In March 2020, I was diagnosed with a vestibular schwannoma, which is a brain tumor that grows on the nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain. I was given two choices: do nothing and hope that the tumor would stop growing or have surgery and risk losing all my hearing in my right ear in the process. The decision was simple in my mind – get surgery so I would not have to worry about the tumor later in life. I knew that the hard part would be dealing with the highly likely scenario that I would wake up from surgery deaf in my right ear. That is exactly what happened. I felt the worst I ever had mentally right after my surgery. I isolated myself from others because I feared they would judge me for my lack of hearing. Due to social distancing measures, it made it easier to keep myself away from others and lock myself up even more. I didn’t even want to watch TV because I would catch myself mishearing things and be reminded of my unbalanced hearing. I fell into a deep depression. There were no distractions, no people, nothing that would guide me away from my own dark thoughts. When I first arrived at the University of Tulsa, I was terrified. I knew it was going to be insanely difficult to rebuild my self-confidence whilst also majoring in one of the infamously difficult STEM majors: Chemical Engineering. Though I was very anxious to talk to people at the start, I was able to force myself to converse with a few peers. I realized that I could still interact with people and have a good time. Even though it is sometimes tough to hear people, the pain of isolating myself from others would be so much worse than asking people to repeat themselves. There are a lot of people in the world with hearts of compassion, and I have been very lucky to find those people at TU. I strive every day to be one of these people. I had a self-realization that the reason I was so miserable in the past was due to inner-ableism. Ableism is defined as prejudice in favor of able-bodied people. I believed, whether conscious of it or not, that I was inferior to others because I had a difference that negatively impacted me in society. Now I realize that people should not shun themselves for their differences, but care for them and make appropriate adjustments to their daily lives to make things easier. I strongly believe in equity over equality. There is no “normal” – each person has different needs, but all deserve to be loved and care for in the way that would benefit them most. My passion to help others has increased tenfold after going through my mental health journey. I encourage open dialogue about mental health among anyone I encounter. Specifically, I am a strong advocate for therapy. One of my best friends was struggling mentally in the past year, and I was able to shift their mindset about therapy. They believed going to therapy meant that a person was weak, but I was able to convince them that going to a therapist for mental health is the same as going to a doctor for physical health. Going to therapy is taking an active step to deal with something that is very difficult, which demonstrates strength. My strong inclination to help others is also rooted in my academic work. I started working as a student-athlete tutor this semester, and it has been so rewarding to watch the students light up when they understand a topic. These student-athletes are hardworking and have busy schedules, and I admire their strength in being able to handle school and sports. All they need is a little help to be able to juggle it all. In my passion for helping others, I also have discovered my passion to help the world as a whole. After graduation, I plan to find a job in Materials Science in hopes of finding the most cost-effective materials for alternative energy sources such as solar panels. I will begin research in Electrochemistry next semester to begin learning about the field of Materials Science. Through my mental health journey, I have learned that life is not something you can go at alone. Humans need encouragement and support from others in order to truly thrive. We should strive to help those around us who are in need because someday we will be in need of it, too.

My name is Lindsey Loeb, and I am a sophomore majoring in Chemical Engineering at the University of Tulsa. I have struggled with anxiety and depression all my life, but there is one event that made my mental illness take a turn for the worst. In March 2020, I was diagnosed with a vestibular schwannoma, which is a brain tumor that grows on the nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain. I was given two choices: do nothing and hope that the tumor would stop growing or have surgery. I did the latter and lost practically all hearing in my right ear because of it. I felt the worst I ever had mentally immediately following my surgery. I isolated myself from others because I feared they would judge me for my lack of hearing. Due to social distancing measures, it made it easier to keep myself away from others and lock myself up even more. I didn’t even want to watch TV because I would catch myself mishearing things and be reminded of my unbalanced hearing. I fell into a deep depression. There were no distractions, no people, nothing that would guide me away from my own dark thoughts. When I first arrived at college, I was terrified. I knew it was going to be insanely difficult to rebuild my self-confidence. Though I was very anxious to talk to people at the start, I was able to force myself to converse with a few peers. I realized that I could still interact with people and have a good time. Even though it is sometimes tough to hear people, the pain of isolating myself from others would be so much worse than asking people to repeat themselves. There are a lot of people in the world with hearts of compassion, and I have been very lucky to find those people at TU. I strive every day to be one of these people. I had a self-realization that the reason I was so miserable in the past was due to inner ableism. Ableism is defined as prejudice in favor of able-bodied people. I believed, whether conscious of it or not, that I was inferior to others because I had a difference that negatively impacted me in society. Now I realize that people should not shun themselves for their differences, but care for them and make appropriate adjustments to their daily lives to make things easier. I strongly believe in equity over equality. There is no “normal” – each person has different needs, but all deserve to be loved and care for in the way that would benefit them most. My passion to help others has increased tenfold after going through my mental health journey. I encourage open dialogue about mental health among anyone I encounter. Specifically, I am a strong advocate for therapy. One of my best friends was struggling mentally in the past year, and I was able to shift their mindset about therapy. They believed going to therapy meant that a person was weak, but I was able to convince them that going to a therapist for mental health is the same as going to a doctor for physical health. Going to therapy is taking an active step to deal with something that is very difficult, which demonstrates strength. Through my mental health journey, I have learned that life is not something you can go at alone. Humans need encouragement and support from others to truly thrive. We should strive to help those around us who are in need because someday we will need it, too.

