The power of the mind

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Jordan with a heart of gold. She would always smile and say hi to everyone she saw. She had a very close relationship with her mom. Jordan had been through things no little girl should. She wet the bed a lot growing up but she never knew why. She was always ashamed and afraid that people at school would find out. Growing up, her mind had suppressed those memories to protect her. As she got older (in middle school) she started to remember bits and pieces of the bad things that had happened. It started to put a mental drain on her. She couldn't focus during online school and would zone out when people were talking to her. It caused her so much pain that she started to overthink little things, as small as a five-second interaction with a friend. Jordan always made sure to be a safe space for her friends. But who would be her safe space? Jordan tried to have her grandma be her safe space while her mom was at work, but that didn't work out. Her grandma said it was causing a strain on her too so she couldn't help Jordan anymore. That made her sad because while Jordan's mom was at work she would have no one to help her control her emotions. After 2 years of online schooling, Jordan's mom let her go back to school because she knew it would help Jordan since she had been wanting to go back for so long. It was only under one condition that Jordan would take all the necessary precautions around any and everyone. Of course, she agreed, and she even got to go to her dad's house the summer before she started in-person school. Jordan didn't have much time to dwell and sulk because while at her dad's she was always doing something. Whether it was going to the park, watching her siblings, going to the gym, or even reading a book.

The summer was fun, but back to her new reality. Going to school helped a lot but it didn't completely solve everything. If anything it brought up a bit of social anxiety, but a lot of people had that coming back to school. Jordan made new friends that she would walk to school with everyday and sometimes even after school. A few months pass by and she is close with the friends she walks to and from school with. One of her friends confesses that she has been cutting her wrists again. Jordan's reasoning for not telling anyone about it the first time was that she thought her friend was going to stop and she did, but not for long. Jordan remembered that yesterday she and her mom were talking about a job opportunity up north for three weeks. Jordan told her mom she should go and do it but she was still really sad and crying almost all night. At on point her mom went out somewhere and Jordan was in the bathroom and thought about cutting herself but she fought those thoughts. While remembering that she almost cried because she knew that she had come far enough to a point where she could fight those thoughts but her friend wasn't quite there yet. Jordan knew just how serious this was so after school she hesitantly told her mom what her friend had been doing. She and her mom decided to call the school and tell the assistant principle about it anonymously so they could take it from there, and at least they tried to do something about it. Jordans mom told her that her friend would probably be upset when she found out. A couple days later her friend approaches her and asks her about it and Jordan says she did tell the school and they had a conversation about how she only did it to make sure that her friend would be okay. Now, everything went on as normal, no conflicts.

Now it is time for Jordans mom to go on her work trip up north for three weeks. Her mom didn't like that she would be leaving Jordan for so long. She is her safe space, but she knew that this could open many doors for her and Jordan. Before she left she made sure that Jordan was going to be okay while she was gone, that she had food she could make on her own on days her grandma didn't feel like cooking. Jordan and her mom face time every day talking about their day and reading books together. Jordan had a new normal routine while her mom was gone. It was to get ready for school, walk to school, get out of school, walk home from school, do homework, watch tv, call mom, watch more tv or go on her phone, then go to sleep and repeat. Surprisingly, Jordan did well without her mom there. There were only a few times here and there when she would get sad and have negative thoughts but she now knew how to block them out. Her mom came back on Christmas Eve so she had just barely enough time to wrap all the presents she had mailed to their house. Jordan and her family had a great time on Christmas, even some of the family members who don't usually come to family gatherings came so it made Jordan happy. Her mom taught her that is very powerful. She was very right, if the mind can suppress memories then it can make up memories based on your imagination and other memories. It became very important to Jordan that she control her mental health so she could be happy and live her fullest life while she is still here to live it. She accomplished what she thought was impossible, true happiness with her inner being.