly; it can be giving microchips, dewormers, flea medication, drawing blood, giving subcutaneous fluids, or any liquid or pill-form medicines. I also supervise volunteers during the cleaning shifts because help is needed frequently. I've worked to influence change in my community from my work at the shelter and other volunteering I do. I work for the shelter, assisting with our pet food pantry. Our pantry is a program where we use excess donations and additional pet food to give to low-income families who struggle to afford pet food. Every two weeks we make bags for people who have signed up with free pet food and other supplies, we get as needed by our clients. We also offer free TNR(Trap, neuter, return) for feral cat colonies to prevent the number of wild and stray cats in the surrounding towns of the shelter. All spay/neuter operations for ferals are free of cost, and for people's owned cats, we offer low-cost options of $60 or less, which is a vast difference compared to what the surgery costs would be if you just brought your cats to the vet. All of these things have made a considerable difference in the towns surrounding the shelter, and I plan to continue to do this type of work for people struggling financially but still wanting to own animals. I believe anyone who wants to should be able to own animals, regardless of their financial status.

My name is Lauren Vaill; I'm a trans masc AFAB that uses they/them and he/him pronouns. I started my transition with hormone replacement therapy about ten months ago, and I plan on getting top surgery to feel the most androgynous or masculine I want to be. My most immense passion is for animals, and I aim to spend my life doing everything in my power to give back to them and give animals the best lives possible. I'm currently 17 years old, but I've been volunteering since I was 11. It was my idea to volunteer for an animal shelter, so my mom looked into it and saw a small cat shelter called Here Today Adopted Tomorrow in Brimfield, Massachusetts, that looked like a great fit. They only adopted out cats but were also cage-free so that cats could roam around on their own accord. We started volunteering by working during adoption hours and assisting those looking for cats to adopt. Then we would help with the end-of-day cleaning routine, such as litter boxes and feeding. About a year later, at 12 years old, my parents decided I was old and mature enough to foster cats and kittens for the shelter. To this day, I have fostered over 80 cats and kittens, including those with injuries that need medical attention, pregnant cats, newborn kittens, and semi-feral kittens. I continued volunteering every Saturday at the shelter from 2016 to 2021 until they offered me a job as a shelter tech. As a shelter tech, I would do the more thorough cleaning shifts in the mornings, process adoptions, counsel adoptions with the general public, manage spay/neuter appointment payments, and provide different types of medical care for the cats. Medical attention can vary greatly; it can be giving microchips, dewormers, flea medication, drawing blood, giving subcutaneous fluids, or any liquid or pill-form medication. I also supervise volunteers during the cleaning shifts because help is needed oftentimes. My major going into college will be veterinary technicians. Similar to my job now, it's like being a nurse for animals. My experiences with loss have also significantly impacted my career aspirations because of my upbringing. My Grammy suffered from multiple sclerosis and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. She's why I became so attached to animals, and I found it easier to empathize with animals and relate to their emotions. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals and want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech and, hopefully, work up to running an animal shelter one day. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They cannot communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake for one another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences connected me with animals, which is how I figured out what I was most passionate about and wanted to spend the rest of my life doing.

