In retrospect, the only way I can really describe summer that year is that I lasted. Certain things kept me going like watching sunsets, babysitting, and phone calls with my friend Tiffany or Ms. Wojcik; two people I can always confide in and that can make me laugh without even trying. In September it was back to the normal school routine. I was actually sort of excited. My headaches were getting better, the weather was still nice, and I could focus for the first time in what felt like forever when I was having a conversation. Things were looking good. Okay, fast-forward again to the end of Grade 11. To sum up my mental health during the school year in three words, I would say it was sad, painful, and exhausting. Every day I would conceal
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One thing that has really given me hope in all of this is a poem that I studied in Grade 9. Walt Whitman asks in his poem: “What good amid thee O me! O Life”, and his answer is that “that you are here, that life exists, and identity. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.” So while reading this poem in January of 2015 for the umpteenth time, that’s when it came to me. What if I did something about all of this? Like really did something for everyone suffering like me. I could be an advocate for people with mental illness. Ideas and fantasies of a stigma-free world percolated in my head until January 21st. It was the 5th annual Bell Let’s Talk day meant to eradicate the stigma associated with mental illness. The main spokesperson was Clara Hughes – someone I’d idolized as a female athlete and role model since I was very young. Social media erupted in talk of mental health and awareness. Even girls at SMA were openly posting about it. That’s when my plan really started. I absolutely had to tell people my story, I had to get rid of the ignorance of so many, and face my fear of talking about something that I had internally stigmatized for so
One thing that has really given me hope in all of this is a poem that I studied in Grade 9. Walt Whitman asks in his poem: “What good amid thee O me! O Life”, and his answer is that “that you are here, that life exists, and identity. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.” So while reading this poem in January of 2015 for the umpteenth time, that’s when it came to me. What if I did something about all of this? Like really did something for everyone suffering like me. I could be an advocate for people with mental illness. Ideas and fantasies of a stigma-free world percolated in my head until January 21st. It was the 5th annual Bell Let’s Talk day meant to eradicate the stigma associated with mental illness. The main spokesperson was Clara Hughes – someone I’d idolized as a female athlete and role model since I was very young. Social media erupted in talk of mental health and awareness. Even girls at SMA were openly posting about it. That’s when my plan really started. I absolutely had to tell people my story, I had to get rid of the ignorance of so many, and face my fear of talking about something that I had internally stigmatized for so