Everyone has a birthday. However, not everyone makes it to his or her second or 14th or 35th birthday. Since life is filled with unexplainable demons, some people are not always promised another birthday. Loved ones are diagnosed with cancer all too often and innocent people are murdered every day. Life throws challenges at us every single day. Sometimes, we have the ability to decide which path to choose and, as we know, some of us don’t always make the safest decision. Other people aren’t able to always make those choices when hit with life-threatening circumstances.

This week was filled with many memories and thoughts – some negative and some positive. Being that World Suicide Prevention Day was September 10th and the week in its entirety is National Suicide Prevention Week, many people were probably grieving lost ones and thinking about those who had been suicidal in the past. Many also grieved over lost loved ones who passed on September 11th when the towers fell. This week has been a reminder that spreading awareness about beliefs close to your heart is important and necessary. It’s necessary because by speaking your thoughts, other people who agree with those thoughts will become supportive and jump on the train. Suicide is something that not only those who self-harm may struggle with, but something that many people with mental illness too struggle with.

Sometimes life decides to throw curveballs that lead to anxiety. While others may see these curveballs as minor, little things can sometimes seem colossal when it comes to destroying a mood. Maybe you thought your class started at a certain time when, in fact, it started twenty minutes before. Instead of getting coffee without creamer, maybe your barista decided to sneak some in. For self-harmers, the little things in life can be what turn a safe day into a not-so-safe one. Even the most minor incident can set someone into a depressive or paranoid state. It’s easy for some people to laugh off small situations such as spilling a drink or forgetting to buy something at the grocery store. However, when you struggle with mental illness, it doesn’t take much for the brain to get fired up over those small situations.

Self-harmers know that typical, everyday objects can be seen in an unsafe light. Some people may see a can tab as, well a can tab, while self-harmers see it as an escape. While people see a pen cap as being used to top a pen, those who self-injure may see it as a harmful tool. Being that everyone’s brains are unique and different, very few understand the mind of those who self-harm. This rings true for mental illness in general – they are frightening diseases to understand. For those who don’t quite take the time to see through the blurred eyes of a self-harmer, they may not fully grasp why they see and do what they do.

Even though we don’t want to admit it – the summer is slowly coming to an end. Students are taking over local Targets, jobs that had a summer vacation are starting back up and the season is slowly changing. Some people see the changing of seasons as being an annoying and stressful time to handle (especially if those people never want the summer to end). Change is not always easy to grab onto and ride out calmly. For those who are ending summer jobs, financial burdens could quickly put nerves into overload. Money isn’t the only change that causes stress. Just the idea of the summer routine being disrupted can easily affect an individual who is struggling with mental illness. That disruption could create overwhelming emotions and lead to self-harm as a coping skill, one we know to be unsafe.

The passing of Robin Williams has been a difficult death for many to grasp. People are still catching their breaths from when they heard that one of the world’s most talented actors took his own life. Not only did he star in one of my favorite films of all time, Dead Poet’s Society, but he always came across as a happy, confident individual. As an actor, you are able to turn yourself into any character you want and get away with it, even if you are acting out a character in the real world. People admire actors and judge them due to the stories and the talent revolving around them, but sometimes, we forget to think about the baggage they carry – even if it isn’t obvious. Even though Robin Williams struggled with addiction and severe depression, it was hard for the world to see him as anyone other than a funny, happy man. Obviously, that wasn’t always so.

Human beings are not always the easiest to deal with. In fact, people can be absolutely intolerable. With all the different beliefs and personalities swimming around us, it makes absolute sense why some people are made for one another while others should stray far from each other. Differences in personality traits can cause trouble amongst social groups – including family gatherings. It’s natural not to get along with everyone, but some people push that truth aside. When people start to force their intense personality and beliefs on everyone else, anxiety may rise. At times, anxiety brings forward other mental health issues.

Is suicide an act of selfishness? Many people see that to be true while the one planning suicide thinks otherwise. Those who are suicidal do not believe they are attempting to die out of selfishness. They believe that their death will help the world around them and help free themselves of the difficulties in their life. I know this because I've been there.

Sometimes it is hard to stay in one spot for so long. The same old routine could bring on boredom, which could turn into anxiety and frustration. Nobody likes to be in the same place, doing the same thing for a long period of time. While a schedule is good to have, it can become something you are so dependent on that when it changes, you too could begin to change in unsafe ways. Some people do not have the opportunities that others have when it comes to traveling around the state or to other countries. Some people may go their whole life without witnessing other cultures and learning from their traditions. However, if the opportunity does come, jump on that adventure. Because that adventure could be just what you need to clear your head and start a safer life for yourself and avoid self-harm.

It’s hard, especially for teenage girls, to stop for a moment and not care about what others may think and say about them. Girls can be cruel and those who are the cruelest and have difficulties accepting who they are feel the need to take it out on others. For teenagers struggling with self-harm, a dirty look or quiet snicker can lead to leaving class, going to the bathroom and cutting until class ends. I know this because that’s exactly how I dealt with those issues during my teens. It took years to finally get to a place where I could look in the mirror and feel okay about the person starting back at me. I still struggle with my confidence, and most people do, but compared to the struggles of my past – I have proudly come so far. However, sometimes we need something to remind us of our strength and our beauty and music can be the source of strength needed.