Two years ago, I graduated from New York University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Individualized Study. I worked at a startup for a year, and when the company was bought out, I was unsure of what my next moves were. A few days later, I was on the couch talking with my roommate about her relationship, when I realized how much I enjoyed listening to people’s experiences. I started to look into careers in psychology, therapy, psychiatry, and counseling. I knew that I wanted to do something related to mental illness and social functioning since my undergraduate degree was focused on the dissemination of norms within differing cultural contexts. I soon discovered the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at DePaul University.

After being in New York for 5 years, I was looking forward to returning to my hometown of Chicago.My interest in the counseling field was further developed as I began to reflect on my own experiences with mental health. I have been struggling with anxiety for the past 10 or so years. I attempt to manage it with my own therapy, medication, and other self care tactics such as exercise and spending time with family.

Part of the reason I got into counseling is to destigmatize mental illness, and so I decided to incorporate it into my bullet journal and post it on Instagram. Self-disclosure doesn’t come easy to me, but writing in my bullet journal and then posting it publically on Instagram has taught me to be more open about my own mental health journey.

Most recently, I took up bullet journaling as a way to calm my anxieties and express my creativity. As a chronic list-maker and over thinker, I welcomed the freedom that the bullet journal provided me.

My Instagram page allows me to push my boundaries and connect with other people experiencing mental health related issues that I normally wouldn’t get to. My hope is that as a community with access to thousands of people, we can raise awareness around the importance of mental health and start to destigmatize mental illness.