I have struggled with my mental health my entire life. From 1st to 5th grade, I was abused continuously by the vice principal of my elementary school, and many of the teachers on campus contributed to this. This led to me being diagnosed with CPTSD in the beginning of high school. I had initially considered ADHD because I couldn't remember anything from my classes, but "being unfocused" turned out to be dissociating from hours to days at a time any time a teacher raised their voice. I have also struggled with self harm and an abusive relationship, since I believed that I couldn't be loved because of all my mental health struggles, meaning my only use was just to make someone else feel loved and cared about. This also left me with many scars, both physical and mental. I was in a really dark place because of all of these factors until the start of my junior year. Despite all of the abuse from the adults, bad friends, and my only relationship, it is clear now that the hurt that tore my protective shell wide open was what I needed to blossom. I had been numb and in a dissociative and detached state for so long that I had no idea who I was until the person I had built to protect myself through those times was destroyed. It was very difficult at first, to feel emotions so strongly and so suddenly at even the smallest of events, and I spent a lot of time wishing that I could be numb to everything again. But I'm so grateful that my wish was not granted, because otherwise I would not have all the joy in my life that I have now. Although suddenly being plunged into an ever swirling sea of emotions was overwhelming at best, where there is great darkness, the brightest of lights can also be found. Losing my mask as a people pleasing and ever agreeable back-up friend gave me the ability to leave friendships where I wasn't valued. Having emotions allowed me the ability to be human for the first time in my life, and the relationships that mattered grew stronger for it. I met my current partner, who I have now been with for over a year and a half, and having such a supportive and loving partner who helped me learn how to set and stay true to myself and my boundaries changed my life once again. I developed the strength needed to cut people off when they broke my clearly expressed boundaries or hurt me in ways that real friends would never do. Although growing a backbone meant I had a lot less friends than I used to have, my life is so much better for it. My circle of friends is comprised of long term friends who are good people who I am so grateful to navigate life with, and I no longer deal with unnecessary drama and fights that plagued my relationship before. I have also found the confidence to go out and make more friends, and strengthen the relationships that I neglected because of my poor health before. My school has the highest rate of student deaths in our entire district because of suicides. I've watched my closest friends grieve the losses of their friends, who were just within my reach. They were people who I had been near, even seat partners with, who I wanted to talk to all year but never found the courage to do so. In being nervous that I wouldn't be liked, I lost my opportunity to reach out my hand to them completely. I almost joined them many times.  But knowing how much I, a stranger in their eyes, grieved their passing and seeing the devastation in my friend groups by the loss of these people, I stopped hurting myself completely. I wonder if those people knew that there were others around them who saw them and thought about how cool they were, or stole glances daily wishing they had the courage to introduce themselves and make friends. After seeing firsthand the grief and similar suicidal thoughts of the people I loved, I began to tell my friends that I cared about them more, talking to anyone I thought could use a friend, and walking up to strangers in public and compliment them or strike up conversations. I never want to see another person fade away because they didn't know how much they were appreciated and seen by the world around them. I still struggle with my mental health frequently as do my closest friends, and we have formed a tight-knit and loving community because of it. For me, healing is reaching out and being the voice that I needed to hear when I was struggling. I may not have had that positivity in my life before, but that makes me want to make sure that others don't hurt the way that I did even more. I am thankful to my struggles and to the people in my life who love me for giving me the power to be kind. On this note, I have chosen to pursue teaching for my career. Education is so important right now, and I want to give back to the teachers who made it possible for me to pull myself up academically and heal from my trauma. Not every student out there has been as fortunate as I have been in finding good people, and again, I don't want another student to have to go through what I did. I am Cal Poly bound and thrilled to have been able to be accepted into such an amazing school, especially as an out of state student. I am very proud that I have been able to come this far and pull myself up from rock bottom high enough to reach for the stars, but there is a financial barrier. I want to change the world, preferably without debt. Thank you.

