Brielle King

So basically I have to write an essay for English, based on "The Stranger in the Photo is Me". Here's the issue; my past isn't the best thing to reflect on.

My parents were addicts, and I was largely in charge of caring for my brother. I made meals, was screamed at, belittled-and I watched my mom get arrested when I was eight. It didn't get much better; and now I have to write a reflective narrative.

I've anxious. I don't know what to write or say, and I don't want to explain the situation to my teacher. Does anyone have advice?

So basically I have to write an essay for English, based on "The Stranger in the Photo is Me". Here's the issue; my past isn't the best thing to reflect on.

My parents were addicts, and I was largely in charge of caring for my brother. I made meals, was screamed at, belittled-and I watched my mom get arrested when I was eight. It didn't get much better; and now I have to write a reflective narrative.

I've anxious. I don't know what to write or say, and I don't want to explain the situation to my teacher. Does anyone have advice?

I've been cutting since 8th grade, for a bunch of reasons-the main one being my personal life. Things at home aren't always great, and my mom says some pretty nasty things about me. I started cutting because it helped me focus, and I felt like I deserved the pain. I stopped in September, but it's getting hard not to again.

My guidance counselor knows about my family situation- I wrote about it in an essay, he freaked and sent it to the principal and vice principal. So they know about a lot of it-but not that I cut.

I'm scared I'm going to relapse, but I don't want to be judged. Should I tell them about it? I don't want them to hate me, or think I'm stupid. Please. I just need some advice.

I've been cutting since 8th grade, for a bunch of reasons-the main one being my personal life. Things at home aren't always great, and my mom says some pretty nasty things about me. I started cutting because it helped me focus, and I felt like I deserved the pain. I stopped in September, but it's getting hard not to again.

My guidance counselor knows about my family situation- I wrote about it in an essay, he freaked and sent it to the principal and vice principal. So they know about a lot of it-but not that I cut.

I'm scared I'm going to relapse, but I don't want to be judged. Should I tell them about it? I don't want them to hate me, or think I'm stupid. Please. I just need some advice.

So a couple of weeks ago, we were assigned an essay. I wrote the paper and uploaded it to Dropbox; I didn't think about it after that. My teacher never said anything; I assumed he got it, or he would have told me. (I'm not the kind of kid who just doesn't do assignments, my grades are important to me). So the other day he uploaded grades; I got a zero on the essay. I checked Dropbox-it wasn't there. So I sent him an email explaining the situation, and went in to see him-he told me that there was no way I could make the essay up, because it would be 10 days overdue. I asked if I could write a different essay, or take a test-no again. So I went from a 94 to a 78, when I actually did the essay.

I'm not sure how to approach the situation; does anyone have any advice?

So a couple of weeks ago, we were assigned an essay. I wrote the paper and uploaded it to Dropbox; I didn't think about it after that. My teacher never said anything; I assumed he got it, or he would have told me. (I'm not the kind of kid who just doesn't do assignments, my grades are important to me). So the other day he uploaded grades; I got a zero on the essay. I checked Dropbox-it wasn't there. So I sent him an email explaining the situation, and went in to see him-he told me that there was no way I could make the essay up, because it would be 10 days overdue. I asked if I could write a different essay, or take a test-no again. So I went from a 94 to a 78, when I actually did the essay.

I'm not sure how to approach the situation; does anyone have any advice?

I'm a rising senior, looking at colleges. I have decent grades-3.3 GPA, a 2040 SAT; my family is experiencing financial difficulties, so I've added more state schools to my list. I'm not opposed to going to my state's flagship U, but I also want to tour some more expensive schools with great nursing programs-Northeastern, Quinnipiac, Stony Brook, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, Endicott. I fully understand that finances are an issue, but I'm touring three state schools as well. In addition, Stony Brook and Slippery Rock aren't much more than my state U. . My mom, however, insists that I'm "trying to keep up with the rich kids" when this is far from the case-I'm trying to find a school that will give me great opportunities, and I'll be happy at.

She's pretty mean about the entire thing. She insists I'm selfish, and then compliments me on how intelligent I am and how many scholarships I'm going to get-but she won't even consider anything that's not an in-state public. It's annoying, because she's not even really considering paying. How do I deal with her?

I'm a rising senior, and I'm beginning to schedule tours for schools. My mom wants to be present at every single one, BUT refuses to take time off of work despite the fact that she has 8+ weeks of vacation. I'm not demanding that she come along-I'm more than willing to go alone, or with my friend's parents. She tells me I'm selfish for such behavior, because she had three scheduled days off-which conflict with my work schedule. I'm part time, and if I call out I lose hours. She expects me to save for school. I can't please her.

She also won't allow me to consider schools more than two hours away, regardless of my reasons. Because I have a dog, and she 'doesn't want to be stuck caring for it' despite the fact that she agreed to watch the dog while I'm at school. She doesn't care about my happiness regarding schools, even the ones where I have already received scholarships. I'm not even asking her to contribute-I just need her to understand its my life.

