My major is dietetics and my goal is to become a registered dietitian so I can help destigmatize Hispanic food and to show others that it can be a healthy and nutritious cuisine, with many options to fit many dietary needs. Throughout my journey toward getting my degree, I faced several challenges, including being the first one in my family to graduate from community college while also paying my tuition. After graduating, I applied to many different universities, a process, I never thought would be as mentally and emotionally challenging as it was. I struggled with imposter syndrome, questioning if I belonged there, and how I was going to afford it. Sometimes I thought I should just give up but I did not because I knew those thoughts were not true. However, I realized that had worked too hard to stop and I have dreams and goals that I want to accomplish. My mom who is my biggest support reminds me when I’m struggling that I want to help people and reminds me and wants me to continue my education to be able to help people in the future. I still struggle with imposter syndrome thinking I still do not belong and how I'm going to keep affording my tuition because I pay what financial aid does not cover and then I stress out about needing to pick up more hours at work but I need to time to study and do my homework and at times I worry if I can keep up with it. Then I remind myself that I'm the first in my family to go to college and that I’m still figuring things out and it is okay to ask for help. I especially go to my counselor and friends when things become difficult and overwhelming at times to help guide me and show me the way forward. At times I have to remind myself that I belong here and sometimes that is easy but sometimes it is hard. These feelings usually stem from money because I work while I go to school and have to worry about bills and having extra money sometimes kinda scares me because I worry if I forgot to pay for something or if I forgot something at the grocery store that I need. However, I know this is not the case, that I just worked a few more hours than normal, and that its okay to have extra and to save it. Having the extra money will allow me to have more money for next semester and will allow me to cut back on my hours at work and focus more on my studies so I can graduate on time.

I chose my program because I want to help people who have been told that their cultural food is unhealthy and that they need to change their diet to be healthy. I also want to help the Hispanic community, which society has told them to extremely restrict their cultural foods if they want to continue eating the food they know just to stay healthy. I also wanted to help show that someone from a single low-income house can go to college and help people regardless of where they come from or where we come from. I also saw how my grandmothers were treated when they had their kidney transplant, I saw how doctors and dietitians showed their bias toward Mexican food and attempted to push them toward a diet they did not know about and extremely limited what they ate to the point where it was extremely restricted on what they ate. I want patients to feel comfortable with their culture and food, I don't want the patients to feel embarrassed or feel like they have to lie about their eating habits preventing them from getting adequate healthcare. I want to be a dietitian I wish my grandmothers got when they were going through the process of their transplant. Working while going to college has been tough and tiring at times. I'm lucky that my boss allows me to do homework during downtime and that I'm part-time but I still worry about having money for school and basic needs then I remember I need to give myself time to do homework and other stuff. At times I worry if I need to be a full-time employee as well but I know if I did try to become full-time time I would need to drop a few classes. I know I can not do that and I know I cannot balance both full-time work and school. Working has also taught me how to prioritize things so I can get the most out of the opportunities that the school provides while going to work in between those times. Learning how to manage and plan out my schedule has become the most important thing for me and allows me to visually see my day or week which has helped me stay on track with things and see if I can go to events that the school is hosting. This is honestly the best thing I have learned how to do because this allows me to maximize my time and block out times when I’m free to study. Blocking out time to study and do homework and treating it like a class or an event has been beneficial for me to stay on top of my studies and not see it as free time to run errands or do something else. At times this is hard because when you work sometimes that two-hour gap in between classes is the only time to do laundry and I need to study. Have I studied in my dorm so I can do my laundry yes but that is easy it gets difficult when it is more than one thing and requires me to run around or leave campus, those are times when I do have to pick one and sometimes that's been difficult to decide. I have found a balance that works every semester but I do struggle at times. I have found a way to push through but it is hard and I do get burned out but I’m left with no choice sometimes other than to just make it work.

