Hey, I'm Sarah, and ever since middle school, I have known that I wanted to work in the mental health field. When I was eleven years old my friend told me she was suicidal and I spent years supporting her.

When we were in seventh grade, I received a call saying she had been placed in inpatient care because of an attempt. For the next few weeks, I played damage control coming up with excuses to tell our peers and teachers about why she was gone.

Looking back, this was a lot of responsibility placed on a twelve-year-old. I handled the situation as best as I could, however, I was worried about protecting my friend's reputation when I should have been focusing on supporting her.

I believe there should be open communication and better resources between schools and mental health facilities. Students shouldn't have to deal with the logistics and repercussions of a mental health crisis when they should be focusing on improving their mental health.

My experience with the shortcomings of proper mental health resources during my childhood has inspired me to be a part of the solution. I decided to be a Social Work and Sociology double major so that I can help other people with their mental health and be a trustworthy adult to guide children through difficult times.