I've been told my whole life to be quiet. To be quiet about abuse. To be quiet about struggle. In particular, to be quiet about my mental illness. The message is subtle in our society. But it's there. From a young age, I learned how to express everything I ever wanted to say through music, because it was the only outlet for me. As it turns out, what I want to say is I WANT to say something. I WANT to feel comfortable talking about struggle. I want all of us to. There doesn't have to be so many masks to wear in day to day life. We can still be authentic. We can still share our stories. And who knows? Maybe these stories will help someone who feels alone. Maybe these stories will encourage someone to tell their own, to step into their identity fully and embrace it. That's what authenticity is.
Shadows is about a time in my life where my anxiety and depression was crippling. I thought I was the only person going through mental illness at my school. As soon as I was able to be diagnosed, I learned that wasn't the case at all. Flash forward to today: I've started to find a community of people who struggle with the same thing, or at least are under the same pressures of stigma.
20% of adolescents will go through a severe mental health issue in their lifetime. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people ages 10-24. 90% of suicides have an underlying mental illness causing it.
These statistics are a sad reality. But they can change. We can change. We can fight the stigma that has been controlling us, whether we knew it or not.
There is nothing to be ashamed of here. We all deserve outlets. We all deserve places where we feel safe to step into our own selves.
So, without further ado, I present my second album Shadows. It's been the most meaningful one yet.
SPECIAL THANKS: Big thanks to my mom and brother for listening to this album A LOT and believing in my dreams everyday. Thank you to Mr. Land, my music teacher and mentor, who has taught me so much about music throughout high school and helped me authentically step into my own sound. Thank you to my grandparents for giving me such a valuable education and sharing their wisdom with me. Thank you to my Aunt Haritha and Uncle Chris for always checking in on me and being a positive and motivating source for me throughout this process.
Lastly: THANK YOU READER! Thank you for taking the time to read/listen to my story. Thank you for supporting my journey.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES VISIT WWW.NAMI.ORG