I am pained by all the hurt and harshness that happens to young children. I want to push for these children's rights so they know there are people out there who love and care for them. I am going to school to be a Social Worker and am in the junior year of my undergraduate program. I want to be able to make a change for the better of children silently suffering or being overlooked. What really pushed me to go back to school was when the Netflix documentary about Gabriel Fernandez came out, and all those caseworkers and people in general failed that young, sweet boy. I was taking time away after my high school graduation, not sure where I wanted to get a career in, and that made me apply for my degree immediately. While in school, I've learned so much I never knew involved a Social Worker. There are events they set up for people in the community, set up plans for adoption facilities, do home visits, work in the hospitals, and are mandatory reporters. I want to dabble in all of these different locations as a Social Worker and see what I can help make a change in, or help to inspire and want to better themselves for the future. Finances are really tight with trying to go to school with 16+ credits and trying to make ends meet. This is, of course, done by my own will, but it doesn't mean I am not stressed about how I am going to finish up and obtain my degree. But the thought of all the good and happiness I can bring to potential children is what pushes me every single semester. I love the classes I am taking, and hopefully will be able to finish my degree and attend my 300-hour internship class. I am also looking to obtain my MSW and become licensed in either Iowa or Illinois. The ideal location would be Illinois, as there are bigger cities and better pay for the degree of work that is put in all day, every day by these workers. I did find it to be amazing that some Social Workers never are off duty; they are constantly working, and that makes me excited, to say the least! I would love to be able to make a change constantly on duty, or be able to get in contact with people who need help without having to wait until the next day, because it pains me to see children and young adults be treated unfairly and make them grow up too early and hate the world, thinking it's not a good place to be.

I think that is kind of ironic to know about the teasing of being a lefty. I am also a lefty and get made fun of for writing with the "wrong" hand, or always being told how odd it is to not write or play with the correct hand. I play sports with my right hand more so than the left, also! It just feels more comfortable and right using my right hand to do anything sporty... or just about anything as long as it doesn't involve writing my name and having the graphite or ink smudge along the paper. I don't think this makes it awkward, but I have always been told I stand out because of my hair. It's a vibrant blonde that makes it hard not to notice, and everyone usually does. That's where my nickname "blondie" came from. Oh, how miserable it is to be known as the blonde girl or even the goofy girl. I am big and boisterous when I want to be, but it's usually once I am comfortable around people. At my job, I am usually seen hopping around or randomly dancing just because I can't stop myself from it. I'll be sitting, and then the next thing my coworkers know is I'm busting a move left to right full of excitement. It genuinely is a shock for them, but slowly they've gotten used to it and laugh when I do it. It is such a fun change for me to slowly show my boyfriend the awkward and quirky sides of me. He actually is from Chicago and loves his home very dearly, and it's such an interesting sight to see all the sports there. I am always shocked by the number of swimmers and swimming sports that are played in schools and even more so in colleges. The ultimate strength and coordination it takes to fly in that water is just wow. I tried to follow some tips and tricks from swimmers, but I always end up flopping around in the water. It really is a bad sight to see. I definitely am not a water type of person. Well, I'm also not a land type of sports gal either, considering I didn't play sports anymore after middle school. This is when I wished I had played in a bigger city to be able to experience all the sports and greatness of different cities.

Growing up I’ve been around many different kinds of people. The way you can spot a person who is beat down and not going through a good time in life from all their stress and complications weighing heavily on them just ruining their mentality. This is why I am a big advocate of mental health awareness. The toxicity in life that people endure and think is okay is what makes me strive to let them know it’s not okay. You shouldn’t have to take this or be treated in such a matter that it’s ruining your everyday life and will to want to do anything. School can be extremely taxing, the passion can go away, the sports can drain you and make you want to just up and leave or never come back. I’m thankful to of grown up with my parents not pushing me to do activities that I didn’t want to do because as an adult if it’s to much I can bring myself to stop it or take breaks to find the love for my work and degree again reminding myself why I am paying for this and why it’s worth every penny. I am the listener of my friends and family and will always hear someone out. Whether it be about boys, life issues, or simply being indecisive on what to eat. I am there and will be the shoulder to help them get an answer and make them feel grounded and clear their head to understand what they need to do for themselves and their mental health. When it comes to work and watching everyone crumble around me in stress and anger and they ask me what they should do I tell them don’t come in the next day. You deserve to take breaks from what is causing you anger and anxiety and a job shouldn’t be doing that. That shows the level of toxicity and stress this leaves on people and if it falls on me for them to have a day off I will always advocate for them to do it. And I’ll let them feel comforted and reassured that I don’t care they took times for themselves to cool off and reset for even just a day. This is why I wish to someday advocate for mental health days to be put in at my work because it’s not apart of the criteria for calling out. That is almost insulting to know mental health isn’t technically a big part of keeping people at work because life issues hard and going to work or school or home and adding more stress is not okay for a person in the slightest bit.

