My Truths
My family kicked me out of the house when I was 16 for what seemed like no reason. For a couple months I didn’t even go to school, but since then I’ve been getting better, and was able to get my GED. I still wish I could have a better relationship with family though, and I’m not sure when I’ll see them again.
I go to a really good private school, and even though everyone supports me and tries to help me learn, I still feel like I’m just behind. I dont feel like I can keep up with all my friends, and even though I spend hours working i just feel different then everybody else.
Sometimes when I feel like I don’t have anywhere to turn, I just drink alone. I know it seems really sad, but I just don’t feel like I have other options sometimes.
I’m seeing all of my friends go to great colleges, and even though I’m going to one too it just feels so pointless. I’m not really sure what I’m going to do after school is over.
This weekend was just horrible. Everything went wrong and I had to walk home at 2Am in the dark. I just felt so horrible and alone.
I started at a new school this year, and I really just can’t deal with everything thats being thrown at me. No one tries to get to know me and I just feel so alone, and teachers and even my parents don’t help.
i’m scared of change and i feel like time is moving so quickly but i’m just stuck here while everyone else moves on. it’s just the little thinks i keep fixating on, like how my best friend doesn’t have me pinned in her texts anymore. i’m so anxious about everything all the time and i don’t know what normal is supposed to feel like anymore.
I’m in my junior year of high school, and stuff just keeps getting harder. Everyone tries to support me but I feel like they don’t totally understand what I deal with.
I saw my family recently, and it just makes me feel bad. I feel like I don’t really have direction and everyone expects me to.
A couple years ago I started getting these horrible migraines, and for days at a time they just make everything impossible. I can’t go to school, I can’t focus, I can barely leave the house. Its made everything worse.
My friend is really in trouble. He started vaping and drinking in 7th grade and it’s escalated from there. Now he vapes constantly, drinks all the time and does all sorts of drugs. He used to be a good hockey player and did other sports too but has given all that up. His grades are so bad I don’t know that he can get into any college. I feel like I should have been a better friend and it’s too late now.
My older sister just got into a very prestigious college. She’s always been perfect, like smart, popular, pretty and good at sports. I feel like I’ll never measure up.
I didn’t start drinking until recently, but now I feel like I probably drink too much. I don’t really go to many parties, but when I do I get wasted, and sometimes I drink by myself when I’m bored.
Over the holidays, I see my family, and they just make me feel bad and remind me about how little I am. They try to be nice but I just feel so worried around them, like I don’t want to disappoint them or anything. Its not their fault, but its just a horrible time of year.
I feel like when I go to school I’m a different person then when I’m at home. At school I have things to do, have friends, do well, and life is good. But when I go home, I just feel empty and meaningless, and feel like I don’t really have direction.
I will never understand what makes people popular but all I know is that the “most popular” girl in my grade is also the meanest and she has totally shut me out of the group. I don’t know what everyone just follows what she says. Not to be mean but she’s doesn’t do well at school, isn’t a great jock or anything. I guess she’s somewhat pretty and has been drinking and hooking up with boys since our freshman year. I’ve found another group of friends to hang out with but I wish one day I had the guts to tell her she’s a bully and caused a lot of us a lot of pain.
I lost some people close to me growing up, and I couldn’t take living at home anymore. I ran away from my problems, but it was really my only option. Now I’m doing better, and I live with my aunt, but sometimes I still feel alone.
I struggle a lot in school, and I really only feel like sports is getting me through it. I hate going to school for 7 hours and just doing nothing the whole time and getting embarrassed.
I can’t deal with some people at school, I don’t know what it is but they hate me. I don’t do anything to them but they just are mean to me, start rumors, call me names, and just make some days miserable.
I feel like I’m constantly trying to keep up and prove myself to my so called friends. Like they can yank their friendship from me at any time. We all have to go along with this one girl or else. I wish I was more confident and didn’t care but being part of this group is about all I have going for me.
In middle school I had a good group of friends but we all went to different high schools and now as a freshman I have like no friends. I don’t do sports and I’m not very outgoing so I don’t even know how to make friends. I see classmates and they all seem to be having a great time and I just wish I could break into some of those groups somehow.
I have struggled with my eating since I was 11 or 12. It’s always on my mind. I doubt people would know since I’m not super skinny or anything. I just wish I had a better relationship with food and my body.
Why did it have to be? I don’t really get why I’m the one who has to deal with of these problems when everyone else gets to not.
Honestly life isn’t bad, but I just never feel like I’m enough. I’m not as tall as everyone else, I’m not as smart, my family isn’t as rich. I just feel like I’m not as good as everyone else.
I some times drink alone especialy before going to a social thing. I know its not good but it makes me more confident.
