Dear future president,

I am here to inform you about teenage mental health. Mental health through the school system is a big issue in our country. Based from personal experience, I can tell you that school can get very difficult at times because of my mental health. I am not alone, and many other students go through the same thing I'm going through. I believe we should have later start times for school, and have a better system for those with mental health. Later times for school will help everyone prepare mentally and physically. We will get better sleep, which can help prevent mental health issues in the first place, and we will have an efficient amount of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Our brains work better when we don't feel exhausted. Our brains naturally don't feel tired until 10:30-11:45 p.m., which is completely normal for teenagers. Another thing that we could change is the school system. Some schools don't have the option for people with mental health illnesses to see a therapist. Teachers are often unable to find ways to help those students, and they are unable to locate the students who do have mental health illnesses. I believe we should have a system where we are not discriminated based on our mental health issues. A lot of students discriminate each other based on what they have, which is not acceptable. I believe our schools should be more strict on discrimination, and have a 0 tolerance towards any type of discrimination. Considering that people with mental health illnesses can be more sensitive to certain situations, it is important to respect them, and everyone in the school system.

Sincerely,

A student from Barnum High School