My Grammy had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her inability to walk or do anything independently. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals, and I want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech and, hopefully, work up to running an animal shelter one day. She had cats for my entire life, and it was also because of her that I got my first cat, Sparky. My major will be veterinary technician and business to achieve my goals. In 2012, my Grammy had to stay at a hospital for a while for surgery, and she had three cats. With no one to watch the kitties while she was gone, my parents opted to bring the cats to our house to watch them for over a week. I was only about seven years old at the time, but I immediately fell in love with having animals to take care of and being in their company. When my Grammy was healed and ready to go back home, she made a request to my parents. Sparky was what we called a "spirit cat," which is a cat that prefers the company of other animals rather than humans and is often much shyer. Sparky would often hide, and it was hard for Grammy to take care of him and give him the attention she needed when she was constantly stuck in bed. My Grammy asked my parents if we would take Sparky and keep him, which they reluctantly agreed to. From then on, I knew having cats and taking care of animals would be the thing I wanted to fight for and give animals better fighting chances at life. I want to be able to fight for animal rights, ban animals fighting in different areas, ban breeding mills because of their poor living conditions, and focus more on the nonprofit organizations that focus their goals on helping homeless animals and their families. My experiences with loss have also greatly impacted my career aspirations. As I mentioned before, my Grammy suffered from multiple sclerosis and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. My Grammy passed away on May 8th, 2019, and it was one of the most heartbreaking losses I've ever had to cope with, and I've lost many family members in my lifetime. Her being there for animals despite everything she had been through gave me the motivation to push myself to work with animals more. She would be proud to see me now, working at a cat shelter, where I had adopted out and found homes for hundreds of cats and have fostered about 80 cats and kittens from them in the last four years when I was just a volunteer. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They cannot communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake for one another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences connected me with animals, which is how I figured out what I was most passionate about and what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing, which motivates me.

Mental health affects everyone, whether directly or knowing someone who has struggled or even a friend of a friend. From when I was a little kid, from when I was born to around age 5, I always had an optimistic view of the world, and I could do big things if I reached it. That mindset started to change when I developed nightmare problems and became afraid of everything. Parents don't always listen to a little kid complaining about being sad or not feeling like they're ever going to get better because it's commonly associated with a "phase" kids go through. When a little kid cries, it is always me throwing a temper tantrum, not feeling valid emotions every kid goes through to learn more about themselves and the world. Over time, my fears and hopes for my future never were repaired, and it became a concern to my doctor. She told my mother to schedule an appointment with a counselor, which I often reminded her to do. She said she would do it but never ended up doing that. As a young kid, I felt like my feelings weren't valid enough, and I had to be independent and not rely on others to help me. I felt like I was on my own. Not to mention I've had a family history of mental illness on my mom's side, so the fact that she would avoid obvious signs hurt me when I made this realization. My mom's mother, aka my Grammy, had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her inability to walk or do anything on her own anymore. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals and want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech and, hopefully, work up to running an animal shelter one day. When middle school came around, my mental health issues started to show to others around me, but people have not picked up on my struggles even after years of repetitive behaviors. 5th grade was my first year of middle school. I was always a pretty good student, but I had a hard time motivating myself to do the work, but I was capable of it. In my science class, I often became frustrated with the immense workload compared to middle school. When I became frustrated, I would hit my head on the desk because I didn't know how to process my emotions. In 6th grade, the self-destructive behaviors turned into digging my nails into my arms and worsened over the years into 7th and 8th grade. During those years, teachers took my behaviors as attention-seeking, and I often got in trouble with detentions or calls home. All of these were met with scoldings from my parents, only solidifying the continuation of those behaviors. The friends I made in middle school were much like me, except we were all still a bit immature and naive, so some of them didn't realize that self-destructive behaviors were not something to show off or be proud of. And it certainly wasn't something to brag about, especially regarding people's traumatic experiences. I continue to struggle with self-harming behaviors and have been working on stopping those habits as much as possible. I didn't get my first therapist until 10th grade when I was 15 after I had the courage AGAIN to ask my mom for a therapist after many failed attempts. At 17 years old, I have three therapists, one being a primary therapist, a trauma specialist, and a practical medicine specialist in anxiety management. My views on the world have significantly changed from all my experiences, especially now that I am getting mental health care and have been given diagnoses to finally confirm my suspicions that people previously denied all my life. I won't put it lightly; my view of the world as a whole is much more pessimistic than when I was young, but I also think everyone ends up that way over time and more and more things affect their personality growth. Now that I'm a senior in high school, I've made great friends, have a loving partner of six months, and continue to work on my mental health every day and try my best to push through my daily conflicts. My mom has also improved in understanding and listening to my mental health concerns. Over time, she became very supportive and tried to help me out, even if she was not the most educated in that area. My experiences with mental health have also significantly impacted my career aspirations because of how I was raised. As I mentioned before, my Grammy suffered from multiple sclerosis and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. She's why I became so attached to animals, and I found it easier to empathize with animals and relate to their emotions and how they felt neglected too. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They cannot communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake for one another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences connected me with animals, which is how I figured out what I was most passionate about and what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing, which motivates me.