When I offered to go to a community college for two years and transfer, she told me I was being selfish because I have good SAT scores (730, 620, 690) and a 3.3 GPA. There's nothing I can do to please her. Does anyone know what I can do here, other than talking? I've tried, she tells me I'm a selfish brat who doesn't do anything despite the fact I work 40 hours a week.

I'm a rising senior, and I'm beginning to schedule tours for schools. My mom wants to be present at every single one, BUT refuses to take time off of work despite the fact that she has 8+ weeks of vacation. I'm not demanding that she come along-I'm more than willing to go alone, or with my friend's parents. She tells me I'm selfish for such behavior, because she had three scheduled days off-which conflict with my work schedule. I'm part time, and if I call out I lose hours. She expects me to save for school. I can't please her.

She also won't allow me to consider schools more than two hours away, regardless of my reasons. Because I have a dog, and she 'doesn't want to be stuck caring for it' despite the fact that she agreed to watch the dog while I'm at school. She doesn't care about my happiness regarding schools, even the ones where I have already received scholarships. I'm not even asking her to contribute-I just need her to understand its my life.

When I offered to go to a community college for two years and transfer, she told me I was being selfish because I have good SAT scores (730, 620, 690) and a 3.3 GPA. There's nothing I can do to please her. Does anyone know what I can do here, other than talking? I've tried, she tells me I'm a selfish brat who doesn't do anything despite the fact I work 40 hours a week.

So I work at a gas station. There's this customer. He's a racist and sexist jerk (he literally has said, "we shouldn't have let women vote because they go for the black one") but I ignored it because I need the check and you're bound to deal with creeps. A few months ago, I went into get a few scratch tickets and he got into my personal space-there was less than a foot in between us, maybe even less than six inches. He's watching me scratch tickets and he starts STROKING MY HAIR. The pieces by my cheek and ear. When he realized i was extremely uncomfortable, he said (in a soft, creepy old man voice) "you look so silly with paper in your hair." There wasn't paper in my hair, I had just come from the bathroom and had looked in the mirror. So I told him-not rudely, but in a quiet "I'm-feeling-violated" voice to please not touch me. He didn't stop-I left immediately.

So he keeps coming in, and I kind of just rush him out the door. But the other da he stuck around and saw my new hot pink converse. In the same creepy old man voice, he said "those pink shoes look good on you." I didn't reply.

So now he's going to my coworkers and asking if I'm "immature" because I "didn't know how to react" when he complimented me or stroked my hair. Needless to say, I'm super angry and annoyed, yet I don't know what to do. Any tips?

I would've said no until this year. My life's been challenging-me was an alchoholic, I was physically impaired (hypotonia), and now that I'm older I work 32 hours a week on top of school, too offset the cost of bills. I was severely depressed: I cut myself at least three times a week. But then I had one teacher who helped me.

His name is Mr. Clemmens, and he's an English teacher. Everyone's best friend; he's quite possibly the most popular teacher in the school. In October, we had to write an essay on adversity; I wrote about my mom's verbal abuse of me, even after overcoming alchoholism. He pulled me out of class to make sure I was okay. And when I lied and said I was, he wouldn't believe me.

Throughout the course of the year, he's been so understanding. He cuts me slack when a homework assignment is a day late, and he always takes the time to make sure I'm doing okay. One time he stayed after school with me for a half hour just to talk about my house and tell me that I was a good kid. He made me realize I had worth.

I'm so lucky to have known him.

Are they whiny? Misunderstood? Depressed?

BQ: How would you react if you learned one of your students was self harming?

I quit in January, my family and doctor know, but I'm not in therapy. I'm stressed it because my parents are verbally abusive and insult me (fat, stupid, lazy). My grades are slipping, and I'm sad all the time. If he calls my parents it'll just get worse. What do you think will happen? It's a private school, if it matters.

So, I used to cut; I quit in January of this year. My parents recently found out by accident-instead of supporting me and trying to talk it through with me, they've been the same old verbally abusive people (calling me fat, lazy, stupid). My grades have been slipping because I don't have the option of self harm to fall back on when they get to be too much.

I need to reach out; I'm considering telling my guidance counselor about all of it, but I really don't want to seem self centered or make him uncomfortable. Should I reach out, or just deal with it?

During freshman and sophomore year, I was suffering from severe chronic depression. It was bad; I thought of suicide, and cut myself three times a week. During that time, I was not the best person to be around. I was sarcastic and I lashed out in anger, because I was so irritable and jealous of their happiness.

This year, I've been making the effort to get better. I'm taking medication and talking about my issues with a counselor and trying to improve my attitude; others have noticed the improvement. However, although I've apologized, people are still angry with me over the things I said. One girl who used to be my friend is having a party over vacation; she told me I'm not invited because I'm mean, although she has not noticed it this year.

As you can imagine, this isn't really helping the "recovering from depression" attempts. I feel worthless and horrible,because I've burnt so many bridges. I feel isolated; I've skipped school twice because I feel so alone. I know I hurt people; there's no way to change that. I wish they had told me so I could have stopped; I didn't realize at the time, and now I'm not sure what to do.

