When we first heard the news, my mom and I were sitting in the doctor's office for my yearly migraine checkup. I do not know why, but at that moment everything hit me and I started bawling. Previous years of restless nights, stress beyond belief, rocky emotions, and so many more symptoms would soon be behind me. That was the day they diagnosed me with anxiety. Before my family really started to notice a change in me, I was always a good student and a very friendly and outgoing person. Although as a kid I did have some stress about leaving my parents for the day, I eventually overcame that and worked hard in school. I made a lot of friends, but ultimately switched schools and had to start over. At this point in my life I was just entering middle school, which is already a very stressful time of life, and it felt very different to me. My grades were not as good as they used to be, I was having trouble making friends, and I felt like I did not really fit in. I was going through a rollercoaster of emotions, and then the pandemic happened. Everyone was remote learning, and to me this felt like the best thing that could ever happen to a student. When everyone went back to school I was determined to be confident and outgoing. I was going to make friends. I was going to talk to people, and I would not just be another shy girl. A semester into eighth grade, I met a few new people that I would later become best friends with, but then class schedules changed. It was the first day of gym class when my accident happened. My head slammed back into the concrete wall which gave me a concussion and triggered me to have migraines. I almost always have them, and given my history with stress, my anxiety only got worse which worsens my migraines. I was diagnosed with chronic migraines at thirteen years old, and it only took them a year later to diagnose me with anxiety. Being diagnosed with both anxiety and migraines is like a constant vicious cycle that feeds off of each other's energy. At the time, this felt like such a burden. It was frustrating to not know when I would experience a very bad migraine attack, and it was also aggravating how I was anxious all the time. I was missing school and falling behind because of the pain I was in, and it seriously impacted my grades and social life. The first few months going through this was so hard to process and reach a point where I was stable. It took doctor visit after doctor visit, increase and decrease of milligrams, replacing and adding new medications, and even trying out stress relief activities. Eventually, I got to a place where I felt comfortable just this past summer before college. I was not having as many migraine attacks, and my anxiety was not as bad as it usually is. It felt great to feel myself again. These first few months away at college have been a blessing, but also an extreme challenge. In high school I never really cared about certain topics we were learning, so sometimes I would not push myself to get good grades as much as those around me. However, now that I am here learning about art and psychology, two of my absolute favorite subjects, I find that I have an easier time learning and I am actually pushing myself to go beyond my normal studying routine. The only challenge for me is that pushing myself to improve constantly has raised my anxiety. I get stressed out about the simplest of tasks, a short walk to class, what to eat, and even when to take a shower. Knowing how bad my stress was throughout high school, I have been trying to try new things so I do not get that bad again. Living with anxiety and a chronic illness can feel like you are constantly dragging heavy chains with weights attached to them wherever you go. It can be overstimulating, frustrating, and very lonely. You try to show up and be the best version of yourself every day, but some days it is harder than others. Despite the difficulty my diagnosis can throw at me, I am still striving to become the best version of myself everyday, so eventually I can help others with similar experiences to mine.

