Mental Health has taught me I am not alone (even if some days I feel lonely). There is always someone to reach out to. Semi-colon's have become apart of my daily ritual. Identifying my Semi-colon moment means to put a quick pause (a stop and think moment) and continue to keep pushing along. My favorite quote: " Keep Moving Forward." When it comes to Mental Health, that is the one thing that it has taught me. I am strong no matter how weak I feel in that moment. I have suffered with several Mental Health Diagnosis, by learning about them I was able to start navigating my life. My goals one day is to Open Up a Community Center. One of the main focuses would be mental health. Mental Health is such a big reason for the community needs to come together. Even though Mental Health providers has become more accessible for adult does not mean that it is accessible for all populations of people. I would like to help provide that service. There are children who does not have the support or access to mental health. Same thing with those who are displaced (adults or children). Relationship: My mental health has always suffered in my previous relationships. I would have low self confidence / low self esteem. I was a people pleaser (I cared about everyone but myself). As I progressed through life, I sought out therapy . Even when I would get better and quit. I always went back to therapy because I knew when to reach out. Once I started therapy, My worldview on relationships changed. I stopped approaching the relationship as a all or nothing. I learned to set and navigate boundaries within a relationship. I stopped people pleasing withing the relationship and started learning to feel and process the issues that came with the relationship. Depression and Anxiety is something that I have always lived with. I still live with it today but I am better. I navigate better, I let my spouse what my needs are in that moment in time. I also learned new ways to express myself. With really hard conversations for me, my spouse tells me to write a letter explaining everything including how I feel and then he will read it. When I am ready to talk he would explain and help me the best way possible. Understanding the world: If there was one word to explain how I understand the world it is "Grace". There are a lot of words that I could have used, i.e. sympathy, empathy, or compassion. But I think those words can be summed up by giving someone Grace. Everyone has a good or a bad day. Everyone can be grumpy. Understanding that everyone has feelings and emotions. I understand that this was a bad time or good time or even something traumatic happened but we (the people) cannot understand unless we give them space and grace to explain. Grace has become apart of my regular vocabulary.

Recently, I have been starting a mental health journey. It feels as if I have been dealing with mental illnesses/ health all my life. And come to find out I have. I recently was diagnosed with ADD. All my life I have been dealing with this but because I've never been tested before now I have struggled with classes and life not knowing how to approach life and managing myself. But now that I know, I plan on going back to school and opening new stages in life like a non-profit. Mental health has shaped my goals for the long term. I have a passion to look into mental health and want to help people find resources to be able to seek out more mental health opportunities. I am currently in progress opening a non profit for a community center. In the community center mental health will be a geared focus there. My Community Center will focus on children for now. Children are also highly impacted by mental health. I want to start with them first. Children sometimes lacks resources to deal with their mental health and how it impacts them and their progression through life. Mental health has shaped my relationships in some of the worst ways and best ways. The worst way is simple not seeking therapy and recognizing signs for different types of mental illnesses prevented me from speaking and talking with previous partners and friendships. In the most positive way, I can now talk to others and encourage them to seek out therapy and other mental health relief. I openly discuss my mental health and illnesses to help others. One thing that people have a hard time dealing with mental health is that they believe that no one has been through what they have been through. I know that when people are able to accept that it can make them more acceptable to seeking out help. My relationships has gotten better over time. I am of course still working on friendships. Mental health has shaped my understanding of the world because of my experience. My experience with mental health has been enriching. The more I learn about mental health the more I come to understand people more. I believe that learning about mental health should be a requirement in school. Not just in the aspect of understanding people but understanding that mental does put a lot on people as far a strain is concerned. Mental health is such a broad spectrum when it comes to learning about them. Whether someone has a mental illness or concerned about their mental health at all, everyone. Everyone has been impacted by Mental Health and Mental Illnesses at some point and time.