When both of my grandmothers went through the process of getting a kidney transplant, which included being on dialysis for a few years before they got their new kidneys, I saw how the dietitians and other medical professionals talked about their eating habits and looked down on everyday cultural dishes. I was studying culinary arts at the time but knew I wanted to do something in healthcare I just didn't know what yet. When I went with one of my grandmas to their doctor appointments, I heard them talk about how they needed to completely change their diet or completely restrict everything to extremely small amounts because they needed to eat “healthier” for their health to improve. At the time, I was very angry and hurt because the food we ate and made was healthy. I was upset about how cultural dishes could be ignored because someone did not bother to learn about the culture or try to force a patient to give up all the food they knew, just to lower their lab result a little. This made no sense to me because this would have not changed anyone's diet and added more stress to an already stressful situation. Then having to worry about going to the store and trying to find new food because their doctor or dietitian gave them incomplete advice or wrong advice to scare them into doing something drastic so they can fix something quickly rather than slowly and correctly. After this happened I wanted to know if there was a way to prevent this from happening. I was already thinking about switching majors and when I did career exploration I found the field of dietetics and remembered the meeting I had with my grandma, and I never wanted someone to go through what my grandma went through that day. The more classes I took the more I realized I liked the field of dietetics and realized that the one that I met that day gave an example of what never to do or become and to help people when they come for help.

My major is dietetics and my goal is to become a registered dietitian so I can help destigmatize Hispanic food and to show others that it can be a healthy and nutritious cuisine, with many options to fit many dietary needs. Throughout my journey toward getting my degree, I faced several challenges, including being the first one in my family to graduate from community college while also paying my tuition. After graduating, I applied to many different universities, a process, I never thought would be as mentally and emotionally challenging as it was. I struggled with imposter syndrome, questioning if I belonged there, and how I was going to afford it. Sometimes I thought I should just give up but I did not because I knew those thoughts were not true. However, I realized that had worked too hard to stop and I have dreams and goals that I want to accomplish. My mom who is my biggest support reminds me when I’m struggling that I want to help people and reminds me and wants me to continue my education to be able to help people in the future. I still struggle with imposter syndrome thinking I still do not belong and how I'm going to keep affording my tuition because I pay what financial aid does not cover and then I stress out about needing to pick up more hours at work but I need to time to study and do my homework and at times I worry if I can keep up with it. Then I remind myself that I'm the first in my family to go to college and that I’m still figuring things out and it is okay to ask for help. I especially go to my counselor and friends when things become difficult and overwhelming at times to help guide me and show me the way forward. Growing up in a Hispanic household we always believed that our family's bad health was just genetic. I want to encourage young Hispanic females going into the field of dietetics that our health is not just genetic and that our food is not bad, we just need to educate ourselves and our community. I want to become a registered dietitian because I see how health care needs diversity and that cultural foods need respect and people who are knowledgeable about the food. Also, what are the common issues in the community when it comes to food choices and accessibility to food. I want to provide that to patients who think they need to be ashamed about their food or lie about what they eat. Especially Hispanic patients because I want to break down the stigma surrounding Hispanic food. I want to be part of the growing number of Hispanic dietitians to help Hispanic patients feel proud of their food and heritage and help guide them in showing what they eat is just as healthy as any other cuisine they believe is healthier.

