I am in a good place mentally right now. But like all of us, I have my ups and downs.

I’ve been fairly open on the internet about my mental health battles, though it’s usually through humor. Do I do that to give you someone to relate to? So you know you’re not alone in your battles? Or am I doing it as a way to cope with my own issues? Idk. Maybe both. It’s easy to talk about it when I’m alone with my camera in my apartment.

In my personal life, I tend to keep things closer to heart.

My medications make me forgetful,(you must be a zombie, she said) and I tend to go through periods of self inflicted isolation. (i call it me time to make it sound romanticized).

Luckily I’ve always had a few friends who pick up on this, and reach out with a quick “you ok?” when they see me slipping.

They know my answer is most likely far from the truth, a quick “I’ll be fine!” (Don’t ask me what I need please..) but they press on, continuing to ask and check in regardless, and for that I will always be eternally grateful.

“you ok” is a love letter to those friends - a way of expressing my appreciation, an attempt at explaining my inner monologue, and for once without all the jokes that usually come along with it.

I think everyone deserves someone in their life who isn’t afraid to ask, “you ok?”