An issue I care deeply about is food insecurity, something that I feel is often forgotten about by people who have not experienced the issue themselves. As someone who has been the beneficiary of free lunch programs while in their youth, I will always be appreciative and look for opportunities to serve in organizations that work to fight hunger. I think people often regard hunger as a problem delegated to third-world countries, not realizing that upwards of 30 million people face food insecurities in their day-to-day lives. Being in college has really furthered my understanding of the reaches of food insecurity; it seems to be a common humorous trope that college students have poor diets/eating habits but the number of times people have light-heartedly mentioned that they skip meals most days out of necessity should be taken much more seriously. If college is known for one thing, it's for being expensive. For many students, the high costs of pursuing an education mean prioritizing paying for tuition, books, housing, etc. over groceries, let alone food that is nutritious and healthy. Often the food that is accessible on campus is overpriced and low in nutritional value, further limiting options. This is why I was overjoyed when I learned about my college's on-campus food cupboard during my freshman year. It has provided me with a great opportunity to get involved in my community regarding an issue I care deeply about. Twice a month, the cupboard holds distributions open to anyone in need, though it is more directed at college students. The inspiring thing to me is that this all started as a student-led project that has just kept going through the years with the support of donations and volunteers. We work with a local Family Food Center to supply fresh produce and other groceries and with the help of donations have been able to also include items like sanitary products and socks. I think sometimes there can almost be an element of shame in seeking out help in general, and the issue of food insecurity is no exception. It's so important to create a safe environment where people feel welcomed and cared for, especially if they are struggling in any way. I think because this food cupboard is student lead there is very much a feeling of friendship and togetherness between all involved parties. Just because I or anyone else is volunteering, doesn't make me better than the people there to receive food, let alone any less prone to food insecurity. In the future, we hope to be able to do more frequent food distributions, possibly every week. Right now, a priority of mine is to spread knowledge of the food cupboard to as many people as possible, since so many people aren't aware that such a program even exists on our campus. The more people who benefit from this program the better which will ensure our university will keep it operating. To keep this program going, everyone is valuable; those who donate money and items, those who volunteer their time, and those who utilize the service. We are all working together to try and combat food insecurity on our college campus.

An issue I care deeply about is food insecurity, something that I feel is often forgotten about by people who have not experienced the issue themselves. As someone who has been the beneficiary of free lunch programs while in their youth, I will always be appreciative and look for opportunities to serve in organizations that work to fight hunger. I think people often regard hunger as a problem delegated to third-world countries, not realizing that upwards of 30 million people face food insecurities in their day-to-day lives. Being in college has really furthered my understanding of the reaches of food insecurity; it seems to be a common humorous trope that college students have poor diets/eating habits but the number of times people have light-heartedly mentioned that they skip meals most days out of necessity should be taken much more seriously. If college is known for one thing, it's for being expensive. For many students, the high costs of pursuing an education mean prioritizing paying for tuition, books, housing, etc. over groceries, let alone food that is nutritious and healthy. Often the food that is accessible on campus is overpriced and low in nutritional value, further limiting options. This is why I was overjoyed when I learned about my college's on-campus food cupboard during my freshman year. It has provided me with a great opportunity to get involved in my community regarding an issue I care deeply about. Twice a month, the cupboard holds distributions open to anyone in need, though it is more directed at college students. The inspiring thing to me is that this all started as a student lead project that has just kept going through the years with the support of donations and volunteers. We work with a local Family Food Center to supply fresh produce and other groceries and with the help of donations have been able to also include items like sanitary products and socks. I think sometimes there can almost be an element of shame in seeking out help in general, and the issue of food insecurity is no exception. It's so important to create a safe environment where people feel welcomed and cared for, especially if they are struggling in any way. I think because this food cupboard is student lead there is very much a feeling of friendship and togetherness between all involved parties. Just because I or anyone else is volunteering, doesn't make me better than the people there to receive food, let alone any less prone to food insecurity. In the future, we hope to be able to do more frequent food distributions, possibly every week. Right now, a priority of mine is to spread knowledge of the food cupboard to as many people as possible, since so many people aren't aware that such a program even exists on our campus. The more people who benefit from this program the better which will ensure our university will keep it operating. To keep this program going, everyone is valuable; those who donate money and items, those who volunteer their time, and those who utilize the service. We are all working together to try and combat food insecurity on our college campus.

I wanted my playlist to document coming out of a really dark place in my life where I felt completely numb and hopeless almost constantly. As scary as this was, it led to lots of deep reflection, both on how my life had been and how it could be. It was this small bit of hope that came with thinking about the future that I have come to rely on and, with music as my loyal companion, I have been able to begin the painful healing process of coming to terms with my fears and insecurities.

I've always gotten a special kind of fulfillment from helping people, which is why I want to go into the medical field. For now, I will spend four years at Northern Arizona University to become a dental hygienist, but I would love to be able to eventually go into med school and become either a dentist or optometrist. I can make jokes about how I had braces twice so I've been to the dentist lots of times or that people will always have gross mouths to clean, but on a more serious level, it's something that just makes me so excited about my future. I love the idea of being able to contribute to society in the way that dental hygienists do and that the work environment will allow me to meet new people every single day and get to hear a little bit of their story.