Personal Growth

A healthy break helped clear my head

from all of my spiraling thoughts

To live a life for myself

While achieving my goals.

I flourish as an individual

By letting go of my guilt and concerns

Where my mind is in serenity

And found peace within me. 

Like the weather 

It will be dark and cloudy

Sunny and clear skies 

Rainy and foggy 

Which symbolizes the kind of days in life

Yet it is never the end of your story. 

A blank book with many pages 

Sharing your life through chapters

With a bunch of stages 

That showcases various emotions

For you are the sole writer of your journey.

Gratitude

The joy you bring to people

Lifts their spirit

Through your interactions

Making their day with your kind gesture

Which will be remembered for a lifetime. 

Each second that passes by

I am grateful for my life 

Surrounded by friends and family 

That keeps me grounded 

With a heart so full. 

We are truly never alone

Guided by our friends and family

Motivates us to keep going

Who listens to us when times are rough 

That stuffs our minds with a reality check. 

Words are not enough 

To express our gratitude for one another

Actions allow us to validate those spoken words

In a way that affirms our care towards them. 

Thankful is an understatement

Because I am surrounded by incredible friends and family

Cheered on by a strong support system

Wishing I could thank them more

Even if it's just a crumb.

 

Friendship

Life is not so lonely

With friends so homely

Which feels like a treat

That makes the day sweet. 

An unbreakable bond

Beyond your imagination 

That makes you laugh 

Who encourages you with affirmation. 

Friends you can rely on 

Through your rainy days 

That will lift you up

Conveyed by their words and actions 

Allows you to stand tall. 

A friend that trolls each other

Is a friendship worth keeping

That makes life entertaining.

With endless banter and constant laughter.

A New Opportunity

 A break is refreshing 

When you start living in the moment

By focusing on yourself and not other

In a world that is a blessing. 

A door opens 

To a new opportunity 

Where it feels strange at first

For it is a big change.  

Change can be scary

When your routine is programmed into your mind

Where it is hard to break habits 

Which prevents you from moving forward

That leaves you needing to catch up 

Or left behind. 

Yet you must gain the confidence
To get through your self-doubt 

For there is a clear route 

That will steer you in the right direction.  

Driven by motivation 

Allows you to explore the world

Gaining new memories and skills 

To be a step closer to your goals. 

Hope

Hope lies within your will 

To continue to move forward

By looking at all the positives

Despite how life may be negative.  

Life may be gloomy now

Negative thoughts fill the void temporarily 

That destroys your mentality momentarily

Yet we are meant to bloom. 

Life may be exhausting

As your emotions spiral

With no sense of solutions 

But you remained hopeful. 

Life is not too bad

Especially with friends and family

Cheering by your side 

Leaving my heart full

Which I can glide through any obstacle. 

Hope lies within your reach

When you continue to move toward the light

With darkness out of your sight 

To a place where you will be alright

Where your soul will shine bright.

Mental Health

Mental health represents a hard topic to comprehend & dissect because of the difficulty to understand what goes on inside a person's mind and thoughts. Individuals who struggle with their mental health tend to feel isolated or lonely because no one truly understands the constant thoughts and emotions going through their mind. People would shrug like it’s no big deal or give advice that can only help for a short period of time because mental health isn’t something that can be cured right away. Additionally, mental health would take days, months, or years to comprehend what an individual is tolerating and the ability to have great listening skills to apprehend the message conveyed to you. It’s important that people take mental health seriously because people endure internal battles that can lead to lack of motivation, little to no social interaction with others, isolation, anxiety, and physical harm to themselves. It can also lead to exhaustion of emotions and feeling drained when certain events aren’t going their way. 

Mental health affects motivation

     Mental health can influence a person’s motivation to do what they enjoy because their mentality is constantly battling between positive and negative thoughts for the negative thoughts would overpower the positive thoughts. Mental health can also influence a person’s motivation to accomplish their goals because they are doubting themselves whether it's a good or bad idea. For example, an individual mentality took a toll on how they perceive certain things because they kept overthinking that it wouldn’t go their way therefore losing motivation on what they want to achieve. Many people in this world want to do something for themselves and show the world that they can do it, but falters when they start to think people would harshly criticize them or won’t show any support on what they want to accomplish. This can lead to a spiral of mixed emotions and possibly lead to lack of motivation and confidence. It’s quite unfortunate when you want to try something so bad but your mentality tells you otherwise because of the many concerns you have or the built up anxiety. A saying which is “fake it till you make it” and there are many individuals who are going through their own internal battles that would fake each day without people realizing it. Faking it every day can get tiring because at some point “faking it till you make it” won’t be effective and drains a lot of energy. 

