A Note to Ignorant People at 5 in the Morning

Dear every person who says that a mental illness is not a valid reason for not being able to finish schoolwork or attend a "normal" school,

Say that to the boy who sleeps in every class because he's too tormented to sleep at night.

Tell that to my teacher who had to talk my friend out of suicide on a school night at 2 in the morning.

Tell that to my bio teacher who saw almost our entire class break down during a suicide prevention assembly.

Tell that to the man on the phone the morning I called the suicide hotline because she was home alone and I thought she was going down.

Tell that to my youth group leader who tells me I look so alive now in comparison to how dead I looked sophomore year.

Say that to any friend who has had to calm me down after an anxiety attack.

Say that to every friend that has ever come to me afraid that they're going to self-harm.

Tell that to the kids who have failing grades because they can’t focus, the ones who can’t make it through a school night without having an anxiety attack, the kids who sleep right when they get home and straight on until morning, the ones who have more breakdowns a day than meals a day, the ones who have spent more time staring at hospital walls than school hallways.

Tell that to the kids who cry every night.

Tell that to the teenagers in psychiatric wards and treatment centers. Tell that to the family of someone who has just committed suicide.

Tell them that school is more important than their sanity.