My first battle with mental illness was a personal one. I struggled with GAD and depression since I was in 7th grade. My favorite story to tell is how I learned what a therapist was. One day, my mom was leaving the house. Out of curiosity, I asked her where she was going. She told me that she was going to therapy. Naturally, my following question was, "What is therapy?" My mom explained to me that because she is in a lot of physical pain, she has to go talk to someone who helps her with her feelings. My world changed from that moment on. I thought to myself, "There are people who can help with that?!" I knew that I had big, complicated feelings that I was struggling to manage. I did not know how to ask for help as a kid, but I tried screaming for help silently. I would be transparent about my feelings on the annual PHQ-9 assessment given by my PCP, but I was not taken seriously. I spoke my truth to the school counselor, met with her once, and never saw her again. My attempts at asking for help have gone unnoticed for a long time. I knew that I did not want others to feel the way that I had felt. From that moment on, I dedicated my life to being a resource for kids like me. Specifically, it is my goal to provide mental health services to underprivileged children. I was born and raised in Dayton and experienced first-hand how the school system is failing our hurting children. I have had the privilege of working at a DPS school and witnessed how mental health was not being prioritized. Not only do I want to be a resource, but I also want to be a representative for the Black community. Stigmatizing mental health is creating a generational curse of mentally unwell Black children who grow up to be mentally unwell adults and struggle to be a functioning member of society. A short scroll through Instagram shows that there is a mental health movement among us. There have been efforts to reduce stigmatization and increase communication. I am proud of this movement because I can now have honest conversations with my friends and family, something that I could not do as a child. I am happy to say that I received professional help in adulthood. However, there is much to be done when providing adequate help for our future generations.