Andrei’s Mental Health Journey
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.
Raised in Detroit, the environment in which I grew up in, did not consist of white picket fences. Instead I was surrounded by gang violence, drugs, and other influences that lead many black men and women either to jail or a cemetery. Despite these conditions I managed to rise against the negativity that my city sheltered. I began making a difference for my community, and the next generation to come. As a Detroit Renaissance High School graduate (May 2016), I used my experiences within high school and extracurricular activities to create The Suits for Success Youth Mentoring Program alongside my partner, Kyle McMurtry. Our program is designed to create an enhanced learning environment for young men through academic excellence, professional development, financial education, and social engagement. We began working only with Detroit Renaissance High School, but as of today, we assist Lansing Sexton High School and soon East English Village Preparatory Academy. As a current fourth year student at Michigan State University, I have been blessed with many opportunities to further advance myself academically, socially, and within my career. Despite all of my success, I still find myself struggling to take care of the most important person – Myself. I am the founder of my own mentoring program (www.sfsmentoring.weebly.com) , President of The Zeta Delta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (www.msualphas.com) , owner of The Duffy Enterprise, a student leader, and much more. With all of these hats being worn on a daily basis I often find myself lost, while still trying to discover who I am.
Mental health is an issue that has become a more discussed topic and it deeply impacts the African American community. As someone who identifies themselves as a black man, the struggles I have faced throughout my life have played a role in the decline of my self-care. When people hear, “mental health”, they are often ignorant to the idea and correlate it with just psychiatry, mental health facilities, or a person with a clipboard who writes down your thoughts every visit. While mental health is not often addressed, it is one of the leading causes to suicide within our country. Since my sophomore year, I have been educated on the proper ways to take care of myself mentally, in order to achieve ultimate success. I began going to bi-weekly therapy sessions in February, along with delegating Mondays, after 12pm, to myself. Just these two steps that I have taken have drastically improved my self-awareness and ability to maximize my time. My first step throughout this journey was actually acknowledging every emotion that comes to me. Through this recognition I am able to concentrate and pinpoint the best ways to improve my well-being.
Alongside this, I use social media as an outlet to escape from reality and create digital content to connect with the world. While I am still my authentic self on the digital web, I use these channels to express myself and my creativity. For the past 3-5 years, Troy Simmons-Brown and myself have been the curators for a motivational platform in which we built called, “Good morning Hustlers”. Every weekday, between the hours of 7:30am – 8:30am we post an inspirational message via Twitter and Instagram to our respective followers – it’s that simple. What we did not expect is the mass following we would obtain due to our consistency and ability to reach various demographics through our words. We have gained thousands of followers due to our posts and we continue to motivate on a daily basis. Through this, I have learned the importance of being intentional and ensuring you are placing yourself as a priority within your life. While we are still growing the brand, we have plans to take it to the next level and impact the world.
In conclusion, I am not perfect. I still struggle to take care of myself. I have grown through my struggles, but I do not look like half of what I have already been through. I am still learning, teaching, and using what God has given me to bless others. I am a hustler, social influencer, and director of impact. While it is for certain that I will die one day, I live within the moment. I am nowhere near where I want to be, but that is the beauty of it all because I am Evolving Still.