I remember going back to Hampton University for my first homecoming as an Alumna in 2016. I remember touching down at the Virginia Beach airport and attempting to hype myself up by saying, “you MUST have fun this weekend. You’ve gotta make it fun,”. This was my first trip since graduating and Homecoming has always been the highlight of Fall but unfortunately, it didn’t feel special this time.

“Wi likkle but wi tallawah!”, a famous Jamaican saying that means so much to me. Tallawah is a Jamaican patois word that means fearless, strong, strong-willed, never to be underestimated.

"As a child of working professionals, mental health often was not discussed. No matter how you felt about anything, life had to keep moving. That meant regardless of what happened today, school (and work for my parents) would be waiting for us in the morning. I can't even remember the first time I heard the term, “mental health.” The earliest memory I can recall was in high school when one of my teachers took a “mental health day.” “People can do that?” I thought to myself.

Mental health for me didn’t become “important” or even really understood until I graduated high school and sh*t hit the fan.

Camryn, a Spelman grad and youtuber visits Evolving Still’s guest post to share her journey with mental health. She talks about her first experience with mental health and gives us tips on how to stay mentally healthy. She even shares a great app that she uses to practice self care!

We have been conditioned by media and culture from a very young age to believe that mental illnesses are big, noticeable issues that rarely occur. As I grew older, I realized that mental health also consists of “sneaky” issues that many of us have normalized. Issues that, if they aren’t addressed, can have a tremendous impact on how you live your life.

Growing up in the city of Detroit and being in a rather big family, I feel like mental health wasn’t at the forefront of my life. I remember some days when I was younger and felt like I hit a breaking point but had nobody to share my feelings with, not even my own family or close friends. I vividly remember being in my room one day crying myself to sleep and I thought to myself how I would never want my future child to feel that way.

Dealing with your mental health daily can be a lot so trust me when I say that I understand the plethora of emotions you may be feeling. I totally understand if you are side-eyeing me for talking about the lessons I’ve learned during this crazy time. For some of us, this pandemic has slowed things down, others of us may feel like we are missing out on monumental events. Not to mention many of us dealing with huge losses and others who are essential workers and are literally risking their lives and the lives of their loved ones to help.

My first experience with mental health occurred when I was about five or six. My mother began having an episode due to her suffering from bi-polar/schizophrenia, however I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew was I was watching my Mom behaving incredibly weird, and it was scary for me since I had younger siblings I wanted to protect. From then on it was my immediate response to protect everyone around me when I felt my Mom becoming her “other” self.

Dara Watkins, owner of Sound Body Fitness took the time to let us in on her own journey with mental health. Dara explains the vision behind her business and the importance of not only being physically fit but also mentally. Dara finds it important to take care of your whole self and allows us an insight on how she has been navigating it all.

2 weeks, 3 meltdowns, 1 failed course, and a broken heart. These are the results of my first break-up during my sophomore year of college. While many may find these as normal reactions, for me, it was the beginning of my very own self-discovery. It wasn’t until I met with Jeff, a counselor within my university’s health office, that I realized my mental health needed to be addressed.

Believe it or not, goals are essential when talking about Self Care and Evolving. Making goals frees you from simply talking about the things you want to do and puts you on a path to accomplishing them. I’m sure many of you have made New Year's Resolutions and just by sitting and thinking about what you want to achieve in 2020, you have set yourself apart by being intentional on having a great year.

If you follow the Evolving Still Instagram page, this may sound familiar to our post defining emotional wellness and the importance of learning how to be an emotionally well person. First, it is imperative to acknowledge the emotions that you are feeling, both positive and negative.

It takes some deep reflection and requires a commitment to be the best version of yourself. The first thing that is necessary on the journey of evolving is self love. Yes, self love does include the infamous buzz word “self-care” but in more profound ways than many think.