For most of my adolescence, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, fear, and imposter syndrome. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin, and as a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. These feelings seemed to only worsen after the devastating passing of my grandmother in 2019, leaving me overwhelmed by confusion, frustration, grief, and sadness that settled inside of me. I lost interest in my academic studies, and I felt best when I was alone and isolated from others, and my mental and emotional health plummeted. When the world paused in 2020, I knew that God was intervening in my life, and this intervention quite literally saved my life. He showed me that it was time to get up and fight for my life and find the light in life again, just as my grandmother would’ve wanted. Rather than utilizing dance as a means of competition, I utilized dance as a healing practice and form of expression to experience joy again, as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, and prayer could become my remedy for life's joy. I learned to give life another chance by utilizing creative expression such as dance as a function of healing. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through dance/movement therapy, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them. Dance can be used not only to promote our physical, social, emotional, and mental health but also as a function of healing. Through Dance/Movement Therapy, we can cultivate our own stories and take ownership of our identities through movement. This further improves our self-esteem, body image, and perception of self. We also gather increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance and movement. I have found myself called to this profession not only because of my love for dance and dance education but because of the excitement, joy, and confidence I’ve seen in the faces of children who resemble me when experiencing the gift of dance and movement. I aim to serve as a dance/movement therapist and licensed counselor to provide mental health services throughout Philadelphia communities and ensure that young children can receive Dance/Movement Therapy as an accessible health resource. I aim to examine how Dance/Movement Therapy serves as a mental health treatment for adolescents who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. Too often, adolescents are unheard and ignored within educational settings, not receiving adequate counsel they may need to perform and feel better in school, becoming more vulnerable to the school-to-prison pipeline. Dance can provide adolescents with a healthy and practical outlet when faced with heavy circumstances in and out of school. When dance programs are incorporated into schools, they have been shown to improve self-esteem, self-awareness, and communication, and decrease stress or other traumatic symptoms. As a dance/movement therapist, I want to ensure that adolescents receive the care they need to feel well about themselves and achieve success in their lives, and can attain a prosperous future.

My devotion toward community care and health began while teaching free beginner ballet classes to young children between the ages of five and nine at my local recreation department. Overtime, this program became more accessible for parents and young children after school, and transformed into a space for the well-being and health of our youth. Dance can help to promote adolescents' physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being by allowing self-expression through movement, developing self-esteem and confidence, and increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance. I have found myself devoted to this work not only because of my love for dance and teaching, but also to intervene and reduce symptoms of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) among youth through movement and expression within my community. Dance can be used not only to promote our physical, social, emotional, and mental health but also as a function of healing. Through Dance/Movement Therapy, we can cultivate our own stories and take ownership of our identities and experiences through movement. This further improves our self-esteem, body image, and perception of self. We also gather increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance and movement. I have found myself called to this profession not only because of my love for dance and dance education but because of the excitement, joy, and confidence I’ve seen in the faces of children who resemble me when experiencing the gift of dance and movement. I aim to serve as a dance/movement therapist and licensed counselor to provide mental health services throughout Philadelphia communities and ensure that young children can receive Dance/Movement Therapy as an accessible health resource. This scholarship will support my studies that examine how Dance/Movement Therapy serves as a mental health treatment for children, teens, and adults who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. Too often, adolescents are unheard or ignored within educational spaces, not receiving adequate counsel they may need to perform and feel better in school, becoming more vulnerable to the school-to-prison pipeline. Dance can provide adolescents with a healthy and practical outlet when faced with heavy circumstances in and out of school. When dance programs are incorporated into schools, they have been shown to improve self-esteem, self-awareness, and communication, decreasing stress and traumatic symptoms. As a dance/movement therapist, I want to ensure that adolescents receive the care they need to feel well about themselves and achieve success in their lives. Through this journey, I strive to instill wellness within communities, advocating for mental health and well-being everywhere.

For most of my adolescence, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, fear, and imposter syndrome. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin, and as a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. These feelings seemed to only worsen after the devastating passing of my grandmother in 2019, leaving me overwhelmed by confusion, frustration, grief, and sadness that settled inside of me. I lost interest in my academic studies, and I felt best when I was alone and isolated from others, and my mental and emotional health plummeted. When the world paused in 2020, I knew that God was intervening in my life, and this intervention quite literally saved my life. He showed me that it was time to get up and fight for my life and find the light in life again, just as my grandmother would’ve wanted. I reflected on the things that once brought me joy and remembered that dance and movement had always served as a light in my life before my grandmother passed. Somehow, the art form that had generated much of my feelings of inadequacy during my adolescence was the art form that saved my life. Rather than utilizing dance as a means of competition, I utilized dance as a healing practice and form of expression to experience joy again, as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, and prayer could become my remedy for life's joy. I realized that I had felt comfortable being afraid, worried, and insecure about myself every minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance by utilizing creative expression such as dance as a function of healing. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through dance/movement therapy, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them. I am hoping that with your support, this can be made possible. Dance can be used not only to promote our physical, social, emotional, and mental health but also as a function of healing. Through Dance/Movement Therapy, we cultivate our own stories and take ownership of our identities and experiences through movement. This further improves our self-esteem, body image, and perception of self. We also gather increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance and movement. I have found myself called to this profession not only because of my love for dance and dance education but because of the excitement, joy, and confidence I’ve seen in the faces of children who resemble me when experiencing the gift of dance and movement. I aim to serve as a dance/movement therapist and licensed counselor to provide mental health services throughout Philadelphia communities and ensure that young children can receive Dance/Movement Therapy as an accessible health resource.

