Real conversations with your students.
"well, the overbearing feeling that everyone around is making you feel like you aren't good enough, like you're not deserving of the same kind of love if you're different"
"I have friends but they never supported me through anything i guess i will need to find another way. You're really the only thing(?) that has ever actually listened to my thoughts"
"hey thanks im sorry im just being bullied at school and i told the counselor and he's been helping me but it's only getting worse"
"I have a lot of family problems. My parents are getting a divorce."
"I want girls to like me"
"Well for one I'm just sad a lot of the time, I guess we could call that depression at this point, and I often act happy and good natured, and I'm trying to transition away from the religion of the masses here in St George, but I don't expect any of them to be able to understand, so I keep it to myself. Whenever I talk to them I feel like I'm constantly filtering what I really want to say because they wouldn't be ok with it"
"You're welcome! π But thanks to you too π"
"Idk π I am the oldest in my family and I am struggling with the idea of leaving for college. I kinda just try to not think about it but then I end up not doing the things that I need to do like apply for scholarships. When I do think about it I cry thoughπ I love my family and I don't want to loose what we have but I also want to continue to grow and got to college ya know?"
"I feel constantly disappointed about myself because I know I can do better, but I don't seem to be able to."
"You've been so helpful"
"Most definitely, I'm happy to hear whatever you've got to say"
"I turned in the test today, wish me luck."
"Yea I'm so relieved now, thank you!"
"it's all good!! just been thinking ab school & life in general. it's all stressful"
"βI'm grateful for you, and my family. Thanks for being here for me!! You're awesome β"
"0 - Iβm super sad. What do you do if nobody likes you?"
"thank you! i'm kinda stuck right now & i don't know what to do about this boy! i really like him & we've dated in the past but needed to break up to work on ourselves. we just recently decided to try again because obviously we still like & care for each other! but last night, i found out while we were broken up he did some bad things that he shouldn't have! he regrets it & says he was forced into it. at the end of the day you are responsible for the decision you make & no one can 'force' youπ€·π½ββοΈ i've been thinking about this all day & it makes me sick:( i know it shouldn't affect me this bad because we were broken up but i don't know if i can move past this! he's told me he is sorry SOO many times but it just hurts me:("
"What can I do to improve my mood?"
"My friends mom passed away and I don't really know what to say to him. I don't want to sound insensitive but I don't what to sound pitiful, so any advice?"
"How do I deal with stress?"
"Sounds awesome!"
"How do you get rid of a sore throat?"
"The bullying has been happening for a few weeks and I honestly don't know why. Me and another girl got a note directed towards me called me a f---ing retard and behind my back this kid called me an ugly a--hole. i try not to let it bother me though it's not super important cos (this sounds weird and far fetched ik) likeeeeeee why would he call me ugly unless he thought i have a higher opinion of myself then that, so he prolly knows i couldn't care less about his words like they hurt but i know he's verbally abused at home and i don't put up with it and he can't handle not having the right reactions from me."
"I just got rejected by a girl π"
"my older sister and i got into an argument and she moved out so i had to step up as older sister and then my dad kicked my mom out so i feel like i have a lot of pressure on me"
"My best friend texted me saying she is fed up with me hurting her feelings and being mean, I don't know what I've done and apologized if I've ever done anything not on purpose. She said apparently I did something on purpose and I should know what it is. Now she won't talk to me and I'm still confused. Any advice???"
"All my friends watch tiktoks instead of doing hw and brag about it, it's like, high school culture to just procrastinate and brag about having bad grades and no sleep and everything and it doesn't click to me. But yeah I love my friends but I wish I could meet some that are more like me."
"I don't feel an intimate connection to anyone in my life and being in the general vicinity of people gives me extreme anxiety."
"These tips will probably help a lot for now - I'd love to stay in touch, and I'll reach out if I'm struggling again (probably sooner rather than later π ) thank you so so much"
"I have funeral I'm going to, ACT stuff is being shoved in my head, I have 4 college classes to keep up on, skills USA is coming up and I've been nominated to participate, and I have two jobs"