At eight years old, I was forced to grow up. At eight years old my childhood came to an end, and I would never experience what it's like to be a carefree child without any responsibilities. At eight years old, I was diagnosed with type one diabetes and the doctors had no answers as to why. On July 24, 2014, my parents would take me to my family doctor because I had an unquenchable thirst; for white milk, flavored water, apple juice, and especially chocolate milk. I would be sent to the Children’s Hospital an hour away and would then be shown how to administer shots and regulate my blood sugar. I would then need to attend nutrition classes for the next two years to understand how food affects me differently than anyone else. And worse yet, at eight years old, I would have to experience the feeling of being different. “Why does she get to eat snacks in the middle of class and I don’t?” “Why does she get to go to lunch earlier than the rest of us?” I was eleven when I fully realized that I would have to live with this condition for the rest of my life and the effects that accompany it. I had to be prepared for the what-ifs and the situations in which I was without my parents. Which meant that I was inadvertently forced to teach myself how to be resilient and independent. I realized that how I viewed myself would heavily impact how I treated myself and advocating for my mental and physical health meant building my confidence. Without it, I would be scared to ask for accommodations in public settings, and neglect recognition of any symptoms in hopes of avoiding the embarrassment. But it was through this independence, that I taught myself how to advocate and persevere through any challenges that I encountered throughout my life. I remember teaching my graduating class about diabetes in the sixth grade to decrease the stigma of type one diabetes being a contagious and self-inflictive disease. And I remember that at the age of sixteen, I no longer was ashamed of saying I had an incurable autoimmune disease. And with encouragement from my loved ones, I learned to overcome my low self-esteem and love myself because of my diabetes. It was this thought that sparked my passion to never let anyone feel inferior or experience a thought pattern that is damaging to their self-image like I once had. Over time, I developed resilience when overcoming the obstacles that accompanied my chronic condition, and I gained a unique perspective on life and human experiences. I have always been an empathic person, but diabetes amplified that trait and I became attuned to the struggles and triumphs of others. I responded just as strongly to someone else’s emotions as if they were my own and in turn, learned how to connect with people on a deeper level by drawing on my own experiences to empathize with them. Through this, I gained insights into the diversity of human nature, social dynamics, and how personal experiences shape one’s values. These insights fostered my fascination with psychology's scientific findings and their far-reaching consequences for individuals and society as a whole. I aspire to devote my life to expanding on these findings and attain a deeper insight into the complexities that form and progress humanity. But above all, I want to prioritize fostering positive changes and promoting a more empathetic world; no matter how small that change may be.