2025 Maia Yoshida Viewmont HS

It Always Seems Impossible Until It’s Done

As a busy teen, involved in a variety of activities, I have a lot of passions. From 4-H to girls golf, I’m constantly on the go. From the outside, I’m just a teen busy with school, work, and extracurriculars, but there’s more beneath the surface. There’s more to my story than meets the eye. I have struggled with my mental health since I was in sixth grade and have had thoughts that have had the potential to shatter this outside view of who I am. These negative thoughts have the potential to change not only my world but the world of those around me, and not in a good way.

Sixth grade was a pivotal point in my life. This was the year that I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. As I have grown up I have had to learn to accept that this is part of me and learn to love myself with it. This has led me to develop mindfulness and self-compassion. Being able to understand what I am feeling and why has helped get out of my head and into the moment through setting aside my negative thoughts. Whenever I feel like I haven’t done enough or haven’t done anything at all, I know I can give myself grace because I have put forth my best effort I can give that day or week and deserve a break to rest so I can continue to give my best effort.

One activity I am involved in is 4-H. In 4-H I have learned a lot about problem solving and adaptability. These skills were not being taught in regards to being mentally resilient but I have learned to use them in that way, as well as others. Now I have the opportunity to be the one teaching these skills to others.

Coping is something that has come as I’ve gotten older. It started out with some unhealthy strategies like isolation. As I have learned more about mental health and healthier ways of coping, I have found what works for me. I challenge myself to spend more time with the people I love instead of isolating myself from them. I did not realize this at first, but my involvement in all these activities is another way I avoid isolating myself.

Another thing I did that was unhealthy was avoidance. Instead of avoiding tasks like my homework or chores, now I break them into smaller sections and do one thing at a time. I also tended to avoid talking about how I was feeling in regards to my mental health because I didn’t want others to worry. Now I know that talking about things can help and it helps others when I share my story.

One healthy coping mechanism I developed is finding ways to combat my negative thoughts. When the thoughts get persistent and I can’t ignore them, I move my body in some way or take a shower instead of giving into the thoughts. It helps me replace the negative thoughts with something positive. I feel better when I do these things because I don’t give the negative thoughts more attention than just acknowledging.

As I have gotten older and realized it helps to talk about mental health and share my story, I have become an advocate to help others. I help teach about coping mechanisms on my teams and have built a safe space for my siblings to talk to me when they are struggling. I get to teach 4-H workshops that help youth develop problem solving skills and become more adaptable. I have the opportunity of going to D.C. in April to serve on a youth mental health round table to help advocate to federal partners why this is important.

Going through all of this and becoming more resilient, has made me how I am. Developing healthy coping skills while I am young gives me an advantage when coping with stress as an adult. I now feel more prepared to take on whatever challenges are going to be thrown at me as I go forward in life. I know just how important it is to speak up about mental health and share my story. I can overcome anything ang have the ability to do the same.