Well, here we are. The very first blog post on Next Life Loading. I’ve been thinking about starting this project for what feels like forever, and somehow it just makes sense that it’s launching in May….aka “Mental Health Awareness Month”. Like, if there was ever a “push start” moment, this is it.
Mental Health Awareness Month is important to me in ways I can’t even fully put into words, but I’ll try. Because if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s overshare with good intentions.
I grew up in my own special type of chaos. A beautiful, complicated, dysfunctional family filled with neurodivergent brains, big feelings, and trauma that ran deeper than anyone wanted to admit. I’ve survived a lot I won’t go into now, but can be found on my About Me page.
This month isn’t just a checkbox or a hashtag for me. It’s a reminder that we HAVE to talk about this stuff. Out loud. Without shame. Because silence almost killed me. Literally.
So yeah, launching Next Life Loading during a month dedicated to mental health feels personal. I didn’t create this space to give therapy. I’m not a therapist, and I’m not pretending to be. What I am is someone who’s lived it. Someone who knows what it’s like to feel like you’re glitching through life while everyone else seems to have found the secret code.
This blog is for people who are tired. People who have felt broken. People who’ve had to start over, sometimes more than once, and need a place to land while they figure out what comes next. Whether you’re grieving, burned out, numb, angry, healing, or all of the above… you’re welcome here.
It’s not going to be all heavy, though. If you know me, you know I can’t go five minutes without making some form of a joke to keep things light. Dark humor, morbid humor, nerdy humor, all the humor. Most of my life happens on a computer screen, surrounded by tabs full of “how to start a cozy blog” and “can you paint minis while dissociating.” (The answer is yes. Yes, you can.)
When I’m not writing about mental health, I’m probably playing video games, rolling dice in D&D, watching anime with snacks, taking photos, hiking in short bursts before remembering I hate bugs, painting miniatures while listening to lo-fi, or journaling in one of my 57 half-used notebooks. I cuddle my cat. I fish. I doom scroll like it’s an Olympic sport. And….I’m proudly average at all of it. And it helps. All of it helps.
So yeah, this is the beginning of something. I don’t know exactly where it’s going yet. But I know it’s needed, especially in today’s day and age. And I know I’m ready.
Thanks for being here at the start.
Let’s keep talking about mental health. Let’s normalize the messy. Let’s find joy, even when it feels far away.
Here’s to Mental Health Awareness Month. And to you.
We’re still loading, but we’re still here.
đź’š Avery