High School has been challenging in different ways each year. The workload is hard, and having a social life is hard. Trying to balance these two while being in school seems impossible. It is almost three times as hard while also being the new kid in school. While being the new kid, you have to be able to focus in class while also trying to expand your social life to welcome new friends. This gets challenging especially if you are a shy individual in a new environment with new people surrounding you everywhere you go. I was once classified as "the new kid" in my high school years, and on top of being "the new kid," it was my first year in high school. I was in a new environment, with new peers, and at a whole different level of schooling than I was before. I felt more shy than I ever have before and I was embarrassed to even speak. However, as time past I felt more at "home" and safe than I had before. I embraced the chance to meet new people and to expand my mind with people who I hadn't grown up with. I was able to make new friends, learn new things, and experience a different World outside of the small town I was from. This expanded my life in ways I couldn't imagine. I was able to take a class where I became a Certified Nurse Assistant, I made important bonds and was able to meet my best friend. These things made me realize that friendships are so important, especially with the right people who encourage you to be the best version of yourself. Taking classes that helped me begin my future career taught me the importance of speaking up and learning for yourself. Without the help from peers to gain knowledge about certain classes, I never would have been given the chance to grow in my future career before high school even ended. I was able to pursue my future goals in my new environment and work towards being a nurse. Being "the new kid" may seem like an unforsaken task that many people do not want to experience, but a new environment helps to change how you think. It allows you to grow with different people and find yourself. It allows you to see different options you have in life and opens the world to different experiences. Being "the new kid" is something you must embrace to see the positive impacts it will leave on your life.

My name is Jessica Tims and I am a young woman who has dealt with abuse, drug abuse, and my father's death. As a kid with a tough childhood, when I was placed into foster care I thought that it would be my breaking point and that I would never make it through the hard times in my life. I grew up surrounded by violence, mental abuse, and more, and from the stories I have heard from others, I thought going into foster care would make things more complicated. However, going into foster care changed my life for the better and made me who I am today. To provide a little background on my life, my mother and father came from people who were addicted to drugs and alcohol. From the time I was born till around twelve years of age, I stayed with different people all the time and was moving from home to home. My mother was addicted to many kinds of drugs and eventually found a spouse with the same problems with additional anger issues. They did many drugs together and would blame their relationship problems on me. They started to be mentally abusive, and then quickly moved to physically. During this as well, my father passed away. Even though he was addicted to drugs my whole life, he was the only hope I found in life. He was kind to me and always put me first. This put me in a suicidal state of mind, while the abuse was continuing. Around twelve years of age, my mother abused me to the point I had to be hospitalized. I then was placed in foster care. As I grew up in foster care, my attitude and point of view in life changed. As I overcame my tough childhood, I grew into an amazing young woman. My plans in life took a direct change for the better. I started working on my grades and surrounding myself with people who made me happy. I spent less time on my phone and more time learning how to do chores and simple things I was never taught as a result of growing up in a bad environment. Each one of these things challenged me to be a better person. As I hit high school, I took on the initiative to care for others and people who dealt with the same problems I did growing up. I found myself taking healthcare classes, doing clinicals, and studying extremely hard for the tests. I passed each test and with every bit of hard work, I became a Certified Nurse Assistant before my senior year. Being able to accomplish so much of a career I want to pursue at such a young age inspired me to keep working hard and not give up despite my past. I was lucky enough to be able to get the chance to start my career early, I firmly believe I was set on this track to help people through difficult times in their lives, as I realize the struggle of life in a different mindset than others may realize life to be. I thank each individual who was a part of my foster care process because each person has motivated me to be better than the ones before me, to never let my past haunt me, and to never give in to my addictive state of mind within me as I grow into an incredible future nurse.