“It definitely isn’t the easiest thing to talk about. There is so much stigma regarding mental health (especially since mental illness isn’t always visible), which prevents many individuals from reaching out and getting the support that they need. My advice to anyone struggling is to find someone you trust and start talking about it. Ask…
We’ve all seen the pictures of skeletal teenage girls looking in the mirror, standing on the scale, or eating nothing. I’m here to tell you that those visuals do not properly capture an eating disorder. Too many people in today’s society are suffering from this deadly mental illness, and too often that struggle is worsened…
Am I the only person that had never heard of Blue Monday until this year? When my Twitter stream was clogged up with a flurry of articles and quips on the subject a few days ago, it certainly seemed that way. A quick Google search revealed that the third Monday of each January is supposedly the most…
Several days shy of the new year, a suicide note was posted on 17-year-old Leelah Alcorn’s Tumblr page. Earlier that Sunday, she walked into traffic on an Ohio highway, killing herself. In her letter, Leelah explained how her parents’ unacceptance and lack of support for her coming out as transgender culminated in her decision to…
{Original Image} By now, I’m sure you’ve already heard about the leaking of private pictures of celebrities. Many people (including fellow celebrities) have already made several videos and articles taking a stance against the issue, so that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about today. (CNN covers Jennifer Lawrence’s rebuttal against hacked photos.) Today, I’m here…
Disclaimer: This is about a sensitive and serious topic. I don’t mean to offend anyone. My goal is to have a mature discussion and to present a youth’s perspective on this issue. Why am I doing this? In light of Robin William’s death, conversation about mental illness and suicide has resurfaced. However, it seems that…
Recently, as I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, I came across a page my friend had liked, called Hyperbole and a Half. Out of curiosity, I clicked on it and quickly saw that it was based off a website/blog full of stories told in comic form. I scrolled down the page, and was intrigued…
Ariel Castro was recently sentenced to life in prison without parole for kidnapping and subsequently ‘raping’ and torturing Amanda Berry (and fathering a daughter with Berry), Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight. He was sentenced to serve a whopping 1,000 years. As the hearing went on, Castro blamed his misdemeanors on him being addicted to many substances (like…