Suicide Awareness, Grief, and Finding Support

🖤 Suicide Awareness — 6 Years 🖤

Today is a hard day for me.

Six years ago today, I lost my dad to suicide.

It’s strange how grief works. Six years sounds like such a long time, but some days it still feels incredibly fresh. Grief doesn’t disappear—you just learn how to build a life around the space someone left behind.

For a long time, I was angry. I had questions I knew I would never get answers to. Over the years, that anger changed. Now, more than anything, I just miss my dad.

I miss our late-night conversations. I miss calling him for advice. I miss his voice and even his stupid, dorky way of answering the phone.

There are still moments when I wish I could call and say, “Dad, what the hell am I supposed to do here?”

I wish he could see my life now—the person I’ve become, everything I’ve accomplished, the family and community I’ve built. I wonder what he would think and whether he’d be proud of me.

My kids know him through the stories I tell, and I’ll keep telling them because he was so much more than the way his life ended.

If you’re struggling, please don’t convince yourself you’re a burden or that nobody would notice if you disappeared. Depression can make your brain tell you some incredibly convincing lies.

People would miss your voice. Your laugh. Your messages. Your dumb jokes. The little things you don’t even realize people love about you.

You matter more than you know.

I want The Playground to always be somewhere it’s okay to say, “I’m not okay.” You don’t have to explain everything or pretend you’re fine for everyone else’s comfort.

Check on your friends—the loud ones, the quiet ones, the funny ones, and especially the ones who always seem to have everything together.

Tell people you love them while they’re here to hear it.

Dad, it’s been six years, and I still think about you every day. I’d give anything for one more late-night conversation, one more piece of advice, or one more phone call.

I love you. I miss you. And I’ll keep talking about you. 🖤

🖤 If you’re struggling, please reach out.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
📞 Call 988 | 💬 Text 988
Free, confidential & available 24/7.

Veterans & service members:
📞 988, then press 1 | 💬 Text 838255

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest ER.

🩵 To Write Love on Her Arms

Starting Monday, I’ll have my fundraising link for To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), an organization I partner with every year to raise money and awareness for people in crisis.

TWLOHA brings hope and help to people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide while connecting people with mental health resources and treatment.

This organization means so much to me because of my dad and why I advocate so loudly for mental health and suicide prevention.

If you’re able to donate, share the link, or simply spread the message, it all matters. We’re going to remind people that their story isn’t over.

Suicide awareness isn’t just a month, ribbon, or hashtag. It’s checking in. It’s listening. It’s taking someone seriously when they say they’re struggling. It’s helping someone find resources—and sometimes simply reminding them they deserve to see tomorrow.

🖤 You are wanted here.
🖤 You are loved here.
🖤 You belong here.
🖤 Your story isn’t over.