I decided to join and help develop Lift the Mask in order to create a resource for other students who may find themselves in a position like I found myself when I first came to a large university away from home.  In my college years, I faced a great deal of emotional adversity that I had not experienced while I was in primary school, and I was inexperienced in how to interpret my afflictions and find the proper path. These past four years have been a time of tremendous development and growth, but certainly accompanied with certain struggles. 

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Experiencing depression was something foreign to me as I had grown up a happy individual, but what I came to learn was that I never learned how to properly cope with adverse emotions. I kept my feelings of darkness and hopelessness a secret, and thought it to be taboo to reveal that I was taking medication to help recover.

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Since then I have learned that it is necessary to face honest emotions, and while I am not a master yet, I have made tremendous headway in being honest with myself and with others in what I need to foster my well-being.  Being able to ‘lift the mask’ has granted me a sense of freedom that I encourage others to follow in order for everyone to become the best and healthiest individual that they can be!