                                               Mental health affects social interactions

    An individual going through a rough patch regarding their mental health, they don’t want to interact or be bothered by other people because they prefer being alone. Genuine people who truly want to help that individual out would feel helpless and concerned because they want to remind that individual that they aren’t alone in this world and don’t have to go through this difficulty alone. They can try as much as they can but in the end that individual appreciates the effort and kindness shown to them yet they don’t want to add their internal battles weighing on their shoulders and prefer to deal with this on their own. An individual going through a rough patch doesn’t want to interact or seek help from others because that person wouldn’t understand the emotions and thoughts that are racing through their mind each second that ticks by. It’s important to understand when people that are going through their troubles with their mental health are to be supportive and respectful to their wishes and boundaries because deep down they really appreciate the effort you’re giving them and showing you care about them. It’s also important to note that the interaction you have with someone that is going through their difficulties may be short because they are still not at ease which would take a lot of time and patience for them to start feeling good enough to interact again. 

Mental health enhances physical harm

    Mental health can enhance physical harm because an individual is constantly battling between their good and bad thoughts which can lead to them inflicting self-harm on themselves. When an individual starts to inflict self-harm, it signals that the pain is getting unbearable to deal with any longer. Therefore, other people should take note of this and prevent this individual from inflicting self-harm on themselves and understand that mental health should be taken seriously. It’s critical for people to recognize that people inflict self-harm on themselves because it's a coping mechanism or an easy way out to prevent the pain. An individual’s mentality is clouded by pitch darkness and feel like they are alone in this world which can lead to the unspeakable. It’s very difficult to try and help the individual sway away from that dreadful thought and action because an individual is in a high emotional state and finding the precise words to say to them to prevent them from committing the worst possible outcome. 

Conclusion                                         

   In conclusion, mental health should be taken very seriously because there are many people in this world that go through their own battles that would inflict self-harm or no will to live. Mental health represents a major topic that a lot of people in this world need to be informed about because it's important to understand the people you care about are going through on a daily basis. It’s also important that you let the people going through their internal battles know that they aren’t alone in this world when they are so loved and important. Additionally, remind the people you care about that they are worth it because individuals lose sight of their worth and the affirmation you give them helps a lot. There are many resources in this world that can help people when their mentality isn’t good and should be recommended to help them get through their internal battles. There are a lot of people in this world rooting and cheering you on, right by your side, and ensuring you everything will be alright. It’s important to understand certain words or actions can trigger them so please be aware before you type or speak because those spoken words can leave a scar. Also if a person you know or don’t know shares their mental health stories on social media, please be respectful because it takes an enormous amount of confidence and guts to share what they are going through. 

To my friends & family

You’re worth it

You’re loved

You’re never alone

You’re appreciated

Never give up

But most importantly be proud of how far you’ve come and use that as motivation when others keep knocking you down and picking yourself right up and crushing each obstacle that goes your way.

Kindness

Kindness represents a quality trait to have because being kind to someone will come far in the long run. It’s genuinely an incredible feeling to witness the impact you can make just by being kind to others and showing that being kind still exists. I strongly believe that the kindness you radiate will come back to you in ways you never would have imagined which would precede others to follow your lead and do the same. An individual can show kindness by doing a nice gesture, offering a helping hand, or compliment someone you know or don’t know. The negative part of showing kindness to others is that your kindness will be taken advantage of because an individual doesn't think much of it until it happens to them. It can hurt a lot when the kindness you carry out to others isn’t appreciated because you would go the distance to make sure the people you care about are doing okay. Therefore, an individual should show kindness to everyone no matter what even if it hurts them because someone out there would appreciate the kindness you give them. When you show kindness to someone that has experienced a difficult time for so long can impact their lives a lot because you are the light that they needed the most. 

Toxicity & Hatred in Social Media

This world has a lot of toxicity and hatred that runs all around the world with little to no kindness left because social media can influence people’s definition of “being kind.”In social media, if an individual does something nice for someone, it seems like that individual is trying to get with them, but in reality that individual is doing a nice gesture without expecting anything in return. Additionally, it makes other people to not do a kind gesture due to how toxic social media can portray kindness to something that it's not. Individuals should be able to show kindness to other people without the fear of being canceled, embarrassed, or ashamed of being kind to others or helping someone that's in need. 

In conclusion, showing kindness will come far in life because the kindness you radiate off would come back to you tenfold. Kindness is truly a unique trait to have but it definitely doesn’t take long to be kind. The feeling you get when you are showing kindness to others is a feeling like no other and it makes everything you do worth it. The world is filled with toxicity, hatred, and many people going through difficult times that we don’t know so please stay kind to others and check in on people you care about. It’s important you show the same kindness you give to others to yourself because no one in this world knows you better than yourself. 

    Two words/motto that a friend would always say is “Be Kind”