Disney is the most magical thing. Disney has helped me through some of the hardest things in life and is my comfort item. I love how in Pixar movies there is always a lesson, but it is never what you expect it to be. In the original or classic Disney movies there is hope, love, empowerment, and it shows that there can be a happy ending. My favorite Disney movie is Lion King. I try to base my life choices off Hakuna Matata. There are no worries and life can always get better. It is also important to be true to yourself and remember your roots. It is good to get out and explore the world, but it is important to remember the people and things that got you there. Also, hold tight to those you love and fight for what you believe in. Life is too precious to settle, or to not tell someone you love them. You never know when it will be the last. My mom passed away when I was 21. I watched Lion King every day for months as my comfort movie. Disney in general helps me remember the kid in me and helps me enjoy the little things in life. When life is hard, Disney helps me find something positive to believe in so I can continue. As I am continuing my education I will keep Dory in my head and, "just keep swimming." Counseling is more than just having our clients tell us how they feel. Counseling is helping individuals find their self-worth. Counseling is helping individuals find their reason to keep pushing through the hard things. Counseling is helping individuals continue their story. Counseling is an opportunity for self-improvement, and for improvement in families and groups. Counseling is helping individuals discover their path and their passions. Disney will be used in my office when I become a counselor. There are so many positive lines to help encourage people to be their best selves. Hakuna Matata, remember who you are, just keep swimming, a dream is a wish your heart makes, ohana means family and family means no one gets left behind, you can wish upon a star, but you must put in the work to make it happen, you cannot marry someone you just met, love is true magic. With Disney, possibilities are endless. I love that Disney is for both children and their parents too.

My mom was a wonder woman. We went through so many struggles and I would have never known if it weren't for her apologizing for not being a better mom when she fell ill. I had the chance to watch her find her self-worth and chase her dreams. My mom finally went to school for cosmotology when I graduated high school. I encouraged her with an ultimatum and said that I would not pursue my dreams unless she did hers. She always made sure we had enough food, a roof over our head, and all the things we needed for school. I never felt like we went without anything because of the love she had for my brother and I. She passed away almost 9 years ago. I am continuing to follow my dreams because I know she would want me to. I became initially interested in psychology after realizing that there is a lack of mental health support in my community. I have a few friends who were contemplating suicide and I felt helpless trying to help them through their problems. It was this moment that I decided I wanted to learn about mental illnesses, human behavior, and how to help others. These experiences influenced my decision to take my first psychology course in high school. I had to take a break in my schooling when I graduated high school and worked with the general public in a sales position. While I was in that role I met a woman who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She fascinated me and helped me find my love for psychology all over again. It was interesting speaking with her and noticing the difference from her good days to her bad days. This woman helped encourage me to pursue my passion all over again. I then went on to learn more about different fields in psychology in my four years of undergraduate school. I was able to learn more about what motivates people and how our minds all process and respond to information differently. I have grown more interest in learning even more about the human mind and how to help those in need. Counseling is more than just having our clients tell us how they feel. Counseling is helping individuals find their self-worth. Counseling is helping individuals find their reason to keep pushing through the hard things. Counseling is helping individuals continue their story. Counseling is an opportunity for self-improvement, and for improvement in families and groups. Counseling is helping individuals discover their path and their passions.

