AMPLIFY Mental Health Scholarship

As a youth mental health advocate, I have spoken on panels with NAMI, We Rise LA, Childhood USA & Comic Relief in the last year. Most recently I co-facilitated a Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) prevention and early intervention peer listening session. I first became involved with mental health advocacy when my film "Abbreviated Soliloquies" won the Team Pick award for the "Mental Health Matters" category of the Directing Change Program, whose mission is to educate youth through the medium of film. Although my participation with Directing Change occurred in May of 2020, "Abbreviated Soliloquies" was a shortened version of my film "Soliloquies," which I made three years earlier. In May of 2017, I was diagnosed with ADHD and social anxiety, and a few months later, I went to New York as a part of Ghetto Film School's summer residency program- a two week period wherein which we stayed at NYU and took classes with the film professors, culminating in a screening of each of our personal narrative films. At the time, I had not spoken to anyone other than my doctor and (just barely) my parents, but I wanted to take the personal narrative assignment as an opportunity to explore how my recent diagnosis affected me and my life. Screening the film was terrifying because not only was I having a real, honest dialogue with myself (hence the name "Soliloquies") for the first time, but that inner conversation was going to be shown to my classmates, whom I had known for almost two years at the time. I was scared they were going to view me differently, that they were going to see me as weak. But I couldn't have been more wrong. After the screening, my friends and classmates came up to me and told me how much they related to my experience. How if I ever needed anything or anyone, they were there to support me. Two years later, "Soliloquies" was screened publicly, this time at the 2018 Cinequest International Film & Creativity Festival in the "Animated Worlds" category. My experience was similar to the summer two years prior: anxiety about being vulnerable, followed by support from some audience members. People of various ages came up to me after the screening and told me how much they were able to relate to my film. I think this was the first time where I fully grasped the power film has to make positive, impactful change. For me, mental health's long history of stigmatization deterred me from seeking support. However, with film, I hope to normalize the conversation surrounding mental health and show others that they are not alone in an experience that often feels so isolating. In addition to going to NYU Tisch to continue my film studies, I have become involved with philanthropy and grant making through my participation with Comic Relief as a Youth Advisory Council Member. Here, I hope to continue my mental health advocacy by funding youth-led mental health organizations. While I have accomplished a lot in the realm of mental health advocacy, I also think it's important to acknowledge that I still struggle with mental health to this day. In the last four years, I have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety and depression. I've learned that one's experience with mental health is ever-changing with its ups and downs. Over the years, as I've become more vocal about my experiences with mental health, I've come to really value and appreciate the support of friends and family. I am incredibly lucky to have a strong support system, and by making films and continuing the conversation, I hope to normalize the discussion of mental health so others can find supports of their own and see that they are not, in fact, alone.