My name is Xoie Winborne. I'm 18 years old and live in Winnsboro, Louisiana. I enjoy traveling, doing my hair and makeup, and spending time with my loved ones. I attended Franklin Parish High School freshman-senior year and just graduated last May 2024. Even though there were probably more downs than ups, I loved my time there. I had so many friends and the staff were great, you could tell they were passionate just by the way they treated the students. I got accepted earlier this year into Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA, and will be attending there in the Fall of 2024. I will be majoring in Pre-med, biology, and have a goal to later attend Louisiana State University to major in Radiology. I have a long-term goal of getting my Doctorate to become a Radiologist. I would also love to be able to pay my parents back, They've done so much for me growing up and struggled most of the way, but they've made everything I wanted happen. Being in high school is easily one of the hardest things anyone goes through mentally and physically. It's draining and you have to have very supportive people in your life to make it through. My high school experience wasn't anywhere near the worst but there were things that I went through that have better prepared me for the future. Although the teachers there were great, there were a couple that ruined everything for me. In my freshman year, I loved art, I drew every day and had the biggest passion for painting. Now, I wasn't the best artist so I had a lot of skills and techniques to work on. My art teacher was great during my freshman year, she was easygoing and helped me improve tremendously with my line work, shading, color theory, and many other things. But, in my sophomore year, it went downhill. They ruined my passion for art, she gave me bad grades and made me feel like I did everything wrong. She said very often "In art, nothing is wrong, you have your way of expressing yourself" and she still made me feel horrible about my art. I loved doing it and loved spending my time after school, or even when I was bored in other classes, drawing. I spent hundreds of dollars on canvas, paint, and paint brushes, just to throw it all away. Circumstances will take an unexpected turn when you are in your best state of mind, and it will affect your mental health. I've learned to not let anyone control my emotions, especially when people are doing it because of their insecurities of themselves. If people are judging you or they're being rude to you, don't do it back, you never know what people are going through, just like they don't know what you're doing though. Needless to say, high school has better prepared me mentally for the future.

There are many reasons why someone would want to become a medical doctor. One of the obvious, you get to help people in need! I have experienced many things with doctors and I've always wanted to return the favor to people in need. Although I didn't get the answers I wanted at the time, I was supported the whole way by medical doctors, and I want to do the same for people who has had the same experience as I did. Some years ago, I used to get migraines daily no matter what medicine I took or what at-home techniques I tried, they wouldn't go away. I gotten many tests done and every doctor/specialist that seen me were stuck, they couldn't figure out what was causing my headaches. But, they were super supportive of my young self and did everything they could to figure out what was causing them. Going to my many doctors appointments allowed me to become more comfortable and familiar with hospitals and doctors. A little over a year ago, my mother and I decided that I needed to get my allergies tested, thinking that allergies could be the reason for my migraines. At this point we were desperate, nothing was working, doctors were clueless, and we've ran out of tests to preform. I got tested and found out I was allergic to every type of grass, weed, most trees, cats, some foods, and a couple miscellaneous things. The allergist that tested me was shocked at the results, she said she's never seen reactions that quickly before. She then set me up with a weekly allergy shot that she said would help me. I then drove an our away from my home every week to get a allergy shot. That's when I realized how true the saying "it gets worse before it gets better" was. We drove every week to get my shot until one appointment we were informed that our insurance was dropped a couple months prior and we had absolutely no idea, this caused a huge bill to be racked up without us being informed by the doctor. We were told that I couldn't get another treatment until we paid off the bill. I haven't gotten another allergy shot since then because my parents simply couldn't afford it. However, my headaches have eased a lot since then. I have found an over the counter medicine that helps and I also found out that my vision was another reason for headaches. My eyes were straining to see because I didn't realize at the time how bad my eye sight was. Now that I got new glasses and found treatments that work, I rarely get headaches! Although not being able to find answers for my migraines was a huge obstacle to over come, one of the biggest obstacles that I've already faced and will face more often in the near future is financial problems. I'm starting college In Fall 2024 and I'll be completely dependent on loans and I haven't had any luck with scholarships. I currently work two jobs and still don't make enough to save for college. With everything I've been through and experience, I'm ready for the future. I'm aware that it will be an financially scary road to go down but all that matters is I'm going to school and majoring in something I've always loved since a child. Every financial difficulty that I have experienced, weather it was big or small, has prepared me for the future and has majorly contributed to my practice.

