A Message From A Happy Teenager

Did you know that child and teen suicide rates

are at an all time high, right now?

That suicide is the 2nd most popular cause of death

for 13-17 year old boys and girls?

That, odds are, at least 15 people in this room

are clinically depressed?

Do the math.

& have fun guessing who's who.

As we get older, we are taught that "being a teenager"

is the most deadly time of our lives.

Our parents start checking our phones and our pill cabinets

tryout to make sure they are not given the opportunity to outlive us;

This is not how life was supposed to be.

I mean, what happened to us?

What happened to when food was meant to be devoured

and not cut into a thousand tiny pieces, hiding the fact

that we haven't eaten in days and blaming our growling

stomaches on a "sickness",

and though we are sick, that is not what we mean.

What happened to when we only wore long sleeves 

when it was cold outside and we prayed to beat our rivals

instead of praying for survival;

what happened to when we felt loved?

Is it really this hard to be loved?

I have friends that struggle with breathing

and I have friends who don't care to breathe at all.

But their lungs are too good at their job to stop

and I pray that the air they breathe never becomes boring to them,

because happy teenagers get scared too.

I get scared for you.

But what we see is only half of the equation and

there's no such thing as hopeless when their's air to be breathed in;

the sun makes a loop around the earth every night.

It's always darkest right before we see the light and

it's not fair to say that you don't make a difference

because there is always someone

who is listening. Someday,

it is going to be okay.

I have friends who know these things better than I do.

I see people struggling in every moment, and 

struggling is okay, but it is not going to last forever, 

because food was meant to give us strength and

our lungs are meant to help us laugh until our stomaches ache, 

but NOT from hunger. Suddenly we can't breathe

with joy in our heads and love in our hearts..

LOVE.

It is important that we feel loved.

Happy teenagers should not be an oxymoron, a minority;

It is a blessing to have air in our lungs.

It is a blessing to be loved.

and you are loved.

Unhappy teenagers are loved too.

This poem is about: 
My community
Our world

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If You Need Support

If you ever need help or support, we trust CrisisTextline.org for people dealing with depression. Text HOME to 741741