Faith and Focus

I wish healing came with a calendar. I wish I could’ve told myself, “You’ll be okay by this day,” and actually believe it. But real life doesn’t work that way. This year, even while working on my Capstone project about teen mental health, I hit a rough patch myself. I felt overwhelmed, missed deadlines, and fell into the same habits I’d worked so hard to get out of. I was finding myself shutting down, avoiding things, and telling myself I wasn’t good enough. I recognized that downward spiral, but I wasn’t able to push myself out of it quickly.

At first, as I often am, I was frustrated with myself. I’ve always wanted to be the “perfect” student, but especially now because this topic meant so much to me. I had to face something really hard. That being mean to myself wasn’t helping. What actually helped was giving myself grace. I had to learn to forgive myself when I couldn’t keep it all together. I worked to stop calling myself lazy or broken and started reminding myself I’m just human. I’m a 17 year old that still has a lot of life and learning. I believe that is the first step toward healing is accepting where you are without feeling ashamed. It’s not easy and it’s okay to not be okay all the time.

This blog is all about being real with yourself and others. There is no perfect timeline for getting better. You don’t have to prove anything to deserve help. You just have to keep showing up and know that is a brave thing. You are doing hard things and you are doing them for your future self. That is worth it.