My devotion toward community care, counseling, and health began while teaching free beginner ballet classes to young children between the ages of five and nine at my local recreation department. Overtime, this program became more accessible for parents and young children after school, and transformed into a space for the well-being and health of our youth. Dance can help to promote adolescents' physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being by allowing self-expression through movement, developing self-esteem and confidence, and increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance. I have found myself devoted to this work not only because of my love for dance and teaching, but also to intervene and reduce symptoms of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) among youth through movement and expression within my community. Currently, I serve as a student therapist at a family health service within the Philadelphia community. Here, I’m able to utilize and share dance/movement therapy with adults through a trauma-informed, anti-racism lens. Our group continues to expand as we cultivate the space to meet and uplift the needs of our community, create a shared space of love and compassion, and care for one another through shared movement expression and dialogue as a collective. Through Dance/Movement Therapy, we cultivate our own stories and take ownership of our identities through movement. This further improves our self-esteem, body image, and perception of self. We also gather increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance and movement. I have found myself called to this profession not only because of my love for dance and dance education but because of the excitement, joy, and confidence I’ve seen in the faces of children who resemble me when experiencing the gift of dance and movement. I aim to serve as a dance/movement therapist and licensed counselor to provide mental health services throughout Philadelphia communities and ensure that young children can receive Dance/Movement Therapy as an accessible health resource. Currently, I attend Drexel University, receiving my Master of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling. Although Dance/Movement Therapy is a unique and transformative field, it is dominated by white bodies, with only a few Black bodies being able to become registered or certified dance/movement therapists. This is often due to the lack of equitable resources for Black students such as myself looking to pursue higher education at the graduate level. There is a need for Black psychotherapists and Black creative arts therapists who can directly serve and meet the needs of Black children and teens through creative expression, uplifting their health and well-being. I aim to examine how Dance/Movement Therapy serves as a mental health treatment for Black adolescents who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. Too often, adolescents are unheard and ignored within educational settings, not receiving adequate counsel they may need to perform and feel better in school, becoming more vulnerable to the school-to-prison pipeline. Dance can provide adolescents with a healthy and practical outlet when faced with heavy circumstances in and out of school. When dance programs are incorporated into schools, they have been shown to improve self-esteem, self-awareness, and communication, and decrease stress or other traumatic symptoms. As a dance/movement therapist, I want to ensure that adolescents receive the care they need to feel well about themselves and achieve success in their lives. Through this journey, I strive to instill wellness within Black communities, advocating for our mental health and well-being. As a prospective graduate student, I aspire to become a licensed psychotherapist and dance/ movement therapist, supporting and uplifting our voices so that we too, can have a prosperous future.

My devotion toward community care and health began while teaching free beginner ballet classes to young children between the ages of five and nine at my local recreation department. Overtime, this program became more accessible for parents and young children after school, and transformed into a space for the well-being and health of our youth. Dance can help to promote adolescents' physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being by allowing self-expression through movement, developing self-esteem and confidence, and increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance. I have found myself devoted to this work not only because of my love for dance and teaching, but also to intervene and reduce symptoms of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) among youth through movement and expression within my community. Through Dance/Movement Therapy, we can cultivate our own stories and take ownership of our identities through movement. This further improves our self-esteem, body image, and perception of self. We also gather increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance and movement. I have found myself called to this profession not only because of my love for dance and dance education but because of the excitement, joy, and confidence I’ve seen in the faces of children who resemble me when experiencing the gift of dance and movement. I aim to serve as a dance/movement therapist and licensed counselor to provide mental health services throughout Philadelphia communities and ensure that young children can receive Dance/Movement Therapy as an accessible health resource. I attend Drexel University, receiving my Master of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling. Although Dance/Movement Therapy is a particularly unique and transformative field, it is dominated by white bodies, with only a few Black bodies being able to become registered or certified dance/movement therapists. This is often due to the lack of equitable resources for Black students such as myself looking to pursue higher education at the graduate level. There is a need for Black psychotherapists and Black creative arts therapists who can directly serve and meet the needs of Black children and teens through creative expression, uplifting their health and well-being. Currently, I serve as a student therapist at a family health service within the Philadelphia community. Here, I’m able to utilize and share dance/movement therapy with adults through a trauma-informed, anti-racism lens. Our group continues to expand as we cultivate the space to meet and uplift the needs of our community, create a shared space of love and compassion, and care for one another through shared movement expression and dialogue as a collective. I aim to examine how Dance/Movement Therapy serves as a mental health treatment for Black adolescents who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. Too often, adolescents are unheard and ignored within educational settings, not receiving adequate counsel they may need to perform and feel better in school, becoming more vulnerable to the school-to-prison pipeline. Dance can provide adolescents with a healthy and practical outlet when faced with heavy circumstances in and out of school. When dance programs are incorporated into schools, they have been shown to improve self-esteem, self-awareness, and communication, and decrease stress or other traumatic symptoms. As a dance/movement therapist, I want to ensure that adolescents receive the care they need to feel well about themselves and achieve success in their lives. Through this journey, I strive to instill wellness within Black communities, advocating for our mental health and well-being. As a prospective graduate student, I aspire to become a licensed psychotherapist and dance/ movement therapist, supporting and uplifting our voices so that we too, can have a prosperous future.

