Core values are defined as the core concepts or beliefs that guide individuals. These principles provide a moral and ethical framework for navigating through the opportunities and challenges of life, acting as a compass. They embody who we are and what we stand for, influencing our character, behavior, and relationships. Having values is crucial to me because it provides the foundation for how I should live and act. Integrity and authenticity, decision-making, purpose, and fulfillment are some basic values and ideas that I practice and apply in my daily life. By developing a consistent set of principles that guide our activities, our values foster integrity and authenticity. They assist us in remaining true to ourselves by ensuring that our behavior is compatible with our beliefs and that we act under our values. Our personal and professional relationships benefit from this authenticity. This is important to me because I want others to see me as dependable. In my studies, I practice the academic honor code because I value my pride in my integrity. I am authentic towards my work and am my true self when producing projects or essays. In relationships, it's key to be your authentic self so people can value you and understand you for who you are. Having integrity within yourself shows others your prominent confidence in yourself which establishes rapport. Having values act as decision-making filters, allows us to weigh options and make sound decisions. When faced with challenges or tough decisions, returning to our basic beliefs allows us to examine the options and choose the path that is most consistent with our ideals. Values serve as a moral compass, directing us to ethical and responsible decisions. This is heavily demonstrated within studies and relationships. You have to compromise and think quickly on your feet to provide quality and timely work and demonstrate good teamwork. In relationships, you need to be able to identify toxicity and people who bring you down from your full potential. Valuing decision-making, and applying this to normal life makes your overall function socially easier. Living in tune with our basic principles gives our lives significance and fulfillment. When we engage in activities and pursue goals that align with our beliefs, we feel a stronger feeling of purpose and fulfillment. Our beliefs become a driving force in our lives, pushing us to strive for personal improvement, give back to our communities, and make a difference in the world. Having a sense of meaning and purpose in the world gives me more motivation to contribute to the overall community around me. Being assigned tasks, or invited places helps improve my mental health which overall makes me more enjoyable to be around and be extroverted in my relationships. I love the sense of fulfillment school has given me over the years because I have always worked towards a common goal. Good grades, and a step toward my career. Valuing my purpose and the fulfillment it gives me helps me recognize goals and the future I want for not only myself but others around me. I apply my core values of Integrity and authenticity, decision-making, purpose, and fulfillment to better myself and others around me. By practicing these I have recognized how I can improve my studies and interpersonal relationships in many aspects in regards to contributing to my future and society.

I solely believe people lack in practicing good health because of motivational, and knowledge issues. A lot of individuals struggle in general to keep up with their overall health whether that is because of mental health, stress, or other priorities. Taking care of your needs should be more normalized in our society aside from the living situation of a nine-to-five. People are so engulfed in the materialistic terms of living many ignore their physical health. In the long run, this limits people's abilities to even take care of themselves emotionally or financially because they are not sound physically. Many Americans say they do not often go to the doctor's office, ER, or hospital when ill due to finances or other responsibilities that cannot be ignored. The contributions I want to make to improve the health of others are to advocate for patient care, to inform others of the benefits and tools disposed to them within healthcare, and fight for possible more accommodating care in terms of finances and responsibility leniency. Advocating for patient care means not only making sure the care is appropriate and not malice but knowing certain patients know their options and acknowledging how important their care is not only for themselves but health care workers. Patients need to understand their rights to their care and It's seen a lot that patients are misinformed which limits their participation and say in their care. An unfortunate downside to the American Healthcare system is that a lot of the time patients are taken advantage of in the sense of being over-medicated, treated incorrectly, or lack of mutual understanding and communication. As someone entering the healthcare profession, I plan to contribute positivity to this issue by myself making sure that my patients are completely on the same page as our staff team and have full participation and knowledge in their care. If I see maltreatment or practice I most definitely plan to report the individual and step in, to accomplish a better environment. Many Americans do not know that they qualify for Medicare, Medicaid, or certain low costing insurance. There are many financial plans available, including loans with low interest. Since cost is a huge factor people don't seek healthcare, something needs to be done to make people feel more financially sound to seek healthcare. To improve this I want to sway into making new ways and accommodations to pay for treatment. America is one of the only countries without free healthcare. I believe that this needs to change and more tax dollars and funding should go into healthcare. Many people use healthcare services daily and become distressed because of bills. I will protest and fight for a change in health care costs, even if it's only lowered or changed slowly. It would improve people's health because healthcare would be more affordable making it more readily available. On another note, many don't seek health care because of their responsibilities at work, home life, relationships, etc. I see that many do not put themselves above others especially if they have dependents. I think with support groups or more societal awareness and normalization we could make a change in the thought process of being invincible and not expendable. As a future healthcare worker, I will make contributions in the workplace by implementing some of the most important aspects to me personally to improve the health of patients by advocating for patient care, informing others of the benefits and tools disposed to them within healthcare, and fight for possible more accommodating care in terms of finances and responsibility leniency.

