I feel that my mental health impacts my academic and personal life heavily while I am a pre-nursing student and part-time worker with prominent anxiety issues. To describe my mental health, I tend to feel immoderately anxious throughout most of my days. Also, I become socially drained the longer I am around people, which can cause me difficulty continuing to be sociable and completing assignments I need to do. Sometimes, I want to be sociable, but I mainly enjoy having my space. I noticed this issue becoming more prominent since living in dorms requires sharing a space. It becomes harder to find times and places where I can be completely alone to do work or even take time for myself. The ways I combat my anxiety are, first, to take a step back from what I am doing to do something I want to do instead. It may not seem like the best idea for many people to step away from their responsibilities, especially to serve their interests, but I take my breaks in moderation. My breaks are within reasonable time within the period I have something I need to complete. The majority of the time, the way I take breaks is two different extremes: lying spread out on my floor or bed while listening to music or watching funny videos, or going to a free and empty space and learning a new dance I wanted to try for a long time. At first, I thought of the ways I took breaks as procrastination since I am the only person I know to take breaks in this way. However, I realized how quickly I forget my worries and learn to motivate myself while taking these breaks. I even feel hopeful and determined if I did not get what I wanted out of what I did, perform how I wanted, or entirely reach my goal if I had one. I look at the situation with a smile every time, and I'm not as hard on myself as I would've been without the break. Another thing I do when I need a break is to go somewhere casual with the comfort people that I love to be around. I feel that the reason why all this helps me every time is that I'm doing something I love to do while I'm taking breaks. What I do for myself by taking breaks allows me to recharge so that I am ready to take everything life offers me. I learned recently that it is okay to communicate with others about how you feel. For a long time, I felt like I was not allowed to have a voice, and my feelings were brushed aside or downplayed because they were not as extreme as other problems. With time, I was blessed enough to have genuine relationships with people who wanted to hear me and understand me, even if they were not going through what I was going through. I stopped punishing myself for thinking that taking time out to do something I enjoy was wrong or not beneficial, even if I was lying on the floor laughing at people on the internet. I noticed I am too considerate of others and what they need, so I never took the time for myself and felt like I was never allowed to say "No." With time, I've learned that there is no selfishness when taking breaks or space away from something because the only one being negatively affected is yourself. Everyone deserves time away from their lives, even if it is only for a few minutes.

Besides my love of math, science, and helping people, my family's experiences with the medical field, as well as the medical conditions within my family, one thing that influenced me to go into the medical field and become a Registered Nurse the most was my mother's previous experiences with doctors who did not educate her about her gallbladder stones. For over two decades, my mother has had conflicts involving her gallbladder. During her twenties, she had multiple cases involving pain in her gallbladder to the point where she needed critical medical attention, namely surgery to remove her gallstones. Within the last few years, she started to experience chronic pain like all those years ago. She visited several doctors who downplayed or had no solution to her pain and poor condition for the past few years until she went to a black female gynecologist who told her, after performing a scan on her, that my mom had large stones that were harming her and could become cancerous if not removed as soon as possible. Gallstones typically are not cancerous but can be for many people if they have a history of having gallstones, like my mom. If my mother had not been alerted by the gynecologist, she could have developed gallbladder cancer. Hearing her story, as well as so many other women of color who have faced mistreatment and dismissal through social media convinced me that this is something I should help put as much of an end to it as I can. My mother is only one person, so I cannot image how many other women of color have gone through or unfortunately lost their lives to discrimination in the medical field. Experiences like my mom's, other family members, and stories online felt surreal to hear. All my life up until I became an adult, I always had predominantly black female doctors, making me ignorant of how the rest of the medical field can be towards other marginalized groups. Although I am grateful that my experiences with nurses and medical professionals have, overall, always been positive, having that secluded me from being more aware of others' experiences and cautious of societal conflicts within the industry. It was hard to step out of my bubble to hear others' experiences, putting into perspective that the medical field is not as perfect and welcoming to everyone as I expected. If I can help people, especially women of color, feel more comfortable receiving help from medical professionals due to potential discrimination, I could not ask for more. Also, something I noticed was how medical equipment and support are not as accessible to children, especially in other countries. Some time ago, I volunteered with an organization, Project C.U.R.E, where they work to fix that conflict by supplying, packaging, and delivering medical supplies to third-world countries, namely families with children