Healthcare is essential to the continuation of the human race. I have recently, within the past 5 years, peaked interest in holistic health. I think that the determination of the health of the world is due to a lack of connection to the natural ways of living and healing. The medical system today in my opinion is monetarily motivated. Coming back to nature's healers and promoting healthy lifestyle choices and education can greatly reduce the amount of health risks and conditions found today. Studies have shown significant changes in individuals' health with simple diet and exercise changes coupled with healthier lifestyle choices such as cessation of smoking. I have chosen a path in health care because I have been affected by the deaths of loved ones that I learned later could have been still here today with the practices of holistic medicine. I also used to struggle with addiction and mental health which I found solutions for in holistic medicine. I plan with my degree to create a line of products that are natural and can aid in everyday ailments and first aid. This will be targeted to mothers and low-income families. I also want to be able to share my knowledge and educate other women on the potential benefits of herbal remedies and healthier lifestyle choices for our families. I hold traditional beliefs that the woman is in charge of the home while the man works to provide. I think that planting the seed of holistic medicine can be a start to influence this life in future generations. This is also been proven to be an astounding benefactor in preventive medicine as well, so the younger we can start these practices the better and faster we can see an improvement in the health of the world. I am currently pursuing my Bachelor's degree at Everglades University in Alternative Medicine. I have been able to maintain a 4.0 while also homeschooling my five-year-old and working part-time. While doing so I have fallen short and on hard times in trying to keep up with my schooling costs. This scholarship will allow me to continue my education with no interruptions and accomplish my goal of educating and caring for women through holistic natural practice. Not only would these teachings and practices help women but they could have the potential to reach many generations after us. This is critical to the success of our children and their children to be able to live a long happy life in spiritual, mental, and physical harmony.

Mental health has impacted my life in many ways beginning in my youth. I am currently a 35 year old mother of four beautiful children. At the age of about 10 I began seeing a therapist for a childhood trauma that I had experienced. From that age on I went to see multiple doctors and was placed on many many different medications. I was struggling with mood regulation and severe depression. They diagnosed me with bipolar manic depressiveness and later with personality disorder. I struggled greatly and began to use drugs in my teen years. I was in search of the magic pill or substance that could just take all my pain away and make me just function normal. By my senior year I was pregnant and had dropped out of high school. I gave birth to my first son and things seemed a bit better but before he could turn one, i was back to drugs. I gave birth to my next two children during this time living a fast life of just drugs partying and being a mom at the same time, although not a very good one. As my children grew, I knew I had to do better. I lost their father due to alcoholism and it was a real wake up call. We were not even in our 30's yet and he was gone and i was here alone for our children. I still struggled for time to time with relapse, but continued to stay strong. I was working full time, going to school and had found a new partner. As life has you, I took another turn. I lost my partner to gun violence, which sent me into relapse. I found myself drinking and smoking weed again just looking to numb the pain. This once again put a strain on me and my children's relationship. Although i was working and still taking care of them as i should, I was also drunk a lot of the time. The birth of my youngest daughter came during that time, whose father was nowhere around as he "didnt have time for a child". Stuck again in a situation I put myself in due to poor decision making while intoxicated, I had a choice to make. I could crumble, or finally stand on what is trying to bring me down and rise. I chose to rise. It was not a drug, a therapist, a miracle treatment that helped me, it was my new found spirituality. I began to read the Bible, and found in it stories of tribulation and purification. I than expanded my spirituality and dived into ancient texts of spirituality from around the world. Stories of being tried through fire, being tested, being given battles to strengthen all gave me a sense to understand my life experiences. My new found spiritual strength has sent me on a path now to where I understand my purpose, I found the career that I want and am actively and consistently pursuing it, but most importantly I AM SOBER!!! I currently am studying the Bachelors program for Alternative Medicine. I chose this path because during my time of addiction I discovered that the many different medications I was tried on as a youth none had successful effect. As an adult i began experimenting with natural substances such as herbs, plants, trees, that aid in mood enhancing and other areas of mental health. These were what really helped me, and with no addictive qualities that some of the medication I had been on came with. I want to be able to help others that may have similar stories as me and young teen mothers as well with not just herbs but my experience and knowledge. I want to be able to teach the skills I learned to cope and just natural remedies to aid in total mental health.

