As I get older in life, I sometimes do not realize how many obstacles I had to climb to get to where I am today. While I am in a good spot mentally, it can be hard to realize that I had to prove to so many people that doubted that I had the potential to overcome my challenges and eventually be the better person.

While I have won so many awards and been the person that everyone knows me to be. That path is not always linear. It had had many bumps and detours on that path, and I doubt that I could get back on track. There was a part of me that did not want to believe or remember those dark and dangerous moments or even realize those moments when I was not myself that even others do not know that I was not caring for myself. As much as it hurt others to see that I was crumbling inside they had to let me see that for myself as some were on constant watch to assure that something horrific did not happen and when it did, they were there helping in the way that they knew best.

For the past six or so months, I have been working more on myself to ensure that I never get to that place that I have been off and on the past six years. As much as I was in denial about not caring for my mental health, there was a part of me that knew what I was doing and it was hurting me little by little and through time I realized the little signs that led to my mental health declining to what it was before others caught on.

I am grateful to have all the people that know me well enough to know when I am not well and to raise concern for my issues. It can be hard to hear the hard truths when they know that you are not yourself and raise concerns about you. In the past, I had considered that they were ganging up on me because they did not like the way that I was acting, but they remember the person that I know that I can be when my mental health is in check. They know that I do well and I am that person who has overcame those obstacles to get to where I am today.

Life has not always been easy for me to prove to so many that I can do many things that they believe that I cannot. One thing is that I never give up on what I am set to do. Looking back from the time I left Junior High, went to residential treatment, came home and completed three years at the Senior High, I proved to so many, some that even were school board members and administrators as I walked up to be recognized at my High School graduation ceremony that I could graduate. Eventually, proving the system that I could go to Vocational Training an hour away from home and succeed quite well was one of the best obstacles that I overcame and lastly, going to community college on my own with little assistance and getting not only an associate’s degree, but also a college certificate was no small feat but time and time again, I have proved so many that I can overcome any obstacles that are set in my path and just as the past six years has been in navigating my own independence, I am finally on the right track for better times ahead and working on making all things new.