My Story and Writing Helped

I attended school at Saint Bonaventure beginning in 2007 and during my late sophomore year in 2009 I developed depression, it was terrible to say the least. Everyday of my life was a struggle; it was a fight in itself to get myself out of bed and into the classroom. Junior and Senior year brought what seemed like a prized championship-boxing bout, I missed probably a third of the school days, my grades dropped like crazy and I wasn’t myself any longer; I was a shell of the person I used to be. I had days where I didn’t leave my bed, I used the blankets as a cover both physically and psychologically in the way that I used them to hide from the outside world and the problems I faced. Senior year no one would listen to me at all I was trying to scream I needed bigger help than, “You will just feel better if you go to school today” or “Go to school or else you won’t graduate.” One morning my Mother walked into the room where, yet again, I was hiding under the covers. She pulled me out of bed somehow and the morning turned into a screaming match where I screamed, “If you make me go to school then I will just walk off and kill myself, somewhere!”

            I didn’t intend on killing myself but I needed someone to listen to me further than the surface questions. My Mom did listen to me and I went to counseling where I received the help I needed, but I was lucky, I had support from many people including my parents and faculty at Saint Bonaventure. The faculty who helped me at Saint Bonaventure were amazing! They gave me the support I needed outside of my family to succeed in the outside world.

            In my counseling I found writing as a useful tool to positively direct my emotions and issues. It became an everyday habit; I would go through my day, take notes in my mind of what I went through throughout the day, then at the end of the day type out what I felt or what happened, similar to a diary. I created a system that helped me whether it was writing down the happenings of the day or a story idea that developed in my head.  The point is writing can be used as a helpful tool for kids who are having troubles in their life, whether those problems are abuse, depression and related mental illnesses, or any kind of problems the world may hold for the kids.