I met Karla at an I Am More reception where she was representing one of my favorite organizations, The NAN Project. As the host was speaking about the importance of bringing the subject of mental health out into the open, I could see out of my peripheral vision this young woman nodding, knowingly. During the reception, Karla, the host, and I had an enlightening conversation about cultural limitations in sharing our stories, and I am very lucky and grateful that they each agreed to participate in the project with new portraits. Karla is up first, and working with her started with eating ice cream on a farm while chickens mingled around our feet, followed soon after by a jump on a trampoline with some of her favorite young friends, and she did not hold back, tossing herself around like a rag doll, to their delight. She and The NAN Project are having a tremendous impact in area schools, promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention, and I’m grateful that they provide all of the emergency number cards for our exhibits. Read on for our first bilingual essay:
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