My Dream Ever since I have been a kid, I have always dreamt of helping others as my future career. I decided to follow my younger self's dream and study art therapy as a way to satisfy both of my main interests, and my childhood dream. Art has always played a huge role in my life, offering a break from everyday life where I can just create and relax. When I heard about this career, I was so excited that there was a profession that could combine my passion and a way for me to help those who need it. My hope is to use creative processes to help others feel heard, seen, and lead them to a place where they can heal. As a young woman deciding to go into a healthcare related field, this choice feels very empowering yet deeply personal to me at the same time. Throughout history, women never really went to college, and as one of the few people in my family who has had the opportunity to go, I am very grateful to wake up every morning on my campus and walk up those hills to class. I love learning new things, and whenever I remember my family members that did not get the chance to go to college to earn a degree, I get back to studying so I can earn mine for them. Even now, women still are working towards better work representation, respect, and leadership in their chosen workfields. Going into this career, I hope to influence the healthcare field positively by providing a safe space for everyone. I want to be a voice for those who struggle to speak and a presence that makes those feel valued, safe, and understood. Not everyone is ready or able to express their pain through words, but art offers another path that is gentle, personal, and empowering. Using many different tools and mediums, people can tell their stories through different ways that feel safe and authentic to them. The one thing I love about this field is that your client can really tailor their needs for themselves, and that is something that really inspires me. I also love that any small moment of connection can create meaningful change in someone's life. You could have a client who is severely depressed and you just so happen to say the right thing and happen to save them because of it. Healing does not always happen because of a grand gesture, sometimes it can happen because of a small conversation, a shared moment, or the reassurance that someone truly cares about you. My dream as an art therapist is not defined by recognition or numbers, but by how many people's lives I impact. I hope to use my passion for art for healing and in a positive light. As a woman entering this field, I am motivated to lead with empathy, resilience, and purpose everyday. Throughout my career, I hope to use my skills to uplift others, advocate for mental health and art, and create safe spaces where everyone is welcome. If, during my career, I am able to help at least one person feel seen, then I will consider my work a success.

My Dream Ever since I have been a kid, I have always dreamt of helping others as my future career. I decided to follow my younger self's dream and study art therapy as a way to satisfy both of my main interests, and my childhood dream. Art has always played a huge role in my life, offering a break from everyday life where I can just create and relax. When I heard about this career, I was so excited that there was a profession that could combine my passion and a way for me to help those who need it. My hope is to use creative processes to help others feel heard, seen, and lead them to a place where they can heal. As a young woman deciding to go into a healthcare related field, this choice feels very empowering yet deeply personal to me at the same time. Throughout history, women never really went to college, and as one of the few people in my family who has had the opportunity to go, I am very grateful to wake up every morning on my campus and walk up those hills to class. I love learning new things, and whenever I remember my family members that did not get the chance to go to college to earn a degree, I get back to studying so I can earn mine for them. Even now, women still are working towards better work representation, respect, and leadership in their chosen workfields. Going into this career, I hope to influence the healthcare field positively by providing a safe space for everyone. I want to be a voice for those who struggle to speak and a presence that makes those feel valued, safe, and understood. Not everyone is ready or able to express their pain through words, but art offers another path that is gentle, personal, and empowering. Using many different tools and mediums, people can tell their stories through different ways that feel safe and authentic to them. The one thing I love about this field is that your client can really tailor their needs for themselves, and that is something that really inspires me. I also love that any small moment of connection can create meaningful change in someone's life. You could have a client who is severely depressed and you just so happen to say the right thing and happen to save them because of it. Healing does not always happen because of a grand gesture, sometimes it can happen because of a small conversation, a shared moment, or the reassurance that someone truly cares about you. My dream as an art therapist is not defined by recognition or numbers, but by how many people's lives I impact. I hope to use my passion for art for healing and in a positive light. As a woman entering this field, I am motivated to lead with empathy, resilience, and purpose everyday. Throughout my career, I hope to use my skills to uplift others, advocate for mental health and art, and create safe spaces where everyone is welcome. If, during my career, I am able to help at least one person feel seen, then I will consider my work a success.

Ever since I was a little kid, I have always known that I wanted to help people in some way. Now, as a college student studying art therapy, I think it is safe to say I have never thought my version of helping people would be through art. I am a firm believer that making art in any kind of form truly heals oneself. Whether it is crafting, painting, making music, or even dancing, the act of expressing yourself through art is freeing. To relate this back to why I create art, when I first started to become more interested in the different techniques and mediums I have always known that I wanted to express mental health struggles with my artwork. I felt like the artwork being created around me always tended to seem political or was a random topic chosen to fit into the art prompts we were given. Me being who I am, I wanted to step outside of the box and make something that I could relate to personally and something that could relate to others around me. As an aspiring art therapist, I feel like this field has helped shape what I have wanted to show through my artwork and now as a college student the classes I have taken have helped me develop a better way to portray these themes to my audiences. My goal as an artist is to help people feel seen. Whether that is through the art I create or my future career, I hope I can at least help one person through art.