March issue

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MARCH 23, 2017 VOLUME 90, ISSUE 6

The

Reality of

Mental

Health: Looking

.

Past

the Stigma

Manal Ahmed, Editor-in-Chief Becky DeAcetis, Editor-in-Chief Lola Akinlade, Online Editor Demi Glusic, Online Editor Hannah Hutchins, Features Editor Alo Garcia Escobar, Opinion Editor Jack Kosowski, Sports Editor Maria Thames, Photo Editor Olivia Griffith, Layout Editor Rachel Benner Maggie Burnetti Anna DeNoia Rachel Dudley Luke Ekdahl Allie Goldman Jenna Grayson Abbey Humbert Ben Kanches Breezy Listman Kevin Loumeau Molly Magill Elizabeth Manley Colleen Mullins TJ Murbach Samantha Nelson Kyle Patterson Tia Petrzilka Matthew Price Georgia Sampson Kelly Shinnick Matthew Smith Brandon Simberg Maya Trott Paige Ward Maddie Wasser Savanna Winiecki

the

Rea der s

Letter to

2016-2017 Staff Listing

Greetings Wildcats, First off, I’d like to welcome you all into the first week of spring! So long to those dreary winter days (filled with feet of snow and snow days, of course…I’m joking), and welcome to the potential of warm weather, spring flowers and the chirping of birds in the morning.

Now, on a more serious note, I’d like to introduce our focus for this issue: mental health.

Walking through the halls at LHS, we see hundreds of people every day. Face after face, we see the exterior of those we meet and pass. What one does not see is what is happening inside of these individuals (unless you claim to be a mind-reader, but I highly doubt that). Mental health is an issue that can’t always be covered with a light heart. It’s real, and believe it or not, it’s present here at LHS among students -- more than some of you may realize.

Personally, I worked on an article (Untold Stories on pages 17-19) with a fellow staff member where I had the privilege of talking with multiple students who currently have or had mental health issues. Doing so has opened my eyes to see how prevalent and important mental health is, both in and around LHS. My hope is that by reading this issue, you too can become immersed into the world of mental health. Maybe it will lead you to viewing people’s struggles differently or finding new ways to keep your own mental health in balance.

Within the focus there are bolded subject headers, which writers strategicaly placed in order to place an empahasis on certain aspects of mental health.

Now, don’t think that I’m only talking about the tough negative mental issues that may come to mind at first. Mental health goes so far beyond the commonly thought of illnesses, and extends into other topics that affect all people such as sleep, stress and emotional stability, as well. We all know that we’re starting to dive into testing season -- the ACT, the SAT, AP exams, and finals are just around the corner -- which means your mental health is extremely important to check up on in these up-and-coming weeks. So, keep your heads held high, dreams alive and happiness in check. After all, spring break is almost here! *insert non-existent jumping for joy emoji here*

Best wishes,

Michael Gluskin, Faculty Adviser Demi Glusic Online Editor

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Contact us at doi@lhswildcats.org March 23, 2017

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An uproar of activism for LHS students

Photo by Savanna Winecki

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10-11

L + M Jewelry

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Photo by Maria Thames

Photos by Kevin Loumeau

News LHS chooses Dr. Tom Koulentes as new principal

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Get a glimpse of our new principal, Dr. Tom Koulentes, and how he was chosen to be the principal starting in the summer of 2017.

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An uproar of activism for LHS students

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Many students have become more politically active in certain clubs in the past few months, including Junior State of America and Advocats.

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Feature What’s Trending & What’s Happening

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Learn to love reading

Voicing the unpopular opinion

Sports 24-25 How Sports Affect Mental Illness*

Despite missing school for a fun field trip or a college visit, it can be stressful and hard for teachers and students alike to keep track of everything missed in class.

Many students participate in at least one sport at LHS, and the benefits of this are outstanding when it comes to mental health.

L + M Jewelry

Combining their experiences with jewelry, seniors Michela Mosconi and Lexi Acosta started a business that has taken off in just a few months.

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Wildcat Stats A glance at some spring sports accomplishments from the 2016 season, along with current game statistics for the teams whose seasons are already underway.

14-15 Mental Health Misconceptions*

The differences in how people react to physical injury and mental illness are analyzed, and the stories of those struggling are told.

30-31 Athletes Recovering

17-19 Untold Stories*

Year after year, there are student-athletes who face serious injuries that prevent them from playing the sport they love; four of their stories are told on these pages.

Shedding light on a topic that is often ignored, four stories of LHS students illustrate that mental illness is not as uncommon as people may think.

21-23 Solving the Puzzle of Teens and Sleep*

*=Focus Story Cover and Focus Cover Illistrations by Becky DeAcetis and Olivia Griffith Table of Contents by Breezy Listman

Statistics regarding teenagers and their lack of sleep, and its resulting consequences.

Contents

Even though dramatic movies and TV shows are a favorite for many, Hollywood and the media often portray mental illnesses glamorously, creating an incorrect stereotype.

The struggle between conforming to the popular opinion or sticking to your gut is explained and analyzed.

Absentee Reality

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Mental media*

Opinion

Although many students long for adventure and get bored in Libertyville, one staff member feels that this can be cured with a good book.

A list of concerts and festivals fans are anxiously awaiting, plus a glimpse at some trendy ways to help relieve stress after a hard day.

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Absentee Reality

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LHS chooses Dr. Tom Koulentes as new principal

By Rachel Dudley

Photo courtesy of Mark Kodiak Ukena Starting July 1, Dr. Tom Koulentes will take on the role of Libertyville High School principal, replacing current principal Dr. Marina Scott.

Dr. Tom Koulentes, the current principal at Highland Park High School, has been chosen to become the new principal at LHS following current principal Dr. Marina Scott’s retirement at the end of this school year.

At the school board meeting on Monday Feb. 27, the board unanimously voted to formally appoint Dr. Koulentes as principal of LHS starting on July 1. Before the vote, the District 128 superintendent, Dr. Prentiss Lea praised Dr. Koulentes for his previous leadership experience at HPHS along with his character.

“Tom is a demonstrated, mission-driven, moral and ethical leader, and his leadership philosophy, beliefs and actions are consistent with D128 core values,” Dr. Lea stated.