My name is Rayna Richardson, and I am a proud alumna of Howard University. While attending Howard University, I have engaged in studies surrounding counseling psychology, dance arts, and movement, which have enriched my perspective on the unique intersection of dance, health, and well-being. I currently attend Drexel University, receiving my Master of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling. Although Dance/Movement Therapy is a particularly unique and transformative field, it is dominated by white bodies, with only a few Black bodies being able to become registered or certified dance/movement therapists. This is often due to the lack of equitable resources for Black students such as myself looking to pursue higher education at the graduate level. There is a need for Black psychotherapists and Black creative arts therapists who can directly serve and meet the needs of Black children and teens through creative expression, uplifting their health and well-being. Dance can be used not only to promote our physical, social, emotional, and mental health but also as a function of healing. Through Dance/Movement Therapy, we can cultivate our own stories and take ownership of our identities and experiences through movement. This further improves our self-esteem, body image, and perception of self. We also gather increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance and movement. I have found myself called to this profession not only because of my love for dance and dance education but because of the excitement, joy, and confidence I’ve seen in the faces of children who resemble me when experiencing the gift of dance and movement. I aim to serve as a dance/movement therapist and licensed counselor to provide mental health services throughout Philadelphia communities and ensure that young children can receive Dance/Movement Therapy as an accessible health resource. My devotion toward community care and health began while teaching free beginner ballet classes to young children between the ages of five and nine at my local recreation department. Overtime, this program became more accessible for parents and young children after school, and transformed into a space for the well-being and health of our youth. Dance can help to promote adolescents' physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being by allowing self-expression through movement, developing self-esteem and confidence, and increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance. I have found myself devoted to this work not only because of my love for dance and teaching, but also to intervene and reduce symptoms of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) among youth through movement and expression within my community. Through this scholarship, I aim to examine how Dance/Movement Therapy serves as a mental health treatment for children, teens, and adults who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. Too often, adolescents are unheard or ignored within educational spaces, not receiving adequate counsel they may need to perform and feel better in school, becoming more vulnerable to the school-to-prison pipeline. Dance can provide adolescents with a healthy and practical outlet when faced with heavy circumstances in and out of school. When dance programs are incorporated into schools, they have been shown to improve self-esteem, self-awareness, and communication, decreasing stress and traumatic symptoms. As a dance/movement therapist, I want to ensure that adolescents receive the care they need to feel well about themselves and achieve success in their lives. Through this journey, I strive to instill wellness within communities, advocating for mental health and well-being everywhere. I am hoping that with your help, this may be possible.

Dance can be used not only to promote our physical, social, emotional, and mental health but also as a function of healing. Through Dance/Movement Therapy, we can cultivate our own stories and take ownership of our identities and experiences through movement. This further improves our self-esteem, body image, and perception of self. We also gather increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance and movement. I have found myself called to this profession not only because of my love for dance and dance education but because of the excitement, joy, and confidence I’ve seen in the faces of children who resemble me when experiencing the gift of dance and movement. I aim to serve as a dance/movement therapist and licensed counselor to provide mental health services throughout Philadelphia communities and ensure that young children can receive Dance/Movement Therapy as an accessible health resource. Currently, I attend Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, receiving my Master of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling. Although Dance/Movement Therapy is a particularly unique and transformative field, it is dominated by white bodies, with only a few Black bodies being able to become registered or certified dance/movement therapists. This is often due to the lack of equitable resources for Black students such as myself looking to pursue higher education at the graduate level. There is a need for Black psychotherapists and Black creative arts therapists who can directly serve and meet the needs of Black children and teens through creative expression, uplifting their health and well-being. I serve as a student therapist at a family health service within the Philadelphia community. Here, I’m able to utilize and share dance/movement therapy with adults through a trauma-informed, anti-racism lens. Our group continues to expand as we cultivate the space to meet and uplift the needs of our community, create a shared space of love and compassion, and care for one another through shared movement expression and dialogue as a collective. My devotion toward community care and health began while teaching free beginner ballet classes to young children between the ages of five and nine at my local recreation department. Overtime, this program became more accessible for parents and young children after school, and transformed into a space for the well-being and health of our youth. Dance can help to promote adolescents' physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being by allowing self-expression through movement, developing self-esteem and confidence, and increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance. I have found myself devoted to this work not only because of my love for dance and teaching, but also to intervene and reduce symptoms of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) among youth through movement and expression within my community. I aim to examine how Dance/Movement Therapy serves as a mental health treatment for children, teens, and adults who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. Too often, adolescents are unheard or ignored within educational spaces, not receiving adequate counsel they may need to perform and feel better in school, becoming more vulnerable to the school-to-prison pipeline. Dance can provide adolescents with a healthy and practical outlet when faced with heavy circumstances in and out of school. When dance programs are incorporated into schools, they have been shown to improve self-esteem, self-awareness, and communication, decreasing stress and traumatic symptoms. As a dance/movement therapist, I want to ensure that adolescents receive the care they need to feel well about themselves and achieve success in their lives. Through this journey, I strive to instill wellness within communities, advocating for mental health and well-being everywhere.