within the countries. We got to hear the stories about how a lot of the reasons behind the lack of supplies are because they come from war-stricken or extreme poverty areas. It hurt my heart to hear their stories as I have always loved children and would do everything I could to support them. Volunteering there opened my eyes to how much in need and neglected children are in such a necessary field. Something that also made me more aware of the issues that people face daily was the research and stories I found while looking for topics to discuss for my founded club, Women's Association Club. When I was a senior in high school, I created and became president of a social issue organization that worked to help support and acknowledge the conflicts and achievements of women. For our monthly meetings, we would create a slideshow presentation telling the achievements and women-based social issues that occurred that month. While looking into stories to present, I found several stories that stuck out to me. One in particular was Mahsa Amini, who was murdered by Iranian forces for allegedly not wearing her hijab, which is against the Iranian dress code. It was devastating hearing how she was killed when there was no proof of her breaking the dress code, and she was not even allowed to be properly trialed. Her story was just one of several where I learned more about the global issues women face, namely what women of color face. For the club, we also hosted several drives to collect items to give back to women and children in need. One in particular we created was a survivor kit drive to help create survivor kits for women and children who escaped and survived abusive environments. It made me want to continue doing work like this where I can give back and support the women and children in multiple communities. Because of these issues, I am working hard to become a registered nurse so I can work in several different types of nursing to help more women of color and children. I plan to work in the ER for general experience and eventually begin my career in the field that sparked my love of medical sciences and helping various families, Pediatrics. I want to also work in travel nursing at some point in my life to help women and children in different places. By working hard in my classes to obtain my bachelor's and gaining work and volunteer experience to prepare me to support others, I am doing everything to become a Nurse. To date, I would say my greatest accomplishment was able to accomplish so much in such little time while I was completing my final years of high school. Initially, I did not grow up knowing how GPA, SAT testing, and many other college-related criteria. I remember when I took my PSAT in my freshman year of high school, and I was not sure what the test was for. Once my friends expressed their disappointment or appreciation of their scores, I was confused about where my scores were supposed to be and what they were for. For my school work, I did my best to obtain as many A's as possible but was not too upset if I received a B or two. However, I was completely unaware of how my school's system worked and how the types of classes I took would affect my ranking and GPA. In sophomore year, I struggled more academically than ever before. It was my first time receiving a C grade in a class, namely a science class. At the time, I was disappointed, but I was not too upset as it was only one C. Though once I obtained my sophomore year GPA and started my junior year, I never felt more defeated in my entire life. My GPA dropped significantly. I was not sure how that was possible as I only had one class with a C, but I did not know it was because of the difference in GPA you receive for regular and advanced courses. Because I struggled with advanced classes sophomore year, I decided to focus more on regular classes rather than sticking to the advanced courses I have been taking since sixth grade. For the first time, I felt positive about my grades, as I had all A's throughout the year. However, throughout the year, I met and made more friends with the kids who ranked the highest in the school. Through them, I learned more about how the academic system worked and how to progress your ranking. Since I took predominately regular classes, I was unaware that although I had all A's, it would not help my GPA as much as the regular classes have a lower GPA scale. After learning this, I became incredibly disappointed as I wanted to be at the top of my class. I had to change my goal to focus on bringing up my GPA as high as possible and at least graduate in the first quartile by the end of my first semester of senior year. When I began my senior year, I worked harder than ever. I took several advanced classes, joined multiple clubs, participated in volunteer events and services, founded and became president of a social justice club to support women in our community, became the vice president of my yearbook community, and helped create the book's design, earned over a semester of college credit through advanced placement testing, as well as earned volunteer and club hours to graduate with multiple graduation cords and an honor society stole. Although I was busy and constantly involved in my school's activities, I have never had more fun and enjoyment working as hard as I did. For years, I felt worried that I would get burnt out or overwhelmed if I attempted to work as hard as I did in middle school and elementary where I also juggled school, extracurriculars, and honors group activities. Nevertheless, I genuinely felt accomplished and proud of my achievements. It was the first time I found inspiration in myself and appreciated my perseverance to achieve my goals. Currently, I have worked two jobs, obtained a high GPA, was inducted into my school's honor society, and participated in several organizations in just my first year of college. I continue to work hard to achieve my goals because I know it is something I can accomplish.