Junior Emily Regan, a school board student representative, added: “I am so thrilled that I get another year at LHS because I know that he is going to make it an even better atmosphere, if that’s even possible.”

Dr. Koulentes has been serving in his role at HPHS since July 2015 after being appointed interim principal for the 2014-2015 school year.

Before becoming principal, Dr. Koulentes was the assistant principal at HPHS for nine years, according to HPHS’s website.

Seeing a lot of potential at LHS, Dr. Koulentes said “I would not be leaving HPHS for any school other than Libertyville.”

Students and faculty members were involved in the interview process of the potential new principal. Emily Baumstark, an LHS senior who participated in Dr. Koulentes’s interview, is excited about his selection.

“He is a very genuine and personable man who had not just the school’s best interest [at] heart but the interest of each individual student,” Baumstark stated in a text interview.

News

Dr. Koulentes has been in District 113 for more than 20 years, starting as a social studies and English Language Learners (ELL) teacher, according to the Chicago Tribune. Soon after, he became the director of the district’s bilingual program. Although he is nervous to leave HPHS, he is excited for a new start at Libertyville he said.

He holds a doctorate degree in education and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from National-Louis University as well as a bachelor’s degree in social studies education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Koulentes has been a longtime friend of Dr. Scott, who believes he will be a great principal for LHS. According to Dr.Scott, the job of principal is about a lot more than policy changes and paperwork -- it’s centered around the students.

“I like to put [the students] first, so if you want to talk to me, I put you before any of [the administration]. If there’s a decision to be made, the first thing we think about is what’s going to be best for kids,” Dr. Scott explained.

Dr. Koulentes also views having an open door as an important aspect for principals and plans to practice it at LHS. He is very excited about coming to Libertyville because he believes it is one of the best high schools in the state and wants to help the school become one of the best in the nation.

“My first year, I am really going to count on the students and the staff to help show me what LHS is all about,” said Dr. Koulentes.

He also believes that having good relationships with the students and faculty of Libertyville will be a crucial part of leading the school.

He heavily relies on those relationships at HPHS and plans on creating many more at Libertyville.

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An uproar of activism for LHS students

By Maddie Wasser In the months since the election, political tensions increased and student activism has soared. Students from all over the country and abroad are discussing and protesting the new administration’s policies and actions, while others lend their support to the more conservative practices that are taking place in the post-Obama administration.

Much as they did in the 1960s within the Civil Rights Movement, students once again feel compelled to be heard about issues that are important to them. While there are often strong opposing views, students are learning to come together to discuss them and connect with others who share a strong sense of political interest and want to make a difference.

Libertyville High School is no exception to this. The school offers a variety of clubs, activities and organizations for students to explore their political interests or other political-related issues. Three such groups are AdvoCats, Junior State of America (JSA) and ConservaCats.

AdvoCats is an extracurricular club that focuses on gender equality and the current issues surrounding it. Club members discuss new issues that are pertinent, as well as work to educate themselves and empower others to give back, said Ms. Andrea Lara, U.S. history teacher, Student Council advisor and AdvoCats sponsor.

Membership in AdvoCats is very high this year, with about 30-35 kids per meeting. AdvoCats meets on Mondays after school, and the meetings tend to be educational.

In past meetings, students have presented issues to the group, such as intersectional feminism, a topic discussed by junior Grace Schamberger and senior Annie Lancaster.

“I joined this club because it felt kind of like a safe space where I could openly express my belief for women’s rights,” said freshman Rachel Preusker. “I came to a couple meetings before the election, but then I really started coming regularly after the results of the election just because it felt like more of a safe space.”

Hannah Thurau, the sister of Julia Thurau, LHS graduate who founded AdvoCats a few years ago, added, “There isn’t one thing I don’t like about AdvoCats. Every Monday I sit in a room of intelligent men and

Photos courtesy of Claire Mills Juniors and JSA members Chris Martin, Margo Lawless, Will Bertaud, Julia Mollenhauer express their beliefs for their national Fight Apathy campaign.

5 News

Photo by Savanna Winiecki Dr. Nelson presents to some students about body image in a weekly Monday AdvoCats meeting. women who can maturely discuss some of the most important topics in our world today. AdvoCats is the name, gender equality is the game.”

As for JSA, it is a national organization that was started at LHS by senior Conor Kennedy a couple of years ago and is 100 percent student-run. It is currently headed up by Kennedy and junior Claire Mills, while being sponsored by Ms. Amy Holtsford, a government and law teacher.

JSA encourages young, politically-active students to voice their opinions and share ideas, popular or not, with other students. They meet on Fridays after school to talk about all kinds of political issues, regardless of political affiliation.

“Prior to the election, in the fall, when we were starting up JSA this year, they had over 20 [students], which was a big group for what I’ve seen in the past. I think that after the election, it’s gone down quite a bit, but I think last time maybe there were eight or 10. Usually there is a core group of perhaps six or eight that are pretty much diehards and they come every week for nearly everything,” Ms. Holtsford observed.

Weekly activities can include discussions about current events or past presidencies and their policies.

“On the state level, some of the activities they do are competitions where other schools can meet and then they’ll talk about policy issues and then there is also a national organization/competition,” indicated Ms. Holtsford.

Another new group, which is not sponsored by the school, is ConservaCats. ConservaCats’s founder, senior Spencer Baumruk, founded the unofficial club due to the negative stigma surrounding conservatives in a predominantly liberal state and school.

“I think even though it might be the unpopular opinion that negative stigma causes a lot of people to feel ashamed for their beliefs and so this group is a way for people to meet other people who think alike, to feel a sort of reformation of their values as well as to discuss so that they could possibly change their minds, learn more, and really reduce the negative stigma surrounding different beliefs in the school,” claimed Baumruk.

Although the group’s development is still “in the works,” the primary purpose of it is to talk about conservative issues and philanthropic ideas in the future. Activism, Baumruk stressed, was one of the main points in creating the club, as well as to help local veterans-related charities.

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Overall Absences

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lu-like Symptoms, Immunizations and Homebound are only three of the 40 attendance codes Libertyville High School uses, which is more than most other schools, according to attendance and transcript manager Michelle Jones.