For most of my adolescence, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, fear, and imposter syndrome. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin, and as a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. These feelings seemed to only worsen after the devastating passing of my grandmother in 2019, leaving me overwhelmed by confusion, frustration, grief, and sadness that settled inside of me. I lost interest in my academic studies, and I felt best when I was alone and isolated from others, and my mental and emotional health plummeted. When the world paused in 2020, I knew that God was intervening in my life, and this intervention quite literally saved my life. He showed me that it was time to get up and fight for my life and find the light in life again, just as my grandmother would’ve wanted. I reflected on the things that once brought me joy and remembered that dance and movement had always served as a light in my life before my grandmother passed. Somehow, the art form that had generated much of my feelings of inadequacy during my adolescence was the art form that saved my life. Rather than utilizing dance as a means of competition, I utilized dance as a healing practice and form of expression to experience joy again, as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, and prayer could become my remedy for life's joy. I realized that I had felt comfortable being afraid, worried, and insecure about myself every minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance by utilizing creative expression such as dance as a function of healing. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me, which is what I've found to be the meaning of authentic success. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through dance/movement therapy, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them, which is nothing short of success and victory. Dance can be used not only to promote our physical, social, emotional, and mental health but also as a function of healing. Through Dance/Movement Therapy, we can cultivate our own stories and take ownership of our identities through movement. This further improves our self-esteem, body image, and perception of self. We also gather increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance and movement. I have found myself called to this profession not only because of my love for dance and dance education but because of the excitement, joy, and confidence I’ve seen in the faces of children who resemble me when experiencing the gift of dance and movement. I aim to serve as a dance/movement therapist and licensed counselor to provide mental health services throughout Philadelphia communities and ensure that young children can receive Dance/Movement Therapy as an accessible health resource. Although Dance/Movement Therapy is a particularly unique and transformative field, it is dominated by white bodies, with only a few Black bodies being able to become registered or certified dance/movement therapists. This is often due to the lack of equitable resources for Black students such as myself looking to pursue higher education at the graduate level. There is a need for Black psychotherapists and Black creative arts therapists who can directly serve and meet the needs of Black children and teens through creative expression, uplifting their health and well-being. This scholarship will support my studies that aim to examine how Dance/Movement Therapy serves as a mental health treatment for Black adolescents who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. Dance can provide adolescents with a healthy and practical outlet when faced with heavy circumstances in and out of school. When dance programs are incorporated into schools, they have been shown to improve self-esteem, self-awareness, and communication, and decrease stress or other traumatic symptoms. As a dance/movement therapist, I want to ensure that adolescents receive the care they need to feel well about themselves and achieve success in their lives. Through this journey, I strive to instill wellness within Black communities, advocating for our mental health and well-being. As a prospective graduate student, I aspire to become a licensed psychotherapist and dance/ movement therapist, supporting and uplifting our voices so that we too, can have a prosperous future.

Dance can be used not only to promote our physical, social, emotional, and mental health but also as a function of healing. Through dance/movement therapy, we can cultivate our own stories and take ownership of our identities through movement. This further improves our self-esteem, body image, and perception of self. We also gather increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance and movement. I have found myself called to this profession not only because of my love for dance and dance education but because of the excitement, joy, and confidence I’ve seen in the faces of children who resemble me when experiencing the gift of dance and movement. I aim to serve as a dance/movement therapist and licensed counselor to provide mental health services throughout Philadelphia communities and ensure that young children can receive dance/movement therapy as an accessible health resource. I am a proud alumna of Howard University, and while attending, I have engaged in studies on counseling psychology, and dance arts which have enriched my perspective on the unique intersection of dance, mental health, and well-being. I currently attend Drexel University, training to receive my Master of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling. Although dance/movement therapy is a particularly unique and transformative field, it is dominated by white bodies, with only a few Black bodies being able to become registered or certified dance/movement therapists. This is often due to the lack of equitable resources for Black students such as myself looking to pursue higher education at the graduate level. There is a need for Black psychotherapists and Black creative arts therapists who can directly serve and meet the needs of Black children and teens through creative expression, uplifting their health and well-being. This scholarship will support my studies that aim to examine how dance/movement therapy serves as a mental health treatment for Black adolescents who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. Too often, Black children and teens are unheard and ignored within educational settings, not receiving adequate counsel they may need to perform and feel better in school, becoming more vulnerable to the school-to-prison pipeline. Dance can provide adolescents with a healthy and practical outlet when faced with heavy circumstances in and out of school. When dance programs are incorporated into schools, they have been shown to improve self-esteem, self-awareness, and communication, and decrease stress or other traumatic symptoms. As a Black dance/movement therapist, I want to ensure that Black adolescents can receive the care they need to feel well about themselves and achieve success in any room they enter. Through this journey, I strive to instill wellness within Black communities, advocating for our mental health and well-being. As a prospective graduate student, I aspire to become a licensed psychotherapist and dance/ movement therapist, supporting and uplifting our voices so that we too, can have a prosperous future.

