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Transcription
The speaker reflects on how COVID-19 has affected their mental health and the mental health of teenagers. They describe feeling isolated and experiencing a decline in their mental well-being during quarantine and online school. They found inspiration from influencers and self-help books, which helped them shift their mindset and improve their mental health. The speaker wants to write a self-help book for young adults and teens, drawing from their own experiences and research on psychology. They emphasize the importance of advocating for mental health, noting the increase in suicide rates during the pandemic. They hope to help others through their words and advice, even if they are unable to write a book. An undeniable fact is that COVID-19 affected our world in many ways. We tend to focus on the physical aspects, but when I think about COVID-19, I always focus on the mental effect it had on me and teens my age. Having to face quarantine and online school, being isolated changed the daily routines we were all so used to. Our mindsets have changed, and we were forced to navigate these hardships during one of the most crucial points of change in our lives. Growing up, I was always a very happy girl. My life was always so simple, and nothing ever got me down. You know, back when everything was easy? That consistency took a turn for the worse in November 2020. In the depths of online school and being quarantined from my friends, I noticed my mental health rapidly declining. Since I wasn't allowed to leave my house, I would spend all day in my bed and only get up for the bare necessities. I would sleep all day and struggle with my eating because I never wanted to get up. One day I woke up and realized that this was not a healthy way to live, and I needed to make a change. I started doing some research and found a couple of influencers who have good messages and values. These women had some of the same struggles as me and offered advice on how to pull yourself out of a bad space. I listened to their podcasts and watched their videos, and my mindset started to shift. They all recommended reading self-help books to inspire and empower yourself and improve how you view the world. I went on Amazon and purchased the books You Are a Badass and Atomic Habits. I was ready to start my journey back to good mental health. When I received these books and started reading, I did find them to be inspiring, but they focused on a lot of topics that I couldn't relate to. Since I was only 15, I obviously couldn't relate to the chapters of the books that focused on marriage or a 9-to-5 job. I still learned a lot about self-improvement methods from these books and other sources, and I was able to be happy again and find myself. As the quarantine lifted and I could see my friends again, I put these new habits into practice and was almost completely back to the happy girl I knew I was. I am lucky that I am a very self-aware and determined person, so it wasn't too hard to change my mindset and be healthy again. Through this experience, I found one of my biggest passions in life. I want to write a self-help book targeted towards young adults or teens to help them get through the hardships society faces us with. It started as just an idea in my head, but since I've grown and matured, it is something that doesn't seem too far out of reach. Since 2020, I have loved doing research on the psychology of men and women and why we think the way we do. I am always looking for new ways to make myself a better person and believe I have great insight and advice that could help out a lot of people. Being a journalism major, I hope to learn the skills and composure of how to go about this. I know many people struggle with mental health and it's something we constantly have to advocate for. COVID-19 seemed to have a positive correlation with suicide rates. This means as COVID-19 took off, suicide rates increased rapidly. This shows the massive effect this pandemic did have on the mental state of people. Even though most people have put the time of COVID in the past, it still has long-lasting effects on everyone. They might just not know it. Even if I am not able to write an actual book, I hope to be able to help others through the words and advice I can offer. I want to help my peers and people like me with the hope that we can find some recovery from everything we were put through. Mental health will always matter and it is important to take care of yourself.