I am pursuing a degree in veterinary technician, to fulfill my passion for helping animals and their families in need. I've been working with a nonprofit, no-kill, no=cge cat shelter in a small town in Brimfield Massachusetts for about a year and a half now, but before I was an employee I was a volunteer with them for about five years. Working with animals, getting them adopted, cleaning the shelter, and giving proper medical care when needed showed me how all aspects of science majors are extremely important for those pursuing it and for society. Helping animals is extremely important for society, because animals are mistreated in so many areas of the world, and people need to see that animals can feel the same emotions we have and are allowed to be treated with respect just like any person would be. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They aren't able to communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake one for another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). Most people won't recognize these signs or will just simply ignore them, and it's my mission to make people more empathetic towards animals because it makes them more empathetic people in general. It helps the overall well-being of society by making people more caring, compassionate, and empathetic toward others. This results in people understanding each other, recognizing our differences and being proud of them, rather than judging each other for our differences.

I'm pursuing a career in vet tech and business to fulfill my want to help animals and contribute to animal welfare in any way possible. I aspire to become a vet tech, and hopefully work up to running an animal shelter one day. My Grammy suffered from multiple sclerosis, and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. She's the reason I became so attached to animals, and why I found it easier to empathize with animals and relate to their emotions and how they felt neglected too. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They aren't able to communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake one for another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences really connected me with animals, which is how I figured out what I was most passionate about and what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, which gives me motivation. Diversity in the workplace is extremely important to me because it shows the place you are working for really cares about the wellbeing of the employees. They want to make sure everyone is comfortable by feeling included and having people of all sorts of different identities, sexualities, and ethnicities in the workplace.

I'm pursuing a college degree to fulfill my devotion to helping animals and animal welfare. I aspire to become a vet tech, and hopefully work up to running an animal shelter one day. My experiences with mental health have significantly influenced my career aspirations because of how I was raised. My Grammy suffered from multiple sclerosis, and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. She suffered from depression from her illness, which I also suffer from. She's the reason I became so attached to animals, and why I found it easier to empathize with animals and relate to their emotions and how they felt neglected too. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They aren't able to communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake one for another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being wary of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My unique experiences connected me with animals, which is how I figured out what I was most passionate about and what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, which gives me motivation.