Although some students enjoy missing school, being absent can also be stressful as a high school student. Field trips, college visits, sports and everything-in-between contributed to 83,655 periods missed by students from the beginning of the school year through Feb. 6.

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Overall, seniors miss far more days of school than any other grade for many reasons, from field trips to college visits to sports absences. One day in particular seniors miss is Senior Ditch Day, which is the Monday after Prom. This school year, Ditch Day is Monday, May 15.

Although most seniors do not come to school out of tradition, Mrs. Barbara Whalen, a secretary in the A-F LST, said not all seniors ditch: “A lot of them are here because of sports or a test.”

On Friday, Nov. 4, the day of the Cubs’ World Series championship parade, more juniors missed school than any other grade.

Seniors missed 498 periods; juniors, 515; sophomores, 505; and freshmen, 452.

Mrs. Whalen suggested a reason as to why this may be the case: “If [seniors] want to participate [in sports], they have to be here.

Plus, I think they’re pretty serious about

their academics, more serious than other classes, maybe, because they’re applying for college; it’s the semester where all of their applications are going in for college. So I think that might be another reason why there were more seniors here than juniors.”

Mrs. Kristi Robertson, who teaches AP and Honors U.S. History, said she was “neutral” in terms of students being at school that day: “I completely understood; I didn’t take it personally…I mean, that was a big deal for sports fans!”

Mrs. Robertson also believes that students have to ultimately decide on whether to attend school or be absent. “I think that students maybe just should realize that it is their choice and that’s what they have to weigh: what’s going on in my classes that day, what would be the costs and benefits to going on this particular trip, versus the costs and benefits of staying in class,” she said.

Field Trips Students and teachers alike have contrasting views about field trips: some love them and some hate them. However, any controversy, stress of make-up work, teacher disapproval or peer pressure did not stop the 917 students who have already been on field trips this year.

According to AP European History teacher Mr. Kevin O’Neill, field trips can be hit or miss when it comes to the worth of a day away from the classroom: “Any field trip needs to be weighed against what you’re missing, the value of the field trip versus the value of what you’re missing in school that day.”

Though some field trips provide unique opportunities for learning, Mr. O’Neill feels that all too often, they are not properly weighed against the extra work that not only the student, but also the teacher, will have to do to catch the student up.

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From a student’s perspective, junior Claire Mills discussed how the AP Biology field trip from earlier this year was “something that we could never get to do in any other environment.” The class took measurements, did actual field work, and really embraced the opportunity to do work that they would do if they worked in the biology field.

In regards to extracurricular field trips, Mills attends Model U.N. conferences several times throughout the year. Though this is a club, students put in time and work into each trip. Club trips occur multiple times a year, and students have some say in which trips they go on. Mills cited this as a great way to feel in control of absences, saying that the ability to select trips “makes it feel more like you’re choosing that you’re going instead of [it being] a requirement for a class.”

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Sports Seniors are absent more often than other grades due to sports participation. In past years, several varsity sports have gone to IHSA state competitions. Because seniors take up so many spots on varsity sports teams, they are the ones that are most often absent. Juniors take up many spots on varsity as well, so they too have many sports-related absences.

This school year, seniors have missed more than 300 more periods than juniors from sports absences. Junior, sophomore, and freshman sports absences are 342, 262, and 208 periods, respectively. The younger the athlete, the less school they tend to miss.

Emma Peterson, a freshman on the varsity dance team, said that missing school for competitions is stressful but worth it: “It’s pretty hard knowing

College Visits Ms. Amy Belstra, LHS college counselor, explained that college visits begin having “real value” during sophomore year. Out of the 517 students absent for college visits this year, seven are freshmen: “Freshman year, if you’re going with your older brother or sister and you just go because mom and dad say you’re coming, that’s fine, but it doesn’t mean anything,” Ms. Belstra said.

Ms. Belstra believes that college visits make an impact on decisions about attending a school, and that, “in an ideal world, if the student has the means to go and visit a college campus, that is something they should do.”

However, missing school for a college visit can be problematic for a student when it comes to make-up work. Ms. Belstra believes that if a student plans ahead and talks to their teachers in

you’ve got to be at the competition all day and knowing you still have school on the side.

But it’s really important also knowing you’ve committed to something like poms; it’s a really big accomplishment for a team to be able to get to State, so I was really happy that we made it. But I think it’s okay to be able to make up the work afterwards.”

The varsity dance coach, Ms. Casey Dugan, agrees that students are able to manage the stress of missing school for the state competition. “In terms of schoolwork, the team I [had] this season is very responsible and did a lot of the work ahead of time,” she said. “And we would talk to them about nights before competitions; they should be in, resting, doing homework so that they’re not stressed out the next day.”

advance, instead of deciding last minute to miss school for a visit, they will be much better equipped to return to school without feeling behind or with copious amounts of work to make up.

Senior Johanna Nimmer has been missing every Friday since mid-January, and will continue that pattern until the end of March, to attend college visits and auditions for their musical theatre programs. She explained that getting the work is “pretty easy. A lot of my teachers are really good about it. It’s making it up that takes a while.”

Nimmer also believes that visiting these schools has helped her make more concrete decisions about college, which she could not have made without visiting the campus, and she has “fallen in love with schools she never expected to.”

Infographic By Colleen Mullins Information From Mrs. Michelle Jones on February 6th, 2017

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Seniors Lexi Acosta and Michela Mosconi started their own company, L and M Jewelry, this past December.

L

M Jewelry

By Rachel Dudley Photos by Maria Thames Layout by Manal Ahmed

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n early December, senior Lexi Acosta texted her friend Michela Mosconi: “Do you want to start a jewelry company?” So, they decided to start L and M Jewelry.

Before they started their own company, Acosta would make bracelets that she sold in order to raise money for the Caring for Cambodia mission trip she went on. However, Acosta described the bracelets as nothing serious, more of a fun way to raise money “whenever I could sell them or whenever I had time.” chrome-extension://nlkncpkkdoccmpiclbokaimcnedabhhm/gallery.html 1/1 Mosconi also had experience making jewelry; she would make necklaces based off of pictures she found on Pinterest.

L and M has had great success; so far, they have sold more than 100 necklaces. The girls said their success started after their friend, Kathryn Dane, bought a necklace.

