Forgiven // l.h. // Book 2 in Bully Series

(( Help End This ))

Hello my lovely readers. I know this is not an update, but I promise that I'm coming to you today with a very important topic that both relates to this story and most likely to many of you as well.

Now, as you all know, Daeyna, Luke, and even Kylee went through various types of problems that effected them in a fairly negative way. As a result of this, each person went through his or her own version of depression.

For Kylee, it happened with her move across the country and subsequent loss of friendship with those she held dear to her heart. It was bad enough that she continued to harm herself even when she found happiness in new friends. Though her death was merely an accident caused by a reckless driver, I want you to know that wasn't how I originally planned it. In my original outline of 'Bully', Kylee committed suicide, and Luke wasn't just mean to Daeyna, but to everyone because he blamed not only himself for not seeing how she was hurting, but everyone else as well. I ended up changing the plotline a bit, because at that time I had never really had any experience in the area of depression and felt as if I wouldn't portray it correctly.

For Luke, it was a bit more spread out. Certainly in the time after Kylee's death and Daeyna's arrival to Australia he had a bit affecting him, but once he realized why he was feeling the way he was, he was able to pull himself out of it; something an extremely small amount of people are able to do.

Now, Daeyna's experiences with depression are a little more obvious, and that just comes from the fact that the story is in her point of view and therefore you get to see what is going on in her head the entire time. However, the part in the story I want to talk about is the part that I never actually wrote; the five years between 'Bully' and 'Forgive Me'.

It's mentioned very briefly in chapter 18 of 'Forgive Me', when Daeyna is talking about her second year of college and not feeling good enough for essentially everything she was attempting to do with her life. Now I'm going to tell you why I bring this up.

In the story, Daeyna goes to a school called Northern Michigan University. This is an actual school, and I chose it because when I started writing 'Bully', that was the college I was attending at the time. I do not go there anymore due to a change in major, but I have recently heard news from a good friend at the school about something that just doesn't sit right with me.

NMU has recently decided to point out and enforce a policy that is severely outdated, and I think it is wrong.

This policy, in simple terms, states that while the school does not discriminate admittance due to mental health issues, it does prohibit a student from talking to his/her fellow students about any self destructive behavior, and that doing so will result in disciplinary action.

Now, I am aware that this is most likely not the only school in the world with this sort of policy. But I also know that it still isn't right to have something like that in place. In a time where mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, or even eating disorders are such a commonplace, having a limit on who a person can talk to about problems is ridiculous.

A policy like this not only reduces the amount of sources a person can turn to for help, but it also enforces the idea that having a mental illness is something you should keep secret or be ashamed about. And that is about as far from the truth as you can get. Having a mental illness is not something to be ashamed about, as it is not something you choose for yourself. Just like people with the flu didn't wake up one day thinking about how they wanted to spend a week bed-ridden, people with depression didn't wake up one day and decide that they want to be depressed. It is not a choice, and therefore, no shame should be linked to it.

I guess what I'm getting at here is that I think everyone has the right to go to school and feel like if they need to talk to someone, they are able to choose who they wish to speak to. Instead of this happening, however, NMU has chosen to enforce a policy that basically sets up a small list of people one can talk to and says if you deviate from the list and talk to a friend instead, it is very possible you may be kicked out.

So I'm here today, my beautiful readers, to ask you to fight this policy with me. It may not change the world, but it certainly will help the many students who attend a school with a population of 8,000+ to drastically broaden the amount of help they can ask for without fearing the loss of their future by doing so. I have posted the link to my Twitter if you would like to sign the petition. We only need 100 signatures, but why not go above and beyond and really show how many people are against this kind of institutionalized shaming of mental illnesses?

If you sign it, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You're not only helping me assist my friends, but you're helping the other students, both present and future, feel as if they don't have to hide their illness from the world.

My Twitter is HannahRennae

Thanks again, and I love you all to pieces. Never feel afraid to talk to me or anyone if you need help.