After years of being in and out of hospitals for both mental and physical diagnoses and listening to many other’s mental health journeys, I have been on the road to speak up for those who can’t. From offering proposals to schools districts to starting a nonprofit for raising awareness towards mental health. With every step I take, I am doing it for the ones who are suffering in silence who are not finding any support or love. At an early age, it was difficult to find someone that I could talk to about my overwhelming thoughts and hopeless feelings. I was so young, confused, and lost. I grew up in a family who had an old-fashioned mindset about mental illnesses. They would dismiss my feelings and thoughts with the usual “You know, I had it worse when I was your age”. It took reading my final goodbye letters for them to realize I needed help. My family is nothing but the most supportive and loving people in my life. My school at the time did not how to approach me because they never had “someone so young doing terrible things to themselves”. Everyday during school, I would walk into a full classroom of students and still feel like I was alone in an empty room. The feeling of not being loved both at home and at school is something no 9 year old (or anyone) should experience. I am grateful to have visited mental health specialists and doctors to better understand what I have been dealing with. Figuring out why you think the way you think while drowning in the stigma is a superhero power. On my road to recovery, I have been shamed for my story and was told terrible things. I have never been more proud of myself and I will continue to fight until the silenced know they are just as worthy as anyone else. I speak for them. You can’t change the past but you can choose who you become. To anyone dealing with similar problems, you are worth more than your darkness. You deserve the support, love, and respect you give everyone else. I am proud of you waking up everyday even though I know it’s hard to. You have to go through the bad to reach the good. It’s going to get good so soon, just hang in there.