I just watched an episode of Degrassi about the school’s reaction to a student’s suicide. That could have been my town, three separate times or more, for all I know. The whole school in mourning, feeling the guilt resting on their shoulders for what they didn’t do, and the crying girl: that could have been my life.

I’m honestly scared, freaked out that I will have to deal with it, that someone I hold near and dear is going to take their life, and there would be nothing I could do to change that. I’m scared that showing more suicides and cutting in an attempt to educate teens about what they shouldn’t do will only increase the amount of incidents that occur. I’m scared to get a call from my BFF only to hear the tears rolling down his face and the sobs being emitted from his mouth. I’m scared to hear that he doesn’t want to live anymore. I’m scared that parents don’t understand that their kids need help. I’m scared to wake up one day and find out that someone killed himself; that freaks me out. I’m scared that if I don’t help them out of this, I will fall into the same trap, but that if I get too involved, I’ll fall into the same trap. I’m scared to feel the guilt trapping me, whispering that I could have done more. I’m scared to walk around school knowing I’ll never see this person again, never hug them again, and never laugh with them again. I’m scared that counselors don’t seem to be helping; I’m scared that people refuse to let counselors help them. I’m scared that stress from school is turning students to be this way, that school is a primary cause of suicide. I’m scared of losing the ones I love. I’m scared because I don’t know how I can handle it; I’m scared because I don’t know what to do.

There must be a way to stop this; rather, we NEED to find a way to stop this.