Life matters. Every life has a purpose. That I am quite certain of. Growing up as child my mother often talked about how she "didn't believe in having abortions". From a young age I had always been taught that it was murder. Like so many belief systems until they resonate with a person in an actual relevant event or circumstance it is just a belief or a far off ideology we are either for or against. Most people tend to adopt the belief systems and practices of the family or culture in which they are raised. I am very fortunate to have had a positive family experience. However I do believe whether or not the belief that an embryo qualifies as a human was taught to me as a child I most certainly would be standing up to proclaim it today. Early on, just when I was barely becoming a young adult and starting a family of my own I had gone into premature labor. I was only 24 weeks along in my pregnancy. Medicine in the early 1990's was nowhere near as advanced as it is today so needless to say the outcome did not look good for my baby. I spent countless hours with him in the neonatal intensive care unit over a two week period before he passed away. It was a heart wrenching life experience. So what did I learn? This tiny 1lbs 2oz baby was a real baby. He felt pain. He cried. He needed to breath. He wet his diaper. He needed to wet his whistle. He did not like the lights shining in his eyes at all. He could be calmed with a gentile voice. His teeny tiny little fingers held tight to my small hands; even more so after having stepped away for brief break. This wee life knew well the sound of his daddy's voice. His tiny eyes would open just a sliver more as though he was looking for that comforting familiar tone. I saw with my own eyes that this was more than a mass of cell. This was more than an embryo. This was a real living human being. Then after he passed the empty nest hormones were unbearable. I had no idea that was even a thing. To share the supportive data and science can be helpful for those who understand it. But for the average person it my have little to no meaning. To share what I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears is life changing. I participate in local events like the life chain, prayer walks and handing out pamphlets. All this is letting others know what I believe and maybe provide much needed information. When I get to share my own experience I get to give real tangible data that a would be mother or father can relate to. I get to share and my pro-life beliefs that all lives really do matter; including the child and the mother and any other person involved. I get to say that adoption is really truly a loving option. Then I get to share even more real life experiences that others can relate to. I get to make a difference and save a lives one life at a time.

Mental health in our local community is an increasing problem. From the lack of resources such as therapist, psychiatrist and psychologist to lack of addiction specialist and places to help in the recovery process. In the past recent years I have experienced this road block multiple times in my search which family members. Mental health is a growing problem within our own Nation and communities . Local resources have not kept up with this need. Mental health has been labeled with multiple negative and usually shameful titles. But the truth is almost every family has at least one member who struggles in this area from depression and anxiety to addictions or even others such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. My Hope Is that mental health is no longer a taboo subject. It was ten years ago that I was blindsided when my husband of 20 years had been overtaken by anxiety depression and alcohol addiction. Then finding out that he had PTS from not only childhood trauma, but adult trauma combined. It has been a struggle finding help that insurance would actually pay for. Recovery that he was eligible for and that worked, and insurance would pay for. Then a qualified therapist or psychologist he could talk to. Resources are very slim in small communities. That is why I hit the doors to research and study and now lead a 12-step study group once a week. With an education I plan on obtaining a bachelor's degree and then continuing on to pursue a degree in therapy so that I May further serve my community and help provide a much-needed resources in the town in valley in which I live and love.

Changing the world; something almost every child dreams of doing. Being that super hero that saves the day is one game so many adults can remember playing at least once in their life. Changing the world now, making a difference now? Is that even possible? As adults our childhood dreams fade, life takes over filling every moment of our life with the reality of responsibility and adulthood. Over time those dreams of changing the world are distant, seemingly unreachable and often unrealistic. But what if it were possible to make a difference now? Would that change your mind? It Changes mine. I can remember as a young child riding my bike down the street pretending to go so fast that not even Supermen could keep up. Then reaching my destination just in time to save the day. With a snap of the fingers just like that all was once again well. Change doesn’t happen in an instant. Most of the time it doesn’t even just happen overnight or even in a week. It happens over time. Not like the time on the microwave but more like the time on the crockpot or a deep pit BBQ. For me it has been like fine wine, aged over years and years of patiently waiting. About ten years ago my life fell to pieces. Beside myself not knowing what happened or even how it happened I began the search for answers. I was face to face with a couple of loved ones battling mental illness and addiction. My Husband of ten years struggled severe depression, anxiety and PTS from childhood trauma and work related trauma that lead to a life threatening alcohol addiction. My Daughter struggled with anxiety and addiction as well. The only place I knew to turn to was my faith. In that search that I learned how I could make that difference. In that moment I found that we were not the only ones struggling. We were not the only ones who needed help. Real lasting help could not, or was extremely difficult to find. No quick fixes like superman or the microwave; but one person at a time, one day at a time, one step, one moment, even one breath at a time. As I began to share, being open and honest about what that happened I found others searching for hope and healing. Its right there in the middle of chaos I found what I could do to make a change. One person at a time. I now lead a recovery outreach. In Furthering my education I will be able to more effectively teach, lead and most important listen as I walk through this journey of healing and hope with others. With a higher education my hope is that I would have better understanding and more tools in my tools as I attempt to encourage others to take that step of faith and start healing. Then together we can make a difference in many lives for the better.