I have struggled with my mental health my entire life. I faced a lot of terrible experiences, enough for my a PTSD diagnosis, but it is clear now that the hurt that tore my protective shell wide open was what I needed to grow. I had been numb and in a terrible, often suicidal, state for so long that I didn't even know who I was. It was very difficult at first, to feel emotions so strongly and suddenly at even the smallest of events, and I spent a lot of time wishing that I could be numb to everything again. But I'm so grateful that my wish was not granted, because otherwise I would not have all the joy in my life that I have now. Although suddenly being plunged into an ever swirling sea of emotions was overwhelming at best, where there is great darkness, the brightest of lights can also be found. Losing my mask as a people pleasing and ever agreeable back-up friend gave me the ability to leave friendships where I wasn't valued. Having emotions allowed me the ability to be human for the first time in my life, and the relationships that mattered grew stronger for it. I met my current partner, who I have now been with for over a year and a half, and having such a supportive and loving partner who helped me learn how to set and stay true to myself and my boundaries changed my life once again. I developed the strength needed to cut people off when they broke my clearly expressed boundaries or hurt me in ways that real friends would never do. Although growing a backbone meant I had a lot less friends than I used to have, my life is so much better for it. My circle is comprised of good friends who I am so grateful to navigate life with, and I no longer deal with unnecessary drama and fights that plagued my relationships previously. I also found the confidence to go out and make more friends, and strengthen the relationships that I neglected because of my poor health before. Tragically, my school has the highest rate of student deaths in our entire district because of suicides. I've watched my closest friends grieve the losses of their friends, who were just within my reach. They were people who I had been near, even seat partners, who I wished to befriend but never found the courage to do so. In being nervous, I lost my opportunity to reach out completely.  But knowing how much I, a stranger to them, grieved their passing, I became clean of self harm. I wondered if they knew there were so many people who glanced at them daily, wishing they could be friends. After seeing the grief and similar suicidal thoughts of the people I loved, I began to tell them I cared, talked to anyone I saw alone, and walked up to strangers to compliment them and strike up conversations. I never want to see another person fade away because they didn't know how much they were loved. My friends and I still struggle with mental health, but we have formed a community because of it. My advice to people facing similar situations is to reach out. Use your pain to make sure others don't hurt the same way. Healing is becoming the voice you needed to hear when you needed it. Let your pain give you the power to be kind. You never know how much it means to someone.

History has always been one of my favorite subjects, but my second favorite, english, was actually the subject that made me want to pursue history. English class was where I read the book Fahrenheit 451 for the first time. It was because of this book that I came to understand just how important books, education, and teaching the world about history are. Without the knowledge of history, people are doomed to repeat it. I believe that an essential step in bettering our world for everybody is through teaching the new generation and everyone else as well. Everywhere you look, there are hateful and polarizing messages, misinformation, people trying to erase history and wrap it up in an easy to swallow, guilt free pill. It is so difficult for even the wisest people to sit down and think critically about our world situation when there is so much noise around us. Right now, we need comprehensive and thorough education more than ever. A lot of the books that are being banned are historical accounts, from real people such as Anne Frank. The Diary of Anne Frank and other books that have been banned for being "unsuitable" for people to read are books that describe events that happened and in this example, the Holocaust. When topics like the Holocaust are erased from history books and mandatory reading because people feel as though they are "too scary" or "distasteful" to read, we lose the documentation of how those atrocities began to happen in the first place. The Nazis did not immediately begin violently murdering millions of people who belonged to multiple groups they did not like right off the bat. Hitler first had to grow his power by stirring up masses, putting himself in a place of leadership, starting to make people believe that his initial ideals were moral, before progressively becoming more extreme- doing so in such a way that when he finally decided to carry out a full scale genocide, his followers didn't question him. Everybody knows now that Hitler was an evil, terrible man, and this is very much true. People see the actions of this dictator and think "How did nobody notice? It's so obvious that he was doing terrible things! How could such events have been allowed to happen?" But one of the first steps the Nazis made towards their genocidal goals was actually a patriotic ceremony in 1933, where books that were considered "immoral" or those that were written by Jewish authors, were stated to be "anti-German" were publicly burnt. Smaller scale events like this led up to the Holocaust, and they've been left out of our history textbooks. When the beginning stages of such events are left out of history, that is when we start to erode the lines that prevent us from repeating it. In cases where history is left out of education, context is erased, and so people forget that at first, Hitler was viewed by his people as a strong and moral leader who would save their country. History is not only important to learn to be a well rounded individual, but I believe it is actually the MOST important subject to learn so that we can learn to recognize patterns in the present by referencing events from the past. Preventing unimaginable tragedies is not as simple as playing a game of "Where's Waldo?" with a dictator dressed conveniently in a recognizable outfit. At the end of the day, no matter how "unsightly" our history may be, we must teach it in full detail, so that we may create a cleaner future.

