Today was the first day of my Mental Health rotation. I am at Chicago Lakeshore Hospital on Lawrence, a psychiatric hospital that has units for adults, pediatrics, substance abuse, and LGBT patients.

I sat in on an art therapy group. The therapist laid a bunch of statements on the table, such as "You are not alone" and "Everything will be okay", and we had to write a poem or draw a picture based on the statement(s) we chose. I went with "Don't beat yourself up", and produced the first drawing I have done in about 20 years. I felt stupid participating at first, but ultimately was glad that I did.