Triumph Over Adversity
My name is John Kevin Hines. On September 25, 2000, I tried to kill myself by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. I believe that by God’s hands I failed. This wasn’t the first time that I tried to commit suicide; it was my second attempt and this time I was determined to succeed. I had felt lost since I was 16 years old. I was chronically ill with bipolar disorder and severe depression; I heard voices echoing in my head, “Jump now, you must die, you are a bad person.” And I believed them. I went out to the bridge because I, in my distorted reality, thought I was a burden to those whom I loved.