Editor’s note: This commentary from Mallori Wigent, a graduate of Indiana’s school choice programs and a 2022 Future Leaders Fellow with the American Federation for Children, is an exclusive to reimaginED.
In 2020, everyone in the world faced the same life-altering issue: the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been three years since the outbreak, and while life went back to normal for most of us, children are still recovering from severe mental health crises exacerbated by the pandemic.
Now more than ever, children are being diagnosed with anxiety and depression, but too little discussion of solutions occurs. In the wake of Mental Health Awareness Month, I want to discuss a possible solution that has helped many students, including me, struggling with their mental health: school choice.
Although I did not experience high school during the pandemic, I can relate to the struggle that more students face every day. When I was sixteen years old, I started feeling isolated and alone. I began feeling like I talked too much and like being myself was not enough. This feeling slowly became more than just a feeling – it became my identity.
My breath became shorter every minute, and tears started to flow more frequently. As time went on, I no longer felt like getting through the school days was possible. I began to be quiet, which was unusual for me; before, I had always known for my bubbly personality.
I would pick a book for the week, and try to escape this feeling, never looking up from it throughout the day. Soon, this turned into school days not being finished and me going home early because I could not breathe, focus, or imagine myself outside of my room.
I always thought something was wrong with me, but I found out instead that I had anxiety. A diagnosis alone did not help me feel better. It takes consistent effort and support to get better – and I was fortunate to have a support system at home and at a school willing to go on this journey with me.
At my small Catholic high school, I felt safe and heard. My teachers and counselors were there for me when I needed to talk to someone outside of my home. I had a teacher who would drop everything during her free period to hear me cry and talk to me until I felt understood. A school priest became someone who cared about my mental health more than I did at the time.
In this school, I was not a number; I was a young adolescent who had a future. My teachers pushed me to see the light I brought into this world and know that my bubbly, outgoing self was what the world needed. They gave me back my ability to see my passion and life.
My parents had no idea what I would go through mentally; no parent does. But, as they watched me grow up, they knew the type of environment I would need to thrive. Without the school choice options in Indiana, I would have never attended the school that became my second family.
I don’t know what would have happened to me if I didn’t have the option to go to my school, but I can tell what happened because I did. I graduated high school and college, and now, I am about to start a graduate program in Occupational Therapy. I am in a place sixteen-year-old me would not have been able to comprehend.
No, my anxiety did not magically melt away during high school, but I was given coping mechanisms that prepared me for what could come. After high school, I decided to attend a small Catholic college that provided me with a similar environment as my high school.
During my sophomore year of college, Covid-19 came into existence. The whole world began to shut down, and I thought I was going back to square one. I left all the friends I met, and I was back at home, sitting in my room all day. With the drastic change in my routine and eventual isolation, I began to see the person I was when I was sixteen.
But this time, I remembered the support system that I still have from high school and now college. I knew I was not alone and reached out to previous teachers. Soon, I regained that light I was reminded of four years ago and started finding ways to feel productive; I took daily walks and talked to friends and family consistently. Despite everything, I was at peace, and I knew I had loved ones my corner.
Sadly, I cannot say that most students in K-12 or in college experienced what I did. COVID-19 shut down a lot of schools, and during their formative years, many students were put into a state of isolation. Since the pandemic, there has been an increase in students struggling with anxiety, ADHD, and depression. The mental well-being of our children must be addressed and treated.
Children should never feel like their anxiety or depression is defining them and their future. That is why it is important to ensure that students are heard and given a choice in their education so that all children have the chances I did to find a school where they are truly heard.
