“I wish somebody had told me that it’s okay to almost give up, because I think I would’ve realized in that moment that I’m almost giving up right now and it’s okay. I can almost give up and I can start fresh.”

Meet Mac & Hailey Potts, our double storytellers this month for the I KNOW LONELY Project. Born totally blind, Mac discovered his love for music as a young child. While music quickly became a big part of his life, he shares that he often felt like a kid who struggled to find a place of belonging. But when he discovered he could just be authentically himself, he also discovered music could be used as a tool for connection. That connection with music is how he met Hailey, his now wife.

Meet Vik Chopra, our third storyteller for the I KNOW LONELY Project. Vik shares his journey with addiction that led to the loneliest and darkest place of his life. He recounts how his story begins as a straight-A student in high school to experiencing a successful career in his early twenties and then eventually becoming someone he couldn’t recognize in the mirror. Being trapped in a cycle of opioid and meth addition eventually led to crime as a way of survival. When Vik was arrested and charged with 26 felonies, he decided this was a chance to change how his story ends.

“It’s all small choices. Every day you are presented with a series of choices. You can make the decision one way or the other, but sooner or later, those start stacking up. Those start leading you down a certain path,” Vik Chopra says.

Mario Gonzalez was born in Mexico and moved with his family to the United States when he was three. Up until first grade, Mario lived in California. “My first memory is living in California as a four year old, so the United States is all I’ve known. My parents were immigrant workers, so everywhere that there was work, we were there.”

Meet Mario Gonzalez, as he shares his story as a part of the I KNOW LONELY Project. If you have followed along with Only7Seconds over the past 2 years, Mario is probably a familiar face. From SHARE Day videos, to film production, photography, and content creation, to having an internship with us this summer, he has been an integral part of creating Only7Seconds what it is today.

For our first bonus episode, we are honored to have Colleen Hilton, a licensed marriage and family therapist with nearly 20 years of experience here with us. She has a passion to impact the world through mental health and creating thriving, scalable solutions.

Meet Kealani Yamamoto. Kea’s story shares about her experience being diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a young teenager and learning to thrive on the other side of her diagnosis.

Kealani Yamamoto grew up in a little town nestled in the Cascades. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a young teenager, she shares how she learned to thrive on the other side of her diagnosis.

As a people who desire meaning, asking the question “why?” is in our DNA.  But when that question becomes “why did someone die?”, it gets pretty complex and painful. In the wake of tragic death, shock, confusion, numbness, anger, guilt, anxiety, and panic can come in waves leaving the one grieving struggling to find their […]

A quick look at social media will tell any observer that mental health is one of the most important concerns facing college students today. My own experience has taught me that in times of high stress and intensity, mental health is usually one of the first things to go. College is a time of high stress, intensity, and uncertainty. It’s no surprise that the mental health difficulties students faced in high school are only exacerbated by the different stress of college. Over the course of my four years as a college student, I have learned a few things (mostly the hard way) about mental health.