My favorite book is a very unpopular choice. It's bad enough that the immediate reaction of any high school student and alumni hearing its name would likely be to groan in disappointment. If I could have everyone in the world read just one book, I would have them read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451 is, on the first read, hard to understand and most people find it quite unlikable. But, F451 has aged like fine wine in the sense that it becomes more and more relevant to us with every passing year. F451 is intended to display a possible future that could become our reality, albeit a bit exaggerated, if humanity continues to drive the course that it does now. It may have seemed dumb to previous classes reading this book, but in the age of high speed internet and an extremely polarized political climate, things start to line up. We may not have floor to ceiling screens that line every wall in a room, providing constant mind-numbing entertainment, but we do have cell phones and social media, designed to pull our attention and affect our minds in the same fashion. I would like to give a nuanced comparison to our real world and the book burnings in F451, but unfortunately people have actually been doing that and posting it on social media already. There may not be exact parallels between our world and the one in F451, but it is very intriguing to observe our society after reading such a book. Even though comparing our world to a fictional one made in warning is interesting enough, I think the true beauty of this book emerges when you discuss and share it with people. Ray Bradbury writing his book jam-packed with tons of information makes it a bit overwhelming on the first read, but it is so fun to come together and discuss it with others, to point out the significance and the meanings of every little snippet that Bradbury squeezed into a couple hundred pages. F451 is also part of the reason I am pursuing History education and Anthropology. This book has opened my eyes to just how important it is for people to be educated, learn about the past, and most importantly, to not repeat it. This is why I would like everyone to not only read Fahrenheit 451, but reach out to others and learn.

My educational journey has been one of great success but not without hardship. Before moving to Nevada, I lived in Los Angeles. While the school was said to have been of good quality, I endured long term abuse from my elementary school vice principal, which led me to be diagnosed with CPTSD in my freshman year of high school. Although my experience with that person was the one to get me a CPTSD diagnosis, I had countless similarly horrible experiences with many more teachers during my time in the LAUSD school district. Moving to Reno saved my life and allowed me to pursue my studies and succeed. Throughout my childhood I was conditioned to believe that teachers were only there to hurt me and set me back. Many of them told me that I would never make it, even going as far as to rip up my papers in front of the entire class on more than one occasion. However, the teachers at my high school in Nevada have been so helpful, understanding, and knowledgeable in their subjects that it made me finally feel safe in a school setting. My English teacher is one of these teachers. She has been an amazing person and teacher throughout my high school years and it was in her class that I read and was truly able to understand the book Fahrenheit 451 for the first time. I loved having the opportunity to read this book in her class so much that I gave my teachers extra analysis essays that I wrote about Fahrenheit 451 regularly. History has also been one of my favorite subjects. Combined with English and specifically Fahrenheit 451, I came to understand just how important books, education, and teaching the world about history are. Without the knowledge of history, people are doomed to repeat it. Everywhere you look, there are hateful and polarizing messages, misinformation, people trying to erase history and wrap it up in an easy to swallow, guilt free pill. It is so difficult for even the wisest people to sit down and think critically when there is so much noise around us. Especially in this day and age, the education system is failing our youth and so many students are falling through the cracks. Right now, we need comprehensive and thorough education more than ever. I believe that an essential step in bettering our world for everybody is through teaching the new generation and everyone else as well. I was able to pick myself back up and achieve all that I have because of the care of those good teachers along the way. They are the ones who made me feel safe and allowed me to succeed and find my identity. It is because of them that I want to pursue a career in History education, and I have been accepted into Cal Poly SLO to do so. I want to give back to my community and to the teachers that have made it possible for me to get to this point in my life. Especially after all I went through because of the school system, I want to be the teacher that makes students feel that life is worth living and that there is merit to getting back up and pursuing their dreams. I want to work for a better future for everyone, and it all starts with good teachers. Every student should feel empowered to have dreams and aspirations, and they should be supported by the world around them. I want to contribute to the hope that every student needs in this world.