Does anyone have any advice?

During freshman and sophomore year, I was suffering from severe chronic depression. It was bad; I thought of suicide, and cut myself three times a week. During that time, I was not the best person to be around. I was sarcastic and I lashed out in anger, because I was so irritable and jealous of their happiness.

This year, I've been making the effort to get better. I'm taking medication and talking about my issues with a counselor and trying to improve my attitude; others have noticed the improvement. However, although I've apologized, people are still angry with me over the things I said. One girl who used to be my friend is having a party over vacation; she told me I'm not invited because I'm mean, although she has not noticed it this year.

As you can imagine, this isn't really helping the "recovering from depression" attempts. I feel worthless and horrible,because I've burnt so many bridges. I feel isolated; I've skipped school twice because I feel so alone. I know I hurt people; there's no way to change that. I wish they had told me so I could have stopped; I didn't realize at the time, and now I'm not sure what to do.

Does anyone have any advice?

I work a minimum wage job, and I get along pretty well with my coworkers; all except one girl. This woman has anxiety, and refuses to take her medication; as such, she's pretty oversensitive and paranoid. I'm a joking person by nature-it's nothing mean, and no one else has complained to me or my manager about my behavior. Apparently, she feels that I am mean and I get too stressed out, which in turn stresses her.

I'm the one who does most of the work on our shifts; she operates the cash register. While we're working, she'll complain, "I haven't seen my boyfriend in two weeks since we're working opposite shifts" "Andy (our coworker) is so mean to me" "Wayne (our older coworker who I get along well with) hates me" "I have no friends" and "nothing is ever done when we come in".

I've taken to simply telling her that if not having friends upsets her so much, she should go out and make some. This all occurs as I clean, stock, and prepare food; I can be a bit quick and ready to move on, but that is because I'm doing so much,

My manager told me that he thinks she's absolutely nuts, so he's not upset with me; she has issues with 9/11 employees at the store. She views some as sexist, others as mean, and some as making her uncomfortable. I got one shift switched so I don't have to work with her, but I still deal with her one day a week. What can I do to keep sane?

I work a minimum wage job, and I get along pretty well with my coworkers; all except one girl. This woman has anxiety, and refuses to take her medication; as such, she's pretty oversensitive and paranoid. I'm a joking person by nature-it's nothing mean, and no one else has complained to me or my manager about my behavior. Apparently, she feels that I am mean and I get too stressed out, which in turn stresses her.

I'm the one who does most of the work on our shifts; she operates the cash register. While we're working, she'll complain, "I haven't seen my boyfriend in two weeks since we're working opposite shifts" "Andy (our coworker) is so mean to me" "Wayne (our older coworker who I get along well with) hates me" "I have no friends" and "nothing is ever done when we come in".

I've taken to simply telling her that if not having friends upsets her so much, she should go out and make some. This all occurs as I clean, stock, and prepare food; I can be a bit quick and ready to move on, but that is because I'm doing so much,

My manager told me that he thinks she's absolutely nuts, so he's not upset with me; she has issues with 9/11 employees at the store. She views some as sexist, others as mean, and some as making her uncomfortable. I got one shift switched so I don't have to work with her, but I still deal with her one day a week. What can I do to keep sane?

My prom dress didn't fit the other day (don't know why, I haven't gained weight whatsoever) so I bought a new one with my money and went on a 7.5 mile walk yesterday. Today after school, I was watching my dog and I fell asleep because I was exhausted. Later on, I told my mom I was going to go to work to write a note to my boss asking for days off and she said okay-maybe she was talking to my dad,but I thought she heard me so I left. When I got back I found out the dog had gone to the bathroom in the house, and my mom told me I was fat and lazy for not exercising today and doing nothing to help the family. She asked me "if I was going to start exercising in the next twenty years". I told her that when she said things like that to me, it makes me upset and I want to kill myself. Not in a sarcastic way, but because that's how I really feel. My dad shouted that I should go ahead and she agreed. Now they're yelling at me because I'm crying.

I really don't know what to do anymore. I'm fat, there's no getting around that-5'3, 157 pounds. But I'm working on that. I skipped one day walking and she called me a fat, lazy b****. I haven't eaten anything bad today-I've probably consumed too few calories, but I can't eat because she'll tell me I'm not trying.

It hurts to hear these things from the two who are supposed to love me no matter what. I honestly feel like I could overdose tonight, and I don't know what to do. Confronting them isn't an option; she'll never admit that they were too harsh. I can't get out-she screams at me. She even freaks when I'm doing homework.

Does anyone have advice on how to deal? I'm trying to lose weight, but I'm so hurt right now. I really don't know how to up my self esteem or even refrain from hurting myself, and I'll take any tips.

Thanks for sticking with this.

My family isn't rich, and I work 32+ hours a week to pay for tuition. Today my VP asked if I needed help paying for prom because it's all so expensive and chances were I had already spent 300+. I feel really self conscious now and I feel like I'm going to seem extremely trashy for spending less than $100 on all my prom stuff. Does it