There are many reasons why I decided to go back to school for Web Development. I would have to say the biggest reason would be, to help support my family. The next two big reasons are, more time with my family and friends and the last reason is that technology will always be around. Since covid started, that was when it all hit me that going back to school would be what is best for my family. My husband got very sick and ended up in the hospital for a weeks. Since my husband is the primary breadwinner, not only was I concerned with his health but I was also concerned on how I was going to feed and keep our family safe. I realized then that I needed to get back to school and finish my degree , so that if anything like this ever happened again, I could take care of us. As I look into what I need to accomplish to finish out my degree, I start to look at what kinds of obstacles am I going to face along the way and as I am heading into the start of my career. As a 41 year old mother, I know that there will be many obstacles to overcome. The first one that comes to mind is my age. At 41, I am a little behind when it comes to learning the trade. I wish that I would have started at this a long time ago. The next big obstacles that I think that I will likely run into is the fact that I have Fibromyalgia and I am in pain most days. I refuse to let this hinder me in any way. I had to leave my job as a Clinical Massage Therapist due to the fact that I have Fibromyalgia and Connective tissue disease. My body was just getting too tired, too quickly and I knew then that I didn’t have a chance to retire as a Clinical Massage Therapist. So the next logical step for me was computers and IT. I looked at so many different IT degrees but the one that stuck with me the most is Web Development and Design. Although I have these obstacles that may hinder my ability to do certain things, that has not stopped me from perusing the one thing that I want for my family and that is a chance at a great career that is more flexible and keeps me challenged and happy.

The last few years have been difficult to say the least. I am a very empathetic person by nature and I also worry about everyone and everything. As the world has been slowly falling apart I have realized who is selfish and who is caring. The biggest thing that I have learned from this was , family is not always on your side. I grew up with a very close family. I thought we were the tightest family around. We were always together and always having fun with extended family. As the years go on we have all drifted further and further apart. In the last two years I have had the realization that family doesn’t always have your back nor care to hear your concerns because they are too engrossed in the propaganda that they have spewed at them in their tiny small town. It has gotten so bad that I no longer speak to my siblings and even some of my other family. Never in my life would I think that the two people I looked up to growing up would have so much hate in their heart. They have become these selfish, self centered, condescending jerks, that wouldn’t stop to help you if you are a person of color, transgender or part of the LGBTQIA. This has made me see them for truly who they are and that is not someone I want to spend my time with or expose my son to. The situation with my siblings is the hardest thing that I ever had to realize and I hope it’s the worst and that I am done with these realizations.

When looking at technology, new and old, there is so many inspirational things. As I looked through them all it took some time to figure out what one I thought made this world a better place. I chose the ability to video call, I know it seems like such a strange choice but the reason I chose this was because of who it connects us to. The video call connects you to family, employees, doctors, nurses and so much more. Doctors can use the video call to get help from another physician on a difficult case or scientist can use it to context to someone that could help then figure out a hard equation. There is so may positive aspects to what the video call can do. I think that as we advance into the future the video call will continue to help us connect with people without having to be in the same space. The ability to meet with people all over the world to do whatever needs to be done with always be a good thing for humanity.

As I look at my past, present and future, I see how my mental health can change what my life may look like. I have suffered from depression and anxiety for over 20 years. I feel that my mental health has significantly effected what my past was, what my current situation is and what my future will look like. When it has come to my health, I think that acknowledging the issue has helped me take control of how I take care of my self , how I interact with people and how I move forward with my career aspirations. When it comes to my beliefs, I think sometimes I lose faith in god because it confuses me why he would want someone to feel the way that I do sometimes, then I have to remember that he is putting me through my paces to ensure I am stronger in the end. When looking at how my mental health has changed the way my relationships are formed and kept, I am very honest and upfront about my mental health. I make everyone very aware of the things that I find difficult and ask everyone to try to be patient with me. I make sure that everyone I spend a significant amount of time with knows, so if I have a panic attack everyone is prepared. When I decided to go back to school to go into a different career, it took me a lot of thinking and really a lot of time to nail down exactly what would be the best fit for me. As I look into the future I realize that my end goal is to have a career that is challenging but not so challenging that it stresses me out. I decided that web development and design was exactly what I was looking for. It is creatively challenging and it pushes me to be better but in the same regard it also puts me in the path of eventually working for myself and at home. That is my end goal. I want to be able to work from home and on my own schedule, so that I can have as much time as possible with my family.