My educational journey has been one of great success but not without hardship. Before moving to Nevada, I lived in Los Angeles. While the school was said to have been of good quality, I endured long term abuse from my elementary school vice principal, which led me to be diagnosed with CPTSD in my freshman year of high school. Although my experience with that person was the one to get me a CPTSD diagnosis, I had countless similarly horrible experiences with many more teachers during my time in the LAUSD school district. Moving to Reno saved my life and allowed me to pursue my studies and succeed. Throughout my childhood I was conditioned to believe that teachers were only there to hurt me and set me back. Many of them told me that I would never make it, even going as far as to rip up my papers in front of the entire class on more than one occasion. However, the teachers at my high school in Nevada have been so helpful, understanding, and knowledgeable in their subjects that it made me finally feel safe in a school setting. My English teacher is one of these teachers. She has been an amazing person and teacher throughout my high school years and it was in her class that I read and was truly able to understand the book Fahrenheit 451 for the first time. I loved having the opportunity to read this book in her class so much that I gave my teachers extra analysis essays that I wrote about Fahrenheit 451 regularly. History has also been one of my favorite subjects. Combined with English and specifically Fahrenheit 451, I came to understand just how important books, education, and teaching the world about history are. Without the knowledge of history, people are doomed to repeat it. Everywhere you look, there are hateful and polarizing messages, misinformation, people trying to erase history and wrap it up in an easy to swallow, guilt free pill. It is so difficult for even the wisest people to sit down and think critically when there is so much noise around us. Especially in this day and age, the education system is failing our youth and so many students are falling through the cracks. Right now, we need comprehensive and thorough education more than ever. I believe that an essential step in bettering our world for everybody is through teaching the new generation and everyone else as well. I was able to pick myself back up and achieve all that I have because of the care of those good teachers along the way. They are the ones who made me feel safe and allowed me to succeed and find my identity. It is because of them that I want to pursue a career in History education, and I have been accepted into Cal Poly SLO to do so. I want to give back to my community and to the teachers that have made it possible for me to get to this point in my life. Especially after all I went through because of the school system, I want to be the teacher that makes students feel that life is worth living and that there is merit to getting back up and pursuing their dreams. I want to work for a better future for everyone, and it all starts with good teachers. Every student should feel empowered to have dreams and aspirations, and they should be supported by the world around them. I want to contribute to the hope that every student needs in this world.

My educational journey has been one of great success but not without hardship. Before moving to Nevada, I lived in Los Angeles. While the school was said to have been of good quality, I endured long term abuse from my elementary school vice principal, which led me to be diagnosed with CPTSD in my freshman year of high school. Although my experience with that person was the one to get me a CPTSD diagnosis, I had countless similarly horrible experiences with many more teachers during my time in the LAUSD school district. Moving to Reno saved my life and allowed me to pursue my studies and succeed. Throughout my childhood I was conditioned to believe that teachers were only there to hurt me and set me back. Many of them told me that I would never make it, even going as far as to rip up my papers in front of the entire class on more than one occasion. However, the teachers at my high school in Nevada have been so helpful, understanding, and knowledgeable in their subjects that it made me finally feel safe in a school setting. My English teacher is one of these teachers. She has been an amazing person and teacher throughout my high school years and it was in her class that I read and was truly able to understand the book Fahrenheit 451 for the first time. I loved having the opportunity to read this book in her class so much that I gave my teachers extra analysis essays that I wrote about Fahrenheit 451 regularly. History has also been one of my favorite subjects. Combined with English and specifically Fahrenheit 451, I came to understand just how important books, education, and teaching the world about history are. Without the knowledge of history, people are doomed to repeat it. Everywhere you look, there are hateful and polarizing messages, misinformation, people trying to erase history and wrap it up in an easy to swallow, guilt free pill. It is so difficult for even the wisest people to sit down and think critically when there is so much noise around us. Especially in this day and age, the education system is failing our youth and so many students are falling through the cracks. Right now, we need comprehensive and thorough education more than ever. I believe that an essential step in bettering our world for everybody is through teaching the new generation and everyone else as well. I was able to pick myself back up and achieve all that I have because of the care of those good teachers along the way. They are the ones who made me feel safe and allowed me to succeed and find my identity. It is because of them that I want to pursue a career in History education, and I have been accepted into Cal Poly SLO to do so. I want to give back to my community and to the teachers that have made it possible for me to get to this point in my life. Especially after all I went through because of the school system, I want to be the teacher that makes students feel that life is worth living and that there is merit to getting back up and pursuing their dreams. I want to work for a better future for everyone, and it all starts with good teachers. Every student should feel empowered to have dreams and aspirations, and they should be supported by the world around them. I want to contribute to the hope that every student needs in this world.

