I used to have social anxiety so severe, that I would hide behind pillars if I noticed that someone was coming in the opposite direction. I couldn’t look at shopkeepers in the eye. During my first year in secondary school, I impulsively ran out of class mid-lesson, and hid in a smelly, urine infested stall, because that was somehow more comforting that facing the world. I went from being a good, conscientious student, to someone who regularly didn’t finish homework, almost failed certain subjects, and skipped school as much as I could.

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I could go on, but this isn’t a story about how I stayed scared all the time. It’s a story about how I slowly picked the pieces of myself off the ground, and dared to try again. No matter how behind I felt in life, no matter how hopeless, I am moving forward, and that matters.

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As Abraham Lincoln would say, I walk slowly, but I never look back.

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If you feel like you have been set back by mental health, don't feel discouraged. As long as you keep going forward, you will eventually get to where you need to be. There is more than one path to the mountain.

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Thank you for reading, and stay quietly courageous.

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With love.