For most of my adolescence, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, fear, and imposter syndrome. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin, and as a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. These feelings seemed to only worsen after the devastating passing of my grandmother in 2019, leaving me overwhelmed by confusion, frustration, grief, and sadness that settled inside of me. I lost interest in my academic studies. I felt best when I was alone and isolated from others, and my mental and emotional health plummeted. When the world paused in 2020, I knew that God was intervening in my life, and this intervention quite literally saved my life. He showed me that it was time to get up and fight for my life and find the light in life again, just as my grandmother would’ve wanted. I reflected on the things that once brought me joy and remembered that dance and movement had always served as a light in my life before my grandmother passed. Somehow, the art form that had generated much of my feelings of inadequacy during my adolescence was the art form that saved my life. Rather than utilizing dance as a means of competition, I utilized dance as a healing practice and form of expression to experience joy again, as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, and prayer could become my remedy for life's joy. I realized that I had felt comfortable being afraid, worried, and insecure about myself every minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance by utilizing creative expression such as dance as a function of healing. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through dance/movement therapy, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them. Dance can be used not only to promote our physical, social, emotional, and mental health but also as a function of healing. Through dance/movement therapy, we can cultivate our own stories and take ownership of our identities through movement. This further improves our self-esteem, body image, and perception of self. We also gather increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance and movement. I have found myself called to this profession not only because of my love for dance and dance education but because of the excitement, joy, and confidence I’ve seen in the faces of children who resemble me when experiencing the gift of dance and movement. I aim to serve as a dance/movement therapist and licensed counselor to provide mental health services throughout Philadelphia communities and ensure that young children can receive dance/movement therapy as an accessible health resource. This scholarship will support my studies that aim to examine how dance/movement therapy serves as a mental health treatment for Black adolescents who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. Too often, Black children and teens are unheard and ignored within educational settings, not receiving adequate counsel they may need to perform and feel better in school, becoming more vulnerable to the school-to-prison pipeline. Dance can provide adolescents with a healthy and practical outlet when faced with heavy circumstances in and out of school. When dance programs are incorporated into schools, they have been shown to improve self-esteem, self-awareness, and communication, and decrease stress or other traumatic symptoms. As a Black dance/movement therapist, I want to ensure that Black adolescents can receive the care they need to feel well about themselves and achieve success in any room they enter. Through this journey, I strive to instill wellness within Black communities, advocating for our mental health and well-being. As a prospective graduate student, I aspire to become a licensed psychotherapist and dance/ movement therapist, supporting and uplifting our voices so that we too, can have a prosperous future.

For most of my adolescence, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, fear, and imposter syndrome. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin, and as a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. These feelings seemed to only worsen after the devastating passing of my grandmother in 2019, leaving me overwhelmed by confusion, frustration, grief, and sadness that settled inside of me. I lost interest in my academic studies. I felt best when I was alone and isolated from others, and my mental and emotional health plummeted. When the world paused in 2020, I knew that God was intervening in my life, and this intervention quite literally saved my life. He showed me that it was time to get up and fight for my life and find the light in life again, just as my grandmother would’ve wanted. I reflected on the things that once brought me joy and remembered that dance and movement had always served as a light in my life before my grandmother passed. Somehow, the art form that had generated much of my feelings of inadequacy during my adolescence was the art form that saved my life. Rather than utilizing dance as a means of competition, I utilized dance as a healing practice and form of expression to experience joy again, as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, and prayer could become my remedy for life's joy. I realized that I had felt comfortable being afraid, worried, and insecure about myself every minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance by utilizing creative expression such as dance as a function of healing. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through dance/movement therapy, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them. Dance promotes our physical, social, and mental health and well-being by cultivating self-expression through movement, improving self-esteem, body image, and confidence, and increased social skills by sharing spaces and collaborating with others through dance. I have found myself devoted to movement not only because of my love for dance and teaching but also due to the excitement, joy, and gratitude that others have experienced through dance, and it reminds me why dance/movement therapy is needed within our communities. I aim to serve as a vessel of service in my community to ensure that young children receive this accessible resource as a dance/movement therapist and licensed counselor. I aim to examine how dance/movement therapy can serve as a mental health treatment for adolescents who have experienced trauma or other adverse childhood experiences. Too often, Black youth do not receive adequate counsel they may need to perform and feel better in school or other environments. I aim to support and provide for their needs so they are offered the same opportunities for success. I believe that dance/movement therapy can help uplift our youth's mental health and well-being. Programs rooted in creative art therapies such as dance can help to promote and cultivate one's emotional, mental, physical, and social well-being in diverse communities which is where I want to immerse myself in as a dance/movement therapist. Resources designed to meet their needs will further uplift health, self-esteem, and academic success and decrease youth delinquency. As a prospective graduate student, I am eager and devoted to serving my community, which has become my greatest teacher in my journey as a psychotherapist. Although dance/movement therapy is a particularly unique and transformative field, it is dominated by white bodies, with only a few Black bodies being able to become registered or certified dance/movement therapists. This is often due to the lack of equitable resources for Black students such as myself looking to pursue higher education at the graduate level. Black creative arts therapists are needed to serve and meet the needs of Black youth to not only uplift their well-being but also to ensure that they are given an equal opportunity to succeed in any room they enter. This has become the seed of my dream and a vision I aspire to breathe life into throughout my professional and lifelong career.