It's important that we understand the world and universe better to grow as people and become an overall better person. Each person has their own unique experiences, and even just learning someone's somewhat small world can change your views as a person, improve your empathy, and really give you a better shot at a happier life when you understand and relate to other people's experiences. When I was a little kid, from when I was born to around age 5, I always had an optimistic view on the world, and that I could do big things if I reached for it. That mindset started to change when I developed nightmare problems, and became afraid of everything. Parents don't always listen to a little kid complaining about being sad or not feeling like they're ever going to get better because it's commonly associated with a "phase" kids go through. When a little kid cries, it was always me throwing a temper tantrum, not feeling valid emotions every kid goes through to learn more about themselves and the world. Over time, my fears and hopes for my future never repaired on their own, and it became a concern to my doctor. She told my mother to schedule an appointment with a counselor, which I reminded her to do many times. She said she would do it, but never ended up doing that. As such a young kid, I felt like my feelings weren't valid enough and I had to be independent and not rely on others to help me. I felt like I was on my own. Not to mention I've had a family history of mental illness on my mom's side, so the fact that she would avoid obvious signs hurt me when I made this realization. My mom's mother, aka my Grammy, had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her not being able to walk or do anything on her own anymore. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats at the time. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals and that I want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech, and hopefully work up to running an animal shelter one day. When middle school came around, my mental health issues started to really show to other around me, but people yet to pick up my struggles even after years of repetitive behaviors. 5th grade was my first year of middle school. I was always a pretty good student, but I hard time motivating myself to do the work, but I was capable of it. In my science class, I often became frustrated with the large work load compared to middle school. When I became frustrated, I would hit my head on the desk because I didn't know how to process my emotions. In 6th grade, the self destructive behaviors turned into digging my nails into my arms, and worsened over the years into 7th and 8th grade. During those years teachers took my behaviors as attention seeking, and I often got in trouble with detentions or calls home. All of which were met by scoldings from my parents, only solidifying the continuation of those behaviors. The friends I made in middle school were much like me, except we were all still a bit immature and naive, so some of them didn't realize that self destructive behaviors were not something to show off or be proud of. And it certainly wasn't something to brag about, especially when it comes to people traumatic experiences. Now I continue to struggle with self-harming behaviors and have been working on stopping those habits as much as possible. I didn't get my first therapist until 10th grade when I was 15, after I had the courage AGAIN to ask my mom for a therapist after many failed attempts. To this day, which me at 17 years old, I have three therapists, one being a basic therapist, a trauma specialist, and a practical medicine specialist in anxiety management. My views on the world have greatly changed from all my experiences, especially now that I am getting mental health care and have been given diagnoses to finally confirm my suspicions that people previously denied all my life. I won't put it lightly, my view on the world as a whole is much more pessimistic than when I was young, but I also think everyone ends up that way over time and more and more things affect their personality growth. Now that I'm a senior in high school, I've made great friends, have a loving partner of six months now, and continue to work on my mental health everyday and try my best to push through my daily conflicts. My mom has also gotten better with understanding me and listening to my mental health concerns. Over time, she actually became very supportive and tries her best to help me out, even if she's not the most educated in that area. My experiences with mental health have also greatly impacted my career aspirations because of how I was raised. As i mentioned before, my Grammy suffered form multiple sclerosis, and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. She's the reason I became so attached to animals, and why I found it easier to empathize with animals and relate to their emotions and who they felt neglected too. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They aren't able to communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake one for another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences really connected me with animals, which is how i figured out what I was most passionate about and what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, which gives me motivation.

College excited me the most because of the reasons i decided to pursue the career I did. My mom's mother, aka my Grammy, had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her not being able to walk or do anything on her own anymore. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats at the time. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals and that I want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech, and hopefully work up to running an animal shelter one day. I didn't get my first therapist until 10th grade when I was 15, after I had the courage AGAIN to ask my mom for a therapist after many failed attempts. To this day, which me at 17 years old, I have three therapists, one being a basic therapist, a trauma specialist, and a practical medicine specialist in anxiety management. My views on the world have greatly changed from all my experiences, especially now that I am getting mental health care and have been given diagnoses to finally confirm my suspicions that people previously denied all my life. I won't put it lightly, my view on the world as a whole is much more pessimistic than when I was young, but I also think everyone ends up that way over time and more and more things affect their personality growth. Now that I'm a senior in high school, I've made great friends, have a loving partner of six months now, and continue to work on my mental health everyday and try my best to push through my daily conflicts. My mom has also gotten better with understanding me and listening to my mental health concerns. Over time, she actually became very supportive and tries her best to help me out, even if she's not the most educated in that area. My experiences with mental health have also greatly impacted my career aspirations because of how I was raised. As i mentioned before, my Grammy suffered form multiple sclerosis, and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. She's the reason I became so attached to animals, and why I found it easier to empathize with animals and relate to their emotions and who they felt neglected too. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They aren't able to communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake one for another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences really connected me with animals, which is how i figured out what I was most passionate about and what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, which gives me motivation.

