The world can be a very dark, scary place. However, it is also a very beautiful place full of amazing things.

Toxic positivity would tell you to ignore the bad parts of life and act as if they never existed. This is simply unrealistic, unreasonable, and damaging to our mental health. Nobody is ever going to be 100% happy 100% of the time.

That's one reason why it's so important to find your passions in life and embrace them. Finding a passion can create a ladder out of a bad situation or state of mind, lead you to finding community, allow you to express your full range of emotions in a cathartic way, and so much more.

Writing saved me

I literally don't remember a time when I didn't write. Even before I could physically write, I would make up stories and tell them at storytime if I thought I could do better.

I love writing in just about every genre: poetry, essays, fiction, non-fiction, lab reports. The only time I don't enjoy writing is when I don't enjoy the subject!

When I was a teenager, my health issues were more vicious than when I was a kid. I struggled with my physical health (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever AND mono in high school, especially), but also my mental health from OCD, depression, the loss of a close friend, toxic relationships, and bullying. Being a teenager was extremely difficult and I didn't know if I would survive it.

I wrote to process my feelings. I wrote notes to the ones I lost. I wrote to create something hauntingly beautiful from everything I had to endure. I wrote to escape from my troubles and into a world of my own making when it was too much.

I was encouraged to share my words with others and they resonated with others. My words got me scholarships, awards, and recognition. When I would write to persuade others to listen, they did.

My words held power.

Now that I have discovered this power, passion, my voice, I have thrown myself into it. On my darkest days, I write. When the world gets tough, I can once again throw myself into writing - I have done it during the worst times of my life and came out alive, fighting, and stronger.

A soul trade

Yusef Ibrahim had a rough childhood. When he needed something stable and secure - music was there for him.

He'd always liked music, but he began to really throw himself into it after listening to the musical score from the Final Fantasy series. He'd get lost listening to it and began to try to piece it together on the cello (and later, keyboard).

The feeling of creating music was transformative to him. It allows him to feel and process the full range of emotions.

“There is a piece of music for every emotion.”

In a world that wasn't kind, he could feel triumphant in himself and escape from the darkness. It gave life value and beauty. Music has been the greatest gift he could have been given. With music, he was able to attend college and further his talents. But, most importantly:

“Music has given me a soul trade- an expertise and knowledge in a thing, music, that gives my life and pursuits value. No matter where I am, what I'm doing, and who I'm with, I know there is value residing in my thoughts and my hands and my voice. Nothing could take that from me”

Yusef is currently a cello performance student and enjoys creating cello covers in his spare time.

An escape

“No matter how much you're beaten down, how much you're hurting, there's always a part of you that can't be destroyed. Whether you find it in your family, in your friends, or in your work - find it. I found it together with these guys.”

Markus Videsåter

Swedish guitarist David Strääf met future bandmates, Markus Videsåter, Johan Swärd, and David “Viking” Vikingson, as a teenager. They bonded over the love of music and became brothers through their shared passion that transcended their different backgrounds.

They initially were a passion project, just four best friends having fun and performing a lot of covers together. As they grew and developed their skills, they started to create more original songs. Their first album, “Brothers”, was released independently but have since been signed to the record label, Hopeless Records.

Since then, they released “Hope is a Cult”, toured North America and Europe, and released several singles and music videos. Despite this, they've stayed true to themselves and have consistently been an advocate for mental health and self-love. Strääf credits the passion for music for defining his self worth and giving him a purpose in life. The lyrics feature a mix of discussing challenges and hardships with triumph and joy. He notes that for him and many other musicians, music is an escape from the hardships and an opportunity to join with others to get through them.

Afterall, that's how he got on the stage.

Check out more music by Solence here. Stay turned for a new album soon!