Meryl H.

If you’re reading this, know you do not have to do it all on your own.

I grew up as the youngest of four in a busy household, both parents working in the medical field with what seemed like the world's weight of pressure atop their shoulders.

For some reason, I always felt like a burden. To my family, my friends, to my teachers and colleagues, I felt like a burden and a bother. No matter how much I could do that was right, the one wrong move sent me into a mental panic that someone would decide I wasn’t worth the trouble anymore.

Eventually, this pressure along with feeling the need to do everything for myself led me to do exactly that. I wouldn’t want anyone to help me finish a task or a project. I became my own force, my own drive, and the voice in my head that was telling me I wasn’t doing good enough was one that was so familiar because it was my own. Don’t get me wrong, I think having self discipline is one of the utmost important qualities, but there are certain weights and tasks we are not meant to tackle all on our own all at once.

This need was ingrained in my mind. In all areas, all aspects, I was not doing good and was not enough. So there began struggles with anxiety, eating disorders, among other struggles that sometimes I never let anyone see. At school people probably wouldn’t have known that I was ashamed and I would rather let it eat away at me than tell someone or ask anyone for help.

There were a few points where I felt almost broken in two which then culminated into a desire to seek help for what felt like the first time since I was five years old. And the joy I have experienced on the other side of things is incomparable. While I still struggle daily, I walk knowing there is a tomorrow that will be brighter and better, and there is a positive aspect to working hard for myself. I have moments where I realize I have to let people help me, that not everything has to be done by myself. Learning that everyone struggles and has battles of their own really helped me to be able to speak openly about mental health awareness, and today it’s one of the easiest topics that I can speak on. Delegation and openness allows for growth and less pressure on your own mind. This is a skill I have had to come to know and lean on for my mental health and the success of my ambitions.

After deciding to go through Sorority Recruitment here at Clemson my freshman year, I found a home away from home of girls that cared not just about me, but about my mental health. More than that, my passion for mental health and well being was soon shared by a family of 350+ sisters. Kappa Kappa Gamma’s national philanthropy is mental health and well-being with each chapter getting to choose an organization to support and rally behind. Our chapter at Clemson supports the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit that supports mental health and suicide prevention for teens and young adults across the country. Supporting this foundation has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life so far. Kappa also provides members with free online therapy any time using the platform Talk Space. Being able to be around a group of young women who support each other and I can openly discuss these issues has been phenomenal and the strides we have made towards decreasing the stigma make me so proud to represent these girls as the Philanthropy Director. It has truly been such a privilege to organize these events and support others while also such a testament to what we can do when a group of young women set their mind to something.

College has been a wonderful experience and like the movies, there’s so much to try and so much to do, but try not to run yourself ragged. The more you overextend yourself and your time, the less you have for yourself and the less quality you are able to give when it becomes important.

Meryl H., Clemson University ‘25

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