My educational journey has been one of great success but not without hardship. Before moving to Nevada, I lived in Los Angeles. While the school was said to have been of good quality, I endured long term abuse from my elementary school vice principal, which led me to be diagnosed with CPTSD in my freshman year of high school. Although my experience with that person was the one to get me a CPTSD diagnosis, I had countless similarly horrible experiences with many more teachers during my time in the LA school district. Moving to a different state saved my life and allowed me to pursue my studies and succeed. Throughout my childhood I was conditioned to believe that teachers were only there to hurt me and set me back. Many of them told me that I would never make it, even going as far as to rip up my papers in front of the entire class on more than one occasion. However, the teachers at my new high school in Nevada have been so helpful, understanding, and knowledgeable in their subjects that it made me finally feel safe in a school setting. My English teacher is one of these teachers. She has been an amazing person and teacher throughout my high school years and it was in her class that I read and was truly able to understand the book Fahrenheit 451 for the first time. I loved having the opportunity to read this book in her class so much that I gave my teachers extra analysis essays that I wrote about Fahrenheit 451 regularly. History has also been one of my favorite subjects. Combined with English and specifically Fahrenheit 451, I came to understand just how important books, education, and teaching the world about history are. Without the knowledge of history, people are doomed to repeat it. I believe that an essential step in bettering our world for everybody is through teaching the new generation and everyone else as well. Especially in this day and age, the education system is failing our youth and so many students are falling through the cracks. Everywhere you look, there are hateful and polarizing messages, misinformation, people trying to erase history and wrap it up in an easy to swallow, guilt free pill. It is so difficult for even the wisest people to sit down and think critically about our world situation when there is so much noise around us. Right now, we need comprehensive and thorough education more than ever. Because of the abuse I endured throughout my school years before coming to Nevada, I was almost one of the children who fell through the cracks. I was able to pick myself back up and become a good student with my GPA and all of my accomplishments because of the care of the teachers here in Reno. Those teachers are the ones who picked me back up and allowed me to succeed and find my identity. It is because of them that I want to pursue a career in History education, and I have been accepted into Cal Poly SLO to do so. I want to give back to my community and to the teachers that have made it possible for me to get to this point in my life. Especially after all that I endured at the hands of terrible teachers, administration, and the school system itself, I want to also be the teacher that makes students feel that life is worth living and that there is merit to getting back up and pursuing their dreams. I want to work for a better future for everyone, and it all starts with good teachers. Every student should feel empowered and every child should have dreams and aspirations, and they should be supported by the world around them. I want to contribute to the hope that every student and future child needs in this world, especially in the state that it is in today. Now more than ever, students need to feel like there is a point to giving school as well as life their all, and my goal is to help my students have the strength and knowledge to do so. I am Cal Poly bound and thrilled to have been able to be accepted into such an amazing school, especially as an out of state student. I am very proud that I have been able to come this far and pull myself up from rock bottom high enough to reach for the stars, but there is a financial barrier. My family makes enough that we do not qualify for much aid, but not enough to pay for a college tuition, and especially not $56,000 annually (it is an enormous price to pay for an education for anyone that isn't wealthy). I want to change the world, but it would be a lot easier if I was able to get a high quality education without having to worry about crippling student debt. Thank you for this opportunity.

I have struggled with my mental health my entire life. From 1st to 5th grade, I was abused continuously by the vice principal of my elementary school, and many of the teachers on campus contributed to this. This led to me being diagnosed with CPTSD in the beginning of high school. I had initially considered ADHD because I couldn't remember anything from my classes, but "being unfocused" turned out to be dissociating from hours to days at a time any time a teacher raised their voice. I have also struggled with self harm and an abusive relationship, since I believed that I couldn't be loved because of all my mental health struggles, meaning my only use was just to make someone else feel loved and cared about. This also left me with many scars, both physical and mental. I was in a really dark place because of all of these factors until the start of my junior year. Despite all of the abuse from the adults, bad friends, and my only relationship, it is clear now that the hurt that tore my protective shell wide open was what I needed to blossom. I had been numb and in a dissociative and detached state for so long that I had no idea who I was until the person I had built to protect myself through those times was destroyed. It was very difficult at first, to feel emotions so strongly and so suddenly at even the smallest of events, and I spent a lot of time wishing that I could be numb to everything again. But I'm so grateful that my wish was not granted, because otherwise I would not have all the joy in my life that I have now. Although suddenly being plunged into an ever swirling sea of emotions was overwhelming at best, where there is great darkness, the brightest of lights can also be found. Losing my mask as a people pleasing and ever agreeable back-up friend gave me the ability to leave friendships where I wasn't valued. Having emotions allowed me the ability to be human for the first time in my life, and the relationships that mattered grew stronger for it. I met my current partner, who I have now been with for over a year and a half, and having such a supportive and loving partner who helped me learn how to set and stay true to myself and my boundaries changed my life once again. I developed the strength needed to cut people off when they broke my clearly expressed boundaries or hurt me in ways that real friends would never do. Although growing a backbone meant I had a lot less friends than I used to have, my life is so much better for it. My circle of friends is comprised of long term friends who are good people who I am so grateful to navigate life with, and I no longer deal with unnecessary drama and fights that plagued my relationship before. I have also found the confidence to go out and make more friends, and strengthen the relationships that I neglected because of my poor health before. My school has the highest rate of student deaths in our entire district because of suicides. I've watched my closest friends grieve the losses of their friends, who were just within my reach. They were people who I had been near, even seat