Kailee:

"Hi, my name is Kailee! I am 18 years old and from Ypsilanti, Michigan. I will be a freshman studying marketing at Bowling Green State University this fall. I absolutely love anything related to cats and coffee! I enjoy hiking, watching sunrises/sunsets, traveling, reading, and making people laugh.

I was inspired to create this affirmation graphic because these 'I am' statements are what I have been needing to hear recently. Whenever I am feeling low I will stand in front of the mirror, make eye contact with myself, and repeat these affirmations until I am feeling better!"

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Anya:

"I remember I was twelve years old, my family and I had just moved into an all new home. Being that I was away from my friends, loneliness started to be a familiar feeling to me. I was at a  new school and near the beginning of the school year I found a group of people I thought were nice enough to befriend. Still even though I now had kids to sit and laugh with, there was still that lingering loneliness.

Why isn’t this enough for me? Why can’t I just be content with this?

The reason I was still lonely is because the people I chose to be around didn’t see me as a friend like I did them. I assumed we were good friends while they rarely even acknowledged my existence. I figured this out when I stopped sitting or talking with them and nobody noticed my absence. It did hurt knowing nobody at my school would bat an eye if I just didn’t show up. What I did learn from this experience is that if you’re the only one putting effort into a friendship then it isn’t a friendship."

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