A while back my mentee G and I were sitting at Starbucks, talking. She's been going through a rough time, and is struggling to get to a stable place emotionally. I tried to help her talk through things and think of some strategies to cope, but in her voice and in her face, I could see that it all seemed insurmountable. She said something along the lines of "I don't think I'm cut out to be happy". I told her that I used to feel that way too, that happiness seemed like something that other people could have, but not me. She looked incredulous and said that I was so positive and cheerful, she could never imagine me being depressed. It meant a lot to hear her say that, because for the majority of my life, I never would have described myself in her words. It also shocked me a bit because I've known her for two years now, watched her fight some difficult emotional battles, yet never shared with her any of my own. For the most part, that was deliberate. The progr...