And sometimes it lurches you just far enough forward to fall face-first into mud, struggling to get your feet back under you.

[I also had parents who believed I was making excuses about my mental health. They gave me the choice of attending (a highly-competitive & brutally expensive) uni right away, or never. The impact of that crash-and-burn lasted literal decades. Right before the pandemic I was finally prescribed meds that work for me. Since then, I've literally had family members remark on the difference and apologize for not recognizing how debilitating my issues were.]