About Leo

Leo is 17, sitting on the floor of a half-packed bedroom.

LEO
Most people think my life is a highlight reel. Modeling since I was seven, 'perfect' family, twin brother. But for the last year, I’ve been living in a house that feels like a sinking ship, and I’m the only one with a bucket. Let’s talk about it.

LEO
My parents signed me and my brother up for modeling when we were kids. They wanted 'perfect.' But by middle school, 'perfect' meant I was too big and my brother wasn't eating. While I was hitting the gym to feel like I had any control, he was disappearing. And the crazy part? My parents didn't even notice. They were too busy with their own drama—Jordanian family conflicts, gambling trips, and a divorce that was more like a toxic loop.

Leo is at the gym, hitting a heavy set, interspersed with him looking at a stack of bills.

LEO
Then the 'reconciliation' happened. My dad moved back in, but he wasn't working. Suddenly, my mom is telling us we’re poor, and me and my brother are getting work permits just to pay for school clothes. I became her sounding board. Her therapist. I knew every detail of their debt and their fights. I was seventeen, trying to figure out college, but I was carrying the stress of two forty-year-olds who couldn't figure out their own lives.

LEO
The darkest part? No one saw me. I told them I was struggling—really struggling—and they brushed it off. It took my brother overdosing on aspirin and my own secret 'gestures' for things to finally break. We’re in 2025 now, and mental health is supposed to be 'normal' to talk about, but in my house, it was a ghost. I finally had to cry in front of a youth minister just to feel like a human being again.

Leo is packing a bag, walking toward a sunrise, cinematic drone shot of a high school.

LEO
I’ve got my first psychiatrist appointment in six weeks. It's a start. I’m moving my focus from saving them to saving myself. If you’re at home right now feeling like you’re the only one keeping the walls up... you don't have to be. You're allowed to just be seventeen.

LEO
Drop a comment if you’ve ever felt like the 'parent' in your family. Let’s talk. Link in the bio for some resources if you're going through it. Peace.

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