I have experienced mental health via others and myself. My goals in life, relationships, and my understanding have been entirely based on the influence of mental health disorders and conditions. My mom is an alcoholic and an addict. I was exposed to the prospect of mental struggle and the effects it has on outer parties at a very young age. She shaped my perception of a mother-to-daughter dynamic in a negative aspect. Everything became my fault, and I was her emotional punching bag. Every external factor that I had no control over or other individual's actions became my doings and I could not escape the emotional distress she would reign onto me. I was always wrong, and she was always right no matter the subject. In my pre-teens, I remember her laughing at my face when I asked her to seek counseling in order to be able to have visitation. She put me in danger such as taking me to inappropriate places, driving under the influence fast, and emotionally putting her responsibilities onto me, with great expectations. Over the span of my childhood, she completely changed my developmental skills in perception and social interaction. Because of her inability to validate me in all aspects, our relationship has completely diminished as of today. A goal I have attained from my struggles with my mom is the desire to advocate for children such as myself. A child is stuck in a cycle, a cycle they cannot identify as wrong. In elementary school, I was a bully because I got bullied at home. I had many disciplinary issues to the point where it affected my academics and made my teachers resent my presence. I plan to work in the emergency room, which will give me many opportunities to identify an unhealthy relationship dynamic. I plan to take my personal experience to create a safe place of understanding and empathy to do what's absolutely best for my patient's mental well-being. My ex-stepmom is also an addict. She created a warped view of what a romantic relationship should appear to be. She would leave my dad and me for days with no contact, and when she came home she was anti-social and slept; only to leave again. Her doings left my dad in a very vulnerable state, heavily affecting our relationship. When she was awake they would fight over her behavior and even argue over her attending rehab. I remember that my dad would make valid points (to the understanding of a pre-teen) about her participation in our family. But then, she would begin to break down claiming my dad was gaslighting her, and that he would keep her from her family or leave the house. She even claimed he hit her when I was present and clearly saw my dad did not. My dad would project his frustrations on me, not being able to control his intense anger and self-pity. This left me unsure of whose side to be on or who to be upset with. My ex-stepmom had been in my life since I was nine months old. She was more of a mom than my biological one ever could have been, which is why I believe I was so faded in seeing their resemblance in character. Likewise, a goal manifested from the many hardships and emotional conflicts she caused for me. I want to seek more representation/awareness of drug abuse and its contribution to mental health. In my line of work, there will be many overdoses, and erratic individuals due to substances coming in. I want to take a look at the bigger picture of everyone who is affected. Almost like “scared straight” but for drug addicts. I want them to really experience how they are not only destroying themselves but others. While substance abuse may only be a symptom of mental disorders; it often digs a deeper hole. I know the struggle and the mindset as I have BPD myself and have struggled with substances as well…but you will not get better unless you want to. This is why I phrase it in such a vulgar way because the mental health stigma needs to be removed. People shouldn't be embarrassed, hopeless, or mocked. I know how relationships can be ripped apart and leave individuals even more motivated to keep going on. I really hope to make a difference in my community by providing my support possibly within the emergency room or support groups. These are only two examples of my experiences with mental health and how it has shaped my life. I could give many more, but I feel like portraying the impact of other individuals' effects on me contributes more to my understanding of the world than elaborating my own. 1 in 8 people in the world lives with a mental illness. I see this as an attribute of our society that will not diminish. The world is a harsh place because of the cruel or lost people within it. I realize that there will never be a utopian life, and everyone will always get a slap in the face from life. We all try to co-exist in society, yet a vast majority of us struggle to comfortably exist within ourselves. I see the world in black and white. There are good people and bad people, some purposefully some subconsciously, or by accident. We're all different and everyone has a story. Everyone deals with their own hardships. Everyone struggles with at least something whether that be finances, academics, relationships, or turmoil with themselves. The world isn't a perfect place, but to see someone else's world through their eyes, and to try to empathize with them…is all we really can do for one another. If we cannot see eye to eye, I’ve learned that all I can do is do what's best for me. Even if that results in my cessation of relationships and orientation of personal goals.

