One day, there was a boy who walked into my
classroom. He had missed
a frequent amount of school, and the teacher called him out for it
infront
of the class. Michael nodded, embarrassed as the class giggled,
and
walked to his seat. Furthering to embarrass him, the teacher
asked
where he had been this time. Michael humerously replied, "your
mom's
bed." The teacher got angry and told him to sit down.The
teacher continued
speaking, and Michael stood up on his chair.He asked us how
many
teachers it took to change a lightbulb. The class giggled.
"Alright, how
many depressed people does it take to change a
lightbulb?" Michael
continued. The class fell silent. "Doesn't
matter, it's always dark, isn't it?"
Michael then lifted his arm. "When you wake up and
you've got a dead arm,
can't control it, can't make it do
anything...Imagine that on your whole body.
Your mind, your whole life...Remember when I was off school?
Remember
all the jokes? What options you choosing Michael? Getting out of
bed?
Staying awake? Coming to class? Only that's when I was so
low...getting
out of bed wasn't an option for me. Even
on Facebook...changed my
status to 'still skiving'. It's funny, isn't it? It
just makes it a little harder...
sometimes it's already to hard. I mean, you lot are my
mates, right?"
Then he sat down. Everyone sat silently, even the teacher seemed
shocked.
Then another girl in my class stood up on her chair.
3 of your classmates will experience a mental health
problem.
Think twice before laughing along, mental illness is no a
joke.