When I was very little, my mother had my father convicted of domestic violence in the third degree. After leaving out hometown to escape him, he was later arrested on my birthday for murder. Throughout the early developmental stages of my life, I was terrified of men in general; in fear of what they could possibly do to me and my mother, and it impacted my development, trust, and mental health at an extremely young age. My mother suffered severe depression throughout her pregnancy with me, almost resulting in a miscarriage, and quit producing milk only two months after my birth. In the hospital "DCFS" (Department of Child and Family Services) was even called to escort him out of the building, giving my mother extreme emotional distress. Throughout my younger years, my mother was severely depressed, yet she worked hard to support herself and me. By working as a single mother and going through a dental assistant program, she persevered past all obstacles to give me all the opportunities she possibly could. By the time I was ten years old, we had lived in seven different houses; by the time I was eight, my mother gotten into a severe car accident. The past ten years I've watched as she has suffered with invisible disabilities. She has a C-4 through T-1 vertebrae fusion, her neck bone went into her spinal cord and heavily bruised her nerves, and I watched as she spiraled into a severe depression once again. Since that age I've taken care of her to the best of my abilities. She eventually filed a case against the beer company that hit her and her co-worker, which was eventually denied by the supreme court. During the whole ordeal she remained optimistic. I never thought I'd want to go into a medical field to help others after having to help my mother the past 10 years, but this "major impacting moment" wasn't really a moment, it was my mom. She has inspired me to live up to her expectations. She has been disappointed her entire life by people she cares for, by the doctors that never figured out what exactly her issues have been, and by the supreme court for only changing the statute of limitations after her case, rather than helping her. By getting out of this state of lowness, and becoming a better version of myself, I will have fulfilled the thing I've always wanted to give to the woman who sacrificed everything for me to exist.

When I was eight years old, I almost lost my mother in a horrible car accident. Her story has inspired me to go into radiology with a specialization in nuclear medicine, and better my life the way she always dreamed she could for me. During my early childhood, it was just me and my mom. My father was put in jail for two years for domestic violence in the third degree against my mother; he threatened to murder us, and eventually (on my eleventh birthday) was arrested for for shooting a man in the face with a shotgun. My mom did whatever possible to make sure I grew up in a safe environment, driving me from Mobile Alabama to Navarre Florida almost every day for school, and job searching in that area while I went to school in order to prepare herself to move there. She was a full time mom, student, and worker. As soon as we started building a life in Florida, she was attending (at the time) Faulkner college for the dental hygiene program, and had started a job at a law office, a Lewis and Bear beer delivery van rear ended her and her coworker at a red light driving sixty-five miles an hour. The seats broke backwards on impact, the trunk of the car was in the backseat. Her coworker had cuts, bruises, and minor, healable injuries; my mother however, had a C4-T1 vertebrae fusion, broken neck, bruised spinal cord, and glass in her eyes, mouth, and body. Since I was eight years old, I've had to take care of my mother through these injuries. She cannot obtain a job because of her permanent nerve damage that causes her to have frequent neck and wrist spasms, and lives solely off of $800 a month from disability. She took the company to court and unfortunately, the supreme court decided against my mother and her coworker. She got absolutely nothing for the ten years of pain and suffering inflicted upon her at only 28 years old. From a young age, I've been a caretaker of my disabled mother, we were not aloud to want or dream of being financially stable; every sport or interest I've ever had has been gifted to me through the graciousness of family members, or those who've given scholarships or single income discounts. I never planned on helping anyone else as long as I lived. However, when I look back on all the trouble with doctors my mom had, and all the unanswered questions she will never obtain about her pain, it inspires me to give people answers about their injuries; to make a positive impact on them, and to give someone a start onto what might be possibly happening to them. With my personal experience in the matter, I feel like I could give patients a better chance by being more adamant with giving them answers than someone who just simply is interested in the medical field. I will make a positive impact on those who need it. By using my background, and how my mom's car accident affected me, I will ensure a close attention to the detail of my work; and make sure everyone feels like they are understood about their pain, rather than feeling brushed off about what they're experiencing.