It's 2:00 a. m. and David is still awake.His laptop glows in the dark as he stares at his unfinished essay. His eyes are blurry for staring at the screen for so long. He's exhausted, but sleep won't come.The next morning, he wakes up. He eats breakfast and makes it through the day, pretending he's fine. But he's not. Inside, he feels like he's drowning.Later that evening, he's doom scrolling through reals, comparing his life to the polished Instagram posts of others. He feels trapped in a cycle he can't esc ...

I closed my eyes, held my breath, and waited to be chosen. We've all had those moments when we're waiting to find out if our hard work has paid off. I grew up in Berlin, Germany, and basketball was a big part of my life.I started playing competitively when I was 14 years old. When I found out that there were youth national teams, I set a goal for myself to make that team. I gave basketball all of my love and dedication and found out I had talent.Coaches encouraged me to play on multiple teams, usually with ...