Kaylee K.

Kaylee is a 22-year-old young adult from Graham, North Carolina. She works as a manager of a family-owned restaurant called The Verdict on the Square, located in downtown Graham. Kaylee’s journey speaks volumes on what it takes to live a successful and independent life while also balancing triumphs related to mental health challenges. Through her hard work, motivation, and uplifting attitude, Kaylee has built within her a strong work ethic to take on any problems that come her way.

Kaylee’s childhood was not always the easiest as her biological parents divorced when she was a young girl. For about two years, she resided with her grandparents at their home in Whitsett, North Carolina while her parents were battling their issues. Kaylee’s grandparents played a major role throughout her growing up as they provided her with a support system when tough family situations presented themselves. Her mom remarried when she was just ten years old to her step-dad who became a loving role model, committed to providing a good life for her and her step-siblings. All together, Kaylee has two half-siblings and two step-siblings which created another reliable support system for everyone in the family to express themselves honestly and freely. 

Kaylee played volleyball, basketball, and softball from a young age until her senior year of high school. Sports acted as a healthy outlet as they taught her how to effectively problem-solve and the importance of communication with the people nearest to her. She gives credit to her grandfather, father, and coaches for pushing her toward her athletic accomplishments and giving her the opportunity to immerse herself in playing sports.

 Ultimately, volleyball became her leading passion as she entered her first few years of high school and planned to follow through with the sport in hopes of being recruited by a college that could offer her a scholarship. Tragically, when COVID-19 struck her area, athletic teams were no longer allowed to meet for practice and all games were canceled with no hope of being rescheduled. No one at the time knew the devastating effect the COVID-19 pandemic would have on the recruitment process for high school students trying to achieve their dream of playing sports at the collegiate level. Programs began to have lower funds than they had previously acquired and the schools were allowing student-athletes who missed their season to gain one extra year of eligibility. However, by providing college athletes with an extra year of playing eligibility; opportunities to earn scholarships began to lower for high school students. This exact scenario happened to Kaylee when she was trying to enter the recruiting process to play volleyball. Unfortunately, there were not enough scholarships being offered by colleges so Kaylee was forced to make decisions that would lead her down a new path for her future. 

After graduating high school with academic and athletic honors, Kaylee decided to maintain her job as a server at The Verdict on the Square, a local restaurant owned by her mother and stepfather. Not sure which path she wanted to commit herself to, Kaylee attended community college and started working a new job at an interior design company. However, after careful deliberation, she decided both paths were not right for her at the time and decided to work full-time at The Verdict. Eventually when the time's right, Kaylee would like to go back to school for a job as a paramedic. Becoming a paramedic, buying her own house, and traveling were noted as her long-term goals for building her future. Working with people in a fast-paced environment has allowed her to learn stress management which she feels has prepared her for a future career as a paramedic. Much of her success has come from serving and becoming a manager at the restaurant she works at. Her job has allowed her to become financially independent at a young age in which she was able to move out of her parent's home and into her apartment. She takes great pride in being able to live alone and provide a stable lifestyle for herself and her pets. 

Kaylee’s hobbies include playing sand volleyball on the weekends, taking care of her pets, and reading books to decompress during the nighttime. She enjoys reading genres such as mysteries, thrillers, and horror. Playing sand volleyball over the weekends has allowed her to continue playing the sport she has a passion for, in a less stressful competition level. In the past two years, Kaylee has adopted three cats to give them a better home than what their previous conditions were. She also has three guinea pigs that she cares for and holds near to her heart. 

When asked about the key values and morals that she possesses, Kaylee expressed her desire to live by the golden rule. “I love to treat people with kindness every day because you just never know what someone is going through and you want to put into the world what you want to receive out of it,” she said, explaining her understanding of the golden rule of life. Kaylee’s inspiration to live life treating others with respect and kindness comes from her family; in particular, her grandparents and her half-sister. She claims that she was lucky enough to grow up watching her grandparents provide a caring environment for everyone around and love each other as they have been married for over 40 years. Kaylee is also inspired by her sister as she has done well for herself by maintaining a fulfilling career and stable relationship which may lead to marriage one day. Kaylee is inspired by and values family orientation because she has seen firsthand how having a strong family connection can motivate a person to be the best version of themselves. 

Kaylee sees mental health as something that everyone struggles with. She views the subject as tedious because the concept of mental health is still evolving and ideas revolving around how to handle mental health challenges are still being developed. There are a variety of different types of mental health concepts that are still being discovered and expanded on because of the broadness of mental health issues that seem to be covered. “You have to educate yourself in knowing how to handle those things because mental health doesn't make a person,” Kaylee says in her interview.

 Education on issues surrounding mental health and awareness of an individual's mentality is key to understanding how to handle issues in the best possible manner when they arise. Kaylee mentions that she has been around people who have mental health issues her whole life which over the years brought a new perspective to light over the vast amount of people who do struggle with mental health. After seeing close family members experience mental health issues and fighting through her battles, Kaylee realized the complexity of how the mind works in different scenarios. She also remarks “Mental health is a curious thing that you have to dive deep into to understand because it’s so nuanced, nothing is black and white.” Understanding why mental health struggles occur is difficult because there is no clear and direct reasoning for the way the mind operates. 

Talking to people about certain struggles and utilizing therapy as a helpful tool can go a long way as far as pushing through mental health challenges. Remaining hopeful and finding healthy habits that may act as outlets has helped Kaylee as well as her peers battle tough mental health situations. However, she reiterates that people must put forth a willingness to work through problems and a positive attitude for difficult situations to dissolve. “Making new friends, finding new hobbies, and talking to new people to get yourself out of your comfort zone has helped me and the people I know get through their issues,” Kaylee added when asked about specific techniques to help anyone get through mental health challenges. She also stated that she thinks people don’t listen enough. This includes friends, families, and doctors who only pay attention to surface-level information. Situations need to be looked at as deeply as they possibly can be so that when a solution is presented, it can tackle more issues than what is being presented. Too many people are being ignored regarding their mental health because more times than not, people want to avoid addressing issues because they don’t want to admit they have a problem or they feel as if the problem might go away on its own by not giving any attention to it. More awareness and receptiveness to addressing issues could be a huge step in identifying mental health issues and solving them when they first arise. Open-mindedness and more advocacy for solving mental health issues may be the key to truly getting through personal problems. Kaylee feels strongly that as a society, people should start addressing the mental health issues that arise in teenagers and young adults as they are the next generation to be contributing members of their communities. 

Kaylee’s story and perspectives on mental health capture the true meaning of what it takes to emerge from tough situations as a stronger individual. Her gratitude and uplifting spirit show just how important maintaining a positive outlook on life is when unexpected challenges present themselves. “Even if someone is having a bad day, stay true to yourself,” Kaylee stated as she explained the significance behind being kind to everyone even if they are not kind back. Even when someone is not treating people with kindness, more than likely their actions towards others are not personal but an inward image of how that person feels on the inside. Kaylee’s message to others is powerful in the sense of a person giving the energy they would like to receive in return.