Septa Reflection
My entire life, I’ve been surrounded by the words “mental illness.” Growing up, my brother suffered from an assortment of “disorders” that, even after countless hospital visits, therapy sessions, and extensive neurological research, could not be named by doctors, psychiatrists and neurologists alike. To me, he was just my imaginative, talkative, genius older brother, to which the words “illness” and “disorder” could not apply. Just because he struggled to complete his school work and couldn’t communicate with others well enough to make friends didn’t mean his brain didn’t work as well as mine — it just meant he was different. I wanted nothing more than to have him connect with others and make friends, but in the eyes of a judging world, being
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He needed a community of people like him, happy and curious, free from stigma and full of extraordinary ideas, in order to feel less alone. That’s when I found SEPTA — an organization that places children similar to my brother in a close-knit group where they can learn how to interact, cooperate, and live social and active lives. As a facilitator, I and other students work together to create an environment in which they can thrive and communicate with one another, initiating in games, swim lessons, tutoring sessions and other activities. In all honesty, SEPTA changed the way I looked at the world of mental illness, and more specifically, my brother — the only way to truly grow as a human being is by engaging in fellowship, something SEPTA harbors beautifully. In the organization, differences are praised and not feared, allowing everyone to express their own individuality, facilitators and children alike.
My love for SEPTA is a major factor in inspiring me to apply to Johns Hopkins University. I want to continue creating such communities for children and adults who are suffering from the stigma surrounding mental illnesses, and I believe the service Practicum is an excellent way in engaging with other students and the community of Baltimore, such as the Practicum in Language Disorders. It would be a truly life-changing
He needed a community of people like him, happy and curious, free from stigma and full of extraordinary ideas, in order to feel less alone. That’s when I found SEPTA — an organization that places children similar to my brother in a close-knit group where they can learn how to interact, cooperate, and live social and active lives. As a facilitator, I and other students work together to create an environment in which they can thrive and communicate with one another, initiating in games, swim lessons, tutoring sessions and other activities. In all honesty, SEPTA changed the way I looked at the world of mental illness, and more specifically, my brother — the only way to truly grow as a human being is by engaging in fellowship, something SEPTA harbors beautifully. In the organization, differences are praised and not feared, allowing everyone to express their own individuality, facilitators and children alike.
My love for SEPTA is a major factor in inspiring me to apply to Johns Hopkins University. I want to continue creating such communities for children and adults who are suffering from the stigma surrounding mental illnesses, and I believe the service Practicum is an excellent way in engaging with other students and the community of Baltimore, such as the Practicum in Language Disorders. It would be a truly life-changing