Sharing My Story at the Youth Gathering

Jade, a high school student from Christ on Capitol Hill in St. Paul, attended the Youth Gathering in Houston in July. The theme, "This Changes Everything", focused on the gift of God's grace and what it opens us up to. Below, Jade shares some thoughts from the Gathering and the impact it had on her. In November, Jade is headed to Chicago to be a part of the MYLE Vision Gathering. MYLE (Multicultural Youth Leadership Event) is a pre-Gathering event that empowers young people of color to claim their own story as a part of God's story.

At the Youth Gathering, there is an event called Synod Day. During this time, you hang with all the youth and leaders that came from the same area that your church is from - which is, for me, the Saint Paul Area Synod. I was one of the leaders for the event, both for music and instruction, which was pretty lit. I also spoke about a personal problem of mine, which I am going to be writing about today.

Telling My Story

So, during the event I was the hype master, waking everyone up for the day. Everything was going smoothly thanks to the ushers and coordinators of the event. Everyone was up and moving, smiling, and having a pretty good time overall. As the hype master and singer up on stage, I was supposed to be funny, positive, and obviously, keeping the hype to max level. Which I was told I was doing a good job of. Though the speaking was very emotional.

As the hype master, I wasn’t going to get serious but I had to. The next thing I was about to tell the youth that live nearby was not a joke. I’ll give you a summary of what I said. When I was in 7th grade, I was unofficially diagnosed with medical depression. Which is much different than “I just broke up with my boyfriend” depression. I spoke of my story of how this came to be and what happened to me afterward, which lead me to today, medication free. Except Vitamin D, as we all know we don’t get a lot of in Minnesota.

Though it was serious, I could feel the acceptance radiating into the air toward me. And it kept me at peace, but it was exactly how I expected they would react, though doubts do come into your mind. It was very surreal, being able to say all of this in front of a crowd. But I survived and I am staying strong. It was an overall positive experience and I can’t wait till 2021 for the next gathering in Minneapolis.

Jade

Christ on Capitol Hill, St. Paul