Growing up and becoming the first person in my family to go to college and not drop out after the first year has shown me that not everyone I know will support me or help me. Some people I met at college, who I thought would help, also did not want to see me succeed or believe that I errand my place. They acted as though being first-generation meant nothing. Growing up, I had cousins who were older than me that many thought and many in my family believed would go to college because they deserved it and were the smart ones of the family. They would go to a university or trade school for maybe a year or a semester, then drop out, and only go to community college for a year before dropping out again. So, when it was my turn to apply for colleges, many believed that I should not waste my time applying to colleges since they believed I would drop out. When I asked for advice or help from family members who had gone to college, I was not given correct information or any information at all. So I had to figure things out on my own. I had to learn certain things the hard way because people who I thought could be a resource abandoned me for another younger cousin who had more potential. However, I did not let this stop me. I graduated from community college with my associate's degree and transferred to a university. This taught me that not everyone has the same faith in me. I had to look for the resources myself and figure out how to access opportunities while juggling school and work. I had to find my balance and figure out what worked for me and what I could reasonably accomplish with my time. I thought that negativity would disappear when I transferred to university, but it hasn't. This time, though, I am more prepared to deal with it. Still, it's saddening to have to deal with it because some do not want or wish for me to succeed. Though pursuing college is difficult I have not let this stop me from earning my degree. When I transferred to Idaho State University, I met some of the best people who have helped me and encouraged me to continue my education. However, not everyone I met felt the same about my accomplishments. I was a little shocked and hurt when someone I knew through a good friend said that first-generation students aren’t special and don’t deserve the praise they get. This person also claimed that since no one knows what they are doing in college, we shouldn’t get special treatment, or what he believed was special treatment. This was shocking, especially because at the time I was dealing with imposter syndrome, and it caused me to question myself. When this person said this in front of me, I was hurt. I explained that being first-generation is a big accomplishment and that we have no backup resources or backup plans. Everything we achieve is the result of our hard work. I don’t think I changed his opinion, but I tried to make him aware of what we go through. Things like this do happen, and while I wish they didn’t, I understand that they are part of the experience. If someone is going through something similar, just understand that not everyone will believe in or support you,and that’s okay. Don’t try to force them to support you or change their beliefs. Prove your worth to yourself and no one else.

Growing up in a single-parent household taught me that I can do things at my own pace and still reach the goals I want to achieve. I learned that people will judge and try to minimize what I do or what I have accomplished so far, but I have learned to not let it bother me. Instead, I stand up for myself and take pride in what I have accomplished. My mom has been my biggest cheerleader, and I have always tried to make her proud of what I’m doing. She has always shown me that there is a way to make my dreams come true in a manner that is doable for both of us. I have carried this mindset into my college career. This mindset has been especially helpful in college, particularly since I took my time at community college. I did this because I wanted to be sure of what I wanted to study at university. This was particularly important when I transferred out of state and into a climate and lifestyle that I was not used to. At times I do feel like an outsider because I transferred later, but at the same time, I know how I got here because I worked hard to be here. I did what was best for me and that might not look the same for everyone. I share this with people who may try to shame me or ask why I took so long or why I chose to go out of state for my degree. I do this because I know this might encourage someone to stand up for themselves and encourage them to follow their path. After all, I choose not to be ashamed about the choices have made. I do this to help someone who might be questioning a big life decision, especially since going to college as a first generation is already a big decision, and to show that being first generation did not limit me in my choices it made me more aware of choices and how they might be perceived by others and to not let it affect me. I love helping others, and this has led me to the field of dietetics I have a passion for food and health and saw a way to help people, especially the Hispanic community because there are not many Hispanic dietitians in the field and I want to show that being first generation and working in a different healthcare field is possible for the community and that our food does not need to be demonized but celebrated and seen as healthy.

