Freshman Shelby Byrd is exploring her different interests by entering her first year of journalism. Byrd participates in competitive basketball and  cheerleading at UPA. In her free time she frequently writes, using writing as a way to express herself. Writing about mental health allows her to tell a story of those around her. Byrd enjoys using her writing as a platform for others to discover and use their voice.  In her personal life, Byrd values many things such as humor, hygiene, hardworkingness and herself. Byrd strictly follows the motto “if you can’t love yourself then you can’t love someone else.” This motto reminds Byrd to put herself and her needs first so she can tend to others. Family and religion are major aspects in her life. Having five older sisters, Byrd had to adapt to the big family lifestyle and she thinks of herself as a a person with a little bit of her other sisters. Throughout her life, Byrd hopes to accomplish many great things in her life, such as becoming a lawyer or a journalist. Byrd also  values mental health. Byrd believes that the importance of helping someone before their mental health deteriorates is a concept that is commonly looked over. She wants to shed light on the concept that the community should help everyone with their mental health before a problem arises. As a reporter, Byrd hopes to give those in the community at UPA a voice. Not only does writing appeal to Byrd, but exploring different fields in journalism such as broadcasting, social media posts and photo journalism seem interesting to her.