On December 8^th, 2023, I answered the front door to two state troopers asking to speak with my dad. I immediately knew why they were there. As I sat in silence in my kitchen for an hour, feeling numb, my dad was in the garage hearing the worst news of his life. Seeing my dad come in from the garage with tears streaming down his face, I immediately broke down into tears on the floor. My mother had jumped off the Trestle Bridge in Downingtown, PA.

My mother was diagnosed with Bipolar I as a teenager. In 2019, due to substance abuse, a cycle of manic episodes started, with the last one going on for almost a year. The episodes did more damage to her brain as time went on. She was medically diagnosed with psychosis three separate times. I suffered a great deal of emotional abuse from her during these episodes. It was as if my mom’s soul left her body and was replaced with something or someone else. This eventually led to me being diagnosed with complex PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder.

I originally planned to start college in January 2024 and stayed on track with that plan even after my mom’s death. But I soon realized I was in no emotional state to do so. I also needed to stay home to support my younger sister and help my dad around the house, as well as get a job to sustain myself financially. After moving into the dorms and starting college this past fall, I found it extremely difficult handling it all. I was having panic attacks and experiencing nightmares related to my trauma. I moved back home after 2 months and started commuting. I am now studying political science and hope to bring awareness to the mental health crisis in this country and the lack of proper care that is affordable. I hope to enact change in order to make sure no one has to suffer alone.

My mother had no life insurance, and her hospital bills that accumulated over the years all fell on my dad to pay. Because of the mounting medical bills, my father had no choice but to liquidate mine and my three siblings' college savings accounts as well as his 401k. If my mom had life insurance, my siblings and I wouldn’t have to go into severe debt just to go to college. My dad wouldn’t have to spend hours budgeting just to make sure we can afford groceries. My mom’s lack of life insurance has been devastating to our family financially.

With this scholarship, I hope to ease the financial burden on my family, as well as allow me to get the education I need to start a life for myself that my mom would be proud of a life that will help me drive changes so other families hopefully don’t have to go through what my family has.