I've spent all of my life working with animals in different ways. When I was born, my parents already had a pet guinea pig, which they originally got for my older brother, but I fell in love with it at a young age. I've never not had guinea pigs in my life now, and in fact I have four boys right now that I love so much. I also gained a love for cats from my Grandmother and her experience with animals. I currently work at Here Today Adopted Tomorrow, which is a nonprofit cat shelter in Brimfield Massachusetts. I had starting volunteering there at age 11, and was hired by them when I was 16. My experiences with mental health have greatly impacted my career aspirations because of how I was raised. My mom's mother, or my Grammy, suffered from multiple sclerosis and depression from her disability. She often found joy in visiting with family and in her animals, which were her three cats at the time. She's the reason I became so attached to animals, and why I found it easier to empathize with animals and relate to their emotions and who they felt neglected too. After she passed away in 2019, I was much more motivated to do with animals what my Grammy was physically incapable of doing. I found my passion for animals and that I want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech, and hopefully work up to running an animal shelter one day. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They aren't able to communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake one for another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences really connected me with animals, which is how I figured out what I was most passionate about and what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, which gives me motivation.

My mom's mother, aka my Grammy, had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her not being able to walk or do anything on her own anymore. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats at the time. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals and that I want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech, and hopefully work up to running an animal shelter one day. She had cats for my entire life, and it was also because of her that i got my first cat, Sparky. Back in 2012 my Grammy had to stay at a hospital for a while for a surgery, and she had three cats at the time. Lucy, a gray tabby, Jimmy, an orange tabby, and Sparky, a black and white tuxedo cat. With no one to watch the kitties while she was gone, my parents opted to bring the cats to our house to watch them for a bit over a week. I was only about 7 years old at the time, but i immediately fell in love with just having animals to take care of and be in their company. By the time my Grammy was healed and ready to go back home, she put in a request to my parents. Sparky was what we called a "spirit cat", which is a cat that prefers the company of other animals rather than humans, and are often much more shy. Sparky would often hid and it was hard for Grammy to take care of him and give him the attention she needed when she was constantly stuck in bed. My Grammy asked my parents if we would take Sparky and keep him, which they reluctantly agreed to in the beginning. From then on I knew having cats and taking care of animals would be the thing I wanted to fight for, and give animals better fighting chances at life. I want to be able to fight for animal rights, ban animals fighting in different areas, ban puppy mills or other breeding mills because of their poor living conditions, and focus more on the nonprofit organizations that focus their goals on helping homeless animals and their families. My experiences with loss have also greatly impacted my career aspirations because of how I was raised. As I mentioned before, my Grammy suffered form multiple sclerosis, and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. She's the reason I became so attached to animals, and why I found it easier to empathize with animals and relate to their emotions and who they felt neglected too. My Grammy passed away on May 8th, 2019, and it was one of the most heartbreaking losses I've ever had to cope with, and i've lost many family members in my lifetime. Her being there for animals despite everything she had been through gave me the motivation to really push myself to work with animals more. She would be proud to see me now, working at a cat shelter, where I have adopted out and found homes for hundreds of cats, and have fosters about 80 cats and kittens from them in the last four years when I was just a volunteer. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They aren't able to communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake one for another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences really connected me with animals, which is how i figured out what I was most passionate about and what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, which gives me motivation.