I am currently a mother of four children seeking to better my education and pursue my goals of becoming an herbalist. I have part of my schooling covered with loans and grants but still need to pay off about 3000 dollars (includes books for each semester). I work a part time job that covers almost my full monthly payment, but have recently been really struggling to make ends meet. If I can not find aid I fear I may have to put my goals on hold again until I can afford it. I became a mother very young, my senior year. I did not graduate but went back and got my GED. Being a young mother, my goals were not necessarily on what i wanted to do, but what could provide right than. I never did find my career until recently. I homeschool my 5 year old and during this time i found a love for gardening and natural healing. I grew so fond of it, I began schooling in alternative medicine. My ultimate goal is to create a natural line of products accessible to low income families. I also want to be able to spread what i learn to others and teach the healing powers of nature. This scholarship can greatly aid in helping me to achieve my goals as an herbalist and be able to better support my family. I have always wanted and enjoyed being able to help others, and this field will allow me to do so while support my family at the same time. It is also a skill that I can pass down to my children and inspire others with potentially better the overall health of not just individuals but the world. I came from a background of young mother hood, alcoholism, drug abuse, and severe mental health problems. I have since been through treatment and have been sober for 4 years. What helped me the most outside of support from friends and family were herbs. Whether it was me growing them. trying different ones to aid in my withdraw and emotional imbalance, or just educating my self on centuries long used herbs. In addition to creating products and teching, I would love to share my story of addiction and mental health with others like me that may also benefit from the natural remedies that aid with addiction. Although there are many resources in western medicine for these problems, the hundreds of different medications and therapies never worked for me personally. Plants did. I feel I could impact many lives for the better if I could finish my education and pursue my career goals.

The degree that I am pursing is in Alternative medicine, but my end goal of the program does include not only mental health, but addiction as well. I struggled through my life with mental health issues and drug/alcohol addiction. I have also lost numerous friends through my life to both. It is a topic that is hits very close to my heart. Last year I lost my Uncle who was very near and dear to me to an overdose. The thing with mental health issues and addiction is that it's not a disease that only hurts the individual, but everyone involved in their life. It took me many years to mend self and mend relationships that I ruined during those years. I was a child that was a guinea pig to multiple different medications, some new and in trial stages, but none of which ever worked. Some even made me feel worse than I would without it. To this day I can not tell you the amount of different mental help and addiction medications I have been on, but i know i am not on any today and have never been better. In alternative medicine the main focus is not just on sickness of the body but the health of mind body and soul as a whole. Not finding what I needed in the allopathic field, I turned to an ancient more natural source, nature. I found that in nature there are a wide variety of plants, herbs, flowers, and even trees that can greatly aid in ones mental health and aid in addiction. My goal of my studies is to gain more knowledge of these things and create a natural line of products for low income families that aid in metal health, addiction, and just everyday ailments. I want to also be a support source for anyone I come into contact with that are past or present addicts. It is a epidemic that is and has been sweeping the world and crushing hearts everywhere. I feel if more affordable products, even ones that you can grow yourself can greatly aid in these issues without presenting some problems that allopathic medication can present. I thank My Higher Power for allowing me to survive my addiction and mental health, giving me a connection and chance to reach and help others that went through the same journey. Thank you greatly for your time and allowing me to share my experiences with you.

