My Backpack

My backpack of intangibles that I will take on my journey.

My backpack is filled with the most important things/people in my life. I could not take on this journey without them. The first intangible I would take on my journey is my family. I included pictures of my mom, dad and sisters. My family is very important to me. They support me and push me to do my best. The next picture is of my nieces and nephew. They have taught me patience. I want to be a kindergarten teacher, and they inspired me to follow my passion. I love kids, and they are my absolute favorite children. They have also taught me how to love unconditionally. I may be a little biased, but they are perfect. The next intangible is my faith. I have included a picture of my granny because she is the perfect model of faith, in my opinion. I am a Catholic and my faith is very important to me. I went to Catholic school so I was taught the value of my faith. I could not take on my journey without it. My next intangible is “words of wisdom”. Growing up my dad has always given me these little life lessons. He would lecture me all the time, but now I realize he actually knew what he was talking about. Some of my favorites include, “say what you mean and mean what you say”, “you can’t pick you’re family, you’re stuck with them; you can pick your friends, so choose wisely”, and “the truth will set you free”. Some of them have inside jokes behind them, but I have learned a lot from these many life lessons. The next picture is of my little cousin Emily. She represents confidence. If I had the confidence this ten year old had, I would be on top of the world. I try to be confident in everything I do, so I would take confidence with me on my journey. If it were not for this class, I would not have watched the movie Wild. I really enjoyed the movie and writing papers about it. I learned more about mental health issues.

A Depiction of Depression

Cheryl Strayed, played by Reese Witherspoon, carries her enormous backpack, which symbolizes the heavy weight of her depression, along the Pacific Crest Trail. 

Depression is a major reality and issue in today’s society. Anyone can be depressed, but how they choose to handle it can make them or break them. There is not an exact solution to cure depression, but there are ways to cope with it and eventually overcome it. Many people turn to prescription pills as an answer, but unfortunately this may only be a short-term solution. The 2014 motion picture Wild offers an alternative to medication. Based on a true story, the movie follows one woman’s entire journey with depression. From her traumatic childhood experiences to her actual journey of walking the Pacific Crest Trail, Wild is a great depiction of an actual journey through depression.

In the movie, the audience is shown multiple flashbacks throughout Cheryl’s life. Her abusive childhood, the death of her mother to cancer and her unhealthy relationships are all vital aspects of the movie. Her abusive past with her father plays a key role in her journey with depression. In the movie, her father is shown abusing her mother multiple times, to the point where the family eventually leaves him. This leads to Cheryl getting into an abusive relationship herself. Her first marriage was toxic as shown in the movie.

Many studies have been done concerning childhood experiences in connection with depression in their adult life. According to a recent study, “Stressful/traumatic experiences are influential particularly at a certain time, i.e., during sensitive developmental periods” (Schalinski). In the movie, Cheryl is a young girl in her preteens. This stage of development is very crucial. Cheryl sees her mother’s abusive relationship and eventually falls into that same path. This ultimately leads to her adulthood depression. The movie does a great job portraying the childhood trauma that does impact Cheryl’s life in the end.