Throughout this journey in dental hygiene school, I have discovered a true passion for this profession. Building meaningful relationships with each of my patients and sharing my knowledge with them has brought me a great amount of joy and satisfaction. I have learned that being a hygienist is more than just cleaning teeth. It's being the first line of defense in recognizing oral cancer, being an educator, prevention of permanent periodontal disease, being a listener to each patient and their circumstances, providing compassionate care without judgment, and so much more. As I reflect on these past two years, I see the immense amount of knowledge and skills that I have learned and developed. In the future, I am eager to use the knowledge that I have accumulated in my time spent in the dental hygiene program to make smiles brighter and help my patients to feel satisfied with their oral health. Although I will continue to build my skills in recognizing abnormalities, calculus removal, and time management, I know that I will be a patient and compassionate dental provider. Having these unique qualities has enabled patients already to feel comfortable in my chair and has taken away some of their anxiety surrounding dentistry. Establishing these important characteristics of a professional dental team member will impact many lives in the community I serve. I hope to continue building my education despite adding the title of RDH to my name. It will be a lifelong journey of additional knowledge that I will learn that will not only help the patients I see, but the individuals I will encounter outside clinical practice. I am very excited the difference I hope to make in the dental field and for the opportunities that lie ahead of me in whatever office I work in!