In March 2020, I was diagnosed with a vestibular schwannoma, which is a brain tumor that grows on the nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain. I was given two choices: do nothing and hope that the tumor would stop growing or have surgery and risk losing all my hearing in my right ear in the process. The decision was simple in my mind – get surgery so I would not have to worry about the tumor later in life. I knew that the hard part would be dealing with the highly likely scenario that I would wake up from surgery deaf in my right ear. That is exactly what happened. I felt the worst I ever had mentally right after my surgery. I isolated myself from others because I feared they would judge me for my lack of hearing. Due to social distancing measures, it made it easier to keep myself away from others and lock myself up even more. I didn’t even want to watch TV because I would catch myself mishearing things and be reminded of my unbalanced hearing. I fell into a deep depression. There were no distractions, no people, nothing that would guide me away from my own dark thoughts. When I first arrived at the University of Tulsa, I was terrified. I knew it was going to be insanely difficult to rebuild my self-confidence whilst also majoring in one of the infamously difficult STEM majors: Chemical Engineering. Though I was very anxious to talk to people at the start, I was able to force myself to converse with a few peers. I realized that I could still interact with people and have a good time. Even though it is sometimes tough to hear people, the pain of isolating myself from others would be so much worse than asking people to repeat themselves. There are a lot of people in the world with hearts of compassion, and I have been very lucky to find those people at TU. I strive every day to be one of these people. I had a self-realization that the reason I was so miserable in the past was due to inner-ableism. Ableism is defined as prejudice in favor of able-bodied people. I believed, whether conscious of it or not, that I was inferior to others because I had a difference that negatively impacted me in society. Now I realize that people should not shun themselves for their differences, but care for them and make appropriate adjustments to their daily lives to make things easier. I strongly believe in equity over equality. There is no “normal” – each person has different needs, but all deserve to be loved and care for in the way that would benefit them most. My passion to help others has increased tenfold after going through my mental health journey. I encourage open dialogue about mental health among anyone I encounter. Specifically, I am a strong advocate for therapy. One of my best friends was struggling mentally in the past year, and I was able to shift their mindset about therapy. They believed going to therapy meant that a person was weak, but I was able to convince them that going to a therapist for mental health is the same as going to a doctor for physical health. Going to therapy is taking an active step to deal with something that is very difficult, which demonstrates strength. My strong inclination to help others is also rooted in my academic work. I started working as a student-athlete tutor this semester, and it has been so rewarding to watch the students light up when they understand a topic. These student-athletes are hardworking and have busy schedules, and I admire their strength in being able to handle school and sports. All they need is a little help to be able to juggle it all. In my passion for helping others, I also have discovered my passion to help the world as a whole. After graduation, I plan to find a job in Materials Science in hopes of finding the most cost-effective materials for alternative energy sources such as solar panels. I will begin research in Electrochemistry next semester to begin learning about the field of Materials Science. Through my mental health journey, I have learned that life is not something you can go at alone. Humans need encouragement and support from others in order to truly thrive. We should strive to help those around us who are in need because someday we will be in need of it, too.

