“I spent so much time being the easy child that nobody noticed when I wasn't okay.”

I was the kid nobody had to worry about. Good grades, no trouble, no complaints. When my brother was going through it, when my parents were stressed about money, I learned to make myself small and manageable. I told myself I was fine because everyone needed me to be fine.

The thing about being the easy child is that people stop asking. Not because they don't love you — but because you've trained them to believe you don't need anything. I got so good at it that I almost believed it myself.

It cracked open during my first year of college. I was sitting in my dorm and I just started crying and couldn't stop, and I didn't even know why. A friend made me go to the counseling center. I sat in the waiting room three times before I actually went in.

I'm learning now that needs aren't inconveniences. That the people who love me would rather have the real me than the easy me. It's slow. Some days I still default to “I'm good.” But I'm talking now, and that's the whole point.