I Chose Life — Car Window Poetry

For the next few weeks, as part of #HonestyHour, we'll be posting the incredibly powerful stories shared at our True Stories event earlier this month. Today's story is from Colorado Springs high schooler Gracie Packard.

• • •

"A couple years ago, I went through one of the roughest patches of my life. I was coping in extremely unhealthy ways, and turned to self harm and eating disorder tendencies in an attempt to gain control of my life.

My thought process turned very suicidal and I chose a date to end it all. A couple days before I planned to take my life, I saw an article written about World Suicide Prevention Day. This day happened to fall on my suicide date and it was the day that changed my entire life.

I looked for help, I opened up, I admitted to myself and those around me that I wasn't okay, and I chose to stay. I chose life.

I'm not here to tell you it magically fixes itself. There are still days I struggle. In fact, there are lots of days, but I can tell you that hope is very, very real.

There are people in your life that will hold your hand through the rough places. There are resources and there are professionals willing to help you heal. You are so unbelievably important and loved."

Social media can be all kinds of wonderful and all kinds of terrible at the same time. #HonestyHour is all about engaging each other in a communal way that goes further than a highlight reel of our perfectly curated feeds. Join in this Tuesday and every Tuesday by sharing your story using the hashtag!

Also, if you live in or around Colorado Springs, join us for our next True Stories event on Tuesday, March 7th! RSVP here.