Why did I start the project Thinking Out Loud? What does it mean to me? What do I think I can do with this project?
My Background
I grew up being the youngest of six children, which for any couple can be a lot, but it became even worse when that couple turned into one. On September 28th, 2006, my father passed away in a car accident. That made life unbearable. My incredibly strong mother had to work countless hours to provide for all of us. Growing up the youngest was quite hard after that point. My dad and I were really close so, I went from having my hero, to having no one.
Schooling
From fifth through ninth grade I was bullied for being different than others. I was always the out going on, who loved others, and always wanted to help. Most people didn't like that. My mental state of mind about myself went down and I started believing that I should change who I am to please others.
Reality
Tenth grade came and I got a whole new group of friends. Friends who loved me the way I was and didn't want me to change. This is when I started a project known as One Body, which was mainly focused on body and self imagine in adolescents. This project gave me much background on the mental aspects that students go through.
Thinking Out Loud
With plenty of feedback from my previous project, I decided I wanted to hit a different concept, mental health. For my senior year, I am focusing not only on adolescents, but I am also going to be presenting to fifth and sixth graders. I want to be able to reach as many students as I possibly can. With all that has happened in the year of 2018, I believe mental health is a topic that more people need to know about. I plan on presenting to the 5th-12th graders in my local county schools so that they are more aware of their own mental health. Thinking Out Loud is a project I am extremely proud of. It makes a difference in others' lives, so it makes a difference in mine.