At the age of 14 I started to feel my first signs of depression.
It came more as a slow tide than a wave, slowly washing over me as I became more and more reticent. I was floating away on a plank of wood, losing my touch with loved ones around me, lost, nowhere to go. At any moment I would fall, leaving the world around me, dropping further, and further, into silence.
Perhaps I’m not the only one who suffered from something like this at my age, and I know there are many people who live life like this this every single day. But what if I told you, that you could by a drug, for a price of $0.00 (with no tax), that had a 100% success rate, was instantaneous and had no drawbacks or side-effects, would you buy it? Or course you would, you and the rest of the world would probably eat it up like they were Tic-Tacs. Well let me tell you about a little thing I like to call: “friendship.”
As a child, I was always bullied for my size. At the age of 7 I was already weighing around 130 pounds, which was clinically obese for my age and height. It was only until afterwards that I grew tall enough to decrease my BMI (Body Mass Index), and return to healthier levels. When I has in grade 2, I met a boy, we’ll call him Joey. He was also bullied heavily by older kids, because he was short and scrawny, and looked awkward when he walked. By some coincidence, considered a miracle, I met him in the playground one day. We were bullied together, slews of jokes and mockeries attacking us, exposing us to others. Instinctively, I took his hand, and we left together. We became friends. From each other, we found relatability, we found that we were one in the same. Being around each other, we shared memories, good times, and happiness. Were we still bullied? Of course. But it didn’t matter anymore, because we had each other. Even though we stopped talking to each other, he was one of the sole reasons why I was able to be cheerful throughout a very brutal Grade One.
Friends are always going to be the one there for you, the medicine you need when you are down. You talk to them when you’re sad, happy, or something in between. They raise you up higher than you can ever be, or pull you up with them if you keep falling down. They are the ones that can make you forget the mistakes of the past, and focus of experiences of the present. Often times, they are the ones who remind you of how incredible your life is truly is.
And the best part? Friends are easy to find. They are often the people who can relate to you, the ones who face the same struggle as you, the same difficulties as you. You ride on the roller coaster of emotions together, and they hold your hand along the way. They are the ones you can talk to everyday, and always have something to talk to. And don’t stop at one, find two, three, ten and more. They all share the same struggles that you do, and they all deserve your love.
I’m no doctor, but if I had to take any medicine to cure any illness, I would bring along a couple of friends. You should too.