I am a proud alumna of Howard University, one of the nation's top Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I have recently earned my Bachelor of Science degree with Summa Cum Laude honors in 2023. While attending Howard University, I have engaged in studies surrounding counseling psychology, dance arts, and movement, which have enriched my perspective on the unique intersection of creative arts and well-being for children and adolescents. I have been placed in positions to receive higher education. I have now chosen to pursue a Master's degree in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling to serve communities that resemble me. Although dance/movement therapy is a particularly unique and transformative field, it is dominated by white bodies, with only a few Black bodies being able to become registered or certified dance/movement therapists. This is often due to the lack of equitable resources for Black students such as myself looking to pursue higher education at the graduate level. Black creative arts therapists are needed to serve and meet the needs of Black youth to not only uplift their well-being but also to ensure that they are given an equal opportunity to succeed in any room they enter. This has become the seed of my dream and a vision I aspire to breathe life into throughout my professional and lifelong career. Counseling affords us the ability and space to mend our unhealed pieces and place them back together to create our entirety and show up presently in the world. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also serve in softening the soul of an individual on a journey toward healing. However, access to counseling and therapy services may not always be granted for every population. As a therapist in training, I would like to dedicate myself and work toward communities that are often ignored or neglected. Their well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors that have pledged to provide meaningful care. Having therapy resources at an affordable and reasonable cost can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. This scholarship will support my studies that aim to examine how dance/movement therapy serves as a mental health treatment for adolescents who have experienced adverse childhood experiences. Too often, Black youth do not receive adequate counsel they may need to perform and feel better in school or other environments. I aim to support and provide for their needs so they are offered the same opportunities for success. I believe that dance/movement therapy can help uplift our youth's mental health and well-being. Programs rooted in creative art therapies such as dance can help to promote and cultivate one's emotional, mental, physical, and social well-being which is where I want to immerse myself in as a dance/movement therapist. Resources designed to meet their needs will further uplift health, self-esteem, and academic success and decrease youth delinquency. As a prospective graduate student, I am eager and devoted to serving my community, which has become my greatest teacher in my journey as a psychotherapist.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. The science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor and dance and movement therapist who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aim to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. This scholarship will contribute to my graduate studies and my work in the mental health field dedicated to Black and brown communities. A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking or choose to be a different version of myself that I never imagined I could be. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light, and I am devoted to helping them along their journey.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. The science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. The science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. This scholarship will contribute to my graduate studies and my work in the mental health field dedicated to Black and brown communities. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking or choose to be a different version of myself that I never imagined I could be. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creation.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. This scholarship will contribute to my graduate studies and my work in the mental health field dedicated to Black and brown communities. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking or choose to be a different version of myself that I never imagined I could be. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creation.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. This scholarship will contribute to my graduate studies and my work in the mental health field dedicated to Black and brown communities. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking or choose to be a different version of myself that I never imagined I could be. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creation.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. This scholarship will contribute to my graduate studies and my work in the mental health field dedicated to Black and brown communities. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. This scholarship will contribute to my graduate studies and my work in the mental health field dedicated to Black and brown communities. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. These experiences inspired me to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree and major in Psychology at Howard University in Washington DC. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate through my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together during college. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Dance provided the atmosphere for my feelings to be released, my spirit to be touched, and to slowly transform my grief into a light of healing and hope. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. These experiences inspired me to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree and major in Psychology at Howard University in Washington DC. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. By incorporating movement, mindfulness, journaling, and gratitude into my daily routine, I have seen many changes in how I interact with myself and others. When fear or worry rises, I pay closer attention to what my body tells me and rely on breathing and journaling to calm and relax my nervous system. This not only shifts my mindset but also changes my perspective while in school or dance class. While my college experience has been rigorous, I find the most joy in spending time around people that love and support me, motivate me, and push me to be the best version of Rayna that I can be.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. I cannot further continue without expressing my grievances as a Black woman in America. As a Black woman, I am often told that I cannot be sensitive, weak, or vulnerable in the world I am living in. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist. This is how I aspire to improve the well-being of those within my community.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. This scholarship will contribute to my graduate studies and my work in the mental health field dedicated to Black and brown communities. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them.

For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist and is how I further plan to pour back into those around me.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. This scholarship will contribute to my graduate studies and my work in the mental health field dedicated to Black and brown communities. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. These experiences inspired me to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree and major in Psychology at Howard University in Washington DC. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate through my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Dance provided the atmosphere for my feelings to be released, my spirit to be touched, and to slowly transform my grief into a light of healing and hope. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For the majority of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me, I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I have learned how essential it is to stop at times and truly listen to what is happening to my mind, body, and spirit. When these three elements are not aligned, I feel bound by doubt, stress, fear, and worry. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate through my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Dance provided the atmosphere for my feelings to be released, my spirit to be touched, and to slowly transform my grief into a light of healing and hope. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For the majority of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me, I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them. My ability to help others see the light in themselves is what I aspire to bring into spaces throughout my professional career and life journey of exploration.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. This scholarship will contribute to my graduate studies and my work in the mental health field dedicated to Black and brown communities. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. These experiences inspired me to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree and major in Psychology at Howard University in Washington DC. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them.

