Hello, my name is India Khanna, and I am no stranger to suicide. Growing up, suicide was a thought that ran through the minds of my peers, as well as my own, as a way to escape the unfortunate circumstances through which we were living. Whether it was emotional or physical neglect, abuse, bullying, etc. we were all looking for a way out. These thoughts weighed heavily on our minds, and we had no "trusted adults" to confide in. We were afraid of the news getting back to our respective families. We were terrified of the consequences of thinking those thoughts. We were stuck. As I grew older, I continued to struggle with thoughts of suicide. Throughout all of this, I knew that something needed to be done. Through my heavy thought process into why we, as small children, were thinking such drastic thoughts, I concluded that it was because we had no one. No one to talk to, no one to trust, no one to help. From that point of revelation, I made it my mission to become the "trusted adult" someday. I strayed from the path now and again, but I always found my way back. I took the psychology courses in high school and undergraduate university, I read the papers and watched the video retellings of stories from everyday people, and I involved myself in the community to learn more about what my peers needed and wanted out of mental health and healing. I put forth all of the energy that I had into trying to make my communities better places to be because I believed that it was the first step in changing the world. No matter how big or small, I was going to change somebody's world. Now, I am 24 years old and working through my master's degree in clinical mental health counseling. Thinking back to all that I have done and the action steps that I have taken to secure better mental health practices among my communities, my next course of action is to become better versed in mental health in the professional sphere as well as advocacy work. Making a positive impact on mental health within our society, and even the world, consists of not only knowing your communities but the communities that exist elsewhere also. While I am learning theories and how they are applied in counseling through my courses, I believe theory is good for thought and action is good for practice. Positive impacts come from a combination of thought, action, and collaboration. As I am going through graduate school and continuing my personal goals and efforts of making a positive impact on my communities, I have the same question running through my mind: how can I be of service to those who need help now? I think back to my elementary school peers and how stuck we were in the relentless cycle of suicidal ideation, attempts, and so on. I, as well as others in the mental health field, must do for them what we needed when we were younger. Hello again. My name is India Khanna. I am a person who has lost a friend to suicide, survived suicide, and will work towards reducing suicide rates in marginalized communities if it is the last thing I do. Underrepresented communities need help, and I am determined to be that help no matter what.

Hello, my name is India, and I am a person with a complicated history of childhood trauma. From a young age I have faced, and overcome, adversities that no child should ever have to endure. Multiple forms of abuse, emotional neglect, bullying, etc. All these things have impacted my life in various ways, and I am not the only one. In the communities that I grew up in, my peers and I were always told to seek help from a "trusted adult" when in need. No one told us what to do if we did not have any trusted adults in our lives. I noticed a need for this figure in elementary school, and it sparked the want to help those in need. While I went through many career aspiration changes throughout my childhood, I always returned to counseling. By the time I was 14, I had decided that I would be who my peers and I needed when we were children. I was going to be the trusted adult. From there my journey into social and political education, self-improvement, mental health, and expanded into something that I could have never imagined for myself previously. I began to educate myself on the issues that Black, LGBTQ+, and disabled individuals faced within the United States. From there I took what I learned and shared it with others. I began to build myself up and give myself the tools to keep myself alive under intense emotional and mental stress without access to mental health care. I learned, I shared, and I grew. Eventually, I conceptualized my journey and goals as aiming to become a "marginalized counselor for the marginalized." I aim to be not only representation but accessibility into a space that has not historically been accepting of or accessible to marginalized individuals. Now, as I make my way through my graduate education, I am furthering my education and understanding of what impacts marginalized populations outside of personal experience and observations. I am continuing my efforts to hold important conversations in spaces where they are least likely to occur. I am continuing my efforts to educate myself and those who do not have access to what I have access to. My beliefs and practices have provided me the opportunity to be an educator and a friend, and I am working towards becoming an activist. I have been given theory after theory to review, and while they hold value, theory is for thought. Action is for practice. I am approaching my time to put my theory into action, and I am excited to do so.

My experience with mental health has been one that has negatively as well as positively impacted me. Coming from a background where mental health was not taken seriously and mental health help was not accessible, I have had to find ways to cope with my mental health issues by myself. Being in this state, alone and scared, I made it my personal mission to be what I needed. We are always told to speak with a trusted adult when we are in need, but we are never told what to do when we do not have one. From here, my journey to mental health began. My journey led me towards reading up on mental health and coping skills on my own time to fill in the gaps of my need for therapy and mental health intervention. From here, I planned to take a psychology course in my high school years and major in psychology at university. During this time, my mental health was worsening, and my will to live was shortening, but we persevered. I held on to my dream, making it through high school and into Virginia Wesleyan University. My time at VWU was one filled with learning about activism and advocacy, making connections, creating change, and fostering community. During this time I learned a lot about myself, my mental health, and making meaningful connections with others. I began seeing a college counselor to discuss my mental health, began working on coping skills, and worked harder on wanting to live. This time period was a turning point for me, but the happiness did not last long. In the February of 2021 a close friend and person I planned the rest of my life with lost his life to suicide. This event broke me and shifted my life completely. I shut down and felt as though all my progress crumbled. My friend who I planned to become a mental health counselor with was no longer by my side. Was I going to be able to do this alone? This life change led me to take a gap year to seek mental health help, raise money for graduate school, and honor my friend's life by continuing my life mission to be a marginalized counselor for the marginalized. This has led me to where I am now. I am currently in my master's program at The George Washington University studying clinical mental health counseling. I am managing my mental health, working through school, and achieving my goals of becoming a marginalized counselor for the marginalized. I am a needed presence in the mental health field as a person who has faced oppression and can empathize with mental health issues. I plan to use my knowledge and expertise for good. My goal is to make mental health more accessible for the marginalized and those who cannot access it. I did not have a trusted adult as a child, but I will be a trusted adult for someone now.