Senior Kaity Gee stands on a red circle rug in front of a 3-D TEDx logo, with a calm expression of unfeigned determination. But just as her outfit blends in with the red accents of the TEDx-themed furnishings of the stage, her words stand out.

Held in Nichols Hall, TEDx, a student organized event where innovators are invited to speak, was held on Oct. 17 with 211 attendees.

Kaity’s speech, “Crazy Girl” – On Surviving and Thriving with Mental Illness. She discussed her personal experience in dealing with mental illness and her hopes of deeper awareness about such disorders in the future.

Kaity is an assistant editor-in-chief of Wingspan, a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Circle journalism award winner, one of nine Near and Mitra scholars, a published poet and a company member of the Pacific Ballet Academy, just to name a portion of her achievements. Yet underneath all her accolades, she faces a daunting challenge – managing ADHD, anxiety, and bipolar II disorder.

Kaity faced the Harker community and TEDx attendees from other schools to “come out” about her personal battle with mental illness.

“I want to talk about my story, but that’s not everything I want to talk about,” Kaity said. “I’m going to talk about the embarrassment that comes with having mental illness and how that isn’t something that should happen, and I would like to dispel some of the myths surrounding mental illness.”

Students who attended the event found the speech encouraging and enlightening, as it discussed issues that are not widely discussed in the community.

“It was nice to see someone brave enough to bring these issues to a public setting, many times such important problems are overlooked and considered trivial,” Dolan Dworak (10) said. “Kaity’s speech was inspiring, and it raised intriguing talking points among students and faculty.”

Kaity’s diagnosis put a strain on her everyday life and created many difficulties that came with coping.

“In the beginning it’s hard, it’s definitely hard recovering,” Kaity said. “It’s a battle everyday just to try to get out of bed or in my case, because I had bipolar disorder, it was a struggle to calm myself down in my most hypomanic episodes.”

Although she faced opposition, she eventually was able to overcome and find solace through various support outlets, including her peers, medication, and therapy.

“I told my friends as I was applying [for TEDx], and I even asked my parents if they thought it was a good idea,” Kaity said. “My dad had some reservations about it. He was really worried that I would be rejected like I was rejected by my friends for it in sophomore year, but I proved him wrong, the community proved him wrong.”

Before the TEDx event, Kaity posted a video on Oct. 4, explaining her motivation to speak at TEDx.

“I attempted it so many times just because I was stuttering, and I broke down crying midway through one, so it was quite the emotional experience,” Kaity said. “I was actually chatting my friends as I was uploading it, and I was freaking out, but the moment it went up I had just felt this cathartic emotion that everything would be okay.”

Although posting the video proved to be a difficult task for Kaity, she was moved by the supportive responses from the students her video evoked.

“The responses were more than positive they were incredibly kind,” Kaity said. “People told me I was brave and smart and it was just wonderful. It made me feel like there was a community that could really accept me for who I am and who could accept me for this mental illness, and it was just a good feeling.”

In regards to Kaity’s future plans, she is determined to live her life, not letting her mental illnesses affect her.

“I’m just going to be me. Having [mental illnesses] is part of me, but it’s not all of me,” she said. “I’m just me so that’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to continue living my life as Kaity Gee not the girl with bipolar and ADHD and anxiety.”