Hi, I'm Sameena, and thank you for your interest
in how we teens are feeling during this time.
We are from Needham High School in Needham Massachusetts,
and we are Own Your Peace.
Hi, I'm Adi.
This time has brought concern, of course, challenges and many new opportunities.
I think it's good to capture all the sides of this time:
the good, the bad, and the in between.
Hi, I'm Talia.
I think it's really important
for adults to be able to hear and understand what teens are feeling.
Hi, I'm Kai,
and I want kids like us to be able to get the help that they need.
Hi, I'm Josh,
and I want communities to be able to stay strong,
especially when it's so hard for us to keep up our physical bonds.
Hi, I'm Dan.
I hope that we can answer adults' questions
about what's going on in teens' heads.
Hi, I'm Lauren,
and I want to help strengthen the connection between teens and adults.
Hi, my name is James.
As a football player who's supposed to be strong,
even emotionally, I wanted to break the facade
and share the feelings behind the mask.
Hi, I'm Cindy, and together we all wanted
to delve into what we've been experiencing during this pandemic.
The biggest challenge for me during this time
is finding the motivation to keep my sleep schedule
and my work schedule consistent.
The biggest challenge for me during this time
has been reaching out to people and staying connected.
I always fear that that's going to be the last interaction I have with them.
There's so many things that I've wanted to do
and now I don't have an excuse not to do them.
It's challenging to focus on my schoolwork
because working in my room is really distracting.
When we had school, I had a strict schedule that I stuck to every single day,
and now I don't even have a schedule at all.
Because of this, I started to lose motivation
to do even the little things like homework.
I'm usually really busy,
and I do a lot of things to have fun and keep myself motivated,
and I'm really sad and disappointed to miss them.
I miss being able to go and visit my baby cousins on the holidays.
And just the thought of never being able to do any of that ever again is scary.
I've been exploring a lot more music recently,
being able to focus on listening to new songs
rather than having to have it as my background noise.
Music gives me an escape from what's around me.
During this time,
I take care of myself by trying to get a little bit of exercise
and checking in on the people who are important to me every day.
During this time, I've been taking care of myself
by listening to my inner thoughts and feelings
and that's how I decide whether I want to do something or not.
I have been taking care of myself by bullet journaling.
This is not only really fun and relaxing,
but it also helps me keep track of all the things that I need to get done.
I've learned that I'm a lot more introverted than I thought I was
and I'm able to do a lot more things independently than before.
I have better days
when I start the interactions with other people in my family.
I like to have that head start.
It makes me feel better.
I used to measure myself by how much I did in a day.
I want to do something that makes me feel better.
[piano music]
I find comfort in the realization
that no matter how permanent a negative emotion may feel, it isn't.
Shifting my thinking to remind myself to change my expectations
has been really helpful.
A while ago I gave up on trying to learn the ukulele,
but now I'm playing chords that I didn't even know I could play.
[singing]
As an adult,
even if you don't have an every day relationship with a teen,
just by checking in can be very helpful.
We don't need them to fix anything, we just need them to be there to listen.
I really appreciate all of the ways
my teachers have been accommodating to a new environment.
Parents can help by giving their kids a hug from time to time
since hugs are harder to come by these days.
Adults can be supportive by just trying to be empathetic.
It's a hard time for us students
and adjusting to a new way of learning is hard.
My biggest worry for what's next is that I will lose my social skills.
I'm currently a really social person, but I fear that I will lose that spark.
I worry that I won't be able to go to college on time,
or if I do, it will be nothing like it should be.
One thing that worries me is that I'm going to come out of this
missing a lot of necessary things that I need to be an adult.
I'm worried about when this will all be over and what that will look like.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for seeing each of us as individuals.
With our own backgrounds and identities.
And our challenges and strengths.
Thank you for reaching out to us.
Thank you for all that you do.
If you were wondering,
Own Your Peace is an initiative at Needham High
that for 14 years
has tried to create a culture of caring, compassion, and outreach.
We encourage each member of the community to reach out
on behalf of themselves and others
to practice self-care and to take community responsibility.
Be safe.
Be well.
Own your peace.