Our bodies are intricate tools that can display our spectrum of emotions without ever whispering a word. Dance allows us to connect with our bodies in ways we have never imagined. Movement grants us the ability to be vulnerable, explore our innermost being, and tap into who we are. We all have stories to tell, and movement is an expressive tool that will aid in telling those stories in counseling spaces. Movement builds our connection with ourselves and our bodies and allows us to heal parts of ourselves that we didn't know were wounded. A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate through my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Dance provided the atmosphere for my feelings to be released, my spirit to be touched, and to slowly transform my grief into a light of healing and hope. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For the majority of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me, I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I have learned how essential it is to stop at times and truly listen to what is happening to my mind, body, and spirit. When these three elements are not aligned, I feel bound by doubt, stress, fear, and worry. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. I cannot further continue without expressing my grievances as a Black woman in America. As a Black woman, I am often told that I cannot be sensitive, weak, or vulnerable in the world I am living in. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist. This is how I aspire to improve the well-being of those within my community.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. I cannot further continue without expressing my grievances as a Black woman in America. As a Black woman, I am often told that I cannot be sensitive, weak, or vulnerable in the world I am living in. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist. This is how I aspire to improve the well-being of those within my community.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

I believe that prospering with a purpose and a passion embodies one of my eight attributes of Black Excellence. From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Moving forward, I would like to continue taking calculated risks throughout my future to help build confidence and self-esteem and overcome fears of hearing "no." Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance/movement therapist. This scholarship will aid in supporting my graduate-level studies, obtaining a master's degree, and placing me on track to becoming one step closer to being a licensed therapist and dance therapist. This scholarship will propel my career and life work in the mental health field, improve my awareness of social issues, and help leave lasting impacts on those that come after me.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance/movement therapist. This scholarship will aid in supporting my graduate-level studies, obtaining a master's degree, and placing me on track to becoming one step closer to being a licensed therapist and dance therapist. This scholarship will propel my career and life work in the mental health field, improve my awareness of social issues, and help leave lasting impacts on those that come after me.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance/movement therapist. This scholarship will aid in supporting my graduate-level studies, obtaining a master's degree, and placing me on track to becoming one step closer to being a licensed therapist and dance therapist. This scholarship will propel my career and life work in the mental health field, improve my awareness of social issues, and help leave lasting impacts on those that come after me.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate through my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Dance provided the atmosphere for my feelings to be released, my spirit to be touched, and to slowly transform my grief into a light of healing and hope. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For the majority of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me, I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them. My ability to help others see the light in themselves is what I aspire to bring into spaces throughout my professional career and life journey of exploration.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Not only did I notice a change in how I spoke to myself, but also in the way I engaged with others. I no longer feel shy, intimidated, or faced with low-self esteem when interacting with friends, family, or peers. I feel confident knowing that I can speak boldly because of what I overcame and how those experiences have shaped me into the young woman I am today.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces designed for them. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance/movement therapist. This scholarship will aid in supporting my graduate-level studies, obtaining a master's degree, and placing me on track to becoming one step closer to being a licensed therapist and dance therapist. This scholarship will propel my career and life work in the mental health field and help leave lasting impacts on those that come after me.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. I cannot further continue without expressing my grievances as a Black woman in America. As a Black woman, I am often told that I cannot be sensitive, weak, or vulnerable in the world I am living in. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist. This is how I aspire to improve the well-being of those within my community.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate through my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Dance provided the atmosphere for my feelings to be released, my spirit to be touched, and to slowly transform my grief into a light of healing and hope. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For the majority of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me, I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate through my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Dance provided the atmosphere for my feelings to be released, my spirit to be touched, and to slowly transform my grief into a light of healing and hope. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For the majority of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me, I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate through my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Dance provided the atmosphere for my feelings to be released, my spirit to be touched, and to slowly transform my grief into a light of healing and hope. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For the majority of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me, I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. I cannot further continue without expressing my grievances as a Black woman in America. As a Black woman, I am often told that I cannot be sensitive, weak, or vulnerable in the world I am living in. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist. This is how I aspire to improve the well-being of those within my community.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. I cannot further continue without expressing my grievances as a Black woman in America. As a Black woman, I am often told that I cannot be sensitive, weak, or vulnerable in the world I am living in. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist. This is how I aspire to improve the well-being of those within my community.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the science of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. I cannot further continue without expressing my grievances as a Black woman in America. As a Black woman, I am often told that I cannot be sensitive, weak, or vulnerable in the world I am living in. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist. This is how I aspire to improve the well-being of those within my community.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate through my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Dance provided the atmosphere for my feelings to be released, my spirit to be touched, and to slowly transform my grief into a light of healing and hope. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For the majority of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me, I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. Access to counseling and therapy services is critical for the development and growth of our youth. Their emotional, mental, social, and psychological well-being must be nurtured and cared for, protected, and uplifted by counselors. It is up to our lawmakers and agencies to provide access to mental health resources within Black and brown communities that are affordable and of quality care. Having these resources at a young age can completely change the course and trajectory of one's life in a positive light. I cannot further continue without expressing my grievances as a Black woman in America. As a Black woman, I am often told that I cannot be sensitive, weak, or vulnerable in the world I am living in. As a Black woman, I am weighted by the pressure of showing up perfect and without flaws. However, I am allowed to take off the heaviness and weight of the world around me. Black women deserve spaces to navigate their emotions and explore who they are without restrictions on who or what society tells them to be. These spaces are essential to the development of young Black women that are often written off by society at an early age. Through my work, I aim to create an environment of safety, vulnerability, honesty, and creativity where Black women can take off the world's weight and exist as they are. If I had only heard the words that I was enough at a younger age, it would have altered how I viewed myself and the world around me. Through my life’s work, I aim to ensure that we all have a chance to find the light within our lives again through the magic of dance. Over the Summer, I received the opportunity to organize and facilitate group outreach courses rooted in the foundations of dance and movement therapy. We told stories about ourselves, our emotions, and past experiences through movements that could only be communicated through the body. I was mesmerized by the stories we established using our most intricate tools, the human body and spirit. Not only did this increase our comfortability in movement, but also security within the body. The space we held allowed everyone to tap into creativity and tell stories through emotion, nature, daily activities, and other outlets of everyday life. This tool is the magic of being a dance and movement therapist. There is magic in supporting, guiding, and holding space for others who are on a journey of self-exploration. Their smiles, lit-up faces, willingness to be vulnerable and unique storytelling moved my spirit to become a dance and movement therapist.

