mental illnesses are romanticizedin books and moviesas something that makes you weakbut if someone falls in love with youthen it will all be hunky-dorywhen the reality is mental illness means isolationit means those closest to youwill turn their back on you and attribute it to‘being too busy’when really it’s because of shamebut most importantlyit makes you strong, not weakbecause you are fighting a warthat is scarier, more gory, and more painfulthan anyone could imagineand you are winningbecause you have chosen to keep living