Personally, my mental health journey manifested throughout my childhood. My mother is an addict and an alcoholic. She’d leave for days for “work” and when she was home she’d sleep all day locked in her room. When she was around she was either excessively nice or beyond mean. Everything became my fault, and I was her emotional punching bag. She manipulated and gaslit me about our relationship. She put me in danger such as taking me to inappropriate places, driving under the influence, and fast, and emotionally putting her responsibilities onto me, with great expectations. My brother’s dad decided to leave with my brother, so my mom didn't need me anymore. By the time I was thirteen, my mom kicked me out, pawning me off to my dad. She didn't talk to me during the first six months of living with him, and I was not adapting well to my new situation. Throughout the next few years, my mom put me through physiological hell, and in return, I treated my dad and at the time stepmom horribly by saying and doing awful things in projection to my distress. I eventually attempted to commit for the first time. My father became rather indifferent toward me. He cared for me deeply but took this attempt personally as a stab in the back. My dad has never thought of me the same. Even now he’s very cautious about many aspects of my life. Around this my interest in Health Care became full-fledged. Being in the emergency room and mental health facility gave me the passion to want to help others as I received. I left feeling more purposeful, yet my relationships were beyond shattered. I was diagnosed with major depression disorder and began therapy. My dad has always believed I was overmedicated and I manifested these feelings on my own, influenced by the internet and others around me. This affected my view of him and made me more apprehensive about our dynamic. As time continued, my mom raised more issues for my psychological well-being. So my dad began to fight for custody of me. I slowly became detached from my mom after, She refused to acknowledge or apologize to me, She laughed in my face when I asked her to get help, She refused to take me to the hospital when I was having an asthma attack, and lastly but not least, she started showing me she only wanted to be my mother when she wanted to be. Not when I needed her to be. The attempt left my dad in limbo. Our home life was heavily affected by my stepmom. She was a lot like my mother, an addict, who would leave for days and sleep a lot. She heavily contributed to the disdain between my father and me. She left him very worried and angry. They’d verbally fight all the time about numerous things. But when it came time to me, she’d without a doubt take his side and they’d tag team me about my mental health. That time was when I became an atheist. With everything that has happened to me, I don't feel connected to God anymore. A lot of people say you shouldn't think this way, “Why would he do this to me? And “Why is this happening to me?” in my view that's highly accurate. God hasn't provided much to me but a crippling personality disorder, and extensive hardships that yet seem to get relieved. My stepmom deteriorated, revealing her disinterest in my dad and me and her priority of substances and other men. She left with a bang; leaving us alone. Because she left my dad's emotions were more controlled and he was much more himself. I realized that my maternal mental illness affected my relationships with everyone else around me, and heightened my own. My dad and I’s relationship strived, but I was still struggling mentally. I decided at this moment with my mom erratic, and my stepmom AWOL, I no longer had a mom, nor wanted one. In the background of this, I fell into substances myself and a rather bad crowd. My boyfriend at the time committed suicide only hours after seeing me. It was rather traumatic, and I blamed myself heavily. In return, I attempted to commit but the same cycle as last time occurred. My relationship with my dad was only resentment, and my actions were a stab in his back. This time my experience in the hospital and mental health care facility was horrible. I was blamed by not only my father but nurses. They treated us as incapable self-inducing individuals. This made me want to work in Health Care even stronger. I wanted to prevent such care from happening and strive for patient advocacy. For a year or two I was keeping myself afloat. My dad and I had an understanding and routine. My dad won the custody case, and we decided to move to a new state. I got involved with a bad crowd yet again because of my substance usage and yet again put a trench between me and my dad. I was struggling to maintain healthy relationships and friendships nonetheless. My psychiatrist gave me my final diagnosis this January, saying I have BPD. After my diagnosis, I decided to channel all my energy into my Health science research and focused on myself more than relationships. I finally have found faith in god again because of more recent positive attributes of my life, claiming myself to be agnostic. After a long time, I am pursuing my passions and dreams. I was able to find people who validate my beliefs and encourage my passions and dreams. I won't let my mental illness or drama control me anymore by haunting me with my past and intense emotions. I am trying to be a better person for not only myself but everyone else.