From my perspective, which is rooted in my encounters with failure and rejection, paired with the realities of being a Black woman, the philosophy of counseling is mending the broken pieces of ourselves through the support of a professional counselor or activity that serves as a form of healing. I aspire to be a counselor who allows others to be unique without judgment or fear. I aspire to reach this milestone by receiving my master's degree in clinical and mental health counseling at the graduate level. Through counseling, we can slowly pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together to create our whole again. As humans, we all have something to say or express at any stage, and counseling provides the space to do so effectively. Different forms of counseling, such as art, music, creative writing, or dance, can also aid in softening the soul of an individual. A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For most of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me; I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them.

Attending an HBCU was never on my list of long-term goals and aspirations. Growing up, I believed that my worth came from being in spaces where I was the only Black girl. I felt the constant pressure of rejecting the stereotypes that society had placed upon me. This perspective stemmed from my journey in classical ballet, where a sea of white students surrounded me, and I had no one to relate to in identity or experience. I felt the need to be still, proper, and to contain my self-expression. This period caused me to shrink, and I experienced a period of self-doubt and low self-esteem. This changed when I attended a summer intensive at the Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York City, one of the few Black classical ballet companies. Being around other Black women who resembled me in color, body shape, and identity affirmed that there are spaces uniquely designed for me. For the first time, I could see myself in other Black women and not feel ashamed or uncertain about who I was. After this realization, I knew I belonged in an educational space where I would be supported and uplifted by others who shared similar experiences. I desired to be in an environment where I could continue my dance studies and further my knowledge of Black history, experience, and culture. I am proud to say that I am a senior at Howard University, and this cultural institution has shaped my outlook and perspective of the world. I knew Howard would become my home when I stepped onto the campus and interacted with my peers. Attending Howard University has affirmed my place in the world as a Black woman, and there is no other place I would rather be.

A form of counseling that became my source of healing was dance and movement, specifically after the devastating passing of my grandmother, leaving me filled with confusion, anger, and sadness toward myself, my family, and the world. While attempting to navigate through my grief, movement slowly began to put the broken pieces of my life back together. By allowing myself to dance what I could not verbalize, I found how dance permits us to express the emotions that bubble inside our chest and spirit. Dance provided the atmosphere for my feelings to be released, my spirit to be touched, and to slowly transform my grief into a light of healing and hope. Three years later, I have found harmony in knowing my grandmother lives inside of me, and I have chosen dance as my tool for honoring and remembering her life. For the majority of my upbringing, I have been all too familiar with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and general anxiety. These parasites lived with me, I wore them every day like they were my skin. At every corner, I was pummeled by rejection, failure, and hearing that I was not good enough inside classrooms, auditions, and even within my household. As a result, negative thinking and feelings of inadequacy became home for me. They have had a stronghold on my life to the point where I could not operate without them. I had felt knocked down by my circumstances and did not plan on getting up any time soon. When the world paused in 2020, I finally decided it was time to get up and find the light in life again. Somehow, the art form that was generating much of my feelings of inadequacy was the art form that saved my life. Again, I utilized dance as a healing practice to experience life as I once did as a little girl. This period taught me how movement, journaling, prayer, and meditation could be my remedy and medicine for life's joy. I have learned how essential it is to stop at times and truly listen to what is happening to my mind, body, and spirit. When these three elements are not aligned, I feel bound by doubt, stress, fear, and worry. I had felt comfortable being afraid, stressed, and constantly worried about the next minute of my day until those minutes transferred into hours and eventually turned into years. I learned to give life another chance through my therapist's guidance and personal remedies. Every morning, I am given a chance to resort to my old ways of thinking, believing in the negative self-talk and self-doubt that constantly swirled in my mind or choosing to have faith in the life ahead of me. Somewhere, another person is fighting to stand up again, breathe, and find a piece of life's light. Because I can stand again, I am devoted to helping others give life a second chance through movement, storytelling, and other forms of creative expression in spaces uniquely designed for them.