On Wednesday, I went with my best friend, Alivia, and her girlfriend, Najy, to catch some Pokémon. We were driving around hitting up various pokéstops and we were having fun getting new items. We even won a gym and held it for just about a minute. We discovered that the historic section of Alivia’s town is a totally different world and we discovered a church that seemed out of place.

As we were winding down our day, we decided to go to a reservoir near Alivia’s home because we were sick of catching rattatas and we really wanted to score some new ones into our Pokédexes. So, we parked the car and got out to explore the area.

There was no direct path around the dam without going through some pretty sketchy weeds. So, we took off our shoes and waded through the water to get around. After we got around, we discovered that we didn’t have data so we couldn’t even catch any pokemon! Well, I pushed for us to just walk the 15 minute trail back around the reservoir just so that we didn’t have to get through the water again (the rocks were very slippery).

So, we were rushing through the trail to get back to Alivia’s house. Najy was trailing us, and I could tell that she was just not having it. We were rushing through the woods and Alivia decided to cut across through a shallow section of the reservoir. Alivia is an actor and has pretty great balance. She made it across a pile of branches and then it was my turn. Well, I am a fat potato with absolutely no coordination or balance.

It turns out that it was almost all mud and my foot got stuck. I couldn’t move and I was knee-deep in disgusting muddy water. Najy made it across and we tried to remedy the situation but there was no way that I could get out without anything solid to hang on to. I kept sinking further and we were in trouble.

So, not wanting to worry anyone or make too much of a fuss, we called our high school science teacher. Why we decided to call her, I don’t know but it seemed like a good idea. She said that she would come with some supplies, just to give her some time. So, I wound up stuck there for about another 45 minutes.

Finally one of Alivia’s family friends and our science teacher showed up and I got out. It was scary, but throughout the 45 minutes that we waited, I still knew that I would get out. I wasn’t alone because I had people with me and I had help when I asked for it.

I wasn’t going to die; I was not in a life-threatening situation. But, while I was literally stuck in the mud, I realized how I got there and that being stuck was a little bit like my depression. I also realized that despite my many moments where suicide was all I wanted, I have grown enough to know that I really don’t want to die and I don’t want to be stuck. I want to keep moving forward and see what comes next because I won’t always be stuck and sometimes that means that I need to reach out for help.

Pokémon gave me an opportunity to have some fun, and it led me to a situation where I gained some self-awareness. I led us into the woods, but I became a follower when Alivia crossed over some branches. Then I got stuck and I asked for help because that is what we do when we are stuck.