From being a child to a young adult, I have always had the ambition to be a success in life. Every year I would count down how much longer I had to go to my dream college, Midwestern State University. I can thank my dad for inspiring me to have a future filled with hard work. From wanting to be an architect, a lawyer, an interior designer, a chef, a psychiatrist, to now striving to be a counselor, I have always tried to set a goal. Now, I'm almost there.

Here are 5 reasons why I want to be a counselor:

1. Mental illness awareness

Raising awareness for all illnesses is extremely important, and teaching people how to take care of their mental health is even more important. Many mental disorders are unnoticed and shoved to the side because, in my opinion, people don't try to understand exactly what a disorder is and how it affects a person. It's also important to help people understand why they are the way they are, why they might act certain ways, and why they feel lost and misunderstood.

2. Teaching self-love

Love is a tricky thing, and often hard to find, but the one place a person truly needs to find it is within themselves. Loving oneself not only allows a person to accept themselves, but also see the good and bad, and learn how to embrace it all. Being able to love oneself can be a hard thing to accomplish. People are their harshest critics, but once self-love is mastered, anything else is possible.

3. Safe haven

As a counselor, I want people to feel safe with me. I want them to feel safe to talk to me, tell me anything, and trust that I will care for them, and give them the best help I possibly can. I want to create a calm environment that will allow future clients to feel welcomed, relaxed, and stress-free. People deserve to have someone in their life that they trust wholeheartedly to confide in.

4. Self-growth

Being a counselor, I will hopefully help many people, but I also hope to grow from the experience as well. I, too, suffer from mental illness and that's a big reason why I am so passionate to help others. I hope that as I help others grow individually, I grow strength, more self-love, acceptance, and awareness. I've been told that helping others is an amazing experience because it changes the lives of the helpers. The people that I will help are bound to make a huge impact on my life, which makes it even more exciting to see what is in store for my future.

5. Teaching others to embrace their illness(es)

For a long time, I hated that I suffer from depression. It's not the easiest thing to live with, but I have grown to allow it to be a part of who I am instead of something that can break me. So, I basically embrace my depression, and many other flaws that I have. It honestly makes it feel simpler to deal with most of the time, so I want to teach people that mental illness doesn't always have to be an enemy or something bad. I hope to show others that having whatever illness makes them who they are, and they're beautiful no matter what. No one should give up on themselves because at the end of every day, they are all they will ever have. People need to learn how to pick themselves up and keep moving forward in life. It might be hard, but it can be done. Just believe.

In closing, being a counselor is important to me, and this world deserves to have someone that cares. I know I can't impact the entire world, but if I can make an impact on a portion of this chaotic place, then I will be able to succeed in anything else I set my heart to.