This is not really one moment in particular but throughout last year, my sister was struggling with her health. Both physically and mentally. She was struggling with depression and feeling suicidal. If it wasn’t for me being there talking to her every day and convincing her to keep going. I don’t know if she’d still be here. I had to be strong for the both of us because she just didn’t want to. It was tough but she’s doing a lot better now because we figured out what was going on physically with her health.

I’m lucky to have a number of friends who have helped me through horrible times, but a recent one was this summer at camp. I’d had a rough night with a camper and didn’t know how much it would affect me, and the next morning I found myself in my cabin alone during my off time writing in my book to my mum (I filled it with stuff I wanted to tell her but can’t now). I ended up crying for the first time since everything happened as I started to realise why the night before had affected me so much, and my co-counsellor happened to walk in and catch me. They immediately pulled me into a hug until I had calmed down and we briefly spoke afterwards, but just knowing that someone else was there in my cabin on my side meant more than I knew. Being partnered with them was honestly meant to be, as we had been through similar things before coming to camp and loved the same things… Just the act of them being there and listening was probably one of the most meaningful things I experienced this summer.

I’m lucky to have my family who helps me. I sometimes can’t handle a lot in my life and they’re the first people I rely on.