hello everyone just a 16 year old here who just needs someone to tell her everything’s gonna be okay.
i was the happiest kid in freshman year and some in sophomore. i’ve had a severe ed since i was 14 which has impacted my mental health so bad. since turning 16, i have been diagnosed with severe depression (covid’s fault :3) and i have no motivation to do any work.
i am not “stupid” or anything, i’ve never gotten anything lower then straight A’s in language arts (my favorite! <3) it’s just algebra that brought me completely down.
i, most likely, will either hold myself back a year or go to community college to get the credits i need to possibly go to a university (i love film!!) as a perfectionist, this is very hard for me to come to terms with. i just need someone to tell me that that’s okay to do due to my current state. thank u everyone
It will be okay! I think the pandemic has been extra hard on kids & teens with mental health challenges, and as a result there will be more taking their own path. Not everyone goes right from HS into a 4-year college. So many successful and happy people did not take that route. It’s just hard to see that when you’re in a HS with a particular college-going culture. It makes it seem like there is a only a rigid path when that’s not actually the case.
Are you seeing a therapist? The perfectionist mindset and EDs are linked and working on that at your age will help you greatly (rather than working on it much later in life). Good luck. You got this.
Depression is evil and it lies to you. You are NOT stupid - you are simply fighting an invisible battle against a mean and clever enemy who knows all of your weaknesses and uses them against you.
Eating disorders are just as insidious. However I can tell you that you can overcome them My kid is a dancer and has struggled with EDs for years. However, it is now under control and she is attending an excellent college.
First - do you have a therapist? In fact, based on our experience, I recommend that you have two therapists, one who specializes in teen depression and a separate nutritional therapist. Again, that is one of the ways that we managed to help my kid get her ED under control, and help her develop a much more healthy relationship with food and with her body.
You’re allowed to be sad, and you’re allowed to feel hopeless sometimes.
However, you are also allowed to feel good about small things. If you got up this morning and got an hour of work done - that’s a win.
You got to your computer/ipad/tablet/phone and posted here - that’s a win.
While my experience with ED are through my kid, my experience with depression is personal and long-term.
So I can tell you from personal experience that things are going to be OK and that it gets better.
You will even get past algebra.
BTW, check out Hyperbole And A Half (she was the person who birthed “Clean All The Things!” in one of her many hilarious articles) http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/. She has written on depression too.
Use your strengths: if you love language arts, take as many classes in Humanities as possible (Language Arts, History, Foreign Language, Journalism, Current Events, Creative Writing, etc…) with the highest rigor you can handle.
So, you’re having trouble with algebra? It’s a class a lot of students have trouble with. It doesn’t sound like you dreamed of being an Engineer so it won’t even stop you from going to a 4-year college unkess you get an F and never try to retake it. If you can get to a C, see this as another way of thinking (math thinking). Are you failing or getting a C?
Since you’re depressed you may be too hard on yourself and if you have no energy the idea of doing more algebra with a tutor may discourage you a lot, both combining tomake Algebra into this huge boulder on your path.
But it’s not! It’s a hologram, not a real boulder.
If you can get a tutor to get to a C, next year take statistics (regular) or applied statistics, whatever your school calls it: it’s useful and linked to daily life.
Not only will it be okay, but you are okay as far as colleges go.
Lots of good colleges will admit a student with a C in Algebra and a C in Statistics.
If you have an idea what you’d like to study and what claszes you’re taking right now with grades, we can even suggest a bunch of colleges to explore.
And finally, CC-> flagship is another great path if you choose it.
A thread that’ll set your mind at ease: “S21, not an easy path”.
just a 16 year old here who just needs someone to tell her everything’s gonna be okay.
