I am committed to being selfless because I feel that one has been given their abilities in order to help others, as well as themselves. For example, music is a great passion of mine, and I plan to make a career out of it, as I am studying to be a music therapist. I have volunteered many hours over the years, using my musical abilities as a musician and vocalist of my church's praise band, my church's audiovisual team, a vacation bible school music leader, a member of my church's seasonal orchestra, and as a member of my church's handbell choirs. I have also volunteered musically as a keyboardist in my university's Intergenerational Rock Band and an advocacy event called 'Rockin' Roll Bike & Music Festival'. I have also volunteered to be a leader in many organizations I have been involved with, such as the National Honor Society, Spanish Club, Marching Band, Concert Band, and Student Music Therapy Association. I am also a part of two other advocacy groups on my university's campus, called 'Think Green' and 'Advocates of the Arts', which advocate for environment-friendly practices and the funding and appreciation of the arts, respectively.

Mental health tends to be overlooked by society, but it is very important to monitor and maintain throughout life. During the pandemic, I did a lot for my mental health. I saw a therapist virtually, I went on walks with my family, I took a few months off of social media, and I did puzzles. Pre-pandemic, as well as post-pandemic, I have several strategies to try to maintain my mental health. The biggest strategy is making sure that I have some me-time. My me-time simply consists of taking a bit of time out of my day, or at least every couple of days, just to myself to unwind. I may play video games, watch a tv show, take a nap, go outside with my dog, read a book, do a face mask, or do some yoga. Another of my main strategies is to stay active and eat healthily. There have been times in the past that I have let my physical health slip a bit, at the same time that my mental health began to slip, but I found that the better my physical health is, the more I can monitor my mental health and keep it well also.

I make sure to treat others with empathy by listening to what they have to say, and valuing their opinions. I believe that it is important to be able to voice your opinion, as well as listen to and value the opinions of others. By being able to do this, one is able to keep themselves open to other lifestyles, perspectives, and ideas that may end up being beneficial to one's own life. It is also important in order to connect with others, especially those who had a different upbringing, who come from a different region or culture, or who have different beliefs than our own. While everyone has a different backstory and maybe on a different page, or even a different chapter in the book society calls life, everyone is still experiencing life. Everyone wants to feel heard, understood, accepted and supported through whatever they may be going through. They may not openly express it, but listening to someone and simply letting them talk can be more beneficial to the person than the listener percieves.

I stay committed to speaking my mind by surrounding myself with others who allow me to voice my opinions. While I do have quite a few like-minded friends, there are some who are not. I also do not agree with every one of my friends on every matter. The difference is that each of them is willing to listen to my perspective and I am to theirs. I also post what I want on social media. While there is quite a lot of stressful news on the internet, which causes me to sometimes take hiatuses, I have a community of family and friends online that supports what I do, and what I have to say. I experience minimal backlash, or negative feedback, compared to what some have to face online, and if it does become too much, I simply take a step back, recenter myself, and move on. I believe that it is important to be able to voice your opinion, as well as listen to and value the opinions of others, in order to be able to keep oneself open to other lifestyles, perspectives, and ideas that may end up being beneficial to one's own life. It is also important in order to connect with others, especially those who had a different upbringing, who come from a different region or culture, or who have different beliefs than our own.

