At some point in our lives, we will experience some form of worry, panic, or stress and that’s okay! These feelings can be caused by pretty much anything, from schoolwork to family problems. You know the saying ‘Someone always has it worse than you?’ Even though this is true, and we should be grateful our problems are not as bad, we still need to remember our problems/feelings are important too. Multiple times I have been told ‘You’re too young. You don’t know what stress is.’ But just because we are young does not mean we cannot experience it. About four months ago schools opened back up, and it was a chance to catch up on things we missed and talk to friends we have not seen in months. But it was also stressful for a lot of people. Recently I have been panicking a lot in school and sometimes I don’t know what to do. Countless times I have sat there checking the time every 5 minutes thinking it’s been twenty. The first time I had to leave the class because I was starting to have a mini panic attack was horrible. It was sort of embarrassing having a teacher watching you cry and doing her best to comfort you. In school when we talk about mental health, we are taught the same thing repeatedly and in my opinion it doesn’t help. They say things as if they are a lot easier, but I have come across things like a worry box. A worry box is where you can put in a note anonymously and they would talk about it, which seems like it could help. I was out on a trip with a group having a fun time and I just started to feel nervous and had the urge to vomit. After everyone was ahead, I vomited and just broke down. The adult with me had experienced stuff like I have throughout her life and she gave me a bunch of advice to help. She told me the first conversation is always the hardest because you never know what someone’s reaction is going to be, but at some point, we just have to get on with it. It’s good to have something you like to do to get your mind off things, whether it’s a sport, drawing, writing etc. She also told me I’m not alone and as cheesy as that sounds, it’s true.