Do Not Despair, Life Gets Better

Since this blog is about high school from the eyes of a senior, I’m going to be writing about an important issue. This issue affects so many people every day and it affects high schoolers more than anyone. This issue is suicide.

Did you know that every minute a teenager attempts suicide? Yeah, every minute. Scary, huh? A boy at my school last year committed suicide just days before he was to graduate. Isn’t that terrible? But it’s the truth and that’s what scares me the most. I’ve heard of kids as young as 12 or 13 committing suicide. They haven’t even lived yet and they think the only thing they can do to get out of a bad situation is to die.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that I can’t possibly know what I’m talking about. I know nothing of suicide other than what I’ve heard in the news. Well that’s where you’re extremely, completely and totally wrong. I know personally that suicide doesn’t just affect one person. Now you’re thinking that just can’t be true. Only one person dies, so only one is affected. Okay so you’re probably not thinking that but if you are get the heck out of here and don’t come back.

What you probably are thinking is how can she know that? Well I know how suicide affects everyone around the victim just as much as the victim themselves because my grandmother committed suicide before I was even born. I never knew her. So don’t tell me I know nothing of suicide. I grew up without knowing my mother’s mother because of my grandmother’s actions.

But back to the point, I’m here to tell you that the worst part about high school is that it seems so terrible what with the cliques and the rumors and the peer pressure. You just see the here and now and that is the time that things seriously suck. Emotions are high and everything is always blown out of proportion and when things get really bad, it seems like there is no escape, nowhere to go, like death is the only option.

But it’s not.

I’m lucky and have surrounded myself with amazing and caring friends and family and have never considered suicide as a way out of my struggles. I also have a little trick I use. I call it my escape. Whenever I feel so upset it seems like I can’t go on, like the whole entire world is out to get me, I dance. When I dance, it allows me to forget my worries, to forget my anger and fear, to forget everything except the music and my body, even if it’s only for a few minutes. But in those few minutes, I disconnect from everything that causes me stress and pain just enough, it brings me just enough joy that I remember that no matter how bad things get, that no pain can last forever.

I think to prevent suicide we should not try to instill fear in kids or whatever it is teachers do to prevent suicide and instead encourage them to find an escape, something healthy (aka no drugs or drinking) that will help them escape from the pain if only for just a few minutes. Trust me, speaking from a high schooler’s point of view, having an escape will do so much more to prevent suicide and even cutting than anything else in the entire world. Suicide is no laughing matter. It’s very serious and I think if people realized just because right now is painful and difficult, doesn’t mean it always will be.

Change is good because nothing stays hard forever. Never forget that tomorrow is a new day and the future can be just so bright. There is really so much life to live in this world. Don’t take away such an amazing opportunity from yourself just because today is hard. The “it gets better” message doesn’t have to be just for gay teens. I think everyone needs to hear that, no matter how old they are.

Editor's Note: Here are some resources for help for teens:

Youth Suicide Prevention Program: http://www.yspp.org/, 1-800-273-8255

Mind For Mind: http://mindyourmind.ca/

Reach Out: http://us.reachout.com/

The Trevor Project: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/, 1-866-4-U-TREVOR

Crisis Clinc" http://www.crisisclinic.org/about2.html, 866-427-4747