I had a hard time during my sophomore year of high school (2020-2021). COVID-19 was still happening, I was dealing with complicated social interactions, but most of all, I went through something very traumatic. I felt scared around all men, whether they were strangers or family friends, it didn’t matter. I couldn’t talk, didn’t even want to walk in the supermarket, and refused to go anywhere alone. Everything that happened on October 10th, 2020, wouldn’t leave my mind. I felt like my nervous system, my mind, my everything was betraying me. I tried and failed to feel safe, not at church, home, not even at school. The art room was the one safe place I thought would never go away. That man managed to take that from me, too. The only way to get my mind off everything was to completely think of nothing but homework, projects, and hiding what happened; only those things could distract me from my increased social anxiety. Coming to State Fair Community College, I didn’t think I could trust anyone. I would be completely isolated because, years later, I still can’t look or talk normally to a male I don’t know very well. Somehow, kind people found me, and I was blessed by the fact that I didn’t scare them away. They help me feel like I can do anything and like I am talented. Mostly, they make me feel like I am important no matter how other people made me feel in the past. I felt like a whole new person. A friend from high school I was recently reunited with told me I looked different. I asked what she meant, but she struggled to put it into words. Mainly, I seemed more open and healthier than I had before, and I owe it all to the relationships I had formed over the last two years. Not only did they help me, but they let me help them, too. In these last three semesters, they made me feel like I am on the right path to be an Art therapist. I want to continue my path at the University of Central Missouri and beyond. Unfortunately, I need help to continue my journey, and I was hoping you could help me. I want to help those who lived and fought through similar events to what I did. I want to teach them they are not alone, and though at times it may seem like no one is there to help them, they just need to wait a little longer. No one deserves to be alone, especially when going through hard times and traumatic moments. I know I will do whatever I can to help others, and to do that, I need your help too. Thank you, Reagan A Miller