Growing up I have realized there are many things that help clear my mind. Some of which include, deep breathing, going for a walk/roller blading, trying to solve a sudoku puzzle, or baking some goodies. It is amazing what happens once you have a clear mind. It also amazes me how much you learn about yourself when you take the time to clear your mind. First off deep breathing is always the first trick I try to do. This is because it allows me to slow down my thoughts as well as my heart rate. This step allows me to control anxiety too. Which is great because when my mind is racing and I cannot think straight my anxiety sky rockets, and if that does not work, I take a break from the task I was doing and start another one. Starting a new task allows time to relax about the other task and when I come back to the old task, I have a fresh set of eyes to see the issues I could not see before. Thirdly, I go for a walk, well in most cases I go roller blading. I rollerblade because I enjoy it more than anything, it is my all-time favorite hobby to go out and do. Do this also keeps me healthy due to giving me the exercise I need. I believe exercise helps immensely to reduce stress and anxiety because I have proven to myself many of times exercising puts me in a better mood. It helps me to release stress without having to think much about it. Typically, after a workout, I am hungry, which leads me to baking. Baking is my second favorite hobby! Baking always reminds me of the fun times growing up when I would help my mom or the fun memories I created while trying to bake with my friends, plus sweet treats always make me happier than I was before. Fourthly, sudoku. Sudoku is one of my favorite puzzles to solve, mostly because it is always a challenge. But I like to do this to help clear my mind because it gives me time to put things in a different perspective allowing me to see what needs to be done. Lastly, taking all of these steps; deep breathing, rollerblading/exercising, baking and sudoku, has allowed me to learn so much about myself and how to prevent anxiety and depression episodes from happening again. All in all, what I do to clear my mind is bake, sudoku, go rollerblading, and take a deep breath. Now these are simple things but sometimes simplicity is what you need to decompress and allow yourself to grow.

Selflessness is when you are more concerned about someone else’s needs and wants than your own needs and wants. Choosing to be selfless is a huge deal for some out there but for me not so much. I choose to be selfless because I have been in a lot of uncomfortable and unforeseen situations over the past couple years by myself and I would not wish anyone to go through any of it alone. So, I ensure I am helping others; I have decided to make one of my life long goals to be a good listener and always be supportive of someone whether it goes against my wishes or not. This way I know they will have at least one person by their side no matter what. Another way I help others is by guiding them through the process of what they should do or how to do it. For this part it is mostly showing them how the way I did it was not the best way so maybe try it a different way to suit what is best for them.

To me generosity is when you are being kind, caring and giving. When you are being kind, you are helping someone get through a rough patch in their life or you are being a good listener for them or you are physically helping, such as helping them walk across the floor for the first time in a few weeks due to a broken leg, etc. When you are kind it shows you are caring for the person you are helping and shows you want to support them as much as you can. Be there morally for someone does just as much, if not more, as physically helping someone. Being caring also means you are empathetic with the person and show your understanding of how they feel but also would like to know why to see if they can help them further. Caring for someone also means you give them your time to help them or support them. Giving time to someone means a lot more to the person than I thought of. Giving is another way to be generous. Giving does not just mean buying a gift for someone or giving them some money to help pay for bills, it also means you give your time, your efforts and you give your support. To conclude generosity is caring, giving and being kind to those all around you.

To me, the meaning of life is to have a purpose. Having a purpose means you have something to complete a task or look forward to. One thing that gives me purpose is the inspiration and motivation I get from my friends and family. They are constantly by my side and pushing me to exceed my limits. They also encourage me to be the best I can be. Another way I achieve purpose is by having a growth mindset. Having a growth mindset is when you have an open mind to trying new things and learning how to better yourself. Having a growth mindset also allows me to take every experience as a learning experience giving me the chance to change my ways and grow from it. Lastly, to help achieve purpose, I have gratitude. Gratitude means you do not take things for granted and you are thankful for who is in your life, the experiences you have had and the memories you have created. This one is a big one because I learned at a young age that not everything lasts forever and you had better enjoy it while it is there because one day it may not be there. All in all, the meaning to life is to have purpose. And to achieve my purpose I have gratitude, a growth mindset and inspiration from my family and friends.

So, about a year ago I got into a situation where I ended up being drugged, and I really did not know how to go about my life after it had happened. So, I decided to continue my life as normal as possible. As time went on, I noticed things were not going the way I hoped and failed one of my classes. The process for my program requires you to take a lab only course that allows you to get the extra practice needed to become a better ultrasound technician. Well in the middle of the course, it became too much for me, so I took a leave of absence to work on myself. During this time, I got a new job and did a lot of thinking of whether I should go back or not. My final decision is to go back and complete the program. Therefore, my attitude of wanting to go back to school to finish the program and better my career is what gives me hope for a better future. This also gives me hope because it shows people can go through a rough patch in life and still get to where they want to be, it just depends on your attitude about it.

In general, joy means to feel happy but to me it means I am content with where I am at, who I am with and I am not stressed about what is going on with my life. Joy also means to be relaxed for me. This is because when I think of the word joy, I see myself smiling and having the time of my life without worry in sight and when that happens you also feel your body relaxed. When you are full of joy your body is not tensed up about life stressors. Not only does joy have many meanings, but also it has many ways someone can seek joy in their life, it just depends on who you are asking. For example, I seek joy by spending time with my friends, family and my dog. Others may just prefer their friends or their friends and their pet. Another thing I do to seek joy is perform self-care. Performing self-care is healthy and relaxing, brings peace to things. Selfcare also allows you to start fresh after being stressed, which brings joy to me once I am no longer stressed out. Lastly, I seek joy by doing some of my favorite hobbies. These hobbies include rollerblading, hiking, hunting and fishing.

There are many things you can do to show others you love them. One way is to be supportive of them. One way of support is to be present at an event for them. Or you could give advice on the decision they are about to make but also state you are okay with whatever they choose to do because you always treat others the way you want to be treated. This means you respect their choice and be positive about it. Another way I show love is by spending time with them. This is a major one for me, because I learned, at a young age, that nothing lasts forever and your time with them is short so spend as much time as you can with them and make it the best time. Lastly, I always give hugs. Hugs are one of those things, that if it is from the right person your whole mood changes to be happier and that is why I am always willing to give someone a hug. Altogether, there are many ways to show your love, some of mine include giving hugs, spending time with them and giving support/ being supportive.

