When Affliction Becomes More...

There are many problems in this world that are under-appreciated. Kids starving in nations we've never heard of. People dying every minute for the wrong reasons. For many living in the United States, they are oblivious to these problems. It seems as citizens of this nation we are becoming increasingly more aware of these issues and problems, but there is some work to be done.

I'm guilty of being an oblivious member of our society for the fact that I could do a lot more to prevent some of these problems that plague us today. For part of my life, I struggled deeply with depression and was actually diagnosed in high school. It even carried into my college years and I believed that I had some symptoms of bi-polar disorder. I know first-hand how hard life can be and how depression greatly affects someone's life. Through aging and support from many people in my life, I have mostly overcome this affliction but it remains a thought in my mind always.

I've really wanted to participate in Out of the Darkness Overnight for awhile now. This suicide prevention walk is supported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and I found out about it through a friend in college. I've talked about doing it for awhile now and think that this year might be the appropriate time to do it - because it seems to be my year of traveling. The only thing is, I need some help. When you register for one of these walks (the spots this year are Seattle and New York City) you need support through donations. I'm real interested in doing the Seattle one - enhancing my West Coast experience even further. I promised myself I'd do this one year and this year seems like the right year for some reason. If you're interested, check out the website below.

http://www.theovernight.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=742C7D2A-FEAB-2DA6-FE0972E0264CC80E