Anxiety never really leaves me. So I just make peace with it. Last year I tried applying for a crisis centre volunteer position. It is about texting people in crisis and providing emotional support. So I said, why not. When I am running out of meaning things to do, I get anxious. Volunteering helps me cope. I submitted an application, and received a phone interview invitation the same week. I got the call on schedule and went through it. It required more training than I thought. But I decided to stick with it. I felt the phone interview went well. The interviewer asked for my reference. So I provided my boss’s work phone number. Not sure what happened. I failed at getting the position. It’s a bummer to me.

A month later. I found some mental health resources at a film festival. Originally I only wanted to share the resource sheet with folks at work. Then I checked out one of the educational sites – 7 Cups of Tea. It turns out they need virtual volunteers. So basically it is a similar position like the one I applied for and failed at getting. So I signed up and started volunteering for them. So far so good. I read many of the mental health guides on the site. I chat with visitors to the site and other volunteers on a regular basis. Believe it or not, even though there was a learning curb, I managed to benefit more than I though.

Being through tough time makes me a better helper to others, I figure. And in turn, I feel better about being me.

Since I am volunteering for them, I am posting a link here for my internship program assignment.

https://www.7cups.com/19210123