Michael Vargas Arango, 22, is a second-year student at Miami Dade College, studying business and psychology.
Eva Marie Uzcategui for NPR
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Eva Marie Uzcategui for NPR
Michael Vargas Arango, 22, is a second-year student at Miami Dade College, studying business and psychology.
Eva Marie Uzcategui for NPR
Michael Vargas Arango was having a fairly typical day — hanging out at his home in Medellín, playing Xbox with one of his friends. Only, when he spoke to his mom during the day, he realized that she had no idea what “friend” he was talking about — she hadn’t seen or heard anyone besides her son in the house all day. That was the first inkling either of them had that Michael was dealing with something unusual. It was the beginning of the long road toward Michael being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. On this episode, we’re talking to Michael about how he experiences the world, and how he’s helping to educate people about what it really means to live with a rare, stigmatized, and widely misunderstood mental health condition.
Vargas was the college winner of this year’s Student Podcast Challenge. You can read more about him here.