I have always kept in mind that mental health is really important, although some people might be uncomfortable talking about it, I feel like it is necessary because if we don’t talk about it, we could lose so many people we care about, So I decided to interview some of the teachers and a student to see their perspective and opinions on why lives matter.

First I decided to interview our SAC counselor Mrs. Acheson because her main job is to focus on student’s mental health. The first question that she was asked was “Why do you think lives matter?”

Mrs. Acheson responded by saying that she thinks that lives matter because “we are all valuable human beings and we all have something to give to the world.” Mrs. Acheson then went on to explain how she gets through her own negative thoughts.  She  said that she deals with those thoughts by “exercising, having healthy diets, listening to music and hanging out with friends.” My final question for her was “What advice would you give someone who is struggling with their own mental health or life?” Mrs. Acheson said that she would tell that person to “reach out for help but before give themselves some grace, we all go through things.”

The next person I decided to interview was Mrs. Douglas, who is the honors language arts teacher. I decided to interview her because I think that she would give profound answers as a language arts teacher. I asked her the same questions as previously. She said that “every individual is different and that everyone deserves to be loved, and respected.” Mrs. Douglas had similar answers as Mrs. Acheson for the questions since she said that to deal with her own negative thoughts she exercises, and listens to music. After those questions she moved on to the next and she answered that the advice she would give someone is that she “promises that you can get through this and you need to be strong for you because there are so many people out there that love you and need you.”

For my final person I chose Stefany Gomez, she is an 8th grade student here at WMS. I chose this specific student because she is a very kind and diligent person, she is also involved in peer leaders and mental health, etc. Since I interviewed teachers, I wanted to get a student’s perspective on this topic as well.  Stefany said that “even though you might not know a person, someone else probably does and that person might mean a lot to other people.” She also said that she does not really go through negative thoughts. The best advice she would give someone struggling is that the person should “reach out for help because there are a lot of people that can help.”

All of these answers were great in my opinion. I agree with the answers they had for the final question because I think that it is a good idea to reach out for help and to give yourself some appreciation and grace because you are already being so strong by still being here. For me lives matter because we all deserve a chance in life no matter who we are and my biggest advice for someone who is going through something rough is to keep fighting, your life is very valuable because there will always be people who need you and that even if some people insult you, or make your life miserable. They are going to be the ones who will cry the most when you’re gone because they are probably going through their own things and just handle it a lot differently so I also believe that it is important to be kind to everyone no matter what they do to you.