In the last few years I have learned that life is short and you need to be prepared for what may happen next. I unfortunately had that happen when my husband was hospitalized with COVID-19 and we were not sure what would happen. It made me really think about my financial standing without my husband. As a stay at home mom and part time worker, I realized that if my husband passed, I would not be able to support my son or myself. After that scare I decided that I was going to go back to school and get a degree in Web development and design. I have always had a love for computers and what they are capable of. I did a lot of research on what aspect of computers that I wanted to study. I absolutely love the art of programming and making a website streamlined and beautiful at the same time. Once I am graduated I am looking forward to working for an amazing company that will utilize my skills for the betterment of their company. In the future my goal is to own my own company for website design and development and I also want to do website design consulting. I also hope to create apps that will help people with mental illnesses. That subject hits very close to home because I have suffered from depression and anxiety for over 20 years. I feel that there is no real apps (that are free) that help people suffering from mental illnesses connect to each other for support and/or health professionals. I feel that a lot of people in this industry deserve to get a scholarship like this. I just hope that you read what I have to say and understand that I am doing this to help my fellow peers and my family. If I get this scholarship, I will be using it to purchase a more robust computer to be able to do all I need to do to accomplish my goals.

In todays world personal finance is extremely important. As we venture through this unsteady world, keeping up with finances and making sure that you have a nest egg or emergency fund is important. I learned this very early on. When I was in college I was a hourly waitress and no health insurance. I had no savings and what was left of my checking was all for current bills. I lived pay check to pay check and that was my mistake. I should have been saving even just the smallest amount. I ended up having my appendix burst and ended up in the hospital. I was off work for over a month. I ended up in serious debt because I had no way to pay the hospital bill plus all my other bills. It got so bad that it sunk my credit score and it took me a very long time to get everything where it should be. I have learned that you have to take control of your finances yourself and make sure that you always have a little left over just in case of emergencies or unforeseen expenses. That is why I am going back to school at the age of 40. My husband got extremely sick from Covid early on and he ended up in the hospital. I took a really good look at my finances and realized that I would not be able to support myself and my son if something ever happened to my husband. So I decided to take control of the situation and go back to school and get a degree that will not only help support my family but that can also secure my financial future. I am working very hard to obtain my degree in Web Development. I will do this!

I have been suffering from anxiety and depression for over 20 years. When I was younger most people didn’t talk about mental health the way they do now. It was hard to get help back then without being considered crazy. The one thing that was missing back then and even now is mental health centers that are free for all. There is a lack of support for our community. I think that also getting rid of the stigma around mental health would be a great way to start. If we had the support system with available therapist and medical professionals, that would help tremendously. Once I have my degree, I want to build an app that has available therapist or medical professionals that can be available to people who are in distress or if someone needs assistance during a mental health crisis. If I would have had something like that back in high school then maybe I would have had a different outlook on my experiences in life. I know there are thousands of people in this world that would benefit from something like this. As I talk with my family members and friends I definitely see the need for something like this. Most if not all applications like this charge for their services. Unfortunately most people do not have the means to acquire said app. That is why I think between having a free clinic and a free application would be life changing for a lot of people and their families.

There are so many reasons I want to get a STEM degree. The first and foremost reason is to be in a more secure field for the future and contribute to helping others. I am a 41 year old mom, that decided to go back to school to find a more fulfillment and passion for a career. The Website Development degree was calling to me. I have always wanted to learn to make and design websites and applications for mobile devices. STEM careers are the future and I want to be a part of that. I hope to accomplish many things throughout my career. I want to create applications to help others with mental illnesses, kids with learning disabilities and families trying to find a suitable doctor. I have so many ideas that I have my own idea book to keep track of all the ideas I plan to implement as my career advance’s.