Teenagers. What do you think when I say that word? Years gone by? Maybe your first love? What about mental disorders? Maybe not, but for some, those thoughts together are a reality. I wanted to bring up this topic because this is my passion. It's my passion to bring to light the underlying works of today's youth. How they are becoming more broken and damaged as time marches on and no one is doing anything about it. Often times, moody teenagers are dismissed, and my passion is to bring that to an end by speaking for those who cannot do so themselves.

According to findyouthinfo.gov 49.2% of adolescents meet the criteria for a mental disorder and 42% reach the criteria for two. That is half of the adolescent population that meets the criteria for being diagnosed with a mental disorder. Although this data was collected, it doesn't necessarily mean that those teenagers are receiving the help that they need. This percentage is a giant number in the youth population, and it bothers me that there isn't much being done on the matter.

I was part of that percentage once. I had fallen under the mental disorder of depression that included self harm. For over a year, I was subjected to the pain that I had caused myself. In return, I lost entire relationships like a little kid loses his train of thought, and lost entire faith in myself. Over time, although a struggle, I had reached out and gotten help because I was tired of being, in a sense, numb to the world around me. Although still in the process of recovery, I had faced my inner demons, but it was hard.

Society, if you haven't noticed, is two faced. On one hand, everyone is looking out for one another. All the stories of teenagers killing themselves due to bullying. And now, states are putting in laws to prevent that. And it's good, it's action, it's effort, to save lives. But that's only one example. On the other hand, society doesn't care.

We are stuck in our old ways.

We are dismissive of the fact that there are people in pain.

We are dismissive to the people that scream for help.

And because of that, one face says we will help, and the other isn't afraid to look you in the eyes and say that we do not care. Instead of dismissing teenagers, we need to stop the world for a moment and have a conversation that is filled to the brim with meaning.

Because of my experience with a mental disorder, I wanted to reach out to others in a similar situation. I want to change society and make a change. Change leads to faith. Faith leads to happiness. And happiness leads to a restoration of hope in a soul that was ones lost. Saving these teens will impact the nation, even the world in the future. By saving these lives, we give hope to those in the dark who have no faith in being rescued.

I want to be that beacon of light for those who are lost.

I want to step in and be the person that I never had.

I want to make that difference.

Few realize that there are places to go in to get help for something like this. There are hotlines for teens to call, but they need to be made known. There are insurances to make getting help affordable. There are programs like Project LAUNCH that work in helping teens from substance abuse problems to mental health problems alike. Taking part in this and advertising that there is help will save the youth of today.

We need to instill the strength so nothing can disturb an adolescents peace of mind.

We need to be spreading the word to everyone we meet.

We need to care about each other at all times.

We need to be optimists, and be bright, because one person joyous will make another person feel the same.

We need to be to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

If we spread this word, it will make a difference. It will save lives. And even the littlest difference is a difference nonetheless.