Pikachu2

Guest Writer

Most people you know, you would've never thought of as being depressed. Most people who are never admit it. AJ McLean was such a person, until Sunday, July 8th, 2001. On that day, he finally decided that he needed help.

He went to his bandmates, Kevin, Brian, Nick, and Howie, and admitted that he needed help. That's the first and hardest step. Admitting your problem. They checked him into a rehabilitation center for anxiety, depression, and alcohol abuse, and told the world on TRL the next day.

Well, as an avid Backstreet Boys fan, let me tell you, I wasn't truly shocked, I mean, hey, it's AJ, the bad boy, the rebel of the group, but... I had to wonder, was this the beginning of the end of my fave band? Fortunately, the guys answered all of my questions, but doing so, it was heart breaking. Four grown men (Kevin, Brian, Carson, and Howie) were close to tears, and the youngest member (Nick) was already crying.

It broke my heart to see that, yet... it comforted me. Because AJ had their support, and as the camera panned the crowd of TRL, some people were crying, others were shocked and some were close to tears. It made me realize that, even if the boys do end the group (although, Nick said, "I don't think there is an end to this group until one of us dies," which relived me greatly) they'll still have millions of fans around the world, caring for them. After the interview on TRL, they showed a clip of AJ singing a song in the works on their tour bus. It made me think of how depressed he really must be:

Sometimes I find myself within me,
But I need some time to find true love,
But if I don't, then I won't stop tryin',
If I can't, then I won't live lyin', yes,
What two people really want,
They wanna be happy,
I wanna be happy.

That song made me think of all the thousands, or millions of people who are depressed. I know what it feels like, feeling as if no one cares. But it also made me think of all the people we can help, if we just lend an ear, or give them a shoulder to lean on. Just think of all the people we can help. Please, if you know someone is depressed, talk to him or her first, and then get help. Sometimes, they just need people who care.

This is Pikachu2, saying goodbye for now.

PS: The Yellow Ribbon Project

"The Yellow Ribbon" is based on an idea that is going around in some of the yahoo clubs. The idea is that we, the Backstreet Boys' fans and anyone else behind him, wear a yellow ribbon, signaling that we support him. We wear it every day until he comes out of rehab and is better. The other part to this campaign is for when people ask why we wear this Yellow Ribbon, we tell others, "Because I support AJ, no matter what he does. And I'm proud that he has discovered that he needs help in fighting this battle, and that he has got it." We don't stick around for their appalling remarks; we just leave. But if they ask for a ribbon for themselves, we hand them one, thank them, and proceed walking on with our heads held high, not feeling ashamed, but proud of Alexander James McLean.

I am crediting NGC4me4eva of Fanfiction.Net for writing this. Please, join in on the Yellow Ribbon Project to show everyone that we care!