When reading the description of this scholarship I instantly felt a connection. As someone who also has been writing lyrics from a young age Lieba's story resonated with me deeply. I was always one of the nerdiest kids in my class and along with being seen as the teacher's pet due to attending the school my mother worked at, a rather large target was put on my back. When it was time to enroll in middle school, I ended up being accepted into Spratley, (now known as Kilgore), Gifted Center. This opportunity was great for my academic career and challenged me to think outside the box. Unfortunately, I was still labeled a nerd, and all the other boys seemed to grow and mature a lot faster than I did. Even though my learning experience was great, I still felt socially isolated, as I was consistently being teased and tormented by my peers. Despite these feelings of isolation and having no one to lean on in regards to mental health, I was still expected to excel on my exams and to be an academic powerhouse. The sad truth is that the mental health of gifted children is often put on the back-burner to focus on their academic potential, and it is something I experienced first-hand. Gifted children are expected to be smarter, faster, and superior to their peers. These high expectations put a lot of pressure on us causing a major strain on mental health. For example if one child were to build a modest house out of LEGO bricks, a gifted child would be expected to build a mansion, or a cathedral in the same amount of time. As gifted children we are expected to achieve greater and better things at a rate equal to if not faster than our "average" peers. From a young age we're raised being told that we're superior, but when others end up reaching their goals faster than us we start to feel like we're falling behind or that we're inferior. The reality is not that children labeled "un-gifted" are better than gifted children, it's just that it takes longer to build a cathedral than a house. As someone majoring in psychology in order to become a psychiatrist, my main goal is to help destigmatize mental health and to promote therapy as part of a general healthy lifestyle. Everyone could benefit from therapy, and gifted children are no different, in fact they may even benefit more than your average person. In my career I would love to meet with gifted children as I understand that with my background they'd likely be able to relate to me better than most other therapists or psychiatrists. As someone who's had to push my emotions to the side in order to focus on meeting the high expectations that were set for me, I can't help but imagine how much happier I would've been in my early teen years if I had a professional to talk about what I was going through. When a child is labeled gifted they are treated as a spectacle, but in therapy they would finally be able be treated as something that we often are not; a person.

Psychiatry has been an interest for me for a long time for many reasons, but the popular 1990s sitcom 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 is what first sparked my interest. 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 is a show I watched with my parents when I was younger, and then many times on my own over the years, before finally introducing the show to my younger sister. Throughout many re-watches it has become a comfort show for me and as my knowledge of psychology grows I’m able to take away something new upon each re-watch. The show features two main characters who are psychiatrists, and while not intended as an educational show it features many references to the human psyche and it’s always fun to connect the dots. Despite a basic interest for a long time it wasn’t until my DE Psychology class last year that I actually started to consider psychiatry and psychology as a career path I actually wanted to pursue. Learning about the biological processes and personal experiences that motivate human behavior helped me better understand the way the world works. As someone who has struggled with many mental health issues in the past such as anxiety and an unhealthy perception and relationship with my own body, I find value in helping others understand their issues and providing them ways in which they can improve their own mental health in order to live a happy and fruitful life. As someone who has had to work through so many things alone; being the support I lacked for another person, would be a very fulfilling and healing process. It is my personal desire to help people with their mental health issues in any way I can, whether it be psychotherapy or through prescribing medication. Recently, I've also been getting more into fitness and researching the link between an active healthy lifestyle and increased mental wellness. My goal is to take a more holistic approach and help my patients by also serving as a personal trainer, that way they will be able to reap the benefits of exercise on mental health, while also still receiving a more traditional psychotherapy experience. Not only does exercise release dopamine, but it has been proven to be more effective than SSRI's in some cases when it comes to relieving symptoms of depression. It's also noteworthy that the physical benefits of exercise could help patients with self-esteem issues feel better about their physical appearance. In a world where therapy is stigmatized as being only for those who suffer extreme mental illness, I would like to make a world where going to see a therapist, or psychiatrist, is much more routine and an important part of a larger overall healthy lifestyle.