Taking mental health breaks throughout the week by listening to myself when I feel burnt out and deliberately choosing to not do any work on that day. Emailing my professors and asking for extensions if needed and being completely honest about how I feel. Being honest to myself and those around me when I feel I need to take a step back and breathe has impacted the quality of my work as well as my passion for my career. It's completely normal for someone to step back from their work and rest. It ensures the best possible version of the work is presented. When I’m able to take a step back from my duties, and let myself rest whether it be mentally or sometimes physically, and I watch my favorite show or movie with my family and have some well-deserved comfort food, I am able to be fully present in that time. I have time to reflect over my work so far that week, reignite my passion for my work, and are able to refocus myself on my goals for that week or month. Not only does it help me in my career, but it also helps me with my relationship with my family because I’m not rushing through conversations or bolting out the door for my next event or class. When I’m fully present, to enjoy the conversation and live in that single moment. When I deliberately choose to listen to my feelings and voice them out, I am unburdening myself from the pressures of my personal life and career.

In second grade, I had a teacher named Ms. Klotz who’s love and determination to teach every student found me. It was halfway through the year when my teacher got in contact with my mom and told her she would want to tutor me after school for a couple of weeks to help me improve my math and reading skills. Ms. Klotz understood that I enjoyed reading but I had trouble putting into words what I read. She taught me to read at a slower pace and stop every once and a while to review what I had read. In math, she would make the problem visual for me and she would use my interests to change up problems to reinforce skills. She would explain and show me the steps, and then let me work out a few problems by myself. When I made a mistake, she did not jump to correct me but would let me finish, and she would tell me to walk her through the process I used and many times by this method I was able to see my mistakes as I walked her through it without her telling me. This helped me to reflect on my work and check my work before turning anything in. During normal school time, she would call on me and ask me to work out problems in front of the class. This helped me become confident in my work and skills. I knew then that I wanted to be a teacher. Ms. Klotz’s love for children and learning showed me that I could close the barriers that many minority children have in schools by being a helpful and loving teacher to them as well. I want to be able to connect with students at a level that I can be of helpful use when they need it and to be comfortable enough to reach out to parents so we can work in a way to nurture children’s needs and skills. As a first-generation student, my interest to attend college came from my desire to do more with my life than my parents were able to do so at my age. My parents have been my driving force in my educational goals, they push me to go above and beyond. My parents’ love for me, has pushed me beyond my comfort zone. I’m determined to be the first in my family to get a degree and have a professional career. My siblings will have my example and hard work to help them push for greater dreams. I also knew that having a degree would improve my chances of getting a stable job.