For world mental health awareness day I made a decision that I had been thinking about for months. It is something that legitimately made me so nervous to do because not only was I sharing a very personal thing about myself, but I did not want to come off as asking for attention. But then, it dawned on me that there might be someone out there who is worried to come out and ask for help because they are ashamed. So last week, I posted a picture with a caption in which I talked about my own struggle with mental health and put myself out there as a person people can turn to.

Mental health is something that is so deeply connected with stigma; people do not want to tell others that they struggle with it because it will break the idea of them being ok and " normal." Social media, on the other hand, is a perfectly crafted and curated view into someone's life. It is people's best reflection of themselves, but it is rarely the most honest version of themselves. We stray away from telling the world about our struggles and our flaws, so we face tune away imperfections and stray away from certain topics.

Personally, I do not necessarily think that we should stop putting our best selves out there, but I think there is also a lot of power that comes with showing flaws. I think there is a lot of power with showing people that even the most polished social media stars have problems too. Now do not get me wrong, I am not saying that I am a social media star or that me talking about my mental health online is going to save anyone, but I believe that even if it helps just one person feel more normal and ok with their issues then is succeeded.

My depression and anxiety do not make me any less nice, or funny, or smart, or beautiful. It is not something that detracts from what I have to give to the world. It does not make me look broken or fragile. Rather, it is simply a part of me. Just like my brown hair and Latin cultural background, it is simply something that makes me, me. So to anyone out there who is struggling with mental health, or really just with anything they consider a "flaw," remember that it is ok not to be perfect, cause that is what makes humans human.