I’ve always been told that I wasn't enough. From being unable to grab as many opportunities as my peers, to being treated differently by those around me; double standards have been a significant issue for me and many others.

For a good chunk of my life, I've been completely unaware of how popular it is within our culture to judge others simply because of their identity. This toxic mindset is completely rooted in negative patriarchal stereotypes that disproportionately affect individuals who belong to minority groups. People have subconsciously been convinced to believe in lies out of a lack of exposure to different mindsets, which later manifests itself in their actions. But how do preconceived notions lead to double standards?

All my life I've always highly gravitated towards being my best and most truthful, authentic self. This means that I tend to be in scenarios where I easily stick out like a black sheep in a herd of sheep that are otherwise as white as snow. I came to the United States in the fourth grade, and not speaking English the “American” way, I easily got picked on. People saw me as inferior for having two last names, and for looking a little bit different than them. For one instance, in my first year in an American school, I was paired up with a native English speaker for a project. I worked my butt off to show everyone in my class who I truly am, and I thought that if I worked hard enough, I would’ve received the fruits of my labor, but boy was I wrong. On the day of the presentation, 10-year-old me was not prepared to receive the most heartbreaking news he’d ever had to hear. My teacher told me straight to my face that she didn't believe that I was capable of presenting, and she firmly advised my partner to present the project. She said, “Your partner is more capable of presenting than you.” Those words were engraved into my brain. Ever since that day, I learned the harsh truth about the mentality of many. It didn't matter how hard I studied or how much input I had into that project; I was never going to be perceived as capable to the same degree as my partner... Even though I had to step in multiple times in the presentation because my partner was unprepared (since he did not actually partake in the whole process of working on the project that I had to do all by myself), I was still the student considered to be unqualified to represent myself in an academic environment. After that, I have found myself being put in scenarios where others hear my accent or see my appearance before ever seeing my accomplishments.

A greater portion of people don't realize the severity of this issue plaguing mankind, especially because they have been conditioned to believe that racism, sexism, and all of the other “isms” have been eradicated. Monumental events like Women's Suffrage and the Civil Rights Movement have unfortunately not made bigotry as a whole become extinct; preconceived notions have not fallen into an eternal slumber to be forgotten over time. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect fairytale world, where the ghouls and the goblins meet their demise after spending their whole lives plotting against everything exuding love and peace. Yes, those events have achieved so much, and I do not want to overshadow all the strides and accomplishments these historical events have made to propel oppressed communities into a better world, but it would be a lie to say that issues like xenophobia or misogyny have completely ended.

Fall is an exciting time for many students, as there are so many sports going on! Between football, volleyball, soccer and cross country, it really cannot get any better! 

Varsity Football had their first game against Ballston Spa on September 8, which was the first loss of the season for them. This year, the football team is very young with their starting quarterback, Louis Tirado, only a sophomore! Either way, the football team consists of a solid group of students who are putting in the work daily

Both Girls and Boys Soccer have had their ups and downs, but they are sticking up and continuing to play with grit. The girls and boys have had a good amount of wins, losses, and ties. Truly, the soccer games are great to watch. 

Girls Volleyball kicked off, and the team has won a fair amount of games so far. The girls volleyball coach is impressed with the overall improvement and increased amount of participation. 

Lastly, we cannot forget about Cross Country! The team put in their summer miles in order to prepare for the season, and the coaches are impressed with what the team has accomplished so far being very early in the season. The first invitational in Voorheesville on September 9th was a great opportunity for the team to get back into racing, and both the boys and girls placed well. 

Participating in sports is a perfect way to get involved in the Amsterdam community, so don’t be afraid to join a team! Also, go out and support your friends at games and meets!!!

Getting proper rest is something overlooked by many people, especially high school and college athletes. The pressure to constantly perform at a high level while also maintaining good grades, a social network, and a relationship at home with families is stressful. It is too easy to overwork your body and mind, which just results in burnout, injury, and anxiety. This article is not meant to tell you everything you may be doing wrong, but to give you a reminder to allow yourself to rest! Rest is so important for the body because it is the only time muscles can properly recover and glycogen stores can be replenished. If rest is not applied, then muscle soreness and pain will no doubt increase. Downtime also gives your mind a chance to refocus, which helps to bring back motivation. Don’t be afraid to embrace interests other than sports to keep a balanced lifestyle. Sometimes, it can be challenging to give yourself a break because you are used to constantly being on the go. Seriously, taking a break to rest and have time for yourself reaps so many more benefits than overpursuing different things in your life. Make sure to get that eight to ten hours of sleep, eat a balanced diet, and train hard. More importantly, take time for yourself and remember to enjoy the life you are living! 

