How Selena Gomez Inspired Me to become More Open About My Mental Health: A Review of "My Mind & Me"

I dive into the future

But I'm blinded by the sun

I'm reborn in every moment

So who knows what I'll become

What an amazing way to describe being "cleansed" of the struggles of mental illness, fighting your own mind every day while juggling a music career, and being in the public eye since the late-Y2K era.

On the surface, movie stars like Selena Gomez seem to have absolute perfect lives. Tons of money, stylish clothes, God only knows how many fans, and exciting lives. It's easy to see why girls all over the world look up to girls like her.

So, what's the problem?

Well, the life of a movie star can be quite hectic & scary. Demanding schedules, tons of pressure to look perfect in front of a screen, and that's just people who become famous as adults. For people like Selena who become famous before 18, trying to live a stable life can be especially daunting.

I must admit, my friends and I had fond memories of watching her in "Wizards of Waverly Place" when we were kids. One of my friends even had a huge crush on her- at least before he got a crush on Anna Chlumsky (he had a thing for child stars- to the extent of getting pissed off at Justin Bieber. My mom even, surprisingly enough, endorsed my interest in her show, saying "These Disney Channel kids can be fantastic role models for you!" Seriously.

Of course, her words became more resonant in light of Selena's openness of her mental health. While becoming open about mental health is hardly uncommon in the celebrity world, to the point that mental health talk shows often point out how amazing it is that young people struggling with mental health can see role models in celebrities- it was still quite surprising that someone like Selena, who wasn't known as a "erratic former child star" in the sense of her contemporaries. Granted, a lot of people were surprised that she turned out to have a normal career and didn't, say, twerk on an inflatable penis, but still. She was a stable young woman creating art in a 21st-century, post-Y2K world.

Growing up, I felt horrible about myself for my numerous mental deficits, and often wished I could be like "the pretty girls on TV," which yes, included Selena. Recently, I have been going for a mental health evaluation since my mother passed away from cancer, and realized that I fit most if not all of the criteria for both bipolar and borderline personality disorder, which was often not taken seriously due to my joint diagnosis of autism. This often led to erractic behavior, and I would often hit my mother when I got into one of my moods, which I still regret to this day. Like Selena, people often didn't take my issues seriously (which often included my parents, especially my mother) and dismissed it as "bad behavior" as many individuals on the autism spectrum often face. Even Dad would often needle me when I had a mental breakdown in class (Long story) saying "We must deal with the deck of cards we've been dealt." Um, Dad? If your kid has issues, you deal with that shit like an adult. Period.

This in turn would lead me to lash out even more, which in turn would lead people to say "Look, she's a crazy bitch who can't even stay calm!" Some people even compared me to Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz. Believe me, I would've given my right arm if it meant the world listened to me, truly listened, and not dismissing me as "stupid," "lazy," or "selfish."

In today's world, especially the world of celebrity, it's often difficult to be open about mental illness, and yet, Selena Gomez does so with the amazing class not always seen on a former child star, making me realize that people like me, struggling with the battles of their own mind, deserve to be heard. Thank you, Selena, for showing the world that people like me don't have to be ashamed of fighting our own minds every day and that we're not alone in this dear world. The louder we speak about our personal struggles, the more likely our voices will be heard. God bless.