partners with, who I wanted to talk to all year but never found the courage to do so. In being nervous that I wouldn't be liked, I lost my opportunity to reach out my hand to them completely. I almost joined them many times. But knowing how much I, a stranger in their eyes, grieved their passing and seeing the devastation in my friend groups by the loss of these people, I stopped hurting myself completely. I wonder if those people knew that there were others around them who saw them and thought about how cool they were, or stole glances daily wishing they had the courage to introduce themselves and make friends. After seeing firsthand the grief and similar suicidal thoughts of the people I loved, I began to tell my friends that I cared about them more, talking to anyone I thought could use a friend, and walking up to strangers in public and compliment them or strike up conversations. I never want to see another person fade away because they didn't know how much they were appreciated and seen by the world around them. I still struggle with my mental health frequently as do my closest friends, and we have formed a tight-knit and loving community because of it. For me, healing is reaching out and being the voice that I needed to hear when I was struggling. I may not have had that positivity in my life before, but that makes me want to make sure that others don't hurt the way that I did even more. I am thankful to my struggles and to the people in my life who love me for giving me the power to be kind. On this note, I have chosen to pursue teaching for my career. Education is so important right now, and I want to give back to the teachers who made it possible for me to pull myself up academically and heal from my trauma. Not every student out there has been as fortunate as I have been in finding good people, and again, I don't want another student to have to go through what I did. I am Cal Poly bound and thrilled to have been able to be accepted into such an amazing school, especially as an out of state student. I am very proud that I have been able to come this far and pull myself up from rock bottom high enough to reach for the stars, but there is a financial barrier. I want to change the world, preferably without debt. Thank you.

I have struggled with my mental health my entire life. From 1st to 5th grade, I was abused continuously by the vice principal of my elementary school, and many of the teachers on campus contributed to this. This led to me being diagnosed with CPTSD in the beginning of high school. I had initially considered ADHD because I couldn't remember anything from my classes, but "being unfocused" turned out to be dissociating from hours to days at a time any time a teacher raised their voice. I have also struggled with self harm and an abusive relationship, since I believed that I couldn't be loved because of all my mental health struggles, meaning my only use was just to make someone else feel loved and cared about. This also left me with many scars, both physical and mental. I was in a really dark place because of all of these factors until the start of my junior year. Despite all of the abuse from the adults, bad friends, and my only relationship, it is clear now that the hurt that tore my protective shell wide open was what I needed to blossom. I had been numb and in a dissociative and detached state for so long that I had no idea who I was until the person I had built to protect myself through those times was destroyed. It was very difficult at first, to feel emotions so strongly and so suddenly at even the smallest of events, and I spent a lot of time wishing that I could be numb to everything again. But I'm so grateful that my wish was not granted, because otherwise I would not have all the joy in my life that I have now. Although suddenly being plunged into an ever swirling sea of emotions was overwhelming at best, where there is great darkness, the brightest of lights can also be found. Losing my mask as a people pleasing and ever agreeable back-up friend gave me the ability to leave friendships where I wasn't valued. Having emotions allowed me the ability to be human for the first time in my life, and the relationships that mattered grew stronger for it. I met my current partner, who I have now been with for over a year and a half, and having such a supportive and loving partner who helped me learn how to set and stay true to myself and my boundaries changed my life once again. I developed the strength needed to cut people off when they broke my clearly expressed boundaries or hurt me in ways that real friends would never do. Although growing a backbone meant I had a lot less friends than I used to have, my life is so much better for it. My circle of friends is comprised of long term friends who are good people who I am so grateful to navigate life with, and I no longer deal with unnecessary drama and fights that plagued my relationship before. I have also found the confidence to go out and make more friends, and strengthen the relationships that I neglected because of my poor health before. My school has the highest rate of student deaths in our entire district because of suicides. I've watched my closest friends grieve the losses of their friends, who were just within my reach. They were people who I had been near, even seat partners with, who I wanted to talk to all year but never found the courage to do so. In being nervous that I wouldn't be liked, I lost my opportunity to reach out my hand to them completely. I almost joined them many times. But knowing how much I, a stranger in their eyes, grieved their passing and seeing the devastation in my friend groups by the loss of these people, I stopped hurting myself completely. I wonder if those people knew that there were others around them who saw them and thought about how cool they were, or stole glances daily wishing they had the courage to introduce themselves and make friends. After seeing firsthand the grief and similar suicidal thoughts of the people I loved, I began to tell my friends that I cared about them more, talking to anyone I thought could use a friend, and walking up to strangers in public and compliment them or strike up conversations. I never want to see another person fade away because they didn't know how much they were appreciated and seen by the world around them. I still struggle with my mental health frequently as do my closest friends, and we have formed a tight-knit and loving community because of it. For me, healing is reaching out and being the voice that I needed to hear when I was struggling. I may not have had that positivity in my life before, but that makes me want to make sure that others don't hurt the way that I did even more. I am thankful to my struggles and to the people in my life who love me for giving me the power to be kind. On this note, I have chosen to pursue teaching for my career. Education is so important right now, and I want to give back to the teachers who made it possible for me to pull myself up academically and heal from my trauma. Not every student out there has been as fortunate as I have been in finding good people, and again, I don't want another student to have to go through what I did. I am Cal Poly bound and thrilled to have been able to be accepted into such an amazing school, especially as an out of state student. I am very proud that I have been able to come this far and pull myself up from rock bottom high enough to reach for the stars, but there is a financial barrier. I want to change the world, preferably without debt. Thank you.