Mental health contains our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Our mental health is imperative for our role in society, our relationships, and our ability to not only function but cope. Our mental well-being is important for us to be able to live our lives to fulfillment. With bad mental health others can view us as unreliable, lazy, and even not someone they want to be around. People with mental disorders and/or conditions cannot always control their actions and how they feel. The mental health stigma maintains many negative features of disorders and conditions. The stigma highlights that someone with a mental illness is “dangerous”, “crazy”, or “incompetent” rather than sick. People are mocked or considered weak when seeking help, and on the contrary, mocked yet again and shamed for not getting help. It's important to eliminate this stereotype and bring awareness that mental health is just as important as any other pathological or physiological disorder, disease, or condition; they are the same. Personally, mental health is important to me becuase I have seen so many others struggle to maintain a healthy balance including myself. I believe that substance abuse is under the umbrella of mental health issues and I have seen my family destroy themselves and their relationships because of their condition. My mother laughed in my face when I asked her to go to counseling, and my previous stepmom became hostile towards me and my dad when trying to get her help. My mother has become a severe alcoholic which has eliminated her custody and our relationship. This has impacted me dearly because I can no longer feel safe with my mother nor have the drive to want to rekindle our relationship. I know that's not truly her, and her alcoholism is fueling her mental health in many negative ways thus creating an unfit individual. My previous stepmom was always high-strung and combative. She would leave the house with our only vehicle for days without notice, and when she came back she’d sleep for days and barely eat. It was eventually revealed she struggled with substance abuse. This led to her apprehensive feelings about being a part of our family and supporting us. She eventually ran away from our house, my dad decided to divorce her due to her inability to recognize us as a priority. With my mother and previous stepmother, it was hard to have any voice in their well-being because both of their families refused to believe in their conditions. It’s important to me that outsiders made more effort in trying to help those that refuse or cannot receive the help they desperately need. I have struggled with mental health. I had been diagnosed with three different disorders before I was able to receive the correct therapy and medication. I have BPD. I struggle with maintaining my emotions and having rational thought processes. This highly affects my personal relationships and self-esteem. I maintain my well-being by focusing on my triggers and dealing with episodes. I use healthy coping mechanisms when feeling intense emotions. I doodle, listen to music, and sometimes take naps. I make sure to keep up with my physical hygiene and eat and sleep on a regular schedule to the best of my ability. I advocate for my mental well-being by using healthy coping mechanisms and focusing on my self-care.

I am beyond enthusiastic about health care. I recognize it as one of my biggest strong suits in life. I am lucky to have my passion pertaining to my job. I am going to college to achieve my nursing degree to pursue a career in health care. During my studies, so far in school, I have learned some unfortunate downsides to the American Healthcare system. This not only heavily impacts my community, but the entire nation. The most notable issues consist of cost, accessibility, quality of care, medical errors, health disparities, mental health stigmas, the overuse of antibiotics, and finally patient privacy. An unfortunate extensive list of changeable or avoidable negative aspects of our health care. Because of this knowledge, after and even during college, I aspire to advocate for patient care. Countless parts of our economy and society need to be addressed to make a change. I can help make a change or strive towards one by applying myself to these issues to create a safer and more reliable healthcare setting. Volunteering can play a crucial role in improving healthcare in numerous ways. I can use my pre-existing and newfound knowledge to help. I plan to take advantage of volunteering to make this area of our lives better. The dynamic of volunteering helps patients and other professionals. Cost, quality of care, and medical error are common due to the lack of employed healthcare professionals and/or their lack of knowledge in certain areas. By volunteering in any healthcare setting, I can enhance patient care. As a volunteer, I can work clinically or behind the scenes. Doing either will allow me to do many things but more notably, supporting healthcare staff, promoting healthcare education, and facilitating access to healthcare resources. In terms of raising awareness, I plan to continue my efforts via social media and even in person. With social media, I can draw the attention of others, workers, and patients themselves and gain support. Such support can make higher-ranked officials to take an interest in the cause. I can start fundraising for patient care and donate to facilities within my community and eventually expand globally. Although I am typically not a political person, peaceful protests have been effective in raising awareness and accomplishing the goals of the protesting party. I will do my best to use my knowledge and social skills to promote awareness and advocate for patient mistreatment. I already dedicated my studies and career to healthcare. As I am a patient myself sometimes, and will even work there, it is obvious I should better my surroundings for myself, but more importantly, for others to benefit everyone.