My major is dietetics and my goal is to become a registered dietitian so I can help destigmatize Hispanic food and to show others that it can be a healthy and nutritious cuisine, with many options to fit many dietary needs. Throughout my journey toward getting my degree, I faced several challenges, including being the first one in my family to graduate from community college while also paying my own tuition. After graduating, I applied to many different universities, a process, I never thought would be as mentally and emotionally challenging as it was. I struggled with imposter syndrome, questioning if I belonged there, and how I was going to afford it. Sometimes I thought I should just give up but I did not because I knew those thoughts were not true. However, I realized that had worked too hard to stop and I have dreams and goals that I want to accomplish. My mom who is my biggest support reminds me when I’m struggling that I want to help people and reminds me and wants me to continue my education to be able to help people in the future. I still struggle with imposter syndrome thinking I still do not belong and how I'm going to keep affording my tuition because I pay what financial aid does not cover and then I stress out about needing to pick up more hours at work but I need to time to study and do my homework and at times I worry if I can keep up with it. Then I remind myself that I'm the first in my family to go to college and that I’m still figuring things out and it is okay to ask for help. I especially go to my counselor and friends when things become difficult and overwhelming at times to help guide me and show me the way forward. Growing up in a Hispanic household we always believed that our family's bad health was just genetic. I want to help and encourage young Hispanic females going into the field of dietetics that our health is not just genetic and that our food is not bad, we just need to educate ourselves and our community. I want to become a registered dietitian because I see how health care needs diversity and that cultural foods need respect and people who are knowledgeable about the food. Also, what are the common issues in the community when it comes to food choices and accessibility to food. I want to be able to provide that to patients who think they need to be ashamed about their food or lie about what they eat. Especially Hispanic patients because I want to break down the stigma surrounding Hispanic food. I want to be part of the growing number of Hispanic dietitians to help Hispanic patients feel proud of their food and heritage and help guide them in showing what they eat is just as healthy as any other cuisine they believe is healthier.

My major is dietetics and my goal is to become a registered dietitian so I can help destigmatize Hispanic food and to show others that it can be a healthy and nutritious cuisine, with many options to fit many dietary needs. Throughout my journey toward getting my degree, I faced several challenges, including being the first one in my family to graduate from community college while also paying my own tuition. After graduating, I applied to many different universities, a process, I never thought would be as mentally and emotionally challenging as it was. I struggled with imposter syndrome, questioning if I belonged there, and how I was going to afford it. Sometimes I thought I should just give up but I did not because I knew those thoughts were not true. However, I realized that had worked too hard to stop and I have dreams and goals that I want to accomplish. My mom who is my biggest support reminds me when I’m struggling that I want to help people and reminds me and wants me to continue my education to be able to help people in the future. I still struggle with imposter syndrome thinking I still do not belong and how I'm going to keep affording my tuition because I pay what financial aid does not cover and then I stress out about needing to pick up more hours at work but I need to time to study and do my homework and at times I worry if I can keep up with it. Then I remind myself that I'm the first in my family to go to college and that I’m still figuring things out and it is okay to ask for help. I especially go to my counselor and friends when things become difficult and overwhelming at times to help guide me and show me the way forward. Growing up in a Hispanic household we always believed that our family's bad health was just genetic. I want to help and encourage young Hispanic females going into the field of dietetics that our health is not just genetic and that our food is not bad, we just need to educate ourselves and our community. I want to become a registered dietitian because I see how health care needs diversity and that cultural foods need respect and people who are knowledgeable about the food. Also, what are the common issues in the community when it comes to food choices and accessibility to food. I want to be able to provide that to patients who think they need to be ashamed about their food or lie about what they eat. Especially Hispanic patients because I want to break down the stigma surrounding Hispanic food. I want to be part of the growing number of Hispanic dietitians to help Hispanic patients feel proud of their food and heritage and help guide them in showing what they eat is just as healthy as any other cuisine they believe is healthier.

Hi my name is Natalie and I'm a Hispanic first-generation college student, I want to be able to help people get healthier while keeping their cultural food at the same time. I want to become a registered dietitian because I love food and I like helping people, and I don't want people to feel like they have to give up their cultural foods because the dietitian does not understand the importance of the dish or food item. I want to be part of the growing Hispanic community in the health field specifically nutrition because food is a huge part of any culture and not having someone from the community to help the community does more harm than good and I want to be able to help. When I become a registered dietitian I hope to either work in a hospital or health clinician that has people from different cultural backgrounds, specifically with a large Hispanic population. The reason I want to mainly help the Hispanic population is because I saw how many dieticians treated both of my grandmothers when they had kidney transplants. I saw that they gave poor care and when we asked for a new dietician it was the same type of situation where their advice was not helpful and harmful. I want to be able to prevent that and stop situations like this in the future. I see the need for dietitians with different backgrounds and I want to be able to work in this field that is growing and show my little cousins that we first generations can go to college and find ways to help people and that it is possible. I believe giving everyone adequate healthcare at any level will help society grow and people will be able to allow people to work and be more productive. I also think that when you help someone in an underserved community that community thrives and can see that there are people who want to help them and see them as valuable. I want to inspire any first-generation person so that she can go to college and help the community. I want to help people heal through food and inspire those who are thinking about going to the health field that it is possible. being health health allows people to reach their full potential and I want to be able to say I helped someone get there.