“Everyone asked her where she got it and the next day, we had probably like 10 orders. We were so taken [aback]. I was at [Lexi’s] house every day for like four hours, making a bunch just to keep up,” Mosconi said. Dane bought her first necklace in early December, soon after the business was started. She has since bought necklaces as gifts for friends and recommended them to her peers.

“I absolutely love all of the necklaces they make! I have two of theirs and not only are they so pretty and stylish, but they are really good quality and nicely made!” Dane exclaimed in an email interview.

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Starting a business has been a very challenging but also rewarding experience for Acosta and Mosconi. According to the girls, a lot of the stress comes from actually making the necklaces, especially during the holidays and when they’ve had large orders. They rely on one another to make sure everything gets done on time and effectively.

“We just both work together. Obviously we have different schedules, so when one of us has a lot going on, the other one will pick up the slack,” Acosta stated. The girls split the responsibilities of the company pretty evenly and they cite their prior friendship as the reason they have such good communication.

The community has been incredibly supportive of the new business.

“I’ve seen people I don’t even know around the school [wearing the necklaces].

Like, I’ve never seen their face before but I recognize the necklace and it’s so cool to see,” Mosconi shared.

The business has even grown beyond Libertyville High School. On Friday, March 3, L and M necklaces were sold at Forest Bootery in downtown Libertyville for First Friday. Acosta and Mosconi were very excited about being able to sell their jewelry at an actual store because “adults could buy it or younger children could instead of just high school students and they can tell their friends and hopefully that will help [the business] expand,” Mosconi said.

Despite their excitement, there were also some nerves, as selling at the store would mean they wouldn’t actually have regular contact with their customers. At school, they are able to meet up with customers in case any piece of jewelry breaks or if they have any other questions.

They are also able to give their customers exactly what they want if their customers customize necklaces.

The sales at Forest Bootery have been a big success. According to Kristy Seitz, the manager of the Libertyville Forest Bootery, “Everyone has loved the necklaces and they’ve loved supporting a local business, especially LHS students.”

Seitz first heard about L and M from her daughter Natalie, who is

a junior at LHS and has some chokers of her own. Some friends of Natalie’s then asked Seitz if they’d be able to sell the necklaces at Forest Bootery. After reaching out to the owner, who agreed, they then talked to Acosta and Mosconi to decide specific details about the sale. The sales will continue until they sell out, and so far the sales have looked promising.

Right now, L and M offers their clients a variety of necklace styles and colors. They have a layered necklace, which they call double trouble, beaded bar necklaces, plain beaded chokers and beaded chokers with a charm, called drop chokers. They also still sell the bracelets that Acosta made previous to the start of L and M. Customers are able to customize the color of the jewelry as well. Their most popular items are their chokers, in particular, their silver drop chokers.

They have also recently added a collegiate choker line. These chokers can be customized with whatever college colors are requested. They started the line with college on their minds; as the two girls prepare for the end of senior year, they were excited to be able to connect with their customers in a new and more personal way.

“We felt like it could be something that people could feel personally... and connect [to] us in a different way than, ‘Oh, the chokers,’” Mosconi said.

The collegiate line has been successful so far and even brought in their first out-of-state purchase when they sold a University of Tennessee choker to a former LHS student.

Overall, the two girls have learned a lot from their experiences in starting and running their own business. They have had to learn how to balance the company with school because it’s important for them to keep school as a top priority. They’ve also learned the importance of hearing others out and compromising. The business has also expanded their friendship: “I think it’s definitely made our friendship stronger and I respect her a lot more because it is challenging to run a business,” Mosconi said. “And I couldn’t do it without her.”

“I think it’s definitely Fi made our friendship stronger &I respect her a lot more because it is challenging to run a business. I couldn’t do it without her.”

-Michela

L and M Jewelry has already sold more than 100 necklaces and makes all different kinds -- they even have a collegiate choker line and can also custom-make any necklaces, adding charms and various colors.

Despite being a fairly new company, L and M Jewelry has found success. On Friday, March 3, the company made 50 necklaces to sell at local store Forest Bootery and the sales will continue until they sell out.

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In the middle of writing this story, we decided to test out an idea. It was pretty simple: do people in this school knowingly misuse actual mental disorders to describe people for acting a certain way that is by no means indicative of actually having a mental disorder? For example, saying “you’re so OCD,” to the person next to you who wanted to organize their notes, or a more casual comment to your friend to “stop being so bipolar.”

We went out and randomly asked about 20 students around LHS to answer some questions honestly. The survey (by no means an exact representation of the entire school but rather a good point of reference for this story’s purpose) revealed a few key things. First, students are more likely to use the words “OCD” and “bipolar” as loose adjectives to describe the people they perceive to be acting in that way. On the flipside, students are far more cognizant when it comes to misusing words associated with depression and eating disorders to describe people, and no one out of the 20 students answered yes to having ever described someone they viewed as acting crazy as “schizophrenic.”

In a way, we collectively push a narrative where mental disorders have become common phrases to throw at our friends, essentially making light of what is a severe problem at our school and across the nation. Those comments become misconceptions and those misconceptions become our basis for understanding. And there is one misconception that still seems to have a firm root in the dialogue on mental illness — that mental illnesses are somehow not legitimate and not on the same level as physical injuries.

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By Alo Garcia Escobar and Maya Trott Infographic by Alo Garcia Escobar Layout by Becky DeAcetis

The Science

THINK AGAIN

Those afflicted with mental disorders experience chemical imbalances in the brain, so for example, someone with depression could have abnormal serotonin levels. And neurotransmitter levels will be affected by any disorder.

There are other factors that can contribute as well, such as genetics and the environment in which someone grows up. According to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), when we are young, if faced with adverse experiences, our brain can change in the way it handles trauma.

Ms. Kara Bosman, AP Psychology teacher, explains it as this: “The example [ACES] use is, ‘We can’t tell the difference between paper tigers and real tigers.’ If we’re always getting these real tigers thrown at us, like abuse, then eventually we will rewire to see everything as abuse.”

The American Psychology Association reports that in recent years, scientists have identified genes linked to schizophrenia and discovered anomalies in the brain that correlate with an increased risk of developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Furthermore, they include research findings detailing depression and its correspondence to a specific region in the brain they called Brodmann area 25.

