Reading Response #8

Silvia Soriano                                              Reading Response                                                        1/27/13

                           Suicide Prevention by Melinda Smith, M.A., Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Lawrence Robinson

                    After reading an article about suicide, I learned that, many of those people dont want to end their life,  they just want to stop the pain that they get caused.  Suicide is a very strong topic to talk about. Many people take their life's everyday. They stop connection with the outside world, they forget about everyone else. Sometimes people dont show their depression, they dont show any side of suicide thoughts. On the other hand sometimes they show all the signs, but we just are too stupid to notice them. It doesn't matter if someone says joking about how he tried suicide,  maybe he had a reason to bring it up. if he brought it up its because he has some connection to it. People that have tried to commit suicide are scared to go out and look for help. Why? Because people judge, people talk, word spreads.  Their scared of how they might be treated after telling the truth. Even if maybe you never tried or thought about it, bringing it up will worry lots of people, it could get the wrong attention of people, but it could get the right one also. 

         Their are ways of stopping suicide. Their is hope and saving for everyone. The best way for people to be helped, is first by admitting they have a problem.  By coming out of their shelter and telling someone. Letting them know what everything will be okay. That no one is here to judge, no one is here to tell them what they did is wrong. That they are in a safe environment, that they will get the help that need. People give forgivnesses. Their are second chances in life for a reason. You arent a freak or someone with needed needs. Talking to the person in a nice way, not judging way. Being a friend instead of a doctor. Being your self around that person, not being fake. Making sure the parents know too. Dont keep it a secret. Tell his parents, so that they can tell their doctors and get treated with medication, or therapy. 

    Make a back plan for any kind of emergency. Know What can set a person off. Be an protective friend. Make sure he/she knows you have their back. Making good changes in their daily routines. Make time for talking about how their day was, how was school? Do you wanna talk about anything? Is something bugging you. Just dont approach them like your demanding answers, and good ones. Make them feel loved every second of the day. It wont be easy for you and it wont be easier for them. But you have to try and help them be the person they use to be. Its never to late to change things, and make them go back to the way they were before. Dont hit them with cheesy lines and really happy lines. Cause nothing is ever 100% true. Nothing ever goes as its planned. If theirs disappointment on the way, they have to be prepared. 

                       Suicide one of the hardest topics to ever talk about. For a person having suicide thoughts and for a person knowing someone really close to them, knowing that in a ny second they could snap, and they could be gone. I cried reading this, even though it only had facts. It didnt have any warm touching stories. This a problem what is very well known in the U.S.A. If we see something we should say something. Every moment counts, if were talking about a life that is on the line.

                              http://www.helpguide.org/mental/suicide_prevention.htm                                               

Reading Response #7

Reading Response                                    "It Happened to Nancy"                                      2.13.13


                        After reading the diary of an unknown teenager ("It Happened to Nancy"), It really got me to realize that in this world their are consequess  for everything you do. Its all bout "Nancy", a regular girl that goes to school who has problems of her own; her parents are divorced, she lives with her mom while her dad lives in Arizona. The whole book is written by her. One day while at a concert with some of her friends, their was a huge fight. She couldnt find her friends any where, she starts not being able to breath, she meets a guy named Collin who saves her from the crowed. Collin charmed her immediately. Soon her and Collin start to hang out. Collin tells her he is a college student. Nancy is only 14 which means he has to be atleast 4 or 5 years older than her. She soons falls in love with Collin. They are like irresistible, in Nancys point of view They talk and have "Dates" They hang out during school hours and every time Collin wants to . One day weeks into their " relationship", Nancys mom takes a trip because of her job. Nancy thinks its a good/great idea to invite Collin over to her house. Collin ends up rapping her during their date or well more after they finish their date, when he was supposed to leave but he ended up rapping Nancy. Nancy doesnt want to agree with the fact that her "knight in shining amour " raped her. Weeks have passed bye and Nancy has looked for Collin everywhere. At the School he told her he studied at. It turns out that he did not ever study their, they have no idea who "Collin" is. Nancy starts to feel sick very sick. Weak not being able to do anything, tiring easily and fast. Her mother worry takes her to the hospital. she soon finds out that she has HIV/Aids. She doesnt tell her best friends. She than decideds she wants Collin to pay for what he did. She than goes to Arizona to live with her dad. She starts a whole new life with her dad. Wanting to forget that she has HIV/Aids. The whole book is about Nancy struggle with HIV/Aids and her wanting her favorite author to publish her book for other girls to know what she has gone through so that more girls dont go what she went though. Sadly she doesnt have a happy ending.
               While reading this article I wondered, Why didnt Nancy tell anyone sooner. If she was feeling sick; weak and just sicky. why didnt she. She would have to tell someone about What collin did to her. She is supposed to trust her mom and tell her everything that was going on. She Told her mom too late. Maybe, just maybe if she would have gone to the hospital or to the doctors early their could have been something that would have helped Nancy. Their could have been treatments to help her stay alive or even maybe remove it. Maybe not remove it, but have it under control. She should have not kept quite. She could have hope in life. She went through pain everyday because she stayed quite.
           On the other hand the virus was already in her. In her body growing everyday, killing her little by little. Killing the person she was. The Virus brought her closer to her family. To her parents who were divorced. She bonded with her dad who lives in Arizona. She went to live with him for a while. The virus was killing her so she wanted to be with her dad too, cause she has lived with her mom. Not saying that the HIV was a good thing. Cause it wasnt, she just learned a life lesson. It cost her life, but she set an example to many girls out their and mostly cause of what she did with her diary. She published it so many girls like how she was, dont go throw what she went through.
            Life lessons dont always leave you time to correct your past. Some mistakes and lessons have to cost you something bigger than money, appearance, popularity, it cost you the most important thing of all, life. The best gift anyone could have is taken away in what looks like seconds. Nancy made every second of her life of what she had left worth it. She learned a lesson and became an role model to many girls out their like me.