Young people across the country have been getting tattoos of semi-colons in support of mental health awareness.
This trend was started by project semicolon in America which was founded in the spring of 2013, when Project Semicolon Founder, Amy Bleuel wanted to honour her father whom she lost to suicide.
“Project Semicolon is a global non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and love for those who are struggling with mental illness, suicide, addiction and self-injury. Project Semicolon exists to encourage, love and inspire,” according to the Project Semicolon mission statement.
Project Semicolon is not a helpline, or a team of trained mental health professionals instead the Project aims to serve as an inspiration to people going through a hard time.
With the increasing number of young people getting these tattoos around the country many people have been wondering what the tattoos mean.
"A semicolon is used when an author could've chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life," the organization's website says.
The main idea is that the semicolon tattoo represents a challenge faced in your life, whether it be depression, addiction self-injury or suicide and that you have the will to carry on and it isn’t going to be the end.
Project Semicolon wants everyone struggling through a challenging time in their life to know that, “your story isn’t over yet.”
This an important reminder for anyone who feels like they are going for a tough time, remember that your story isn’t over yet.
If you feel like you are going through a tough time, try and reach out to your friends or family or even try the student support facilities at the university.