The nursing industry interests me as a career because of my personal experiences and passion. I myself have been admitted to the hospital numerous times, and as a child with asthma and seasonal allergies, I have been surrounded by health care my entire life. In school, in sheer honesty, nothing else truly interested me aside from health care. The intricate human body and its pathology not only dumbstruck me, but made me want to further understand it. Once you understood one thing, another question or challenge arises, in other subjects it seems always defined and set; the same. I love being able to explore and experiment with how the body truly acts and reacts and how medicine contributes to that. During my studies, so far in school, I’ve learned some unfortunate downsides to the American Healthcare system. Becuase of this knowledge, I have an interest in also advocating for patient care and exploring more aspects of allopathic/traditional medicine to overall improve patient care and limit medical errors. Nursing is overall a rewarding career that would allow me to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. I would have the opportunity to form relationships with patients and their families, provide comfort and support during difficult times, and help patients achieve better health outcomes. In my mind, being able to provide a safe place while saving or making one's life better is beyond fulfilling mentally. Nursing also offers many opportunities for personal and professional growth. Being able to grow as a person interpersonally, and learn the setting of the healthcare workplace is overall beneficial to my future even if I do not continue to pursue a career in this area. My goal as of now is to attend a four-year college and get my bachelor's degree in nursing. I want to use my bachelor's degree to work in the emergency room. I plan to continue further hands-on experience by being a Medical assistant in college, hopefully, doing a paid internship. By allowing myself to have these experiences, I am enabling myself to be more profound within my career. I know the importance of staying up to date with my certification, and overall medical knowledge. I will utilize of communication, collaboration, adaptation, and responsibility; as aspects of teamwork. This is a huge part of success and should be a prioritized goal since in the setting in which I want to have my profession, teamwork is inevitable and key. From August 2022 through December 2022 I had the opportunity to intern/volunteer at Capstone Hospice. Capstone's goal is to, "bring comfort and peace to those we serve by providing a qualitatively distinct hospice experience." My duty was to provide companionship. I specialized in memory care patients. I learned the valuability of patient communication. This experience taught me how to respect boundaries, how to speak to patients that vary in age, acknowledge body mannerisms, and how all parts of health care come together for the benefit of the patient. I have been studying for my CCMA exam since August 2022 and will test on April 28th, 2023. I use the application NHA with learning modules, quizzes, and practice tests. Because of this, I have faith I will pass, but even if I do not, being able to study and learn so much about health care was definitely beneficial.

This situation accumulated over a few years but impacted me heavily in my life. When I was younger I used to have a very strong family dynamic. We’d visit my father's mother (My grandma) frequently. My grandfather and uncle lived with her. For a good couple of years, we spent holidays, and I went over during the summer while my dad would work. I was and still am very close to my grandmother. One day I was being dropped off My father and uncle had a huge argument which led to a fistfight in the front yard. With minimal detail, it was about very sensitive subjects related to their parents. I wasn't able to stay the night with my grandma due to being frightened. That was the beginning of the turmoil between all of them which affected my relationship with my grandma. For a long time, I was unable to see my grandmother because of the deep-rooted feelings of my father toward his family. I’m not entirely when she began to do this act of compassion, but it meant the world to me. At the time I loved with my mom during the week and only saw my dad every other weekend. My grandma began to visit me every Wednesday she could just so we could hang out. She was there for me when I was having a rough time with my mother, and she always made sure I was heard and valued. For a while there were a lot of problems between my parents and me for various reasons when they weren't around, she was. I looked forward to seeing her every Wednesday. We bonded even more over this. She drove over an hour away just to see me, and I as vulnerable and fragile as I was this meant everything. I have always considered her a mother figure and I’ll never forget the warmth she brought me. I look back at her act of compassion, as a new beginning. I slowly encouraged my father to open back up to the idea of being a family. We had a few dinners, and outings to rebuild our relationship. They finally had a huge talk about their past and feelings and it was mostly resolved. I think of myself talking to my dad about how I felt about what happened including. how I understood why he felt that way, was my compassion back to my grandmother. I knew she was in so much pain after losing her son even if he was still present. The pain of his hatred and sadness broke her. I could tell I reminded her of him, and although she did genuinely love me and want to see me, I was her last piece of being able to connect to him. My grandma's compassion for me, and mine in return over time developed compassion in my dad. After our relationship as a family was fully repaired, my dad recognized the deterioration of his father. He has Parkinson's, and they were struggling to maintain a life in a huge house. We moved them into a smaller apartment. When moving to Georiga we invited my grandparents and uncle to live with us. He did this so he could take care of his family. They all had individual issues that needed support including me. Living together is a gift for us all, and wouldn't be possible without these cause-and-effect acts of human understanding.

