'Australian Girl Asks Robert Pattinson To Grant First Kiss For Charity'

EmsCharityKiss was one of those bolt-out-of-the-blue ideas - the ones that creep up on you and won't leave you alone until you act on them. But maybe I should tell you who I am before I tell you what that is.

As I write this, it's one month before I turn 28. I'm Emjay, I've had depression for nearly ten years, and I've never been kissed.

Depression has been my worst enemy, best friend, protector, jailer, judge, jury and executioner. My cousins, almost 10 years my junior, have progressed further socially in their lives than I have. Someone seems to have pressed pause on my life somewhere along the line, and forgot to press play. It's very, very difficult to explain depression to someone who hasn't experienced it. It's an insidious disease that affects every different facet of an individual. Every decision I've made in my young adulthood has ultimately been tainted by it. I haven't married, forged a career, had a boyfriend or been kissed.

While chatting to a friend on Twitter one night recently, I made an offhanded comment about asking Robert Pattinson (Little Ashes, Twilight, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) to grant me my first kiss while I raised money for charity. What did I have to lose? This was the idea that wouldn't leave me alone. The very next day, I shot my first YouTube video, 'It Starts With A Crazy Idea' and, like the title says, that's where it started.

I wanted to raise money for an organisation that supported depression and mental illness, so I picked OneInFive Australia, a small non-profit organisation committed to raising funds for research and treatment. Luckily, they were very supportive of the idea and continue to encourage me. As attention has been growing, the media here in Australia have even picked up the idea and reported on it - focusing on the Never Been Kissed angle of course!

The support has been overwhelming - so many people have suffered depression, or cared for someone who suffers depression or other mental illnesses. So many people have been hidden away; fear stopping them from truly living instead of merely existing. My depression made me feel like I wasn't worth anything. Who would want to be with someone who was so convinced they had nothing to give?

But why Robert Pattinson for my first kiss? The idea is always going to have detractors. But I admire him and am drawn to the underlying melancholy beneath his image. Sometimes his life seems to fit him as uncomfortably as mine fits me. I would be ecstatic if he said yes, grateful if he acknowledged it, and happy if he was at least flattered by it, because it's my first kiss and it's important to me!

It is a long shot. In a sea of the fangirl frenzy that surrounds him at the moment, it's hard to stand apart and be different. It's an incredible risk, but it's really a journey that even up until this point has pushed me far out of my comfort zone. There's no looking back, only forward. If what I'm doing inspires others to be honest then it's all worth it. Being 'sick' is okay. People will understand if you ask for help.

And if you wait this long for your first kiss? You might as well aim as high as you want to.

If you would like to help support EmsCharityKiss, you can find more information at http://www.emscharitykiss.com

To donate to OneInFive, please visit http://www.everydayhero.com.au/emscharitykiss, or visit their website http://www.oneinfive.com.au.