In March 2020, I was diagnosed with a vestibular schwannoma, which is a brain tumor that grows on the nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain. I was given two choices: do nothing and hope that the tumor would stop growing or have surgery and risk losing all my hearing in my right ear in the process. The decision was simple in my mind – get surgery so I would not have to worry about the tumor later in life. I knew that the hard part would be dealing with the highly likely scenario that I would wake up from surgery deaf in my right ear. That is exactly what happened. I felt the worst I ever had mentally right after my surgery. I isolated myself from others because I feared they would judge me for my lack of hearing. Due to social distancing measures, it made it easier to keep myself away from others and lock myself up even more. I didn’t even want to watch TV because I would catch myself mishearing things and be reminded of my unbalanced hearing. I fell into a deep depression. There were no distractions, no people, nothing that would guide me away from my own dark thoughts. When I first arrived at the University of Tulsa, I was terrified. I knew it was going to be insanely difficult to rebuild my self-confidence whilst also majoring in one of the infamously difficult STEM majors: Chemical Engineering. Though I was very anxious to talk to people at the start, I was able to force myself to converse with a few peers. I realized that I could still interact with people and have a good time. Even though it is sometimes tough to hear people, the pain of isolating myself from others would be so much worse than asking people to repeat themselves. There are a lot of people in the world with hearts of compassion, and I have been very lucky to find those people at TU. I strive every day to be one of these people. I had a self-realization that the reason I was so miserable in the past was due to inner-ableism. Ableism is defined as prejudice in favor of able-bodied people. I believed, whether conscious of it or not, that I was inferior to others because I had a difference that negatively impacted me in society. Now I realize that people should not shun themselves for their differences, but care for them and make appropriate adjustments to their daily lives to make things easier. I strongly believe in equity over equality. There is no “normal” – each person has different needs, but all deserve to be loved and care for in the way that would benefit them most. My passion to help others has increased tenfold after going through my mental health journey. I encourage open dialogue about mental health among anyone I encounter. Specifically, I am a strong advocate for therapy. One of my best friends was struggling mentally in the past year, and I was able to shift their mindset about therapy. They believed going to therapy meant that a person was weak, but I was able to convince them that going to a therapist for mental health is the same as going to a doctor for physical health. Going to therapy is taking an active step to deal with something that is very difficult, which demonstrates strength. My strong inclination to help others is also rooted in my academic work. I started working as a student-athlete tutor this semester, and it has been so rewarding to watch the students light up when they understand a topic. These student-athletes are hardworking and have busy schedules, and I admire their strength in being able to handle school and sports. All they need is a little help to be able to juggle it all. In my passion for helping others, I also have discovered my passion to help the world as a whole. After graduation, I plan to find a job in Materials Science in hopes of finding the most cost-effective materials for alternative energy sources such as solar panels. I will begin research in Electrochemistry next semester to begin learning about the field of Materials Science. Through my mental health journey, I have learned that life is not something you can go at alone. Humans need encouragement and support from others in order to truly thrive. We should strive to help those around us who are in need because someday we will be in need of it, too.

In March 2020, I was diagnosed with a vestibular schwannoma, which is a brain tumor that grows on the nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain. I was given two choices: do nothing and hope that the tumor would stop growing or have surgery and risk losing all my hearing in my right ear in the process. The decision was simple in my mind – get surgery so I would not have to worry about the tumor later in life. I knew that the hard part would be dealing with the highly likely scenario that I would wake up from surgery deaf in my right ear. That is exactly what happened. I felt the worst I ever had mentally right after my surgery. I isolated myself from others because I feared they would judge me for my lack of hearing. Due to social distancing measures, it made it easier to keep myself away from others and lock myself up even more. I didn’t even want to watch TV because I would catch myself mishearing things and be reminded of my unbalanced hearing. I fell into a deep depression. There were no distractions, no people, nothing that would guide me away from my own dark thoughts. When I first arrived at the University of Tulsa, I was terrified. I knew it was going to be insanely difficult to rebuild my self-confidence whilst also majoring in one of the infamously difficult STEM majors: Chemical Engineering. Though I was very anxious to talk to people at the start, I was able to force myself to converse with a few peers. I realized that I could still interact with people and have a good time. Even though it is sometimes tough to hear people, the pain of isolating myself from others would be so much worse than asking people to repeat themselves. There are a lot of people in the world with hearts of compassion, and I have been very lucky to find those people at TU. I strive every day to be one of these people. I had a self-realization that the reason I was so miserable in the past was due to inner-ableism. Ableism is defined as prejudice in favor of able-bodied people. I believed, whether conscious of it or not, that I was inferior to others because I had a difference