During my first week of my Nashville courtroom internship with Judge Kimbrough-Hayes, I saw a father convicted of his third DUI; behind him sat his wife and seven young children. The judge noticed that one girl had a large lump on her neck, and her mom explained they couldn’t afford healthcare due to legal fees. I realized then that the impact of addiction was far-reaching. It touched the children sitting on the benches, watching their dad in an orange jumpsuit. As I spent more time at the courthouse, I saw numerous cases involving addiction. It was easy to lose sight of the people inside them, to let their humanity blur behind case numbers and criminal charges. This empty feeling led me to the Healing Arts Project Inc., a nonprofit that provides art supplies and classes to those recovering from addiction. For months, I worked with the Healing Arts Project and organized for the artwork of those in recovery to be displayed in courtrooms around Nashville. I coordinated with the director and courthouse staff, and every week, the artwork was rotated to a new courtroom, along with labels sharing the artists’ stories. For the artists, my hope was that having their work featured affirmed them on their path to recovery. For those entering the courtroom facing incarceration, I wanted them to feel the power of art: the way it addresses the viewer, gives them the chance to feel emotion, and in doing so, recognizes their worth. It could have been easy to let those struggling with addiction remain invisible in court, to assume that they didn’t want help, or to think no effort would be worthwhile. Displaying their artwork was my way of refusing to look the other way. It was a small act of defiance against the stereotype that they were nothing more than their addiction. Witnessing addiction’s impact in the courtroom also brought on a deeper question: what causes addiction to occur and why is it so difficult to break away from the cycle? To answer this, I joined Dr. Erin Calipari’s lab at Vanderbilt University. For the past two years, I have investigated sex differences in how drugs alter dopamine pathways and reshape the brain, overriding rational decision-making. My first project specifically focused on the addictive effects of ADHD medications and stimulant drugs, while my most recent project looked at the mechanism underlying cocaine use disorder, with cocaine being one of the most widely used and addictive drugs worldwide. If clinicians had a deeper understanding of how drugs could affect individual brains differently, they could design more effective rehabilitation strategies and medication plans that are tailored to each sex. My research has shown me that addiction is not a uniform condition, and it manifests differently across sex, environment, and neurobiology, yet is often treated as if it were the same. By viewing addiction as a disruption of unique biological systems, there could be improved more equitable care provided for those struggling. This fall, I will join Yale University as a neuroscience major, where I hope to continue investigating the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie addiction and its sex-specific effects. In college and beyond, I plan to pursue a career in addiction research with the goal of translating our scientific discoveries into real world treatments. My work is driven by the idea that when we strive to understand the brain more deeply, we can replace judgment and ultimately, expand access to recovery and provide a brighter future for those undergoing addiction.