I plan, and am currently working towards, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing so I can become a Registered Nurse. the most was my mother's previous experiences with doctors who did not educate her about her gallbladder stones. For over two decades, my mother has had conflicts involving her gallbladder. During her twenties, she had multiple cases involving pain in her gallbladder to the point where she needed critical medical attention, namely surgery to remove her gallstones. Within the last few years, she started to experience chronic pain like all those years ago. She visited several doctors about her pain and poor condition for the past few years until she went to a black female gynecologist who told her, after performing a scan on her, that my mom had large stones that were harming her and could become cancerous if not removed as soon as possible. Gallstones typically are not cancerous but can be for many people if they have a history of having gallstones, like my mom. If my mother had not been alerted by the gynecologist, she could have developed gallbladder cancer. Hearing her story, as well as so many other women of color who have faced mistreatment and dismissal through social media convinced me that this is something I should help put as much of an end to as I can. My mother is only one person, so I cannot image how many other women of color have gone through or unfortunately lost their lives to discrimination in the medical field. Experiences like my mom's, other family members, and stories online felt surreal to hear. All my life up until I became an adult, I always had predominantly black female doctors, making me ignorant of how the rest of the medical field can be towards other marginalized groups. Although I am grateful that my experiences with nurses and medical professionals have, overall, always been positive, having that secluded me from being more aware of others' experiences and cautious of societal conflicts within the industry. It was hard to step out of my bubble to hear others' experiences, putting into perspective that the medical field is not as perfect and welcoming to everyone as I expected. If I can help people, especially women of color, feel more comfortable receiving help from medical professionals due to potential discrimination, I could not ask for more. Also, something I noticed was how medical equipment and support are not as accessible to children, especially in other countries. Some time ago, I volunteered with an organization, Project C.U.R.E, where they work to fix that conflict by delivering medical supplies to third-world countries, namely families with children within the countries. I have always loved children and doing everything I can to support them. Volunteering there opened my eyes to how much in need and neglected children are in such a necessary field. Because of these issues, I am working hard to become a registered nurse so I can work in several different types of nursing to help more women of color and children. I plan to work in the ER for general experience and eventually begin my career in the field that sparked my love of medical sciences and helping others, Pediatrics. I want to also work in travel nursing to help women and children in different places. By working hard in my classes to obtain my bachelor's and gaining work and volunteer experience to prepare me to support others, I am doing everything to become a Nurse.

Besides my love of math, science, and helping people, my family's experiences with the medical field, as well as the medical conditions within my family, one thing that influenced me to go into the medical field the most was my mother's previous experiences with doctors who did not educate her about her gallbladder stones. For over two decades, my mother has had conflicts involving her gallbladder. During her twenties, she had multiple cases involving pain in her gallbladder to the point where she needed critical medical attention, namely surgery to remove her gallstones. Within the last few years, she started to experience chronic pain like all those years ago. She visited several doctors about her pain and poor condition for the past few years until she went to a black female gynecologist who told her, after performing a scan on her, that my mom had large stones that were harming her and could become cancerous if not removed as soon as possible. Gallstones typically are not cancerous but can be for many people if they have a history of having gallstones, like my mom. If my mother had not been alerted by the gynecologist, she could have developed gallbladder cancer. Hearing her story, as well as so many other women of color who have faced mistreatment and dismissal through social media convinced me that this is something I should help put as much of an end to as I can. My mother is only one person, so I cannot image how many other women of color have gone through or unfortunately lost their lives to discrimination in the medical field. Experiences like my mom's, other family members, and stories online felt surreal to hear. All my life up until I became an adult, I always had predominantly black female doctors, making me ignorant of how the rest of the medical field can be towards other marginalized groups. Although I am grateful that my experiences with nurses and medical professionals have, overall, always been positive, having that secluded me from being more aware of others' experiences and cautious of societal conflicts within the industry. It was hard to step out of my bubble to hear others' experiences, putting into perspective that the medical field is not as perfect and welcoming to everyone as I expected. If I can help people, especially women of color, feel more comfortable receiving help from medical professionals due to potential discrimination, I could not ask for more. Also, something I noticed was how medical equipment and support are not as accessible to children, especially in other countries. Some time ago, I volunteered with an organization, Project C.U.R.E, where they work to fix that conflict by delivering medical supplies to third-world countries, namely families with children within the countries. I have always loved children and doing everything I can to support them. Volunteering there opened my eyes to how much in need and neglected children are in such a necessary field. Because of these issues, I am working hard to become a registered nurse so I can work in several different types of nursing to help more women of color and children. I plan to work in the ER for general experience and eventually begin my career in the field that sparked my love of medical sciences and helping others, Pediatrics. I want to also work in travel nursing to help women and children in different places. By working hard in my classes to obtain my bachelor's and gaining work and volunteer experience to prepare me to support others, I am doing everything to become a Nurse.

