hold on {and} have hope

i've been blown away by the outpouring of love and support i've received concerning my previous post. though i haven't quite known how to express my appreciation, i have read each comment and message and have felt so overwhelmingly blessed by each response.

thank you.



this week, while i'm working on a post about a topic dear to my heart {from my social work program}, i thought i would post a follow-up message aimed at those who are where i was. for anyone who might be feeling lost, alone, chaotic, hopeless, helpless, or worse. i shared my story last week so that i could help others the way others helped me.

the number of suicides by lgbt youth and young adults is staggering - especially in utah. having lived through this past year, i have no question why that's the case. regardless of what you feel about homosexuality, i believe most of us care about lives -- hearts and souls. each life matters.

as human beings trying our best to live a life of meaning, sometimes we feel like we're alone and unheard. that no one cares.


https://youtu.be/Owr4U55WpDs?list=PL9UvnLA1Iym-WrQ8_Ov9zVh4snVbKeaiB


this isn't the case.


people do care. even when it doesn't feel like it.
God cares and loves you.
others do, too, they just don't always know how to communicate that.

https://youtu.be/4M1__0GEiBo?list=PL9UvnLA1Iym-WrQ8_Ov9zVh4snVbKeaiB

and i love you and care about you.
whether you're a stranger who simply stumbled onto this blogpost or we were friends back in junior high school, i care and i'm here for you.

there are resources. there are people who can help when things are just too much.


because sometimes they are too much.
sometimes your heart breaks into a million pieces and the pain is too much for one person to handle alone.

https://youtu.be/QZweyIKNwX4?list=PL9UvnLA1Iym-WrQ8_Ov9zVh4snVbKeaiB


"for all the air that's in your lungs
for all the joy that is to come
for all the things that you're alive to feel
just let the pain remind you hearts can heal"


when everything else is in shambles, there's only one thing left to do:

hope.

https://youtu.be/UbsU3b2srQA?list=PL9UvnLA1Iym_L6GebryzCBU3oH833vda2

if you have lost hope, reach out.
sometimes leaning on someone else's hope can help strengthen your own.

because you are never alone.
ever.

and i promise, it gets better.


https://youtu.be/xu4VNQ0Gvio

sometimes that's all we can do: hold on and have hope.

if you're having a hard time, please reach out.
your life is worth so much. you are worth so much.