“All mental processes are brain processes, and therefore all disorders of mental functioning are biological diseases,” stated Eric Kandel, a Nobel Prize laureate and professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Columbia University.

negatively impacted him, he does believe that they have influenced his behavior.

“I’d rather put my voice out there to let people know, to get rid of those misconceptions to inform people about what [mental illness] really is,” Evans explained.

Evans believes that younger generations are becoming more and more informed on the issues, while “[misconceptions] start pushing out as the generation starts getting older, like dying off, I guess you could say.

More and more people know about it,” Evans elaborated.

So, the question becomes the following: why is there still a stigma associated with mental illnesses? And why are we so casual in throwing out mental disorders in side conversations as if they are entities of little to no consequence?

A lot of the times, it has to do with the idea of weakness.

“Mental illness, a lot of times, is seen as a weakness. When someone has a cough, we say, ‘Get better.’ If someone breaks their arm, you feel for them. Physical illness that we can see is very easy to sympathize and empathize with,” commented Ms. Bosman. “So, there’s this weakness conception about it that if they wanted to, they could just change their thoughts, like ‘Why don’t you just think about happy things instead of sad things all the time?’”

The Resources

The Experience

Mrs. Jennifer Andersen is one of the Erika’s Lighthouse advisors and the social worker for the G-P LST. Erika’s Lighthouse is a club dedicated to educating high school students on depression and other mental illnesses, with the main goal being to eliminate stigma. Mrs. Andersen explained what she felt to be a big problem surrounding how people view mental illness.

“While lifestyle changes can support positive mental wellness and mental health, that’s not always all that takes place. Just like with diabetes, there are things that you can do, that are lifestyle changes that would positively impact diabetes, but sometimes people need insulin,” Mrs. Andersen explained.

Just like with physical illness, sometimes actual medication or professional treatment is needed to help improve one’s mental state.

Mrs. Andersen believes that many misconceptions about mental illness come from the fact that they are rooted in things we knew about the brain 10 years ago but have since changed due to continued research.

According to Mrs. Andersen, there is one thing we can do to continue fixing these misconceptions: “education, education, education.”

Our knowledge of the brain and psychological functions is continuously changing, so it is important to continue staying current with information about mental illness.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five children ages 13-18 have, or will have, a serious mental illness, meaning that it’s almost certain someone you know could have a mental illness.

LHS is no exception to that. Sophomore Emma Milowski was diagnosed with depression and anxiety around a year and a half ago, and while she doesn’t pay too much attention to what people say, some comments that make light of her diagnosis still hit home at times.

“I know a lot of people don’t know I’m depressed, so it might be something like that, where they simply don’t know or that they simply don’t care and personally, I try not to let it bother me,” she said. “I say, ‘Maybe they don’t know,’ or something like that, but deep down inside, it always does.”

Milowski attributes many of the misconceptions she hears as links to the invisibility factor of mental illnesses.

“I think the fact that you can’t see it in someone would make them have a misconception about [mental illness],” she noted. “Think about other people’s feelings before you say something.”

Junior Trevor Evans was diagnosed with anxiety and ADHD during his sophomore year. Although he says misconceptions have not necessarily

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DOI hopes to shed light on a subject that is quite often left in the dark: Mental Health.

By Demi Glusic and Hannah Hutchins Layout by Olivia Griffith Mental illness is everywhere. Maybe you have read or learned about it, maybe you know or love someone affected by it or maybe you yourself are affected by it. No matter what your relationship with mental illness is, in some form or another, it does affect you.

According to the World Health Organization, one in four people will be affected by some sort of mental illness or disorder. For such a prevalent occurrence in each and every one of our lives, why is it so seldom talked about?

Through the stories of four individuals, DOI hopes to shed light on a subject that is quite often left in the dark. We want to tell the stories, not just of the following four students, but also of the 32 people who responded to our school-wide email seeking participants for this story, as well as the countless others who struggle with something every day.

Note: Due to the nature of this story and how sensitive and personal of a topic it is, two people featured in this article have elected to remain anonymous. As for the other one, we have used just their last initial to protect their privacy as well.

For this particular senior girl, mental health has been something she has struggled with for quite some time. After she began self-harming in eighth grade, this student was diagnosed with depression and anxiety her freshman year of high school.

Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety can look very different from person to person. However, a common symptom found in those with depression, as well as one that she suffers from, is the feeling of isolation or loneliness.

“I didn’t see my parents as people who cared about me, and I didn’t see my friends as someone who would be upset if I made a permanent decision. I felt like I was alone in the world,” the student explained.

Although this student has had both depression and anxiety since her freshman year, it did not really “take a toll” on her until last year. She was taken out of school and put into a partial hospitalization program for people who are deemed at-risk and in need of more intensive therapy and help.

In the program, there were many different kinds of treatment, including art, group, dog and yoga therapies. The patients in the program also learned different coping mechanisms, such as different patterns of breathing for when they are in a particularly stressful situation. “[My parents] didn’t think [the programs] were helpful, but I did.

Being around people who understood what I was going through and also constant therapy was something I needed,” she expressed.

After spending a month in the program, the student graduated. How-

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ever, a month or two later, she had a “relapse” in which her anxiety took over.

“I could not function at all. I developed this paranoia, and I could not go to school because I thought everyone was plotting against me. It was crazy; I thought someone was coming to attack me,” she said.

Paranoia, which is a common occurrence in individuals with anxiety, can be absolutely crippling, as it was for this student. While anxiety can be described as constant worry, paranoia is more along the lines of constant and irrational fear. She was put in the hospital for a week and after that, she was later hospitalized again for “suicidal ideation.” After this, she attended therapeutic school. That’s when it really hit her.

“It was a crazy year. All of a sudden this switch went off and I was just sitting there wondering how this all happened. I had struggled before, but nothing like this. So I tried to focus on being normal,” she said.

Today, this student is doing significantly better. While she, of course, still deals with her depression and anxiety, and although some days are better than others, she has learned how to handle it better.

“I would never tell someone that it goes away because it never completely goes away, but it becomes manageable. You don’t learn how to get rid of it, you learn how to cope with it,” she said. “The tunnel doesn’t end, but lights come on and you can see. And maybe it does get better for some people. I wouldn’t know, but I think it becomes something you cope with. It’s like, you’re not proud of it, but you’re proud of where you’ve come from.”

