When I graduated in high school, I was not allowed to hug my best friend. It was in 2020, and I was moving away. My best friend’s parents were rightfully worried about the global pandemic, but that didn’t stop my heart from feeling crushed. I didn’t have a real graduation, I didn’t have my last chorus concert, and I didn’t get that last hurrah after high school. I moved across the country for school, where I wanted to completely come out and be myself, but I was stopped by roommates who didn’t believe I should be allowed to happily exist. Attending this college in a homophobic area was a mistake that I didn’t know I was making. I was threatened by people who saw me wear a rainbow, people who promised to bring guns onto campus next time they saw me with them on. I found myself wishing that they would. Eventually, I found a group that understood me and related to me, and those were my first steps into recovery. I am so grateful that I had a supportive mother and sister to convince me to get therapy. Without them, I do not believe I would be alive. I regret the one attempt I took, and work on moving past it every day. It is almost a year ago that it happened, and I am coming out of my shell so much. I transferred to a college that is much more accepting, and got the medication and therapy I need to keep going. Those experiences caused trauma that I am still working through, but I am so happy that I am alive to do so. My battle with mental illness has made me realize that it can happen to anyone. I was always an optimistic and sunny child, and I adored life for so long. I am so glad I adore life again, it is so important to be able to find goodness everyday. Through my struggles, I realized how much I wanted to advocate for people like me. That is what I am now going to school for. I am going to be an occupational therapist and advocate for people on a personal level to be able to return to their daily activities the way I did. I want to be a social worker later in life, to advocate on a larger level. My mental health struggle shaped me to be able to stand on my feet and pull people out of the depths of despair, and I am so grateful for it. My greatest goal is to be a person who exudes safety and kindness, and to get my degrees in allied health professions can help me do that. My mental health journey has brought me to a point where I view everyone as worthy of multiple chances. Without the chances I got to work on my health, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I want to give people the chances they need to be healthy and able again, as well as give them the understanding and space they need to do so. Making my experiences more well known might change some peoples’ minds, and might pave a path to greater acceptance and healing. To fight isolation is to fight suicide. Creating safety in places is so important, and I will not stop until I know I’ve been able to do that for people. I owe that to the world for helping save me, and for sending me what I have needed to begin my climb towards healthiness. I have my optimism again, and I continue to recover pieces of myself that I forgot I had lost. I’ve travelled back home and given my best friend a hug. We’ve cried together so much over what we have lost, so I am glad I didn’t add to that count with my life. I know I can make it through, and I want to help others to, as well. I hope my life of advocacy can bring some of that change to reality. Thank you so much.

As someone who has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression disorders, I know that the way to fight mental health is to create emotional safety. When people feel isolated, they lose touch with who they are and emotions build up inside, waiting to spring loose. A practical way to allow for the release of such emotions is hosting low energy events, in smaller group formats. An event with too much high energy is less likely to attract someone struggling with mental health. Having a professional work with a small group of people to teach new coping skills or just have a refreshment with open discussion could create those human connections that are needed to combat mental stress. Without the feeling of being socially accepted, mental illness can take root and grow within people. This way, it is easier to open up about how difficult it’s been, and people can feel the support necessary to be able to get professional help. With that more socially acceptable than ever, people have been flocking to therapy. It’s the best way to heal and become free of the mental chains that mental illnesses bring. I was lucky enough to have a group create small events that I went to. When I felt that warmth from people talking about experiences similar to my own, I no longer felt isolated, and sought professional help to get what I needed to survive. It changed my life and helped me get back on my feet, so I want to continue my school work to advocate for others in need. Thank you.

As a non-binary bisexual individual, I have attended different pride parades and protests in conservative areas where my friends and I have been threatened with gunfire. I’ve been scared to leave my dorm before on days I knew people had sent out these threats, but I have found joy and love in the LGBTQIA community, as well as from myself after having come out. Accepting myself for who I am has taken years, and I’m still experiencing obstacles on my journey. I love the LGBTQ+ community with all of my heart, and want to work closely with other marginalized groups. I want to be an occupational therapist, so I can work with people on a personal level with what they struggle with. Eventually down the line, I want to have a masters in social work to continue my advocacy work and take my love and acceptance to people who need it most. Growing up in the closet and then coming out has taught me how different people treat others, and how I’ve been treated since coming out has shown me that there is good and evil in the world. I want to be a part of the force for good that helps repel that evil. I am so grateful for every opportunity I’ve had to find safety with the LGBTQ+ community. I have transferred from a homophobic private college to a much more accepting public one, and have been trying more masculine names for myself. I’ve been free to unpack the trauma I’ve had over the years and to become myself again after so much time spent hiding. Thank you so much for this opportunity to explain a piece of my story, and to take pride in who I am. I hope I can help bring safety to different people in my life, the way I was brought into safety by my community.