When I was in middle school I was hospitalized for self harm. I still remember how humiliating it felt to have the counselor pull me out of class in the morning, talk to me about what was going on, and call my mom to take me to the hospital. What’s even worse is that I will never be able to get the fact out of my head that I wasn’t able to communicate my internal struggles healthily. Eventually, I began attending therapy. I was standoffish to the idea at first, people in my family never spoke about the issues they had with others, especially not professionally. To my Dominican family, any mental health “issue” someone had could be fixed with a prayer and getting their phone taken away. But as it went on, I saw the improvements within myself. It was then that I realized it could have made a difference if I had received this help earlier. This eventually sparked my passion for helping others with mental health issues, which is why I plan on attending graduate school, specifically medical school to pursue a career in psychiatry. Growing up and maturing into the young adult I am today has not been easy. It has made me build walls between myself and the people I love and I am still trying to break down those walls today. But, because of my personal struggles, I have grown to be more empathetic and understanding of those around me. We all have our battles. Some may be more silent than others but that doesn't mean said battles don't deserve to be fought for.

Now, I know you've heard this a million times, but my biggest supporter throughout my life has forever and always be/been my mother, Julissa Mejia. My mother never went to college, in fact, she didn't even graduate high school. She wasn't the best kid out there. She always warned me to not follow in her footsteps and to make a better life out of the one I was given. Growing up, she was always there for me when I was in school plays, when I joined gymnastics and soccer (and when I quickly quit), when I came out as bisexual, and through all the rejections and acceptances of college application season. There was one night specifically that I will forever remember: The night Tufts University's regular decision acceptances came out. I had always wanted to attend for the reputation, but it meant more to me as I grew older. My other had worked for Tufts Medical in their payroll department. To me, getting into Tufts would be a full-circle moment. Hell, I even wrote about my mother on the college application since it had asked a similar question to this prompt. Sadly, I did not get in. It was a rough night. I put my headphones on, listened to music, and cried until I was loud enough to make my sister and mother worry. My mom didn't know what to do, she said I should look through my other acceptances to make me feel better. She rubbed my back and left my room, leaving me to grieve how I believed was best. Once I had calmed down, I realized something. She wasn't upset at all. And then I realized something else, she had never been upset with any of my (self-proclaimed) academic "failures." I always felt like I needed to prove myself to someone, anyone. I needed to be the best in every category and it needed to be without any effort. But my mother never needed me to be perfect, she just needed me to be better than her mistakes. And, unknowingly, I already seemed to move past the benchmark she set for herself. Anything else in her eyes was my excellence. So, while I will not be attending Tufts University or any Ivy League, I will be attending a school that I worked hard to be admitted to. And to my mother, I will forever be thankful she got me to this point. All in all, I would not be the young woman I am today without my mother. I will forever let her know how much her support means to me, even if it's not through verbal confirmation. As of recently, it's been through writing about her life for my English final in high school and dedicating this scholarship essay to her.

When I was in middle school I was hospitalized for self harm. I still remember how humiliating it felt to have the counselor pull me out of class in the morning, talk to me about what was going on, and call my mom to take me to the hospital. What’s even worse is that I will never be able to get the fact out of my head that I wasn’t able to communicate my internal struggles healthily. I had gone undiagnosed with anxiety and depression for the majority of my life, and I felt as if I had no one to talk to about my struggles. Eventually, I began attending therapy. I was standoffish to the idea at first, people in my family never spoke about the issues that they had with others, especially not professionally. To my Dominican family, any mental health “issue” someone had could be fixed with a prayer and getting their phone taken away. But as it went on, I saw the improvements within myself. It was then that I realized that if I had received this help earlier on, it could have made a difference. At whatever college I end up attending, I plan on majoring in psychology to set myself up for medical school to pursue psychiatry. Not only would this degree allow for a deeper understanding of mental health issues, how they impact a person’s day-to-day life, and the science behind them, but I would also be able to connect with professionals in the field who could help me through the rigorous application process itself. I’ve seen firsthand how mental health issues are often ignored in younger people, especially children of color. I want to be able to help children who may not have the voice to advocate for themselves. I want to make sure that anyone struggling with mental health issues will feel comfortable enough to receive medical help if it is needed. My aspiration to become a psychiatrist stems from a deep-seated desire to ensure that individuals facing mental health challenges receive the support and care they deserve. By breaking down barriers to mental health care and fostering an environment of acceptance and understanding, I hope to contribute to a future where everyone feels empowered to seek help when needed. With this scholarship specifically, it would allow me to ease the financial burden of attending a university as I will also have to pay for the costs to attend medical school.

BookTok is one of the reasons I fell in love with Taylor Jenkins Reid and her books. It goes without saying that The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and The Six would have to be the first two books on my shelf. While very different styles of writing, both captivated my attention more than any other book had been able to for months. When it comes to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I was hooked on the first day of reading. I managed to start and finish the book during a school week. I read every chance I could, including in class whenever I had free time. Once I got to the last one hundred pages or so, I wasn't able to stop myself from putting it down. I had heard many positive reviews from both BookTok and my peers around me on the book, but I wasn't able to truly understand the hype until I got to read it myself. For the ending plot twist alone, I would have to recommend this to anyone who needs something they can binge-read. For the years of yearning and romance development between Evelyn and someone who is unexpected based on the title, I would recommend this to anyone wanting that same type of timeless love. Daisy Jones and The Six is another book by Reid, but it was written in a style I was not familiar with prior to reading: interviews. It wasn't my first pick, but once I got used to that style of writing, I couldn't put the book down. Admittedly, I was late to the trend. I read this book over the summer, plenty of time after the show was released. I believe that the hype of the BookTok edits mixed with the show edits mixed with the amazing album that came out of it is more than enough reason why anyone should at least listen to the audiobook (or watch the show). But there are different sides to BookTok, as there is with any other subjection of TikTok. One side of BookTok I fell in love with recently is the horror and thriller recommendations. One of the stories I read within one night was Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. It was disgusting in the best way possible. I read it in one sitting! I would recommend it to anyone who has not eaten recently and wants to see the mental decay of a woman who is just in need of love from another person. But not only that, there's more! BookTook truly has something for everyone. If nonfiction is your thing, there are plenty of memoirs that make their rounds. My personal favorite was I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. Her heartbreaking childhood mixed with her stolen youth made for a heartwrenching read. There was a nostalgia aspect, though, that contributed to why it blew up on TikTok. I believe that finding niche communities like that on BookTok is extremely easy, which is why it's so inviting to anyone trying to find book recommendations. Overall, BookTok has reintroduced me to reading as a whole. I made a goal for myself at the beginning of the year to read at least ten books, currently, I am at 7. The majority of those books have been ones I heard of on BookTok. These five books are only a handful of recommendations that I would give to someone based on my ideal bookshelf.

My first pick has to be Steve. I had yet to see a man with such maternal instincts until he showed up on my screen, post-season one character development Steve specifically. He is the type of person to take a bullet, or charge attack from a threat, for you, and having that type of bond with a teammate would allow for better chances at winning through collaboration. My second pick would be Eleven for obvious reasons. When it comes to fighting, we would need the supernatural abilities she has to offer in order to even the playing field. Not only would her powers help us, but she also has a strong sense of what is worth fighting for, which makes her fight ten times stronger. My third and final pick would have to be Nancy. She would be the brains of the group since I believe she would be the matureest out of all of us. Not only would she have a good voice of reason, but she wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger. She is simply a badass woman who knows how to handle business. All three of these characters have their strengths and weaknesses, but I believe together they can emphasize each other's strengths while lessening their weaknesses.