There are a lot of things that motivate me on a daily basis. One is my dog, who always knows what to do when I am sad, is always by my side no matter what is going on. She is the type that has to be in the same room as me when we are at home. Another daily motivator is my boyfriend. He is always telling me to keep going, just think how much better you feel once it is done. Or he is always reminding that there is a positive to everything, you just have to look at it from a different view. A third daily motivator would be my friends. They motivate me by encouraging me to be myself, and telling me it is okay to be different, it makes you who you are. They also are the ones that encourage me to try new things because you never know until you try. Lastly, my workout buddies through my workout program. Seeing how they struggle with the same things I do and then trying to get through it to see if it works for me, really helps to keep myself motivated. This motivation is from the relief I get knowing someone else has struggled just like I have and now is loving where they are at because they worked through the struggle, basically the example they set for me is what keeps me motivated. Altogether, there are a lot of things or people that can motivate you, it just depends on how you look at it.

Growing up I was always told to be honest because it will be easier in the end, and I did not understand that until I witnessed someone who was lying and got caught up in and lost more than what they have found, from then on, I have had made goals for myself to always take time to reflect on what is happening or what had happened. Another way I try to improve my honesty is to be more straightforward when I am speaking. For example, taking time to think before I speak so I know what am going to say and I know it will get my point across. A second skill I am best at is being reliable. Being reliable means, you keep your promise and follow through with it. For example, telling your boss you will be at work by eight o’clock in the morning Monday through Friday and actually being there by that time every day is being reliable. One way to improve my reliability is by practicing my communication skills. For example, calling my boss ahead of time if I am going to be late or telling my boss a week in advance about time off, I need. All in all, two of my best skills are being honest and being reliable. And as always, nobody is perfect and there is always room for improvement. Staying honest and reliable as well as improving on them are part of my life time goals.

There are a multitude of things that make me happy, some are small and others are not so small but all still give me a warm giddy feeling on the inside. One of those things is food. I am the type of person that gets what they call hangry if I do not eat throughout the day. So, to keep myself giddy I always remember to pack a few snacks I can have throughout the day. Another thing that makes me happy is my dog, Starlyte. She always knows when I am sad and knows when to cuddle to make me feel better. Plus, she is just a big goofball. Lastly, being social makes me happy. This is for many reasons. One reason is because it gets me out of the house, and not become a homebody. Secondly, being in a fun environment just brightens your entire day, putting you in a better mood than what you were before.

One Sentence I would share to the world is “Attitude is everything.” I know this is very common for people to hear but the statement is true. For example, if you let one negative event affect the rest of your day, you will not have a “good day” nor will you have good interactions with people due to being in the negative state. Another example would be staying positive. By staying positive you are giving yourself more motivation to finish the task even when it is your most hated task to complete. Also, by staying positive you are encouraging others to stay positive, it is a change reaction like when you set up dominos and then push the first one down. Therefore, I always try to remember to stay positive because you never know what the people around have going on for them and it just might make a difference in their day. Lastly, the sentence Attitude is everything is a sentence you can say in every portion of your life. For example, when you are coaching a sport and your team is not playing as well, they usually are but you noticed you and the team having a negative attitude and by simply changing your attitude about the situation changes everyone else so they start playing how they usually do.

Legacy means you pass something down whether it’s a gift or a piece of advice. Now a physical gift, such as money from grandparents who have passed away, is nice but I believe passing down a piece of advice or wisdom is more meaningful. I believe this physical gift gets worn down, and if it’s money, it eventually runs out, whereas a piece of advice or wisdom lasts forever and is always remembered. I want my legacy to be a piece of advice that comes in three parts. First is killing with kindness. I have learned over the years that most people try to get them to react so they may easily blame the other person, but I have found that staying kind has made these situations a whole lot easier. I found it’s more peaceful to talk about the situation and eventually the other person gives up on trying to create more issues. My second part is don’t feel bad for having an opinion and standing up for yourself when others go against it. Lately I have learned how true it is, if they don’t like you for standing up for yourself then you don’t need them. The last part of my advice is be yourself, don’t change who you are because someone hates it. Those that truly care will support you no matter what. Although there are a few parts to the legacy I want to leave, all of it is for the same reason. And it’s because I have been through a lot with past friendships and at the end of each one, I have looked back and said to myself “why didn’t I remember to kill with kindness, why didn’t I stand up for myself and why didn’t I just be myself in the first place?”

One thing I have learned about myself is my work ethics, and have found this very valuable in my life and will continue to find ways to improve my work ethics. Work ethics include appearance, attendance, communication, respect and teamwork. For my appearance I am always in a clean uniform, which is usually a set of scrubs, and I always look presentable. For my attendance, the only time I take off is when I am on vacation or when I have to call in due to being sick, which hardly ever happens. Another part of work ethics is communication, I am always asking if something is correct or if a patient may still be seen when they show up later than ten minutes for their appointment, or I tell my supervisor about a situation that happened that should not have happened. There are many parts to having great work ethics but the two most important ones are respecting your work and your co-workers and the other is teamwork. I believe having a good foundation of communication skills, attendance and appearance help lead to the respect and teamwork part. Having these two skills is essential to have a smooth-running work environment. Even though I have learned there are multiple parts to having good work ethics I have also learned good work ethics is a valuable skill to have. With good work ethics I have noticed employers are more likely to hire you, even without experience. I have also noticed it is easier to create a friendly work environment. I am going to continue my work ethics as well as do my best to improve them.

One of my favorite ways to help others is to be an active listener. Active listening means you are prepared to listen to the speaker, you are paying attention to the speaker; meaning phones off and away and making eye contact with the speaker. Being prepared to listen shows you want to help or learn from the speaker. I also do volunteer work. This includes getting a group together to go to feed my starving children, which is where you package food up for kids in a third world country. I also volunteer at my local church and help them get the church ready for services as well as events. Lastly, I always offer a helping hand when I can. For example, if a friend or family member is moving, I will offer to help them move. Or if they are sick, I will ask if they need anything from the store if they need help with their kids, or even just help cleaning around the house.