Changing the world; something almost every child dreams of doing. Being that super hero that saves the day is one game so many adults can remember playing at least once in their life time. Changing the world now, making a difference now? Is that even possible? As adults our childhood dreams fade, life takes over filling every moment of our life with the reality of responsibility and adulthood. Over time those dreams of changing the world are distant, seemingly unreachable and often unrealistic. But what if it were possible to make a difference now. Would that change your mind? It Changes mine. I can remember as a young child riding my bike down the street pretending to go so fast that not even Supermen could keep up. Then reaching my destination just in time to save the day. With a snap of the fingers just like that all was once again well. We all know that change doesn’t happen in an instant. Most of the time it doesn’t even just happen overnight or even in a week. It happens over time. Not like the time on the microwave but more like the time on the crockpot or a deep pit BBQ. For me it has been like fine wine, aged over years and years of patiently waiting. About ten years ago life as I knew it fell to pieces. Beside myself not knowing what happened or even how it happened I began the search for answers. I found I was face to face with a couple of loved ones battling mental illness and addiction. My Husband of ten years struggled severely with depression, anxiety and PTS from childhood trauma mixed with work related trauma that lead to a life threatening alcohol addiction. My Daughter began to struggle with anxiety and addiction as well. The only place I knew to turn to was my faith. It was in that search that I learned how I could make that difference. It was in that moment of my life that we were not the only ones struggling. We were not the only ones who needed help yet real lasting help could not, or was really difficult to find. Not the quick fix like superman or a microwave oven, but one person at a time, one day at a time, one step at a time, one moment at a time and even one breath at a time. As I began to share being open and honest about all that had happened I saw others finding hope and healing as well. Its right here in the middle of chaos and despair that I have found what I could do to make a change. One person at a time. I now lead a recovery outreach weekly. With furthering my education I will be able to more effectively teach, lead, share and most important listen as I walk through this journey of healing and hope with others. With a higher education my hope is that I would have a better understanding and more tools in my tool belt of life as I attempt to encourage others to take that step of faith and start changing even more lives one at a time. Then together we will make a difference in many lives for the better.

Changing the world; something almost every child dreams of doing. Being that super hero that saves the day is one game so many adults can remember playing at least once in their life time. Changing the world now, making a difference now? Is that even possible? As adults our childhood dreams fade, life takes over filling every moment of our life with the reality of responsibility and adulthood. Over time those dreams of changing the world are distant, seemingly unreachable and often unrealistic. But what if it were possible to make a difference now. Would that change your mind? It Changes mine. I can remember as a young child riding my bike down the street pretending to go so fast that not even Supermen could keep up. Then reaching my destination just in time to save the day. With a snap of the fingers just like that all was once again well. We all know that change doesn’t happen in an instant. Most of the time it doesn’t even just happen overnight or even in a week. It happens over time. Not like the time on the microwave but more like the time on the crockpot or a deep pit BBQ. For me it has been like fine wine, aged over years and years of patiently waiting. About ten years ago life as I knew it fell to pieces. Beside myself not knowing what happened or even how it happened I began the search for answers. I found I was face to face with a couple of loved ones battling mental illness and addiction. My Husband of ten years struggled severely with depression, anxiety and PTS from childhood trauma mixed with work related trauma that lead to a life threatening alcohol addiction. My Daughter began to struggle with anxiety and addiction as well. The only place I knew to turn to was my faith. It was in that search that I learned how I could make that difference. It was in that moment of my life that we were not the only ones struggling. We were not the only ones who needed help yet real lasting help could not, or was really difficult to find. Not the quick fix like superman or a microwave oven, but one person at a time, one day at a time, one step at a time, one moment at a time and even one breath at a time. As I began to share being open and honest about all that had happened I saw others finding hope and healing as well. Its right here in the middle of chaos and despair that I have found what I could do to make a change. One person at a time. I now lead a recovery outreach weekly. With furthering my education I will be able to more effectively teach, lead, share and most important listen as I walk through this journey of healing and hope with others. With a higher education my hope is that I would have a better understanding and more tools in my tool belt of life as I attempt to encourage others to take that step of faith and start changing even more lives one at a time. Then together we will make a difference in many lives for the better.