Have you heard on the semicolon project? If not I am going to explain what it is.

Project Semicolon was founded in 2013 by Amy Bleuel. Amy founded the project in honor of her father who committed suicide in 2003. Amy herself also battle with mental illness for 20 plus years. She wants to share her story now so that others can over come mental illness.

The reason a semicolon is used is because an author uses it when they want to pause instead of ending the sentence. For someone who has thought of committing suicide this is a breathe that they take. They pause look around and continue on. They fought through and continued on. They decided that their story wasn't over yet.

Mental illness is treatable. I know from personal experience that with mental illness I still function in my daily life. If you looked at me you would never be able to tell that I have depression and anxiety.

I have a semicolon tattoo. I was bullied throughout middle and high school and I used to self harm. I though of committing suicide and I tried to once. But I didn't go through with it. I realized what I meant to others and I needed to continue on.

I look back at all of the amazing things I have done in my life and think about what would have happened if I ended it. I am glad that I survived and I want to help others fight through it. Suicide is a terrible thing that we need to be aware of.

Talk to those around you and make sure that they are doing okay. Let them know that you are always there to talk. If you sense something is wrong just be there for them. Most of the time they just needed a friend.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

For more information check out:

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org

https://projectsemicolon.com