I sit in my living room, engulfed by the comfort of my couch, when my mother suddenly called me to her room. I think nothing of it because it is usually conversations about school or chores. However, as I make my way into my mothers’ room, she greeted me with a feeling of despair and a face of sorrow. Confusion waves through my body for I know the conversation could not be going in the right direction. I stood frozen, as silence lingered through the air, allowing my mom to be the first to fill the silence. She opened her mouth only to reveal that my best friend had killed himself. The room was loud and my head was banging, as I could hear her repeat those words repeatedly in my head. Without a word, I simply turned around and left out the room in disbelief. I went back to my couch and just then, I began to cry. I cried and cried and cried until the water dried from my eyes and I sat there to think and conjure up what my mother told me. Someone that I have grown up with my entire life, was now gone. Apart of me was gone and for someone that was only 13 years old, it was a lot to carry. I remember every memory I have had with Will, the good and the bad. For a long time, I let his death become the best of me. Not wanting to create new relationships and was scared that if I did, I would somehow ruin it. I closed myself off from the world and I only showed certain parts of myself. For a while that worked, but it did not stop the overwhelming feelings I felt when I thought of Will. However, I had to face my fears head-on; I began to accept that things were not going to change. That Will would not suddenly appear, and my life would go back to normal. I had to accept the fact that I will never be 100 percent okay, and that is okay. I took Will’s death as an opportunity to learn more about the world and myself. I always knew about mental health, but never really had conversations about it. I soon started to delve deep into my mental well-being and learn about what makes me happy and how I can improve my mental health. I became more thoughtful with my words and actions, and I prioritize myself over anything else. Will also made me realize, how much care should go into relationships. I was finally able to understand my peers and the people around me. I am more cautious of the way I act and what I say. Not only am I more cautious but I am simply more aware of the effects of poor mental health. Therefore, I do my best to create a welcoming, loving, and nurturing environment for all people that I meet by being open and honest and allowing people to feel like they can trust me. Since I graduated high school, I want to be able to help and inspire the world by focusing on mental well-being. It is my dream to graduate college with a psychology or global health degree and use that to educate others on mental health. I specifically want to work in the Milwaukee area because I believe that there should be more efforts in helping the people in my community that do not have a voice to speak out about their mental health.

My whole life I have only been raised by my mom. A single black women, who worked hard everyday to provide for her children. Although I did not grow up with much money at all, I learned from my mom what it means to work hard for a better life. Growing up I did not get to experience a lot of the things that other children got to experience as a child. I never had a lavish Christmas, while other children opened up boxes and boxes of toys, filled with barbies and iPads, I was lucky enough to get a doll or a little cash to spend at the dollar store. I never went on vacations, not even outside of the city of Milwaukee, where I grew up. My mother had me at a young age, so getting support from anywhere we could, made a big difference. Going to get free food or clothes from different charities and drives, is what made living possible for us. My mom was lucky enough to get me into private school and she worked hard for me to get a good education. I knew that my mom wanted the best for me, which is why I took my education very seriously. Although I could not afford a lot of the nice programs and resources my peers got to experience, I made sure to get straight A's and participate in extracurriculars and sports in school. I wanted to not only feel accomplished, but also make my mother proud. As I got older, I felt as though I was trapped in the same spaces that I had grown up in my whole life. I did not know the possibilities that I could reach. Knowing where I came from I would have never thought that I could attend college and get a degree. However, I knew that I wanted to do something larger with my life, something greater than I could have ever imagined growing up. My mom never got to take her education as seriously because of her children, and was confined in the spaces she could only think of. I had always dreamed of going to college, I was taught that college was my way of creating a name and place for myself. That if I got a degree I could make more money than I could imagine or had dreamed of as a kid. So I applied to my competitive in state public school, hoping and praying that I would get in. Finding myself circling back to the kid I was, feeling like I was not good enough to get into college because I dd not have to resources or money that my other peers had. However, I was blessed enough to get into college, but I did not know my next steps. I am not a first generation college student, my mother got her associates degree from a nearby college. However, she did not get to experience or have the time to go through four years of college. I felt alone, I didn't know the first steps after getting into college. My mind would race all day about what will become of me once I get to college. Will I be judged because of my background? Will I not find the help I need to succeed in college? Will I have the money to even make it through college? Not only that, but what do I want to be once I am older. What will I study? What are my passions? What difference do I want to make in the world? After tons of research and talking to many people, I found a passion in global health. I knew I was good at math and science, but I also knew that I wanted to do more than just study and research topics. So, not only could I discover new things, but I could help people that grew up just like me, by studying global health. I have found a passion in looking at underserved communities, especially the areas that I grew up in, and seeing how underfunding and overlooking certain communities and neighborhoods, could have detrimental effects on peoples health. Learning about not only the body but how different diseases can spread and affect humans. I wish I could tell my younger self, the little black girl that had no idea what would become of her life, that there is hope. Now that I am older, I feel as though I own it to younger children to not only help research and find solutions to outbreaks and diseases that are effecting their communities, but for them to feel like their is a voice advocating for them. That the world is not as small as the four walls that they are growing up in. That there is more to life and just because someone has grown up in poor conditions, does not mean that that will dictate the life that is ahead of them. I serve as a testament to the community I grew up in, that anything is possible. I also want to thank my mom for seeing something greater in her daughter and fighting everyday to give me the life that she never had.

I sit in my living room, engulfed by the comfort of my couch, when my mother suddenly called me to her room. I think nothing of it because it is usually conversations about school or chores. However, as I make my way into my mothers’ room, she greeted me with a feeling of despair and a face of sorrow. Confusion waves through my body for I know the conversation could not be going in the right direction. I stood frozen, as silence lingered through the air, allowing my mom to be the first to fill the silence. She opened her mouth only to reveal that my best friend had killed himself. The room was loud and my head was banging, as I could hear her repeat those words repeatedly in my head. Without a word, I simply turned around and left out the room in disbelief. I went back to my couch and just then, I began to cry. I cried and cried and cried until the water dried from my eyes and I sat there to think and conjure up what my mother told me. Someone that I have grown up with my entire life, was now gone. Apart from me was gone and for someone that was only 13 years old, it was a lot to carry. I remember every memory I have had with Will, the good and the bad. For a long time, I let his death become the best of me. Not wanting to create new relationships and was scared that if I did, I would somehow ruin it. I closed myself off from the world and I only showed certain parts of myself. For a while that worked, but it did not stop the overwhelming feelings I felt when I thought of Will. However, I had to face my fears head-on; I began to accept that things were not going to change. That Will would not suddenly appear, and my life would go back to normal. I had to accept the fact that I will never be 100 percent okay, and that is okay. I took Will’s death as an opportunity to learn more about the world and myself. I always knew about mental health, but never really had conversations about it. I soon started to delve deep into my mental well-being and learn about what makes me happy and how I can improve my mental health. I became more thoughtful with my words and actions, and I prioritize myself over anything else. Will also made me realize, how much care should go into relationships. I was finally able to understand my peers and the people around me. I am more cautious of the way I act and what I say. Not only am I more cautious but I am simply more aware of the effects of poor mental health. Therefore, I do my best to create a welcoming, loving, and nurturing environment for all people that I meet by being open and honest and allowing people to feel like they can trust me. Since I graduated high school, I want to be able to help and inspire the world by focusing on mental well-being. It is my dream to graduate college with a psychology degree and use that to educate others on mental health. I specifically want to work in the Milwaukee area because I believe that there should be more efforts in helping the people in my community that do not have a voice to speak out about their mental health.