“For years, my young and naïve mind thought that I was the only one in my position, due to the absence of a conversation on chronic illnesses and mental health.

This story holds a message not just about my journey, but about everyone’s struggles with self-image. There isn’t enough being done to show young adults that they hold so much more substance and resilience than is shown on their body and faces. I want this production to urge those who have lived this journey to hold out a helping hand, and those who are struggling to take one.

‘Umeed’ is not just my Story, but rather it is all of our stories as we go through the different “colors of life” with Happiness, Anger, Fear, Sadness, Love and Hope. I hope that with the telling of my own story, the audience is able to find a resemblance and ray of hope, or “Umeed”, as they go along with their various struggles.”

- Sunena Gupta