I saw a photo a while back of an elderly man standing on a cliffside. The story behind it is as follows: In 2010 there was a man named Don Richie who lived on a cliffside in Australia; he was 58 years old, and in that time, he stopped 160 people from committing suicide by inviting them in for tea with him and his wife and talking to them. 

This article isn’t really a fluff piece, so if you aren’t in the mood for something deep, feel free to stop. This month, or at least the month this article is being written in, is September. September, if you look, is set aside as suicide prevention month. 

I have a depressive disorder, along with the other 3.2 percent of American teens (https://visionsteen.com/), and that’s not accounting for the ones who don’t get a diagnosis. This amount may not seem like a lot but that is a whopping 1.9 million people, and that is a lot of kids at risk.

At risk for what?

If you asked that question, please refer to the first section of this article. 

Now this may not apply to you. These statistics, if you chose to read that far, might just be words and numbers on a sheet. Well, so is an obituary. 

What I’m getting at exactly is you have no idea who around you is struggling. You might not even realize that you yourself are struggling. Now, though, more than ever before, there are resources available. There are ways to survive it. Depression is a disease. It’s quite literally an illness, an illness that many people suffer from, and it deserves recognition and treatment just like other illnesses, like cancer, or diabetes.

This article is dedicated to you. It is dedicated to me. It is dedicated to everyone who didn’t find peace on earth, and to everyone who received a call they didn’t want to. This article is for all of us, because even if it doesn’t apply directly to you, it may apply to the person next to you. 

Continuing with this theme, I had the honor of interviewing someone who was willing to share their story as well. I wanted to interview this person because they’re someone with a particularly vibrant nature and someone I’ve known for a long time, without ever really seeing their struggle. No one did, because people in these circumstances, suffering silently with depression, carry on with life just as everyone else, only they are carrying around with them an invisible, 100 pound backpack that prevents them from truly opening themselves to the world. For the sake of being respectful, their name and pronouns shall remain private, but the bits I will share of their interview are true. 

‘How old were you when you first felt like you had hit a low?’

“I was probably about age 7 or maybe even 6,” they said. This is when it clicked that their home life wasn’t as supportive or kind as it needed to be, especially for a kid that age. This was also around the age when they first felt as though, if they weren’t here, even their own parents wouldn’t miss them. 

‘Did you feel like there were…people for you to talk to..?

This is when they proceeded to describe the safety of their grandparents’ place. How the grandparents raised them until about preschool, and even when they weren’t with their grandparents, they wanted to be because “their house was my haven”.

‘If you could say something to your younger self, what would it be?’

“Now I would probably just tell my younger self that it does get better. And finally, at 17, it finally has. I used to think I was ‘sick’ when I was little and that what I was feeling was something only I did and so I always hid it from everyone.”

This is where I want to stop quickly and point this quote out. It’s a very brave thing to admit this: the feeling that only you are feeling it; describing that sort of loneliness. It’s as devastating as it is magnificent to be able to get to this point where you can say you survived this feeling, because, unfortunately, this feeling alone is usually the thing that destroys people. It draws the line between whether they give up, or not.

‘What’s keeping you going now?’

“What always keeps and kept me going are and forever will be my friends.” They shared with me that watching their friends and their younger sibling smiling and laughing, making memories, “gives life meaning.”

‘How has that experience impacted your life and your relationships with others?’

‘Even though I do think my parents and early childhood traumas have affected a lot of my mental health today, I don’t ever blame them for it. I used to resent them, but now seeing it… they never meant to hurt me. After getting older I’ve come to see that they also have mental health issues, and unfortunately that has affected me, but in no way, shape, or form do I think they meant to pass that on…I will say though that it made me appreciate people more though just for the simple fact that I went though incredibly hard times, sometimes with no trigger, and it makes me really think about those who are going through the same and just don’t speak upon it either.”