Last year I got really drunk at a party and did some bad stuff that I don’t even want to write about here. People have shared pictures of me and I am so ashamed. I feel like I will always be that girl even if I have sworn off drinking and barely go out anymore.
I go to a pretty progressive school so you’d think it’d be easy for me to come out but i haven’t been able to. Even if my family and most of my friends would stick by me i still worry it will change things. I’m not your sterotype gay guy. I’m pretty athletic and honestly don’t care about how i look. I don’t want to be put in a bucket. I don’t really think i have much in common with the members of that affiliate group. Still i wish i could be honest and not pretend anymore. Maybe next year in college.
Last year as a freshman I was friends with the most popular of the popular girls. I got invited to sophomore and junior parties. I sat at the cool lunch table. I didn’t really make an effort to meet anyone outside my group of popular girls and realize I may have even been mean to others. Well it all came back to haunt me. The most popular girls (or mean girl may be a better term) turned against me. She told the other girls to ignore me and exclude me from everything. She and her friends blocked me on social media. At lunch I either walked home or hid in the library. I was alone every weekend. I cried most nights. I thought it would blow over. It didn’t. I begged my parents to switch schools but that’s a pretty tough thing where I live. I hate this school so much and it’s all because of that one girl.
My whole life is stress. Everything I do seems so important, even thought I know its really not. If I don’t do well I just feel like everything is collapsing, and I don’t know what to do.
I feel like my whole life is centered around success, like I have to do whatever it takes to get to a good college, get good grades, and just be a normal person. I just can’t do it myself.
there is a lot of academic pressure put on me and i am just anxious abt everything, especially social things. i have a lot of unresolved issues from quarantine & elementary school that no one/very few ppl know about & im technically better but i still feel so broken sometimes. i feel like i have it easier than other ppl and i feel bad for not always being ok but
I just feel like I don’t have control over anything. Everything I do just feels meaningless, and I’m just not really sure what I’m doing.
Honestly I feel like life isn’t horrible but I just don’t have fun a lot of the time. I feel like my friends don’t want to be my friends, my family loves me but doesn’t like really know what to do with me and like all the stuff I do is just basic.
I feel like I try so hard in school and to study for the SAT, yet when it comes to testing day I just fall flat. I don’t know what it is. I feel so prepared before the test and feel comfortable with the material but just can’t output that on the actual exam.
I guess all I can say is that I don’t feel ok. I’m told these are the some of the best years of my life but I don’t see it. I hope life gets better.
It seems like I’m the only one who never has plans on the weekends. I feel like I have good friends at school but I never get invited to do anything when school is out. Even my parents and little sister have stuff to do. I feel so lonely and sad. Like why don’t I get invited.
I’ve been dealing with a lot the last couple years. Ever sice my parents got divorced my life has changed so much and its been pretty horrible. Neither of them is a good single parent and splitting time makes everything hard and everything was already hard.
My sophomore year of high school my friend committed without showing any signs. I still constantly think about her and what life might have been with her. It’s hard now in college thinking about the possibilities of her life.
my parents are horrible and so is school. I just feel like I don’t have anyone to lean on when I’m going thru stuff. Hopefully when I go to college it’ll be better
I feel like I am always trying to stay in the in group and keep my place with my group of friends. Sometimes that means I am mean to other girls because it makes me feel like at least I’m better than them. I know it’s wrong but I just can’t imagine going to school and feeling left out. Adults say to find friends who like you for you but I think most adults are out of touch with what goes on in schools and social media these days.
I was one of the best distance runners in my state as a freshman but anxiety and panic attacks ended all that. Now I can barely finish a race without breaking down. Usually I just scratch altogether. My parents put so much pressure on me to succeed and be the best. I am sure they are so disappointed in how I have turned out.
social anxiety is horrible. I can’t do anything without freaking out and sometimes no one understands. I still have friends but sometimes I just feel like I don’t want to leave my house
My 2 older sisters make it all look so easy at school. They are pretty and popular and teachers always tell me what great students they are. I feel like I can never measure up.
School makes me so stressed. every day I wake up feeling excited but by the end of the day Im just done. I can’t do homework I can’t play sports I just feel bored and sad and its terrible
Every time I go on my phone and scroll my feed, I just see guys that are better looking then me. I just feel so bad and I just spend my nights alone.
school is very hard and stressful. The teachers try to help me but my classmates never do and I feel alone. sometimes I feel like the only peron who’s like me and I don’t know what to do
I feel like my parents, teachers and classmates think I am perfect. I know I’m not. I feel a lot of pressure to live up to the expectations they have of me, but I don’t think it is possible to meet such high expectations. I am afraid that if they see me the way I see myself, they won’t like or respect me anymore.