Everyone seems to have a story about the coronavirus pandemic. Mine is I got diagnosed with two mental illnesses; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety (both generalized and social). While there were a lot of other defining moments during quarantine - such as the birth of my niece, virtual schooling, social distancing, and time spent with my family before college - these diagnoses helped to define what I had been feeling for years prior. With the start of the pandemic and the political unrest across the United States, I felt quite mentally unwell and had to distance myself from all social media. This is also when I talked to my parents about beginning to see a therapist. It was in these therapy sessions that the feelings I had felt for years, which were multiplied by the pandemic, finally had a definitive name. During the pandemic, I was also able to have a better look at my schooling and ability to focus, and I discussed the possibility of ADD with my doctor, which he was able to confirm. My diagnosis helped me to have a better understanding of myself as well as the rest of the world as it gave me another perspective to look at the world with. It allowed me to research and look for ways to ease my symptoms. These diagnoses put me into the neurodiverse community and opened my eyes to the community. Once I became a part of it, I realized how much stigma there is against those who have mental illnesses. I am currently studying to earn a bachelor's degree in Music Therapy, with minors in Psychology and Spanish, and certificates in Celebrating Neurodiversity as well as Holistic Health and Wellbeing. With these credentials, I hope to be able to spread more awareness of neurodiversity and help to minimize the stigma of mental health. As a music therapist, I want to help others process their own diagnoses and the shock that comes with them, as well as learn to live with the diagnosis without letting it define their life. I want to help patients with mental disabilities not feel so alone in a world that tends to isolate them for being different. I would likely do this as group therapy, through something like a drum circle. My diagnoses have helped my family understand some of my behaviors better and have strengthened our relationships because of that. It has also helped me to connect with them, as they also have diagnoses. I would like to help patients to achieve these same results with their families as well, which may include group therapy through drum circles for family members, as a support group for family members of the neurodiverse. The same isolating feelings can be felt by other populations that I hope to be able to reach as a music therapist. These include immigrant children in schools, NICU babies and their parents, individuals trying to walk away from addiction, and individuals trying to leave abusive relationships. I hope to work with their families as well and help the line of communication between family members improve. With all of these populations, I want to improve the knowledge and understanding of each general situation in society, in order to improve how society views each population and try to limit the stigmas and prejudice that are associated with each.

My biggest goal in life at this moment is to pursue a career in music. I am pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Music Therapy with minors in Spanish and Psychology. I want to use these credentials to work in schools with immigrant students to help them adjust to their new life with a new language; in NICUs to help the babies develop and to help their parents to process; in mental health groups to help support the shock of diagnosis and learning to live with a diagnosis; as well as with those coming out of a battle with addiction, or leaving an abusive relationship. I am also interested in traveling abroad to help make music therapy more accessible in other countries. When I remember each of these opportunities that lie in my future, it encourages me to keep going and push through challenges that come my way, and it gives me something to strive for.

My biggest goal in life at this moment is to pursue a career in music. I am pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Music Therapy with minors in Spanish and Psychology, with certificates in Celebrating Neurodiversity as well as Holistic Health and Wellness. I want to use these credentials to work in schools with immigrant students to help them adjust to their new life with a new language; in NICUs to help the babies develop and to help their parents to process; in mental health groups to help support the shock of diagnosis and learning to live with a diagnosis; those coming out of a battle with addiction; and those leaving an abusive relationship. I also hope to start a mental health support group that uses drum circles to help individuals come to terms with their diagnoses, learn to live with a diagnosis, and know they are not alone. In order to be able to help these different populations, I have to finish school and earn my degree. Like normal college students, I do get discouraged and frustrated with classes and assignments. To overcome these feelings, I take a break, take a moment for myself and I remember all of the patients and clients I will be able to help after I graduate.

To, the meaning of life is family and the legacy you leave behind. I am currently an aunt to 3 wonderful kids, likely more in the coming years, and I see myself having kids as well. Knowing that there are many impressionable minds watching me, listening to what I say, trying to find their way in the world, I think a lot about the legacy I want to leave behind. The legacy I want to leave includes hard work to make your dreams a reality, and acceptance of everyone you cross paths with. I grew up feeling very supported in every path I followed, and I was raised to see all others without stereotypes or judgment. I hope that I am able to foster the same supportive, loving, caring, accepting upbringing that I had for my kids and my nieces and nephews. This ideology is something that I hope to also take into my career as a music therapist. Right now, I am working towards a bachelor's degree in Music Therapy, with minors in Spanish and Psychology. I am looking at getting certification to work in the NICU. Other populations I am interested in working with are in schools to help immigrant children learn English and process the transitional period in their life; those walking away from addiction; those leaving abusive relationships; and mental health support groups. With each of these groups, I want to make my clients and patients feel supported in their journey, cared about, and accepted for who they are.

