Recovery to me, means healing. Whether you are healing from adversity that you have or are currently facing, or healing from unfortunate circumstances. The path to recovery is the most important part in healing, it's about learning from that path that allows you to recover. That is what recovery means to me.

Mike Wazowski. The funniest ongoing gag in television history. You have to love everything about his character, his movement, his speech, his role in the movie. The fact that his face gets covered over everything is hilarious, it transcends the movie itself.

My goal in life is to make my parent's proud. That is where I get the most fulfillment and enjoyment.

I have yet to look up the actual definition of my name, but by my understanding of the Arabic language, Ahmed, means "gratitude." What it means to me is something very similar. To me, my name means "blessing." My parent's see me as the one blessing in their life. Even though I am the third child in a family of six, I am the only child in my family to have even went to college, let alone graduated. This isn't just a matter of me being the only one who could get into college, it's more than that. I was the only person who went to college because I had received a full-ride scholarship. My parent's could never afford to send any of my siblings to college, so the only choice was to get a scholarship. If I hadn't of gotten that scholarship I would've been forced to go into work with my older brother in the corner deli. "Blessing." I was blessed to be given the opportunity to pursue an education in a field that I am passionate in. I am blessed to be able to say that I am the first person in my family to not only attend college, but to graduate and do it with Summa Cum Laude honors. To go back to the power of my name and its importance, I believe that my name holds a special meaning to my life. It is a testament to the trials and tribulations that I've faced in this life. I hope to continue to be a blessing for myself, for those around me, and especially to my family.

Pets have changed the way I see the world. Having rescued a stray dog in the streets of Yemen, where there is a massive outbreak in strays, I feel like it changed my whole view on the world. My dog, Happy, constantly demonstrated to me the meaning of respect and loyalty. Two traits that I have because of my dog. A dog that grows up in the streets offers more value than any store bought pet because of the hardships that they endured, because of that hardship they feel a sense of urgency to protect those who look after them. They will put their lives on the line for your safety purely because you took a chance on them. I learned this from Happy in more ways then you can imagine. Happy showed me more compassion and trust then some members of my family, and I can only be grateful that I had the opportunity to find a dog as loving as Happy. Finding Happy was the best thing that ever happened in my life, as a result, whenever I go back to Yemen I visit the local dog rescue center in my village and help find homes for these stray dogs. My goal is that everyone can find a Happy in their lives and have a loving pet in their life.

I practice bravery by living out my truth. I believe that the best thing you can do for yourself and your mental health is to be who you are. The more you conform to those around you instead of developing and being the person you are the less happy you become overall. Being brave means living your life and doing the things that make you happy. For me that's just being who I am. Once you free yourself from the shackles of society you'll live a new life that allows you to live boldly. You'll walk the streets without thinking about what others think of what you're wearing or what you look like. How do I practice bravery and live boldly? I do so by being the person that I am. I live my life and my truth no matter the opinions of others. I do this because it allows me to live the way I want to live.

My mental health experience shaped my way of thinking in many ways. I always found it difficult operating on a day to day basis because of my anxiety. I could have one class at 3:00 pm for example, for the entire morning leading up to that class I would be extremely anxious in regards to what I can do. My whole day is built on that one event. One can mistake this anxiety for discipline, but it was far from it. I had to mold it into a form of discipline in which I can operate outside of that focused event. As a result of this, I built a strong habit of being disciplined and cordial. Once I have a planned event, I can set my mind aside to focus elsewhere until that event happens. This just didn't happen overnight, this was years of mental training and therapy, allowing my mind to be at ease when it needs to be. This has helped me see life in a clearer lens. My brain is no longer clouded and fogged from the thoughts that would I have. I am able to think freely, without constraints and restrictions. Mental health is something that shouldn't be looked at in a negative light, because when you do overcome your struggles, it only makes it that much more fulfilling.

