“You always say ‘I’m okay’ when I ask you if everything is okay,” my boss told me, one summer Sunday, in the middle of a rush. brunch, it was typical in the small family restaurant where I was a waiter for 3 years "If things don't go well, just say something and we can help you" I learned from a young age. that it was easier to say "It's okay" or some variation of that than to say "It's okay" or some variation of that to explain what was really happening at that moment. which, some might say, is both my greatest strength and my greatest weakness. A double-edged sword, if you will. I don't ask for help very often and I tend to forget that most of the time. time, it's even an option I was forced to grow up fast, my whole life and everything I've known changing in a matter of a day I grew up in a small town in Kansas and I. was raised by my grandmother and great-grandmother. Everything I knew and loved was contained in this little cop, this red light town. My mother was part of my life, but almost in a relative and distant way. I saw her two to three times a year, including during our annual family summer trip to Colorado, where she lived with her husband and my half-sister. I was ten years old when my world was turned upside down, a routine. my summer trip to Colorado turned into my worst nightmare. It was the morning we were supposed to leave to go back to Kansas and all the bags were in the car except mine. My grandmother and mother were both crying and I was confused as to what was happening. It became clear that I was staying and my grandmother was coming back, I was heartbroken and angry. My mother tried to soften the blow middle of paper......tear. But it was nice, I could do both, I could go to school full time and still support myself. I didn't need any help, I was fine. It was true, I was doing well, and I spent three and a half years at Colorado State University supporting myself and graduating on time. I was so used to being independent and not asking for help that I thrived on my own. I found my passion for what I wanted to do in the future and put steps in place to get there. I continued to use my favorite phrase “That’s fine” in every situation, but I slowly realized that I didn’t have to settle for a fine. I wanted to be able to say, “This is awesome” and have it be true, so I started pushing myself and setting bigger goals for myself. Goal number one is to go to law school and I don't think I'll ever have to use the phrase "I'm fine" while studying at Roger Williams School of Law..