I have thought about suicide especially during the pandemic. I am lucky that my parents are really engaged with me and noticed how depressed I had gotten. To any other teen who ever feels that way please seek help. Things do get better. Don’t let your low points define you.
I just wanted to share that I used to have a ton of social anxiety and feel like an outside at my school. But I decided to get involved with some clubs and the theater and really found some people I can trust. I don’t care if I’m not considered in the popular group. Be yourself and participate in what makes you happy and you will find like minded people.
On the one hand I know I am pretty, popular, talented (I play varsity lacrosse and tennis) etc etc. On the other hand I wonder when everyone at school will see right through me. I started drinking socially when I was 14 but quickly realized that alcohol made me feel more confident. I am an introvert by nature but with alcohol I can talk to anyone and be super funny and flirt. I think all my boyfriends (I’ve had 3 since age 15) were because I was drinking so they were attracted to that version of me. I still do well at school and do sports so maybe my drinking isn’t a problem. I don’t really know what is normal.
I am ashamed to admit that I have contemplated suicide a few times. It’s not like my life is bad. Outsiders might think I lead a charmed life. I just get down and wonder why continue. I read somewhere that 20% of american teens think about suicide so I know I’m not alone. Plus those are the ones that admit it. Still i do feel alone much of the time.
Growing up, in high school and through college and beyond, I was constantly stressed and living with severe anxiety. I was never diagnosed with anything because those were different times. But I’m sure I could have benefited from medication and therapy. My family was very macho so I never even shared with my parents nor my brothers. Now that I’m in my 50s I think back how sad that was, and how alone and different I felt. I’m much more atuned to my children’s mental health and to my own for that matter.
when I was 14, covid hit, and everything went terrible. my mom was always at work and I had to do everything alone and I hated it. I started drnking and smoking a lot and skipping school. Things have gotten better recently and I hope they keep getting better
todos los dias lucho con la ansiedad. Intento hablar con maestros y compañeros pero no puedo. Me siento sola todo el tiempo.
school feels so lonely. My teahcers don’t help me, my classmatess don’t want to be partners with me, and during lunch I sit alone. I hope that everyting gets better because school is unbearable.
I hate what I see in the mirror. No matter if people tell me I’m pretty or compliment me on things I just don’t see it. I could point out like 50 things that are horrible about my body. I’m so jealous of girls who are just naturally skinny. Or even girls who aren’t but seem confident. I not surprised no boys seem to like me since I don’t like myself.
There are some really mean girls at school. The teachers and administrators don’t seem to pick up on it because the girls are really good at seeming one way in class or with adults and then being super mean. They’ve made up some really bad stories about me and some other girls. Even if people don’t believe the stories they are too scared to say anything. People don’t want to sit with me at lunch or do things with me on the weekends because these girls will then turn their meanness on them. My mom says that one day the mean girls will get what’s coming to them and I should just be myself and be nice and ignore them. But how can I when everyone else is trying to be their friend and shunning me.
I hate what I see when I look in the mirror. I wish I was taller, slimmer, toner and just prettier. I hate myself every time I eat too much or eat bad stuff but I just can’t control it. I don’t like myself so how can any boy like me. I guess that’s why no one has ever asked me out or shown any interest. My mom doesn’t get it cuz she was so pretty and thin when she was in high school.
when my grandpa passed last year, I didn’t realize how much he meant to me. I had relied on him for so long and without him I just felt alone, and started drinking a lot. I feel depressed and sad a lot, and just don’t know who to turn to
I have ADHD, and it makes everything really hard. I can’t focus on tests at school, and It makes social interactions very very very hard.I hope that I can learn how to deal with it better.
My whole life I’ve dealt with severe anxiety and dyslexia. Its made life almost imposible to live and makes everything so hard. Simple things like reading or ordering food at a restaurant feel like mountains and nothing feels easy. A year ago I attempted suicide but recently Ive been doing better and hopefully I can find more help
I get bullied in school for the way I look. I dont know what to do other kids just wont stop, and it makes school terrible.
during high school, I didn’t have a ton of friends, and so I often felt alone. I struggled with self esteem, and turned to drugs. I’ve started to recover, but I still go through waves of sadness
My parents both work long hours, and so I have to take care of myself. Its really stressful, and a lot of kids make fun of the stuff I wear, and just the way I am.
i almost always feel stressed and have major anxiety but especially with social stuff. there are times where i just can’t catch my breath. my nails are literally nawed to the point there is nothing there. i’m even on paxil but it just doesn’t seem to be working. it seems like all the other girls at school are so much happier then me. like friendships come easy to people. my older brother never seemed to have any problems with friends or social stuff. i just wish it was easier for me.
