Bryna Brinkman

I would tell her to pray and find your support system - find and talk to those who love you. I like journaling, and journaling helps a lot to get your thoughts down. You don't have to have everything figured out yet - I sure don't - but just find out your strengths and look towards that. Find somewhere and find what you like. College specifically is especially where you're supposed to go out and see what you can do well, what you struggle with, and just filter out those strengths and branch out from there. Reading helps me a lot - I like to read, and then reading new ideas helps me find out different ways to go. I just think support system and trust in yourself, and taking a step back. Lots of praying. I want people to take away from this that you can still do art, and even if you are pressured into going into another field because of money or family, you can still do it - you can mix it into whatever field you're going into. There's so many options. If you're struggling with a medical condition like I am with POTS syndrome, you've got to take it easy, and you can still do what you love. Even if your goals changed, as mine did, and it really gets me sometimes, you just gotta believe in yourself. Find people at your school that care about you and trust you, and they will help show you the way, because you just gotta build your support system. I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing without my family as my support, or my people at school, because I'm a first-generation student, so having even those people at school, it really helps.

The biggest challenge would be the physical demand and the mental demand - just being undergraduate and going into the medical field, it's a lot of stress, and I found myself needing to take accommodations from the school. I feel like it would be good to mention that and encourage girls that are feeling down because they have conditions like POTS syndrome. A lot of girls, they feel very undetermined because of that, because it pushes you back, but I feel like just rising above that and doing your best, no matter the circumstances, that's the way to go, and just believing in yourself. You've got to find people at your school that care about you and trust you, and they will help show you the way, because you just gotta build your support system. I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing without my family as my support, or my people at school, because I'm a first-generation student, so having even those people at school, it really helps.

Perseverance, determination, and just being a hard worker - even if you don't want to do the work, just putting in your time. I struggle with that a lot in my part-time jobs, with a lot of people not having the same work ethic as me. Right now at my job, the students that are pre-med, they're the only ones who seem to share that drive. I think having a strong work ethic is one of my strongest beliefs - even if you don't want to do something, still just putting your part in. I'd say overarching, just bringing joy to people, being a good person, and trying to make people happy. Being nice, even if you don't want to. Just always trying to do what makes someone smile, even if it really makes you upset to do it.