I’m 24 years old now. When I was 15, I and a handful of other teens participated in an eight-week mindfulness course with Dr. Dzung Vo. Each Wednesday, for 90 minutes, we would gather in a group and sit in practice mindfulness together. Each week we learned a different way of mediation: eating, walking, body scans, and more. Simply put, this experience changed my life's course for the better, and I quickly realized the skills I was learning would be in my metaphorical toolbox for the rest of my life.

The most potent gift that mindfulness practice brought to me was a stronger sense of self. Not only did this practice connect me to my physical body, which was a great insight to have for my overall health and well-being, but more importantly, it created a reliable way of listening to my inner dialogue. Teenagers have this immense pressure to set their belief system in stone to be or feel successful in life. Some teens do not have a safe space to try on different hats when exploring their traits, moral codes and desires. Some of them have been given a distinct outline of how they "should" be, with very little wiggle room to make it their own, or the opposite where they may not have been given any guidance at all and have no idea where to start. When people lack a sense of self or identity, it spills over into all aspects of their life—Decision-making, creating relationships, mental health, etc., causing them to feel "lost" or "unsupported."

Fortunately for me and others, mindfulness practice lovingly overflowed into these same parts of life, creating a dependable support system within myself. It is more than simply sitting still for a few minutes and tuning out the negative thoughts. It is the act of tuning IN to a neutral state of being and becoming aware of yourself, your body and your abilities.

I had just turned 15 when I completed this course, but in no way did it end there. Building these skills caused a ripple effect that led to living an authentic life filled with self-trust and compassion. Mindfulness has helped me define boundaries in critical moments, gently slowed me down when I was way in over my head and has been a friend I can always lean on.

I hope to encourage young people to incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives as a true act of self-love. Not in the trendy self-love way where it's all face masks and binging Netflix after drowning yourself in other people's expectations and fighting to think positively through it. More of the genuine, deep-seated love for self and connection. An act of love that only belongs to you. You get to hold it in your heart, mould it into your daily life and grow from it in ways you never knew possible. Letting the light and dark sides of you live simultaneously with deep compassion is a true gift that can only lead to better things.

I trust that this will find the people who need it most in this moment.