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LHS senior Sage has struggled with depression, which for him, can range from being minor to impactful. Bullied at a younger age, he began to notice waves of sudden sadness in fifth grade which picked up in momentum and intensity when he entered high school.

Although he was never officially diagnosed with depression from medical professionals, Sage recognized the signs and sought out the help from friends and family alike.

While his depression spells can come out of thin air, some things do act as triggers, such as the periods of seasonal temperature changes, as well as the news and politics, both of which he follows closely. One of his biggest challenges is trying to get others to understand how one can go from feeling fine to melancholy within seconds.

“It really is difficult to explain to people like, ‘Hey, I’m all of a sudden in a really bad mood and there’s no exact reason for that’,” Sage expressed.

For Sage, depression isn’t so much the feeling of sadness that most people view this condition as, but rather the feeling of being super sleepy, lethargic or very unmotivated. Recently, after breaking his arm, Sage was put him into a state of long-term minor depression; he missed a day of school due to the lack of motivation he had. He has missed school

on other occasions, and while Sage thinks that others may view it as pure laziness if he told them why he missed school, he said that it’s not laziness but he “really just couldn’t do it.”

“What helps me get through harder times is [that] I really have a good mental check on the depression because I realize I can get depressed, [so] I can normally catch myself because I feel that, at least for me the main thing is being able to catch and realize that you’re depressed,” said Sage. “If you really don’t figure that out, or it takes you a while, that’s when you start getting into problems often.”

When Sage realizes that he is in a depressed mood, he takes actions to try to improve his mind set. One of Sage’s strategies includes taking time off of school work to do things he enjoys, such as listening to music, playing chess or a video game, or in his opinion the best remedy -- getting a little extra sleep.

“My advice for anyone currently suffering from mental health is that with mental health, you really do need to seek help,” said Sage. “You really should find someone who can help you [in particular an adult], and look into ways to alleviate your depression when it comes. Try to get more sleep, tell yourself jokes, do activities that will really help you out.”

Beginning early in freshman year, this sophomore was diagnosed with depression after she began to have suicidal thoughts, minor self-harm and other warning signs such as grade slips in seventh and eighth grades.

She visited her counselor to discuss her thoughts, who then promptly contacted the student’s mom and set the student up with a social worker outside of school.

After being diagnosed, she was put on medication yet had to keep switching medications as they stopped working. The multitude of medication made her very tired and upset to the point where she no longer wanted to speak out in class for fear that others would laugh at her comments.

The anorexia started right after school began freshman year, caused by the anxiety and stress that school put on the student.

“I was so scared about what people thought of me that I wouldn’t eat because I felt like if I didn’t eat, I would be a better person,” she explained. The anorexia lasted for around six months and then proceeded to get better. “I still have bad thoughts and stuff, but it’s a lot more controlled now. I’m able to eat and able to do things.”

Luckily, this student was able to keep her grades up in school; how-

ever, the social aspect of her life began to suffer. Before the depression took its toll, she participated in a few clubs, but when her depression got particularly bad, she failed to show up. She was also invited by friends into groups for both Homecoming and Turnabout but declined so she could be left alone. Pushing nearly everyone away led to the loss of friends and the support from them. Yet, this student was still able to stick with a few friends whom she has known since kindergarden.

Due to other issues happening at home, bringing up issues to her family was a seldom occurrence, as she felt like she would be a burden to the family.

The depression and anxiety are still an issue looming over this student today, however they are being helped by taking medication and being in an LST support group. “[Depression] affects so many kids now, and it shouldn’t be something that you should be scared to talk about because it doesn’t matter if you are judged or not,” she expressed. “...You’re still a good person, it’s not something that’s gonna change you forever. It’s something you just need to focus on fixing for yourself.”

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good relationships and doing activities that I really enjoy, those are my priorities.”

For many people, it is very typical to want to keep their mental illness hidden and secret. However, this student openly talks about it with friends “When you have depression, it’s just such a big part of your life. To me, it’s weird to not talk about it. [Talking about your mental illness] is seen as kind of a taboo thing that comes with all of these stereotypes, and some of them just aren’t true,” she said. “Depression affects so many different kinds of people; there are so many people going through similar stuff as you and you would never know.”

Today, both anxiety and depression still affect this student, but her outlook on her experiences is one of a positive mindset.

“You should never be afraid of people judging you, because people will judge you no matter what,” she said. “Say what you want and do what you want. It will be worth it in the end.”

Officially, this senior, has dealt with anxiety and depression for three years now. Unofficially, she has struggled far longer than that, recalling her anxiety even as a young kid. However, both her depression and anxiety really took hold when she entered high school.

“It started freshman year with the switching of schools, my friend group changing and people just changing. I went through a lot of lonely times and that was really hard. I lost interest in a lot of things, like dancing. My focus in school was really bad, my grades slipped, it was a mess,” she recalled.

To combat the bad days and make the good days better, her personal solution involves “spending time with good people, sleeping and focusing on what’s important.”

“In high school, you have to realize what is really important and it has taken me all four years, but I finally understand that putting all your effort and time and stress into things that are not valuable to me is just not a priority,” she said. “Focusing on what makes me happy and having

Photos from Wikimedia and Pixaba/CC Photo Illustration by Olivia Griffith These four stories represent many other students at LHS, including the 32 others who responded to an email seeking sources for this article.

Mental illnesses can be hard and scary and lonely, but there is always someone available who can help. The social workers in the LSTs are always available to dedicate time to lend a listening ear. There are hotlines -- the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255); the National Institute of Mental Health Information Center (866-615-6464); the Eating Disorders Center (888-236-1188); the Samaritans Crisis Response Hotline (212-673-3000) -- that have people working 24/7 and are there to simply listen. Erika’s Lighthouse is a club at LHS that addresses mental illness and meets every Wednesday.

No matter where you are, there is someone, somewhere, who can help you and wants to help you.

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The

By Luke Ekdahl and Kyle Patterson

of Sports

Layout by Olivia Griffith

From football to track to gymnastics, sports have a physical intensity that has both positive and negative effects on the body. Sports and its affect on health has been fiercely debated in recent years. However, there is another aspect of health affected, and it’s not physical. Mental health can be greatly affected by sports, both in positive and negative manners.

