Live a TRUTH contrary to the messages you hear!

    by Sarah Reynolds

 So, one day we’ll all grow up and move on from here… right? I mean, it’s not like how we act in the here and now is going to have any major effect on what happens afterward. This place is just a stepping stone, we’re still young, and so we deserve to have as much fun as possible, and if anything isn’t fun we should just quit… right?

     Wrong.  

     This is the view that society has placed into the hearts and minds of this rising generation. My generation. We are expected to behave and think in ways that would make innocents cringe, but hey, we’re just teens right? Kids will be kids, after all.

     I’m here to tell you that’s not the case. We are worth so much more, and capable of so much more than this culture gives us credit for as young people.

      We can write, draw, sculpt, sing, research, perform science experiments, build anything from robots to bookshelves, dance to the beat of our own drums; we can move, speak, encourage, work, save, invest, learn, and form our own opinions.  But that’s not what we hear from the media.

      “Embrace your fear of commitment”

      “Live for Now”

      These are from two different ad campaigns, both angling toward the teens and 20's crowd. Just two of the thousands of advertisements we see each day.  This isn’t even going into all the ones angled at girls telling them how they need to change their bodies to look better, or the ones angled at guys telling them they need to do this or that to be successful.

      It seems like everything in this culture focuses on looking good, being powerful, making it big… and yet things that can get you there (hard work, direction, focus, good priorities) are mocked and belittled, while things that can get in the way of you going far (drugs, alcohol, careless sex, laziness) are overly glorified and quite frankly overrated. 

     We are expected to party because “kids will be kids” but what does that ever really do for us?  When was the last time someone who made something of themselves said, “I got to where I am today because of all those drunken nights in college” or “I am successful because I dated every girl in junior high”?  Can you show me even one example?

     The truth is, those things don’t fulfill us, and they never will. They aren’t what makes us strong, and they won’t create beauty or power in us. However, they will have an effect on our future, despite what the culture we live in may say.

     We live in the age of social media. People could, at any time, take a picture or video of you doing all these things and post it anywhere they’d like. They can find you years later and cause a nightmare. Words out of your mouth can go so quickly, and reach the people you’d hoped they’d never reach, before you can stop or even begin to control it.      Everything you have ever done is at your future employers fingertips should they know how to get it (and generally they do).

     So, this all makes me call into question the original assumption at the beginning of this whole thing: why is this society so insistent that things like drugs, alcohol, and partying the years away don’t matter at all?

      What truth is being hidden? If it really doesn’t matter or have a negative effect, why do we live in a society where suicide is the third leading cause of death in teens? Why are people in their 20's and 30's, who appear to have it all, still feeling empty and deeply craving something more than what they have?  

      What are we missing?

Falling off the wagon

by Cece

Falling off the wagon is something even the best of us do. It's not always something you can prevent, no matter how hard you try. 

When I lose sight of what's important, I go into what I call "the twilight zone." Everything is put on mute, and my mind seems to turn off. Everything seems to be on fast forward, and I can never remember what really happened afterward. I go into some sort of frenzy. 

But I have some tips to keep you from falling off of the wagon.

1) Find something to focus/obsesses over. You need something to do when something goes wrong instead of harming yourself.  For me, I would watch The Little Mermaid. It was the movie my mom would always put on when I was sad.

2) Call someone. You need someone to talk you down from the ledge, so I would suggested a good friend. Someone you can trust.

3) Think of your family. When you are about to do something rash, think of your parents and/or siblings. What would they say/do if they found you harming yourself, how would they feel.

4) Take some time to calm down. If I was about to harm myself, I would pace and take some deep breaths. Then I would put on some upbeat music and take a shower. This gives you some time to think about what you were about to do and realize how stupid it was.

5)  Watch TV or listen to music. Sitting down and focusing on whatever you are watching/listening to will distract you and give you some time to sort everything out.

6)  Think about what would happen if you ended up dying. Think about the grief you would put your family and friends through. Think about everything you will miss if you ended your life.

 

I hope these tips help you from doing something stupid. You are worth more than you will ever realize and GOD has an amazing plan for your future. You don't want to miss out what he has in store for you. You may not think people will care, but in truth, they absolutely will.

