Minds Matter is a nonprofit organization that helps students who are succeeding in high school but come from low-income neighborhoods. This program among many other nonprofits got me to believe that I had a choice to go to a private school, and I ended up at George Washington University but also gave me other opportunities like going abroad completely free.

Before Minds Matter asking someone for help always felt like a burden, like I was bothering the person because I was asking for assistance. I always felt as though there was something wrong with me when I asked for help so the past three years for me have shown me that my questions aren't a burden and to never be afraid to ask for help.

The beginning of SAT was nerve-wracking for me because I knew we had to be in groups and I didn't want to slow anyone down with any questions I had about the homework. The first couple of times of test prep I would say I understood every question even though I did not. As time went by my group made me feel more comfortable because I saw that they were asking questions when they needed help and the time I would ask for the work to be repeated nobody had a negative reaction.

Eleventh grade was the year I discovered that there was nothing wrong with asking for help. There were three mentees in my group and I remember one time when the math teacher went over a problem and I still did not get it and one of my friends noticed and told the teacher, at first I was nervous because I thought I was going to get in trouble. But she told she would be more than happy to go over any problem with me and she gave me her number and email. I knew then that the people at Minds Matter are here to help me.

The same was for my mentors, I knew that their intentions were good but I felt bad asking for help. My mentors made it known that I was not bothering them at all, so I took them up on their offer we made a group chat and I would ask any question I had no matter what day or time it was. What was most memorable was when I got one of my college deadlines mixed up and my mentors reviewed my supplemental essay on New Year's Eve right before I submitted. I knew they probably thought it was nothing but I was so grateful that they were willing to go the extra mile on a day like that just because I asked them to.

The last three years have changed me so much. Before Minds Matter, I could only ask certain people for help without feeling guilty. This program has taught me that there is definitely nothing wrong with asking for help or asking questions in general.

This shows the importance of nonprofits because they have a huge impact on people's lives especially mine.