These are direct messages sent to Ethan Fisher after school assemblies — unedited, unfiltered, and real. One year. One Instagram account. Hundreds of lives.
Names used with permission. Last names and school names removed to protect privacy.
"Thank you for what you did. You spoke some real shit and it takes guts to do something like that. It impacted me on a personal level. My friend killed herself on May 20th, 2017. Last year on December 20th I was going to too. I was so close. And then just like you I thought of everyone. My mom especially. All the sacrifices she made for me to have a good and wonderful life. I obviously didn't follow through. Now I've quit a lot of things. The main thing out of this is — thank you. You are the relief."
"I personally really needed to hear what you had to share because I'm not perfect and I have made a lot of decisions in life I've come to regret. I am just extremely grateful you chose to face your fear of public speaking so I could learn your 5 keys."
"I have been suffering from depression since I've been born and suicide has been an issue to me often. Any little thing can make me break down easily and think nobody cares about me. You really inspired me today showing that nobody is alone for what they are going through. I just found it really amazing that you've been through worse than I have and you were willing to not give up and actually help people for what they may be going through as well. Thank you."
"Thanks for everything you did especially for coming and speaking to me. I'm glad there are people out there as strong as you that can go through something like that and still want to make a meaning. It makes me want to push myself harder after all the stuff I've gone through. It's nice to see people out there I can relate to. It was very heart touching. Keep up the work."
"You came to my school not too long ago and I just want to say thank you so much for putting your story out there because it really changed me. It was very inspirational and I will now think about my decisions."
"I live in a home where I'm told I'll never make it into college and that I'll never succeed in life. And for a while I thought that was true until I heard your message. Now I am set out to prove my parents wrong. Thank you for having faith in me and inspiring me. You have changed my whole entire future and the entire course for my life. Don't stop telling your story — whether you think you've made an impact or whether you think you haven't, YOU HAVE."
"I talked to my mom about you. She said that your story was also very helpful to her too."
"That speech you had at my school today was really sad and I cried. It touched my heart."
"I just want to thank you so much for presenting at our school. I know it takes so much to share that kind of hard stuff. You did an amazing job, opened people's eyes, and made people see and hopefully learn what to do."
"I walked up to you afterwards and gave you a handshake. I wanted to thank you again for your amazing speech!"
"Hi. I was one of the people at your speech yesterday and it was so powerful, I will never forget it. I talked to my parents all night about it and it really changed things. You're a very good person. Thank you."
"I was at your school today. I thought your speech was awesome. Your story is pretty amazing. It is so cool that you set your goals and accomplished them!"
"Hi Ethan!! I was so excited to see you AGAIN. I feel so thankful. I love your story and I would hear it over and over again — it has such a powerful message. This year I related to it a lot more than last year because school has been tough, but you helped me realize again to stay strong and to think before I do something. Thank you again!!"
"I want to thank you so much for talking to students like us. I am 17 years old and I have for a long time been listening to motivational speeches from Dr. Eric Thomas, Inky Johnson, and other speakers. I want to give something back in my life and I want to start as early as possible."
"Your cause is one I couldn't be prouder of and truly love supporting — someone who impacted my life so heavily. Keep spreading your message and the love you continue to shine in this cloudy world."
"Your speech was really touching and very true on why I won't party or drink or smoke."
"I was just sitting here doing homework feeling so defeated and I was like — wow, you know who I could talk to about this? You! I'm really wondering how in the world did you keep going even when you felt so much stress and pressure?"
"I just left your speech. Amazing story and I'm honored to have had the chance to hear it. I'm a school-based therapist and I really appreciate your story and what you do. I see your posts now and again and you truly are doing amazing things for the youth in our communities."
These messages are from a single year of Instagram DMs — mostly from just one week at one school district. Ethan has been speaking for 13 years. The full picture is hundreds of thousands of students, thousands of messages, and lives changed that will never be fully counted.
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