Month: September 2019

Within Me

by Rhobie Toussaint, posted in Creative Writing

I found love within myself. 

It wasn’t something that was easy or happened overnight, but rather took a lot of patience and a lot of time. It was countless days of telling myself that what happened was not completely my fault. It was nights of reminding myself that I am capable of being loved. I am worthy of being loved, even if the words of others suggested otherwise. 

It took time for me to understand that trying to find fulfillment in others never end well. People leave, and when they do, I am left with my own self — my self to work on, my self to appreciate, my self to love. 

I taught myself how to love again. 

Not desperately for I risk not being valued, and not helplessly for I could end up loving someone I never should’ve. I had to teach myself that it’s crucial to know my worth and to respect myself. And the same respect I have for myself is the same respect I deserve from anyone who claims to love me.

I had to truly understand that I must love myself fully, before I try to love another. I had to understand that the only way to know how someone else should love me is if I know how to love myself first. 

I found faith within myself again. 

Faith, and hope, that the last time will not be like the next because of what has changed in my life and what has changed in me. It will get better because I will not let myself remain on the ground. It won’t be the same experience next time because now I know. I know that the pain I feel is temporary. I know now how to treat myself. I know that if I don’t have hope, and if I do not have faith, then there is nothing to hold on to anymore. 

I learned how to love again. 

I learned how to love myself again. 

I reminded myself to hold on to hope, and to hold on to faith. 

And I couldn’t be prouder of who I’ve become.

 

I suppose that this piece is a different version of the one I posted last week. A friend of mine told me that people are often in the mindset that someone else has to save them. I personally can recall times when someone else has helped me through a difficult situation, but I think it’s important for people to understand that it doesn’t always have to be that way. You don’t always have to wait for the knight in shining armor or someone to dig you out of the hole. 

In life, there will (or at least that has been the case for me) be people who help you along the way, but never forget the power that you have in yourself.

Pure

by Rhobie Toussaint, posted in Creative Writing

You taught me what it’s like to truly be loved.  

You showed me that it goes beyond saying “I love you” and a few kind words, but is demonstrated through actions. You were never condescending to me, nor did you ever mock or belittle me. You uplifted me, constantly encouraging me to try my hardest, and to always recognize how far I’ve come.

You stayed even when I was at my lowest, even when you were upset, even when the situation seemed nearly hopeless. You didn’t leave. Instead, you assured me that you weren’t going anywhere, and you handled each seemingly hopeless situation with diligence. 

I don’t have to assume that you love me, I know you do. I see it through your care for me, through your patience, through your loyalty. 

You taught me how to love again. 

Not recklessly, desperately, or helplessly, but to love and have respect for myself, and to love someone who has respect for me. You reminded me to love fully, but before I do, to know whether or not what, or who, it is that I’m about to love is good for me or is worth it. 

“Understand this,” you told me. “When you give your all into something or someone, it will not always be easy. Some days will be significantly more difficult than others. Make sure that who you are loving, and what you put your energy in is not simply draining you or bringing you down.” 

I carry those words with me until this very day.  

You reminded me to have hope and faith. 

You emphasized that the broken heart of mine will not remain the same forever, and that even though it is broken, I am not. You helped me understand that we are all subject to hurt and pain, but we must not dwell on it, but rather grow from it, and to have faith that it will get better. 

You taught me love. True love. Pure love.

You reminded me not to neglect faith, and not to neglect hope. 

And for that, you will never be forgotten. 

This creative writing piece isn’t necessarily about a personal experience of mine, but I do feel that the lessons the character learned from the other are lessons that we should all learn, if it something not known already.    

To have love that is pure, I think, is such as beautiful thing. Growth, to me, is also beautiful. 

Mental Health & Technology

by Rhobie Toussaint, posted in Articles, News

Using Technology To Cope With Mental Health

Originally published in the Harbinger

 

With technological advances occurring by the second, there’s a society dependent on technology and apps to guide it. One of the newest additions: applications used to manage the mental health of their users. 

Apps such as “Daylio Journal” and “Moodpath” have been created to help users cope with mental illnesses in different ways. 

Daylio Journal serves as a journaling app, where the user doesn’t actually have to even type a single sentence. 

The app tracks your mood, achievements, and activities by asking questions such as, “How are you?” and “what have you been up to?” 

Daylio gives the user a set of emojis and icons to choose from to answer these questions, also giving the user the option to add more emojis and icons to the set. 

The app uses the responses to create charts, giving users the opportunity to observe and track their mental health. 

The growing number of installations of apps such as Daylio Journal prompts the question of whether it is a good idea to use them.

“I think apps like these are a great idea, especially for teens who hide their depression from their family and friends,” said Briana Sterling, a student. 

The high rating of the apps suggests that they are successful with helping users cope with their mental obstacles. Moodpath has a rating of 4.7 out of 5, and Daylio Journal has a 4.8.    

It must be taken into consideration that counseling can be costly for some individuals, as a session can be anywhere from 75 dollars to over 200 dollars per session. 

Despite the cost to speak to a professional in person, there are teens who feel that this is the better option. 

“I prefer counseling because it gives me a chance to say whatever is going through my mind and know I won’t be ashamed. Seeing another person and telling them is not the same as telling an app,” said Ashley Pineda, a junior at MLEC.  

However, not everyone wants to sit alone in a room with a stranger, talking about issues they’ve been scared to even admit were ever there. 

