I am honoured today to share five more stories from our amazing community of finding strength through connection. We were never meant to do any of this alone. Our goal is to incite courage in others and raise the voices that aren’t being heard.
Reconnection is never an end game, and we must acknowledge all that we’ve been through first. Thank you for reminding others that we’re #BraverTogether and for being the light at the end of the tunnel for someone else.
Jesse Lynn
I remember walking into a room and it would fall silent. I remember wanting to disappear through the floor. I remember the rumours flung behind my back by people not realizing how much they hurt. I remember my friends standing up for me. I remember thinking I would never make it through. I remember not even being able to say the words out loud or even think about them because the pain was too much.
But now, I can say out loud that I lost my dad to suicide. Now, each day my tears turn from pain to happy joys because I still have the best memories with dad. Now, I’ve met some remarkable people who’ve gone through the exact same thing & they don’t even realize how much they’ve helped me – just by sharing their story.
And now, I’m no longer afraid to share my story because I know how much it’s helped others. And now, I’ve grown into an educator and I want to share all the love & joy that was shared with me. Because at the end of the day every child should feel loved. #BraverTogether
Lauren Hawes
I ruptured my achilles tendon in two places simultaneously while running to intervene a student tearing the hair out of his EA’s head in 2016. I gained 75 lbs as a result of the injury. My orthopaedic surgeon fat shamed me and said I was too fat for surgery. I fought for the surgery anyway and got it in 2019. I lost 120 lbs, and last month I earned my first Principalship which will begin in September. I couldn’t have done ANY of this without the support of my network. Every day I wake up and choose to invest in today. When I feel the least brave, I dig deep and find just enough to fan the flame. #BraverTogether
Miranda Bell
In 2018, I experienced a missed miscarriage which was diagnosed at my 13 weeks ultrasound. I was later diagnosed with a cancer that formed from my pregnancy, and began 9 rounds of chemo and a 1 year wait to try for another baby. At the beginning of the pandemic in April of 2020 I found out I was pregnant and began suffering from extreme anxiety that something would go wrong. With the help of tuning in daily to Dr. Jody’s morning lives and support from my closest friends, I worked through one of the hardest moments of my life. And my little sweet boy came into this world in December of 2020! ️#BraverTogether
Shelby Stark
In 2015 I was diagnosed with anorexia so severe my lungs were shutting down. Recovery was hard and I tried to do it alone because I was trying to become a teacher and didn’t want my sickness to hinder it. Not until I realized we are #BraverTogether and asked for help did I truly succeed.
Karin Wright Buck
Diagnosed as a Nocturnal Epileptic 15 yrs ago, I hated life. I still have very down days, but I have special people that randomly check in with me that make all the difference. Even if it’s just a text that says “how are you doing today?”. In this shit show of a pandemic having the support of others is everything. #BraverTogether
I am in awe of the strength and vulnerability of this community and I am so grateful to you for allowing us to raise your voices so that we can start to see ourselves in each other. Congratulations on each winning a ticket to Together 2021 on May 8th. We can’t wait to reconnect with you.
Together is a day meant for you to see your story in ours. In the mess of all of the disconnect and uncertainty, we’ve created a safe space to talk about hard things and remind each other that we are #BraverTogether.
Let’s continue to embrace our vulnerability and find strength together. I hope you’ll join us. I promise we’ll be better, together, because of it.
