I started swimming when I was fifteen entering my sophomore year. I barely knew what I was doing, nor was I good at swimming. However, instead of seeing me as a liability and not giving me a chance to prove myself, my coach stayed by my side through every practice that year. I went from not being able to swim a full lap, to swimming the 500 free three times during my junior year. My coach has guided me and pushed me in ways that few people can. Even if it wasn't swim-related, he was still there to support me. There was a time when I met with him in his office, crying because I felt worthless and depressed. I expected him to tell me to "Toughen up" and say "It's all in my head". Instead, he asked me why and cared about how I felt. He listened to every word and showed me that how I feel matters to him. He gave me all the advice I needed and proceeded to tell me that if I ever needed anything, I could always come to him. This is something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. He showed me that he cares, when not many people do. He's helped me through so many battles, more than he even knows. I'm confident that I exemplify the traits that David once valued. I have a huge heart and will always find a way to help someone in need. I like to think that I'm pretty funny, and my friends think so too. I'm intelligent yet soft-spoken, however, I can speak up when needed. Loyalty is a very big deal to me. I've been stabbed in the back and betrayed before, so I always question others' loyalty and make sure I'm living up to my own standards. Sometimes I get in my feelings and want to quit, but that happens to the best of us. When I'm not in my head, I do everything with a fighter's mentality. Whether it's schoolwork, sports, or completely unrelated to the two, I put my all into every decision I make. I'm supportive of everyone no matter what and make sure I always spread positivity to brighten up someone else's day. If my coach has taught me anything, he's also taught me that you don't know what someone else is going through. Why be negative and become a part of the problem when you can put a smile on somebody's face and make them feel better?

“Life would be easier without you.” These words were uttered from the lips of one person in life who is supposed to love you unconditionally. The person I thought I could trust and lean on, was my mom. Growing up with a bipolar mom exposed me to many different challenges in life. From second grade to eighth, I was whipped and beaten, chastised, and neglected. As a result, it changed my relationships with my friends, classmates, my little sister, and even my dad. I was manipulated and tortured for so long that eventually, a switch flipped in my mind. The young, innocent D’Rae was gone, and I had become a completely different person. My sister and I lived with our mom and visited our dad every other weekend, so he did not see what we were exposed to at home. Because of the constant gaslighting and trauma I was experiencing, I believed that my mom was the “good guy,” and never meant my sister and me any harm. However, I started to see through that facade on the day that my mom tried to kill her boyfriend. “Get out and never come back,” my mom said, yelling at him after she accused him of cheating. My sister was crying, and I had to be her support and calm her down through all of the yelling. They were standing at the top of the steps, her boyfriend one step below her. She changed the locks on him, so he tried to grab her keys out of her hand. She deflected his grab, and with her other hand, she pushed him down the steps. He lay there, at the bottom of the steps, weeping in pain. Eventually, the police were called and outstandingly, he had a warrant out for his arrest. He was taken in an ambulance and later booked into the county jail, yet somehow, per usual, my mom came out unscathed. During this time, I had bad grades, hung out with the wrong crowd, lied, had no motivation, and had no will to do anything productive. Instead of finding the right help and speaking up about my trauma, I dealt with it by conforming to social norms in my generation, and continuously doing the wrong thing as a cry for help. I aspire to have a career in criminal justice because of the hardships that I experienced. No child should ever have to go through a trauma like that, especially at such a young age. Having a criminal justice career would provide me with the resources to help others in need, especially children who are susceptible to abuse. I plan to fight for and protect at-risk youth and citizens, and hopefully make a positive change in society.