The benefits of sports to a player’s mental health can be substantial.

Eddie Moy, a junior at LHS who is in cross country, wrestling and track, believes that sports can bring many benefits to someone’s mental health.

“I would say that [exercise] is definitely is a positive thing,” commented Moy. “I think it really helps. You can let out all of your emotions and stress from the day, and then I feel a lot more prepared for homework and have a lot more energy.”

Mike Jones, the varsity head coach of LHS football, feels that sports can help athletes overcome obstacles in all aspects of life, something they may not be able to achieve elsewhere.

“I feel that from sports, you reach a high that you can’t reach anywhere else, and I think it also makes you mentally tough because you have to work through situations that are not only mentally difficult, but physically difficult,” Jones said. “You break through those barriers [in sports], and I think that is something that you just don’t get in the classroom.”

Many professionals in the medical field agree. Studies have shown that exercise during sports activities can have chemical and social benefits that help promote good mental health. “There’s that reaction at the cellular level of adrenaline that kicks in, so you do feel better after you’ve exercised,” commented LHS nurse Cameron Traut. “Your body might be tired, but you’re feeling that ‘runner’s high,’ so there are some physiological changes that go on that make you feel better too and in a sense, it helps your mental health.”

Along with the chemical benefits to the brain, sports allow participants opportunities to meet people with similar interests and make new friendships. Sports also can be good in the sense that they teach students about time management and planning out their schedule. Participating in sports gives students structure in their schedule that they may not have otherwise.

“You tend to be a little more honed in and taking better care of yourself when you’re doing a sport too because that’s your tool, that’s what you’re going to do better and win the game,” commented Ms. Traut.

Social bonds formed while in sports can also help an athlete feel better mentally because they are connected to the rest of the community. “I think what’s really important [are] the bonds you make with other people, like in the sport and the companionship,” stated Moy. Ms. Traut added, “It usually is a really good thing to be involved with [sports] when it comes to taking care of your mental health and your brain health because it tends to lead you to do other things that would be good for brain health such as diet and exercise, being connected socially, and having a purpose and a goal, which are all important for mental health.”

While sports can have a great deal of positive benefits for one’s brain, there are also some well-known negative aspects to sports as well. The level of stress student-athletes can experience is one example. Balancing homework and sports practices and games can be challenging at times, especially for students who participate in sports year-round.

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“Being a three-sport athlete is very stressful and yes, usually I don’t have time to do anything during the week,” said senior Konnor Lindsey, who plays football, wrestling and lacrosse, in a typed response. “Being a three-sport athlete can affect your performance in school negatively if you let it.”

This exemplifies why it is very important for student-athletes to get the rest that they need. “No matter how old you are, you’ve got to make that time to just relax,” Ms. Traut added. “From a physical standpoint, [teenagers are] still going through changes... Growth and development changes. That can make you tired, which is why [teenagers] sleep more or need sleep more than [adults] do.”

It should also come as no surprise that injuries are common in sports.

Most of these injuries are obvious to spot and will heal with time, such as broken bones or torn ligaments. What is less obvious and more difficult to treat, however, are psychological injuries, particularly traumatic brain injuries.

The potential long-term risks of concussions and diseases like Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), which is a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated concussions, are known all-too-well today due to an overall better understanding of these types of injuries in the medical world as well as the media’s extensive coverage of them.

Aside from causing short-term cognitive and emotional changes, these injuries can have lasting impacts on one’s mental health, such as longterm memory loss, emotional distress and depression. Teenagers are especially vulnerable since their brains are still not fully developed. For these reasons, many sports today, especially high-contact sports, have been facing intense scrutiny regarding their safety.

There is no question that certain sports can pose a high risk to these types of injuries. According to HeadCase.com, a website that compiles concussion statistics from high schools across the country, roughly one in five high school athletes will experience a concussion at some point in their career. And of all diagnosed concussions among high school-aged athletes, only about 10 percent resulted in a loss of consciousness, meaning that it’s not always immediately obvious that a player has received a concussion. Football, hockey and soccer are where these injuries are most prevalent, but they can occur in any sport at some level.

Although the disadvantages and risks of playing sports are known, this does not deter a significant amount of students from playing them. While sports can add extra stress to a student’s daily life, many people believe it’s worth it in the long run.

“It does take a lot of time, especially some sports, but overall I think [they are] a positive experience,” commented Moy. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it.”

Others believe that the life skills that sports teach are invaluable.

“Sports teach lessons that a classroom cannot,” added Lindsey, “such as how to deal with loss and how to be a good winner. They also teach you about mental and physical toughness that you can’t find in the classroom.”

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Mental media

Staff Editorial

Photo illustration by Colleen Mullins Social media often portrays the happy parts of teenagers’ lives, leaving out the imperfect parts.

If it’s not on the screen in the palm of our hands, then it’s on the big screen that people pay to see: media is all over the place. And whether people recognize it or not, it has a large effect on the way society thinks.

It’s not uncommon to see a “crazy” person in movies. Of course, in some movies it adds to the creepiness and for others, it adds to the drama. Regardless of the reason, it seems that Hollywood loves to portray mental illness in its own, specific way -- but that stereotype is not real.

Some movies, TV shows and media sources love to portray depression as just feeling down in the dumps, schizophrenia as crazy, and eating disorders as something that only girls suffer from. In fact, in some movies, like “Girl, Interrupted” or “28 Days,” the only people who seem to suffer from mental health issues are young, pretty girls whose problems can be solved with a boy. Whereas when males are portrayed with mental health issues in the media, like in “Psycho” or “Silence of the Lambs,” they are portrayed as menacing and violent.

Some of these movies don’t care so much about mental illness, but rather only profit and plot. They want to create one-dimensional characters that people will feel for. However, every character is the same. By portraying mental illness in the same way, over and over again, it makes it hard to see mental health in a different light.

What if someone is not down in the dumps but is actually depressed?

What if a boy is anorexic? What if an adult is suffering from a mental illness? What if someone has schizophrenia but is not crazy in the way that the movies say?

Media paints mental health issues as black and white, but in reality,

it’s not that way. How is one supposed to know if they are suffering from a mental illness if they don’t even know what it looks like?