         

Viewing my body as God's temple

by Payson

In my life, I've always been the "messed up" friend. The friend who cut herself. The friend who starved herself. The friend who attempted suicide. I've never really known what it was like until just recently.

A very close friend of mine threatened to kill herself a few months back. I raced to her house to find her on the floor, blade in hand, ready to slice open her skin. Luckily, I made it in time, and she didn't go through with it. But let me tell you, that really opened my eyes. 

I had never realized what I put my friends through. I never realized how much pain that they went through for something that I did. I didn't know that it hurt THAT much. But it did. I sat in my friend's house and cried for hours, blaming myself for what she did. "Why didn't I notice it? I know all the signs. I should have been paying her more attention." These thoughts raced through my head, and it made me feel terrible for putting my best friends through this same thing. It will make me think twice when a thought like that ever crosses my mind again.

Also, very recently I found out that a very close friend of mine self harms. I've never been on this end of cutting before. When the text came saying, "Yes, I do," my heart dropped. How could someone so beautiful and so amazing do that to herself. I sat there and looked at the text for a good 10 minutes before responding. I didn't know what to say. I've never been in that situation before. 

I'm sure this is what my friends and family felt when I told them for the first time. Maybe you have felt this way. The best thing for you to do is to encourage them to tell their parents. Then to get professional help. But trust me, I know from experience that won't go over very well. Just be a friend to them. Remind them that you are ALWAYS there for them and that God is there, too. That's what got me through some of my bad days. 1 Corinthians 6:19 talks about your body being God's temple. God gave you that body. He doesn't want you harming it.

It's weird being on this end for once. But God put me through everything that I went through exactly for this reason. So that I can help people who are going though this. It has given me so much knowledge about these things. I have experience that helps me encourage others into recovery. Sometimes I regret going through what I did. But most times I couldn't be more grateful to God. He always knows exactly what He's doing. :)

Why?

by Cece

When I was a little girl I was always asking why. It was one of my favorite words. And even now, as a teenager, I still like to wonder why. But this time, there is no innocence to the seemingly harmless question. There is a darkness to it. 

In the seventh grade, I went through a depression stage. I felt like nobody was on my side. I decided to try cutting myself. I mean, people were talking about how it would relieve them from pain, so I thought, ‘Why not.’ I got home and tried it. I started bleeding a lot, and I couldn’t stop crying. I thought I had hit something important. I got up and wrapped my arm up tightly, then went to clean up the mess. I made a vow to never cut myself again. It hurt, and it only made me feel worse.

Fast forward to a few months later. My boyfriend dumped for a girl who hated me, my best friend was spreading rumors about me, and on top of all of that, I was getting notes in my locker telling me I was ugly, useless, and stupid. One note told me to kill myself, that it would make everyone’s life easier. 

So that is what I did, or at least tried to do. But I was too scared, so at the very last second, I chickened out.

From that point on, I felt like nothing. I hated myself and everyone around me. I forgot that I had a mother, father, and two brothers who loved me. All I could do was ask myself, 'Why?' Why would God do this too me? Why would He put me through pain, make me suffer and hate myself? I thought if He really loved me, like everyone says He does, then He wouldn’t make anyone go through that. 

Then I realized something. I was being selfish.

God allows me and others to endure pain and misery to be an example. I could help and reach out to young girls who hate themselves just as much as I hated myself. I could prove to them that life really DOES get better, that all they have to do is forget about everyone else and picture what God would say if He saw you cutting yourself, puking up your lunch, or about to take the life He gave you. 

How do you think he would feel? Happy? Giddy? Excited? 

He doesn’t want you to be unhappy, it breaks His heart. God loves you more than your own parents love you. He wants you to trust in Him with all your feelings and regrets. He is just waiting for the moment when you are finally ready to share.

Editor's note: If you feel you might be at risk for self harm or suicide, please talk to someone. Tell your parents, your youth minister or sponsor, a trusted friend or neighbor, or a counselor. It's important to acknowledge your emotions and reach out for help. There are so many people who love you and are willing to help if you let them!