I became initially interested in psychology after realizing that there is a lack of mental health support in my community. I have a few friends who were contemplating suicide and I felt helpless trying to help them through their problems. It was this moment that I decided I wanted to learn about mental illnesses, human behavior, and how to help others. These experiences influenced my decision to take my first psychology course in high school. I had to take a break in my schooling when I graduated high school and worked with the general public in a sales position. While I was in that role I met a woman who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She fascinated me and helped me find my love for psychology all over again. It was interesting speaking with her and noticing the difference from her good days to her bad days. This woman helped encourage me to pursue my passion all over again. I then went on to learn more about different fields in psychology in my four years of undergraduate school. I was able to learn more about what motivates people and how our minds all process and respond to information differently. I have grown more interest in learning even more about the human mind and how to help those in need. Counseling is more than just having our clients tell us how they feel. Counseling is helping individuals find their self-worth. Counseling is helping individuals find their reason to keep pushing through the hard things. Counseling is helping individuals continue their story. Counseling is an opportunity for self-improvement, and for improvement in families and groups. Counseling is helping individuals discover their path and their passions. I currently live in rural Wyoming where there are not as many resources for those suffering from mental illnesses for certain parts of the community. Our homeless population is growing and many of them suffer from mental illnesses or addictions. Our low income families have little to no resources or opportunities for services to help with these issues as well. I learned more about this during my year of working for the Wyoming Department of Family Services as an investigative case worker. I worked alongside multiple families who were having issues with their mental health or addictions and they had nowhere to go for support, guidance, and help. I worked with families who had experienced death of a loved one, loss of pregnancy, loss of a child, battered women, children who had been sexually assaulted, and saw a serious disconnect in resources for them and their mental health. I know this is the path the universe wants me to take. I met these families for a reason. In my position at the Wyoming Department of Family services I learned how to use empathy to encourage families to make changes necessary in their thought process and daily lives. I learned how to be both a participant and a leader in others lives when it comes to making the necessary changes to improve their state of mind and life patterns. Our role in the Department was to encourage our clients and offer resources, but more than this I helped my families realize why these items were important and how they would positively impact their lives. In this position I also learned how to work with people of all different backgrounds and to never judge someone by what they have done, as well as enforcing the confidentiality aspect of professions such as counseling and social work.

I became initially interested in psychology after realizing that there is a lack of mental health support in my community. I have a few friends who were contemplating suicide and I felt helpless trying to help them through their problems. It was this moment that I decided I wanted to learn about mental illnesses, human behavior, and how to help others. These experiences influenced my decision to take my first psychology course in high school. I had to take a break in my schooling when I graduated high school and worked with the general public in a sales position. While I was in that role I met a woman who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She fascinated me and helped me find my love for psychology all over again. It was interesting speaking with her and noticing the difference from her good days to her bad days. This woman helped encourage me to pursue my passion all over again. I then went on to learn more about different fields in psychology in my four years of undergraduate school. I was able to learn more about what motivates people and how our minds all process and respond to information differently. I have grown more interest in learning even more about the human mind and how to help those in need. Counseling is more than just having our clients tell us how they feel. Counseling is helping individuals find their self-worth. Counseling is helping individuals find their reason to keep pushing through the hard things. Counseling is helping individuals continue their story. Counseling is an opportunity for self-improvement, and for improvement in families and groups. Counseling is helping individuals discover their path and their passions. I currently live in rural Wyoming where there are not as many resources for those suffering from mental illnesses for certain parts of the community. Our homeless population is growing and many of them suffer from mental illnesses or addictions. Our low income families have little to no resources or opportunities for services to help with these issues as well. I learned more about this during my year of working for the Wyoming Department of Family Services as an investigative case worker. I worked alongside multiple families who were having issues with their mental health or addictions and they had nowhere to go for support, guidance, and help. I worked with families who had experienced death of a loved one, loss of pregnancy, loss of a child, battered women, children who had been sexually assaulted, and saw a serious disconnect in resources for them and their mental health. I know this is the path the universe wants me to take. I met these families for a reason. In my position at the Wyoming Department of Family services I learned how to use empathy to encourage families to make changes necessary in their thought process and daily lives. I learned how to be both a participant and a leader in others lives when it comes to making the necessary changes to improve their state of mind and life patterns. Our role in the Department was to encourage our clients and offer resources, but more than this I helped my families realize why these items were important and how they would positively impact their lives. In this position I also learned how to work with people of all different backgrounds and to never judge someone by what they have done, as well as enforcing the confidentiality aspect of professions such as counseling and social work.

