Kylie G.
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
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