I am pursuing a bachelor's degree in Music Therapy with minors in Spanish and Psychology. I have grown up surrounded by music, as my mom was the worship leader at our church. It was not until around middle school that I began taking lessons in various instruments, and in high school, I realized I wanted to pursue a career in music. About halfway through high school, I heard about Music Therapy and got the opportunity to shadow a professional. I have also always been fascinated with studying other cultures and I began studying Spanish in high school. At the same time, my mom began working as an elementary school lunch chaperon and told me about the Hispanic students that spoke minimal English. I also began to notice how many immigrants there were in the same halls as me. While doing research for a paper, I found that between 2016 and 2060, the proportion of the U.S. population that is Hispanic will increase from 17.79% to 27.5% (pbs.org). This encouraged me to further my studies of the language, with the hope that I will be able to use my degrees to help immigrant students to learn English and to process the transition in their life. I also hope to work with NICU babies and their parents, neurodiverse individuals, and those walking away from addiction as well as abusive relationships. I see myself starting a mental health support group that uses drum circles to process and learn to live with diagnoses. I am also interested in traveling abroad to help make music therapy more accessible in other countries. When I remember each of these opportunities that lie in my future, it encourages me to keep going and push through challenges, and it gives me something to strive for.

Thing biggest thing that fuels my life is my family. The family I am closest to includes my parents, my sisters, my nieces, my nephew, and my grandparents. All of them have always supported me in everything I do, and I support them in everything they do. My younger sister, nieces, and nephew remind me that I have eyes watching me and keep me going when I feel down. Remembering that they look up to me pushes me to chase my dreams, to show them that they are able to chase their own. My biggest goal in life at this moment is to pursue a career in music. I am pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Music Therapy with minors in Spanish and Psychology. I want to use these credentials to work in schools with immigrant students to help them adjust to their new life with a new language; in NICUs to help the babies develop and to help their parents to process; in mental health groups to help support the shock of diagnosis and learning to live with a diagnosis; as well as with those coming out of a battle with addiction, or leaving an abusive relationship. When I begin to feel down about a class or an assignment, I remember all of the patients and clients I will be able to help after I graduate; they fuel my ambition to keep going. Lastly, I have always had a special place in my heart for dogs, especially rescues. In the future, once I live on my own, I plan to rescue many dogs in my adult life. I want to give them a good life outside of the shelter. This fuels me to do well in my studies, and in my future career to be able to afford them all.

To me, confidence is believing in oneself and being able to put themselves out into the world, in front of others to make their dreams a reality. All throughout my life, I have been extremely introverted and shy. In elementary school, I only talked to one of my friends, my parents, and my sisters. Over time, I slowly expanded my friend circle, and felt more comfortable talking to my own grandparents. By middle school, I had a group of 5 or 6 close friends. Still, I was very shy and wasn’t comfortable reaching out to others. In high school, I joined the marching band and had my section, which I could reach out to and feel comfortable with. I also challenged myself by performing at open mic nights, taking instrumental solos to contests, and putting my music publically on YouTube. Each was a big step, however, they were ones that I felt were necessary for my career. Having previously overcome these obstacles reminds me that I can do it again. I am pursuing a career in the music field, which requires drive, determination, courage, bravery, and confidence to put oneself out into the world. Additionally, being able to present myself and what I am passionate about, will help me as a business leader and a community leader. Lastly, being more outgoing than I have been in the past helps me immensely in college. When I am 3 hours away from home, away from everyone I knew, I had to be willing to let others in and be a bit outgoing. Building my confidence has taken time, and will continue to take more time. In order to grow my confidence, I am, and am going to, continue to put myself and my music out into the world to share with others.

