This Story of Resilience was written by a teen guest contributor whose identity has been verified by Act Like You Matter’s Founder. To preserve the authenticity of their lived experience, the piece has only been edited for minor spelling and typographical errors.

If you prefer to watch/listen to the piece, please scroll to the bottom of this post for a video version where our Youth Advisory Board member Chance reads their submission aloud.

If you or someone you know is in crisis or may be considering suicide, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 in the U.S.

“Perseverance is a word that is brought up a lot when depression is the topic. That many people fought tooth and nail to get out of that mindset, I didn’t. It lives with me and some days it does get worse. Before I continue with how I live through the challenges of it the basic idea of what I went through is similar to drifting in a lake.  My mind felt stagnant, the stream not going anywhere, then it felt cold and suffocating as if I was drowning. This analogy with water is that depression felt like I was drowning myself that I couldn’t let myself be happy: that I couldn’t be me, enjoy my hobbies, or even open myself to new people. 

“This thought would circle through my mind and it would end with me hurting myself, I didn’t cut myself because I did activities that I needed to show my arms for so I landed on beating myself with my own hands not to cause bruising but to remind myself of how bad I am or was. It’s confusing to me why I never went the mile to cut myself.  I then found art as an outlet to get better. At present I don’t draw as much but when I do I try to practice as much as I can. When I didn’t care for myself I practically drew every day, it was tiring. I felt like most of my art was horrible and that no matter how hard I tried there was no improvement. There was but to my clouded mind it looked the same, I desperately wished to have someone understand where I was coming from. I did but I never took their advice because in my mind I was weak. How I pulled through was to really look into myself. To dig deep into what made me into this, trying to find out when, or how it started. I couldn’t find it and that thought crushed me. 

“Between my junior and senior year I tried reaching out to some of those friends and they did not want anything to do with me. Drawing was just an evolution for my love of media as a whole, the power to make things on screen and teach a lesson or entertain someone really sparked something in me. It first started in eighth grade with a film class but then molding into something new when I got to high school.  Drawing for me was a frustrating and depressing process for me, because I didn’t believe in myself and I originally picked it up to appeal to this group of friends I was with. I kept chasing for their and others’ approval, this led me to asking for tips from them. Because of my headspace at the time I thought they were judging my progress. Thinking they saw me as lesser than them, of course I thought wrong but it led me to losing them and beginning to hate drawing or media as a whole. I started enjoying art when I took a breath and did things that I like to do such as doodling. I try my best to shut out those thoughts that I fell behind other people who have been drawing longer than me. I have to give myself the time to enjoy a form of creating because if I don’t give myself the time searching for others approval my spark for creating would’ve burnt out sooner by now. 

“The difference between finding a hobby and forcing yourself to like something is that you-yourself has let your enjoyment happen. What I mean is to not force yourself to like a hobby because someone online said it helped them. Try something out and if you don’t enjoy it, find something else to try. No matter the age or what your situation is, you have the choice and time to pursue what you want.  

“Hobbies help but there are some tools that do just as much to find myself, my therapist has given me a tool that can apply to any situation. The three c’s is a simple but effective tool that works if you are willing to practice it. It goes in this order: catch it , check it, and change it. To check that intrusive or depressing thought is to first make sure you don’t let that thought pass. I don’t mean to dwell on it but to analyze it, next is to check it, think about that thought and ask “Do I really believe that?” Believe me at first my mind believed it but that’s where you try to understand that thought. What’s best is to really think about where you’re at and finally to change it. The point of the final option is to transform that thought into something more positive or neutral to yourself. Not for anyone else, just to you to be able to talk to yourself positively. What you don’t want to do, at least without consent, is to burst into your friends’ messages asking their opinion on these thoughts or venting without asking them or clarifying what you want out of the conversation. This could leave someone feeling like the de facto therapist when they do not have the tools or head space to really hear you out. Leaving both parties unsatisfied, venting can help you release some tension from the day but without first clarifying what you need from that conversation can leave you to just opening a rift between some you care about. So it’s important to establish that type of boundary with that person and important for yourself as you have control over these feelings, not some otherworldly size.

“In the big year of 2026, I am doing better than ok now. I’m actually doing good. Some of those people that I pushed away began talking with me again. Then I met some new people by being more open and using the tools I learned to manage my emotions. I still struggle with depressive thoughts but I think I’m in a spot where I can actually change it. To battle through my own head was not easy or hard, it was a normal part of growing up and I will say three words that helped me get through this “You Got This!” Because we as humans are built for the struggle, we can push through and prove to ourselves that we are not only enough that we are better, that is the purpose of living and persevering through a hard time in life. Everyone has struggled and that’s okay, to wake up is more than enough to prove to that voice “You Got This!”  That no voice or person is going to stop you from becoming the best version of you!”

– Anonymous