*A pseudonym will be used to protect a students identity.

     Depression is a mood disorder where a person experiences symptoms of a depressed mood, sadness and loss of interest in daily activities to the point where it affects their normal function such as their appetite, energy levels, concentration levels and sleep. 

    Each person who suffers from depression suffers differently. Everyone experiences symptoms unique to them. Some may have cases of depression whereas some may have severe cases. 

    Sasha Orlando* shared her story and experience with depression.

    “I would say my experience with depression consists of a lot of ups and downs, sometimes my depression is more prominent than other issues I have in my life like my anxiety,” Orlando stated. 

    Depression can take over someone’s entire life. It can severely affect how someone treats others and how they perform in school. A person’s actions are greatly affected by how they feel. 

    “I would say the hardest part of having depression is not realizing that’s what’s currently going on even though I’ve been dealing with depression since I was seven when my dad passed away. It’s still really hard for me to identify when I am depressed,” Orlando explained. 

    Depression can cause moments of haze where someone is not completely aware of the things going on around them or it can cause a person to not care about the things happening around them.

    “It’s so different for other people so it’s really hard to put that into words. I feel like for me personally, prescription medications have never worked for me. I’ve tried so many for years increased and decreased the dosages for so many different things and that has never been something that has helped it always made things worse. It has made me feel like I have no emotions, and I’m a very emotional person, so that’s not normal for me no matter if I’m depressed or not,” Orlando said. 

     Depression can also bring a sense of comfort. For some people, it can be extremely hard to recover because they find comfort in their sadness. Depression can also be something that someone works so hard to get away from but can not. Depression is a very difficult illness to overcome to the point in which some do not overcome it and end up succumbing the their depression.

    “My recovery process might have looked different for other people, and I wouldn’t even say recovery because I still deal with depression every day of my life. It’s not something that goes away. It may get easier, but the thing that helps me the most is being with my mom or being outside.”

    As Orlando explained how her recovery process might look different than other people’s. Everyone’s recovery and depression experience is going to be unique to them. Everybody’s brain is wired differently.

    Orlando talked about how her depression has changed over time. As a person grows their depression and how it affects their daily life and the symptoms it causes changes, too. 

    “I feel like when I was depressed before maybe in the past year and previously I had a really hard time talking to people about it. I didn’t know how to talk about my feelings or why I was feeling this way. I feel like now when I’m depressed, I want to talk about it.  I want somebody to be there for me, but I mean it’s still really hard when you can’t recognize that’s what the issue is,” Orlando stated.

    Orlando’s experience may look similar or very different to others. Orlando’s story might be one some can relate to. Depression can become a very serious illness if not treated. Orlando talked about what did and did not work for her and how similar things may or may not work for someone else. It is all about finding what works just right for a specific person. 

    Recovery is not easy, but it is possible. “Recovery is long and it’s not easy to go through, but it can be done,” Orlando said.

Currently, the high school, along with most other schools operate on a five day week: school from Monday-Friday, then a break on Saturday and Sunday. However, many have come to question the efficiency of this system. It is possible a four day week may be more beneficial for students and teachers.

Switching to a four day school week could reap numerous benefits. The National Conference of State Legislatures said, “with a longer weekend, students have more time to rest and engage in extracurricular activities, which can lead to better attendance during the week. This, in turn, can lead to improved academic performance.”

While a five day week does give teachers more time to teach their lessons, it may be overwhelming for students, especially those who are very involved.

“I feel like [a five day school week] is definitely a downside for those who have a really hard schedule because they can get burnt out easily,” Senior Daniella Vasquez explained. “Most students will get burnt out easily and like can affect their mental health in a negative way.”

Students with vigorous schedules and students involved in extracurriculars commonly feel spread thin with the five day school week. When accounting for academics, extracurricular activities, work and free time, the five day school week does not seem to provide students with the time they need.

