Something I’ve found as self-care is my music. A lot of my friends and family would know quite a good amount of money has been put into CDS, Records, and concerts. I don’t think I would have survived freshmen year of high school without it. It’s always nice to just be able to sit in your room with dim lighting and cry to an artist who has been there for you at your lowest points in life. A few certain artists have helped me A LOT in high school: Conan Gray, My Chemical Romance, YUNGBLUD, and Twenty-One Pilots. There’s more but those four that I connected with so deeply over my four years of high school. Seeing all these artists’ concerts changed my life forever. It’s so much life-changing you can never hear a song the same after you hear it live. How is this self-care you ask? Well, it shows us that there are people who understand you and have been through hard times just like us. Even if these people don’t know we exist. They say that fans save bands and artists, because without them they probably wouldn’t be standing on that stage.
Music helps us all look after ourselves and can bring us into a good state of mind. Also helps us get our emotions out that we’re afraid of bringing out around others. Music is life for me and a lot of people, and I don’t know what I would have done without in my life. I met one of my favorite artists over this summer he’s not very big right now, but he’s helped me through hard times in my life. His name is Haiden Henderson, and I got to have such an intimate experience with him at his pop up. Getting to hear him just sing with him and his guitar was such a raw experience with me, and I always think about it as something that brings me joy. Music can be a therapy for me too, especially when I’m going through stressful times at school and in life. It gives me calm and serene feelings. It’s also good to write songs about how you feel if you’re more into music. It’s a form of journaling but in a song format.
I am very proud of how far I’ve come in my journey of life but that’s not all I have to say. I like to say a lot about mental health, it’s overlooked constantly by people who don’t understand it. So, they chose to ignore it and let their child suffer alone. Which can lead to distant relationships and I think that shouldn’t happen in the world still. I know women’s mental health is important, but it is noticed more than men’s, which shouldn’t even be a thing. We should be encouraging everyone to get help regardless of their gender. mental health is important no matter what age you are. It was always important. I went through rough times in 2020, obviously because of COVID. I struggled to stay confident about myself, and I did things I wasn’t proud of. I didn’t reach out because I was scared and alone. I thought nobody would understand what I was going through. I used to write in journals about feelings I told nobody about. My mom, without me knowing, went through it and that’s where it all started with therapy and trying to find the right person to talk to. I’ve been through three different therapists.
My third one was the one I felt most comfortable talking to about these complex feelings I was feeling in my head. It helped when I was struggling and when I had bad days. Especially in middle school when I was bullied very badly by the kids in my grade. I never told my parents because of how afraid I was of these people making my year even worse. Once I got to high school I finally sort of found my place besides freshmen year which wasn’t the best year. I enjoyed the other three years then I ever will as a freshman. I made so many new friends and lifelong ones too. Sticking together through the thick and thin of it. Then making new ones and connecting with them like I’ve known them for most of my life. I never felt like I was alone those years with friends and teachers I bonded with. With it being my senior year this year, I feel like so much has happened to me. I’ve found joy and sadness. My junior year I lost my grandma. It was one of the hardest times of my life. She was such light in my family’s lives. It was so hard to watch my mom deal with the loss of her own mom. I was watching her grieve before I grieved myself which made it harder for me in the end. I didn’t realize what I was doing to myself until it was over. It’s still hard not to think of her but I always like to remember the good things about her before she passed. I will never forget her, she was like a best friend to me.
I hope this helps others see that pain takes time no matter how big or small it is.