Since I have had social media, my mental health deteriorated, and I started to have a very bad image of myself. I was no longer comfortable in my own skin. I wanted to look like the girls on Instagram. I felt overweight I would starve myself. I turned to a very close friend who helped me realize that my body is perfect the way it is. So, I feel that mental health is a very important aspect to the human's holistic health. You have to comfortable with yourself before you can love others. My generation has struggled with the stigmas of going to therapy and the generational gap between our families. That is why you see many more teenage outbursts or many more mental disorders in teens. Many of my friends have mental disorders. These disorders include depression, anxiety, and bipolar. I have been trying to help them with their journey through life by giving them a helping hand when they need it. I want to pursue a career in Physical Therapy. There I will not only help patients with their rehabilitation but their mental health. Some patients need to be completely healed to feel good about themselves. I hope to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

I am Laura Wilson I come from a small town in West Virgina called Fort Ashby. My parents are divorced and never remarried. My parents never received higher education, so I am a first-generation college student. My mother raised me in a Catholic church that I go to every Sunday. There was a time where my faith in God was tarnished. I lost the one person who every understood me, my inspiration. I didn't want to live anymore. I kept asking God "why her?" Then my mother took my hand and said "God is with you. You just have to pray." I prayed and prayed that evening. I prayed for the grief to go away. In that moment I felt a big weight being lifted from my shoulders. I was no longer grieving as hard. I went outside and I took a deep breath and looked around at the beautiful green earth. I felt alive. My faith in God became stronger than ever. Another instance where God has played a role in my life was when my brother couldn't talk. My brother has Autism, and he wouldn't speak so after years of speech therapy and praying he began to speak. I have been so grateful in how far he has come. I hope to inspire my brother into being good to others. My dream has always been to help others in need. I have already made a huge impact on others through community service. One of those services was putting together poor boxes for families in need. This was through my church at Saint Anthony's in Ridgeley, WV. I will always remember the face of a grandmother that I gave a food box to. I saw the worry immediately leave her face replaced with a big smile. She said, "oh how a blessed Christmas this is." After that i got in my car and cried with tears of joy because I helped someone. I have also impacted others by reaching out to others. Every time I see a veteran out, I make sure to thank him/her for their service to our beautiful country. I am planning to pursue a career in Physical Therapy. This will fulfill my dream of helping others and making my family proud. Through my career I plan to use my faith and love to care for others. I would be deeply honored to receive this scholarship because it will help me pursue my dreams and what i have been praying for. Thank you and God bless!

I have been volunteering since I was very young because my family volunteers for various things. I was raised to volunteer any time I could because volunteering is a slowly decreasing thing in this generation. Volunteering is not just giving your time to do things. It is about inspiring and communicating with your community. For example, volunteer firefighters aren't just giving their time they are risking their lives and inspiring their communities. I remember my very first volunteer experience, when I helped my church's food drive. We delivered food to those in need. Today, I have joined my local fire hall and VFW. I am a non-running member of the Short Gap Volunteer Fire Department and a member of Fort Ashby VFW Post #6667. Some things I have volunteered for; Veterans Day Dinners, Benefit dinners for those in need, Wing dinners, a hunger mission with my church, and concession stands at my high school (so a broad array of things). I have pertained different skills with my volunteer experience. For example, confidence, communication, and quick thinking. As i have progressed through volunteering i have learned how to speak to others effectively. I used to stutter and make no eye contact. Now i have the communication skills and confidence to speak to others. My volunteer experience has shaped my goal of higher education because I want to help others in my career. The higher education that I will go for is my associates degree at Allegany College of Maryland. I am planning to pursue the career of Physical Therapist Assistant. I was automatically drawn to this scholarship because Tam was a WWII veteran. My grandfather is a Vietnam veteran. So, I would be deeply honored to receive this scholarship because it will help me fulfill my dreams in helping others and make my grandfather proud. Along with my dreams of helping others I was drawn to becoming a Physical Therapist Assistant when my grandmother's health began to deteriorate. I assisted her when she needed to move around from place to place. I would also help her exercise when she needed my assistance. I also want to make my grandmother proud with my higher education. I strive to be a good person by volunteering and reaching out to my community. I continue to volunteer with my local fire hall and VFW. After i get my college classes in line am hoping to take the firefighting classes to become a firefighter.