Monthly Prompt

I’ve chosen to take the monthly prompt “mental heroes” as a way to look back and see what my mental heroes looked like dating all the way back to my childhood. I had this one stuffed animal that I just couldn’t ever part with, and his name was Ozzy. Ozzy was a friend to keep at night to keep the monsters at bay, but his specialty was helping me throughout the day. Like keeping me company, keeping my secrets, and just being there for me. I can honestly say Ozzy saved me from the hardships of elementary school. I’ve chosen to draw my piece in a format of a child’s to again showcase that all of this is through the mind of my 7-year-old self.

I chose my dog, his name is S’mores, as my mental health hero. After a long day, going home and spending time with my dog always makes me happy. I drew that landscape to describe the highs and lows of life. The right part of the drawing represents the sad parts of life. My dog and I are passing over the bridge to the other side. He is guiding me and helping me be happy.

Reggie is the CEO/founder of Project Aware, a program that helps kids learn to cope with their emotions. There are thousands of things I could say about this amazing man. He’s done so much for me and my partner, we’ve learned so much about not only ourselves, but others. We’ve learned to be more emphatic, more caring and loving. He asks us such out of the box questions that really make you reflect on yourself, and I have no idea where I’d be without him. He’s an amazing mentor, hardworking, and deserves to be celebrated. This artwork is something to reflect how much we truly care for him. He helps so many people in his processes and deserves to receive something for that.

I drew a picture of my older sister. She has inspired me. She has supported me. And she has used her incredible influence for good. I went into freshman year of high school practically knowing no one. I had transferred from a charter school to a traditional public school that was in another district. Predictably, I felt extremely lonely, and the experience was all but overwhelming to me. However, my older sister who I’ve depicted here, was a junior at the time, and she watched out for me. She put her best efforts forward to be there for me and to be my friend. She introduced me to her friends and helped me integrate into this new school. I thank her for that, and her kind actions mean so much to me.