Perseverance is when you push through something even though you will get anywhere by completing the task. One example, where I have done this is working at a previous job just so I can pay my bills, not because I liked my job or where I worked. I know lots of people say that’s how they are but my burn out was to the point of being there for an hour and I was ready to go back to bed for another twelve hours. Having to stick with this job was one of the hardest things I did. It was hard because one of my reasons is my body could not handle working as a nursing assistant any longer. My second reason is because it was from the start of the pandemic, so my stress went up like crazy due to not being to keep up with the new guidelines that continuously came out. With all of that going on it made my depression worse, which added to the wanting to quit but could not. Lastly, living through this experience made it more difficult to be passionate about learning and studying for my schooling.

I believe having equality and diversity is a must have in every place and every situation because then everyone has an open mind and is willing to pitch in. To make sure I implement equality and diversity I think about my actions before I perform them and I think about what I am going to say to make sure I will not have an unconscious bias. This way I know I will be trying my best to have an open mind to everyone but also let them know my opinion. By thinking before I do or before I speak, I am also making sure I will not be discriminating against anyone indirectly. Now just because I do this in most situations does not mean I struggle to remember to do so. Sometimes I act/speak before I think about it and completely regret my actions or words afterwards and feel so guilty because of it.

When I first started college, I did not know how hard learning was for me. In my first few semesters I found it really hard to concentrate and focus thus making it harder to study. So, I went to talk to my doctor about it and found I have Anxiety/ depressive mood disorder. After finding that out I thought it would be best to finish my generals at home at community college. The simple move back home helped a lot but I still struggled. As I continued into the nursing program at the college, I realized that I can handle teaching myself for schooling and that I needed constructive criticism as well as hands on learning. That is also where I discovered my love for sonography. Another thing I learned from my mental health is that I need a partner who is understanding and patient as well as one who questions why I raised my voice at him/question why I am crabby at him, especially when he has done nothing wrong. I also discovered I can do a lot of work on my time, when someone pushes me to finish it on time my anxiety goes sky high. Thus, I have learned to say I will get done by this day and time so they do not assume I am on their time. Lastly, I know there are certain skills sets that I know I need a longer time to complete them. One example of this would be reading, I am a slow reader so when I have to come in and prep for the day's patients, I come in a little bit earlier so I have time to read through who my patients are, therefore reducing my anxiety about what is going to happen throughout my day.

There are lots of simple pleasures I enjoy. One is to take a hot shower or bath, or even sitting in a hot tub. I enjoy this because it gives me time away from everyone else and allows me to hear my own thoughts. Taking a hot bath or shower also relaxes me. Another simple pleasure I enjoy watching the sun set. Watching the sun set is by far my favorite because it reminds me how beautiful everything is. Sunsets also remind me that today is now in the past and tomorrow you start fresh. A third simple pleasure is the smell of fresh cut grass. This scent is one I miss because I live in the upper Midwest so there are only a few short months where I can enjoy this one. Lastly, I love dancing. Dancing makes me feel like there is nothing bad going on, just the fun stuff. This is one I also enjoy doing with friends because it allows you to create a stronger relationship as well as create amazing memories.

Some things I do to help others are being an active listener. Active listening means you are prepared to listen to the speaker, you are paying attention to the speaker; meaning phones off and away and making eye contact with the speaker. Being prepared to listen shows you want to help or learn from the speaker. I also do volunteer work. This includes getting a group together to go to feed my starving children, which is where you package food up for kids in a third world country. I also volunteer at my local church and help them get the church ready for services as well as events. Lastly, I always offer a helping hand when I can. For example, if a friend or family member is moving, I will offer to help them move. Or if they are sick, I will ask if they need anything from the store if they need help with their kids, or even just help cleaning around the house.

Active listening means you are prepared to listen to the speaker, you are paying attention to the speaker; meaning phones off and away and making eye contact with the speaker. Being prepared to listen shows you want to help or learn from the speaker. Active listening is a skill learned over the years and has lots of little steps to work on. Even though active listening is a skill learned over the years you live, it is one of those you constantly work on throughout your life. When I am actively listening, I make eye contact. Eye contact is how I let the other person know they have my full attention and I pay attention to the speaker and the speaker only. As the conversation continues, I use fillers such, “yes” or “uh huh,” but I also ask clarifying questions too. When asking questions, you are showing the speaker that you are paying attention but are confused about something they have just explained. One question I ask would be “what do you mean by....” or “can you repeat what you stated?” Another thing I do, which I believe is one of the most important for active listening is to be unbiased. Being unbiased means you are in a neutral state, you do not judge them for what they have done or what they have said, you have an open mind. Another important part of it is to watch the body language the speaker is sending; I am a firm believer of “Action speaks louder than words.” The last thing I do is summarize what the speaker says to me, this helps fill in gaps I might have missed

Giving to me is important because it shows I am trying to support someone and that I do care about their future and want to be there for them any way I can. What I do to give back is mentor people who are in a similar situation to the one I was in. This situation is I always struggling for money and I was indecisive about what career I want to do for the rest of my life. At this point I was so overwhelmed I truly did not know what to do so I took a break from school, and decided to get a job that was less stressful on my body and my mind. At this point I also wished I did more exploring of careers while in high school, therefore, now I encourage people to go for that job they are unsure of or go for that unpaid internship because you never know what may happen. Lastly, I mentor because I wish I had more knowledge about life skills, such as cooking, or paying bills etc. When I help others, I try my best to give the best advice that I have found that works for me as well as walk through it with them the first couple times they do it.

There are a few things that I believe are the best ways to live a long, healthy life. The first one is eating healthily. Eating healthily means to be wise about how much you because I believe the statement “You are what you eat” is true, you eat too much of unhealthy foods you put yourself at higher risk for vascular and heart issues later on in life, but you have to balance your diet because too much of anything is unhealthy for you. Another thing I believe is the best way to live a long, healthy life is to exercise. I am not saying you have to go to the gym every day for hours on end I am saying go for a walk with your partner or hiking on the weekends. This way you not only get exercise but you get to enjoy each other's time and the nature around you. Lastly, I believe you should be taking the risk to follow your dreams, otherwise you may look back and ask yourself “why didn’t I do this sooner?” Or “Why did I never take myself risk, how much of a difference would of it made?” I say this because I believe every choice you make is either going to be the best decision you made or it will be a lesson.

