As I have gone through high school, I really have come to realize and value the importance of hard work. I am a fighter. I fight for myself and for what I want. After I had made the varsity tennis team during my sophomore year, I felt the pressure begin to pile up. I wanted so badly to be perfect in everything that I was doing. I was the HOSA club historian, Sports Medicine club secretary, singer in my school’s auditioned chamber choir, and a proud member of NHS. Because I was so involved and held such prominent roles in the community, I felt like I had a part that I needed to play perfectly. In the year leading up to my junior season, I was going to the gym everyday. Not only was I pushing myself inside the gym, I was also pushing myself on the tennis court, practicing for 3 1/2 hours daily. I was so determined to be varsity one. After months of training and nonstop work, that dream came true. I earned the varsity one position and even became the team captain. I was so blessed to know that my hard work was finally paying off. I had put in so much time and effort, it was amazing to see that everything was going how I wanted it to. At least, that’s how it looked on the outside. For years, I kept my eating disorder a secret. I had struggled with anorexia and bulimia since I was 13. I felt so pressured to maintain this perfect reputation, that I became guilty and angry with myself when it seemed like I wasn’t measuring up. I turned to my eating disorder as a way to cope with my failure to live up to the unreasonable expectations that I had set for myself. Years passed, and I continued to suffer in silence. I was too afraid of people thinking that I wasn’t the fighter that I thought I was. Everyday felt like I was running a marathon. I never had time to slow down because I had to be the first to cross the finish line, yet I still found myself crawling on my hands and knees, trying to reach the finish line at all. I finally had enough. I was miserable and hated pretending to be happy for the benefit of others. What I though was the one thing I could control, ended up being the one thing I couldn’t. I realized that forcing myself to throw up after every lost match was not a life that I wanted to live anymore. Regardless of how hard I was fighting, it was never enough because I stopped fuelling my body all together. I scraped together whatever courage I had, and told my Choir director. Through my battle with mental health, I have developed an even stronger fighting spirit. I have always known that I wanted to go into the medical field and as I actively pursue this dream, I know that my fighting spirit will get me through the hard times. Through my career, I will teach others how to fight for themselves. As odd as it sounds, I would not trade my battle with mental health for anything. It has allowed me to help so many people and I have loved being able to learn about who I am. As a fighter, I will never give up, regardless of the challenge placed in my way. I look forward to fighting during my final tennis season in high school, and as a future registered nurse in the medical field.