Pets have changed the way I see the world. Having rescued a stray dog in the streets of Yemen, where there is a massive outbreak in strays, I feel like it changed my whole view on the world. My dog, Happy, constantly demonstrated to me the meaning of respect and loyalty. Two traits that I have because of my dog. A dog that grows up in the streets offers more value than any store bought pet because of the hardships that they endured, because of that hardship they feel a sense of urgency to protect those who look after them. They will put their lives on the line for your safety purely because you took a chance on them. I learned this from Happy in more ways then you can imagine. Happy showed me more compassion and trust then some members of my family, and I can only be grateful that I had the opportunity to find a dog as loving as Happy. Finding Happy was the best thing that ever happened in my life, as a result, whenever I go back to Yemen I visit the local dog rescue center in my village and help find homes for these stray dogs. My goal is that everyone can find a Happy in their lives and have a loving pet in their life.

Dentistry means something to me. I did not choose the profession of Dentistry, I just really need this scholarship. I bring myself as a patient to any future dentist.

Recovery means facing adversity and learning from the troubles you endured. It's a journey of self-healing, a bond physically and or mentally that you must patch in order to grow. You can use the example of a broken leg similarly to that of a broken heart. You must first understand that it is broken to start the healing process, then you have to take the necessary steps so that you can continuously make progress. It's not about how fast or slow you can recover, but as long as you feel better then you did the day before you are on track to recover.

Growing up in a poor, underdeveloped country like Yemen, I’ve seen countless stray animals on the streets. Some on the brink of death, some already dead. According to Mohammed Al-Hassani, there are more than 70,000 dogs running through the streets of Sana'a, which is the capital of Yemen. Living a healthy lifestyle is more than just being physically fit, it’s about having a balance of mental, emotional, and physical wellness. Everytime I would pass a stray dog, I would feel guilty because I couldn’t help them. It didn’t even cross my mind that animal rescue centers were a thing at the time. I begged my father for a dog, but he would always tell me in Arabic, “They are sick, if they bite you then you’ll die.” That sentence scared me for the longest time, I would think to myself, “why would an innocent dog bite me?” It wasn’t until a few years later that I came across the nicest dog I’ve ever met, it was a Saluki that I named “Happy” for obvious reasons. Happy would follow me around like he was my guardian angel, I wouldn’t go anywhere without him. He taught me the meaning of trust and friendship. Every time I left the house he would follow me, he was my personal security. If anyone got to close he would march them back. If someone stepped to me the wrong way he would be on guard and watching intently. It felt like God sent him down to me to make sure that I am protected and looked after. I was happy that Happy was in my life. During these times in my life is when I felt the healthiest, both mentally and physically. Fast forward a few years, I came home one day and Happy wasn’t there. He always sits in the front of my house, I look everywhere, screaming his name, “Happy! Happy! Where are you!” No answers. I ask my family if they have seen Happy, but no one knows where he is. At this point I start going crazy, this isn’t just my dog, this is my guardian angel. After weeks of looking for him, I got a tip from my neighbor down the street, he told me that someone had shot and killed my dog. My heart sank, I couldn’t believe it. Why would anyone do that? I asked him if he knew who did it, but he didn’t know. Till this day, I have no idea who killed my dog or why, but I will never forget the memories and experiences I had with that stray dog. It was better than any frienship I can have with a human being, built purely on trust, respect, and a pure heart. Happy has impacted my life in so many ways, trust being the first. I trusted Happy like he was secret service, I knew I was safe when I was with him. Happy also taught me how to have patience. Usually when you get a dog it’s meant to teach you how to be responsible and how to look after and care for the animal, however in this case, Happy was the one looking after and taking care of me. Ever since I moved out of Yemen, I couldn’t help but think of all of those stray dogs that are just like Happy, dogs that can provide the same experience that Happy gave me. Because of this, I dedicate my time while I’m in Yemen to helping stray dogs in Yemen get the appropriate shots that they need so that they can find a home. I believe that in doing this I will be increasing emotional and mental wellness in kids all across Yemen. In short, living a healthy lifestyle revolves around multiple components. It’s not just about what you eat or how physically active you are, it’s about having mental and emotional support, so that your body can flourish. The mind is so much more powerful than your body, if you neglect that, then you’ll never find yourself living a “healthy lifestyle.” What I’m saying is, find someone or something that you feel will help make you better and you will find yourself in a much better place. I have had to overcome all of this adversity in order to be in the position that I am in today. It has led me to be disciplined in my lifestyle and in my education. As a result of this I have been able to excel in my field of study, earning a 3.9 GPA and Summa Cum Laude honors. My field of study is Data Science. Once I graduate with my Masters in Computer Science, I plan on joining a company and helping the manage and guide their data driven companies. I am looking to help any company that heavily relies on data driven decisions by using my expertise in Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and understanding of how data works.