One thing I am passionate about is my health and well-being. Part of my well-being is taking care of myself and taking a day off from work every once in a while, to have a day to relax and do self-care. Another part of it is staying healthy. One way I do this is by eating healthily or healthier than I used to. With the workout program I go through they really help people focus on nutrition which has significantly helped to stay healthy. This nutrition program has opened my eyes to make a smart decision of what foods to eat, especially when it comes to eating at a restaurant. I have also learned how important it is to eat smaller portions but more meals a day. Following this has helped curb my cravings as well as tone up my body. Being passionate about eating healthy has also allowed me to switch to only drinking water, Gatorade, and tea. A second part of being passionate about being healthy is exercising. I love following a workout program through what is called Beachbody. The coaches always make it fun and relaxing to do the workout. Having coaches like that makes it so much easier to stay involved and to get others around you to do. Besides following a program, I also enjoy rollerblading, especially since my puppy can join me when I go. I enjoy this because I can stay healthy and be in the beautiful outdoors.

I am the type to help others as much as I can, I am passionate about and enjoy doing it. When I first started this path of helping others, I started as a certified nursing assistant (CNA). I really loved working in this field and every time I went in to work it did not feel like I was working but having fun doing what I love. Unfortunately, I have had to resign from being a nursing assistant position due to my managers not being flexible with my schooling schedule. Another thing I help others with is getting through a rough patch when they are mentally unstable. To be honest I do not go looking for this one because of how mentally draining it is on me to help them but all of my friends do come to me when it comes to mental health. A lot of it is because I do not judge you for what you are going through or what decisions you have made, everyone makes mistakes and what matters if you learn from the mistake and change your ways. Knowing I helped them get through a tough time is rewarding because now they know they have someone they can trust. As mentioned, before I loved being a nursing assistant but it was getting to be too much for that’s when I decided to become an ultrasound technician. I was able to job shadow a couple ultrasound technicians prior to making this decision and while doing this I realized becoming one is still helping patients just in a different way than what I am used to. This is done by helping find out what is going on that the doctor cannot see on X-rays or magnetic resonance images.

Being patient is a huge virtue to have and growing up I have noticed not many have patience. One reason patience is important to me is because it helps from making rash decisions. Meaning, patience has helped me take time to make a decision, especially a life decision. For instance, a few months back my boyfriend asked me to move in, I have known I wanted to move in for a while prior to this point but I have never moved out of my parents, so I told him “I need to think about this due to my first time moving out.” Obviously, I took my time considering my options and decided to move in. I bring this example up because, in the past, I have been asked to move in and always jumped on it but before everything was finalized the relationship ended. Another reason patience is important, is it helps reduce my stress. Learning to be patient over the years has helped me a lot because I am the type that gets overwhelmed easily and being impatient during those times makes it more difficult and more frustrating and does not end well. One example of this is when I made the decision to take a leave of absence from school. This was hard for me to do because I wanted to finish my schooling so bad by this fall but I had too much going on personally and need the time to think and reevaluate what would be best for me. Which leads me to my final reason, being patient has, and will always allow me to enjoy my life. Having patience has given me the breaks I need when I am in a sticky situation, it has allowed me to take a deep breath and relax.

I have always been and always will be the type of person to take every opportunity I can get to expand my knowledge and skill set. Which is one way I believe someone can keep a growth mind set for their life. Another way to do so is to always tell yourself there is always room for improvement. I use this quote to keep pushing myself to continue with the strength exercises so I not only become a healthier person but have a healthier lifestyle as well as becoming a stronger person. A third reason that helps me keep a growth mind set is taking responsibility for my actions; the good and the bad. Even though taking responsibility and dealing with the consequences of my actions can be hard at times, I figured it would be best so I stay honest and can grow from the experience. Lastly, I keep a growth mind set by living in the present. What I mean is I do not sit and ponder continuously on my past, instead I reflect back and ask myself “what can you do different next time to improve the next experience that is similar.” This always expands my knowledge and skill set by learning from experience and allows me to use it for now and forever afterwards. Living in the present also means not stressing so much about the future and taking the time you have now with your friends and family. I believe living in the present has been the one growth set I have been practicing most of life. This is because I learned at a young age not everyone you love will be with you for forever.

For me, self-care is important, and I cannot stress enough how important it is for everyone. I learned the hard way and did not do self-care very often. When this happened, I was stressed all the time, easily irritated and crabby. So finally, I took a week off from work and school and realized I need to give myself a little time each day to relax and do self-care. When I do self-care, I may give myself a manicure or pedicure or both depending on how patient I feel that day, or I walk my dogs. Another thing I do for self-care is taking a bath with Epsom salts, or painting. Or sometimes I just need a fun time with good friends and get dinner and a drink and play some darts. As I mentioned earlier, I learned the hard way how important it is to practice self-care. Once I learned the importance of self-care, I realized how practicing them has dramatically changed my life. I noticed I was not fatigued as often. I also noticed I was less stressed about everything. Practicing self-care has also made everything easier for me. One example is I can focus on tasks, such as homework, for longer periods. Another example is, I am less stressed when decision making. For instance, when deciding, I used to take months to finalize my decision but now I go take a bath and sort out my pros and cons afterwards to have a decision quicker. Since self-care helps make things easier for me, it also helps me relax more. There are just days where you tell yourself no today, I am going to do what I want because I need to keep the rest of my life going with the least amount of stress possible.

Friendship is a huge deal for many, especially me since I am an only child, so for all my life and for the future I must rely on the friendships I create, thus I take friendship every seriously. What I look for in a friendship is someone who will be loyal, no matter what the situation is. Recently, I have been into many situations where things have happened to me and my so called “best” friend is too selfish to care about me. One example of loyalty is someone who stands up for you when you are not present. Another thing I look for in a friendship is being supportive. To be supportive one should be okay with every decision I make, whether they like the choice I made or not. An example of this would be being okay with the guy I am dating because they see I am happy rather than being upset with me because they hate the guy I am dating. Lastly, I look for someone who is trustworthy. Trust is a huge part of a friendship if there is no trust in any relationship it is not worth keeping. The reason I look for loyalty, trust and supportiveness are because I hope they become part of my family and someone I can depend on. Altogether, friendships have been a huge part of my life due to being an only child. Friendships have also been something I have become dependent on when it comes to having a family as well as my support system through all my life decisions and situations.