This scholarship money means being able to pay for half of my first semester of college at GSU. I'm attempting to pursue a career in nursing, and as most know, nursing school is not cheap. My dad is a single parent and my sole provider. We live paycheck to paycheck, and he still can meet my wants after addressing my needs. He has always had high expectations for my studies as he did not graduate High School or attend college. My dad inspires me because he did get his GED and is now after struggling, and with so much effort and hard work, a DevOps virtualization engineer. I aspire to advance in my career to not only make him proud but also to eventually pay him back in the future for his financial and emotional support. Having this scholarship money gives me more reassurance that I will be able to attend college and pay for it. I may have been accepted, but I haven't even been able to begin the process of picking classes, housing, or even saying I’ve committed to being a student at GSU in fear of not being financially sound enough. I work hard in my studies, and I’ve adapted to the new Georgia curriculum after moving here from texas at the beginning of my junior year. I believe I not only have the academics to succeed in my career but my ambitions. I take the CTAE healthcare course at Chattahoochee, and I’m currently studying for my CCMA. I want to be well-prepared and secure for my future. I already applied for HOPE and have been granted some funds from my FAFSA. Although I reach the minimum of what I would most likely need to be admitted into GSU’s nursing school, I would like to be able to have wiggle room in case of any surprise expenses or to prepare for the potential worst-case scenario.

Currently, I am studying for my CCMA as the kickstart of my medical career. I plan to attend a four-year college and get my bachelor's degree in nursing. I plan to further my hands-on experience by being a Medical assistant in college, hopefully, doing a paid internship. I’ve been considering to also acquire my CCNA and EMT certification to enhance my Medical knowledge. I am beyond passionate about emergency medicine and plan to use my bachelor's degree to work in the emergency room. I want to advocate for patient care and utilize more aspects of allopathic/traditional medicine in the industry to make a difference in my community. During my studies, so far in school, I’ve learned some unfortunate downsides to the American Healthcare system. A lot of the time patients are taken advantage of by pharmaceutical companies working alongside hospitals. I’ve learned that workers are encouraged to give patients medications that prolong their injuries/conditions to make more profit. In America, the direct-free system limits the care that could be provided to uninsured patients which raises the rates of health problems in patients. These faults not only create more work for healthcare professionals but also makes it redundant. Having patients that could have been given different medications or treatment plans come back for the same chief complaints lowers the overall time, effort, and room for patients with more detrimental conditions. To imagine some individuals have been limited to care due to the negligence of some major health providers makes me uncomfortable. I want to perform unsure care including safety as if I am the patient. Just as we learn in kindergarten, we MUST treat others the way we want to be treated. This is a hundred percent applicable to healthcare. I have also learned in my studies that the quality of patient care can deteriorate due to the overworking of doctors and nurses. I believe this is an effect of the faults of how western medicine is used. I want to use my compassion and experience to limit these hospital errors, managed care, and bias. As a nurse in the field, I am going to make a drastic change in how the Healthcare industry is viewed. I will fight to give my patients the proper treatment they deserve and to make sure that they are not limited to their full health potential by receiving a certain medication or treatment that could be entirely different. I will do all in my power to care for a patient by trying my best to accommodate their beliefs, practices, and finances. I am going to make sure to also advocate for my coworkers. I will make sure to report if I see anyone seeming overworked or burnt out. I will make sure that if we're understaffed, make a statement. I will do my best to perform and collaborate for the benefit of everyone involved as I work. I want to eliminate western medicine flaws as best as I can and I can start by working in practice and encouraging/informing others of how not only me, but everyone could make a difference.