I am dyslexic and have other learning differences. My elementary school and now my high school has resources to help me but it’s still a struggle. I worry people think I’m dumb or don’t want to partner with me on projects because it does take me longer to do some things. It’s made me pretty shy and insecure at school. And I don’t have many friends either. No one has every outright bullied me but I do feel left out. I just wish I was like those other kids where things seem to come easy to them.
I have ADHD and anxiety, and it makes everything so hard. I can’t focus in school oftentimes, and social interactions can make me stress and have anxiety.
I get severe anxiety just randomly. I’ll have panic attacks about the smallest things, and I sometimes don’t know what to do.
I have dyslexia, and it makes school terrible. I can’t do a lot of assignments, and some teachers don’t understand. I don’t know what to do.
I get a lot of anxiety just going to school, talking to people, and having conversations just takes a lot out of me.
I have ADHD, and it makes school really hard. I can’t focus, and sometimes I’ll just have to say something. Both teachers and classmates don’t totally understand it, and sometimes people bully me for being weird. Hopefully, it stops soon.
During freshman year, I went to a party and tried alcohol for the first time. After a few months, I started to abuse alcohol. I was drinking every weekend and would get depressed. A couple months ago, I went to rehab, and I’ve been sober since then. My alcohol use really negatively affected my school and social life, and so hopefully now I can turn things around.
In high school, I had a ton of work. I would spend hours doing homework and would stress so much over tests and grades. I felt so alone sometimes and felt like there was no way to change anything. I’ve started to get better at dealing with my stress in college though, which is good.
Throughout school, I have always dealt with anxiety. I sometimes have panic attacks, and just don’t know what to do. I still don’t really know what to do when I have an anxiety attack, hopefully it will get better.
I have dyslexia, and it makes school very hard. A lot of the time, teachers don’t really understand dyslexia, and they blame me for working slowly. It makes me feel bad and makes me feel different.
I went to a public middle school, and this year is my first year at a private high school. I really feel like I don’t fit in, and feel like an outsider. My parents can’t really help either, because they don’t know what its like. Also, I’ve spent so much time on homework, and feel like I don’t have any time to have fun.
Last year, during online school, I went through a period of depression. Both my parents worked, so I had to take care of myself on weekdays. This burden weighed on me, and I had moments where I just felt like I was worthless. Recently though, I’ve been feeling much better, and have been able to reform bonds with my friends. Hopefully, I can keep it going.
Growing up in Brazil, wasn’t easy!
Especially in Rio de Janeiro, it’s a beautiful city, but for young girl growing up very shy not being focused to be the girl from Ipanema, I was very humiliated at school, I was the only in my class, Who is being Target and make fun of
I was mentally and physically bully every day, I was different (so I thought)
The truth is, I was unique I was an artist, I was a singer, I was so tormented at school,
But when I look back now, I think we were all trying to survive, the kids were making fun of me so no one would’ve noticed them, i was very easy to be picked on it, I always have my head down . My life change, when I went to music conservatory, then I realize, those kids are just trying to make me feel bad because it was so unique.
Took me a long time to make peace with this.
But you make me the stronger woman that I am today
My senior year of high school my best friend had a mental health crisis and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a few days. She and our friendship were never the same, and we went out separate ways for college, and didn’t reconnect until our 30’s In high school we were both in multiple AP classes, sports and activities, and she also had some family issues. It was the most pressure, stress and anxiety I have ever felt in my life, and I think often about how close to the edge I was of not being able to cope. I deeply wish I could have been a better friend to her, and I also wish I could have let my guard down a little to make friends with other students. We were all so guarded and so sure everyone else had things all figured out. As an adult I realize how universal it was to feel lonely and insecure. It was the most challenging time of my life.
I’ve been bullied since I can remember. It’s not like kids physically bully me. But they definitely talk about me and exclude me from things. Lunchtime is the worst as I have no one to eat with so I just go to the library and pretend like I have something to do. I know everyone says it gets better but I can’t see it. It makes me not want to go to school at all.
When I came to high school, I didn’t really know anyone. Even though I tried to make friends, I had a hard time at first. I got a lot of social anxiety, and didn’t know if I would be able to fit in.
As a teenager and well into my college years, I was very insecure about my appearance and body. Despite getting straight A’s, playing varsity sports and having a good friend group, my low esteem led to an eating disorder. To any teen currently struggling with self esteem and/or an eating disorder, I can only say that you are more beautiful than you know. Focus on all your wonderful qualities and surround yourself with people who make you feel good about yourself. I look back at photos of me as a teenager and wish I could tell that girl that she is beautiful and loved.