Dys/functional adventures

I've been doing a bit of YouTube watching lately (GASP! LR never does that!!!!). I've caught on to a couple of guys who know each other, Matthew Santoro and Rob Dyke. Both(?) had episodes recently dedicated to the late Robin Williams. Given the sort of thing, I would post the episode if I could, however the profanity up until the second half where the inspiring message is... G-rating. Remember that, folks.

But, I thought I could, at least quote the message. We all probably know about what's going on with one of our friendlier, funnier, yet now no-longer-posting friend, @Rachel ElizabethDare, and I know that another friend is having her own troubles as well. @Highlander of Avalon has been suffering from depression herself, adding on to her own issues of late. Both Ellie and Emma need support, to know that they do matter, that they are valuable human beings as well.

I know the risk of what I'm posting, and I full-well will accept the punishment, should it be deleted. Depression is a real thing, and many of us have suffered from it ourselves. We should all support those who we know and love in need when these times appear. I've been dedicated to helping others for seven years at the library, and even in my own home, as my sister suffers from clinical depression herself. I have considered such a thing as well.

Originally Posted by Rob Dyke

I just felt the need, after what has transpired this week, to tell you all something.
Robin Williams is gone, I'm sure you already all knew that.
As a comedian himself, who has been inspired by Robin Williams since the beginning of my life,
I feel that the greatest honor I can do is dedicate this episode to him.
I know a lot of you struggle with depression.
I know a lot of you have considered alternatives to life itself.
But do you understand the possibilities of a human being?
From the beginning of life itself, from where you're born, to an individual's personality, through their physical traits, to the experiences they have throughout their lives: Not a single one of us is exactly like the other.
From the beginning of humanity to its eventual end, there will never be full realizing of humanity's true potential at it's fullest capacity.
There is an infinite number of human combinations that will never come to life.
But here you are, an infinite, tiny speck, bursting with life.
You are given one chance with life, but there are a lot of chances within it.
Live life to where it has purpose- To heck what anyone says for you to do, live your life how YOU want it! Find your dream, realize your dream, go after your dream!
Too many people live for everyone else, they fail to give their value to their own life.
So make sure you can live your life worth something to you. So you'll know exactly how important it is to live it.
So don't give up, and keep on going. Keep on living.

That's not word for word, but the point should come across the same as Rob said it. I've also noticed a lot of people who are suffering from the depression I've seen lately are preteens through teens. I'm more than willing to share my own experiences with this.

As a person who suffered from depression around 5 years ago, when I'd turned 11, I was not in the best of conditions. My brother was starting to steal money, my sister, who has PTSD from severe bullying, was failing in college, the family was in a financial wreck, and I was a too-close-for-comfort-to-be-considered-obese 13-year old kid who was being medicated for severe ASD and ADHD conditions. My dad was also on medication that made him unnecessarily aggressive over things as little as if a cup of coffee, put on the table by him, was 2 or 3 inches over from where it was originally put. I began walking to the library around that time, finding the one where I work at now is actually a lot closer than where I used to work.

However, I live in some nasty gang territory.

Around that time, they were seriously heating up. I will not say what happened, but I'll say that I've seen some things which I'm honestly surprised to say are actually not that different from some of the things I've seen in video games today.

Either way, I had gotten depressed, I was having my grades drop in my online school (The English teacher didn't much like my family), I was being bullied and beaten in my new-at-the-time school. Honestly, I've had some attempts at the alternatives to life (You know what I mean), and all failed. It wasn't until I'd managed to get found trying that I was stopped. It's definitely a lot better today but, I've gotta be honest, I still get depression attacks. I'm living a better life, I've got better friends than I did at my old school, I've been getting some cool stuff lately that I never even knew about at my library, and then a bunch of other things. But I've got some pains right now, and I suffer sometimes. I'm honestly serious in knowing that my crap doesn't matter as much as what Ellie or Emma, or any of us suffering from depression are going through. I'm more than willing to be there, to help others, and I'm always here for you. As are many others who I've stood by their side for years. We're all here, we're all willing, we all can help. You don't even know me in real life, but I'm willing to help. We even may have outlets in our family we can go to for help.

Know this- Life isn't what we make of it in our depressed state. If we can pull out of that depression, live to our fullest potential, and die a happy death when we grow into our old ages, that is when we know life is reached to the appropriate end. We can't let our clouded thoughts of when we are depressed get in the way. We need to all realize that it's never right to end our life prematurely.

So what if you're a good comedian? You can make that into a career!
So what if you're a good artist? Practice makes perfect, and you might even be able to animate soon!
So what if you're a good writer? Keep on writing. If you're one of the better writers around, maybe you can make it into a good career (Bonus points if you end up famous).

Even if life has taken a downturn for you for some time, chances are it'll be shorter, may be longer, may even end tomorrow. I had mine last for 4 years. And lookee here, I'm still around, I haven't called it quits completely.

Stay around, life will get better. A lack of optimism is never a good thing, and maybe some of that, mixed with a little hope and wishful thinking, can get you the life that you want AND deserve.