A few weeks ago Kid Cudi, a rapper from Ohio, took to twitter and tweeted out

“My anxiety and depression have ruled my life for as long as I can remember and I never leave the house because of it. I can't make new friends because of it. I don't trust anyone because of it and I'm tired of being held back in my life. I deserve to have peace. I deserve to be happy and smiling.”

His tweet has started a topic of discussion about mental health. Often we think of the famous as having it all; money, cars, clothes, fabulous “friends,” and going to all the hottest parties and events. Everyone wants to be rich, have name brand clothes, be invited to every social event, drive luxury cars, and live in the biggest houses. In today’s society we are told that if you have all of the above you have made it and therefore should be happy with your life, but often times the people that “have it all” are the loneliest and the saddest. We need to remind ourselves of what Kid Cudi says in Pursuit of Happiness, “everything that shines ain’t always going to be gold." This is not to say that depression doesn’t hit every race, every age group, and every social class. There are roughly 20 million people in the United States suffering from depression… That’s a lot, people!

I have dealt with depression either with family or friends, and it’s not pretty. It is not something people talk about for a few reasons and one of them being that most people are ashamed. When Kid Cudi tweeted out about his depression he closed his tweet with the sentence “I feel like Sh*t, I feel so ashamed. I’m Sorry.” Nobody suffering from this terrible disease should be ashamed or sorry for how they feel, and they definitely shouldn’t be embarrassed to talk to someone. Taking the chance to reach out to someone and tell them how you are feeling could save your life, or maybe even their life. Maybe that person you are reaching out to has been battling with some of the same things. Maybe by taking that risk of sticking your neck out and saying “I don’t feel right, I need help” could help someone else to do the same thing and seek out the help they need.

I had a friend 4 years ago commit suicide. We weren’t the closest of friends but did attend high school together. During high school we went on a religious retreat together and she got paired up in my group, so I got to know her pretty well and really enjoyed her company. She was the sweetest, prettiest, and friendliest girl I have ever met! Like I said we weren’t the closest of friends but I remember when I received the message that she had passed away from unnatural causes my heart stopped. The news really rocked my world and got me thinking about how I treat others and what I could be doing to help someone smile, if even only for a second. I remember talking to all of my high school friends about this and everyone saying “I wish she would have said something to me I could have tried to help her”, but really we should be saying “I wish I would have noticed something wasn’t right with them and I could have helped”. Talking about what’s wrong isn’t always the easiest, and so we need to thank Kid Cudi for stepping up and starting this conversation. Kid Cudi said in his tweet “I deserve to have peace. I deserve to be happy and smiling.” Let’s all take a moment every day to remember that and say it to yourself and others, you never know who your smile could help.