A somewhat new technology that inspires me about how I think technology can make the world a better place is visual media, namely television and movies. From a surface-level perspective, it does not sound like something that can be life-changing for many or help improve the world. However, I think it can change the world because of how impactful one's art and artistic expression are on people, sparking necessary understanding and conversations. One of the best ways is how it is helping others educate one another by showing different perspectives of each other's lives. In the past few years, there has been an influx of movies, TV shows, and short films, and the involvement of various social media creators who are breaking social traditions in society and showing the perspective of different kinds of people. Now, we have more representation of people of color, women, people with disabilities, and even more communities, helping better understand one another. For example, movies like Hidden Figures, The Sound of Metal, Love Simon, and many others open the perspective of a person or people from different underrepresented or marginalized groups and show the struggles or conflicts they can or have faced in their everyday lives. In the film Hidden Figures, we see the adaptation of the true story of three black female scientists and technicians during segregation who contributed to the first moon landing. In The Sound of Metal, we see the story of a rock drummer losing his hearing and his journey on how he learned to live with his deafness. Finally, Love Simon tells the story of a young man who struggles with coming out as gay to his family and peers, as well as how he navigates his life with his sexuality. Though just a few films, there has been a growing demand for more films that cover or highlight the people we see in our world and how we play a role with one another. In the past, similar stories were not talked about. Now, seeing a character on a screen you can relate to moves people and makes them feel seen. With that, viewers can see the experiences others go through, their mentality, and what it signifies to be the way they are. Even though other forms of visual media, creators discussing and sharing these topics help relay the message and allow people to bring up these necessary discussions.

In the beginning, I planned on becoming a film and media producer. For most of my life, I always did something involving the arts. From musical theater to designing a high school yearbook, I did everything. Naturally, because of these activities, I thought I should do something involving all I was known for doing. When I finally got to the point where I would study and get involved in the field I had been dreaming about since my Freshman year of high school, it only took me a considerable two weeks into my film production class to realize that it was not something I wanted to do. I looked into the other careers I considered in the past, and Nursing appealed to me the most. Considering something else, I felt guilty, especially since I am reliant on my mother and grandma to get me through my education, but I thought I should be sure and know what I wanted rather than finish something I did not love. What inspired me to go into the medical field was my love of math, science, and helping people, my family's experiences with the medical field, as well as the medical conditions that are within the family. Within both sides of my family, many of my family members suffer from harsh diseases, and we have cancer that heavily runs through my mother's side. My grandmother, who helps support my education financially, and my grandfather both have extreme medical conditions, which caused them to shut down their tax business recently. My mother also helps contribute to my education but is now working a job where she does not earn previously, making it harder for her to help me. Working as a nurse, I would be able to give back to other people while helping to support those who supported me. As someone who predominantly had all people of color, namely women of color, who were my medical professionals, I was ignorant of the treatment people of color, especially women of color, face within the medical department. When I was younger, I witnessed what cancer did to my mother's mom, my Nana. It was hard watching such a lively, bubbly person bedridden and lifeless. Her harsh passing took a toll on the entire family, and I still have so much appreciation for the nurse who would come and take care of her for us because she understood how hard it was for us. Her death is another reason why I want to help people too. If I can support someone or help people cope with their situations like her nurse was, I will do everything in my power to do so. What influenced me was my mother's recent experience with doctors who did not educate her about her gallbladder stones. Previously, she visited several doctors about her pain and poor condition for years until she went to a black female gynecologist who told her she had large stones that were harming her and could become cancerous soon if not removed. Hearing her struggling through this story, as well as so many other women of color who have faced mistreatment and dismissal through social media convinced me that this is something I should help put as much of an end to as I can. My mother is only one person, so I cannot image how many other women of color have gone through or unfortunately lost their lives to discrimination in the medical field. If I can help people, especially people of color and women, feel more comfortable, I could not ask for more.