I have set many goals for myself, especially for my education. My first education goal is to pass my physics boards before classes start back up in Fall of twenty twenty-two. My second education goal is to have one or both of my national boards for ultrasound passed by the time I graduation from the ultrasound program. My final goal for education is to complete my education and graduate in May of twenty twenty-three. Not only have I set education goals but also some life goals. One of my life goals includes completing my degree in ultrasound. Another goal is to pay my debt but also not to let trying to pay it off restrict me from traveling because traveling is one of my favorites and I am going to hit all fifty states. Another goal is to travel to one of tropical countries every other year, so I have been to the Dominican Republic and currently saving up for Jamaica coming up this winter. Lasty my goal is to build my own house along with getting married and starting a family. I know I have multiple goals but I consider them to be a mini goal to help me reach my ultimate goal, which is to graduate from school and live a happy life. I set these mini goals up for myself because it makes it easier, these goals are steps to my ultimate goal. Another reason for my goals is so I can have a better future and be able to give back to the community more than I do now. Giving back to the community means a lot to me and I am doing everything I can to do so. Wanting to give back is also a reason I decided to work in the healthcare field as an ultrasound tech. When I decided to become an ultrasound technician, I was able to job shadow a couple ultrasound technicians prior to making this decision and while doing this I realized becoming one is still helping patients just in a different way than what I am used to. This is done by helping find out what is going on that the doctor cannot see on X-rays or magnetic resonance images. Another way this is done is by being another person for the patient to have someone they can trust. Being in the healthcare field I have learned to be open-minded and allow the patient to tell their story because the majority of the time they say a vital piece of information that was missed prior to the appointment. I hope that by doing this I become a role model for others to follow and pursue their dreams so they also can give back to the community that has already given so much to them already.

One way I try to leave a positive impact is by helping others, which is my favorite because it feels so rewarding afterwards. When I first started this path of helping others, I started as a certified nursing assistant (CNA). I really loved working in this field and every time I went in to work it did not feel like I was working but having fun doing what I love. Unfortunately, I have had to resign from being a nursing assistant position due to my managers not being flexible with my schooling schedule. Another thing I help others with is getting through a rough patch when they are mentally unstable. To be honest I do not go looking for this one because of how mentally draining it is on me to help them but all of my friends do come to me when it comes to mental health. A lot of it is because I do not judge you for what you are going through or what decisions you have made, everyone makes mistakes and what matters if you learn from the mistake and change your ways. Knowing I helped them get through a tough time is rewarding because now they know they have someone they can trust. As mentioned, before I loved being a nursing assistant but it was getting to be too much for that’s when I decided to become an ultrasound technician. I was able to job shadow a couple ultrasound technicians prior to making this decision and while doing this I realized becoming one is still helping patients just in a different way than what I am used to. This is done by helping find out what is going on that the doctor cannot see on X-rays or magnetic resonance images.

Being optimistic is what gets me through the tough times. To stay optimistic, I continuously tell myself this situation is temporary and keep going to the end, this will only make you stronger. Another thing that keeps me optimistic through hard times is knowing it will help create a better future for myself by adding experience, knowledge and wisdom. Lastly, I pray to God to help me through the tough times as well as pray that I get through it safely and strongly. Being optimistic has worked greatly to get me through tough times but it has also taught me a few things. The first thing I learned was nothing goes the way you planned so just go with it because you are going to reach your goal whether or not it’s the same path you started on. It also has taught me that you cannot think negatively about things. This lesson was a big one for me because that is when I realized the more you think negatively about things the longer it will take. So therefore, I think about all of the positives that will come out of the experience, which has helped greatly through the hard times. Altogether being optimistic is a wonderful way to get through hard times. To do so I tell myself this is temporary, keep on going, this will only make you stronger. I also remind myself this will only help me in the long run, and I pray to God to help me see the good of everything. Not only does optimism help me through the hard times but it has taught me a few lessons, such as staying positive no matter what and going with the flow, not ever thing happens the way you planned.

To be independent means you do everything on your own but ask for help when you are struggling with a task. These tasks may simply be doing chores around your home, such as laundry, mopping the floors, cleaning the bathroom, making dinner, mowing the lawn etc. Being Independent to me also means you are financially independent as well. This means you choose to pay your bills such as making a care payment, paying on your mortgage, utility bills or phone bills before you spend your money on things that you want or going out with friends. Being financially independent also means when you barrow money from someone or they pay something for you without you having to ask you pay them back as soon as you can. Being Independent has been an eye opener for me. Having Independence has shown me you can do whatever you want but you also have to pick what you think is the best for you, and honestly that has been the hardest part for me. Even though it is hard at times I prove to myself every time I can do it on my own time and I do not need someone to depend on. Being independent has also taught me that I will be able to get a lot further in life than those who are dependent. What I mean is I know I can do things on my own and not have to have the approval of someone to go do so, I know how to build things, I know when I need to take my car in and get it fixed, I know how to budget so everything is paid on time. I would be lost if I did not have my independence.

If I were to win this scholarship, I would be so grateful and thankful for the opportunity to get help with paying for school. Being able to find the money to pay for school has always been a challenge. I would be so relieved to have the money to help cover lab fees and textbooks. Textbooks are so expensive whether they are bought or rented, renting them now is almost the cost of a new book for most of the ones I need. This scholarship would also allow me to cut back on my hours, meaning I would not have to work full time as well as going to school full time giving more time to focus on becoming the best ultrasound tech I can be before heading off on my own in the field. Winning this scholarship will help relieve some stress but there are other reasons I want this scholarship. The first reason is simply because it helps cover the cause of my lab fees and my textbooks, I need for the semester. My second reason is because this scholarship will help me finish my schooling to become an ultrasound tech, which has taken me a while to get through due to financial reasons. Part of the reason it has taken so long is because I have had to take multiple semester long breaks so I can just work and save money for the next semester. Lastly, I want this scholarship because for any student loans I need a co-signer, and I am not fortune enough to have someone as a co-signer. Therefore, I have been using my Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which has been all loans which barely covers half of the semester. As for the rest of the payments, I have had to pay almost eight thousand a year out of pocket for schooling. This scholarship will not only impact me in my current situation but in the future as. It will allow me to relax and not have to worry about making a payment to my school once I graduate from as well as the company, I go through for my Free Application for Federal Student Aid loans. It will allow me to keep my current job at part time hours, giving myself the time to look for a job as an ultrasound tech without taking time off for the interview. Since I will not have to worry about so many loans and/or extra payments to make I would be able to give back to the community and help other students in a similar situation to get them through education for them to pursue their dreams. All in all, I would be so grateful and thankful for this scholarship due to being able to pay for some things, as well as allowing me to reduce my hours at work. This scholarship will help relieve some stress about my money situation, help me finish my ultrasound education and reduce the cost coming out of my pocket for education. Lastly, this scholarship will impact me for the rest of my life by giving me the chance to have time for a new job, reduce the number of payments and allow me to give back to the community faster to help others who wish to continue their education.

