Mia Flegal, has been living with generalized anxiety disorder since a young age but didn’t recognize it until she took a trip to California without her parents. This is when she developed her first set of coping mechanisms -meditation and journaling.
Two years later, she learned about Magnify Voices Expressive Art Contest and planned to submit an essay. At first, she procrastinated on the essay but quickly became engaged and confident in her writing and realized her love for this therapeutic outlet. In the essay titled "Helpless,” she wrote about the trip to the Golden State, which was two years prior. Mia’s work was recognized in the top-10 submissions and afforded her the chance to meet with other youth who were dealing with similar mental health conditions. She quickly realized her passion in hearing other people’s stories and using her experiences to positively impact others. Since submitting her essay five year ago, Mia has truly magnified her voice as an advocate speaking out to children, peers and adults about youth mental health.