I am a stay at home mother of four children. I also currently work part time as custodian for a Woman's Business center. I am also homeschooling my youngest, as well as attending school myself. I am enrolled in the Alternative Medicine bachelors program at Everglades University. I have chose the online option as it is more flexible and fits into my busy schedule. My reason for going back to school was to gain knowledge to be able to create my own line of natural products for everyday elements. I want these products to be able to target low income families such as myself. It is hard to find reasonably priced natural medicines. I also want to be able to teach other single moms and low income mothers the knowledge behind natural medicine. A great example of a plant that I think all people should know about is the power of plantain weed(not the fruit). The power of this plant I have been able to show my children first hand. This plant when chewed up and applied to a wound will instantly stop bleeding. It can also aid in insect bites and stings as well used in the same manner. It has been a great journey for me to get to where I am at today. Through my late teens into my late 20's, I struggled a great deal with addiction and alcohol. It was a point in my life where I feel was rock bottom, I had become in my eyes a great failure not only to me but to my 3 children at the time as well. It has been a long road of recovery, but I am very happy that I can say today I stand here 4 years sober. I never forget what I went through during those years as it has made me stronger today in pursuing a better life for me and my children. I want to earn a skill that I can pass down to them as well as others around me in my community. I think there are many natural products in the world that can greatly aid people as well in addiction. Even former addicts who may be sick or in pain but don't want to chance taking a prescription medication. If I was chosen to be a recipient of this award, it would greatly aid in paying off my student loans, and get me that much closer to the start of my business. As I am enrolled in a 4 year program it is a bit expensive and I am barley making my monthly payments. As we all know inflation has taken a great toll as well on our family. We live check to check and are barley scraping by. The money from this scholarship can aid me and my family to getting into a better position and that much closer to achieving my academic and professional career. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Mental health has greatly impacted my life in a number of ways. Not only have I in the past struggled with mental health, I have many friends and family members who suffer as well. From the age of about 10 I struggled with restless thoughts and depression. As I grew so did my emotional struggle. I turned to addiction as many of my friends and family members did. The difference was I survived, many of them did not. Mental health has had a major impact on my goals, relationships and understanding of the world. Mental health has greatly impacted my goals in life not only negatively, but also in a positive manner. Through my teenage and young adult years, I was a diagnosed bipolar/manic depressive. With no medications that were working for me, as they would either turn me to a zombie or make me feel worse, I turned to drugs and alcohol as many do. This caused my dream of gaining that volleyball scholarship to fail. My dream of working as a Vet failed. The beginning of my motherhood I felt like a failure. It has been a long road of recovery but today I can look back and be thankful, because that journey inspired who I am and want to be. I am now in the field of Alternative Medicine. My particular focus herbal remedies. Things that could've helped me when I was younger, I want to be able to make available for others. My mental health also greatly impacted my relationships more for the negative. This occurred mostly in my addiction days. I hurt many people during those times, and have worked hard on forgiving my self as well as seeking forgiveness. When one is struggling with mental health issues seeking help, but can't find it, it is hard for them to focus on the people around them. You do not realize in the moment who you are hurting or the damage to certain relationships you are doing. I can say the bonds that remain or that can be mended after a battle with mental health, are usually bonds that are very hard to break. Me and my mom for example had a horrible relationship growing up but she was always there through every episode. Today our bond is stronger than it has ever been now that I am healthy and have things in control. Battling with mental health I fell makes your understanding of the world much different. You learn to be more accepting of others, tend to be kinder to others, and tend to be less judgmental. You also learn to appreciate the world in a way I think is unique to those who become victorious over the battle. It also made me see how many people truly battle with this issue, and made me want to reach out and help. I would never want anyone to feel the way I have at moments, but I know people do. If there is the slightest chance that I can help someone through that I will. I realized also the world is not always as it seems. Prescription medications and certain western medical practices are not made for everyone. Some people respond better to a natural way of healing. People like me. Mental health has greatly impacted my life but not solely in a negative manner. My battles inspired goals, strengthened relationships, and opened my understanding of the world. I now want to be able to reach out to those who are struggling with things I have in the past to try a new approach. A holistic approach to the aid in mental health and addictions. We were all created with emotions, some just have to learn how to handle, express, and deal with them in a different way.

I am currently 35 and have struggled with metal health since 10 and substance abuse through my early adulthood years. When I was younger, I was diagnosed with bipolar/ manic depressive. I was on a plethora of different medications some new, some old, none which worked. Therefore, I began to seek out other ways to feel better, introducing me to drugs and alcohol. I can remember the first major events that introduced me to drugs, the birth of my first son. I had my oldest, 17, in my senior year. I dropped out to work, but I had a lot of pain with the pregnancy and afterwards. Towards the end I was put on pain medication and monitored in the hospital for two weeks until they could induce me. After that I was constantly looking for ways to get them. My addiction spread to weed and alcohol, which than led to crack/cocaine. During this time I gave birth to my next two children(13,15). I became a single mother, and struggled greatly with alcohol after overcoming the crack addiction cold turkey. I worked a crazy amount of hours and would come home take care of the kids, and drink myself to sleep. I did it to cope with all the pain I felt from past doings, being a single mom, and being just burned out in general. I eventually checked my self in to a two week rehab for the drinking. I did ok for a bit, than I lost the father of my two middle children to Cirrhosis of the liver. He had been a drinker since 15 and passed at only 24. His death really caused me to spiral. After I lost him, I finally began to date again, than I lost my boyfriend to a shooting. So that death once again made me spiral. I had left behind the hard drugs, but the alcohol always remained as a comfort. I had lost hope in the doctors as in the past they just threw me on all types of medication and none of it ever helped. About four years ago I met my now husband. Him, with God first, helped me to get sober and stay sober. Since I have been sober, I have been able to identify what things that occurred in my life that would make me feel so down and out. I was able to forgive and heal from situations that before I had hid and never really talked about. Continuing my education is just the next step of my healing process. I am currently enrolled in Everglades University's Alternative Medicine program. During my journey of sobriety I have found a multitude of herbal remedies and practices that not only help with depression but also addiction. I feel that these items have helped me more than any prescription ever did. They don't make you feel addicted to them or that you have to have them. The herbs don't zombify you, you can still keep in tact with your true self while the herbs help the imbalance inside. With my degree I want to create a line of herbal products for low income families to have a second and affordable option to help their children, loved ones struggling with mental health or addiction. Being an addict was the lowest point in my life. I feel though that I had to hit rock bottom in order to be strong in my true calling, to help people like me. To help even children that are labeled and diagnosed with disorders, or drug abusers by showing them alternative options to the pharmaceuticals. I feel like if I knew the benefit of the herbal remedies before, my mental health would have improved earlier on, and I would not have become an addict. As stated I don't regret my past because it made me the strong, persistent, and willed mother I am today.