I became initially interested in psychology after realizing that there is a lack of mental health support in my community. I have a few friends who were contemplating suicide and I felt helpless trying to help them through their problems. It was this moment that I decided I wanted to learn about mental illnesses, human behavior, and how to help others. These experiences influenced my decision to take my first psychology course in high school. I had to take a break in my schooling when I graduated high school and worked with the general public in a sales position. While I was in that role I met a woman who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She fascinated me and helped me find my love for psychology all over again. It was interesting speaking with her and noticing the difference from her good days to her bad days. This woman helped encourage me to pursue my passion all over again. I then went on to learn more about different fields in psychology in my four years of undergraduate school. I was able to learn more about what motivates people and how our minds all process and respond to information differently. I have grown more interest in learning even more about the human mind and how to help those in need. Counseling is more than just having our clients tell us how they feel. Counseling is helping individuals find their self-worth. Counseling is helping individuals find their reason to keep pushing through the hard things. Counseling is helping individuals continue their story. Counseling is an opportunity for self-improvement, and for improvement in families and groups. Counseling is helping individuals discover their path and their passions. I currently live in rural Wyoming where there are not as many resources for those suffering from mental illnesses for certain parts of the community. Our homeless population is growing and many of them suffer from mental illnesses or addictions. Our low income families have little to no resources or opportunities for services to help with these issues as well. I learned more about this during my year of working for the Wyoming Department of Family Services as an investigative case worker. I worked alongside multiple families who were having issues with their mental health or addictions and they had nowhere to go for support, guidance, and help. I worked with families who had experienced death of a loved one, loss of pregnancy, loss of a child, battered women, children who had been sexually assaulted, and saw a serious disconnect in resources for them and their mental health. I know this is the path the universe wants me to take. I met these families for a reason. In my position at the Wyoming Department of Family services I learned how to use empathy to encourage families to make changes necessary in their thought process and daily lives. I learned how to be both a participant and a leader in others lives when it comes to making the necessary changes to improve their state of mind and life patterns. Our role in the Department was to encourage our clients and offer resources, but more than this I helped my families realize why these items were important and how they would positively impact their lives. In this position I also learned how to work with people of all different backgrounds and to never judge someone by what they have done, as well as enforcing the confidentiality aspect of professions such as counseling and social work.

I became initially interested in psychology after realizing that there is a lack of mental health support in my community. I have a few friends who were contemplating suicide and I felt helpless trying to help them through their problems. It was this moment that I decided I wanted to learn about mental illnesses, human behavior, and how to help others. These experiences influenced my decision to take my first psychology course in high school. I had to take a break in my schooling when I graduated high school and worked with the general public in a sales position. While I was in that role I met a woman who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She fascinated me and helped me find my love for psychology all over again. It was interesting speaking with her and noticing the difference from her good days to her bad days. This woman helped encourage me to pursue my passion all over again. I then went on to learn more about different fields in psychology in my four years of undergraduate school. I was able to learn more about what motivates people and how our minds all process and respond to information differently. I have grown more interest in learning even more about the human mind and how to help those in need. Counseling is more than just having our clients tell us how they feel. Counseling is helping individuals find their self-worth. Counseling is helping individuals find their reason to keep pushing through the hard things. Counseling is helping individuals continue their story. Counseling is an opportunity for self-improvement, and for improvement in families and groups. Counseling is helping individuals discover their path and their passions. I currently live in rural Wyoming where there are not as many resources for those suffering from mental illnesses for certain parts of the community. Our homeless population is growing and many of them suffer from mental illnesses or addictions. Our low income families have little to no resources or opportunities for services to help with these issues as well. I learned more about this during my year of working for the Wyoming Department of Family Services as an investigative case worker. I worked alongside multiple families who were having issues with their mental health or addictions and they had nowhere to go for support, guidance, and help. I worked with families who had experienced death of a loved one, loss of pregnancy, loss of a child, battered women, children who had been sexually assaulted, and saw a serious disconnect in resources for them and their mental health. I know this is the path the universe wants me to take. I met these families for a reason. In my position at the Wyoming Department of Family services I learned how to use empathy to encourage families to make changes necessary in their thought process and daily lives. I learned how to be both a participant and a leader in others lives when it comes to making the necessary changes to improve their state of mind and life patterns. Our role in the Department was to encourage our clients and offer resources, but more than this I helped my families realize why these items were important and how they would positively impact their lives. In this position I also learned how to work with people of all different backgrounds and to never judge someone by what they have done, as well as enforcing the confidentiality aspect of professions such as counseling and social work.

