Do You Know Any BJ Tweens Who Drink and Smoke?

Disclaimer: The following writing contains discussion of underage drinking, underage smoking, and self-harm. Please proceed at your own risk.

Let me start off by painting you a picture. I’m a middle schooler at an international school and part of a community that’s all about encouraging each other, encouraging curiosity, discovery, and positivity.

I had always thought that all my friends around me knew the difference between what they should and shouldn’t do, but the truth proved otherwise. I had to reevaluate my perception of my community and become more aware of who I am talking to with a lot more attention to detail and caution. My whole life I was told that the environment I was provided with is safe and that I would always be around people who are educated and encouraging. Why, you ask? Well, the story begins when some of my friends told me that a person I have been talking to at the start of this school year has been exhibiting some odd behaviors.

Let’s call this person Blake.

Blake identifies as part of the pride community. Blake and I were put in the same advisory group at the beginning of the school year, and since the first time we met, I could not tell how Blake identifies. To this day, Blake has never told us Blake's preference.

Sometime during December, all of the information about Blake crashed onto me like a wave, and to this day, I am still in shock at the craziness of the information.

I know we all say that gossiping isn’t right, but adults and kids all do it. It’s human nature to talk about anything that piques our interest, especially when it’s about members of our own community.

The first thing my friends told me was that during one of our school’s off-campus trips last year, Blake wore a T-shirt one day, and what they saw on Blake’s arm made their jaws drop. A series of knife cuts went from Blake’s wrist all the way up to Blake’s elbow. I didn’t understand why. Is it the only form of stress release they could find, is it drugs, or are they actually considering ending one's life? I have heard about people struggling with mental health issues, but someone who is the same age as me, a middle schooler, already thinking about ending one's life? That I had NEVER heard of until I met Blake.

There's more to this story! This article was originally posted on our sister account, jingkids International.

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