The “I’m A Soldier” Anti-Depression Campaign focuses on teenagers dealing with emotional and social problems. Before I came up with this campaign, I researched about the problems of the teenagers nowadays. Bullying is very fluent and it causes changes, more like depression which eventually may lead to suicide. But nobody seems to realize that teen suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescents and young adults. Teenagers know a days doesn't care but they don’t know that they’re the one causing these problems themselves.

This campaign lets these teenagers to choose. 

It’s a choice to be a bully or not.

People get broken and bruised but there are people who wants to hold them through. We’ll never know how much impact it causes when somebody points out a flaw. Flaws are nature. Its human nature to do mistakes however they don’t understand and they just don’t care.

Since depression is often a common sign of suicidal behavior, once the depression has subsided, the suicidal teen is out of danger. But how exactly are we going to stop depression, to stop suicide?

A support group will be formed by ambassadors- ambassadors of good will and do have good intentions. Everyone will share their story and let out everything they have been keeping inside for so long. But nobody will push someone who wants to keep themselves private. Ambassadors will share everything they want to say but most importantly they’ll acknowledge everyone that suicide is really one solution to the problem, but it is not the only one, nor the best solution. There are tons of solutions and if ever they can’t find it inside themselves, there are so much people who want to help them and reach a hand, they just don’t see them, but that’s why ambassadors are there, they are to point out everyone who’s willing to help and God will always be there. Not all problems are solved alone, right?

The campaign will have games, activities such as exercises where they’ll practice encountering people around them, people exactly like them. With that, they’ll learn to interact and have fun without bothering themselves.

To be honest, I myself get depressed too. And what I do is that I forget them by having a good time, probably watching a very funny movie or listening to nice songs that’ll make me sing along but I never ever thought of suicide. Our lives are too precious to just cut them by blades or by force.

This short film called “Requiem” made me realize that some people do really handle things differently, sometimes they’re too messed up to solve everything and this causes them to suicide. Another video that inspired me, a few years ago, is a girl named Olivia Liv. Nobody knew her story, nobody noticed her changes and she got so depressed that she self-harmed. She failed and failed in which made her to attempt more until she finally did.

People face their problems differently and sometimes we just don’t know what to do. But death isn't the best way to run away from these. There’s God to help us, there’s our friends, our parents and 7 more billion people around the world to offer a hand.

Just like suicide, vengeance is never the answer.

Let's save lives.

"We can win this war. I'll be your soldier."

See the short movie here: Requiem
See Olivia Liv's video here: Olivia Liv
Campaign inspired by: Disney's Friends
Title and some phrases are inspired by: Soldier

I don’t want to be remembered for what I have, nor for who I am. Nobody needs that in the real world. The real world is highly mistaken for a place of envy, assertion and fame but these are flaws of every person that must change. I want to forget all those things and try to lead a path to a great day, to my great future. I want to be remembered for what I have done. It may be failure or not, I want them to know my story. I am certainly not perfect, I do mistakes and most of them are a shame but it’s not a secret.

 I want the people to know my errors because of these errors, I learned. For now, I may have done nothing noble but for sure I will try to do something different, something I have never done before. The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are most times the ones that do. My destiny will lead me to my life, my dreams are my goals, my strengths and wisdom is my armor and forever God will be my savior. 

She is not just my idol, she is also my mother. She was welcomed to the world on May 28 on the year of 1971. She was named exactly just like her mother, Elizabeth E. Dizon.  She had typical farmer parents. Although they weren’t blessed with a lot of cash, her parents were able to send them, 7 children, to school. She was the 4^th of her siblings. She studied at a public elementary school in their province, San Fernando Elementary School. She was just an average student.  On weekends, she and her sister, Beth, would vend vegetables on a basket and walk the whole town to sell them until they got the amount of money they need. Since her mother is at the market selling vegetables all day, and her father farming in the morning and bring people in carriages in the evening, they’ll be independently taking care of themselves, playing and eating. When she graduated high school in St. Joseph Academy, a private school, she had enough money to go to Manila and attend her college. She chose BS in Nursing in Martinez Memorial College. She lived in her grandfather’s house in Caloocan City. It was hard at first for her but she was capable to push through it. After she graduated, her eldest sister married an American in Guam. Her sister petitioned their parents and eventually petitioned her.

 They lived in Guam leaving her other sister, Weng, in Pampanga to take care of their house. She got a job in her Aunt’s hardware and check all the receipts just to earn extra money for their house and her siblings’ education. After 6 months, she went back to the Philippines to take her exams for her license. Then, she went back to Guam and found a medical secretary job at Seventh Day Adventist clinic. After a year, she took a licensure nursing exam in the United States (NLEX) and fortunately passed it. She then got another job at Guam Memorial hospital as a full-time RN and a part-time RN in Seventh Day Adventist Clinic. Their family was able to lift their difficulties. In her mid-20’s, she had friends. They travelled to Mainland and spend time with each other. Getting a partner didn’t even crossed her mind that time. Until she went back home to the Philippines. She was invited by a friend to a town fiesta in Tanza, Cavite, she met new people and had usual fun feast. When she went back in Pampanga, a guy was calling him. She didn’t know him that time but talked to him anyway. He told her that she saw her in Tanza’s town fiesta and wanted to be her friend. The guy’s name was Jojun, he was a business man. He would court her until she went back to Guam. They’ll be talking to each other through the phone and he was sending her gifts. That’s when she knew he was the right guy for her. They were married on September 4, 1999 in St. Pancratius Chapel inside Paco Cemetery. When it was year 2002, she had two daughters. She would bring one of her daughters to Guam and leave the other with his husband in the Philippines for 6 months and vice versa. In the year 2005, she gave up her job in Guam, she was tired of going back and fourth to Guam and the Philippines and she wanted to give time to her family. She established a business in Cavite with his husband. She is now a business woman but still a registered nurse.

My mother is a wonderful being. She’s the strongest woman I have ever met. She had so much obstacles in her way but still she had her foot ahead of her and solved all of her problems. She was able to divide her time and successfully sorted all of her priorities. She maximizes her strengths by always doing what is right, focusing on the path and following her passion.

She gave to me all of my life to do as I please, I owe everything I have to her. She gave me happiness much more than words can say. She had been a great feeder of ravens, a wonderful girl of the house and a marvelous mother. She is my hero.