This answer also stuck out to me, not only because of the amount of maturity it takes to not place that blame on others (even though no one would blame you if you did) but also because of the obvious change in perspective from someone who’s suffered so much. I sincerely appreciate this person for allowing me to use their perspective to hopefully help someone else’s struggle feel, if nothing else, less lonely. Because we truly aren’t alone, at any age, in a battle with our mental health. This leads me to my next interview with Mrs. Blowers, our current school psychologist. Blowers is the school psychologist at AHS to whom I spoke trying to find a perspective on what depression in people looks like from a professional standpoint. 

Among my many questions, I was given brilliant insight that I want to share with you, to help you or help you help someone else: “My go-to would always be 988 [a national suicide prevention hotline]” she says. 

“I don’t know, maybe there isn’t much of a difference between adolescents and adults when it comes to mental health,” Blowers shared during our interview. “We [the staff] wanna make students more aware that it’s real and it’s okay and we are here, but I don’t know that that same message is given to staff.”

That is important, especially for the adults reading this. The previous statistic is only for kids aged 3-18, and that barely makes a dent in the nation’s population. If you account for everyone aged 18 and up, about 18.5% of the population suffers from mental health disorders. Adults ranging in age from 18-24 revealed (in surveys alone) that 21.5% of them had a depressive disorder. Of the adults surveyed ages 65 and up, 14.2% had a depressive disorder. (https://www.cdc.gov/)

One thing I became keen on in my time spent with Mrs. Blowers is the impact that families can have on their kids. A negative home life can have major repercussions for a struggling child.  

'Do you find that parents are often the cause of their kid’s grief?'

“I feel like they can often escalate the cause of a student's grief, or struggles, or issues if they’re closed off and don’t put effort into their child…they can definitely contribute and make situations worse…” Blowers said to me, she was very passionate about this topic, really beginning to emphasize the importance of having empathy for one another. She emphasized the importance of parents being there for their child.

“I wish I could make people more compassionate, understanding, and kind” she mentioned. 

“How do you help the parents understand? How do you teach the parents warning signs? I think sometimes it’s just dismissed because they're adolescents…I don’t like that because I know that what teens are going through is real to them.” Every saying made my heart soften a little bit more at her obvious care for this topic. Blowers worked previously at an elementary school, which I think is also devastating considering that there is a need for school psychologists to be present every day in schools where the kids are barely old enough to read chapter books. 

'There are stigmas around coming to somebody about mental health…do you find that could possibly prevent students from wanting to come to you?'

“Absolutely, because that is a real concern. Mental health awareness is needed and I think it’s valuable for people to have compassion and understanding around that, and not everybody does, and that's sad.” 

She focuses a lot on the fact that so many people in the world lack empathy; they lack the education and the awareness that people can go through struggles differently. She makes a wonderful point by saying that taking care of yourself is also self-care. Taking care of your mental health, seeing a therapist, or talking out your issues is just as valid as working out and eating healthily, and that’s the dangerous distinction that people often forget.

“I think mental health is something everyone will struggle with at some point in their life.'' She explained, “There are so many risk factors, there’re so many things that can bring struggles out: grief, loss, loss of a family member or a friend, tragic loss, a breakup, someone not being able to express one's authentic self.”

Understanding the validity of everyone's different circumstances is the first step that everyone needs to take. Again, these feelings and this situation may not apply to you, but *fun fact* you are not the only person on the face of the earth. Now that means that there is always someone in a similar situation as you. How that fact affects you is up to you, but my point still stands.

The bottom line I’m trying to get to, the point of this whole article, is to emphasize the fact that we are slowly moving towards an empathy-less world. Think about it, when was the last time you helped someone or just decided to be kind for no reason? Empathy doesn’t have to apply to giving. Stop and look inward. Have you been kind to yourself? Do you give yourself what you need to get by? There are people at risk every day, and you have no idea who else is in that situation with you. At school we have resources. Blowers work with a group of kind individuals who are there to support everyone, adults, and kids, and as for the students, to the one who helped me with this piece, to whom I am ever so grateful for and appreciative of, you’ve made a bigger impact than you think, and for the rest, we are not alone in the world, we have each other, we have ourselves, we live in a macrocosm of complex situations and limitless ideas. You are not alone. You are never alone, and trust me, you’ll never be alone.