As You Are by Kindra Nikole Via Flickr: “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.“ - Ralph Waldo Emerson [I’ve been trying to find the words to accompany this image–an image I never thought I’d need to make. I created it for a fundraiser for a friend who left this world not weeks ago. This friend from the local art community took their life a few weeks ago, and it has sent extreme shock waves through the art community and all of the people they touched–which was many. They were one of those people who shone so brilliantly it was nearly blinding. Always smiling, always laughing, always present. And now they’re gone. Depression, suicide, the deep need for acceptance. These things are heavy and real and need to be destigmatized. NOW. If the only thing I can ever do to help that happen is make new art and write words speaking openly about these things, then I will do that until my last breath. Too many precious people have been lost to the epidemic of depression and suicide. What kind of a world are we creating where the inner pain is so much–where a person feels SO devastatingly alone–that they end things preemptively? A world that needs change. Huge change. The first step, I feel, is removing the shame surrounding identity and talks of internal struggles. *Everyone* should feel accepted. Not just “that guy over there” or “that pretty person everyone knows” but *everyone*. Underneath it all, we all have a heart, a brain, emotions, concerns, our own set of morals. We ARE all one. Regardless of gender identity, cultural backgrounds, religions, moral stances. Regardless of all of it. We are all in this together, no matter how lonely I *know* it can feel. **Please, if you have even an inkling of suicidal feelings, use the following resources, ASAP.** Within the US: 1-800-273-8255. Outside of the states:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines . You are *not* alone. Too many people have walked that dark path of no return. Too. Many. It isn’t the answer. It hurts so so so many people–the inner hurt we feel spreads outward like an infection when we make that choice. There is help and there are people who care–SO much.