Madeline R.
Photography by Shawn Bulloch
If you’re reading this, your life is not meaningless.
When I was in my sophomore year of high school, I was sent to a residential treatment program to treat Major Depressive Disorder. Never in my life had I reached such a low point emotionally, and never had I wished more that I was gone. Waking up every day was dreadful, knowing that I would continue to suffer like yesterday, and the day before that, and so on. It felt like a never ending cycle–a cycle that couldn’t be escaped as long as I was breathing.
My family knew that I needed help, and help is exactly what they sought out. Soon enough, I found myself in a residential treatment facility with twenty other strangers who also struggled like I did. At first, I resented it with every single bone in my body; it felt like a prison. But one night, as I was staring at myself in the mirror, I realized something that changed the course of my life forever. The people who love me will never let me quit. That meant I had two choices: either stay in this residential treatment facility forever, or start working to get better. And with that, I began putting in the effort to work on my mental wellbeing.
Soon enough, I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Recovery found me, and my days started to get better and better. Now, I’ve made it through my first semester of college, and I am so glad that I stuck with it and kept trying. I’ve come to realize that my life is so precious and valuable. And yours is too.
Trust me when I say that things will get better. Days can be tough, and you are so much tougher. Never forget that you are loved. So many people want you around, and you deserve to be happy. You are extremely worthy. You are extremely valued. You are extremely you, and that’s enough. So to whoever is reading this–keep on going. You’ve come so far, and a joyous future of love and hope awaits.
Madeline R., University of Georgia
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