Shakera Vaughn
Mental health was something that my family and I never talked about. No matter how bad things were or if one of us was clearly going through a mental health crisis, my family and I never talked about mental health. It wasn’t until this past semester that I realized that mental health is real, mental health is vital, and mental health deserves to be a priority.
My family is very nontraditional in the sense that we don’t have a “normal” family structure, connection, or bond. Prior to Georgetown, I often times felt like I was fighting all of these battles alone because I did not have my family to talk to or their support behind me. I quickly came to realize that sometimes family isn’t always bounded by blood.
This past semester, I had my first real run in with mental health. It came out of nowhere and consumed my entire life. So, when the applications for the Yale Black Solidarity Conference came out, and the theme of mental health was made known, I was very intentional about applying. During the first session I attended, the speaker said, “You must intentionally support the community and sometimes intentionally seek support for yourself.” This brings me to why I chose this picture to talk about. This picture represents a community to me. This picture is filled with #BlackGirlMagic, warmth, and incredible support. During the actual conference, I experienced so many different emotions, but having part of my support system there truly made all the difference to me.
As I said before, mental health is real, mental health is vital, and mental health deserves to be a priority. The Yale Black Solidarity conference helped me to realize this. And the conference also made me recognize the power of the tools in my toolbox that I had left untapped for so many years. These women, represent a part of that toolbox; and for this, I am forever grateful.
