A really low point in my life was when my uncle died. During my sophomore year, my school had a strict policy of no phones out during class hours. When I got out of class that day, the first thing I did was check my phone.

When I turned it on, I saw that I had a missed call from my mother. I called her back to see what she wanted, and she had told me that she was over my Aunt Norma’s house.

This was very odd to me because they normally only speak to each other on holidays. I figured the reason she was over there was to talk about Thanksgiving which was quickly approaching.

I still thought it was a bit strange, so I asked my mom what she was doing over there. The response that she had given me was one that I never thought I’d be hearing. My mother told me the reason that she went over, was because my uncle had died.

I was in complete shock over the news I had just heard. I felt the tears starting to form, but for some reason, I was not allowing myself to cry. His voice started playing in my head. It was at that moment I realized that it is possible to lose your loved ones.

Death is a concept I was familiar with, but not something I had experienced before. I had not realized the impact death could have on me, and my family. My heart was crushed, and I was not sure how to cope with this.

As the day of my uncle’s funeral approached, reality started to settle in. When the day of his funeral came, I was dreading going the whole time. My family started filling in the chairs, and I was surrounded by sadness and misery. For me, being around a scene like that was hard to deal with.  

After some time, I decided to go to the front and look at my uncle. This casket held the person who made life enjoyable for me. The man that showed me how to live life to the fullest. This was one of the lowest points in my life, but I knew he would not want me to be sad.

Life might seem unbearable at times, but having faith can get you through anything. Faith will give you strength. It will heal your soul and remind you that you will get better no matter how hard life gets. 

 Recently, I have surrounded myself with a support system. They understand my pain and are willing to help me in any way that they can. I learned that in order to get better, I needed to ask for help. I started doing different activities such as band which keep my mind occupied.

 The advice I would have for others during a low point in their life would be to reach out to others. Sometimes we are afraid to ask for help, but it is nothing to be ashamed about. I thought that sheltering myself from others would be beneficial, but in reality, it wasn’t.

You might feel alone, but you’re not. It took me a while to take this all in, but I’m finally starting to feel like myself again with the support of family and friends.

Although I have recently overcome my depression, it’s still a touchy subject for me to talk about. My depression began about a year ago. When I started my job at Altitude Trampoline Park.

At first, working there was so much fun. I enjoyed working with the kids and even made some lifelong friendships with some of my co-workers. This quickly changed for me when I met our general manager.

Going into work became more of a drag. And, I struggled to get out of bed most days to go there. My general manager was very aggressive and degrading.

He wanted to make sure all the employees knew that he was in charge. And that he held all the power in that establishment. Going into work started to become my trigger for my depression.

There were days when I felt like I could actually make it a fun day at work, but that dream was short-lived once I walked through those doors. My lowest point was the first day I was promoted to a cashier. What brought joy to my workday was working with the children. So being promoted to cashier meant I had to work closely with my GM.

Little did I know that being a cashier also meant dealing with rude customers who yelled at me for things I couldn’t control. When I asked the GM for help, he would look at me with confusion and tell me to handle it myself. This led me to breakdown and I knew I had to make some sort of change.

I ended up quitting that job and finding a new job that I absolutely love. I have been at this establishment for about 5 months now and I couldn’t be happier.

To those struggling with depression, I recommend finding a passion. At times you might feel like you are not in control of your life, but you are, and only you can make you happy.

Find something that you truly love. And invest all your time in it. I’ve found that keeping your mind busy is a great way to distract yourself from anything that could potentially be mentally or physically draining for you.

I think my depression started as a mental game with myself first, rather than a physical thing. I always told myself self “I want to die” or “I’m gonna kill myself” but most times I feel like I’m overreacting.

I have had low points in my life where I have not been nice to myself and have treated and thought of myself as I am nothing. I have friends who have lost parents and siblings to it and I simply could not imagine. 

My story of depression started in middle school when I began getting cysts on my eyes. For some reason, I would just keep getting them and they would multiply in size in a matter of weeks. 

It looked like I had warts on my eyes. Some people would make fun of it but I tried not to dwell on it. 

When I finally had surgery to remove all 9 of them, my hair follicles were damaged and I was left with a pretty big gap in the middle of my eyelashes.

For years, my family spent so much money on treatments and nothing worked. My confidence tanked.

 Now, it wasn’t just my eyelashes but my weight and how my body looked. I viewed myself as completely different than before surgery.

Then one day, I found someone who loved me for all my flaws, or so I thought.  Two years of my life were devoted to loving him because that’s all I knew. 

But eventually, my flaws were all he could see and I was no longer ‘perfect’ in his eyes. Life went on as I struggled to get over him. And then, my life flipped again when my parents decided to get a divorce.

I wouldn’t say I struggle with depression all the time but I do struggle with anxiety a lot. I am constantly worried about everything. My depression is simply situational depression.

Looking back now, I understand that time heals all wounds, and I live by this every day. 

I know the next day will be a little easier than the day before. Although time is so broad every day alive counts for new opportunities and achievements.

My advice is to have faith. Have faith in yourself that whatever battle you are facing, you can get through it. Know that on our hardest days there are good ones coming.

Know that death is not the solution to your problem, and it is simply causing problems for the ones around you. Stay strong! Be a fighter!