Real conversations with your students.
"That's a good thought, everyone has something to contribute, sometimes it's just hard to see my part when others seem to have so much more to contribute than I do, I appreciate your help, this program is a really great idea"
"I don't feel an intimate connection to anyone in my life and being in the general vicinity of people gives me extreme anxiety."
"My boyfriend broke up with me"
"Why do I feel the need to hide who I really am from my friends? I end up resenting them because they're talking to the person I pretend to be, and it feels fake because I'm fake around them"
"I’m stressed, I’m taking the ACT in 6 days"
"I like that, I think that’s a good point, thank you for your input"
"Idk, family life has gotten a little better for him, but his sisters make him feel worthless, and when his parents get after him, they yell at him so much, he feels like cutting. I always manage to make his feel better, but, I really just don't like his mom the most. She manipulates him to fo what she wants, and it just breaks him"
"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 don't really have any hobbies. I just work a lot. I work at a mexican restaurant i've climbed before but i don't do it often. I don’t really have motivation to do anything lately."
"Well thank you amazing human too! It's so awesome that you take time to talk to strangers and brighten their day through this program. Keep it up! Have a great day"
"idk. i just get sad randomly sometimes like my depression will just come and hit me out of nowhere when i'm feeling fine. and my doctor thought i might be bipolar but the psychologist said i wasn't so yeh. idk i'm just kinda weird lol"
"Sounds awesome!"
"it's all good!! just been thinking ab school & life in general. it's all stressful"
"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' you🤷🏽♀️ 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:("
"Okay so uh I've been thinking a lot about suicide recently, about how there isn't really any point to doing anything because you're just surviving to be ruled by someone else - I made a suicide poem and like know how I would do it and where and what I would dress in but I know I won't do it if that makes any sense? Idk what to feel"
"yeah he's this guy i met thru my friends family. & we almost dated but then he ghosted me & i think he's still on & off w his ex. he plays w my feelings bc i saw him yesterday for the first time in over a month & he acted like we were still talking & everything & it was weird. so i'm not sure if o should move on or keep hoping he'll choose me"
"I feel constantly disappointed about myself because I know I can do better, but I don't seem to be able to."
"Sounds good! I really appreciate you talking to me. It means a ton to me and I had a good time. Thank you. Have a good night."
"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"
"Yea I'm so relieved now, thank you!"
"Yes you too!! Thanks for helping me feel better"
"You've been so helpful"
"Bro a lot. Too much for a text i can barely speak what i need to say"
"Do you think I have depression?"
"Thank you so much. This program really is amazing!"
"Why are boys so mean 😭😭Are all boys mean 😢"
"this is actually helping me a lot😂 so thank you !"
"I have a lot of family problems. My parents are getting a divorce."
"I feel bad talking to my parents, because I know they will still love me if I let my grades drop and they'll always support me, but it does feel like to much pressure sometimes, especially since my older brother was so good when it came to grades and academic performance. And I'm not close enough with any of my teachers to share this kind of stuff with them...that's a good way to look at it, thank you.”"