If I were an influencer I would stand for a healthy living style. I have always and always will be in to pushing myself to be the best I can be and part of that is to change my lifestyle to be healthier. Now most believe being healthy is a choice, which it is, but once you choose healthy living it becomes your lifestyle. I encourage others to push through the hard work outs, tell them it is okay to take a break for a few minutes but need to get back in it to finish the work out. I encourage that it is okay to splurge on your eating habits every once in a while, just do not do it all the time. Being an influencer for a healthier lifestyle would also mean being a wonderful coach, who does not turn anyone down and is always looking for a way to help a person change their lifestyle to health so it is easy for them. Sometimes that means to take one step at a time or could just mean they have to change a few things here and there. I would also be there to help support them mentally and emotionally through all these changes. Coming from experience it is hard to make the changes when you feel like no one else has been through it or is going through the same difficulties you are. Being an influencer for a healthy living would be a difficult task but if you put your mind to it, you can do anything and be anything you want.

One experience that has changed my life today is when I was drugged at a Fourth of July party. To begin with, I thought I was with good friends I could trust but after having one drink and then blacking out and continuously going in and out of them I realized they are not to be trusted. As the day went, I slowly came to and when I did, I was alone in a boat. Granted the boat was on shore and tied to a doc, but the people that left me there knew I was out of line, never seen me act like, and knew I could not swim the greatest, yet still made the decision to leave me alone. It took weeks to recover mentally but during those weeks I found my friends who truly care about and those are the few I keep close to me. From this experience I learned those who keep close to you are also the ones that can hurt you the most. I have also learned not to trust people until they can prove they deserve your trust along with your friendship. This has always made me cautious of who I decide to make friends with and who I decide to tell my secrets to. This has opened my eyes to how selfish people really can be. It also has shown me that the ones you thought you were not close with are actually the people you need to keep in your life because they were the ones that stuck through and were there for me when I needed them the most.

Sometimes it is difficult to stay true to yourself due to all of the ups and downs life throws at you, but then I realize God would not have put me through this if he knew I could not handle it. And that alone gives me enough courage and power to finish the task at hand. Another I do is pray every day asking God to help me be the best I can be with everything going on in my life and the outside world. The hardest is staying true to yourself when you are at your worst, because all you want to do is give up. When this happens, I tell myself no, you will not be the one to look back say “why did I not push myself to finish that” or “Why did I refuse so hard not do it.” That is also the time I tell myself this will be worth it in the end; it may be bad now but it won’t be when it’s over. These thoughts are what push me to continue to work out so I can become the best version of myself. Even though I look on the bright side of things I have also learned to ignore the rude comments said about me and accept and appreciate the complements I receive. Teaching myself to ignore the bad comments has made me a more confident person as well as made it easier to stay true to myself and continue things I love to do whether someone else approves of it or not. All in all, it can be hard to stay true to yourself but if you keep your routine and keep reminding yourself it's your life you do what you love, those that care about you most will stay.

Being someone who still struggles with mental issues, I believe it is important to strongly encourage myself and others who struggle with mental health to do selfcare before you put others first. The first thing I do is explain how important it is to take care of yourself before you take care of others. I do this by explaining how much I have improved by simply putting myself first. When I started doing that it was not easy because I always felt guilty but then I asked myself would they do the same for me if the situation was reversed and most of the time the answer is no, so then it becomes easier to let go and not feel guilty. When I explain this to someone, they become more intrigued and start to do that themselves and have told me that it has helped them. I have also told them how important it is for them to take a day to relax. I understand life gets busy and maybe hard to find time to do it but there are days where you have to say no, I can do that later. Explaining this to others I always say I don’t plan the day I do this because then I feel like I'm pressured to do it, it's always best to be flexible because some weeks you may need more breaks than others. I always tell them taking care of yourself can mean going for a walk with your dog, taking a bath to help relax or getting a manicure and pedicure. Lastly, I always tell them just because you need to take a break does not mean you are quitting, just means you need to hit your reset button.

Dogs have always been a huge part of my life, mostly because they are fun to have part of my family. But there is other reason such as fun to train new tricks, a wonderful walking or in my case rollerblading buddy, always feel soft which is a calming factor for me and they always have their own personality. Lately my dog has become my therapy dog, she comes up to me to help calm me down or cheer me up. First off, dogs are so much fun to train for tricks. It is amazing to see how far they go to get a treat; with my dog it can be a struggle because she is stubborn and will start to refuse to do the tricks after a while of practicing. But she does some great tricks, such as walking between my legs, sitting and then waving at people when we stop to talk to someone or bowing. Dogs are also great motivators to get outside and go hiking. Or in my case go rollerblading; having a Siberian Husky I needed a way to get rid of her energy in a short amount of time due to working full time and going to school full time. We go almost every day, once the snow melts so there are a few months of the year we do not go due to the weather but we go walking instead. Another reason I love dogs is they have their own unique personality which makes having them that much better. With a dog's personality they don’t care about who is around and they just what makes them happy. For example, some love to play fetch and are content with a tennis ball for hours on end and others just want to be petted by their humans. Although having a dog part of your family is fun but also hard work, I have found over the years that my dog has become more of a companion for me. As I have continued my journey with college to better my future, I have become dependent on my dog, being the one to help calm me when I am frustrated as well as cheer me up when I am sad. With that I have also learned to do research to see which places are dog friendly so I can take her on more adventures with me. As I mentioned earlier, she is also my roller blading buddy. We love to go rollerblading; it is relaxing for me and the both of us get to enjoy the fresh outdoors while getting our exercise in for the day. Altogether dogs are great to have as part of the family. They are so loving, kind and unique with their personalities. Dogs are wonderful rollerblading buddies or walking. And they always know how to make someone feel better.