Freshman Keira Sayre shared what she thinks of the current five day school week: “I feel like some of the benefits are that it gives teachers more time to teach us,” Sayre then continued sharing downsides, “But I feel like some of the downsides are it can over-stress students and we don’t have a lot of time to do our own things or do our own activities.”

A four day school week would provide students with more rest, leading to better performance during the school week.

Senior Allie Bloom stated, “I think [a four day school week] would definitely be beneficial so that people can get more sleep and be more productive on the days that they are in school.”

According to Healthline, research shows 73 percent of high school students regularly do not get a healthy amount of sleep. A lack of sleep leads to decreased academic performance.

Vasquez shared how she thinks students’ attitudes could change if switched to a four day work week. “I think it could definitely help improve mental health because kids would get more time to themselves
and, if you’re burnt out you can have more time to rest.”

Vasquez also introduces a teacher perspective, saying it will give [teachers] more time to plan out better work.

“The four day week could be beneficial to everyone, from students who say they are stressed and overwhelmed to teachers who could appreciate the extra time for lesson planning,” Vasquez explained.

There are many benefits to a four day school week, and many students would prefer it to a five day school week.

Sayre said, “I would personally like to switch to a four day week. I feel like it would be so much easier, especially because of a lot of homework being in honors classes, and I don’t have that much time because of activities after school, so it gives me a lot less time to do my work and it just leaves me stressed out.”

A four day week could exponentially decrease stress of students and increase academic performance.

     In this month-long celebration, LGBTQ+ History Month serves as both a mirror reflecting the past and a beacon guiding the future. 

     Senior Jules Leffel-Elliott gave their opinion as a pansexual and genderfluid individual. They stated that this month is important to them for various reasons, 

     “It’s a month where representation and history is able to be shown off so that it can give [the LGBTQ+ community] a chance to express themselves to society,” Leffel-Elliott explained.

     Being a part of such a community can change your views about basic life choices. 

      “It makes me realize that society is not accepting of a lot of different people and how that impacts a person when they don’t feel accepted, loved, represented, or anything like that,” Leffel-Elliott said. 

     Leffel-Elliott spoke on their opinion of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. There are more options when it comes to this type of media than in earlier years.

     “I think the representation is getting much better, considering that you can see that pretty much anywhere now, which a lot of people hate, but the representation you see makes a lot of people more open and comfortable in their own skin,” Leffel-Elliott explained. 

     Their experiences demonstrate one of many in the community. Every person’s story is different but the LGBTQ+ community is always there to support each other. 

     There is still an ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights, but this month celebrates the victories and progress made along the way. Through education, awareness and empathy, a more inclusive world for all can be built. 

    One of the first events starting the LGBTQ+ rights movement began in the early 1960s; although, the existence of the community was long before this. The human rights center was founded in 1924 by Henry Gerber in Chicago, Illinois, CNN stated. This began as a starting point for activists to have a safe space within their city. 

     Later, in 1950, The Mattachine Society was formed by Harry Hay and was one of the first gay rights groups founded in the United States. Gay rights became targeted starting in the 1950s. 

     On April 27, 1953 the President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order which banned homosexuals from working in the federal government by claiming them a security risk. The 1950s began attacking homosexuals. With behaviors similar to today, it is evident that in over 50 years, people’s opinions have not changed. 

     With the start of the 1960s, Illinois became the first state to decriminalize homosexuality, to which they repealed their sodomy laws. CNN claims that the police raid on June 28, 1969 was the start of what was known as the gay civil rights movement. 

     Police raids began in Stonewall Inn which resided in New York City. Marches and protests were commonly seen within the movement, some peaceful, some having to retaliate from police brutality. 

     Every year the anniversary of the Stonewall riots is recognized with a march by LGBTQ+ community members in New York City. The event has been renamed as the ‘Christopher Street Liberation Day’ and is considered the first ever gay pride parade. 

     With states beginning to lift the bans on same-sex marriage, the first being on January in 1973 by Maryland, the United States is seeing big strides in the movement. 

     Being able to remember and recognize this history is important. 

