How do you know she’s smiling? A smile of joy? A smile of love? A smile of…saddness? Their smile could be a fake. So don’t take it for granted. There are hurting people out there. There are more than you know and think. 50% of americans have or are struggling with depression. Please, reread the last sentence again 5 times, or as many times as it takes for you to believe it. Don’t keep reading until you’ve done that…okay? Are you good? Well, it’s a true statement, yet unfortunate. If you still don’t believe me, well let me go ahead and burst your little bubble.

Out of the 50% of Americans struggling with depression:

41% of depressed women are too embarrassed to seek help

80% of depressed Americans are not seeking help

15% will committ suicide

1 in 8 teenagers will suffer from depression, but only 30% seek out help

1 in 5 of depressed teens will think about suicide

1 in 12 have attempted

Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in minors…

Is your mind blown yet? Good! Because I’m not throwing these difficult facts at you to make you upset. I’m doing it to open your eyes to what is going on around you. Every day people don’t feel like they’re good enough or strong enough to live life. Can you believe that!? God made life beautiful, so why do they want to run away from it? Of course there are medical reasons such as not enough of a chemical in the brain, but mostly it’s because of us. Americans, we’re really killing ourselves! We created society, we create the bullies, we create unneccessary stress, we created how we should be defined, we created suicide… We are the suicide. We are the depression. We are the cutting. But…we don’t have to be.

See, we have a secret weapon! Maybe you haven’t found it yet, but most likely you have. We use it every day, but not enough. It’s easy to find! Just put your finger on the tip of your nose. Got it? Now, drop it down to your bottom lip…okay! Now with your finger draw a wide U from where your finger is…Found it? Your smile, that’s your weapon. That’s what kills saddness in others. Not just your smile, but your mouth. What comes out of it. We can use it for good or evil. The words we say and the way we act….Sounds simple! Not only does it sound simple, but in reality it is. It may feel hard, but that’s only because we’ve created it to be difficult to speak to that girl or that boy who doesn’t have many friends. To speak kindness, even if your ‘joking around’. To flash a smile once in a while. If we let God’s grace and mercy shine from within us, we could change what we are. We don’t have to be the suicide, depression, and cutting…we don’t have to be the broken smiles.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world…” -Gandhi