“When he was born the nurse said, this baby is excited to discover the world. I feel she was really right about that.”

“I always wanted to travel the world but I never really had the courage. I’m from Australia but I have a British passport so when Brexit happened it pushed me to plan this trip. I saved up 7000 euro’s so I think I will manage for a while. The idea of this journey is to grow and to get rid of my anxiety I have to talk to strangers. A few weeks before I left I started to get really nervous and the day before my flight I was shitting myself. I barely slept on my flight over here but once I arrived at the Amsterdam airport most of my fear was gone. I have been here for nearly a week and I’m still getting used to the idea that I won’t be going home for a while. I’m not used to being surrounded by this many people and I’m trying not to get run over by bikes. Still I’m enjoying every minute of this experience. Since my arrival I only had a few moments of anxiety. Sometimes the thought of being here all by myself scares me but the other day when I got back to my hostel I had a great conversation with another guest and I realized that we are never really alone.”

There is a lot to say about Social Media but without Facebook I would have never been able to run a project such as Humans of Amsterdam. I probably would not been able to raise over 10.000 euro’s for refugees in 2015 and I don’t think I would have published a book with National Geographic by the age of 27. For the opening of Facebook’s new office in Amsterdam they created a photo exhibition to highlight a few of those who contribute daily to the Facebook community. I’m honored to be a part of it but mostly excited to keep working hard and to continue this journey

Photocredit: Kirsten van Santen

(1/3)“My family and friends have no idea that I’m going through a depression. Four years ago my dad left us. From one day to another he was gone and it broke my heart. I don’t know where he went. My dad was never much involved with our family but still he was my hero. He would take me places and he always made sure to take good care of me. I ran into him once after he left but I couldn’t even look at him and I passed him by while he stopped. I’ll never forget that moment. I have always felt that I needed to be strong for my family. As a reaction to our chaotic situation at home I wanted some control and I ended up going through phases of extreme weight loss, cutting myself and depression. When you are depressed you don’t see the people around you and you even push them away. It’s as if I’m in a dark hallway and there are no windows. You feel as if the only way to release yourself from the pain is by ending life. My biggest fear last year was to fail high school. I had already made my suicide plan in case I wouldn’t graduate. When I did graduate, I naively thought all my problems were solved. After the summer holiday I went to study in Amsterdam. I was feeling a bit better until I had my first conversation with my mentor. I haven’t told anyone about my depression or suicide plans but somehow I ended up telling the whole story to him. After our conversation the depression came back but this time the feeling is 10 times worse than before. My mentor made sure I got in touch with my doctor. The good news is that I can get help but I also found out that there is a 12 week waiting list.”

(3/3)“Even though I want to get better I’m also scared of getting out of this depression. It feels like it became a part of me. Getting better means I have to start living again and I have forgotten how to do that. I used to be a positive girl who loved life. I remember I could enjoy small things like the sound of the wind or seeing the first narcissus of spring. Last spring, I saw all of that but I didn’t feel happiness, I felt nothing. It’s going to take a long time before I’m better. I’m taking baby steps but I really hope that next spring I will feel a tiny bit of that happiness again.”