Mental health affects everyone, whether it's directly or knowing someone who has struggled, or even a friend of a friend. When I was a little kid, from when I was born to around age 5, I always had an optimistic view on the world, and that I could do big things if I reached for it. That mindset started to change when I developed nightmare problems, and became afraid of everything. Parents don't always listen to a little kid complaining about being sad or not feeling like they're ever going to get better because it's commonly associated with a "phase" kids go through. When a little kid cries, it was always me throwing a temper tantrum, not feeling valid emotions every kid goes through to learn more about themselves and the world. Over time, my fears and hopes for my future never repaired on their own, and it became a concern to my doctor. She told my mother to schedule an appointment with a counselor, which I reminded her to do many times. She said she would do it, but never ended up doing that. As such a young kid, I felt like my feelings weren't valid enough and I had to be independent and not rely on others to help me. I felt like I was on my own. Not to mention I've had a family history of mental illness on my mom's side, so the fact that she would avoid obvious signs hurt me when I made this realization. My mom's mother, aka my Grammy, had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her not being able to walk or do anything on her own anymore. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats at the time. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals and that I want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech, and hopefully work up to running an animal shelter one day. When middle school came around, my mental health issues started to really show to other around me, but people yet to pick up my struggles even after years of repetitive behaviors. 5th grade was my first year of middle school. I was always a pretty good student, but I hard time motivating myself to do the work, but I was capable of it. In my science class, I often became frustrated with the large work load compared to middle school. When I became frustrated, I would hit my head on the desk because I didn't know how to process my emotions. In 6th grade, the self destructive behaviors turned into digging my nails into my arms, and worsened over the years into 7th and 8th grade. During those years teachers took my behaviors as attention seeking, and I often got in trouble with detentions or calls home. All of which were met by scoldings from my parents, only solidifying the continuation of those behaviors. The friends I made in middle school were much like me, except we were all still a bit immature and naive, so some of them didn't realize that self destructive behaviors were not something to show off or be proud of. And it certainly wasn't something to brag about, especially when it comes to people traumatic experiences. Now I continue to struggle with self-harming behaviors and have been working on stopping those habits as much as possible. I didn't get my first therapist until 10th grade when I was 15, after I had the courage AGAIN to ask my mom for a therapist after many failed attempts. To this day, which me at 17 years old, I have three therapists, one being a basic therapist, a trauma specialist, and a practical medicine specialist in anxiety management. My views on the world have greatly changed from all my experiences, especially now that I am getting mental health care and have been given diagnoses to finally confirm my suspicions that people previously denied all my life. I won't put it lightly, my view on the world as a whole is much more pessimistic than when I was young, but I also think everyone ends up that way over time and more and more things affect their personality growth. Now that I'm a senior in high school, I've made great friends, have a loving partner of six months now, and continue to work on my mental health everyday and try my best to push through my daily conflicts. My mom has also gotten better with understanding me and listening to my mental health concerns. Over time, she actually became very supportive and tries her best to help me out, even if she's not the most educated in that area. My experiences with mental health have also greatly impacted my career aspirations because of how I was raised. As i mentioned before, my Grammy suffered form multiple sclerosis, and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. She's the reason I became so attached to animals, and why I found it easier to empathize with animals and relate to their emotions and who they felt neglected too. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They aren't able to communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake one for another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences really connected me with animals, which is how i figured out what I was most passionate about and what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, which gives me motivation.

Mental health affects everyone, so it's extremely important for people to learn how to take care of themselves mentally. When I was a little kid, from when I was born to around age 5, I always had an optimistic view on the world, and that I could do big things if I reached for it. That mindset started to change when I developed nightmare problems, and became afraid of everything. Parents don't always listen to a little kid complaining about being sad or not feeling like they're ever going to get better because it's commonly associated with a "phase" kids go through. Over time, my fears and hopes for my future never repaired on their own. As such a young kid, I felt like my feelings weren't valid enough and I had to be independent and not rely on others to help me. I felt like I was on my own. Plus I have a family history of mental illness on my mom's side, so the fact that she would avoid obvious signs hurt me when I made this realization. My mom's mother, aka my Grammy, had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats at the time. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals and that I want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech, and hopefully work up to running an animal shelter one day. I didn't get my first therapist until 10th grade when I was 15, after I had the courage AGAIN to ask my mom for a therapist after many failed attempts. To this day, which me at 17 years old, I have three therapists, one being a basic therapist, a trauma specialist, and a practical medicine specialist in anxiety management. My views on the world have greatly changed from all my experiences, especially now that I am getting mental health care and have been given diagnoses to finally confirm my suspicions that people previously denied all my life. I won't put it lightly, my view on the world as a whole is much more pessimistic than when I was young, but I also think everyone ends up that way over time and more and more things affect their personality growth. Now that I'm a senior in high school, I've made great friends, have a loving partner of six months now, and continue to work on my mental health everyday and try my best to push through my daily conflicts. I spend my time trying my best to work on my mental health, by working out to maintain a happy body as well as mind. I try my best to look on the bright side of things no matter how hard it is for me. I'm also on medications my manage my mental illness, because it's gotten so sever at points where It's nearly impossible for me do get tasks done without them, and they help me keep my motivation up.