A somewhat new technology that inspires me about how I think technology can make the world a better place is visual media, namely television and movies. From a surface-level perspective, it does not sound like something that can be life-changing for many. However, I think it can change the world because of how impactful one's art and artistic expression are on people, sparking necessary understanding and conversations. One of the best ways is how it is helping others educate one another by showing different perspectives of each other's lives. In the past few years, there has been an influx of movies, TV shows, and short films, and the involvement of various social media creators who are breaking social traditions in society and showing the perspective of different kinds of people. Now, we have more representation of people of color, women, people with mental health struggles, and even more communities, helping better understand one another. For example, movies like Hidden Figures, The Sound of Metal, Love Simon, and many others open the perspective of a person or people from different underrepresented or marginalized groups and show the struggles or conflicts they can or have faced in their everyday lives. In the film Hidden Figures, we see the adaptation of the true story of three black female scientists and technicians during segregation who contributed to the first moon landing. In The Sound of Metal, we see the story of a metal rock drummer losing his hearing and his journey on how he learned to live with his deafness. Finally, Love Simon tells the story of a young man who struggles with coming out as gay to his family and peers, as well as how he navigates his life with his sexuality. Though just a few films, there has been a growing demand for more films that highlight the people we see in our world and how we play a role with one another. In the past, similar stories were not talked about. Now, seeing a character on a screen whom you can relate to moves people and makes them feel seen. With that, viewers can see the experiences others go through, their mentality, and what it signifies to be the way they are. Even though other forms of visual media, creators discussing and sharing these topics help relay the message and allow people to bring up the discussions they need to have.

I have a lot of appreciation and passion for the arts. From an early age, I always loved to do anything that required me to use my creativity and artistic abilities. Whether it was drawing and painting, designing, music, acting, or even dancing, I was sure to be a part of it. My parents can vouch for the numerous activities I did growing up, having to be present at all my events, providing me with my supplies and costumes, and taking me to and from rehearsals and practices for around a decade. In the beginning, I started with my art classes in elementary school. Like all traditional art classes, we would learn how to paint and draw using professional art tools. Eventually, my teachers alerted me that my projects were requested for the Texas Rodeo Art Collection. I was nominated and awarded once in kindergarten and another time in second grade. Later in elementary, I went on to do more dance and acting-related activities. In my primary school, we had talent shows. I performed independently for two years. In fifth grade, I did something different for my last talent show. I joined a dance team. It was my first time having dance lessons and learning choreography rather than using my Just Dance games to choreograph me and my friends for previous talent shows. I loved being a part of every second of it, making me fall in love with dancing more than before. When it came to acting, I was in Pirates! The Musical in third grade and later played Anna in Frozen in fifth. Although my mom forced me to do it because my music teacher begged me to be in it after I auditioned to support a friend, I did not think I would have enjoyed my time doing it. Nevertheless, it took over my life in the following years. Throughout middle school, being a theatre kid became my whole personality. I did everything from plays, speech-and-debate tournaments, renaissance festival work, and UIL competition shows. Throughout my time, I earned several awards for my debate work and even won first place twice in my last year of middle school. My group even had one best play at my seventh-grade Renaissance Festival. Although I loved performing and acting, I decided that it was not something I wanted to continue in further years to try other things. In high school, I tried everything art. I took animation, fashion, and even tried a yearbook class. Eventually, I continued with the yearbook group. Being a part of the committee for three years in high school taught me so much more about the arts from another perspective, which I did not get to see often. I was able to see the technology side of art. I learned how to use different software to design computers for print and digital media. I even used my new skills for other projects and club activities I was in charge of. Not only did I discover a love of journalism through yearbook, but I also learned to love digital art. When it comes to art, I admit I am not consistent. However, because of this, I express art by involving putting together all the different aspects of it. With this, I want to make ways to do everything I like in the future, even in my career. Although it can be idealistic, my previous successes and how far I have gone are enough to prove to me that I have the potential to be influential in whatever industry involving the arts I pursue.