Niki Singh, the mental health activist

Sophomore Niki Singh said she had it tough in elementary and middle school. She was bullied, which eventually led her to an epiphany that the harassment she faced should not be the norm.

Since then, she has taken her vision on how to help others in similar situations and used it to create her nonprofit organization, OK To Be Me. 

“I had a lot of insecurities, and there were times where I felt very depressed because of it. Then, one day I had the realization that so many other people in the world were dealing with the same thing I was, or even worse. I knew I had it hard and so did others, which caused me to want to share my story and spread this message that it is okay to be who you are and to feel comfortable in your own skin,” said Singh. 

 Throughout middle school, Singh was unsure on how organize her effort and how to spread the word about it; she was unsure of what angle she really wanted to focus on. All she knew was that she wanted to create an organization that raises awareness to prioritizing mental health and self-love.

“Because of quarantine, I had more free time with everything being shut down. I was finally able to focus on my organization. Throughout March and a lot of the remainder of the school year, I started talking with my parents and came up with a lot of ideas,” said Singh.

Over the summer, Singh came out with a song she wrote along with a music video titled “Alone Together” to help promote her organization. 

“I started writing the song at the beginning of the summer. I was just foolin’ around with it and I had just gotten Logic Pro,” said Singh, “I originally stated it as a fun project to keep myself busy. But, by the end of the summer and beginning of fall, I kept coming back to it and decided to finish it.” 

Singh wrote, produced, and sang “Alone Together.”  She has written songs since the fifth grade, and has been an active member of School of Rock for the past year, along with being a part of the LFHS Band program as a saxophone player. And to add to this list of musical accomplishments, Singh has also played the piano since she was seven years old. 

“Since March, my parents and I have been brainstorming ideas for the organization. We decided we should incorporate my interests and passions, such as music. That’s how the idea of writing a song came into this,” said Singh.

While the organization OK To Be Me has been filed as a nonprofit for a few years, this summer is really when it took off. 

“We want to cater to the time period we are living in and help the current crises of the present day,” said Singh, “In the past month, we focused on National Suicide Prevention by raising money and donating to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. Then, in the coming months we are going to focus on COVID among other issues.”

Each month OK To Be Me aims to donate to a different organization that either focuses on social justice, health crises, and any problems prevalent in the current day: ranging from Black Lives Matter to COVID-19. 

In the past month, OK To Be Me has raised $1,000 in donations that will be donated to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. 

“Years ago, I never thought I’d be able to do this or have been able to even raise any money. I hope that as time goes on, we’ll expand and be able to raise even more,” said Singh. 

While OK To Be Me’s main project is to help raise money and fund projects to combat crises throughout the world, the organization also focuses on promoting self love and confidence. 

“We spread the message of it is “okay to be me” and be okay with yourself,” said Singh, “That it is okay to be in your own skin.” 

Singh was scared from the launch that people would judge her for having a cheesy title or that people would wonder why is she doing it. 

“I was so scared to get it out there and actually do it, but now that it’s out I’m very proud of it,” said Singh, “I think in the next few months I think it’ll be at a more steady pace. I’m very excited about it.”