I grew up in the Netherlands. As a child, I was always very shy. From a young age, there was a strong drive of energy inside me to create. I drew a lot, loved being outside, and played football with friends as much as I could. From the outside, I probably looked like a calm, quiet kid, but on the inside I wanted so much more than I was actually doing. I noticed that I found it very difficult to express myself, and over time this made me smaller and smaller. Eventually, I didn’t really dare to speak my own opinion anymore because I was always afraid of what other people would think of me. Am I doing this right? Can I even say this? Why would I say this? Because of several things that happened during that period, these feelings only grew stronger… The moment that had a major impact on me came when I was in high school. A very close friend of mine had presumably taken his own life. It felt unreal and made me think deeply. I had actually been shielding myself from my emotions for years. Why did this happen? I also quickly realized that I absolutely hated school and that it was slowly shaping me into someone I didn’t want to be. I drew less, stayed inside more, and started wondering: is this really all life has to offer me? I began thinking more in terms of problems and things I didn’t want to do. Even though I was in a gymnasium-level program, I felt no drive to learn. I skipped classes a lot and was completely tangled up inside myself. I found it very hard to ask for help—I simply didn’t dare—so I pretended everything was fine and drifted through this phase of my life without any real direction. While cycling to school one day, I had a serious accident and hit my head on a curb. The result was a concussion, jaw problems, and a broken nose (which I only found out much later). I refused to ask for help because I thought it would be fine and because I felt ashamed. About two years later, I was involved in a car accident, and I’m extremely grateful that I’m still here today.