Legacy Legacy. The word that changes everything. No matter what I do. No matter how hard I fight. I try to keep standing, but I'm tired of asking for support. I'm tired of fighting my legacy. I say it won't control me. But It does. I can't keep doing this. I need help, but I'm scared to ask. Ask for help. Ask for support. Ask what exactly my legacy is. I'm more drained than I've ever been. So tired, no breaks, or truces, or peace. It's overwhelming. It’s tiring. I’m finished fighting. Time to accept my legacy as it is, however confusing it may be. Judgment clouds my vision of hope, peace, and happiness. I try to think of a time when these feelings were alive inside of me, but I come up empty-handed. No matter how far or fast I swim, I never see land and I’m slowly drowning…. This is my legacy….. But… You’re not hopeless. Yes, life is a struggle. But you are strong. Stronger than life. Stronger than your problems. Stronger than your legacy. You decide your legacy. It doesn’t control you. Asking for help is okay, because we all ask for help. It brings us closer together. Closer to winning the battle. Closer to winning the war. You will beat this challenge. WE will beat this challenge. We are behind you. Giving you strength, energy, and support. Giving you love! It is time to decide. Will you fight back with us behind you? Or will you give in to the fear? The loneliness? Or the shame? You decide if your legacy is made of great things, or if it is a pit of quicksand, dragging you down faster and faster the more you struggle. We are behind you. We support you. We are with you at all times. This is your legacy… So… Everything. All that is changing me. It can’t and won’t make me fall! I am in charge of my legacy. I need some support. That’s okay! I am strong! I am powerful! I can and will stand on my own. And standing beside me; my friends, my family, my role models, my achievements, my goals, my faults, my differences, and everything that makes me who I am! Yes, I am scared! Yes, I have fallen! But I will fight! I am my own power! I will not give in! I won’t give up! I make sacrifices! This is who I am! THIS IS MY LEGACY!

You never knew who my great-grandpa would invite to dinner, or when he would call you up and ask how you were doing. Arthur Lin Whitworth did so much throughout his entire life. One small example of the type of person he was was when he did Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for all seniors for free. Even though the senior center kitchen we used was in Pocatello, ID, we would get orders from Blackfoot to Arimo. One of my fondest memories is when he told me, "Everyone has problems and everyone makes mistakes. But we all put on our pants one leg at a time." He seemed to have a saying and an oatmeal raisin cookie for every occasion. He taught me always to see others as human beings and children of God rather than divided by ethnicity, gender, or station in life. He focused on what was most essential and strived to teach others the same thing. Some might see him as someone who never made a dent in the 7 billion people on Earth, but no one can know how many individuals he touched and blessed with his kindness and wisdom. Yes, he did so much in his time on the Idaho State Senate and as county commissioner, but his motive and main concern were for the poor, homeless, and minorities of Idaho. After his death, I took on his role of caring for others. I simple smile can be as big as saving someone's life, he taught. I strive to embody all he stood for and believed in.