The crushing hopelessness of seeing other people suffer, and knowing that you can do nothing to help them or change the situation.
The wildfires in California are specifically scary for me. It stresses me out that if Trump gets re-elected, women’s rights over their bodies will be taken away.
The way people have responded to the stress of what’s happening is what has affected me most. Everyone is on edge and more entrenched in their beliefs than ever. It’s a lot of negativity.
I want everyone to be able to live life without the fear of getting shot by police.
It’s making me much more anxious and pessimistic about the future.
Everything. Realizing how messed up the whole world really is.
These were some of the many answers sent in by KHS students in a recent TKC survey where students were asked about how current events are affecting their mental health.
A day in the life of a high school student it seems fun, right? What could be on their mind. Perhaps it’s the latest TikTok trend or an upcoming math test. Maybe it’s a plan to try to safely meet up with friends or where to buy a cute mask. But in these trying times, high schoolers are worried about far more than that.
Oriana Mobley is a freshman, who is new to KSD this year. She has a 12-year-old brother who has autism. Because of the many issues facing African Americans due to the racism in this country; she is especially worried about him and how this may affect his future.
“A lot of African Americans are being beaten or worse by police and it terrifies me because my brother – he has autism – so, unfortunately, he doesn’t know what to do in those situations when a police officer or someone with high authority is either yelling at him, directing him or anything like that,” Mobley said. “If he were having a conversation with you, for example, he would only understand a little bit of what you’re saying, and that scares me. I don’t know for sure, but I know for me if something similar were to happen to me that has happened to a lot of other people of my race, I think I would still be able to come out of it well or alive. I can’t say the same for my brother.”

Kemper Klein, freshman, talks about his difficulties dealing with all the issues going on, and how the fierce divisions between everyone are affecting him and his friendships.
“Some people believe in different things than other people and some people just have different beliefs than others,” Klein said. “Some of my friends believe in different things and then they don’t want to be friends anymore because we believe in other things.”
Another new student, Clare Schmidt, sophomore, also has a lot on her mind. She recently transferred from Ursuline Academy and has been struggling with making friends and interacting with people due to COVID-19.
“I got into the play, so I made some friends from there. But it’s been hard just to meet people, and I know even for people who aren’t new, it’s hard to connect with your friends since you’re not able to see them as much,” Schmidt said. “I feel like [online school] isolates us and makes us lonely.”
With all the struggles of online learning and the difficulties of the current world, it’s not difficult to say that KHS high schoolers have a lot on their minds. Schmidt explains ways that other new students can try to get involved even with school being online.
“Get involved, talk to people in your breakout rooms, and maybe get their Snapchat and number just so you have people to talk to if you have a question about an assignment or if you just want people to talk to,” Schmidt said. “Just know that it gets better and it can be hard at first, but just know it will get better still.”