Acetaminophen and Hydrocodone Bitartrate 325 mg / 10 mg was the first opioid I tried. My chronic pain-the burden that had weighed on me for weeks, months, years-was temporarily removed. This feeling of temporary freedom was incredible. Was the medication prescribed to me? No. But did I need it? Yes. This usage moved to using oxycodone: The feeling of freedom was even greater. As time progressed, the number of pills needed to feel temporary freedom increased. The type of pain medication also had to change: Ketorolac, diclofenac sodium and codeine. These new medications also had to increase dosage. And this increase was necessary. Because I needed freedom. At my yearly physical a few months after I initially started to use, my blood work showed that I had early liver failure. My provider wanted me to see a GI doctor. I did. They did an endonoscopy and noticed I had severe ulcers from medication overuse. They immediately put me on high doses of omeprazole to reverse the damage I caused to my GI tract and recommended to all of my pain management providers that I immediately be taken off of pain medications. My pain management psychologist referred me out to a Dialectical Behavioral Therapist. I began my treatment for medication abuse. Throughout my treatment, which was debilitating, frustrating and infuriating, I realized something: My recovery meant I had freedom. Not temporary freedom but permanent freedom. I was 15 when I first used. It has been 572 days since I last used.

Out of all the memes I have ever seen, from "BBQ Becky", to Trump's Altered Executive Orders, to more recent ones, such as Bernie Sanders at Biden's Inauguration, "Women Yelling at Cat" has stood out to me, and no matter how many times I see the meme, I always laugh! To me, this meme embodies every reality TV show, Thanksgiving dinner and what I would call "Karen" culture. "Women Yelling at Cat" is simply relatable. To me, because the meme is so relatable, that's why I can never stop laughing everytime I see it. You might see a caption like "When Karen asks to speak to the manager." Or, to prove my point perfectly about reality TV, Kim Kardashian, portrayed by the woman in the meme, yelling that she lost her earings in the ocean and her sister, portrayed by the cat in the meme, yelling that "there's people that are dying" (S6 E12). A whole Twitter page, @Womanvscat, exists to solely post variations of this meme. It's golden! So, I continue to see "Woman Yelling at Cat" as being an embodiment of something that at least every human has experienced once, or have experienced multiple times, like myself :)

I am currently a second year music major at my local community college. Next year, I will be transferring to a four-year institution to pursue my bachelor of arts in music, as music is a strong passion for me, and therefore what I want to major in. While I may be majoring in music, my career path is very different. From my bachelors program, I would like to attend New York University (NYU) and receive my JD in regulatory law. Then, I would like to receive an LLM in healthcare law, also from NYU. I am interested in pursuing a career in healthcare law, specifically in medical insurance and medical malpractice trial law. Ultimately, I would like to serve as a Federal Circuit Judge or run a private practice in the above mentioned law. Currently, one of the largest factors affecting the future of my educational goals are finances. My father is the campus pastor for a Baptist church near me, so while it is wonderful that he continues to honor and glorify God with his career path, the pay is not something to write home about. As a result, and especially considering that my mother stays home with all six of her kids, including myself, finances sometimes become a little tight, bug ultimately, I know that God will continue to watch over my family and me and continue to ensure that we have everything we could possibly need and then some. I am attending our local community college, in which I have been blessed with receiving a last-dollar scholarship for my tuition, of which fifteen hours of community service is required every semester. I always chose to volunteer with the population I feel the most vulnerable: the elderly. There is a retirement home near me that I gladly volunteer at, whether I keep the residents company, help reorganize/clean-up storage areas of the home or become involved with resident activities. Doing such volunteerism is extremely fulfilling and allows me to spread the word of God simply by my actions. The thing that excites me the most about the world is how intricate, complex and amazing the world is. With over seven billion people in the world, all from different backgrounds, cultures and ideologies, I think it's truly amazing just how everything is able to operate so perfectly and wonderfully, and it's all because of God. His creation never ceases to amaze me. With so many different cultures at play, there is also a great amount of opportunity to learn about, appreciate and partake in the different elements of these cultures. Living in the United States of America, such opportunity is evident everywhere you go, especially when traveling to large cities. So, what excites me the most about this world is how much there is out there that I have yet to discover and experience. Regarding how I want to give back to my community, I try to do so no matter where I am in life. Currently, I tutor children with learning disabilities, such as ADD, ADHD and dyslexia, and I gladly do so at about half the cost that a normal learning disabilities tutor would charge. Of course, I volunteer at retirement communities near me and participate in many church activities, such as Vacation Bible School, community outreach fundraisers and simply through spreading the word of the Lord to those in our community by living of, for and like Jesus. While I am financially limited to what I can do to help those around me, I realize just how big of a difference the scholarship I am currently on has made regarding relieving the financial stress on my family and to a great extent. As a result, I am strongly interested in philanthropy when I begin a career in law, as I know that my future profession is fortunate enough to experience high pay. Then there's the reason why I want to go into my future profession: I currently suffer from chronic neck pain, and every step of the way, insurance has tried to strike down costly treatments options that have great potential to help relieve my pain. So, I want to pursue a career where I can provide legal help to those who are in the same position I am, especially those who cannot financially afford legal representation but still need adequate Healthcare nonetheless. I feel that pursuing such a career will allow me to live for Christ, doing His work day-to-day, helping those unable to help themselves.