Uzo N.

Photography by Alexandra Pentel

If you are reading this, take a deep breath.

I am not going to tell you, “You’ll be better tomorrow. Depression is just a mindset. Get over it already.”  I am not going to tell you, “Anxiety is fake. Get over your fears,” “Go to a mental home,” or “Take some happy pills and just be better already.”  I would never say that to you.  When you I think, your heart has been broken before, hurtful phrases like that can shatter it to a million pieces.

I know it is hard. If I could, then I would reach my hand through this screen and give you my hand to hold and squeeze when times are tough.  The hardest part is the loneliness and despair you feel.

I am here and able to write these words because no matter how dark my days got, there was one little spark that made me stay. That little spark was hope. Hope for life, a life that one day I could look back on and love. A life where I knew that all the pain and fighting was worth it to make it to this day. There is hope, and that hope gives you something to believe in when you see nothing else.

You will find this hope and learn to be grateful for this experience. You will realize that this pain and hardship, this hell, has made you the person you are. It has taught you more than anyone or anything could teach you about the gift and meaning of life.

Uzo N., University of Virginia

UzoArt.com

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