Truly school hasn’t been my most favorited time in life but I’ve found a new love for it. While I never wanted to go back for college my boyfriend persuaded me to so I can get my BSW and eventually my MSW. Finances are something I struggle with on the daily as my family isn’t one that was blessed with money or could get anything and everything we wanted. But, life was amazing growing up, me and my brothers were able to be kids going fishing, camping, hiking on trails, and even finding our own bait to use! So growing up finances were something we never thought about until my highschool year I could see my parents struggling more with everything. So I not only with the help of my boyfriend but my family joined back to school, I started my associated at a community college at home and eventually transferred to Ball State University. While paying out of pocket is possible it is a big weight on my shoulders working a part time job while trying to pay my bills and go to school and making time to have a social life. I think the hard work and endless hours of spent on class work and hair pulling makes me deserving of this scholarship. I’ve never really applied to any scholarships and everyone’s I tried to do never got back to me so I see them as not possible of working or even being legit. Everyone else applying for scholarships specifically this one is at an advantage considering my writing schools are not the greatest. I am more of chatty Kathy with expressing myself to propose why I deserve this help. But while my writing isn’t the best my experiences I think help me display the emotion and depth on why this will help me extensively in the end with continuing school and being the 1 out of the 5 kids my family has that had earned a college degree and has worked her butt off for it.

Life is a great and impactful experience for everyone in this world. Many people have easy lives where everything comes to them while others have to strive and work endlessly to just have a roof over there head. Many people don’t get the honor of having college paid for them where as there are quite a few who get it paid for and taken for granted the amazing gift they were given. Only one of my parents got to go to college and that was by the grace of my father helping my mother pay for it and raising us. My father is 1 of 12 children that never got the chance to go to college, but he will tell you he got his highschool diploma that’s for sure. My mom happened to of gone to school and got her degree to get a good job in the hospital near our home that helped us earn a bit more income but my dad was the one who worked 12+ hour shifts at factories that got us by extremely well growing up. And seeing the struggles we went through growing up and even more now considering my father got diagnosed with cancer and is no longer able to work. At the end of my high school year I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay at my retail job which I am still at and using as my financial help to pay for school, it isn’t what I can see myself doing for the rest of my life. So after going through 2.5-3 years of schooling I’m finding a new love for school and the degree I am working towards. I search endlessly the pay being a social worker will make in different states and dream of all the help that money will be to not only me but my family as well. I want to be able to afford with helping my family and their finances and get my dad a new motorcycle he gave up to pay for my braces. This was in late middle to early highschool because I needed those more than he needed the bike. I want these degree to help the endless children and teens that are hurt and mistreated everyday. I want to make a difference to as many people as I can because nobody deserves to grow up knowing hurt and pain and malnourishment because their parents don’t know how to be an adult and treat their children with love and compassion. No human as a whole should ever go on in life not knowing what love and warmth feels like. I just want to put my everything into my degree and not only make the ends meet but make young children and adults feel they are loved and advocated for and will get the help they deserve to live their life how they know they deserve it.

From a young age I’ve been pulled towards treating everyone kindly and fairly. I have 2 cousins with autism and down syndrome and they are not babied by me. They are stood up for and treated like any other child because these girls are just insanely smart and know just as much as anyone else if not more. It amazes me how long it takes me to process things and these two are barely a few seconds in and not only understand but have made a whole lay out on what they are going to be doing and how they came up with their answers. I want to work as a social worker to help people who are in need and get the help they are scared to get or speak up about for them and their children in tough times. I want to be able to help families with special needs children have a good time in class and not feel any different than anyone else even if there is a little bit of extra help given. Because truly everyone benefits with a little bit more of understanding on tough subjects. I’m happily there to give my shoulder and provide the best help to anyone and any little one in need of it just because that’s who I am. I am looking at so many areas at where a social worker is needed and it’s amazing how many opportunities there are! Working in a school and being there to brighten kids faces and make them feel accepted and loved every morning is the highest on my list to work for one day, but being a medical social worker is also very high up on the list! Being able to advocate and help these amazing children by not only treating them fairly and like they are everyone else to not make them feel any different. But to advocate for anyone else they see who is being treated unfairly to be spoken up for. The way children are these days is sad to say because nobody is there to speak up about mistreating others and to accept them in their life just because they are different. I’ve met some amazing people who are gifted and they are the most amazing and funniest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting! Their stories of the hardships they’ve been through and just pushing on in life makes me push to see anyone being treated wrong to be spoken up to and called out on for their behavior.