I have spent three semesters and eight weeks of a fourth at Middlebury, and I struggled with mental health during all of them. On the surface, you would never have guessed that I was struggling. I got good grades, joined clubs and had an active social life. But my internal life was another story- I was drowning, and for a long time, no one knew. Middlebury is a school of over achievers, and on the surface it seemed like everyone else was thriving was I was struggling to survive. I felt utterly alone and I was ashamed of what I was feeling and was completely convinced that everyone else had their lives as under control as I pretended mine was. Little did I know, I wasn’t the only one pretending.

Things changed in January of my freshman year when I joined The Resilience Project (https://projectresilience.wordpress.com/), a storytelling project dedicated to starting a conversation and breaking the stigma around mental health on campus. I shared my story, and found incredible connection and support in doing so. Thanks to the wonderful storytellers in this project, I realized that I wasn’t alone in my struggle. The night we shared our stories was one of the most powerful experiences I’ve ever had. I built connections that continue today, and was able to do my part in dismantling the stigma around mental health on our campus. When I opened up, friends, professors and even my dean told me that they wished they had known I was struggling so they could have supported me better, and I realized that I had an amazing support network around me. To benefit from it, all I had to do was speak up.

One of the most powerful parts of the experience was hearing from students we had touched with our stories - students who no longer felt alone. These stories helped show me how vital is it to start these conversations. As a community, we need to take action. We need to cultivate a culture of honesty and acceptance around mental health. I want to start telling the truth when people ask how I am, want to tell people when I’m going to therapy or when I’m having a bad day. The more we have these conversations, the more we normalize the reality of mental health struggles and the more support we create. I don’t want anyone on campus to feel alone in their battle. I don’t want anyone on campus to feel ashamed if they’re not perfect. Feeling ashamed and alone can be a barrier for people to get the help they need, and as a community it is our job to keep that from happening.

Ask your friends what you can do to support them, speak up if you’re worried about someone, practice empathy if someone trusts you enough to open up- you never know what will make a difference to someone. I challenge you to start these conversations with your friends, classmates and peers and join me in creating the supportive, accepting community we all deserve.