For Awareness, Every Little Bit Helps
For everyone, High School is full of ups and downs no matter who you are, and no matter when or where you went to school. Having a mental health initiative at school is a lucky thing to have, and I’m glad our school does. The recent trend of giving out notes of kindness and support during holidays throughout the year is amazing! No one could ever be mad about randomly getting a note from either a current teacher that wants to tell you how appreciated you are, or a teacher you had years ago that still remembers you and compliments you.
We so often tell each other how much we love that jacket, necklace or watch, we tend to miss the big picture. We are so quick to applaud someone for something they picked up off a rack or shelf, we hardly ever commend each other for the things that are much more difficult to obtain. It’s rare to hear a “great attitude you had there!” after trying really hard to accomplish your goals or an “I really liked that exceptional kindness you showed” when everything else in the world seemed to be telling you not to care.
In our newspaper class, we got notes from our editors, and fairly recently my English long term substitute/student teacher Ms. Russell, gave our class slips of paper asking what we did to relax, and how she could help our mental health. All of these things combined led to a really warm, inviting atmosphere that makes students―or at least myself, feel like they impact others in a positive way and really matter.
To me, “Angst” was super informative and interesting to watch, and the simple act of making an ACT card felt good, like setting up a backup plan. Yes, people around me were definitely doing homework and falling asleep while watching “Angst,” and plenty of people acted like it was dumb, but just because plenty of people acted like they didn’t care, it doesn’t mean they actually didn’t care. In fact, I’d say one of the main essences of High School is everyone acting like they don’t care about things solely because they’ve been required to do them, when in reality things are important to them. Even if hypothetically, I was the only person that learned something that day, helping even one person is definitely worth the effort, especially if we are trying to de—stigmatize mental disorders and treat them like what they are: diseases.