I am currently a senior in high school and I have a passion for being a Radiologist in the future. I know it is going to be a difficult course to take but I have faith that I can do it. I'm going to need to teach myself how to analyze, study, take notes, and time management. I know people personally who are nurses/doctors and they have warned me that it is a stressful job. I also know that even though it may be stressful, I will have so many opportunities. People have told me "That's good money" or "You're going to be set" but I don't want to do it for the money, I genuinely want to learn and be hands-on when it comes to healthcare. I haven't always had this passion, I've wanted to do Sonography, Veterinarian, and many other things that include being in health care. I have been accepted into ULM and plan to begin my courses of becoming a Radiologist in the fall of 2024. I have been included in Radiology, a couple of years ago I used to get migraines every day. No matter what medicine I took or what techniques I tried they wouldn't go away. I have gotten many tests and every radiologist I have met during that journey was always nice and sweet to me. Throughout all the tests I've gotten over the years they had no idea what caused my headaches. Ever since I went to my first doctor appointment which included me getting tested by a radiologist I knew that I wanted to do something in the medical field. Now, almost a year ago my mother and I decided that I needed to get tested for allergies, thinking that allergies were the reason for my migraines. I now drive an hour away weekly to get allergy shots and my migraines now only happen maybe twice a month. Healthcare workers deserve so much more recognition than what they get right now, they are really what keep the world sane when it comes to health issues. Radiology specifically has a big impact on healthcare. Radiologists have the important job of finding foreign objects during X-rays, seeking tissue damage, and diagnosing and treating diseases. They can see what's going on inside the body and get a closer look at what they're dealing with. Without radiologists, we wouldn't be able to see internal damage or diseases very easily. Every doctor I've been in these past five to seven years has inspired me to do the right thing and help families in need like every doctor did to me.

I am currently a high school senior, but, during my freshman year, I had the best teacher anyone could imagine. My Algebra 1 teacher was named Mrs.Banks. She was easily the best teacher I've ever had throughout my almost fourteen years of school. The way she taught math was great. I am very bad at math unless I have a good teacher and she was 100% the best math teacher I've ever had! She was understanding and didn't seem annoyed when I asked questions. She didn't make me feel less than the other students when I didn't understand a question or problem. I could tell she was very passionate about teaching. She showed how much she loved her job through the way she taught her students. She influenced me deeply, and she has no idea how much she has helped me realize many things. I have thought about messaging her and telling her how much she impacted my life at such a young age as a freshman but I wasn't even sure if she remembered who I was. Her positive attitude made me want to do better in school and want to learn. She was always in a good mood and she was always smiling. You could tell by the way she acted that she loved her job. Mrs. Banks took her time teaching and would go over the same problem for an hour until everyone got the hang of the problem. I'm always nervous to do new things and learn new things. I always think my teachers will judge me because I don't get things quickly like others but Mrs. Banks helped me overcome my nervousness. She made me feel at home when I was in her classroom. She was always so friendly no matter how many questions we, the students, asked or how many times we asked for her to repeat what she said. I want to tell her how much she helped me love the subject of math. I used to be so bad at it and got anxious when I didn't understand it. I would just pause and forget everything I got taught. the way she taught though helped me so much. I'm sure she doesn't even know that the way she taught was special and helped me and I'm certain she helped other students too without knowing. I wish she could know just a fraction amount of how much she impacted me and made me see things differently.

My dream version of my future self would be my self being successful in my real estate job and making everyone feel a little more confident in themselves with my photography.