Living My Dreams With Mental Illness

Hello. My name is James Pittman. I am an Eagle Scout and journalist from San Angelo, Texas. My diagnosis is paranoid schizophrenia. I have had it since I was nine, which is about the earliest age doctors can make such a diagnosis.

However, if you were paying attention, you might have noticed that I said I have it. It does not have me. Such a strange and puzzling statement would surely have to be clarified. As a journalist - also beginning at age nine - I was intrigued and introduced to journalism at a very young age. Some might seem to wonder: how does a young boy - with a devastating mental illness - become a journalist. It would seem that, with the world crashing around him and caving in, that the very effort would be too much.

However, time and experience have proven that this model is inaccurate. People living with mental illness are not Guinea pigs or any other creature with whom one may recklessly experiment. They have souls. And they also have dreams.

My dreams were to become the best at two things - Scouting and journalism. Along the way, I have been able to double dip in the fount of blessings, and lead others thereto. It hasn't always been easy, but it has been more than worthwhile. I attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 1996, and launched my own news-paper just three months later.

To the newspaper side, I have met and interviewed celebrities, dignitaries and politicians, covered sports teams and made waves on radio with commercials for my newspapers. On the Scouting side, I have been blessed to serve in multiple leadership positions in many different units and on the district committee. I have also been inducted in the Order of the Arrow and attended the National Scout Jamboree on staff. Some might ask, aren't these things impossible for those with mental illness to achieve? Absolutely not. If one is willing to diligently seek out their own new life, he or she will understand that the cost is minimal in comparison to the reward.

I wish to leave you where I began, which was by saying that mental illness doesn't have me. It is a fitting and enduring reminder that we have a unique and valuable opportunity to create our own world and seek out our own unique destiny. What opportunities await you and the desire to conquer the challenges before you shall determine whether you leave an impression, or an impact.