Shaping a better life for the future has always been my goal in life. I have always wanted the best for others, and I love to contribute as much as I can.

The change I want to see in the world is a decreased rate of substance abuse. To help make a difference, I joined my school's healthy youth coalition. The purpose of our coalition is to promote healthy living. We want to education our younger generations of the consequences that come with vaping, drinking and drug use. We also come up with ways to better people's mental health and advocate for its importance. We need people to know that we are there for them and that drugs are not a coping mechanism.

Most people grew up in the same area throughout their life. But being able to experience education in completely different economies has been eye-opening. I grew up in Egypt in the low to middle-class income bracket, but I was born in the United States. We moved to Egypt because my parents wanted their children to stay in contact with their culture. After years of begging, my parents finally decided to move back to the U.S. The transfer was a challenge for my family, both emotionally and financially. My mom and dad had to say goodbye to their families. My siblings and I had to say goodbye to our loved ones. Doing that has pushed me to work hard every day. The main reason for my family moving was education. We knew there was a better education system in the United States. This sequence of events has motivated me to pursue my education. I want my relatives, who live thousands of miles away, to be proud of me. I need to show my parents that moving was better for us by becoming the best person I can be, and having a good education is part of the process.

I am an insecure, shy, quiet individual, with an exceptional amount of anxiety. Well, I was that way not so long ago. My lack of confidence has been my downfall in the past. It was not a single event that inspired my growth, nonetheless, being noticed and heard were my central motivations. Over the last year, I have achieved newfound confidence. Yet, I am still the same in so many ways. This growth has taught me that I should not allow the fears of failure and rejection to hold me back. I have learned that I am more capable of helping my community and contributing if I believe in myself. Being noticed and heard were the principal motivations for my boost in confidence and self-esteem. I love problem-solving and coming up with creative ideas and solutions, but I struggled to get them heard. On the other hand, I have played competitive sports since I can remember, and I loved every part of it. Though my skills were high, my lack of confidence and self-esteem was apparent. I could not play the sports I love because I was not as confident as my peers. In the beginning, hearing this tore me down. I eventually got to a point where I wanted better for myself. I wanted to show off my skills, and I wanted to contribute to activities. People grow and evolve, but some things stay the same. In my journey, I have grown to have a voice that needs to be heard. I no longer allowed fear and anxiety to determine when, where and how I spoke. I still have anxiety, but I have found coping mechanisms that minimize its effects on my life. Other aspects that have remained the same about me are my sympathy and kindness. No matter how I change my ways, I will never lose my core values. Through my journey of self-discovery, I have learned different ways to cope with mental health issues. I have also comprehended that things get better and that there are more difficult days that I will have to face. I no longer underestimate the power confidence holds. I can now lead different clubs and organizations that I partake in. I have learned that I can accomplish so many things if I try. I also hold leadership positions and can publicly speak in front of large groups of people. Throughout my journey, I have learned to be a better team member and listener to my peers. learned

"I can't go to school today!" I sobbed to my mom. Growing up, I found myself crying and often for no reason at all. For me, being happy has always seemed impossible. I thought that was normal until I learned more about mental health. My experiences with mental health have influenced my beliefs, relationships, and career. Growing up, my family did not take the topic of mental health seriously. This has influenced my beliefs. Unlike my parents, I consider mental health to be a significant topic and believe people should learn about it. Learning more about mental health has helped me realize what kind of relationships I need in my life. My career aspirations were also affected by my experience with mental health because of the increased stress and emotion that I found come with different occupations. I understand it is uncommon to hear that a mental health experience could change one's view on certain beliefs. At first, I was an avid believer in perfect attendance and that no matter the situation, no one should miss school. However, some days it was hard for me to get up and do anything. My body felt fine, but my brain clouded with fog and exhaustion. I would lay on my bed for hours staring at my empty ceiling and convincing myself that I was okay. As soon as I convinced myself, I would go about my life like that conversation never happened until it happened again. And now, if anyone were to ask me my opinion on mental health days from school, I would preach their necessity. Throughout my life, people have verbally appreciated my kindness. They would describe me as the kindest person they know. That's a great thing to hear, one would think, but not me. Being kind is effortless to a point, and then it is difficult and exhausting because no matter how good my actions were I could not change other people's hurtful ones. That had affected my relationships because I realized that some of my friends were taking advantage of my actions. They would expect items from me and expect me to do things for them, but they never excepted me as their friend. It took me a long time to understand how negatively this affected me because it made me feel so unworthy and that no matter what I did nobody reciprocated the kindness I shared with them. So, I still treat everyone with kindness; however, I am no longer exerting my self-love on others or expecting anything in return. Mental health has changed my career aspirations because it showed me why I should not be a doctor or lawyer. I understand doctors cannot save everyone, and lawyers sometimes lose hard-fought cases. Knowing that, I would be filled with guilt if that happened to me. I strive for perfection in everything I do: if I fail, I can live with that. I could not live knowing I could not save someone. I have woken up sobbing uncontrollably and feeling like death because I dreamt that I had accidentally pushed someone to their death. Medicine and Law are two careers that require an expert level on how to take care of your mental health. Mental health can be an uphill battle and finding what works for me has helped me tremendously. Because of my mental health experience, I believe that missing school to help better mental health is very important. I learned that people could affect my mental health negatively and that I need to surround myself with people that will bring positivity into my life. My experiences have shown me that some professions would not suit me, but there are other ways I can help people.