#ShareYourStory: Jasmeen S.

Jasmeen is a 19-year-old third-year university student who owns a small business and founded her own organization to support children with cancer and low income. She loves reading, painting, photography, and her family.

Jasmeen was interviewed by Gabriel’s Light Youth Ambassador, Ally.

JASMEEN’S STORY:

Ally:

Hi! Today, I'm with Jasmeen. She's one of the ambassadors for Gabriel's Light, and we're going to be sharing her story. So, the first question is, what does mental health mean to you?

Jasmeen:

Hi, Ally. Thank you for having me here. I'm honored to be here and have you to interview me. Thank you for that. So, yeah, I'm Jasmeen, and I'm one of the youth ambassadors at Gabriel's Light.

Mental health is very broad and goes beyond emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects all of them and how we think, act, and feel. It's honestly just the state of mental well-being of an individual and how they cope with stress in their lives. It’s them realizing their abilities and learning how to make them work well.

Ally:

That's a great answer. I 1000% agree. I feel like mental health is really broad; some people are on this side of the spectrum, and some people are on that side. So, have you ever had a moment or been in a time when your mental health was not in a great place?

Jasmeen:

Actually, since I have been attending post-secondary since then, it's just been very hard to cope with mental health and, you know, think of tips and ways to bring down the stress that I've been having. So, definitely, post-secondary is when I've been going through different phases of mental health, being impacted emotionally and physically.

Ally:

If you don't mind, would you want to share any specific details from that experience?

Jasmeen:

So it was just kind of the transition from high school to post-secondary. It was very different. It was really hard to, you know, to get into this new phase of life, and it got me starting to think about how to cope with university and all. So that was definitely very stressful. I wish there were more tips on what kind of workload to take, stress management, different opportunities, and where to get support in university. So I wish it would have been better, and I feel I could have done better academically and better managed my stress.

Ally:

Looking back at your past self, was there anything specific that could have helped you or anything you've learned since then that is great advice for you now?

Jasmeen:

Yeah, I've definitely learned that you don't have to take on all of the workload at once. It’s also good to have some different ways to have fun. So, I've started joining clubs at my post-secondary so that I can engage in activities other than just studying academically. I'm starting to take some easier courses to balance out my more challenging courses.

For example, let's just say I do math, physics, and chemistry; I’ll also take an English or education course. This helps me manage the workload and not overcommit myself to only tougher courses. So, I've started to learn that that helps me. Back when I started post-secondary or even from my high school and counselors, I really wish that I had a better support system and better tips to help me understand these things that could have helped me back then.

Ally:

I've experienced similar situations where I take on too much, and it overwhelms me. That's definitely a very typical teenage experience. So, you did mention how your support system wasn't that great back then. Has it improved or changed since?

Jasmeen:

Yeah, so because I was not really aware of who to reach out to when going through my experience, I started just going to various clubs. This helped me realize that communication is one of the greatest ways to learn and grow. Being a part of these clubs helped me start to communicate with others, find support, and learn from these people. Through that, I've actually been able to have a much bigger support system than I did back then. A lot of people are able to give me different tips on how I can cope with stress and stress management and all of that.

So, yes, it has been much better, and I definitely think that for some people who do need support for mental health, anxiety, or whatever it is, I believe communication is one of the greatest keys that really helps. It is literally the main key that helped me successfully cope with stress.

Ally:

That's great. Having a good support system changes everything. When you have that one person you can speak to, a weight is lifted from your shoulders. How do you feel about your future, or what are some things that may help you think more hopefully and positively about your future?

Jasmeen:

I think manifestation is one of the greatest things. Until a few months ago, I've always felt that I shouldn't be overconfident. You know, I shouldn't always be like I can do this. Now, I kind of started manifesting things and having more confidence in myself, and that has actually really helped me. I think with that, I can actually achieve all of my future goals. One of my future goals is to graduate from post-secondary and hopefully get into my dream school. I think that's just going to work with, again, manifesting and communicating with others, learning from them, and understanding how to manage my stress.

Ally:

That's amazing. I wish you a ton of luck because you will definitely get there. I promise.

Going into more of what helped you when you were going through this situation, did you have any really niche or specific things that catered to you that might not be typical when going through something like this? Is there anything that's almost unique to you that usually isn’t used to help cope, but it helped you?

Jasmeen:

Yeah, so previously, I mentioned I did take on a lot of hobbies and just started joining more clubs, but I also did start my own business and became a small business owner. I was passionate about arts and crafts, so I turned that into a small business where I make shadow boxes for different occasions, like birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, or whatever people want. I also started volunteering more and put my mind to different things like coloring, painting, and reading new books.

So yeah, I just started doing that, and I think anyone who is going through the same or, even worse, I think they should definitely find some new hobbies and engage themselves in a passion that they may have.

Ally:

Yeah, I agree. Sometimes, you need to put yourself in a different situation. For example, you creating your own business—that's amazing. Spending a lot of your time on that probably took stress off other things because you were thinking about your business, which is amazing.

Jumping into another question, when you were going through this, was there anyone who surprised you? Were there any people who helped or who you weren't expecting to help you?

Jasmeen:

No, not really. I've had a lot of the same people around me. In fact, I was mostly surprised by myself, I'd say, to seek help. I was never very outgoing, especially not in terms of communication. I was always very hesitant to ask people for help and everything. So, I was surprised to be one of the people who actually sought help. But I'm very honored and blessed to be around people who are very supportive and who understand. They’ve actually really helped me. I'm very grateful for that, and I really hope that everyone is able to be around people who can just help them like the people who’ve helped me.

Ally:

That's great. I feel like asking for help is a really vulnerable thing, and when you do it, you might feel like you're giving up. But in reality, it's just going to help you in the long run. So that's amazing.

Last question: since you've overcome such a challenge or a challenging phase in your life, what would you say to others who have gone through something similar or who have thoughts of suicide or anything like that?

Jasmeen:

I think the biggest thing is to never give up, never lose hope, and just try to reflect on how we have been given this beautiful life. We should take the time to actually live it because we’re still so young, and we have the opportunity to live life to the greatest of our ability. When I was going through this, I always thought that maybe I should drop out, maybe I should do something easier, or maybe I should find a job, or I should even give up. But I just continued on and started putting myself into things that could make me happy and where I could spend most of my time thinking and feeling positively rather than just reflecting on the negative side of my life. This positivity helped me learn from how other people grew after going through the same challenging phase. So I think definitely just never give up, just keep growing, keep learning, keep communicating with people, and just believe in yourself. I think that's one of the greatest things that a person could do.

Ally:

That's amazing! Alright, so that concludes our interview. If you have anything else you'd like to add, feel free to do so. You gave some amazing advice, and your story was amazing. Thank you for sharing!

Jasmeen:

Thank you for having me here and thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story. And, yeah, I just look forward to inspiring others to keep communicating, keep seeking help, and never give up.

Thank you.

Ally:

Of course.