“Continue” by the Author, Acrylic on Canvas

; And I Choose to Continue

Original Art by a Survivor

Joe
Joe
Sep 5, 2018 · 2 min read

Accepting depression is new to me.

I had depression in middle school, but have been fine since.

Until I wasn’t.

A Symbol; A Statement

A was going to jump, to fly one last time. But I didn’t.

Instead, I spent two and a half weeks in therapy. It was there I as pointed to The Hilarious World of Depression and an interview with Ana Marie Cox. This is when I learned of the unofficial symbol of survivors.

In writing, a semicolon is used when a sentence could be completed; but the author chose to continue. It is a pause, a near stop. But not the end.

The Semicolon

This inspired me to paint a piece that included it. So I did the next logical step: I googled it.

And I found some amazing tattoos, recovering pain, and confidence. And I found many that took the semicolon and transformed into birds, music notes, and color.

I found one similar to my final piece and enjoyed the color almost pouring out. It took that moment, that darkness and pulled out beauty and color.

From my own attempt, I could have chosen many ways to react upon release. I chose to paint. To write. To create.


You can buy this painting on my Etsy page.

Joe

Written by

Joe

Husband, father, tinkerer. Writing about hardware product design, life, mental illness, art, and overall being a good person and making cool stuff.

Art of JRB

Stories of Dealing with Mental Health, Depression, Life, and Love; art too

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