My name is Cherish, I come from a family of 5 people and I am Nigerian. My parents and 2 siblings. I grew up in a very close community, so I usually say that I am community not self-made. My parents are both graduates of colleges so I grew up knowing that I wanted to advance my education. I moved to the US in 2018 because my mom wanted to go to school here. Since the whole family came with her, we started exploring schools for me and my siblings as well. The education system is better than it is in Nigeria, so it was a good opportunity. A challenge I faced was picking the right college for me. I applied to a couple of colleges and I had several choices to pick from but I made my decision based on how popular the school was, not because it was the best fit for me. When I first attended this college, I was happy because it was a new experience, away from home, I had freedom and all that. After a while, I found it difficult to see myself there, so I lost all motivation and was not happy. It affected my classes but I was so adamant that it would get better so I persisted. I forced myself to go out and make friends, join clubs, and attend events but my experience wasn't getting better. I was holding onto a dream that was not feasible just because I was obsessed with the name of a school. I wanted to be able to brag about that but I was damaging myself in the process. I had to be truthful to myself which was hard but with the help of family and counselors, I decided to transfer to a community college. I was so much happier and I enjoyed my classes so much. I learned that the prestige of a college does not define you as a person. It is better for you to be happy than for you to be miserable just because you are chasing after something that is not realistic. My dad is a very big inspiration to me. From a very young age, I saw how he handled situations and was always eager to help people. Last year he got sick with an eye disorder and he was in and out of the hospital for months. Even though he was ill, he still worked and helped my mom pay the bills. The willpower he has is commendable and he is someone I look up to. After getting my bachelor's in Psychology, I want to apply for Physician Assistant school because my career goal is to be a PA. I have always envisioned myself working in healthcare and I am grateful that I can explore different paths in healthcare. I am very hopeful about my plans because it is something I am passionate about.

My experience with mental health has shaped my goals, relationships, and understanding of the world in a positive way. I come from a community where mental health is not really valued or focused on so I never really got to understand how important it is to our overall health. I took Introduction to Psychology and I was intrigued to learn about mental health and wellness that opened my eyes to many things. I started acknowledging people that were so keen with their mental health. I also learned that mental health is important because it can lead to mental illness when ignored and my interest in Psychology increased more that I took AP Psychology and a psychology class at a junior college. I consider mental health as important and my view on it has changed in a positive way over the past. People should value their mental health and should not be seen as weak or incapable. Mental health and mental illness goes hand in hand. People with mental illness should not be treated less but should be treated with love and care. It should not be treated as an illness but as a state of mind. They should not be shun by society but be embraced because support goes a long way to help people.