I became initially interested in psychology after realizing that there is a lack of mental health support in my community. I have a few friends who were contemplating suicide and I felt helpless trying to help them through their problems. It was this moment that I decided I wanted to learn about mental illnesses, human behavior, and how to help others. These experiences influenced my decision to take my first psychology course in high school. I had to take a break in my schooling when I graduated high school and worked with the general public in a sales position. While I was in that role I met a woman who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She fascinated me and helped me find my love for psychology all over again. It was interesting speaking with her and noticing the difference from her good days to her bad days. This woman helped encourage me to pursue my passion all over again. I then went on to learn more about different fields in psychology in my four years of undergraduate school. I was able to learn more about what motivates people and how our minds all process and respond to information differently. I have grown more interest in learning even more about the human mind and how to help those in need. Counseling is more than just having our clients tell us how they feel. Counseling is helping individuals find their self-worth. Counseling is helping individuals find their reason to keep pushing through the hard things. Counseling is helping individuals continue their story. Counseling is an opportunity for self-improvement, and for improvement in families and groups. Counseling is helping individuals discover their path and their passions. I currently live in rural Wyoming where there are not as many resources for those suffering from mental illnesses for certain parts of the community. Our homeless population is growing and many of them suffer from mental illnesses or addictions. Our low income families have little to no resources or opportunities for services to help with these issues as well. I learned more about this during my year of working for the Wyoming Department of Family Services as an investigative case worker. I worked alongside multiple families who were having issues with their mental health or addictions and they had nowhere to go for support, guidance, and help. I worked with families who had experienced death of a loved one, loss of pregnancy, loss of a child, battered women, children who had been sexually assaulted, and saw a serious disconnect in resources for them and their mental health. I know this is the path the universe wants me to take. I met these families for a reason. In my position at the Wyoming Department of Family services I learned how to use empathy to encourage families to make changes necessary in their thought process and daily lives. I learned how to be both a participant and a leader in others lives when it comes to making the necessary changes to improve their state of mind and life patterns. Our role in the Department was to encourage our clients and offer resources, but more than this I helped my families realize why these items were important and how they would positively impact their lives. In this position I also learned how to work with people of all different backgrounds and to never judge someone by what they have done, as well as enforcing the confidentiality aspect of professions such as counseling and social work.

I became initially interested in psychology after realizing that there is a lack of mental health support in my community. I have a few friends who were contemplating suicide and I felt helpless trying to help them through their problems. It was this moment that I decided I wanted to learn about mental illnesses, human behavior, and how to help others. These experiences influenced my decision to take my first psychology course in high school. I had to take a break in my schooling when I graduated high school and worked with the general public in a sales position. While I was in that role I met a woman who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She fascinated me and helped me find my love for psychology all over again. It was interesting speaking with her and noticing the difference from her good days to her bad days. This woman helped encourage me to pursue my passion all over again. I then went on to learn more about different fields in psychology in my four years of undergraduate school. I was able to learn more about what motivates people and how our minds all process and respond to information differently. I have grown more interest in learning even more about the human mind and how to help those in need. I currently live in rural Wyoming where there are not as many resources for those suffering from mental illnesses for certain parts of the community. Our homeless population is growing and many of them suffer from mental illnesses or addictions. Our low income families have little to no resources or opportunities for services to help with these issues as well. I learned more about this during my year of working for the Wyoming Department of Family Services as an investigative case worker. I worked alongside multiple families who were having issues with their mental health or addictions and they had nowhere to go for support, guidance, and help. I worked with families who had experienced death of a loved one, loss of pregnancy, loss of a child, battered women, children who had been sexually assaulted, and saw a serious disconnect in resources for them and their mental health. I know this is the path the universe wants me to take. I met these families for a reason. In my position at the Wyoming Department of Family services I learned how to use empathy to encourage families to make changes necessary in their thought process and daily lives. I learned how to be both a participant and a leader in others lives when it comes to making the necessary changes to improve their state of mind and life patterns. Our role in the Department was to encourage our clients and offer resources, but more than this I helped my families realize why these items were important and how they would positively impact their lives. In this position I also learned how to work with people of all different backgrounds and to never judge someone by what they have done, as well as enforcing the confidentiality aspect of professions such as counseling and social work.

My passion is mental health. I promote mental health days to everyone I know, and I do my best to be transparent about my own mental health. That's the change I wish to see in my community. I want more people to take their mental health seriously. It is something that gets overlooked far too often, but it is something that, if we take care of it, it could improve our livelihood. I am a psychology major and plan to use my degree to make more of a change than I am now. I want to be the person that others feel comfortable enough to open up to. I want to help others feel confident in their abilities and selves in general. I want people to understand that it is okay to not be okay, and that it is okay to reach out when needed. More people are starting to promote the importance of mental health but it is not enough yet. There are still too many people out there who are afraid to get the help they need. I am hoping that I can start a ripple effect and get more people comfortable enough to open up. Even though it's okay to not be okay, we still want to promote taking care of yourself so you can get better. Everyone deserves to feel good.