I have learned the hard way how important my mental health is to my performance not only in my academics, but in my personal life. I am currently a senior in high school, and ever since my sophomore year, I've been enrolled in dual enrollment with my local community college. That alone wasn't particularly strenuous, but coupled on with a schedule packed with sports and extracurriculars like NHS, it became stressful. I struggled in my junior year, and still do at times, with maintaining my mental health. It's very difficult to keep myself motivated when I have so much on my plate. I have also found it difficult to keep my mind in a good place at times. There are moments where my thoughts veer too far off after a particularly stressful day and become frightening. But I always manage to reel myself back in before it can physically damage me. Constantly checking up on my friends and personal relationships is also something that I sometimes still struggle with. In this year alone, there have been two suicides in my small town and one failed attempt. I know the person who attempted closely, and am aware of another who is struggling with suicidal thoughts. Constantly caring for them is something that I'm more than willing to do, but it does affect my ability to cope with my own issues as well. To keep myself from teetering too closely to the line of being overwhelmed and falling into a depressive state where I hardly want to get up or do much of anything, I try my best to set aside one day a week for myself. Usually on Sundays, since that's the day after I get home from my wrestling tournaments. On Sundays, I take great care in my self care routine and do things I know will uplift my mood and relax my mind. Some days that's simply being alone and doing something I enjoy, like crocheting or tending to my animals, and other days I might go enjoy the company of friends. The latter allows me to check up on them subtly without stressing myself out too much. When my mental health does poorly, my academic performance does as well. Maintaining grades is very important for me since I do plan on pursuing a higher education centered around mental health, but when I struggle with my own mental health, I lose the motivation to even show up at all. So by taking time to focus on myself when I need to, I am able to refocus and improve my academic performance.

My name Is Taylee Hope and I am enrolled in the Ely Shoshone tribe. I aim to pursue an education in mental health to help those around me in any way that I can. I've witnessed far too many people around me suffering from declining mental health, and tragically two of those people in my community lost the fight against their mental health and took their lives this year. These tragedies not only affected their families, but everyone within the community. There has been a noticeable drop in mood and morale throughout my peers and their families. I live in a rural community where just about everyone knows each other quite well, or at least to some extent. So when tragedies like this occur, mourning and sorrow sweep over everyone in waves. Even my happiest friends have seemed to slow down in a way. I do my best to offer support to those around me when I see problems emerging, but I can only do so much with how ill-informed I am. I hope to become informed and trained in the treatment of mental health in college to prevent these tragedies in the future. I've worked hard to keep my grades where they are throughout my primary and secondary education, always making sure to be attentive in class and study where it was needed. Education has always been at the forefront of my priorities since I understood what an education could do for myself and others. I've worked hard to get this far while maintaining a high GPA, and I believe that with the assistance of scholarships to get me through college, I can continue to maintain good grades and gather the knowledge needed to pursue a career in mental health. This scholarship would benefit me greatly in supporting me throughout my studies in college. Finances haven't always come easy to me, nor have they always been easy for my mother. I was raised primarily by my mother since my father passed on early in my life. She's done everything she can to support me and has always encouraged me to pursue higher education after high school. Her support means everything to me, but encouragement alone will not pay for my living expenses, books, or courses. Scholarships, however, would. With the financial assistance offered by the scholarships I apply to, I hope to lighten the load on myself and my mother while I continue my education.

Mental health has been a constant struggle for those around me during high school. Unfortunately, there have been two suicides and one attempt in my community in this past year. While mental health is addressed briefly by our school administration, it is not done in a way that effectively prevents these tragedies from happening. There is not much I can do right at this moment for those around me, but I do want to attempt to help others in the future. Though I'm not sure what specific field of psychology I want to go into, I do want to use the education I received in my future studies to assist those who need it. Mental health has been a constant struggle for those around, and not around, me. I don't want to live in a world where mental health is brushed aside as something minor or something that people choose not to address for fear of confrontation or judgment. If that means being a friend for now, that's what I'll do. A friend of mine is actively struggling with her mental health. She was recently released from a mental health institution, but I continue to watch her struggle to maintain control over her emotions and the effects they have on her. I'm not able to do much professionally considering my lack of education, but I do my best to support her and steer her away from harmful coping mechanisms she develops. She worries me, but there's only so much I can do. By pursuing an education in psychology, I hope to learn how to identify mental health issues early on in their development and work with my future clients to manage their mental health and help where I can. I want to make an impact on those around me to prevent years like these from happening. Communities should not have to witness two individuals, a child and a young adult, take their lives and live with the thought that maybe they should have done more. Children shouldn't have to constantly worry about whether or not their best friend might take their lives at any given moment. People shouldn't live in constant fear of being judged for having issues, nor should they have to worry about their peers constantly teetering on that dangerous edge of no return. I want to do what I can with the education I am working to receive to prevent this and help people where I can in any way possible.