Active Minds

Mika Moriwaki from Active Minds at University of Wyoming says:

"I started being a part of Active Minds in my junior year. Since then, Active Minds gave me a lot, and being a part of Active Minds is now a part of who I am.

When I learned about Active Minds, I was impressed that there is such a remarkable organization in the United States. I was born and grew up in Japan. In Japan, people think that mental health issues are a problem of someone else and talking about their own mental health problems is a social taboo, even though mental health disorders and suicide are big social issues. I have always wondered why this happens in my country and wanted to put my energy and passion into making a difference with this issue in the future. However, I was not sure how I can start doing that. When I found Active Minds at the University of Wyoming, I realized that this is the right place to start and learn what I can do.

I learned a lot from participating in Active Minds activities so far. First of all, I found that people’s attitudes toward mental health are not that different in the United States from those in Japan. People realize how important mental health is when they encounter personal issues with mental health. And most importantly, I found wonderful colleagues in my chapter. Each of them is passionate and works hard to make our mental well-being better and increase mental health awareness on campus. They are not just colleagues who keep motivating me to move forward but also best friends whom I can trust. This is something I could not have acquired without Active Minds.

Fortunately, I was accepted to be a member of the Active Minds Student Advisory Committee (SAC). This is the group of students who takes the leadership on mental health activities across the country. While each of us works on the community level on a daily basis, SAC is the place for us to put our energy towards thinking about mental health on a national level. In SAC, we can have the opportunity to pass our voice to the national organization directly, run sessions in the national conference, and discuss with experts who are taking the lead in working in the mental health field. I can learn a lot from other members in SAC and stuffs in the national office. Experiences through SAC are definitely irreplaceable.

I feel like being on the SAC means that we have the responsibility to lead the mental health activities as student leaders and keep supporting and motivating other members to increase their potential and get closer to our goal.

Surely, taking action is much harder than just saying it. However, Active Minds provides us the place to get together, take action, and make the actual difference in our community. I hope that we can provide as many college students as possible the opportunity to stop and think about our own mental health problems again. It is not a problem of someone else. It is a problem of each of us. And all of us have the responsibility to show the way to make the better community to the next generation. Finally, I would like to thank Active Minds to give me such a great opportunity."