When one person speaks up
Something has been happening over the past few days. Something really great. Since I’ve released the Ryan Video, there have been a lot of people reaching out to me, all saying the same thing.
One friend, somebody I haven’t seen in maybe over a year, said he was only twenty five minutes into it, and it was tearing him up. “Everything” is relatable, he said. When I asked how he’s been doing, “I’ve gotten used to it”.
Then more messages. More comments from friends and family. My mom opened up to me about experiencing depression. My father in law told me how he relates to the part about perfectionism. People telling me things I maybe never would have known.
Tons of people carry things secretly. They go to work, joke, and smile while keeping things inside that all of us have. Maybe different situations, but it’s all the same emotions we keep inside us and never really talk about.
Around the same time, I attended my first men's group. I’ve walked away from that meet up feeling so grateful for my life. Not that I wasn’t before, but it gave me more perspective than I had before. Guys growing up without a father. Living their lives with no role models. I’ve been fortunate to have a dad in my life. Not only that, but I’m extremely grateful for my family. A lot of the conversation was based on worry of finding a partner. About having kids. Building a life with someone. I’m not yet thirty and I’ve somehow been lucky enough to find my person I want to spend forever with. And she’s given me the most amazing little girl I could ask for.
I thought the purpose of Rising Valor was interviews, videos, and content. I think maybe it’s creating relatable moments where someone hears another person speak and thinks “Me Too.”
If one honest conversation creates ten more, then that is how change starts.
My mission with RV is to destigmatize mental health. To create a space for honest conversations to happen, which encourages healing to happen. I want to document and share people telling their stories so that when the person who needs help sees it will feel empowered to tell their own. These conversations are so important. Talking about the things we go through is healing, and sometimes it can be hard to talk about. Sometimes people don’t have a place to talk. I’m building a community of strong individuals willing to sit with eachother. Rising Valor is the place you can go to be apart of something that openly and willingly puts the truth out there. Not only do we tell our own truth, we lift others up so that they can share theirs as well.
Because the worst thing you can do for yourself, is not tell the truth.
This has been the weekly journal. Thanks for being apart of this.
Logan S Williams
Rising Valor,
Founder