Til Kingdom Come by Coldplay is one of my favorite songs and one that I have to stop and listen to when it starts to play. This speaks to my heart about the entity of God, The Great Spirit, and how much every form of life is truly cherished and loved. Truly, one cannot look for the source of love outside oneself. It is never external. The choice to love others is constant. You are enough, just by being. This is how I see Love, loving all of us. Infinite Love, acceptance, harmony, true forgiveness and acceptance. Instantly, at no cost. It is our task to learn how to love this way. Then, we live this and teach it to others. This is what the heart knows, naturally, because we are created from that perfect, whole, complete, and all-encompassing Love. The purity of the acoustics also compliments the message of the lyrics in that this Love is pure and harmonious. Beautiful, just like all of us!

My family means everything to me. In addition, my family is not very big and we are all quite busy. When I have lost a family member, I often think "I hope that they have been happy and that I have made them proud." My family has been so supportive of me and my goals. As an individual with a disability, now in my middle years, I am sure that they have been concerned, at times. I never did get involved in sports but was in the marching band in high school. I knew that being involved was important. Additionally, I also understand the concept, well-known in the disabled community as "Super-Crip". Not the best term, but it refers to the few individuals with disabilities who, through surmounting their difference, accomplish goals that others may have not believed achievable. All individuals, then, can be held up to the truly inspiring example of one person. Why is winning and being the best what an individual with different abilities has to aspire to be? Historically, that has been the expectation. But, why? To have survived, thus far, I have had to fight, with my family's support. Do I let them know about every battle? No. I am not the sort of person to let people know about my difficulties. When someone from my small family makes their transition to the other side, I am sad that I can no longer see them, physically. But, I am happy for my loved ones because now they are free from their physical bodies and any psychological or physical pain. Contentment and true happiness are possible. It comes down to making the daily decisions that you need to to keep yourself safe and well. If the world around you is crumbling, you have to remember who you want to show up and be. The problems of the world can be daunting. Take things one day at a time, though. I know that my family on the other side loves me and is cheering me on. I don't dwell on the fact that they are gone, but rather, I remember and surround myself with their memory and try to implement and practice all that they taught me while they were in my life. In that way, I love them, still, and they live on through me.

I currently work with people in recovery, addiction, and mental health issues. I have obtained my MS degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. I have specialty certifications in Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Cognitive Disabilities Specialization. I, myself, am a person with a physical disability. I have had this disability since birth. What I have learned from my life experience and from working in the field of mental health is that it is an arduous journey with no excuses. To be able to heal and help others, one has to address their mental health, constantly. To some, this may seem selfish. Truly, it is, actually, selfless to take the time to care for yourself in able to fully be present to the needs of others. Living a healthy life and ensuring that your word is your bond and that you show up as a trusted, loving friend; those qualities are irreplaceable and easily lost, for some. How a person interacts with others to impact the world around them has a ripple effect on people unseen to them. We are all connected. Our decisions and actions, each moment, matter. Once someone understands that your intention matters, healing can begin. The healing, though, begins from within. Time is the only thing that someone cannot buy. So, the time and energy you spend with others, helping them to find their way, truly matters. If the client needs to tell their story, it is time to listen. If the client needs to decompress because they may be angry, it is time to listen. In mental health, there is a tendency to want to tell people what to do or control their actions. I believe this is the wrong approach. As counselors, we need to gently guide our clients who need to re-train their impulse control. This means listening and giving the client the keys to their future. Due to, possibly, the low level of practiced application of the counseling techniques needed to enhance and reinforce brain re-training, neuroplasticity, and new neuro-pathways in the brain having the opportunity to develop, relapse can easily occur. It is a brain issue. There do need to be studies done on this, but telling someone how to behave rarely works. For lasting results, people need to begin to trust their decision-making. Will they make mistakes? Yes, of course. Biologically, though, failing to address re-training the brain and the reward system of the decision-making process fails to address the real issue. I have extensive work experience, but I still want to be out in the field and help people in recovery. Learning about Substance Use Disorders for people who are in all stages of recovery will help me to be in the flow of the newest counseling techniques that are being developed and taught. I humbly hope that this scholarship will help me on my path to acquire the new knowledge that I need to be part of this important change in the mental health field.