My name is Marissa and I am originally from China and grew up in St.Louis. I am an incoming freshman at Lindenwood University. My major is in psychology because of my passion for mental health awareness. I am in need of funding for books and a laptop. I was adopted from China when I was four years old and came to the United States with lots of
unresolved trauma. My trauma has been the root of my anxiety and depression that has caused havoc in my life. I grew up fearful of others, believing people to be untrustworthy. I’m not much
for reflection on the mistakes of my past, but I must do that for the sake of accountability. To move forward, I must reflect on these past mistakes. I’ve had various problems with my adopted
family simply because of fear. A fear of hurt that was taught to me early on. I was sent away to Utah when I was 16 in a program called “Second nature”. Honestly, it
changed my life. It showed me how to handle my mental health and build healthy relationships—something most people do not know how to do. Yet, I learned these life-changing
tools that completely changed my outlook in life. Something clicked out there in the dry desert of Utah. I grew my self esteem and self love out there. I saw myself for who I truly was or who I
was going to be. I found my potential again. Not only that, I repaired the broken relationship with my parents. To continue, I was recently accepted into Lindenwood University with various scholarships and grants, however it did not cover full costs. I still have about $6,000 unaccounted for. I really do love building my education and learning new things. I 100% believe college is for me. I believe I can excel and prove to my family and myself that I can do it. I see myself as a mental health nurse practitioner /psychiatric nurse when I complete my
degrees. I want to help people like they’ve helped me grow into the woman I am becoming. Empowerment in myself and others is heartwarming to me. It gives me purpose to live.
I have always understood the value of a good education. However, due to Covid and my mental health I hit a hard time during high school. I am on my own and have no financial support. I was accepted and awarded scholarships but I will still have about $6,000 in loans and I do not have funding for books and a laptop. My books cost about $425 for the first semester and it would be a huge financial blessing to have help with getting my books paid for and a laptop.

Updates: 8-20-2022 Thank you for supporting our scholar. HenRose Cares was able to get Marissa a laptop with your support. We will also be getting the books needed for her classes.