Boy Meets Girl® Live to Inspire Features: Rachael Pope & Samual Brown
What (or who) inspires you?
"I find inspiration from so many different places and people, but overall I would say that it is women that inspire me. Our whole lives we as women are told who we should be, how we should act, and how we should live our lives. I'm truly inspired by women who choose to live their lives on their own terms. From engineers to mothers and everywhere in between, I'm awed by women who refuse to let others define them!" -Rachael Pope
Causes you advocate for?
"One of my biggest passions is opening up conversation about mental health struggles. There is incredible stigma around mental illness, a lot of which is due to ignorance and fear surrounding the topic. Would you shame someone for going to physical therapy to heal after an injury? Of course not! Why then are people ashamed to seek therapy and other treatments in order to recover from psychological and emotional health conditions? I dream of a future where mental health care is not taboo or something people think you should be ashamed of. I believe that improving mental health treatment will improve many difficult problems we face in society today, such as bullying and self-harm, as well as substance abuse, violence, and other crimes. These issues, in many cases, stem from untreated mental illness." If we as a country, and as a world, remove the stigma surrounding mental illness, many people will reach out for the help they need, before they turn to harming themselves and/or others." -Rachael Pope
What do you love about the state you live in?
"I love the variety in North Carolina. We experience all four seasons in full, plus I live in the middle of the state so I'm only ever a few hours from either the beach or the mountains! There's great variety in the people as well. People move here from all over to live in our bustling cities, or the open countryside. There's something for anyone and everyone here!" -Rachael Pope
