My name is Berty (I’m the one on the far right). I went to school at Cecil Hills High School. I have a best friend… at least I used to. Cecil Hills is just a place somewhere in the world. Maybe it’s a lot like your world, maybe it’s nothing like it. But if you look closer, you might see someone like you. Someone trying to find their way. Someone trying to find their place.
Sometimes we feel too much. I know I do. And my friend Annabel did, too. She struggled with self injury and believed that the world had forgotten about her.
Sometimes it seems like you are the only one in the world who’s struggling, who’s frustrated, unsatisfied and barely getting by. But that feeling’s a lie. And if you just hold on, and find the courage to face it all for another day, someone or something will find you and make it all okay.
Today, March 1, is Self-Injury Awareness Day, and the entire month of March is designated as Self-Injury Awareness Month. We created this campaign because we all need a little help sometimes. Someone to help us hear the music in the world and to remind us that it won’t always be this way.
I encourage everyone to take this opportunity to talk about self injury and mental health. Ask the questions everyone else is afraid to ask. Talk about it in a way that is accurate and respectful.
If you struggle, you’re not alone. Self injury does not define you. No struggle will ever define you; your story is more than that and you deserve to be free from this pain. You are beautiful, wonderful, incredible, and inspiring. Lovely and lovable.
Today is about remembering that we all have different pains in our lives—there’s simply no way to avoid that. But in our hearts we are the same, and we have been given the gift of going through life with others. We are human, and we exist in this human family. We are not alone in this life.
We are Cars For Hope.
To find out more about the #wearorange campaign, visit: www.theorangeeffect.com.au
