By Liv Dooley

7/15/04~Thursday~11;38PM

Hey, it’s been a minute since I last wrote. Sorry. I was depressed. All this college mess is too much to handle when you add VP weekend, Taalib, Maya, and Kingston. I couldn’t write. I didn’t want to face it, and writing it down would have made it real. Some of it I don’t want to face at all, like the fear that I have that since Sephen is going to college, we won’t be able to keep in touch.

That is just a fraction of an entry I wrote during the summer before I entered senior year of high school and it’s clear that I needed to talk. What about you? Have you talked to someone about what you’re feeling lately? It’s way too easy to numb the pain by attempting to ignore it, immerse yourself in your Instagram feed, or obsess over YouTube videos. Problem is, it never works.

There were so many things I wish the younger Liv would have talked about-with a mentor. There were quite a few women, from my many aunts to the women at the church, who would have been great people to talk to, but I kept it to myself. If I talked about it at all, I talked about it with my best friends, but they had the same vantage point as I did. We were all stressing about the same things, and although it was helpful to know that I wasn’t the only one in my situation, it did little to comfort me. A mentor could have spoken to the perfectionism, the anxiety, and the fear I was dealing with. A mentor could have prayed with me and shared some insight through the experiences she’d gained. A mentor could have encouraged me to remember that the memories I’d created with former friends would bless me for years to come and that I didn’t need to stress about what would happen in the future.

Do you have a mentor? Is there someone older and wiser whom your parents trust that you can confide in? Is there someone whom you admire for what they have accomplished that you can ask questions of freely? Listen to me: please reach out to them. I worked so hard to manage my reputation as a respectful, ambitious, confident girl that I took on a lot more pressure that I was capable of managing. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, but that He will provide a way out so that we can endure it. In our generation, there’s a temptation to close ourselves off from the world and keep every painful thing we’re dealing with in, but I want to encourage you to look around within your world who can provide some insight into your situation.

Start talking, Doll. We need your voice. If you don’t have a mentor, I’m here for you. All you have to do is comment below or send an email over. Let’s pray:

Dear God,

In the name of Jesus, we ask that you would help us to see who we can turn to for Godly wisdom and help. There are so many things that pressure us, so many emotions that we bottle up, and so many people that we withdraw from, but it’s our prayer that you would give us the confidence to speak up today. Help us to reach out for help. Your word says that you will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. Help us to rest in your word and trust the plans that you have for us. We love you, in Jesus’s name, we pray, amen.

If you’re in the Las Vegas area, I want to invite you to join me at Mountaintop Faith Ministries for the sessions I’ll be leading for teenage girls. The WEG Conference will be on August 1 and August 2 and it’s going to be amazing so save the date now.