Just Me
Andrew Durand
Andrew Durand
I have so many projects that I am often lost in a confusing mess of ”one days”. I have been a follower of Thomas Frank for a few years now, and reading his articles inspired me to create my very own Impossible List. Basically a checklist of all my goals and the steps I am taking to achieve them.
FAQ
In Case You're Interested...
Where do I Come From?
I was born In the United States, but I spent most of my early childhood living in Izmir, Turkey. I moved to Canada when I was 12, and I have lived here ever since. I’m currently finishing my studies in Montreal, Quebec; life will tell me where to go next!
How Old am I?
I’m 27 years-old at the time of writing this, but some days I act like I barely finished toilet training. I’m a child at heart, and probably always will be. Making life fun and taking things in stride helps me stay happy; I don’t care if I act like a kid along the way.
What do I Study?
My original background is in Illustration and 3D animation. I completed a technical degree and worked on a project that is currently on Netflix. I stopped doing art professionally when I started reading more about productivity and psychology. Now, I study psychology full-time and am working on getting into graduate school
What I do in my Spare Time.
Between school, Your Brain Place, and work, I have very little free time. When I manage to find the time, I like to read, exercise, hang out with friends, or watch movies and TV shows. I love going out too, and I became a very big fan of music festivals these last few years; who would have thought!
My Experience with Depression and Mental Health.
When I started College for the 3rd time, after dropping out the first and the second, I felt terrible about myself; something within me snapped. Without realizing, I had spiraled into depression over the years. Like many who suffer from depression, I was still productive and ”successful”. My grades were good, I paid my bills, and I was doing objectively well. But I wasn’t happy. I couldn’t build strong relationships and I wasn’t working towards anything that really mattered to me.
When I was 22 years-old, I started blogging about my depression, but I stopped soon enough; like i stopped caring about everything else.
I was immature, and self medicated with alcohol and excessive partying; I was always focused on having fun before anything else. I stayed up nights playing video games, or spent all my money on bars and nights out until I accumulated much more debt than I ever should. I had no sense of responsibility, and my mind was scattered. My projects were just a way of telling myself that I was still working towards something, but never turned into anything more.
As I grew older, I started shifting my priorities and took the time to reflect on my core values. I accepted that I was far from the person I had set out to become and wanted to change. I rebuilt my life and started from the bottom. For the 4th time in my twenties, I went back to school with a severe load of debt and stress; I went to therapy, got on medication, and started living the way I wanted.
Why did I Start Your Brain Place?
I love to read and write. Ever since I was little, I’ve always been the artistic kid who would get lost in his own world; for better or worse, this made me feel both amazing and alone. I grew up feeling like there was something wrong about who I was and what I enjoyed, given that I felt alone most days. But as time crept on, I found that I had to embrace who I was and share it with the world in full force; that’s how I stay true to myself.
Your Brain Place is that thing. It’s my love child that allows me to write about the world and how I see mental health issues. Sharing what I know with others lets me feel connected to the world in a way I didn’t before, and keeps me, me.
With Your Brain Place I can be both vulnerable and awesome; I can help myself and others by learning more about what helped me overcome my biggest struggles. Win-win-win.
