Life as I know it

When I started this blog, I was worried that the content would be very self-serving and a little vacuous. This whole thing started as a way to help me reclaim my life and sometimes that seems a little selfish to me. After all, there are far bigger problems in the world than my lack of free time. And then a couple of things happened today - which forced me to realize that when I say that I am reclaiming me, it is so much more than finding new places to drink coffee in Indianapolis or doing well on a paper for school. I really am reclaiming a healthy, balanced outlook on life. And the last 24 hours have reaffirmed just how important that really is.

Last night, through a series of emails with an old friend, I found out that a young woman with whom I have worked for the past four years, and who I have known since she was about five, attempted suicide. A girl who seemingly had it all actually felt so helpless and so alone that a handful of sleeping pills seemed to be her only viable option. As I sit here typing this, she sits in a hospital under supervision, her family reeling. And I am having trouble reconciling the image I have of her - vivacious, enthusiastic, upbeat - with her current reality.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health and the Indiana State Attorney General's office, suicide is a leading cause of death in teens. Suicide is preventable. The first step to preventing suicide is talking about it.

This morning, an article I wrote for the United Way of Central Indiana about the correlation between teen suicide and self-esteem programming was posted to their blog and sent out in their agency newsletter.

The article (which you can read here) talks about my work with a specific girl named Allie. Over the past four years, I have watched Allie grow from a shy girl, unsure about herself and her place in this crazy world, into a confident and self-assured young woman. Now, I absolutely cannot take credit for the transformation - Allie had this in her all the time. What I can take credit for is providing Allie with a series of opportunities and forums in which she felt comfortable expressing herself and respected for who she is. Allie's story is one of my favorites from my time in direct service because it really does illustrate the impact my organization's program can have on young women.

Personally, the two stories I shared tonight have helped reaffirm that the work I did was good, and the programs I now work to secure funding for are still relevant and much-needed. As I close this entry, my young friend is beginning the process of reclaiming her life. Not in the way that I am, but in a much more rigorous and essential manner. I am so thrilled that Allie's story, which is really her journey towards claiming her life, has been shared and I hope people read it (and this) and are inspired to talk about, offer help to, or even give to one of the many amazing youth-serving organizations in central Indiana. After all, these are the organizations that will help girls like Allie blossom and girls like my young friend in the hospital recover.