Hi, my name is Natalie and I'm a Hispanic first-generation college student, I grew up in a single-parent household, and I want to be able to help people get heather while keeping their cultural food at the same time. I want to become a registered dietitian because I love food and I like helping people, and I don't want people to feel like they have to give up their cultural foods because the dietitian does not understand the importance of the dish or food item. I want to be part of the growing Hispanic community in the health field specifically nutrition because food is a huge part of any culture and not having someone from the community to help the community does more harm than good and I want to be able to help. When I become a registered dietitian I hope to either work in a hospital or health clinician that has people from different cultural backgrounds, specifically with a large Hispanic population. The reason I want to mainly help the Hispanic population is because I saw how many dieticians treated both of my grandmothers when they had kidney transplants. I saw that they gave poor care and when we asked for a new dietician it was the same type of situation where their advice was not helpful and harmful. I want to be able to prevent that and stop situations like this in the future. I see the need for dietitians with different backgrounds and I want to be able to work in this field that is growing and show my little cousins that we first generations can go to college and find ways to help people and that it is possible. I believe giving everyone adequate healthcare at any level will help society grow and people will be able to allow people to work and be more productive. I also think that when you help someone in an underserved community that community thrives and can see that there are people who want to help them and see them as valuable. I want to inspire any first-generation person so that she can go to college and help the community. I want to help people heal through food and inspire those who are thinking about going to the health field that it is possible. being health health allows people to reach their full potential and I want to be able to say I helped someone get there.

growing up in a single-parent household has made certain things difficult but my mother made sure I never liked anything that I needed. I could see my mom struggling at times but she made sure that all my needs were taken care of and I'm forever grateful for that especially when came to me going to community college because she helped pay for me to go and for my supplies for each semester. I knew it was difficult for her to give me the money for school since at the time we did not qualify for financial aid so everything came out of pocket and my mom did not want me to spend all of my money on school yet I always felt bad when I had to ask for money. I would at times only take the class I needed and no more than 12 credits because I was afraid I would not have enough money and did not want to burden my mother for money and money for supplies and have to work about affording next semester. Then I transferred to a university and I was excited because I'm the first in my family to go to college but was still worried about financial aid yet I was lucky to receive some financial aid from my school. when I transferred to the university that I currently attend I still had to pay out of pocket for some of my tuition and I still had to ask my mom to cover my books and supplies because I did not have enough money. This has still made me cautious of how I spend my money because I still do not like asking my mom for money, yet I know she is always willing to help me because she wants to see me succeed in life and graduate college, and I want to graduate because I want to become a registered dietitian. winning this scholarship will help take away the worry and fear about wondering if I can afford my tuition and not worry about having to ask my mom and have to stress them out. My career goal requires a master's program and I'm currently struggling to pay for a bachelor's it has me worried about the future and having this scholarship will easy my worry about the rising cost of tuition. I want to show my mom that all her hard work and sacrifices she made while rasing me and helping to pay for my tuition was worth it in the end when I graduate

