I have always been fascinated with animals. As a child, I would catch frogs while my mother worked in the garden. I then sat on a bench and played with them for hours. In 4-H, I showed sheep, goats, and even a pig. I also owned pet chickens. My rooster, Jack, was my best friend, and I spent ample amounts of time with him. I even taught him how to walk on a leash. On June ninth, I graduated from POLYTECH High School, where I earned a Technical degree in Environmental Science and Natural Resources in addition to my regular high school diploma. At the start of my high school career, I wanted to become a teacher. At POLYTECH, freshman students spend a few days in each technical shop before they choose which one they want to join. When I was rotating through the technical areas my freshman year, the Environmental shop drew me in. The plants, animal skulls, and pinned insects fascinated me. I was conflicted, since I was originally planning to go into the Teacher Academy shop. On the last day I was in the environmental rotation, I talked to the shop teacher, Mrs. Wicks. I explained to her that I had always wanted to be a teacher, but I loved everything about her shop class. I asked for her guidance. She told me that not all teachers went to a technical school, and therefore did not take a teaching class in high school. That meant that I also could still be a teacher in the future if I did not go into the Teacher Academy shop. If I was feeling drawn into environmental science, I should see where it takes me. After much consideration, I decided to sign up for the Environmental Science shop. Over the past four years, Mrs. Wicks has done nothing but support me in all of my scientific endeavors. For example, I once found a dead sparrow and she helped me preserve it in borax. Her class also helped me find my passion for the environment. With her guidance, I realized that there are careers that center around my love and fascination for animals and science. Mrs. Wicks encouraged me to pursue them, and I decided on Wildlife Rehabilitation. I am now enrolled in the Fall 2022 semester at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and I am majoring in Environmental Biology. Mrs. Wicks helped me find my true calling. She is my number one influence, and I would not be where I am now without her.

I love my strength, and not the physical kind. I love my mental strength because I have been through a lot in my life, and the thing that got me through it all was my strength. I grew up with an autistic brother with aggressive behaviors, and the inability to regulate them. I was hit by him often, and the majority of my childhood was spent locked in my room for safety. These experiences were traumatic and hard to understand, but with my mental strength, I pulled through. I also have major depressive disorder. This can make it feel like I am fighting myself sometimes. I have suicidal ideation and self harm behavior. I know that there are many things to look forward to in life, and I have friends who love and support me, but depression can make it hard to see reasons to keep going. My mental strength has helped me see past my negative thoughts and pull me out of my depressive episodes. I love my mental strength because it keeps me going when life gets hard, and it is the reason I am alive today.

The best financial advice that I’ve received is to keep track of my money. I believed I was already doing a good job managing money, but I was wrong. I got my first real job in January of 2022, and started buying things that I wanted, but not necessarily needed. When I stopped working four months later, I didn’t slow down on my spending. I eventually ran out of money. I then remembered the advice to keep track of my money. Since then, I have learned that I need to budget my money and routinely check the balance in my accounts. I now put all the money I don’t spend on necessities, such as gas for my car, in my savings. This helps me make sure I have money for emergencies and my future.

In order to be independent, one must work hard and not need others to survive. Independence is not easy. There is no one to lean on when there is trouble. Independent people need to be good at problem solving so they do not fall on their face when a problem arises. Independence also comes with a lot of responsibility. There is no one to remind an independent person of things that need to be done. They have to be self-sufficient and manage their time well so they are able to accomplish all of their goals and chores. Being independent is a lot of work and responsibility, so why would anyone want to be independent? I want to be independent because I want to be able to love my own life and not worry about what others want me to do. I know that it will be a lot of work to be fully independent, but I know I can make it through. I have a good, solid plan and goals that I know I can achieve. Independence is necessary to progress as a person, and I am ready to take on the new challenges and responsibility needed to achieve it.

