Mental health has always been taboo in immigrant families. As a first-generation child, I was naturally conditioned to believe mental health is little to non-existent. As I was growing up, I was conditioned to believe that depression, anxiety, or more severe mental illness was something that only existed in television or movies. As we all know the media often over exaggerates mental illnesses for their benefit and watching such media let me know the last thing I wanted to be seen as was “crazy”. My parents worked hard to present themselves as sophisticated people, predictably so they expected me to maintain such status. There was such intense pressure to maintain this status that it often led me to be very self-conscious of every aspect of my life. I began to compare myself often to my peers and did everything I could to prove to others I could do no wrong. This led me to lie to myself for years about who I am as a person. I would then go on to try to please every person I came across even if it meant sacrificing a bit of myself. It was not until my middle to late teenage years that I realized the long-term effects playing pretend has done on me. The Covid pandemic has been bittersweet for me from the start. As everyone was physically forced indoors, I was forced to finally face myself. I took the time to discover who I really was as a person. Thanks to social media I was able to discover the mental illnesses I have and related resources. I would like to use my experiences to break the cycle that immigrants families have about mental illness. I would like to help them discover that it is okay to admit and be open about a mental illness. Showing immigrant parents and first-generation children that being yourself is what will get you to your goals and not the person you paint yourself as. In the end, your illness does not define you, you do.