Two Guelph sisters are working hard to raise awareness about the importance of mental wellbeing and self-confidence with their mentorship program, blog and children’s book, Carrie Can Fly Too.
Twins Breanna and Ashley Bolliger were in their first year at McMaster University when the pandemic hit. They felt discouraged shifting to a virtual format, and were spending more and more time online.
It felt energy sucking, and hard to disconnect.
They realized they needed to focus on maintaining their mental health through hobbies and activities like knitting and going for wellness walks “to have an outlet.”
That’s when they started their blog, twinlife, to share their own journey and encourage others to do the same.
“What we really wanted to do was to share our experiences as twins, and specifically our wellness experiences,” Ashley said. That includes sharing their hobbies like knitting, which have helped them maintain their mental health by helping them disconnect.
But when volunteering at an elementary school, they noticed how young kids were already starting to have low self-esteem, comparing themselves to others. This compelled them to write their children’s book, Carrie Can Fly Too.
It tells the story of Carrie, a yellow bird who dreams of flying but faces challenges and self-doubt. But Carrie finds that with a confidence boost, anything is possible.
The book has themes of self-confidence, diversity, kindness and acceptance.
“Self esteem is really difficult to teach. We wanted to spread a message that really strives for making sure that children know that their differences are valued but also they can achieve anything they want, anything they put their minds to,” Ashley said.
“Teaching self-confidence is really fundamental for achieving goals in the future, and becoming that resilient person that we can all become,” she said.
“Even right now, my sister and I, we’re still figuring out what we want to do. We always get these feelings of doubt, and not knowing if we’re going to be able to get there,” Breanna said. “That really transcends through our book as well and making sure others are aware of these feelings and how to address them.”
They believe it’s critical for children to be taught to manage their mental health and build their confidence and self-esteem, and to know there are support systems out there and ways of addressing mental health challenges before they become unmanageable.
There can be stigma or intimidation when it comes to seeking help, and they believe that can be combated by teaching children about mental health, “knowing that it affects us all at different times of life, and making sure kids know that mental health is really important for their future.”
That’s also why they offer a free mentorship program for young adults aged 18 to 22. Right now, they’re mentoring nine students.
Students reach out to them when they have questions or concerns, and the twins regularly check in with them in return, providing advice on managing academic stress and ways to implement wellness activities in their lives.
For example, to avoid burnout while studying for exam season, they suggest structured 15 minute breaks to go for a walk or meditate – the goal is to get away from screens.
“Our advice does not replace medical advice, but it can be used as a helpful starting point for those who want to get on track with maintaining mental and physical wellness,” they said.
Like with their message to children, it can be intimidating to seek help, and since they’ve been stressed out students, talking to someone with a similar lived experience can be a good starting point.
“There is less stigma and more comfort in speaking to someone who is also so close in age as well,” they said.
Their wellness mission extends beyond just mental health: as students at McMaster University, the pair started the Healthy Smiles Club.
“People underestimate how important oral health is to the rest of the body,” she said. Studying kinesiology, they started to learn about how certain oral health diseases can be related to systemic health.
“With that in mind, we thought it would be great to create a club that can foster both oral health realm but also the community service realm,” she said.
It started with spreading awareness about oral health through translating academic research, and eventually they started raising funds with others to create oral hygiene kits for children and adults in need in Hamilton.
The kits for children have floss picks shaped like animals to make it more fun for them with the hopes of fostering good dental hygiene habits at a young age.
“The intention is that when they have these oral hygiene supplies, they’re able to implement brushing and flossing every day, and it can help lead to an overall health lifestyle and well-being, and hopefully eliminate the prevalence of diseases that can arise without brushing and maintaining oral hygiene.”
Last year, they created 145 hygiene kits; this year that number more than doubled to around 338.
It’s a program they hope to bring to Guelph in the next year or so.
In the meantime, they are knitting around 50 hats for newborn babies at the Guelph General Hospital.
“We wanted to give back to the community and welcome all the new babies being born in Guelph by providing them with a warm, snuggly hat,” she said.
It’s a way to give back to the community while engaging in what they consider to be a wellness activity, since they enjoy working with their hands and find it soothing and meditative.
“It gets your mind off everything else and (you’re) just focused on the task at hand,” she said.
“I think we’ve always had this ambition to give back to the community,” she said, noting that they’ve had many opportunities and life and want to ensure others do too, whether that’s through mentorship or by encouraging wellness through their children’s book or blog.
