Beginning in my preteen years my mother began to suffer from mental illness. This caused her to keep me out of school for two years causing me to miss my 8th grade year. When I started back I was 15 in the 8th grade it was embarrassing but I worked hard to keep my grades up. Also during this time I had to go live with my aunt who had five kids and five step kids of different ages. Many times there was not enough food for everyone. Being one of the older kids we sometimes went without dinner to allow the smaller kids to eat. We were often neglected and left alone for several hours some days. In addition my aunt's husband began sexually abusing most of the girl children in the house. We endure this and didn't tell because we didn't want the step kids to be split up and sent to foster care because their mother had recently passed away. All during this time I worked hard to keep my grades up and stayed on the honor roll. I never had anyone to help with homework or projects if I needed it. I started working when I could at 17 so I could buy things for myself such as school clothes and extra supplies for school I may have needed. At the end of my 11th grade year I had a child and I had to miss school however my grades were good so I was able to get them back up to honor roll levels. I graduated in the top ten percent of my class, however I did not have help applying for colleges and I found it difficult to try to find one I could attend and take care of my daughter at the same time. I ended up going to a culinary school because I could get daycare assistance for a technical program, however my dream has always been to be a part of the medical field. I was not sure which career I wanted to pursue at the time, but I eventually settled on Nursing so I am now working my hardest to complete this goal. I have had some financial bumps along the way and have had to work full time while completing my degree. This has caused me to have to take classes at a slower pace, however I have maintained a B average while completing my nursing prerequisites. I plan on continuing to work hard to complete my nursing degree and to be an example to my children to not give up in the face of hardships. Once I complete my degree I plan on using it to help underprivileged people receive healthcare and quality information to help them live healthier lives. I plan on bringing awareness to the disparities in healthcare for minorities and people from poor neighborhoods. I would like to use my career to make sure the standard of care is the same for all people and that old stereotypes are disregard when it comes to caring for minorities.

My Voice Must be Twice as Loud Living in today's world has taught me my voice has to be twice as loud as others to be heard. I must work twice as hard as my peers to be noticed for my hard work an effort. My ethnic sounding name is often overlooked on applications, I can only hope that my work experience and references are enough to get me a call back. In person my intelligence is often over looked because of my appearance which means the first words out of my mouth must be chosen carefully to help me convey that I too am an educated induvial that understands complex concepts. Even at places that is shouldn't matter such as the hospital my pain is often overlooked and taken for granted. These combined experiences as a black woman drive me to want to be an advocate for black women in healthcare settings. To make sure they are heard and receive the same care and attention as everyone else, at what can be one of their most vulnerable times. They should not have to worry about doctors and nurses not taking their pain and concerns seriously. There needs to be more light brought to this issue and this is one of the things I plan to do once I am firmly in my desired position.