For the entirety of my life, I have grown up surrounded by music. In college, I want to further my education in and increase my exposure to music. I want to learn more about the different types of music. What goes into writing good music? How did music develop into what it is today? I want to be able to answer questions like “how does Spanish music differ from American? How do people from different countries play the same instruments in different ways?” I hope to not only learn on my university's campus but also learn enough to travel and experience the music in other cities, states, and countries. While I am studying all of this music, I have been and am working towards a bachelor's degree in Music Therapy. I want to be able to take my passion and help others find theirs, while also helping them to achieve their goals. Whether they are three, twelve, twenty-seven, or ninety-two, I want to help them explore the music that they hear every day, see what makes it music, and make it themselves. I also hope to get the opportunity to take my education and help others around the world. I want to be able to share this passion with people from all walks of life, from all different backgrounds. There are many different fields a music therapist can work in. I am looking at NICUs and schools. In schools, I want to work with Hispanic immigrants, in order to help to bridge the language barrier, help them to learn English, and also help them process what may be a new transitional period in their life if they recently immigrated. I see myself learning additional languages and helping other immigrants adjust as well. Other populations I can see myself working with are women struggling with addiction, coming from abusive relationships, and those who are neurodiverse. I see myself starting a program at a church that is a mental health support group that uses a drum circle to work through being diagnosed with, having, and learning to live with a mental illness. I want to use a degree in music therapy to help patients with disabilities not feel so alone in a world that tends to isolate them for being different. I want to use my education to help others understand each other better.

I am pursuing a bachelor's degree in Music Therapy with minors in Spanish and Psychology. For the entirety of my life, I have grown up surrounded by music, as my mom was the worship leader at our local church. It was not until around middle school that I began taking lessons in various instruments. It was in these lessons, and at the beginning of high school that I realized I wanted to pursue a career in music. About halfway through high school I heard about Music Therapy, got the opportunity to shadow a professional, and the rest is history. I have always been fascinated while studying other cultures and I began studying the Spanish language in high school. While in high school, my mom began working at an Elementary School as one of the chaperones in the cafeteria, and she told me about all of the Hispanic immigrants that were there that spoke minimal English. As I began looking closer around my school, I also realized how many immigrants there were in the same halls as me. When I was doing research for a paper that I wrote my senior year, I found that between the years 2016 and 2060, will increase from 17.79% to 27.5% of the U.S. population (pbs.org 3 Ways That the U.S. Population Will Change over the Next Decade). This encouraged me to further my studies of the Spanish language in college, in the hope that I will be able to use my music therapy and Spanish knowledge to help the children of Hispanic immigrants to help to bridge the language barrier, help them to learn English, and also help them process what may be a new transitional period in their life if they recently immigrated. Realizing that this is the path that I want to pursue has given helped me to find my purpose. It has given me something to strive for in the future. If I ever feel discouraged with my coursework, I remember that while my hard work is for me and earning my degree, it is also to help those immigrant children, as well as other populations. Some other populations I have learned about in my first year of university that I am interested in working with as a music therapist is NICU babies and their parents, neurodiverse individuals, those walking away from addiction, and those coming out of abusive relationships. I can see myself starting a program that is a mental health support group that uses a drum circle to process the realities of a diagnosis and to learn to live with that diagnosis. I would also be interested in traveling abroad to help make music therapy more accessible to other countries. When I remember each of these opportunities that lie in my future, it encourages me to keep going and push through challenges that are thrown my way.

