"You always say 'it's okay' every time I ask you if everything is okay", my boss told me, one summer Sunday in the middle of the brunch rush, which was typical at the small family-run restaurant where I had waited tables for the past 3 years. “If it doesn't fit, you just need to say something and we can give you some help.” I had learned from a young age that it was easier to say, "Okay," or some variation of that, than it was to explain what was actually happening in the situation at the time. I am fiercely independent and some might say that is my greatest strength and my greatest weakness. A double-edged sword, if you will. I don't ask for help very often and I have a tendency to forget that most of the time it's even an option. I was forced to grow up fast, my entire life and everything I had ever known changing in a matter of moments. day. I grew up in a small town in Kansas and was raised by my grandmother and great-grandmother. Everything I knew and loved was contained in that little cop, in a stoplight city. My mother was part of my life, but almost in such a distant and relative way. I saw her two or three times a year, one of which was our annual summer family 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 summer trip to Colorado turned into my worst nightmare. It was the morning we were supposed to leave to go back to Kansas and everyone's 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 quite clear that I would stay and my grandmother would return, I was heartbroken and angry. My mother tried to soften the blow... middle of paper...... rented. It was fine though, I could do both, I could go to school full time and still provide for myself. I didn't need any help, I was fine. It was true, I was doing well and made it through three and a half years at Colorado State University and supported myself and graduated 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 the steps in place to get there. I continued to use my favorite phrase “It's okay” in all situations, but I slowly realized that I didn't have to settle for being okay. I wanted to be able to say “This is awesome” and have it be the truth, so I started trying harder and setting bigger goals. My number one goal is to go to law school, and I believe I never should have used the phrase “Okay” while attending Roger Williams School of Law.