Now that I have moved out of my parents, I have learned to re-decorate my house on a budget. The First thing I did was paint, I never go cheap with that so I always budget that to be the most money. As for all of the decorations, I thrift shop for them, such as family pathways or Goodwill. I also use Facebook market place especially for bigger stuff, like a couch or kitchen table. I love doing this because a lot of the things you find are still in amazing condition. I also ask my dad or my boyfriend to help build cabinets and/or shelves. Another thing I use my creativity for is how to pay for my schooling. To do this I do my research and use multiple websites for my information. Lastly, I am always using my skills to help my managers think of new ways to complete a task so it may become more effective and efficient. For example, when I was training for a new position, they were new to training someone with no experience, so I did a lot writing things down and how they could have trained better and more effectively. One example is having to page a code blue overhead. That was scary at first and really was not comfortable doing it and all they kept telling me is one of those things that you just have to do, but how do I do that when I don’t know what to say. So, I suggest to use one of the hospital classrooms/conference rooms, take a phone that’s unplugged and practice the steps of what to do and what to say.

Being an only child, I have come to find many hobbies I enjoy doing, such as learning American Sign Language (ASL), vacation planning, hiking, camping, and rollerblading. Teaching myself ASL has been something I have done since I was about four years old. Growing up I had a friend, who lived with her deaf grandparents, so slowly I started learning the alphabet and so on and to this day I still take some time to refresh what I already know and learn a few new signs. A second hobby of mine is planning a vacation. This is one of my favorite hobbies because I love to travel. I use this hobby as a reward system for myself. When I know I have something to do, such as pass a board exam, I plan a vacation to celebrate all the hard work I did to pass the test. Another example would be planning a vacation because I know I need to get away and hit my reset button. Lastly, I enjoy vacation planning because there are so many fun places on a cheap budget, for example driving to Duluth, MN for a day trip, or doing the seven water-fall road trip along the Minnesota North Shore line. Lastly, my all-time favorite hobby is rollerblading. This is something I could do all day every day. Part of it is because I enjoy being outside. Another part of it is it gives me time to think about what the rest of the day will look like, as well as reflect on the past few days/weeks/months I have had and how I can learn from the mistakes I made or all the good things I have done.

Being an only child, I have come to find many hobbies I enjoy doing, such as learning American Sign Language (ASL), vacation planning, hiking, camping, and rollerblading. Teaching myself ASL has been something I have done since I was about four years old. Growing up I had a friend, who lived with her deaf grandparents, so slowly I started learning the alphabet and so on and to this day I still take some time to refresh what I already know and learn a few new signs. Another reason is I work in the healthcare field and there are a lot of patients who come in and use ASL as their primary language, so it's nice to have a conversation with all the patients. I am happy I decided to continue to learn it, it has been a useful skill over the years. A second hobby of mine is planning a vacation. This is one of my favorite hobbies because I love to travel. I use this hobby as a reward system for myself. When I know I have something to do, such as pass a board exam, I plan a vacation to celebrate all the hard work I did to pass the test. Another example would be planning a vacation because I know I need to get away and hit my reset button. Lastly, I enjoy vacation planning because there are so many fun places on a cheap budget, for example driving to Duluth, MN for a day trip, or doing the seven water-fall road trip along the Minnesota North Shore line. While planning vacations, I like to hit some of the national parks to do some hiking as well. For most road trips I take my Siberian Husky, Starlyte, who loves to go on walks. I also like hiking because it is a great way to hang out with friends and exercise at the same time, when you go with friends and family it doesn’t even feel like a workout because you are having fun talking. Lastly, some vacations I plan involve camping. Camping is fun because you get to enjoy sitting around the fire and making your meals, seeing the stars without the city lights, going on an ATV ride or a few. Lastly, my all-time favorite hobby is rollerblading. This is something I could do all day every day. Part of it is because I enjoy being outside. Another part of it is it gives me time to think about what the rest of the day will look like, as well as reflect on the past few days/weeks/months I have had and how I can learn from the mistakes I made or all the good things I have done. Another reason is because I get to spend time with my dog when I go roller blading. It's funny because to be a Siberian Husky, I do a lot more pulling on her than she does to me, she would rather stop and sniff the flowers.

When I grow up, I am going to be an ultrasound tech working in Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic working three to four days a week, (working full time is too much due to mental health). While working in clinic I will build my house with my husband on some land. Allowing us to enjoy the peace and quiet of the outdoors but not having to drive hours to get to the nearest town. Having our house will allow us to raise four beautiful children. Two boys; Caspin Edward and Axton Kenneth; and two girls; Kinsley Carol and Randi-Jo Delores. In this life my kids will learn they need to work for what they want; nothing is just handed over. They will be respectful, love the outdoors and be fearless with their life decisions. They will not be afraid to come to their father and myself if they make a mistake or need to ask a question. I will also have three Siberian huskies, named Auroa, Prince Charming and Cinderella (Ellie for short) and Bernese Mountain dog named Stitch. Having my kids, my house built the way I want it, and choosing my husband will allow me to be content and proud to be where I am with my life, allowing me to be stress free and healthy.

Nature is an amazing thing, there are so many animals and plants that you just look at them and say “WOW, am I glad to be here at this moment.” Nature is relaxing for me. I relax when I am outside because I don’t worry about what time it is or what is the next task I need to finish. Being out in the fresh air lets me be who I am without any judgements. After spending a day or a weekend enjoying nature, I feel refreshed, more confident and happier. This is because being in nature allows me to reflect on how far I have come and how much I have overcome myself to get where I am today. And seeing the progress warms my heart so much. Even though I love how much nature makes me feel, I do my best to give back to it. I do this by recycling all plastics, cans and paper products. I also cut up the strings on disposable mask as well as cut up the plastic rings from soda pop or milk jugs. Thirdly, I refuse to through anything on the ground and leave it for someone else to take care of it. I will always hold on to my trash until I find a garbage can to throw it in. With that said I also will pick up any trash I see and put it in the garbage. Lastly, I try my best to reduce my carbon footprint. One thing is using LED lights in my house, this reduces how much energy is being produced to light up the room. Another is to car pool with friends when we go out together, and I try to use solar power batteries, especially while camping, reducing our gas pollution.

First starting college, I was little overwhelmed due to how much studying was involved, but as time went on, I figured out what works best for me. The first thing I did was to set a set time to study. I started doing things because I realized when I don’t do it, I won’t do it and then I end up cramming before a big -test. Secondly, I make sure a take at least a fifteen-minute break every one and half to two hours, otherwise I start to get antsy and lose my concentration, which is not helpful when you are trying to learn and understand new concepts. A third strategy I do is re-read the chapter/instructor notes and then re-write my notes. Along with re-writing my notes I make a separate cheat-sheet to help remind me as I am learning the material. Fourthly, I make flash cards, especially if the material requires me to memorize it. These two steps make it really easy to continue to study the material daily and better prepare for the final exams. Fifthly, I have found taking a practice test also helps by showing what I need to go back and review more. To do this I created a practice test through quizlet, which is website where you can type up the information make flash cards and then use the flash cards to put as a practice test via changing the settings from learning to test on the quizlet website. Lastly, I am always emailing my professors for clarification about the material or for them to help find a different way to explain the material to me so I can understand it. This last step has helped me the most because this is the stuff, I remember the most for the exams.

