Synopsis: A suicide note is dropped by its author, left to the homeless man who picks it up. The man reads the pessimistic message and crosses out the word “never” in the note’s concluding phrase, “It will never get better.” This letter, now carrying the message that “It will get better,” travels through the city and enters the setting of a girl playing guitar at the town square. She appears to have been abused and is struggling to earn enough money to escape her abusive setting. The note affects her by inspiring her to play a less depressing song, altering her approach to the situation and helping her to attract more attention and reach her goal.

The note travels through the city again and enters a graveyard, where it lands on the grave in front of an elderly man grieving his deceased wife. The man does not know how to live without her, but he views the note’s sudden appearance as a message from beyond the grave, and he is reminded that although his wife is gone, he still has loved ones at his side.

Once again, the note is carried through the city, where it passes a couple arguing and then continues toward a forest. Here, the note catches the attention of a police officer and leads her into the forest, where the couple’s runaway child is hiding. The note lands directly on the child’s face, startling him. After reading the note, he his approached by the officer. The timing of the note’s message and the officer’s appearance encourages the child to accept help and return to his parents.

Finally, the note is blown from the child’s hand and toward a bridge, where the teenager who originally wrote it stands outside the railing, ready to jump. The note suddenly appears and nearly causes him to fall. As he struggles to hold on, he is confronted with the missing note that he had left behind earlier in the day. The note sparks an inner conflict between life and death, its altered message causing him to rethink the decision to end his life. He ultimately takes it as a sign to continue living and climbs back over the railing, calling his mother to pick him up.

The suicide note is blown into the river, where its journey ends.

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For years, I suffered from depression and anxiety, as well as suicidal ideation. When I moved to Indiana for grad school, my mental health began to improve. However, in February 2018, I lost my younger brother to suicide. This not only brought back my own mental illness, but it gave me another perspective on the subject of suicide. I decided to create a film that showed a more positive spin on overcoming mental illness, one that sent the message that things will get better, even if everything seems horrible in the moment.

Dakota Blose is a 2D animator from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Edinburgh University in 2017 and received her master’s degree from Ball State University in 2020.

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