Hi, my name is Natalie and the field I'm interested in is Dietetics. I'm interested in this field because of the lack of cultural awareness in the field that I noticed and experienced. I saw the lack of diversity in the field when my grandam had a kidney transplant she got very bland and was told to cut out a lot of cultural foods or extreme restrictions on them. This hurt me because for my grandma food was how she showed love and I could see the confusion and hurt when she would have to cut out foods that she tied with her identity and family that is when I knew I wanted to go into the field of dietics to stop situations like this. I already loved cooking and experimenting and at the time I was going to college for culinary arts, I saw how dietetics combined food and medicine and the more I discovered about the field I saw the importance of understanding how to eat properly. I also saw that eating properly is important when recovering from a disease and how you have to change the diet so the body can fully recover without being stressed, I want to help people in those situations because it brought me joy helping my grandma in that situation and I want to do for a career. I desire to prevent the situation my grandma faced because that made her recovery more difficult and I want people from different cultural backgrounds to know that their culture will be respected and I want their recovery to be seamless. I want people to be able to recover in peace and not have to stress about cooking because they think and have been told their cultural dishes are not healthy and bad and that they have to cook and eat something unfamiliar to them.

Hi my name is Natalie and I'm a Hispanic first-generation college student, I want to be able to help people get heather while keeping their cultural food at the same time. I want to become a registered dietitian because I love food and I like helping people, and I don't want people to feel like they have to give up their cultural foods because the dietitian does not understand the importance of the dish or food item. I want to be part of the growing Hispanic community in the health field specifically nutrition because food is a huge part of any culture and not having someone from the community to help the community does more harm than good and I want to be able to help. When I become a registered dietitian I hope to either work in a hospital or health clinician that has people from different cultural backgrounds, specifically with a large Hispanic population. The reason I want to mainly help the Hispanic population is because I saw how many dieticians treated both of my grandmothers when they had kidney transplants. I saw that they gave poor care and when we asked for a new dietician it was the same type of situation where their advice was not helpful and harmful. I want to be able to prevent that and stop situations like this in the future. I see the need for dietitians with different backgrounds and I want to be able to work in this field that is growing and show my little cousins that we first generations can go to college and find ways to help people and that it is possible. I believe giving everyone adequate healthcare at any level will help society grow and people will be able to allow people to work and be more productive. I also think that when you help someone in an underserved community that community thrives and can see that there are people who want to help them and see them as valuable. I want to inspire any first-generation person so that she can go to college and help the community. I want to help people heal through food and inspire those who are thinking about going to the health field that it is possible. being health health allows people to reach their full potential and I want to be able to say I helped someone get there.

Both of my grandmothers had a kidney disease and were lucky after years of being on the list they finally received new kidneys, however, I never thought I would have to be a caretaker before and after the transplants. I ended up having to help mom take care of my grandma, her mom when she was going to dialysis and helping her after the transplant. this all happened when I went to community college; I never thought this would affect my education. In the beginning, my grandma would go to work after her dialysis appointments and I saw how hard it was on her to pack and get ready for work, so during my breaks between classes I would go back home and pack her lunch and iron her uniform for work and make sure she had everything. then I noticed some days were harder than others and she would nap after work. I made sure she was okay and if she was okay to go to work since she worked nights. Sometimes she would call out of work because she was too tired to go to work and on those days, I would sometimes have to miss class because she did not look okay to be alone at home and I would make sure she ate and was alright. on the days I would go to class because she said she said she was fine and just needed to rest for the day then I made sure she had food to eat and I would call her in between classes and still make sure she still ate. after she had received her transplant my mom and I both took care of her till my mom had to go back to work. At the beginning of my grandma's recovery, it was mainly mom taking care of her since I was still taking courses at the community college I was going to at the time, and when summer break came around I started helping my mom. I would help my mom with cooking and take my grandma walking around the house to eventually around the block. When my mom went to work I had to do all the work, I was taking an online course and it was difficult to manage taking care of my grandma and doing my coursework. I would never thought I would have to help my grandma in the middle of the night measure her urine output for her doctors and to make sure her new kidney was working. it was difficult trying to figure out how to balance everything but my grandam helped me study when I was taking care of her. the biggest example of this was when we would go for walks she would take my flash cards with her and quiz me on the material and when I was cooking for her as well she would quiz me too. when I would take her to doctor's appointments she made sure I took my homework with me because we would be there for a few hours and she would make sure I was caught up on my course work. Looking back I can laugh at the situation because I was supposed to take care of her and she was making sure I was finishing my homework and watching my lecture so I could pass my class. There was some calling time having to care for my grandmother because kidney disease is not fixed by a simple transplant but I still helped and she helped me pass my courses.

