Understand

I’m not going to lie to you.  I’m scared.  I’m scared for my generation.  I’m scared for my friends, for my classmates, for the strangers I see, and for everyone living at this point in time.  It’s become normal for a teenager to say they’re fucked up, they hate themselves, their life sucks, and they want to die.  It’s almost known as a fact that most people my age aren’t ok when they say, “I’m fine.” 

Every single one of us has a story, and I bet you every single one of us will break down crying while telling that story. 

And I can’t even tell you what’s happened.  I could say it is society painting these images that we aren’t good enough only those perfect prototypes are.  I could say that we’ve been taught to judge everyone at such a young age that we can’t even help ourselves from doing it to people we see everyday and ourselves.  I could say it’s the pressure to be an A student, an amazing athlete, a brilliant artist, a gorgeous model, and have a perfect boyfriend and equally perfect friends.  I could say this world has become so corrupt that the children are suffering from the lack of family tradition and morals.  I could say it’s a billion other little things or all of those combined, but no one knows.  And it doesn’t seem like anyone is working on trying to fix the problem.

Practically everyone I see throughout the day suffers from depression, suicidal thoughts, anorexia, anxiety, bipolar disorder, insomnia, drug abuse, bulimia, ADHD, cutting themselves, OCD, Post-traumatic stress disorder, abuse, family issues, or bullying… in silence. With a smile on their face, they convince themselves to not tell a single soul as they slowly kill themselves from the inside out.  Every single one of us has to be strong for our own sake. 

It’s our duty to hold up the weight on our shoulders.  But if someone honestly looked them in the eye and said “I know you’re suffering I can see it.  Please tell me.  Tell me everything, and I’ll just listen.  I want to know what goes on inside your head,” whether they push that person away or slowly give in, they will break down.  That weight will come crashing down, but eventually they’ll be able to stand back up straight, lift their head up as high as they can.  Depending on the damage from the amount of weight they were carrying, how long they were carrying it, how hard it came crashing down, and how well the pieces were picked up.

So in this worldwide epidemic, I’m quite sure what anyone can do to help or attempt to stop it.  But as someone, who is depressed herself, who is the product of a happy childhood, who is best friends with people who have depression, bad family issues, dealt with abuse, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, anorexia, and cutting problems, who didn’t know that her best friends were this damaged for multiple years, I make a promise to everyone and to myself that I will make a difference in the lives affected by those cancerous horrors.  Somehow someway I’ll help as many lives as I can.

I don’t want to be scared anymore, and I don’t want anyone to feel what I’ve felt ever again.  And I know I’m not even close to the worst out there.  I’ve seen multiple glimpses at these demons, so that’s why I know this problem needs to be solved, and I was spared enough from the damage to be able to help.  And if you’re reading this right now, help me?  Help me stop this madness.  Help me send those demons to where they belong.  Help me make people smile, a real genuine smile because they feel important and loved.  Help me take that weight off everyone’s shoulders.  Help me give them a healthy escape.  Help me get people the help they need.

Or at least try to help yourself.