There are days I look back over my life and say “But God”.  But God for me means I should have lost, I should have died, I should have… but God stepped in and declared otherwise! 2021, I stood in the ring with adversity and tangoed until I understood what “faith” meant. Let’s start at the 2021 high school acceptance in Philadelphia; a very biased and competitive process. Based on my stellar academic standings, I figured I was poised to be accepted in every “magnet” high school; not the case. In December of 2020, Covid 19 in full effect, I was accepted into 4 of my choices and “waitlisted” for my top choice, the illustrious Academy at Palumbo. February 19th, 8:00 am, my grandmother arrived at my house to assist my family with virtual school. My grandmother is my “EVERYTHING, practically raising me alongside my parents. Around 9:00 am, I Iogged onto virtual school. I briefly closed my eyes only to open them to my grandmother having a massive stroke. My mother sprang in to action and me next. As I held my grandmother up until the rescue team came, all 14 year old me could pray was “God, not Me-mom”. As the room closed in around me, it seemed like I couldn’t hear anything. After I left the hospital, I got a phone call from my mother that my grandmother had survived. Her life was going to change dramatically, but she survived. But God! About a week later, back on my hunt for my acceptance, I contacted the Academy of Palumbo and heard words that made not only the room close in on me again, but my breath draw short. On the day I stood by my grandmother’s bedside, I missed a rushed acceptance call at my home and my spot was relinquished to another student. Unfortunately, they’d accidently never mailed my letter and called in a panic leaving me with a 2 -hour window for me to accept. That day I was thrown into the ring of life. I immediately began advocating for myself with stakeholders in the school district, a process that lasted from February until September freshman year. I attended another great high school for a month with the best attitude possible. I even made varsity volleyball as a freshman. The last week of September 2021, I received the call that I’d been fighting to hear. “Leyla’s spot is open to begin next week” rang through my ears like the harps of heaven. During those trials and the days after, the devil wanted me to wither, but God. I’d often cry myself to sleep worrying about my future. My mother encouraged me daily to have faith despite my circumstance. I can admit that in the beginning I was defeated and in a dark place, but overtime I shifted my perspective to see only light.  The lessons that rained on me during that experience made me a rock solid young woman. One reluctant lesson I learned through therapy is to actually take a moment and grieve so I can heal; not to ignore what’s happening. It's imperative for my mental health. Time truly waits for no one. Perhaps my biggest lesson was to pray for endurance until I’m strong enough to push through to my next victory because life doesn’t stop.  I’ve used all these lessons in the tribulations I’ve encountered since that year. I’m a giant and what’s a mountain to a giant. I’m stronger now and I’m grateful. I could’ve crumbled, but GOD!

Philadelphia, my hometown, is a vibrant, unforgettable place where every season comes to life through our beautiful landscape. It's here that I'm an avid athlete, musician, and leader attending one of Philadelphia's magnet schools. Although beautiful, the challenges of violence, social issues, and mental health-related incidents are very present. As a result, it has had some influence on my career aspirations. Following in the footsteps of my grandmother, who attended Cheyney University, I will also be attending an HBCU in the fall, Hampton University, to be a psychiatrist. The journey to becoming a psychiatrist is personal to me. Why? Simply put – I want to turn on the light for people! What I mean by that is often what we see on the outside does not match the inside. Too many people are living in the dark, dealing with issues they can handle and some they cannot. When mental health is not proactively addressed, or addressed period, the results can be catastrophic. If you were to ask my friends and family about my typical disposition, they would likely say I’m frequently smiling, laughing, and seemingly enjoying life most days. However, like most people, I carry with me life experiences that, given the right trigger, could potentially negatively affect my life. I have experienced mental health in its realest form with losing one of my childhood friends to suicide, watching my grandmother have a stroke in front of me, and confronting issues from my parents’ divorce. There were days I would replay those negative incidents in my mind, but I was so immersed in my culture’s belief that therapy and mental care are not necessary, I never spoke of it. To everyone, I was fine. I’m thankful that about 3 years ago, my mother simply asked me, “Are you ok?”. I didn’t know what she meant at the time, but I could feel in her energy that I had the platform to speak, and it didn’t matter what I said. She turned my light on!! Although I want to help everyone, I have personal reasons pushing me to focus on youth and new mothers dealing with postpartum. As an inner city youth member of a large female family, my point of view has shown me that these two categories of people have a great need. So often, the cries of women and children go unheard until it’s too late. My great love for South Philadelphia and all its complexities is why I plan to one day open a mental health center in that location. I’ve even chosen a name for it: “SociaLey Acceptable”. I thought the name was fitting because not only does it have my name as a signature note, but it lets all who visit know that caring for your mental, physical, and spiritual well-being is socially acceptable. I want a portion of my center to be open 24 hours so that the ability to effectively communicate with someone is available at all times. Those mornings when first-time or fifth-time mothers don’t want to open the blinds, they can call someone. In my center, “the lights will always be on!” I also plan to minor in politics to obtain some knowledge on effective ways to lobby for mental health programs. The necessity for resources like mental health needs to be known, and I plan on using my expertise to “turn the lights on” at Capitol Hill. I pray this scholarship will aid me in accomplishing all of my goals.