Why do we have to hide? Well if you look at the Cornell case, the Epstein files, Larry Nassar, only to name three very prominent cases, not to mention all the other cases where women are not believed, what would you expect?

If you are still processing what happened at Cornell and are experiencing strong emotions, please join us for a special episode of Shining Light on Shadows.

My whole point is that mental health really affected my schooling. I wasn’t ready for college when I graduated high school. No one told me that it was OK to wait. No one told me that I would not be a lesser person if I took my time deciding what I wanted to do with my life.

Since I was last on Shining Light on Shadows, I’ve graduated high school, moved to college, and I had to change the way I advocate so that the impacts I made at my high school would turn into an enduring movement for change. Moving to college has been the biggest change of my life.

Moving away from home, starting college and suddenly having to manage your own time, responsibilities and relationships can be exciting. It can also bring new pressures, stressors and mental health challenges.

Twenty-five years later, I remember watching the attacks from my home in New York—and the grieving families I met when I volunteered in the days that followed.

Twenty-five years later, I still think about the conference I was supposed to attend at the World Trade Center—and the postcard that changed where I went that morning.

Twenty-five years later, I remember learning about the attacks from Seattle—and realizing how differently they felt when New York was still home.

Thursday, September 10, 2026 marks the 33rd anniversary of the day that changed my life forever. It was a day that started out like every other and ended with me in a near-death experience. Luckily I survived a brutal attack, kidnapping, rape and gun violence, and am here all these many years later to talk about the impact of trauma on one’s mental health.