In movies, when someone is struggling for whatever reason it’s usually shown that they have a epiphany that immediately gets their life back on track and things immediately get better. In reality, when you hit bottom it takes a lot to not only get healthy. But, also to start your journey to get a little better. John Green, a popular author and vlogger, sums that journey up pretty nicely in the video featured this week on Continue the Conversation.
In response to his brother’s, Hank, question about how long ago was 1 million seconds ago. Even though his answer of 12 years was wrong (the actual answer was 12 days), John’s answer got him thinking about where he was 12 years ago. John then tells the story of 12 imagined years ago for him in 2013 when he made the video, when he was 24 when he had just gotten out of a long term relationship and still living in the apartment he had shared with his ex girlfriend. He thought at the time that the break up was the reason for his depression, but in reality it was likely because he was depressed that caused the break up.
John took a sabbatical from work, and went home with his parents. His boss encouraged him to watch a movie called Harvey, which was an old white and black movie that John did eventually watch, and began to make changes. He went to daily therapy, and took better medication for him. After watching Harvey, and he felt “a little bit better.” He thanks the movie for giving him perspective, and later he handed in his manuscript for what would eventually be his first novel, Looking for Alaska.
The message behind John’s story is that right now you have no idea what the significance of a certain moment may mean to future you, and you won’t figure that out until you get to be future you.
Done in the typical Vlogbrothers fashion, meaning that Hank and John say a lot of information quickly, John manages to tell his story of a serious time in his life with some humour.It’s a rateable post, for people who’ve struggled and were able to start their journey to getting better slowly and taking things a day at a time.
John Green is a well known author of young fiction, with two of his books (The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns) recently being turned into movies. Along with his brother Hank, John runs a Youtube channel titled Vlogbrothers. The two make videos where they talk about their personal lives, opinions, and anything else that they want to share with their fans, who are called Nerdfighters. John’s also a historian, and a creators of education videos.
For further information on John and Hank, visit their Youtube channel for Vlogbrothers.
Student Mental Health Advisory Committee 