Test City, U.S.A.

“I don’t even remember what happened but five minutes later I had a needle in my arm. Now looking back at it I have always had problems with peer pressure.  It was my decision and I am not trying to cop out, but maybe because I finally had friends and they were saying, ‘It’s OK, you can do this,’ I thought that if they were saying it then I would OK. I have only ever wanted to be accepted.

“My sobriety date is Feb. 3, 2013. I just celebrated my three-year anniversary. It was a big deal because when I was in and out of rehab I wanted to be clean, but I had never heard anybody getting clean off of heroine. I remember thinking, I am always going to be like this. Then one day I just got tired of it all.  It was hard to explain. I have never really loved myself even as a kid and I was a kid when I started using, so I didn’t really have any idea of what I was supposed to wish for that was better than what I had. I just knew that I hated the way that things were.”

“If I have this giant parachute, what more can I do to make a better impact? ‘I have all these people’s attention, let’s put a message to it.’ And then slowly it started to evolve. I have all these people, say 15, 20 even 30 people at a time; I want to leave them feeling better but also leave them with a call to action. And I thought mental health is the biggest issue that we don’t talk about. There’s a huge stigma to it, and I’d want to use the power of this parachute to start the conversation.”

“I’ve seen 18-year-old kids get open heart surgery and die. I’ve seen 70/80-year-olds make it through life-threatening surgery and live. Through that, it really made me appreciate the time we have here. I witnessed firsthand the appreciation these patients had for life.”

#48 — Ron Holgado, a nursing assistant at the James Cancer Hospital, is the creator of the Roochute, a 45-foot parachute used to spread happiness and positivity around Columbus while starting a larger dialogue to battle the stigma of mental health issues. When he’s not working at the James, you can find Ron planning Roochute gatherings and updating one of its many social media accounts. A graduate of The Ohio State University, Ron grew up in Westerville where he now lives. He has spent his entire life in Columbus and is proud of it. If he were to describe the city in two words, it would be “game changer.” 

“Columbus is a city that is very alive. Coming from Dayton, Ohio, a city that is full of artists and creatives, I appreciate the effort artists living in Columbus put towards their passions,” Chanda explained. “An artist's goal is to be able to monetize one's craft and live comfortably doing what one loves. Or at least, that is my goal and I feel that Columbus is a great place for budding artists and creatives to grow.”

“I was never a patient child. I always wanted quick results. I got my first job when I was 13 so I could afford all the cool things that were popular at the time. I would put a lot of pressure on myself to keep up with my friends,” she said. “. … I think back to growing up and how I would get upset with my parents when I couldn't get what I wanted. I am so appreciative for my parents and my grandmother. I wouldn't be who I am without them. Understanding more about the way the world operates, I enjoy the little things in life and am way more patient.”

#47 — Chanda “Panda” Hunter is the founder and CEO of Army of Dreamers Media Group and an underground street art enthusiast at The Creative Plug. When she’s not running her own company or working on her blog, she makes organic juice for a living. Chanda is from Dayton, Ohio, and after graduating from the University of Toledo she moved to the west side of Columbus.

“The energy of Columbus... We’re a bit more conservative. The energy is wholesome, it’s comforting. Being conservative we’re not ‘super conservative’ -- we still have an open-mind because we’re Test City. There’s still some openness because there are so many things we can experience here. But I think the overall city is comforting. You feel comfort here.

“Mayor Coleman added more value and beauty to our City by creating additional parks in the inner city. I think giving all people access to 'free' beauty is setting the bar high, it's only our birthright.”

“Columbus is oriented toward sustainability -- we have a little bit of that west coast mentality -- and oriented toward community development because the recession caused so many people in my generation to lose our job. A lot of us realized that we don’t have a safety net or anyone to rely on. So that’s what really allows social entrepreneurship to flourish is the idea that we had to all band together and start these businesses. 

“A lot of [people that lost their job] came from the non-profit world, or from companies they felt like a number, and they wanted to do something more meaningful because they saw what was wrong with the standard 80s-style business. 

”We want something that makes a difference and Columbus had to do that because we had to bootstrap everything. We wanted to be connected and to benefit the community to raise the whole system altogether.”

“Before I moved here, I didn’t know anything about Columbus. The exciting thing is that when I first got here, within the first month I had founded the CYP Club, and within two months had hosted our first event, and had an organization. 

“I like the fact that in Columbus you can not only be a part of the elevator ride which can go up or down or in any direction, but you can also create different versions of that all over the place and people are welcoming of it and excited about it.

“I’m passionate about people and I recognized when I got here that this was a city of people also passionate about other people.”

“People that live in the suburbs are so entrenched with the daily life of: go to work, come home, and all of this stuff. Whereas all of the people I hang out with created their own lifestyle. Even my mom is like, ‘When are you going to get a job?’ And it’s really hard to tell her that I’m doing what I love and I’m doing pretty well. That would freak her out...

“I’m not concerned with making a lot of money in life, I just want to learn. It’s just perspective and priorities for me.

“Since I’m surrounded by other people that I see myself in, it makes it a lot easier. Community is one of the most important things as an artist and as a person.” 

“Advice? Believe in yourself and your concept. It is not easy, so embrace that. Make sure you’re doing what you love. Be prepared to work harder than you have ever worked. Kick back. Have fun.

“Collaboration in general, sharing stories, what we’re doing here. It’s that spirit that is going to bring us all up”

“If you hate your job, quit. It’s about finding what you love and doing it. That’s what we live for, man. It’s so much fun.”

“I didn’t have the appreciation I have for Columbus until I moved away to California. When I moved I didn’t think I’d miss Columbus -- or Ohio, especially. When I moved away I started realizing how awesome Columbus was because of the culture, the tight-knit communities, the experiences, and everything Columbus has to offer -- I wasn’t finding that same vibe or feeling in California.

“I really started missing being able to easily network, meet people and make friends -- it was surprising. I also missed the seasons; I’m a big fall person.”

“My Grandpa always told me that you have to buy reality and sell the dream.”

“For me the biggest thing is that we’re more than sports. I have zero interest in sports -- I don’t follow any team sports whatsoever. I know a lot people always want to talk about the Buckeyes when I mention I live here. I couldn’t tell you anything about football.

“There’s plenty to do here besides that.” 

“At some point I started telling my story about whatever I was upset about at that time. And I got tired of hearing myself talk -- tired of hearing my own story. 

“But when other people would share and relate, I felt that some people had stories that mirrored my own so much that I was forever bonded to them.

“At Four Horsewomen especially, people are really getting up there and bearing out their soul, talking about these moments in their history, and putting it out there in the universe and letting it go. You can tell it’s cathartic.”

"I love being a musician in Columbus -- everyone is so supportive. There isn't just one sound that defines us. It's an affordable place to live and it's a great hub for easy touring to nearby cities. 

“A 'Music Commission' would be a great great way to bring musicians together with the city and the industry."

"I like things that bring people together. Pizza is a 'campfire' of sorts -- it brings people together to share stories. The same is true for music, especially when it used to be round."

“I was at a firm for a year-and-a-half, then I went out on my own. We parted ways -- a disagreement of sorts. I couldn’t do the things I wanted to do like work with the millennials at Mission Coffee.

“The mindset of the millennials at Mission Coffee is non-hierarchial, non-corporate, and trying to help each other out instead of stabbing each other in the back.”

"I don't need to watch TV - I'm exposed to enough of life's realities.

"Millennials are diagnosed with more stress and mental health issues than any other generation in America. The younger generation is more comfortable talking about it. It takes a lot of courage because people are opening up and being vulnerable. The stigma of mental health is reducing.”