Hi, my name is Natalie Herrera and I'm a first-generation college student. I love cooking and baking for family and friends and I like studying nutrition and how it plays a huge role in our health. my academic goal is first to get my bachelor's in dietetics and then apply for a master's program with a dietetic internship. Still, mainly I am proud to say I'm the first in my family to go to college and eventually graduate college. then my professional goal is to become a registered dietitian to help those who have different health issues and show them that they can still eat healthy and have cultural foods. The reason I got interested in this field was because at the time I was going for a culinary arts program but both of my grandma got sick and ended up getting a kidney transplant and I saw how important food is when someone is healing from a sickness. So I started looking for ways I could combine my love for food and helping people eat healthily and my college counselor showed me the field of dietetics. so far my financial aid covers some and I have taken out one loan and the rest I pay out of pocket on payment plans, so I do work to help pay for my tuition, my family does help a little but it is here and there and not a lot of money. I'm grateful for their help but I don't want to be a burden to them when I have to ask for money for basic school supplies. what heavy metal means to me is freedom and releasing my emotions, I grew up listen smashing pumpkins, a system of a down and rage against the machine, so I grew up listening to the music. I have always enjoyed music and explored the metal scene and rock and it has always brought joy and freedom I can healthily express my anger and express all of my emotions in healthy ways and that has always helped me. going to concerts and seeing others who feel the same way about me has also made me happy because that meant I was not alone and it did not matter how old I was when I went or what I looked like people were there to enjoy the music and see their favorite band. seeing a band live is incredible it brings about a new joy and experience compared to just listening to it. Heavy metal music has also helped me boost my confidence because I saw others dressing how they wanted at shows and it encouraged me to express myself in any way I feel comfortable and I will always thank the heavy metal scene for that.

anxiety has made me too scared to do certain things at times and sometimes it usually was the simplest task. other times it made a simple five-minute task turn into a day project because I froze up. I try practicing breathing and meditation and it helps me calm down and think more clearly but that has taken time for me to use and see the benefits. however, before I would just let my anxiety control the situation when I just needed to breathe and take a step back. I had gone to counselors on my college campus and they taught me a few tricks to my myself back in control of the situation and to give myself grace. however, I did not want to acknowledge that I had anxiety because I thought it was something else and I did not want to feel weak but once I accepted I had it and I could work on it I realized I was not weak and that I never was. I just had to do things on my own time and pace I can not work at the same level as everyone else and that's okay. everyone works differently and there's no shame in that, we just have to find out what works for us and give ourselves space to do the task. I'm pursuing a college degree because what want i to do is help people with their health and I enjoy helping people when I can. helping brings me so much joy that I forget I have anxiety but when it comes I have to remind myself that they are not expecting perfection and professors are not either even if it seems like it and that they are not perfect either. I think what stuck with me about helping someone is that it is okay to say I do not know, and I learned that from my anatomy and physiology professor, he told the class to be okay with him saying I do not know. that stuck with me because I always thought everything had to be perfect and I learned that it does not have to be perfect. that was something I thought I would never learn in college and helping people does not have to be perfect as long as you are helping the person understand and appreciate all the help that you give them and are thankful for it. perfection it not needed and I have to myself or my anxiety self that perfection is not the goal and that we can help no matter how big or small.