My educational journey has been one of great success but not without hardship. Before moving to Reno Nevada, I lived in Los Angeles. While the school was said to have been of good quality, I endured long term abuse from my elementary school vice principal, which led me to be diagnosed with CPTSD in my freshman year of high school. Although my experience with that person was the one to get me a CPTSD diagnosis, I had countless similarly horrible experiences with many more teachers during my time in the LAUSD school district. Moving to Reno saved my life and allowed me to pursue my studies and succeed. Throughout my childhood I was conditioned to believe that teachers were only there to hurt me and set me back. Many of them told me that I would never make it, even going as far as to rip up my papers in front of the entire class on more than one occasion. However, the teachers at Damonte Ranch High school have been so helpful, understanding, and knowledgeable in their subjects that it made me finally feel safe in a school setting. My English teacher is one of these teachers. She has been an amazing person and teacher throughout my high school years and it was in her class that I read and was truly able to understand the book Fahrenheit 452 for the first time. I loved having the opportunity to read this book in her class so much that I gave my teachers extra analysis essays that I wrote about Fahrenheit 451 regularly. History has also been one of my favorite subjects. Combined with English and specifically Fahrenheit 451, I came to understand just how important books, education, and teaching the world about history are. Without the knowledge of history, people are doomed to repeat it. I believe that an essential step in bettering our world for everybody is through teaching the new generation and everyone else as well. Especially in this day and age, the education system is failing our youth and so many students are falling through the cracks. Everywhere you look, there are hateful and polarizing messages, misinformation, people trying to erase history and wrap it up in an easy to swallow, guilt free pill. It is so difficult for even the wisest people to sit down and think critically about our world situation when there is so much noise around us. Right now, we need comprehensive and thorough education more than ever. Because of the abuse I endured throughout my school years before coming to Nevada, I was almost one of the children who fell through the cracks. I was able to pick myself back up and become a good student with my GPA and all of my accomplishments because of the care of the teachers here in Reno. Those teachers are the ones who picked me back up and allowed me to succeed and find my identity. It is because of them that I want to pursue a career in History education, and I have been accepted into Cal Poly SLO to do so. I want to give back to my community and to the teachers that have made it possible for me to get to this point in my life. Especially after all that I endured at the hands of terrible teachers, administration, and the school system itself, I want to also be the teacher that makes students feel that life is worth living and that there is merit to getting back up and pursuing their dreams. I want to work for a better future for everyone, and it all starts with good teachers. Every student should feel empowered and every child should have dreams and aspirations, and they should be supported by the world around them. I want to contribute to the hope that every student and future child needs in this world. I am Cal Poly bound and thrilled to have been able to be accepted into such an amazing school, especially as an out of state student. I am very proud that I have been able to come this far and pull myself up from rock bottom high enough to reach for the stars, but there is a financial barrier. My family makes enough that we do not qualify for much aid, but not enough to pay for a college tuition, and especially not $56,000 annually (it is an enormous price to pay for an education for anyone that isn't wealthy). I want to change the world, but it would be a lot easier if I was able to get a high quality education without having to worry about crippling student debt. Thank you for this opportunity.

