Opinion: Mental Health Awareness Week Groundbreaking

Post date: Nov 6, 2017 1:09:58 PM

By: Chloe Schmidt, Staff Writer

Posted November 6th, 2017

Along with other students at the assembly, I thought this presentation was long overdue. Even just a small talk from the guidance counselors would be good, but to me, at least, it seemed like the administration just wanted to remain silent on the suicides and mental health issues our community have been dealing with for the past three years and counting. It was reassuring to me, though, that they did this in early October contrary to sometime late in the school year.

When we were first told about this assembly the week before it happened, I was relieved but nervous. I was excited that this issue would finally be brought to light. At the same time, I was nervous because of some of the rude comments I’ve heard in the past regarding suicide and mental illness. Luckily, I only heard one rude comment on the first day, and everyone else was excited that this issue was finally being talked about.

I thought the butterflies around the school and the announcements every day were a nice touch and built up to the assembly. It’s nice to see the Peers 4 Peers and administration paying attention to such an important issue and doing things to build up people’s self-confidence. It’s not going to change someone’s mental illness completely, but it could make them feel better for a day.

To me, the assembly sounded rehearsed so it wasn’t exactly the right presentation for me, but I still thought her experience with mental illness and her advice regarding it was interesting. I liked the Q&A part the best because it got the student body involved. Honestly, I was curious as to how my fellow peers would act regarding this issue. To my surprise everyone was compassionate and listening well. I’m sure that made kids that suffer with mental illness feel a lot more understood and comfortable.

Overall, I thought this was an important to be brought to light and the school did it justice. I just hope everyone’s not going to forget about it by next week, or the week after. This is a topic that should never be forgotten.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of Slinger High School or the Slinger School District.