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the blog

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.

November 1, 2022

Vik’s Story: I Know Lonely Project

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.

November 1, 2022

Vik’s Story: I Know Lonely Project

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.

November 1, 2022

Vik’s Story: I Know Lonely Project

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.

November 1, 2022

Vik’s Story: I Know Lonely Project

“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.

November 1, 2022

Vik’s Story: how incarceration became a second chance at changing a story of addiction into a story of hope, and connection

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.”

October 1, 2022

Mario’s Story: being raised by a village, depression & anxiety, and the power of only 7 seconds

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.

October 1, 2022

Mario’s Story: I Know Lonely Project

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.

September 13, 2022

Ep 02. Colleen Hilton: using technology to elevate human relationships and the impact of loneliness in marriage and families

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.

September 13, 2022

Ep 02. Colleen Hilton: using technology to elevate human relationships and the impact of loneliness in marriage and families

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.

September 13, 2022

Ep 02. Colleen Hilton: using technology to elevate human relationships and the impact of loneliness in marriage and families

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.

September 13, 2022

Ep 02. Colleen Hilton: using technology to elevate human relationships and the impact of loneliness in marriage and families

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.

September 1, 2022

Kea’s Story: I Know Lonely Project

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.

September 1, 2022

Kea’s Story: experiencing bipolar disorder and rebuilding relationships

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 […]

March 24, 2021

Talking to Your Teenagers about Grief

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.

March 12, 2021

7 Things I Learned about Mental Health as a College Student

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.

March 12, 2021

7 Things I Learned about Mental Health as a College Student

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.

March 12, 2021

7 Things I Learned about Mental Health as a College Student

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.

March 12, 2021

7 Things I Learned about Mental Health as a College Student

TW: Mentions of death and suicide  Ever since I was little, my mom has been my best friend. She had this spectacular way of walking the line between being parent and friend. She was so humble, so smart, so kind. My mom is the one who taught me to love music and the arts. She […]

February 11, 2021

Learning to Hope | #7secondstories

The “college care package Moms group” was inspired by an article I read from Grown & Flown. We all have college freshman away from home for the first time, living in the dorms. I wanted to connect other local moms who are in the same phase and together, support our “babies”.

February 4, 2021

College Care Packages