School has always been a major part in my life ever since I was a child. My parents said that I must do well in school in order to give myself the life that my parents never had. Throughout high school, I kept my nose in the books, went to work, and made sure that I went to every band practice to make sure I appeared as a well-rounded student on my college applications. I loved every second that I spent with my friends and teachers but never realized what was about to come next in my life. After graduation, I slowed down to prepare myself for college and I realized how much I was really doing. I felt so empty that I wasn't at practice with my friends or at work with the people that made it feel like vacation. However, I also didn't have the energy to do anything else but sit on the couch. By the time I moved in to college, I was completely burnt-out. My academics suffered, my relationships began to deteriorate, and I never left my room. I felt completely alone and started thinking that I was better off at home. One of my closest friends suggested I take advantage of the university's counseling center seen as we were already paying for it with our tuition. I decided that it was worth a shot and began the paperwork for my first visit. I never had counseling before because my family views it in a negative light, so I was a little scared to go, but my friend helped me through the process. My counselor helped me identify all the emotions I was feeling and ensured that I wasn't alone or crazy for feeling the way I did. Within the first visit, we had a plan of attack. I am a Public Health major and took a Personal Health course last semester which included a project where we had to change a health behavior of mine. I decided, with some help, that I would journal for this project and gradually work my way up to journaling every single day. It was a process, a very long one, but it turned out to be one of the best things for me. I learned how to convey my feelings and to not bottle them up. Identifying the causes of what was bothering me helped me to understand how to go about my life and live for myself. I thank my counselor and professor every day for helping me take back my life and they'll always have their names in my future journals.

Throughout my time in high school, I had my mind set to work in healthcare after my graduation. I had no clue what sector I wanted to work in until I witnessed a scene that would change my career path for the better. My family and I witnessed a car crash that happened right by our home, and we were the first on the scene to help. Unfortunately, it did not have a happy ending. I reflected on the situation for a few nights and realized that my heart reached out to Emergency Affairs / Management. Seeing how the EMS personnel handled such a stressful situation made me admire how levelheaded and coordinated they are. I gained such a personal connection that I couldn't just let it go. On top of this experience, the COVID-19 pandemic also influenced my decision. Our researchers and healthcare workers were heroes to me, and I wanted to be a part of such an impactful team as well. Therefore, when it came time for me to select my major for college, I chose Public Health. I spent my first semester in college buried in my books because of how interesting the content was. I looked forward to every class, every assignment, every essay, and even the exams. One topic remained the same in some of my major-specific classes and it really bothered me; rural health is heavily neglected. Health is more than just your physical health. It's your mental, environmental, spiritual, social, and intellectual health. One of the biggest factors in leading a healthy life in the environment that you are a part of. Many people in rural communities lack access to quality care along with necessities such as healthy foods, walkable communities, clean water, insurance, and health literacy. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Coming from a rural community myself, the health of the people I'm closest to is one of my main concerns. I understand firsthand how these factors inhibit people from living life just as healthy as other people in other areas. I have many ideas in how I could increase healthy living but some of them include programming on health literacy as so many people, myself including, have never really had proper education on the healthcare system. Being able to navigate your way through the maze is extremely important. On top of this, workshops to help residents of rural communities gain access to programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, WIC, etc. will also help them receive care they may also need. Besides that, pushing or even organizing mobile centers for dental care and health checkups will promote prevention and intervention in the citizens health. Once they are aware, hopefully they can receive further care. Obviously, these are not permanent, failsafe ways to ensure everyone in a rural community has perfect health. However, this would be the beginning of giving rural communities like mine the opportunity that they've been neglected. That's exactly what I see myself doing; helping the people who helped me make it this far.

I've read many books that have stood out to me, but none has captured my attention like this one book. I was in the fourth grade with my class in our school library. While walking past the rows of bookshelves, I passed by one that had only a handful of books on it. One book caught my attention just by looking at the spine and I picked it up, without even looking at the cover, and headed straight to the librarian to check it out. That was probably one of the best books I've blindly picked. It was titled, "The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond". The book followed a young multiracial girl that grew up with her mother in a predominantly white town. Violet, the young girl, felt awkward and out of place because she was one of the only kids in her town that wasn't white. It also didn't help that her father wasn't with them, as he had passed away while she was a baby. Soon, Violet sets out to find more about her heritage that she never had the ability to learn about. Her paternal grandmother helps her discover more as she grows older throughout the book. Being no older than ten years old, this book helped me get through my younger years. I grew up in a similar situation as Violet and being able to see someone go through the things I went through helped me realize that I wasn't alone. Seeing her become confident in herself and learning about the things she never knew inspired me to do the same as well. If I hadn't read this book, I would have missed out on a very important thing I think every child should know. Seek out the things that make you, yourself.