I’ve been thinking a lot about that exact moment when you feel like you’ve won the war versus your mental health. You did the work, you’re feeling better, and you get to do something you know you wouldn’t have been able to do before, and it’s a moment.

I’ve had lots of moments, as my mental health has been up and down for 10 years now, but most recently it was February 18, 2020. I was in the pit at a Jonas Brothers concert, which I probably wouldn’t have done for free six months earlier. I was in Montpellier, France, right on the Mediterranean coast. Joe Jonas was in front of me singing a song about [redacted because I just remembered where I intend to share this but you can read about it here]. There was confetti falling, and I was covered in 13 hours of travel sweat, and my suitcase and tech-filled backpack were in a coat check outside of the arena.

None of that mattered, when I was hearing the words that brought me to a concert in France eight hours out of my way, what brought me back to Europe at all.