Growing up in a poor, underdeveloped country like Yemen, I’ve seen countless stray animals on the streets. Some on the brink of death, some already dead. According to Mohammed Al-Hassani, there are more than 70,000 dogs running through the streets of Sana'a, which is the capital of Yemen. Everytime I would pass a stray dog, I would feel guilty because I couldn’t help them. It didn’t even cross my mind that animal rescue centers were a thing at the time. I begged my father for a dog, but he would always tell me in Arabic, “They are sick, if they bite you then you’ll die.” That sentence scared me for the longest time, I would think to myself, “why would an innocent dog bite me?” It wasn’t until a few years later that I came across the nicest dog I’ve ever met, it was a Saluki that I named “Happy” for obvious reasons. Happy would follow me around like he was my guardian angel, I wouldn’t go anywhere without him. He taught me the meaning of trust and friendship. Every time I left the house he would follow me, he was my personal security. If anyone got to close he would march them back. If someone stepped to me the wrong way he would be on guard and watching intently. It felt like God sent him down to me to make sure that I am protected and looked after. I was happy that Happy was in my life. Fast forward a few years, I came home one day and Happy wasn’t there. He always sits in the front of my house, I look everywhere, screaming his name, “Happy! Happy! Where are you!” No answers. I ask my family if they have seen Happy, but no one knows where he is. At this point I start going crazy, this isn’t just my dog, this is my guardian angel. After weeks of looking for him, I got a tip from my neighbor down the street, he told me that someone had shot and killed my dog. My heart sank, I couldn’t believe it. Why would anyone do that? I asked him if he knew who did it, but he didn’t know. Till this day, I have no idea who killed my dog or why, but I will never forget the memories and experiences I had with that stray dog. It was a friendship better than any I can have with any human being, built on trust, respect, and a pure heart. Happy has impacted my life in so many ways, trust being the first. I trusted Happy like he was secret service, I knew I was safe when I was with him. Happy also taught me how to have patience. Usually when you get a dog it’s meant to teach you how to be responsible and how to look after and care for the animal, however in this case, Happy was the one looking after and taking care of me. Ever since I moved out of Yemen, I couldn’t help but think of all of those stray dogs that are just like Happy, dogs that can provide the same experience that Happy gave me. Because of this, I dedicate my time while I’m in Yemen to helping stray dogs in Yemen get the appropriate shots that they need so that they can find a home.

My favorite scientific discovery has to be the discovery of the Higgs boson. It is my favorite not because of its scientific importance, but the coincidental fact the Homer Simpson nearly predicted the exact mass of the particle in a formula that he conjured up on his chalk board. This episode aired nearly 14 years before the actual discovery of this particle, the fact that a cartoon show stumbled upon such a ground breaking piece of science makes this one of my favorite scientific discoveries. When looking deeper into this I found that it was less of a coincidence than people make it out to seem. The writers of the show were mathematicians, when writing the formula that predicted the mass of the Higgs boson, the producer collaborated with one of his high school friends who teaches astronomy at Columbia University, and they worked together on the equation. As we watched this show, not knowing what we know now, we would have assumed that Homer is just scribbling random formulas on a board, little did we know that the writer was a mathematician that had somewhat of a clue as to what he was doing.