To that end, Karma is planning to study forensic psychology after high school. “I grew up watching crime documentaries,” she explains. “I love how the psychologists explain. Because people do things for a certain reason. It might not be because you’re a bad person, but maybe a bad thing happened to you.” Karma knows this first-hand, because as a child, her own father was incarcerated at times. “But he’s a very smart person,” she says. The experience planted the idea into her young mind that good people sometimes do things against their character, things that don’t make sense, and it made her wonder why they do the things they do. Because knowing the ‘why’ goes a long way toward being able to help. “I want to be there to listen to those people, because nobody else will,” she says.

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Karma knows how important it can be to have someone who will listen without judgment. “I didn’t have the best childhood,” she confides. Her family situation kept her from having that sympathetic ear that she sometimes needed, so she had to learn to rely on herself to work out problems and deal with her emotions. She was also lucky to have two older brothers who served as surrogate parents and role models for her. “They were the ones who helped raise me, and I just appreciate them so much for that,” she gushes. In fact, her highly-developed sense of empathy and strong desire to help others can be directly attributed to her observation of their examples. “I don’t regret my childhood,” she asserts, “because I feel like if I had not had the childhood I had, I would not be the person I am today.” She also has a younger sister, for whom she wants to be the kind of positive role model that her brothers were for her. She wants her sister to think, ‘If she can do it, then I can do it.’ “I want to be there to encourage her,” Karma states.

 

In addition to her siblings, Karma’s support system also boasts a close-knit group of friends that she is grateful to be a part of. “I love coming here to see them,” she enthuses. “If I have anything I need to get off my chest, they’re always there to listen.” Even good friends can sometimes disagree, and hurt feelings can ensue. But their willingness to listen and communicate, even when what needs to be said is difficult to say and to hear, helps keep the peace and their relationships strong. Her friendships have shown her how freeing it can be to realize that others have had experiences similar to your own, and have some idea what you are going through. It’s something her childhood lacked, but that she is now privileged to have with her friends. And it’s something Karma wishes that everyone could experience.

 

One doesn’t need to be a close friend to benefit from Karma’s sympathetic ear and empathetic heart. “I want to be there to help people,” she explains. She is always ready and willing to act as a sounding board for her classmates, even those that she does not know well. “If you need someone just to sit there and listen to you,” she says, “I’m always there to listen.”

 

When asked what she likes most about Meridian, she is quick to reply, “What I love about it is that you can be yourself around these people without being judged.” This appreciation for her classmate’s unconditional acceptance of the differences of others was perhaps born out of her experience at another school. “I tried to fit into a category that I didn’t fit into, and tried to be a different person,” she explains. She felt like others disliked her because of who she was. “So, I tried to mold myself into a different person,” she recalls. But now, when she looks back on that time and that insecure little girl, she thinks, “You did not have to change anything about yourself.” It took some time, but now she is comfortable with who she is, and much happier for it.

 

Karma is currently taking a dual-credit psychology class, with a sociology course slated for the Fall semester. After graduation, she thinks that she will stick close to home for college – at least at first. But, as she continues her studies, she sees herself venturing further afield, maybe as far as California. “That’s an area that I’ve seen throughout my childhood, and it’s just like a happy place for me,” she says. “So, if I could go to college there, and study something that I actually enjoy, and be in a place that I’ve always wanted to be… I feel like that would be just amazing.” She doesn’t want to leave the Midwest completely behind, but the idea of starting something new in a different place holds appeal for her. “I feel like a fresh start is always good,” she says. Karma feels that a change of scenery would allow her to grow in ways that she might not be able to in the familiar surroundings of Pulaski County, no matter how privileged a place it holds in her heart.

 

And grow she no doubt will. With her potential limited only by her will, and her hunger to find out the ‘whys’ nowhere close to satiated, Karma is sure to make a positive difference in the lives of many.