Before we get started, I wanted to say thank you for viewing this page. Most people ignore About pages. Personally, I’ve always found them harder to write because I’m not overly fond of writing about myself. However, this website has become an exception.
YouHaveAFuture.org was created as a resource for kids, teenagers, and anyone else dealing with depression, anxiety, frustration, and loneliness. I built this site to help those who need it.
That said, I am not a doctor. I am not a therapist or psychologist. What I am, is a person who gives a shit.
I’ve had to face a lot of emotional and mental stress in my life and managed to find my way through it. Over the years, I’ve seen far too many news stories of kids and teenagers who could not handle the problems in their lives. Some reached out for help but failed to receive it. Others simply needed better guidance.
More than one just didn’t know how to fight back.
On this site, you will find content I have written, music I’ve created, and memes I make. I fund this site personally. I put in the time, the effort, and every last dime that is required to make it work. I believe in what I’m doing.
Who Am I?
My name is Dave. I’m a web developer, a father of two, a husband, a writer, and an underground rapper named Mimic. I’ve been recording music since the late 90s.
I also tried to kill myself in the early 2000s.
My story can be found throughout this site. I relate the things I talk about to issues I’ve personally faced, as well as other life experiences. I have encountered tremendous heartbreak, bullies, a difficult marriage, and an even harder divorce. I have faced job losses that left me unable to feed my family and nearly lost the home we lived in.
But I have also fought back from all of that. I have pulled my shit together, found ways to deal with the hurt, the anger, and the self-hatred.
And I am working my ass off to make sure this site can teach these kids how to do the same thing before they make the same mistake I did.
This is for you, but this is also for her.
October 10th has a complicated meaning for me. In 1992, October 10th became the date of the first official World Mental Health Day. The goal has been to promote good mental health and raise awareness of the problems many endure. It has helped reduce the stigma associated with various mental conditions and issues related to the many stresses in our lives.
In 2004, October 10th saw the death of a personal hero of mine, the actor Christopher Reeve. He brought Superman to life on the big screen in 1978, a year before I was born. Still, those movies lived with and inspired me. After his accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down, he continued to motivate. This was because he refused to give up and fought until his death on that day in October.
In 2012, a beautiful singing voice went silent, and the world lost a talented, caring young woman. She was bullied heavily, mocked, and shunned. As hard as she tried to remain here, she also tried to leave multiple times. Fortunately, the first two failed, and she was able to get back up and continue trying.
The third time, however, was on October 10th. That’s the day 15-year-old Amanda Todd committed suicide.
Though I never knew her, Amanda’s death has lived with and affected me in ways that I never expected. I see parts of her story reflected in my own past, in the struggles I’ve faced, and in the stories of so many others before and after her.
And I feel like I failed her.
She reached out for help online and was met with a wave of ridicule. The world turned its back, while many others spat in her face and encouraged her to kill herself. After she did, many around the world acted as if they were victorious.
Three days after her passing is when I learned of what had happened. That day, I sat and wrote a song inspired by her. I was angry, not at her, but at those who pushed her. During the recording, I said something that has since become my mantra, one that I believe every bullied child should hear:
This is your life, not theirs. Do not let them take it from you.
During that recording, I also stated to every kid who felt that suicide was their only way out, that if no one else is there for you, I will be.
I failed to live up to that. The reasons why are unimportant. I should have done better.
In 2020, I created an album called Hurt. I made it for Amanda. It contains what I consider to be the best song I’ve ever made: Take Your Power Back. I will never write anything better than that song. It is exactly what I wish I could have given to her on October 9th.
It is also what inspired me to make this site.
