by Kristen Abell
Recently I read Jenny Lawson’s Furiously Happy which chronicles her life with mental illness, and I found myself actually jealous of her for a moment. Not, as you might think, because of her spectacular writing prowess. That would have been far too logical. Instead, I was jealous that she has such a fascinating array of disorders. I mean, who was going to want to read a book about someone with a measly little case of depression when they could read about someone with depression, anxiety, and a whole host of other issues? Yep, you read that right – I was jealous because this chick has more crazy than me.
Something I try to remind myself of when I start to feel discouraged about sharing my story is how there is no one else who can share it quite like me.
This is what I try to remind folks when they tell me they are afraid of contributing to The Committed Project because they don’t think their story is serious enough. Everyone’s story is different – and no one can tell your story but you. But chances are, whether you think it’s serious enough or not, someone out there can identify with it. So if you’re struggling telling your story for you, maybe think of that one other person out there that could really use your story today.
And for those that still don’t feel like their mental illness is “serious enough” or “bad enough” (what the hell does “enough” mean here anyways?), I want to remind you of something. Just getting up and out of bed and living your life is harder than the person who doesn’t have mental illness. In my mind, this makes you a freaking superhero.
And because I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about until last night and didn’t have time to ask Sue for a Suedle, I’m subjecting you to my own doodling. Sorry about that (stars are really hard!). But I made all of you your very own superhero badge – whenever you’re feeling like your story isn’t whatever “enough,” just remember you’ve already more than earned your enough. If you want, print it out – or make your own that looks better, I won’t be offended. Hang that sucker up wherever you will see it – and see it often. Heck, you can even hang it on your shirt if you’re feeling particularly awesome today.
Because while I’m definitely my own superhero a lot of days, you are all my superheroes, too.