In honor of receiving a lot of support recently I wanted to share my story with you guys, my motivation for starting BeGreat, and why I choose to donate to mental health charities.
My journey starts back when I was 14. I was entering my freshman year of high school excited to start a new chapter in my life. The transition was smooth, and I couldn't have been happier with how everything was going. Suddenly things started to take a turn for the worse. There was this unexplainable feeling inside me that was starting to grow. The pain of mental health truly is an unexplainable one. I've broken bones and gotten cuts, but that pain was nothing compared to the mental pain I was experiencing. Day by day I would get worse but didn't say anything about it because I didn't know what to do. I was fading away and becoming distant to everything I once loved. I kept everything locked up until I was about 16. For 2 years I was dealing with an unexplainable pain that has been building up inside me. Every step I took hurt, the realization that I wouldn't be alive for much longer came to reality. However, at the last second something inside me told me not to give up and to keep fighting. Due to concerns of family and friends, I was forced to go to the school counselor's office. I wasn't planning on telling her anything but after talking for what seemed like hours, everything came out of me, and I told her everything. Because of how serious my condition was I was brought to a hospital immediately. I was at the hospital all night and was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety. I got the feeling of relief that my secret was out for the first time. I was put on heavy medication and treatment. The medication worked wonders for me, and I was starting to feel like myself again.
Fast forward 2 years, I just turned 18 and was finally starting to have control over my life again. Entering my freshman year of college, I was excited for what the future had in store for me. Going across the country to play lacrosse and meet new people was awesome. My freshman year of college was awesome, I met some really close friends and watched myself grow as a person. My roommate was awesome, the people there were awesome, and the environment was awesome. After freshman year of college ended, I came back home to be with my family and took up a summer job to have some money to go into my sophomore year of college with. However, going into my sophomore year something just didn't feel right. I didn't want to face the fact that the pain that was inside me came back. I pushed it off and told myself that there's no way this could be happening again. Worse comes to worse and next thing I know; I am back in a hospital dealing with the same mental health problems that I was dealing with before. Only this time it was much worse, the pain grew and got so bad that I had to return home to get more treatment and get put on more medication. I missed my whole sophomore fall semester. While everyone was having fun, I was stuck at home dealing with the demons inside of me that had arose again. It was during my time at home that I decided to start BeGreat. I always wanted to create something that had meaning and with what I was going through at the time, I knew this was something I would enjoy. I went back to college during my sophomore spring semester and felt amazing. Currently, I am 20 and haven't felt better. I finally am just focusing on me which was what I was missing all of these years. I can't think my family, friends, and health providers enough for all of the help I have received over the years. Sometimes it doesn't even feel real for all the support I have received. Now I hope that with BeGreat I can help spread awareness and help people get the support they need.