The quality I value most in myself is my ambition. I am currently an aunt to 3 wonderful kids, and likely more in the coming years. I see myself having kids in the future as well. Knowing that there are many impressionable minds watching me, listening to what I say, trying to find their way in the world, I think a lot about the example I am setting for them. When I left for school in the fall, I was the first in my family to go to college in over 25 years. Not only did I not have an example to help me apply to schools, find scholarships and advise me on moving and living on my own for the first time in the 21st century, but I was setting the example for my younger sister, nieces, and nephew. I let my ambition and drive push me to keep my grades up, earn scholarships, and get accepted into the college I wanted to attend. Now that I have done that myself, I am in a position to help them in the process when they get older. My ambition has also helped me musically. I am a music therapy major, which is a major that requires me to learn a variety of instruments. Over the past several years, in middle school, high school, and college, I have learned to play clarinet, piano, guitar, bass guitar, tenor saxophone, and sing. Without my ambition, learning these instruments would have been more challenging. In the remaining 3 years of my undergraduate education, I will likely need to learn more instruments, in addition to many different techniques used by a music therapist. Some will be easier than others, but I will need my strong ambition to conquer the more challenging ones. In addition to my bachelor's degree, I am also pursuing minors in Spanish and Psychology as well as certificates in Celebrating Neurodiversity and Holistic Health and Wellness. Each of these credentials has its own set of courses and finishing the courseload in 4 years, prior to the start of my internship will take a bit of drive, determination, and motivation. Eventually, I want to go back to school to earn my Master’s degree in Music Therapy. I also see myself taking some business classes, and eventually earning an associate’s degree to help me start my own music therapy practice. Pursuing these while also working after earning my Bachelor's degree in Music Therapy will require some ambition to continue motivated to take these classes and further my education. My ambition to pursue each of these and to further my education will allow me to help a variety of different clients as a music therapist. Currently, I am hoping to work in several settings over the course of my career. I want to work in schools to help immigrant children adjust; in NICUs to help the babies develop and to help their parents to process; in mental health groups to help support the shock of diagnosis and learning to live with a diagnosis; as well as with those coming out of a battle with addiction, or leaving an abusive relationship. Each of these groups needs their own ambition to overcome the challenges they are faced with, and I hope that I can be an example and help them to find the motivation to face the obstacles in their life head-on.

Everyone seems to have a story about the coronavirus pandemic. Mine is I got diagnosed with two mental illnesses; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety (both generalized and social). While there were a lot of other defining moments during quarantine - such as the birth of my niece, virtual schooling, social distancing, and time spent with my family before college - these diagnoses helped to define what I had been feeling for years prior. With the start of the pandemic and the political unrest across the United States, I felt quite mentally unwell and had to distance myself from all social media. This is also when I talked to my parents about beginning to see a therapist. It was in these therapy sessions that the feelings I had felt for years, which were multiplied by the pandemic, finally had a definitive name. During the pandemic, I was also able to have a better look at my schooling and ability to focus, and I discussed the possibility of ADD with my doctor, which he was able to confirm. My diagnosis helped me to have a better understanding of myself as well as the rest of the world as it gave me another perspective to look at the world with. It allowed me to research and look for ways to ease my symptoms. These diagnoses put me into the neurodiverse community and opened my eyes to the community. Once I became a part of it, I realized how much stigma there is against those who have mental illnesses. I am currently studying to earn a bachelor's degree in Music Therapy, with minors in Psychology and Spanish, and certificates in Celebrating Neurodiversity as well as Holistic Health and Wellbeing. With these credentials, I hope to be able to spread more awareness of neurodiversity and help to minimize the stigma of mental health. As a music therapist, I want to help others process their own diagnoses and the shock that comes with them, as well as learn to live with the diagnosis without letting it define their life. I want to help patients with mental disabilities not feel so alone in a world that tends to isolate them for being different. I would likely do this as group therapy, through something like a drum circle. My diagnoses have helped my family understand some of my behaviors better and have strengthened our relationships because of that. It has also helped me to connect with them, as they also have diagnoses. I would like to help patients to achieve these same results with their families as well, which may include group therapy through drum circles for family members, as a support group for family members of the neurodiverse.