How Watching The Sunset Everyday Saved My Life

Hi. My name is Ashley and I have struggled with depression and anxiety since I was in middle school. It became pretty severe towards the end of high school and transitioning into college, to the point where I didn't want to be alive anymore. I would fantasize about ending my life in many different ways, and acted on these thoughts by self harming. For days at a time I wouldn't get out of bed. I wouldn't change my clothes, or brush my teeth, or even eat anything. I am a photographer and I have always loved the ocean and the beach. I hated every single day, but I took pride in each day finishing, knowing that I had made it through yet another 24 hours of living. I began to get up to watch the sunset everyday, sometimes just from my backyard, and then eventually I would make it to the beach. Everyday, that is all that I would do. I would get up to go to the sunset, watch it for a while and sit at the beach until it got dark, shoot some photos, and then go home. I shared some of my photos with my friends and family and their reactions pushed me to keep doing what I was doing. They loved my photos, so I would go take them each night and share them on my Instagram so that all of my followers could feel the happiness that the sun setting brought to my life. For almost 6 months, I took a photo every day. I am now over a year past this dark time in my life, and am doing much much better. I am happy, and living my life again. I couldn't have gotten here without watching the sunset everyday though.