Stand Up To Yourself Reel

To whom it may concern

thank you for your consideration on a project with a message such as this. Along with my reel, I felt compelled to write a little about my connection to this work.

This is a cause that means a lot to me— the purpose of this campaign is tied to events that have shaped the course of my life, and influenced my mission as a filmmaker.

I attended my first sessions of therapy for depression at 11 years old. It was at the urging of my parents after I showed early signs of struggle as a child— coming from a long familial history of mental health issues and substance abuse. What I didn’t know was that the tools I would recieve in those sessions I would later owe my life to during a mental health crisis in my early 20s.

While I have come a long way from that point in my life— my inner monologue, self talk, and written letters from that time continue to fill me with shame... For being willing to treat myself in such an unforgiving way, for keeping my struggles private to those who would support me, for not standing up to myself until my situation was extremely dire and I was compelled to seek help.

Though they might be owed it, I still don’t have the courage to share with my parents what I was willing to say and do to myself all those years ago... The very people who supported me in getting help before I ever knew that I would need it.

Maybe that’s why I can already sense how powerful it would be to show a moment like that on screen.

Talk soon,

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