Mental health spirals. That's the best word for it and perhaps the most accurate. Rarely does someone wake up all of a sudden in a bad place. Deterioration is a slow, crippling, and compounding process; it can start with something small and trivial and cascade into something much more destructive. I believe that acknowledging this reality and intervening during this stage is critical to recovery. My conclusions regarding this came from my personal experiences. There was a time in my college career when I would walk around every day smiling, but internally, I would be in shambles. It never occurred to me that perhaps I was not the only one hiding my pain behind a smile. This all changed over a year ago when I saw a close friend studying alone in a classroom. I knocked on the classroom window to avoid disturbing him, waved, and walked away, hoping to chat with him the next time I saw him. The next day, I learned that he was hospitalized due to suicide ideation. He did not want anyone to know, so I had to give him space. But when I did, I learned that he had packed up, moved out of his apartment, and dropped out of college. I was heartbroken - not only because of what he had gone through but also because I had never noticed what he was going through. I had lost my friend. It was at this point that I began to question where I had gone wrong, how I could not have picked up on it, and what I could have done. It was this experience that galvanized me to advocate for change. I don't have all the answers, but I have learned some important lessons. For one, individual mental health is deeply tied to the community at large. Now in my senior year, I have made it my mission to improve outcomes for students facing mental health struggles. I am currently collaborating with administrators, student government, student organizations, and outside organizations to improve access to mental health resources on campus, bridge the gap between existing resources and students, and decrease the hesitation in seeking help. Currently, I have three projects that are finally gaining momentum and are looking to be completed this semester. But that is only one part of change and not the most important. Change must begin with the members of the community. Therefore, in a recent speech I delivered to over a hundred students at my college, I stressed the importance of asking for help as well as offering it. I stressed that 'being kind does not only ensure support for others, but it ensures that you will also be a recipient, in turn, of that support.' Long before I advocated for this, I worked to embody it. I learned from practice what I believe now: if I am kind to my peers and regularly check in when they are doing well, then when I check in when they are not well, they are more likely to confide in me and ask for support. This can single-handedly stop the spiral of deterioration. My efforts seem to be having an impact on my community. I see more people asking each other how they are and being kind to each other. It may seem like I have not answered the prompt of this essay. I have: I am taking care of my mental health by working on taking care of my community and building a community where people not only care but notice and ask when our members are not doing so well.