Jhanvi, always resistant as she is, was a challenge. Her need for perfection so deep-seated in her created identity that it was tough to get her to separate herself from her perceived reality. I ultimately found that challenging her ideals pushed her to be present, and to accept that not everything in life can be controlled to the extent that she expected it to be. Still, I believe she will always have to fight her need to be perfect, to separate herself from the two-dimensional world she is immersed in. I am not a fan of social media, but I cannot deny that it has its place and can be used for good. With hard work and the tools I have given her, she could have the right kind of impact on others. Hopefully, there will come a day when she understands that mental health issues do not make you weak, they are not a stigma; they are prevalent, and should be spoken about. There should be loud proclamations from rooftops or, in Jhanvi’s case, through her influence, telling others that it is okay to be less than perfect. That reaching out and seeking help is not weakness. It is strength.

And Ashray? He is proof that life is sometimes nothing more than a roll of the dice. A game played by fate in which some win and some lose, but no one loses forever; even the unluckiest player will throw a winning number once in a while. Ashray needed to learn that losing didn’t mean that he was lost, and that winning was not defined by how much, or how little others loved him. It was important for Ashray to see that his wisdom and the gentleness inside him were also by-products of his tough childhood. I don’t think a child ever quite gets over the sense of abandonment that comes with being left in an orphanage. For those who are able to make peace with the circumstances, it may be easier. But for him, and for all the others, the sense of abandonment forms their core and it will never be replaced. The best they can do is to work through that, to find a way to know without a shadow of a doubt that they do not have control over the actions of others. That life is sometimes cruel and that the only thing we can control is how we react; how we pick ourselves up and take the steps towards healing. His panic attacks were a direct manifestation of his belief that he couldn’t possibly make the decisions required to live his life well without the advice and approval of others. How ironic, though, that he would later come to understand that it was his advice and his approval that helped others.