My educational journey has been one of great success but not without hardship. Before moving to Reno Nevada, I lived in Los Angeles. While the school was said to have been of good quality, I endured long term abuse from my elementary school vice principal, which led me to be diagnosed with CPTSD in my freshman year of high school. Although my experience with that person was the one to get me a CPTSD diagnosis, I had countless similarly horrible experiences with many more teachers during my time in the LAUSD school district. Moving to Reno saved my life and allowed me to pursue my studies and succeed. Throughout my childhood I was conditioned to believe that teachers were only there to hurt me and set me back. Many of them told me that I would never make it, even going as far as to rip up my papers in front of the entire class on more than one occasion. However, the teachers at Damonte Ranch High school have been so helpful, understanding, and knowledgeable in their subjects that it made me finally feel safe in a school setting. My English teacher is one of these teachers. She has been an amazing person and teacher throughout my high school years and it was in her class that I read and was truly able to understand the book Fahrenheit 452 for the first time. I loved having the opportunity to read this book in her class so much that I gave my teachers extra analysis essays that I wrote about Fahrenheit 451 regularly. History has also been one of my favorite subjects. Combined with English and specifically Fahrenheit 451, I came to understand just how important books, education, and teaching the world about history are. Without the knowledge of history, people are doomed to repeat it. I believe that an essential step in bettering our world for everybody is through teaching the new generation and everyone else as well. Especially in this day and age, the education system is failing our youth and so many students are falling through the cracks. Everywhere you look, there are hateful and polarizing messages, misinformation, people trying to erase history and wrap it up in an easy to swallow, guilt free pill. It is so difficult for even the wisest people to sit down and think critically about our world situation when there is so much noise around us. Right now, we need comprehensive and thorough education more than ever. Because of the abuse I endured throughout my school years before coming to Nevada, I was almost one of the children who fell through the cracks. I was able to pick myself back up and become a good student with my GPA and all of my accomplishments because of the care of the teachers here in Reno. Those teachers are the ones who picked me back up and allowed me to succeed and find my identity. It is because of them that I want to pursue a career in History education, and I have been accepted into Cal Poly SLO to do so. I am very proud that I have been able to come this far and pull myself up from rock bottom high enough to reach for the stars, but there is a financial barrier. My family makes enough that we do not qualify for much aid, but not enough to pay for a college tuition. I want to change the world, but it would be a lot easier if I didn't have to worry about student debt. Thank you for this opportunity.

My educational journey has been one of great success but not without hardship. Before moving to Reno Nevada, I lived in Los Angeles. While the school was said to have been of good quality, I endured long term abuse from my elementary school vice principal, which led me to be diagnosed with CPTSD in my freshman year of high school. Although my experience with that person was the one to get me a CPTSD diagnosis, I had countless similarly horrible experiences with many more teachers during my time in the LAUSD school district. Moving to Reno saved my life and allowed me to pursue my studies and succeed. Throughout my childhood I was conditioned to believe that teachers were only there to hurt me and set me back. Many of them told me that I would never make it, even going as far as to rip up my papers in front of the entire class on more than one occasion. However, the teachers at Damonte Ranch High school have been so helpful, understanding, and knowledgeable in their subjects that it made me finally feel safe in a school setting. My English teacher is one of these teachers. She has been an amazing person and teacher throughout my high school years and it was in her class that I read and was truly able to understand the book Fahrenheit 452 for the first time. I loved having the opportunity to read this book in her class so much that I gave my teachers extra analysis essays that I wrote about Fahrenheit 451 regularly. History has also been one of my favorite subjects. Combined with English and specifically Fahrenheit 451, I came to understand just how important books, education, and teaching the world about history are. Without the knowledge of history, people are doomed to repeat it. I believe that an essential step in bettering our world for everybody is through teaching the new generation and everyone else as well. Especially in this day and age, the education system is failing our youth and so many students are falling through the cracks. Everywhere you look, there are hateful and polarizing messages, misinformation, people trying to erase history and wrap it up in an easy to swallow, guilt free pill. It is so difficult for even the wisest people to sit down and think critically about our world situation when there is so much noise around us. Right now, we need comprehensive and thorough education more than ever. Because of the abuse I endured throughout my school years before coming to Nevada, I was almost one of the children who fell through the cracks. I was able to pick myself back up and become a good student with my GPA and all of my accomplishments because of the care of the teachers here in Reno. Those teachers are the ones who picked me back up and allowed me to succeed and find my identity. It is because of them that I want to pursue a career in History education, and I have been accepted into Cal Poly SLO to do so. I am very proud that I have been able to come this far and pull myself up from rock bottom high enough to reach for the stars, but there is a financial barrier. My family makes enough that we do not qualify for much aid, but not enough to pay for a college tuition. I want to change the world, but it would be a lot easier if I didn't have to worry about student debt. Thank you for this opportunity.