Hailey Coleman, an 8th grade student at Martinsville Middle School, is the Region 2 winner of the Virginia Municipal League's annual "If I Were Mayor" essay contest!
Each year, the League challenges 7th and 8th grade students to write an essay identifying a problem (big or small) in their community they would like to solve, ask others about the problem, and propose a solution.
Hailey chose to write about the importance of mental health, seizing the joy in life, and appreciating those around you.
Students from MMS have won this essay contest several times over, and we're so proud of Hailey for keeping our winning tradition going strong!
You can read her winning essay in full below:
IF I WERE MAYOR, I would help people with mental health problems. Mental health is commonly overlooked but it is a serious problem. Nearly one billion people worldwide struggle with mental health, but it’s still not taken seriously.
Most mental health problems start at the age of fourteen. As a teenager, I have faced my own mental health problems. I was desperate to communicate about my agony but had no one to lean on. Virginia has over 750,000 people that struggle with mental health issues but currently only has nine mental health institutions. This can be resolved by adding more mental health institutions in Virginia.
When I was struggling with my mental health, I felt like I was drowning. I avoided doing my assignments at school and my grades were slipping. I was so unmotivated that I couldn’t even get out of bed. And I was lashing out at my family due to problems they had nothing to do with. I felt like there was a void in my life, something that could never be filled. But the worst part was, no one had noticed, not a family member, not my friends. I had to decide: Do I want to be sad forever, or do I want to do something about it?
I lost my brother to suicide; it shaped my whole life. When you feel like nobody cares about you, trust me, they do. I was missing a piece of my puzzle. But instead of being sad, I smiled because even though he’s gone, he’s at rest. There are so many reasons to live, you have a future that Jesus is shaping, he purposely intends to hurt you so you can learn and grow from your mistakes. Because after I went through a battle, I got my spark back, so when you think it’s over, it’s really not.
Mental health should start to get more attention. Because in the blink of an eye someone you loved so dearly can be gone in an instant. Mental health can be invisible, and there’s so many different types of struggles, rather than just depression. Some different types of mental health are anxiety, eating disorders, depression, bipolar, substance abuse, and others. So, when you get home hug your loved ones, tell them how much you love and appreciate them, because it can save a life.
“I’ve been down for oh so long, seemed like my soul was dead and gone, but it's alright, I’m back in the fight.” – from “Cannock Chase” by Labi Siffre.