Kylie G.
Photography by Nyla Butler
If you’re reading this, know that your younger self would be proud of you.
We live in a world where mental health disorders are widely known and are not commonly accepted. There is a difference between popularity and acceptance. Popularity shows itself in popular trends and over-glorified media. Acceptance is more complicated. Acceptance was exchanging our parents’ phone numbers when I was thirteen just in case. Acceptance on my part is the result of failure to help from another.
I accepted at an early age that the overwhelmingly unbearable state I lived in would be a constant throughout my life. So I allowed it to become a part of me, a personality trait. It was like the word ‘anxious’ was written in bright red ink on my forehead. Like a baby, I was raised until it grew into an unrelenting monster that I loved too much to get rid of.
In a twisted way, my mental health journey was a blessing in disguise. While I am much older now and am privy to my emotions and ways to handle them it is still difficult to acknowledge that my experience shaped who I am today. It shows itself in the way I fear for my younger friends and family. It is the way I feel pride and awe over completing the most menial of tasks because there was a period when I genuinely believed I would not be around long enough to do so.
When I was admitted to WSU I knew that I wanted to go into psychology so I could continue the aid I received for others because if I could get through it then you can too. As I pursue an education and eventually a career a key part of my motivation is proving to younger me that I am worthy of the life I have.
There is not a day that goes by where I don’t think that my younger self would be in awe of me now. That we are turning the suffering that we experienced into something beautiful. I encourage you all to do the same.
Kylie G., Washington State University
Connect With Us
To follow IfYoureReadingThis at WSU on Instagram, get in touch with our chapter, and learn about more resources available to WSU students, visit our chapter’s homepage.
