A couple years ago, one video went viral on Facebook. It showed a group of American college students, gathered up to race for a $100 bill. When they all came to the starting line, the coach began to ask them questions about their socioeconomic circumstances and their familial background. Based on their answers, some students were allowed to take a step forward. By the end of the survey, many had a huge head start — and that’s where the whistle got blown and the race started.

This activity was an incredibly accurate metaphor for privilege — the set of unearned advantages each of us has in life, through aspects of our identity, our background, and other random things that have nothing to do with our merits or our efforts. Depending on them, we become more or less likely to fare well in the race called life.

In the March of 2013, amidst the unfolding first episode of clinical depression, I got a life-changing experience of running a literal, physical race against the guy who had huge privilege over me in many aspects — from physique to health to socioeconomic status. In this video, I wanna tell y’all what it took me to win that race despite overwhelming odds — and why the lesson drawn from it literally saved my life one year later.

This race called life is not a fair one. But everybody is allowed to run it. You don’t get to choose how big of a head start you have or how much trauma drags you back. You only get to choose whether or not to show up in the race and whether or not to stay in it. And, as it turns out, that choice makes all the difference.