THE GREY AREAS OF LIFE
Discover the story behind The Gray Area as we introduce Myles, your compassionate psychologist, and its beginnings.
I believe my fascination with “the grey areas of life” can stem back well into my early school years. I have a fond memory of an English teacher that would often issue us with a puzzle sheet on the completion of our required class work. These puzzles would typically be relatively simple in their design, however, would require extensive critical thinking to solve. In saying this, a word-puzzle comes particularly to memory. This puzzle was an anagram and challenged me to rearrange the letters to create an alternative 8 -letter word. The only caveat was that these letters looked somewhat like ‘squiggles’ on the page. From what I remember, I stared blankly at the page for some time. My classmates passed by me one after the other, handing in their completed puzzle sheets as they made their way out to lunch. I sat for a little while longer in irritation that the answer was not apparent to me. It was at this moment that I decided to ask the teacher for assistance. Her words stick with me to this day: “It is always okay to ask for help, especially when we need to look at things differently.” As cliché as it sounds, this was the catalyst that turned the cogs inside my brain. By ‘looking at things differently’, I soon realised that the puzzle could only be solved by turning the page and viewing the anagram upside-down.
“It is always okay to ask for help, especially when we need to look at things differently.”
Little did I know, just how pivotal those words and that experience would be for me later in life. The recurring mantra of “looking at things differently” and “never being afraid to ask for help” served me in many aspects of my life, most notably within the sporting and educational realm. As such, I was able to pursue my passion to help and be challenged by others during my experiences as a student athlete at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Though there were often days that I missed home, my family, that my legs hurt from training, that I was exhausted, I would always remind myself that I needed to shift my perspective and be grateful for the position I was in.
Fast forward from this, I now sit at my computer writing this post about myself and introducing The Gray Area to you all. My vision behind this service is to empower, support, and nurture others to feel as if they are capable to take charge of their own mental health. We all experience doubt in this idea of who we are or who we wish to become. The vacancies within our own mind can seem vast and often overwhelming, however, I wanted to create a service that can help you navigate these spaces. If anything, I want to provide you with encouragement that you are not alone in the process of self-discovery, self-improvement, or self-regulation. The most worthwhile findings in life are often achieved collaboratively. With that in mind, I wish you a meaningful journey into your ‘areas of grey’, however, do not be afraid to look at things openly, or ask for assistance when you require it.
Written By Myles Cherry
Director / Registered Psychologist at The Gray Area