After taking some time to make a list of my goals here are a few that are short term and lone term. My first one is to finish moving my things into my boyfriend's house, once that is done my stress will be reduced about where everything is. My second goal is to study hard for my physics board exam before I start back into class this fall (2022). This will help relieve some stress about having to take so many tests before graduation as well as getting a new job. Along with those two goals, I am also planning on paying off all my credit cards so I am able to cut back on my hours for schooling. Once I complete these three goals, I will be able to focus more on finishing the diagnostic medical sonography program through my current college. This would require taking a seven-week course followed by a six-month clinical internship, leading to graduation. As I am nearing the end of my internship, I will be taking at least one of my national board exams and passed before graduation day. Hoping to get both done before graduation. My final goal is to get a job as an ultrasound tech at the current clinic I work at.

Growing up, I was always in sports and was always told if you fail get back up and try again, but that never made sense to me. It wasn’t until some years later when someone told me “Failure is just another lesson to from; you take what you learned, go try again and keep going until you succeed.” At that point it clicked on what it is meant to keep trying until you succeed. This piece of advice has helped me reduce most of my anxiety because now I take everything as a learning curve to try and better the skill or whatever I may be working on. Following this wisdom has led to increasing my knowledge so much. For example, learning new skills at workout, yes, I would stick it out to the end but keep this piece of wisdom in my mind has allowed me to continue to improve on my work ethics, my knowledge and some of my life skills. Another example would be my education. When I first started college, I thought I wanted to become a nurse but during the nursing program I found out that nursing was not for me but being in the program gave me the opportunity to find ultrasound, which is the program I am currently in. It was discouraging at first to have to change my major due to everyone saying “oh you are just giving up” or “you are a quitter” but I kept telling myself this was just another lesson to learn from and kept the knowledge from it.

In the future, I will be graduating from Concordia University with my associate degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography. My plan is to continue classes this summer and fall to graduate in May of 2023. Another goal is to have the physics board exam for this degree done before June of 2022. A third goal is to have at least one of the two other national board exams done prior to graduation. After graduation, my goal is to find an ultrasound tech position within a hospital. Once I have enough experience, my plan is to find a position within a clinic that is part time. Even though I have quit a few academic and career goals I also have some personal goals as well. My first goal is to finish moving out of my parents' house and into my boyfriend's house before I start class this May. My second goal is to have all my credit cards paid off before I start the fall semester of classes, so I can cut my hours back at work and not have to worry about being tight with my money. Another goal of mine is to get married and start my life once I graduate or am about to graduate from college. Lastly, travelling. One of my goals is to travel to all 50 states, along with becoming a traveling ultrasound technician after a few years of experience.

I used to be the type of person who would go out every night and have a few drinks with my friends at the bar. Until I was drugged at a party for Fourth of July. Along with being drugged, the people I was with kept telling you are just drunk and left me alone on a boat, with one of them knowing I am not the best swimmer. None of them considered the fact I was acting unusual for being “drunk,” still continuously argued everything that happened was because of it. They also did not care I was blacking out on and off. Once the day was over, I was not myself for at least six weeks. Which are all signs of being drugged (Villines, 2017). Even though this was a negative experience I have chosen to learn for it and not trust those who are only in it for themselves. Being drugged with those people made me realize, no one cared what was happening to me, just the words that were said and the actions that were done. I have also realized I need to cut back on drinking and focus on myself, which led to taking two semesters off from school and making the decision to go back in the summer of 2022. And I cannot wait to get back to it. I am so happy to be able to continue my education journey this summer. Source: Villines, Z. (2017, December). Date rape drugs: Symptoms, side effects, and protecting yourself. Medical News Today. Retrieved March 9, 2022, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320409#types

There are many things I love about myself, one of which is that I never give up. I always take failure as a learning opportunity. For example, if I am starting a new job and make some mistakes in the task being performed, I would take the constructive criticism and put it to use for the next time. Another example would be learning a new skill. For instance, when I first learnt how to roller blade, even though I continuously fell and got hurt, I got back up and tried again. This has taught me if you treat everything like that you will be the best you can by never giving up. A second thing I love about myself is how I am always willing to try new things. My willingness to try new things is what allows me to expand my skill sets as well as my knowledge. For example, when I went white water rafting; I was afraid to do it but I myself do it anyways, and what I got from that experience I will never forget it. Lesson learned from that day never knock it until you try it, meaning give everything a shot because when it's over you may like it and want to continue to do the new things. This lesson has helped me experience so many more new things and allowed me to grow. Thirdly, my flexibility. Choosing to be easy-going and flexible with how things go has made it a lot easier to get through life. From many experiences in the past, I have learned that not everything happens the way you plan it. This has also taught me everything has for a reason and it’s ok for it to go off the beaten path, sometimes that’s the best way to go.

Empathy is sharing a feeling with someone else, which is a huge part of the medical field, if you do not have empathy in the medical field it makes it hard to understand and take care a patient. One way I ensure to treat others with empathy is to say "I am sorry you feel that way, is there anything I can do to help you?" Or I say "It must be difficult to be going through that, lets take some together to see if we can figure out a way to help you." I say this line a lot due to being young and not as experienced as those I am talking too. Showing empathy also means to be an active listener. Active listening when you show the other person you are understanding what they are saying repeating back what they said, or questioning a part you are unclear about. When I am listening to someone explain what is going on I always ask clarifying questions to ensure I am understanding what they are saying. Along with asking questions I tend to restate what their issue is in my own words; this way the person knows I understand the problem. Lastly, empathy means to accept how the person interprets the situation, which may be different from how you perceive the situation to be. This step is important to remember because everyone is different, therefore they perceive the situation differently. To show this I not only end the conversation restating the problem but I also state how the situation made them feel. This lets the person know I understand how and why they feel that way. To conclude, empathy is when I show I am being an active listener and showing I understanding of their situation.