that negatively impacted me in society. Now I realize that people should not shun themselves for their differences, but care for them and make appropriate adjustments to their daily lives to make things easier. I strongly believe in equity over equality. There is no “normal” – each person has different needs, but all deserve to be loved and care for in the way that would benefit them most. My passion to help others has increased tenfold after going through my mental health journey. I encourage open dialogue about mental health among anyone I encounter. Specifically, I am a strong advocate for therapy. One of my best friends was struggling mentally in the past year, and I was able to shift their mindset about therapy. They believed going to therapy meant that a person was weak, but I was able to convince them that going to a therapist for mental health is the same as going to a doctor for physical health. Going to therapy is taking an active step to deal with something that is very difficult, which demonstrates strength. My strong inclination to help others is also rooted in my academic work. I started working as a student-athlete tutor this semester, and it has been so rewarding to watch the students light up when they understand a topic. These student-athletes are hardworking and have busy schedules, and I admire their strength in being able to handle school and sports. All they need is a little help to be able to juggle it all. In my passion for helping others, I also have discovered my passion to help the world as a whole. After graduation, I plan to find a job in Materials Science in hopes of finding the most cost-effective materials for alternative energy sources such as solar panels. I will begin research in Electrochemistry next semester to begin learning about the field of Materials Science. Through my mental health journey, I have learned that life is not something you can go at alone. Humans need encouragement and support from others in order to truly thrive. We should strive to help those around us who are in need because someday we will be in need of it, too.

In March 2020, I was diagnosed with a vestibular schwannoma, which is a brain tumor that grows on the nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain. I was given two choices: do nothing and hope that the tumor would stop growing or have surgery and risk losing all my hearing in my right ear in the process. The decision was simple in my mind – get surgery so I would not have to worry about the tumor later in life. I knew that the hard part would be dealing with the highly likely scenario that I would wake up from surgery deaf in my right ear. That is exactly what happened. I felt the worst I ever had mentally right after my surgery. I isolated myself from others because I feared they would judge me for my lack of hearing. Due to social distancing measures, it made it easier to keep myself away from others and lock myself up even more. I didn’t even want to watch TV because I would catch myself mishearing things and be reminded of my unbalanced hearing. I fell into a deep depression. There were no distractions, no people, nothing that would guide me away from my own dark thoughts. When I first arrived at the University of Tulsa, I was terrified. I knew it was going to be insanely difficult to rebuild my self-confidence whilst also majoring in one of the infamously difficult STEM majors: Chemical Engineering. Though I was very anxious to talk to people at the start, I was able to force myself to converse with a few peers. I realized that I could still interact with people and have a good time. Even though it is sometimes tough to hear people, the pain of isolating myself from others would be so much worse than asking people to repeat themselves. There are a lot of people in the world with hearts of compassion, and I have been very lucky to find those people at TU. I strive every day to be one of these people. I had a self-realization that the reason I was so miserable in the past was due to inner-ableism. Ableism is defined as prejudice in favor of able-bodied people. I believed, whether conscious of it or not, that I was inferior to others because I had a difference that negatively impacted me in society. Now I realize that people should not shun themselves for their differences, but care for them and make appropriate adjustments to their daily lives to make things easier. I strongly believe in equity over equality. There is no “normal” – each person has different needs, but all deserve to be loved and care for in the way that would benefit them most. My passion to help others has increased tenfold after going through my mental health journey. I encourage open dialogue about mental health among anyone I encounter. Specifically, I am a strong advocate for therapy. One of my best friends was struggling mentally in the past year, and I was able to shift their mindset about therapy. They believed going to therapy meant that a person was weak, but I was able to convince them that going to a therapist for mental health is the same as going to a doctor for physical health. Going to therapy is taking an active step to deal with something that is very difficult, which demonstrates strength. My strong inclination to help others is also rooted in my academic work. I started working as a student-athlete tutor this semester, and it has been so rewarding to watch the students light up when they understand a topic. These student-athletes are hardworking and have busy schedules, and I admire their strength in being able to handle school and sports. All they need is a little help to be able to juggle it all. In my passion for helping others, I also have discovered my passion to help the world as a whole. After graduation, I plan to find a job in Materials Science in hopes of finding the most cost-effective materials for alternative energy sources such as solar panels. I will begin research in Electrochemistry next semester to begin learning about the field of Materials Science. Through my mental health journey, I have learned that life is not something you can go at alone. Humans need encouragement and support from others in order to truly thrive. We should strive to help those around us who are in need because someday we will be in need of it, too.