Anna Ottum

During my third year in New York, after a culmination of events back home, I began having debilitating panic attacks. I'd never had them before and I was completely rattled. Julie called me as I sat outside a laundromat and stayed on the phone with me for over an hour. She told me about her own depression growing up, that our emotions are ever changing and explained the necessity of building a "floor to stand on". I know how close Julie was with my mom and I was thankful she was willing to comfort us in the way a mother would after her death. She was so incredibly loving to Kate and I while keeping a balance of humor and bite to say "come on now, you'll be ok!" She was such an impressive person that when she told me everything would be ok, I always believed it.