     “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it,” George Santayana said. Without recognizing the history that follows the LGBTQ+ community, it just sets the community back. 

     One of the first federal gay rights bills introduced was on January 14, 1975. This bill addressed discrimination based on sexual orientation, which later went to the Judiciary Committee but was never brought up for consideration. In the later years Wisconsin became the first state to follow-up with this law by outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation in 1982. 

     Stonewall National Monument was the first national monument to be constructed for the LGBTQ+ community, it was proposed in June of 2016. It was placed in and around Christopher Park and the Stonewall Inn and the surrounding streets and sidewalks that were the sites of the 1969 riot. 

     President Barack Obama was the first president to publicly and openly support the freedom to LGBTQ+ couples to marry in 2011, stated ABC News. Obama helped the community gain many advantages.

    A few holidays that came with this, listed by the College of DuPage, was the recognition of the first National Coming Out Day which is observed on October 11. International Transgender Day of Visibility is on March 31 and was first recognized originally in 2009. This holiday was first created by Rachel Crandall in 2009 as a reaction to the lack of LGBTQ+ holidays celebrating transgender people. 

     On April 17 a Day of Silence is recognized as a protest to the bullying and harassment of the community. Students can take a day-long vow of silence to represent the silencing of LGBTQ+ students and their allies. 

     Additionally, there are specific holidays to recognize those who are a part of the community. Lesbian Visibility Day is April 26, Bisexual Day is on September 23, Asexuality Awareness week is held in October or November, and Intersex Awareness Day is on October 26. Being aware of these awareness days allows all kinds of people to feel welcome to their communities and feel accepted into society. 

     Within the month of October, people can recognize the important LGBTQ+ figures in history. 

     Marsha P. Johnson is considered one of the most powerful leaders in the community. She was a drag performer and a transgender individual. Johnson played a major part in helping lead the 1969 Stonewall Riots. 

     Another important figure in the Stonewall Riots was Sylvia Rivera. She was credited with being the first to fight back and had been a part of many of the marginalized groups the riots were fighting for. 

     One of the first openly gay athletes was Billie Jean King, the Insider wrote. She was a professional tennis player, after she was outed in 1981. Even now, the first openly gay hockey player affiliated with the NHL came out in 2020. 

     Luke Prokop is contracted with the Nashville Predators but currently plays in the AHL (American Hockey League), which is the minor league team associated with professional teams. He might be soon promoted into the NHL team which would make history for the community. 

     Gilbert Baker was the creator of the pride flag. In 1978 he was asked by a friend to make a symbol that would represent gay pride, so Bakery sewed together a rainbow flag to which he said each color on the flag represents a part that was important to the community. 

     This flag was first shown on June 25, 1978, for Gay Pride Day in San Francisco. The friend of Baker’s that suggested he make the flag was none other than Harvey Milk. Milk was one of the first few openly gay politicians to be elected in California. He was on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors and became an outspoken LGBTQ+ activist and was assassinated in 1978 in City Hall over his beliefs. 

     Although there are a lot of positive reasons these figures should be remembered, there are many who have died due to their existence alone. 

     Brianna Ghey was a 16-year-old transgender girl from Cheshire, England. She was stabbed to death, in the open, in Culcheth Linear Park on February 11 of this year. Ghey was murdered by two of her 15-year-old classmates. 

      This murder is what sparked recent activism in the community as it shows anyone, no matter age, can exhibit discrimination. 

     Unique Banks was killed in a targeted mass shooting in Chicago on January 23, 2022. Zachee Imanitwitaho, a black transgender woman, was shot in Louisville, Kentucky outside of her workplace. KC Johnson was declared missing then found murdered only a day later. Jasmine “Star” Mack, another black transgender woman, was killed on January 7 in 2022. In total, 32 trans people were murdered in the year of 2022. 

     In this month of remembrance, there should be recognition for those who have sacrificed for the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, recognizing the events that led the movement to where it is today.