When my classmates glance at me walking up the stairs next to them, I know their first impression is not the truth; at least not the whole truth. They may think, “she’s lucky she can get up early enough to go grab that venti coffee she has” or “she must have 8ams considering the pajamas she is still wearing,” but I would bet they never think “that girl looks like she suffers from severe depression.” My name is Amanda Rieper. I am 19 years old, and I do, in fact, suffer from severe depression. The Mayo City Clinic Staff (2017) describes depression as “a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.”