 This app is free, and accommodates teens in a society surrounded by technology. 

“I know people who are depressed and dread going to a therapist, because sometimes teens are forced to go to therapy in the first place. I feel like if it’s an app, and a teen chooses to journal their feelings, they would be more expressive and actually experience relief,” said Sterling. 

 

Mental Health itself is an issue that should be addressed.  It is important not to neglect the fact that there are individuals who struggle with maintaining their mental health.  In this article, I wanted to present an option for coping with mental health: technology.  As mentioned in the article, we do live in a society that has rapid technological advances, so it is no surprise that there are apps made with the intent of helping people manage their mental health.  Although not everyone agrees with whether or not using apps like these are effective, using them is still an option that I wouldn’t want anyone to miss out on. 

Hurricane Dorian

by Rhobie Toussaint, posted in Articles, News

Devastation in the Bahamas

Originally Published in The Harbinger

Imagine roofs being torn off of buildings, houses being flooded with water, and cars flipped over and damaged. People have nowhere to turn, trying to brace themselves for impact. 

The devastation that would strike the Bahamas was one they could never truly prepare for. 

Dorian, a Category Five at the time it hit the Bahamas on Sunday, remained stationary for an extended period of time, causing mass damage to the country. Some houses there are mainly made of wood, not built to sustain a hurricane with a wind speed of 185 miles per hour. 

“The Bahamas isn’t suited to sustain hurricanes like that and it makes me worry for the next,” said Anite Augustin, a sophomore at MLEC. 

Videos and photos of the wreckage in the Bahamas have gone viral. Throughout the media, there is footage of water from the ocean reaching the second floor of a house, with pieces of furniture and appliances floating throughout the building. 

In many of the pictures online, one can see what is left of the cities, like Abacco city, affected: knocked down trees, collapsed buildings and water just about everywhere.  

The aftermath of Dorian has been described as completely catastrophic. Currently, the death toll of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas is about 40, and this number is expected to rise significantly.  The destruction within the country has also impacted residents in the United States, who have a connection to the Bahamas or loved ones there. 

“I’m Bahamian, so to see the destruction there makes me sad. Bahamas is my home and seeing the once beautiful place turn into a disaster is upsetting and hurts my heart,” said Mya Young, a junior at MLEC. 

Originally, Florida was forecasted to be in Dorian’s merciless path. However, Dorian changed course and was then projected to head North after hitting the Bahamas. While many Floridians are grateful that the hurricane did not cause a significant amount of damage here, there are others who almost wished that it hit Florida instead of Bahamas. 

“I felt frustrated about Dorian staying over the Bahamas for 54 hours. It was supposed to hit us… If it had hit Florida we would’ve been better suited for a hurricane like that and more prepared,” said Augustin.  

Now, many Floridians are seeking a way to help the Bahamas by donating canned foods, emergency kits, and such. At MLEC, this humanitarian prospect hasn’t been overlooked. Not even one day after students returned there, an effort to provide relief for the Bahamas was put in place. 

Throughout the week, students have been able to drop off items such as toiletries and canned goods in boxes put aside for said donations. The donations collected will be taken to the town of Miami Lakes, where it will be shipped to the Bahamas. 

“Any help or donations that you can send there, send it. The people of Bahamas really need it,” said Young. 

This week, I wanted to shed light on the destruction and devastation Hurricane Dorian caused on the Bahamas. It was absolutely heartbreaking to watch footage of houses getting flooded, and the parts of the island experiencing destruction that will be very difficult to come back from. But it’s not impossible. As mentioned in the article, there have already been efforts to provide relief in the Bahamas. It is important that we come together and help those in need in times like this instead of ignoring them. The residents in The Bahamas are, after all, human beings just like everyone else. 

 

Friends

by Rhobie Toussaint, posted in Experience

Choose your friends wisely. 

Fortunately for me, that’s a lesson I never had to learn the hard way. I’ve been graced by wonderful friends throughout my life. 

Others have not been so fortunate. Association with what can be described as the “wrong crowd” has caused trouble for individuals with pure intentions. For example, a night with said wrong crowd may have started as a simple hangout, but ended with someone in a jail cell. Or a goal-oriented, straight  A student losing sight about what’s important to them after having bad influences as friends.  

The people you surround yourself with also speaks to others about your character. If you spend all your time with a group who slacks off constantly and goes on mischievous adventures, nothing more than that will be expected from you. If you are a hard worker, or at least are trying to get there, and surround yourself with people who want the same thing, surely you’d be perceived in a different light than the individual who hangs with the ‘slackers.’ 

Surely it can be argued that the way others perceive you shouldn’t matter. Or even better, that just because you are friends with a certain group of people doesn’t mean that you are similar to them. But why would you want to be friends with individuals who hold you back instead of push you to do better?

Thus, there is an importance to having good friends. To me, a true friend is someone who will be there for you in the ways that they can. A true friend is someone who won’t leave you in your difficult time. It is someone who wants the best for you, someone you can laugh with, cry to, support, and vice versa.

 I can say with 100% certainty I have true friends, and I appreciate them more as each day passes by. They make the tough times a little more bearable. They celebrate with me, they advise me, and they support me. I want everyone to have those kinds of people in their lives.

So, choose the people you call your friends wisely. 

They can easily cause wreckage in your life just as easily as they can make your life better. 

 

 

 

 

image from: https://teenpregnancy.acf.hhs.gov/events/national-teen-pregnancy-prevention-month