Dear Johnston friends, alumni, parents, and everyone else in the community,
In light of the prevalence of mental health struggles and suicides, I am ready to take a stand and, with the help of some friends, form a nonprofit operation in an effort to address this epidemic. Last week we lost another beautiful soul to suicide. Dawson Kerr was a friend—someone who was always cracking jokes, someone who didn’t have a mean bone in his body, someone who had huge ambitions, goals and a huge heart. It is with much regret that action wasn’t taken earlier. Many well-intentioned folks fear that bringing up suicide is somehow sensationalizing and/or glorifying it. I disagree—raising awareness about mental health hardly constitutes the glorification of it. In fact, raising awareness and talking about it does the opposite. It creates a sense that it is okay to struggle, and that feeling down is normal. Depression or a period of depression is extremely common, especially amongst teenagers. There are so many challenges high school students face that are unique to their experience—pressure to decide what to do after graduation, pressure to succeed in academics and extracurricular activities, pressure to fit in with the “popular crowd,” pressure to find a first job, pressure (for those who identify as LGBTQ) to figure out who they are and how to come out. The list goes on and on. From my experience of battling my own mental health concerns, talking to others and hearing the normalization of depression and anxiety proved to be incredibly helpful. This underscores an important point. Depression feeds on feelings of loneliness; silence on the matter serves to only exacerbate the problem. If the conversation around mental health continues to be mute, then the stigma continues to escalate. This is not to the fault of those experiencing depression, but rather the fault lies in our unwillingness to directly confront this topic. If you are experiencing mental health concerns, please know this. This is normal. It is okay. Please talk to someone. A parent, a teacher, a coach, a counselor, a friend. People are willing to listen. I am willing to listen. Our nonprofit operation has a 4 pronged approach: (1) to chip away at the stigma; (2) to teach how to deal with and accept depression and depressive thoughts; (3) to show that everyone, including those who seem like they have it all together, has experienced depression or a depressive spell at some point in their life; and (4) to prevent more kids from taking their own lives. If you want to help us achieve those goals, please reach out. All support is welcomed, and appreciated. We are stronger when we work together. Join me in starting this long-overdue conversation. With much love, Marcus
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Marcus MillerHello! Thank you for checking out my blog. I graduated from Johnston High School in Iowa back in 2015, and am attending the University of Iowa, where I am studying political science and ethics and public policy. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Archives
May 2018
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