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Willie

Growing up with a mom diagnosed with schizophrenia, I learned at a young age the challenges a family can face when a loved one has a mental illness. While I was raised mostly by my grandmother, it never occurred to me that maybe I had mental challenges of my own until I was about 20 years old. At that time I started community college and noticed one day in particular that I was not able to perform the same way my peers were. I drove to my uncle’s job, sat across from him at his desk, and the words “something is wrong or different about me” flowed from my mouth.

I didn’t know it at the time but that was my first realization that I was struggling to stay focused, to function in crowds, to complete normal everyday tasks, and to maintain interpersonal relationships. I had feelings of discontent and a lack of motivation—I had started to withdraw but didn’t acknowledge it. For a couple of years I continued to live as if nothing was wrong by working a fulltime job, being a student at Tri-C, partying every weekend, and dating like a normal 22-year old. All of this masked the fact that I was coming home to a dark apartment and crying every night.

For ten years I attended clinical therapy without complete success, then learned about Magnolia Clubhouse—a community of support. The Clubhouse has played an integral part in my healing process. I have been here now for about two years and I am no longer robbing myself of the mental health benefits that are available—I will keep on attending and hope to inspire others who need help to come here.