My dream life is a life of no worries. I will be financially stable, so I don’t have to worry about food or not being able to pay my bills. I will have enough money to live comfortably, but I will not be rich. I will have a nice house that has enough room for me and all of my pets. My friends will come to visit me often and we will play games, eat, and laugh together. My dream life is happiness. I will have a great support system, and I will look forward to every day.

A lesson that I have learned is that money is gone quickly when I don’t pay attention. I got my first real job in January of 2022, and started buying things that I wanted, but not necessarily needed. When I stopped working four months later, I didn’t slow down on my spending. I eventually ran out of money. Since then, I have learned that I need to budget my money and routinely check the balance in my accounts. I now put all the money I don’t spend on necessities, such as gas for my car, in my savings. This helps me make sure I have money for emergencies and my future.

Imagine going to a routine appointment, and being told that you have to check into a hospital. This happened to me in May of 2021. I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder, and I see a therapist every week to help me manage my mental illness. In May, I drove to my therapy appointment after school and talked to my therapist about what happened within the past week. She asked me, “have you had any thoughts of killing yourself?”, and I told her about how I wanted to crash my car but I didn’t. Needless to say, I was checked into Dover Behavioral Health that night. Being admitted to DBH was like a personal hell. The staff were very strict and seemed to not care about what I needed. For example, when I was admitted, the staff needed to look through my belongings because there were rules about what you could and could not bring into the hospital. The morning after I was admitted, I wanted to take a shower, but couldn’t because my clothes weren’t approved yet. I asked for my clothes to be looked through and the staff told me they would. By the next shift change, I still had no clothes. I repeated this process three more times and by that afternoon, I broke down crying because I couldn’t handle the stress and I just wanted to take a shower. Only when I got upset did the staff go through my belongings, and gave me my clothes. Events much like this occurred numerous times during my stay at DBH, and it was hard for me to deal with them. Instead of worrying about the staff, I focused on getting better so I could go home and continue working on my mental health.

Plastics may be used only once, but it can take hundreds of years to break down. Plastics pollute the air, soil, and water. For example, an uninhabited land called the Cocos Keeling Islands has roughly 238 tons of plastic debris on the sand. This plastic had been thrown away and drifted to the island from all parts of the world. Different types of plastic also have varying amounts of danger to those who use them. Chemicals from the plastic can contaminate the food we eat. Common items such as cling wrap, water bottles, and take out containers are dangerous. The evidence is overwhelming that people need to change the way plastic is used, but what should be done? Every day, I make conscious decisions to avoid plastic products. For example, I use a reusable glass water bottle instead of single use plastic water bottles, and I ask to carry my lunch items instead of using my school’s styrofoam trays at lunch. Making small decisions to avoid using plastic helps reduce the Earth’s pollution, thus slowing climate change. I plan to continue using more eco-friendly substitutes for plastic because I know that it will make a difference in climate change.

I have decided to live life for myself instead of others. As a child, I decided that people exist for the sole reason of helping other people. As I grew older, this way of living heavily impacted my mental health because I would lift others up at my own expense. The people around me took advantage of me, and I was in many toxic friendships. I realized that I should exist for myself, not others. I have broken away from my toxic friends and focused on the people who make me happy. I do help them, but I also have set boundaries that keep me from burning out. I now take care of myself first, and I no longer let people take advantage of me.

Easter of 2020, I was admitted to SUN Behavioral for Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I was sad all the time, had no motivation, and genuinely did not want to exist anymore. I had no goals for the future or a sense of self worth. I have since been going to therapy and taking medicine to combat my mental illness. I now have friends that support me, good coping strategies, and a goal to go to college and work in wildlife rehabilitation. I am learning to love myself and I am looking forward to every new day. I still struggle sometimes, but I work through it and keep looking to the future.

My Teddy is the reason I get out of bed each morning. When I wake up, I make myself some coffee and grab a stalk of celery for my guinea pig, Teddy. We sit and wake up together, then I clean his cage. Our coffee cuddles are the best way to have a great start to every day.