There's so many things I'm passionate about: shorebirds, Drake, tacos, 65 degree weather, female empowerment... the list could go on.

One of the things near and dear to my heart is mental health and mental illness. I've been graciously given the opportunity to intern at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston this year. The coolest part about it is that I get to post on social media about mental health and stopping the stigma around mental illness. One organization I learned through my first days is the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Not only is this a national organization, but there are local and college chapters throughout the United States.

This week, October 1-7, 2017 is their Mental Illness Awareness week. NAMI hopes to fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for equal care regarding mental illness. While it is extremely important to talk about mental illness all the time, this week provides everyone the chance showcase all those working to help millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

I think it's strange for mental illness to still have such a stimga around it. Everyone can have depression or anxiety in their life, there's no doubt about that. I know that illnesses such as those are less stigmatized, unlike schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, psychosis or psychoaffective disorders. Some cultures rarely discuss mental illness, some even shun those who are affected, pretending it doesn't exist.

This week, I hope you take the pledge to end the stigma, post a tweet or Facebook post about your mental illness, a relative's mental illness or even a statistic about mental illness and why it's so important to talk about.