Depression isn't a beautiful girl with sad eyes and the boy who comes to make it all better. Depression isn't the brooding boy with a bad attitude and the bubbly girl who saves him. Depression is not what the movies, Tumblr and books make you think.

It is real, and it is terrifying.

Depression is not eating for days at a time, not because you're starving yourself, but because you can't bring yourself to. Depression is losing your push to excel in life, but not being able to explain it.

The world spends so much time romanticizing depression and mental illness, and it needs to stop. It is making young people think that if they aren't suffering, that they are somehow not living the way they should be.

It's okay to be happy. It's okay to be positive and to feel good. It's beautiful to feel comfortable in your own skin. There is something quietly brilliant about a person who is content in themselves and in their life.

But it's also permissible to be sad. It's understandable to cry and to be miserable for awhile. It's okay to hurt. It is okay to not be okay.

What is not okay is to make it seem like there is someone who is going to save you from yourself. People are making it seem like if you are sad and tragic, there will always be someone to catch you when you fall; but when that someone isn't there, who can you turn to?

You can stand up, brush yourself off and look in the mirror because the only person that is there for you, forever, is you.

I'm not going to say it's going to be easy, because even I am still mastering the art of self-reliance, but what I am saying is that any step you make towards healing yourself is a step in the right direction.

If you find yourself looking depression in its ugly face, know you can make efforts to better yourself, but you are never alone.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact 1-800-273-TALK or use the online chat service at National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.