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** Featured Student Testimonial**

A Brighter Future   

School is not always easy; I think most of us can agree. Even if you can do the work without a problem, you might struggle with making friends and feeling like you have a place where you belong. Or maybe you have lots of friends and have a place you feel you belong but maybe you struggle with doing the work and worry if you’ll even be able to graduate. For me it was both.

In high school I had severe anxiety and depression. All I could do was place my head on a desk, and not lift it as if I was super glued there. I had no ability to make any eye contact with anyone, even if it was family. There was nowhere I belonged, and I was also almost completely unable to read or write but it wasn't always like that. In elementary school I was the happiest when all eyes were on me. I loved being the center of attention and I always felt as if I belonged. The work was very difficult for me though, but I was always able to talk my way out of doing it. I did what I was good at and that was talking, however that only got me so far. By the time I was in middle school, I still didn't know how to read or write. Grade 7 was the worst. I was bullied by my own teacher. I tried to do what I was good at and talk to him, to make friends with him. He told me multiple times I was stupid and that I was going to be nothing but a burden on taxpayers money. I only lasted three months in that class. That's the same year I dropped out. I felt stupid and empty. I did everything I could to numb myself. I hung out with kids like me so I wouldn't feel alone. For years drugs, alcohol and crime was my life. I wasn't doing good things but at least I was good at them. Eventually even that didn't work out. 

When I was sixteen my depression was getting really bad, and I stopped hanging out with anybody. I spent my days alone in my room. The only time I'd leave my room was when my mom took me to therapy. The school I was enrolled in but never went to was Oak Park. They got a hold of my mom and wanted me to go back. I was at the worst I’d ever been and had suicidal thoughts on the daily. But I did want to do better so I went back. It felt like I had been thrown in with the sharks. I was lost, scared, confused. I had no where I belonged, and I had no clue how to do work. I floated the first year, I just hid. I was in this one ELA class with a teacher named Ms. Peters and EA named Ms. Amy. If it wasn’t for these people, I wouldn't have made it very far, seriously thank you guys so much!! Ms. Peters never gave up on me. Trust me I didn't make it easy, even when at first, I wouldn’t lift my head from the desk while she was talking to me, she continued to encourage me to do work. It took time but I started to make progress. Because she believed in me, I started believing in myself. I learned how to read and spell and started talking again. But I was still really struggling and wasn't getting nearly enough help and support. I tried asking for more help. I felt like I wasn't being heard so I got louder. It was really stressful. They told me I'd get all the help I needed at a school called AHS, that for now I had all the help they could give. I came on the tour and wasn't really sure what to expect.

 When I first got here it was a bit strange. It's so small and all the students are so much like me. I don't feel out of place here. The teachers are super nice and helpful; they never treat me like a burden. They understand we are all on different journeys and don't put too much pressure on you. They know if you showed up at school that day it's a win. We all have fun here; I've been learning piano and my teachers join in sometimes too. There's always cool opportunities like on Wednesdays I go to a farm to learn about plants, animals, and cooking! I'm also building my reading and writing skills. I get more one-on-one help. Really if I hadn't come to this school, I have no clue where I'd be, actually I do have an idea but let's not go there. I'm so fortunate to have had this opportunity. I'm even going to culinary art school in the fall. I'm in a three-month program as well to help me be ready for a job and I’ll get paid minimum wage. I don't ever want to imagine what my life would look like without AHS. This is the one place I belong. I came from a dark place, but I now know I have a bright future. 

- Tianna