Good mental health is important for me as a student because I feel motivated and energized to do anything. Also having a good self-care routine for days or weeks when I feel down helps a tremendous amount with my mental health. making sure I feel mentally ready for the week or day helps me focus on lectures and studying for exams or homework, instead of it feeling like a chore or feel like it is tiring me out. I am a first-generation college student so at times I have a huge amount of pressure to do well in college and still be able to support myself and find the time to care for myself. that has been a struggle for me at times but simply going outside for a walk during the day when I have time between classes has helped a lot. It also has helped me realize I'm in a place that I thought I fought so hard for and that I have to be proud of myself and how far I have come. I started taking myself more seriously when I realized I was mainly just in my dorm room for what felt like 24 hours and only leaving for class and work. I realized I needed to go out and hang out with my friends so I made it a goal to go to the library at least once a week with my friends and go to the movie theater on campus. After that, I started going on hikes and hanging out with friends more and noticed my mood and grades improving. I also realized that just hanging out with friends while doing homework helps too because then I do not feel as alone sometimes we do distract each other but it helps us stay motivated to work, so we can hang out more. I realized how important health was and how much my grades improved and seeing one of my friends struggle a bit, I decided to help her. I would check in on her and make sure she did at least one small fun thing and tell her if she needed help I was there for her. I also told her about the counseling center if she felt like she did not want to talk to me there was a way for her to talk to someone and help her. I also started making movie plans with her and my group of friends on Saturday on campus because it is free admission for students and seeing a movie on the weekend was a great way to get out of the dorms and do something with friends. also, the school would hold free craft nights and I would invite her, and she would always enjoy whatever craft we did it helped us take our mind away from school a bit and we also enjoyed the craft night because doing something without hands did not require us to think too much helped a lot. I saw her attitude and mood change and I think she helped improve mine as well because we started looking for more free events for students to help get away from school which helped us focus on studying for school when we had to.

I believe that food can heal people emotionally and physically, we just do not realize how important food is to people. I'm a first-generation student and I live in a single-parent household. I was raised by my mother with the help of my grandparents, and her parents, and I watched her go to school and work to take care of me and make sure I had everything I needed. No matter how tired she was she always made sure to cook dinner when she got home and I always remember sitting in the kitchen watching her cook and being fascinated by how such a simple dish could bring me and her joy. I still have not figured out how she adds love and warmth to the dish but I will figure it out someday. I understand having good eating habits is important for our health that is why I decided to go into the field of dietetics because I combine food and health and the roles they play. I have seen how important it is to eat and exercise when you are healthy but I saw it when my grandma needed a kidney transplant. I saw how my mom had to follow the rules the dietitian gave her to help my grandma after her transplant, I saw how hard it was for her to change things because she knew by heart and not measurement. I stepped up and helped her, I found recipes and helped cook and I saw how much joy it brought my grandma and how much stress was relieved from my mom I realized I was in the right field because I realized I enjoyed helping people when they were sick. I found so much joy in helping people and cooking for them when they were sick and in those moments I think I figured out how my mom added love to the dishes. I plan to work in the hospital as a registered dietitian to be able to help people who need to change their diet for their health and show them that they can still have similar dishes that bring them joy. Keeping that joy in their cooking and being able to guide them is how I want to help people and hope that people can keep their cultural dishes while healing and keeping that joy when cooking and eating because I know that people do not enjoy eating food they do not like which won't help them heal. I want to teach people they can bring joy from cooking and eating healthy.

I try to actively listen to everyone I interact with, now dose that always happen no, i try to be mindful of that and try catch myself when I'm not. listening to me means listening to learn or to understand and trying not to react because to me if i just react that means i was not fully listening only just to react to certain things. listening to react solves nothing and active listening can and learning that took some time, but I learned and know i try to actively listen more. How I actively listen is by sometimes repeating what they said but the way i understand it helps a lot and i use this tool as part of my active listening.

my simple pleasure is sting my garden every morning. sitting out side with cup of coffee or tea and planning out my day makes things feel more organized and calmer. feeling the sun on my skin seeing some butterflies and bee depending on the time years is so calming. being able to go to the garden and see the vegetables and fruits that i can use that week or that day for meals makes the day interesting and seeing the food grow brings a simile to my face.