Excited to Be Here! | mindyourmind.ca

Hi!

I am Rehnuma , and I have joined the mindyourmind team this month as their Marketing Content Creation Intern! I am very thrilled to have become a part of this team this summer. I am hoping to pursue a double major in Economics and English Cultural Studies at Huron University College, and as many of my friends have pointed out, I realise this is often considered an interesting mix of academic fields. I have always been interested in understanding how to advocate for and work towards better and more equitable spaces for marginalised communities and communities at intersections, who often receive the short end of the stick because of how the system is set up. And during my first year in college, I came to realise that the study of Economics and of English are actually intersecting fields because both offer important perspectives and criticisms on current problems, providing one with tools and knowledge to create a better world with policies and systems that harm none and benefit the most.

I am a youth and I grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh in a rather conservative community, and as a result, I have come across many accounts – mine included – of the struggles we youth face because of the vacuum left behind due to the lack of accessible mental health support. Further, as mental health is considered a taboo topic across many communities for many reasons – social stigma, affordability of services, classist structures, cultural considerations, etc., – the ones most forgotten about amidst the vacuum and the taboo becomes the youth, often the most in need of the support. Providing youth with pathways to build their knowledge regarding their mental health and ways to support themselves through life are so important in fostering life-long mental wellbeing, yet so often overlooked. To work on advocating for and with the youth through the online space to foster better youth-centred mental health support through mindyourmind is such a wonderful opportunity I have been granted, and I am so excited to be here! I hope my contributions are helpful in building strong frameworks and support systems for the youth in their communities, and I am looking forward to my time here.

My hobbies and interests change pretty much every other month, and currently, I am very invested in creating my own recipes inspired by my grandmother’s cooking. Given my academic semester has just ended, I have also simultaneously picked up both my love for thrifting unique pieces and crocheting in my free time, so now, over the weekends, I am either cooped up in my room with balls of yarn running around, or out scouring London thrift stores with my friends!