Mental health affects everyone, whether it's directly or knowing someone who has struggled, or even a friend of a friend. When I was a little kid, from when I was born to around age 5, I always had an optimistic view on the world, and that I could do big things if I reached for it. That mindset started to change when I developed nightmare problems, and became afraid of everything. Parents don't always listen to a little kid complaining about being sad or not feeling like they're ever going to get better because it's commonly associated with a "phase" kids go through. When a little kid cries, it was always me throwing a temper tantrum, not feeling valid emotions every kid goes through to learn more about themselves and the world. Over time, my fears and hopes for my future never repaired on their own, and it became a concern to my doctor. She told my mother to schedule an appointment with a counselor, which I reminded her to do many times. She said she would do it, but never ended up doing that. As such a young kid, I felt like my feelings weren't valid enough and I had to be independent and not rely on others to help me. I felt like I was on my own. Not to mention I've had a family history of mental illness on my mom's side, so the fact that she would avoid obvious signs hurt me when I made this realization. My mom's mother, aka my Grammy, had multiple sclerosis and suffered from depression and other illnesses due to her not being able to walk or do anything on her own anymore. She found joy in her family visiting her and her three cats at the time. Because of my Grammy, I found my passion for animals and that I want to work with helping them for the rest of my life. That's why I aspire to become a vet tech, and hopefully work up to running an animal shelter one day. When middle school came around, my mental health issues started to really show to other around me, but people yet to pick up my struggles even after years of repetitive behaviors. 5th grade was my first year of middle school. I was always a pretty good student, but I hard time motivating myself to do the work, but I was capable of it. In my science class, I often became frustrated with the large work load compared to middle school. When I became frustrated, I would hit my head on the desk because I didn't know how to process my emotions. In 6th grade, the self destructive behaviors turned into digging my nails into my arms, and worsened over the years into 7th and 8th grade. During those years teachers took my behaviors as attention seeking, and I often got in trouble with detentions or calls home. All of which were met by scoldings from my parents, only solidifying the continuation of those behaviors. The friends I made in middle school were much like me, except we were all still a bit immature and naive, so some of them didn't realize that self destructive behaviors were not something to show off or be proud of. And it certainly wasn't something to brag about, especially when it comes to people traumatic experiences. Now I continue to struggle with self-harming behaviors and have been working on stopping those habits as much as possible. I didn't get my first therapist until 10th grade when I was 15, after I had the courage AGAIN to ask my mom for a therapist after many failed attempts. To this day, which me at 17 years old, I have three therapists, one being a basic therapist, a trauma specialist, and a practical medicine specialist in anxiety management. My views on the world have greatly changed from all my experiences, especially now that I am getting mental health care and have been given diagnoses to finally confirm my suspicions that people previously denied all my life. I won't put it lightly, my view on the world as a whole is much more pessimistic than when I was young, but I also think everyone ends up that way over time and more and more things affect their personality growth. Now that I'm a senior in high school, I've made great friends, have a loving partner of six months now, and continue to work on my mental health everyday and try my best to push through my daily conflicts. My mom has also gotten better with understanding me and listening to my mental health concerns. Over time, she actually became very supportive and tries her best to help me out, even if she's not the most educated in that area. My experiences with mental health have also greatly impacted my career aspirations because of how I was raised. As i mentioned before, my Grammy suffered form multiple sclerosis, and often found joy in her animals, which were her three cats. She's the reason I became so attached to animals, and why I found it easier to empathize with animals and relate to their emotions and who they felt neglected too. Animals, especially cats, are very complicated animals. They aren't able to communicate through words, so they display their feelings through body language and facial expressions, which people commonly mistake one for another. For example, when a cat walks around with its tail down, it may mean the cat is feeling anxious and is being cautious of its surroundings, but some people don't notice that and see it as an open invitation to pet them(even if they don't want to be pet). My personal experiences really connected me with animals, which is how i figured out what I was most passionate about and what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, which gives me motivation.