My name is Lilly Larsen, and I am a senior graduating in the class of 2023. I am in the CTAE healthcare pathway currently studying for my CCMA. I plan to attend a four-year college and get my bachelor's degree in nursing. I plan to further my hands-on experience by being a Medical assistant in college, hopefully, doing a paid internship. I am beyond passionate about emergency medicine and plan to use my bachelor's degree to work in the emergency room. I want to advocate for patient care and utilize more aspects of allopathic/traditional medicine in the industry to benefit the world. During my studies, so far in school, I’ve learned some unfortunate downsides to the American Healthcare system. A lot of the time patients are taken advantage of by pharmaceutical companies working alongside hospitals. I’ve learned that workers are encouraged to give patients medications that prolong their injuries/conditions to make more profit. In America, the direct-free system limits the care that could be provided to uninsured patients which raises the rates of health problems in patients. These faults not only create more work for healthcare professionals but also makes it redundant. Having patients that could have been given different medications or treatment plans come back for the same chief complaints lowers the overall time, effort, and room for patients with more detrimental conditions. To imagine some individuals have been limited to care due to the negligence of some major health providers makes me uncomfortable. I want to perform unsure care including safety as if I am the patient. Just as we learn in kindergarten, we MUST treat others the way we want to be treated. This is a hundred percent applicable to healthcare. I have also learned in my studies that the quality of patient care can deteriorate due to the overworking of doctors and nurses. I believe this is an effect of the faults of how western medicine is used. I want to use my compassion and experience to limit these hospital errors, managed care, and bias. As a nurse in the field, I am going to make a drastic change in how the Healthcare industry is viewed. I will fight to give my patients the proper treatment they deserve and to make sure that they are not limited to their full health potential by receiving a certain medication or treatment that could be entirely different. I will do all in my power to care for a patient by trying my best to accommodate their beliefs, practices, and finances. I am going to make sure to also advocate for my coworkers. I will make sure to report if I see anyone seeming overworked or burnt out. I will make sure that if we're understaffed, make a statement. I will do my best to perform and collaborate for the benefit of everyone involved as I work. I want to eliminate western medicine flaws as best as I can and I can start by working in practice and encouraging/informing others of how not only me, but everyone could make a difference.

Throughout my life so far, I have been heavily impacted by all three aspects of Mental Health, Suicide, and LGBTQIA+. Throughout my childhood, my biological mother was heavily absent from my life. Both of my biological parents had substance abuse issues and it wasn't ideal to be around them either way. The first time I tried to commit was when I was thirteen years old. A lot of aspects played into this, but more profoundly: My mom had kicked me out, I was struggling with school including interpersonal relationships, and My father and stepmom at the time were always fighting. I was committed to an inpatient facility and diagnosed with MDD and anxiety. I began Prozac which over time made me more depressed. I began struggling with my identity heavily. Around this time I drastically changed my appearance and fluctuated through sexual and gender identities. I began exploring the male gender including being interested in women. My self-harm became very profound and it was something I slowly began to depend on. My Mental Health got even worse. I struggled a lot with my body image and who I was. My relationships with others were either very tense or dissipated completely. I began to sleep a lot and not leave my room except for school. My home life in both households declined rapidly. I had been surrounded by adultery, divorces, and drug abuse. My brother moved in with his dad, and custody battles occurred on both sides including for me. By the time I was fifteen, I was completely unaligned with life. I began to struggle with substance abuse. I had a lot of unpleasant moments maintaining my addiction and even began to have an unhealthy sexual streak. I went through a lot of partners being unable to have any sort of healthy relationship. Either my mood swings were too intense or I was completely out of it. The year 2020 was the peak of my deterioration as it was for many. I snuck out a lot to see my partner/friends at the time to partake in unhealthy habits. One night, we took a variety of substances which led to me not being coherent when I went home. My father was furious and my partner at the time came to my house to apologize. My father lashed out and I couldn't do anything. Distraught, my partner ran away, and later on, in the day, he wasn't answering me or his adoptive parents. That evening they came to my house to inform me of his suicide. My father blamed the substances we took. I haunted myself with guilt for a very long time about his passing. After his suicide, I attempted to commit again which led me to another in-patient facility. I was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 disorder. On a lighter note, after this experience, I have been 3 years sober since his death. After all of this, I continue to struggle greatly mentally, and I’m still on the road to recovery. I relapse sometimes with self-harm and substances, but I’m trying to have passions in life and become a functioning adult in society. I was recently diagnosed with BPD and I’m learning to live with my identity and body. I'm proud to say I am passionate about Nursing and want to pursue my dream of emergency medicine. I also have found myself in Demi-girl and Omni-Sexual. I have begun DBT therapy and I hope for a better future not only for myself, but those I have affected, and those who have affected me.