Two songs from Taylors' 1989 soundtrack that I found myself singing on repeat would be "I Know Places" and "Out of the Woods." However, I related to them in a way that most people likely wouldn't. We all know that many of Taylors' songs have some relation to love or relationships. I personally have had a very good relationship with my boyfriend of almost four years now. Because of this, I have related certain parts of these songs to my current mental health and education state. In "Out of the Woods," I relate to the lyrics, "Looking at it now, it all seems so simple" and the repeating chorus of "Are we out of the woods yet/are we in the clear yet?" The first lyric I relate to my life before college and even the first two years of my college experience. I had a very direct path of what I wanted and how I was going to get there. I believed I had ample animal experience for the jobs I wanted and FASFA helped a lot with paying for my education. However, these past couple of years have been so chaotic and stressful that I almost envy my stress at the beginning. Quite literally, "Looking at it now, it all seems so simple" The repeat lyrics make me think of how my mind is constantly racing at the moment, and every time I think I'm "in the clear" and caught up again something else brings me down. It's like my mind is asking those questions over and over every day, hoping that one day, the answer will be yes. I relate most to the lyrics "'Cause they got the cages, they got the boxes and guns They are the hunters, we are the foxes and we run." Again, I relate this to how I am feeling right now with college. Both my boyfriend and I feel like the world is against us in so many ways when it comes to wanting the careers we dream of. Finances, fake friends, family members wanting other things, and even job applications being turned down repeatedly. It feels like we are so small and have to constantly run. However, unlike the lyrics, I am chasing the dream despite all the hunters trying to stop me. Like in the song, "They take their shots, but we're bulletproof" People and things feel like they are trying so hard to stop and discourage me. Even though it's hard and feels almost impossible, the bullets can't touch me and I will keep running for my dream.

Regarding mental health, my little brother and I both seem to struggle. He was diagnosed with ADD and anxiety when he was roughly nine or maybe even younger. He had to go to speech therapy for a few years to improve his talking ability when he was around five. My family also suspects a few other undiagnosed things that may explain his behavior. Watching the struggles he had in socializing and interacting with people on a daily basis was heartbreaking. He has issues in school both with grades and kids simply because he doesn't know how to control his emotions or healthily handle them. He tends to have frequent meltdowns over things that other people would find silly or “no big deal.” However, we have had to learn and understand that these things are extremely important to him. He once refused to eat most foods for a time because he had an extreme fear of choking. We both struggle with anxiety and overthinking. We take something small and can make it seem like a life-or-death situation at times. I have also dealt with ADHD and how difficult it can be to study with it. I tend to have an extremely hard time with exams and things that require a lot of focus. During lectures, I find myself spacing out not even five minutes in and have to rewatch or learn the material when I get home so that I stay on track. I know that he struggles with the exact same thing as me and I feel that it’s my job as an older sister to show him it is still possible to achieve good grades. Even though college has made that feat much more difficult, I try my best every single day so that he can have hope of continuing his education as well. Especially now since he seems to have lost hope in it being possible. Watching him grow and seeing the struggles he has gone through at such a young age has influenced my beliefs in therapy, the importance of communication, and family. I aspire to work in the health field as an animal surgeon and I feel that my compassion and love for helping others is partly thanks to him. While I’m not dealing with humans, I am still working with someone who cannot speak and communicate what they need. I feel that my brother has had a direct effect on that view of animal health. He also inspires me to work harder and challenges my analytical perspectives on the world. Since he struggles emotionally, he makes up for it significantly with strengths in anything analytical. For example, he is amazing at chess and other similar games even though he is only 12. However, I don’t even know how to play, and being with him has helped me think from a different perspective that I tend to struggle with.

A woman who has had a major impact on my life would be my boyfriend's mom, Uni. She grew up in a very similar lifestyle to me, except more extreme. She was extremely poor and grew up in Korea with not much to eat each day. She moved the the States at some point and attended college. She took out as many loans as she could and at the time, she was taking roughly 40 credit hours at a time to get the most education for her money. She wasn't able to get any money from the state but with hard work and dedication, she managed to get an amazing job and move up over the years to the point she is very well off and can pay for her son's tuition. She has also helped me massively with my own finances and I might honestly have been homeless or in a much worse living situation than I currently am without her. She is continuously pushing me to apply for scholarships and loans and in general just giving me life advice because she understands what it is like to be in my position. I honestly and truly admire her and am inspired every day by her to get up and try harder each day to pursue my education and dream of being a veterinarian. There have been so many days where I feel like giving up and it is a completely out-of-reach dream with my financial struggles. On those days, I remember all the stories she told me about her life in college. She was working a full-time night shift job as well as taking as many classes as possible and somehow made it through. It amazes me how she can accomplish so much and do so well in everything she sets out for herself. I respect it even more when I am mentally exhausted and only doing a fraction of what she had to do in order to be where she is today. She is the most disciplined person I know as well as humble. Now that she has the ability to do so, she donates and helps others constantly with a smile on her face. I have never once heard her complain about being tired after waking up before everyone and going to bed after everyone in the home. I hope that I can be like her one day because, in my opinion, she is the best wife, mother, student, and boss that anyone can ever hope for.

I want to say that I am most like Jim. However if I'm really honest with myself, I'm most like Pam. As we know, Jim is the funny prankster who makes everyone fall for him with his easy-going attitude and great sense of humor. However Pam is the more stable and reserved one; being who people go to for problems. She watches from the sidelines, secretly wishing she could be as outgoing as the others. She actually loves watching all the drama unfold and the chaos that, usually Jim or Dwight, cause. I find myself being exactly like her every day. Sure, when I'm with people I'm comfortable and close to, my personality shifts. However when it comes to any social or work situation, I always shift back into the same quiet demeanor. I like Jim. I like Dwight. I even love Micheal's unhinged and chaotic personality. As much as I can love them and pretend to have the same outgoing energies as them, that would simply be a lie. And honestly when it comes down to it; everyone needs a Pam in their life. Even though she may come across as boring to some, she really is one of the most important characters that quietly holds everyone together.

My favorite scientist would be Friedrich Miescher, who made the discovery of DNA. He isn't spoken about as much as I think is necessary because his findings completely changed how we saw everything about any species. From Gene coding all the way to mapping the human genome in 2003, none of it would have been possible without the knowledge and understanding of DNA. This tiny molecule is the entire reason for passing on genes along with giving us individuality and I feel it's discoverer is not spoken about enough in medical or scientific classes.