Then again, not all the blame can fall on Hollywood.

Society likes to think that social media is a beautiful thing, used to keep us happy and connected with the things that we love. But when you think about it, people only really use Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and countless other apps for one reason: to make themselves look good.

The Drops of Ink staff thinks that people only ever post things that make us look happy, well-traveled and/or perfect. People try to block out the part of themselves that they don’t want people to see and try to edit down the “bad” part, if it is ever shown. But what they may not realize is how this makes it harder to accept our actual selves, for the good parts and the bad.

Additionally, teenagers often turn mental illness into a joke with comments like “kms” or “she’s so bipolar,” all while others suffer through these issues silently. If someone has one bad test, they post something about “hating” themselves or wanting to “die.” But for other people who have suicidal thoughts, posting this could crush their self-esteem by making their problems seem unreal.

The DOI staff believes that while this might be a problem that many people give into, it’s an easy one to fix. Before you post something, you need to think about what you are saying. We may not all be experts on mental illness, but what we can understand is that everyone has something going on that we know nothing about. While we cannot empathize with everyone, we can try to sympathize.

Note: As this piece is a staff editorial, it is representative of the opinions of Drops of Ink staff as a whole. The staff is comprised of LHS students from each grade level and spans a wide range of opinions from two class periods, with 37 students total. The author(s) of this piece did not place their personal opinions in the story; they merely reflect the staff ’s thoughts.

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Learn to love reading

By Rachel Benner

Photo by Ben Kanches Although many do not read by choice in their spare time due to busyness or time spent on social media, reading has proven to increase ones general knowledge and is something that people should want to enjoy.

As teenagers stuck in a small town, we long for adventure and excitement. However, lack of time, money and rides can prevent us from seeking it. Instead of complaining about being trapped and turning to our phones, there is an alternative option. We often forget that we can discover what we wish for elsewhere.

Even though we have spent countless nights trying to force ourselves to read “The Odyssey” or annotate “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” have we failed to remember the pleasure one gets from curling up with a good story? Or the pride that follows finishing a book recommended by a friend and the excitement for the discussions ahead? Or the inevitable melancholy goodbyes to our favorite characters when we close a book?

It’s time we get over ourselves, pick up a book we are actually interested in, and read.

Here is what is going down: According to a report in 2014 by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization focused on helping parents, kids and educators navigate media and technology, teenagers are spending almost nine hours a day on media, a crazy statistic considering an average of only 38 minutes a day are dedicated to reading.

Needless to say, I’m guilty of this too. I recognize the embarrassingly large amount of time I’ve spent mindlessly scrolling through Instagram or viewing Snapchat stories (which are pointless, to be honest) on my phone, taking up time that could be used for about a billion better reasons.

Although I’m worthy of blame, I do occasionally pick up a good book.

To me, reading can excite and inspire me, making my life feel new.

Reading has been proven to be beneficial for us numerous times, but we often ignore the facts.

Reading for pleasure can provide benefits such as gaining more general

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knowledge, constructing an extensive vocabulary and earning higher scores on math, reading, and logical problem-solving tests, as shown by research from The New Zealand Council for Educational Research and The U.S. Department of Education. Young readers also have an improved understanding of other cultures, mature insight into human nature and stronger decision-making skills.

Putting all research aside, reading is absolutely wonderful. Novelist William Styron once said, “A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.”

Books can take you out of our hometown to places like Hogwarts, Mordor and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; travel from Antarctica to Italy to Mars and back again. You can go around the world without ever having to leave your bed.

You fall in love with characters, root for the underdog, empathize with the protagonist or despise the villain. Reading helps you feel. With books, you make sense of the world we are living in. You grow as a person, and you find the adventure that you have been begging for. All you have to do is find the right book.

This is how you can start: Ask a parent, friend, librarian or stranger at a coffee shop what they are reading to get suggestions. Discover what genre you like. Spend an hour at the bookstore or a library and wander through the topics. Read the book before the movie comes out. Pick up a newspaper and get acquainted with current events. Check out online articles and read farther than the headline and introductory sentence. Read the rest of this DOI issue (shameless self-promo). Adventure through books and underline sentences that speak to you. The words that fill these pages are so important, so let books become meaningful to you.

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Voicing the unpopular opinion

By Jack Kosowski

Photo by Abbey Humbert Many choose not to speak their opinion if the majority doesn’t agree with them because an argument may arise; but there are a select few who will speak out.

I’m sure every one of you reading this right now has held an opinion on a situation or event that somebody else disagrees with. It is common nature to have disagreements, but the frustrating thing is when you are one of the few that has a differing view.

From music to art to sports, there always seems to be a majority opinion. Take, for instance, how many people say they really enjoy country music. If I was surrounded by a lot of country music fans, even though I don’t prefer it, I’d most likely say, “It’s okay.”

The “Spiral of Silence,” originally created by German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Nuemann in 1974, is the idea that people do not want to share their own interpretation of a situation and they in turn conform to the majority opinion in fear that they will be singled out.

A lot of times, it’s my own understanding that people fear voicing an unpopular opinion because they feel as though there is no way the person or group they are discussing with will listen to them or change their mind on the topic at hand. That is what is frustrating about people these days, especially during the turbulent election season (I’m not innocent either on that front, at times). Most people get so confident and aggressive with their own opinion around others that agree with them that they fail to listen to differing opinions.

Now, even though unpopular opinions can be about anything, the most intense ones are often related to politics. I have experience with this because as a more conservative-oriented individual, I have many beliefs that a majority of the people in this school don’t agree with. As someone with a few unpopular opinions, everyone in the majority knows who you

are because your viewpoint is the complete opposite of theirs.

My experiences in AP Government during first semester were prime examples of this feeling. During the long and tumultuous election season, there were many heated -- yet civil -- debates that took place. I was one of the few people that supported President Trump, as well as most of his values and beliefs. I wrote a story in the November “Political Issue” of DOI on why I supported Donald Trump for president, an unpopular stance in our school. I took a lot of heat for this stance and at times, it was hard to voice my opinion knowing the possible backlash I might receive.

Now, that isn’t to say that having a dissenting opinion is always a good thing. It is the way that you convey your opinion that really matters because coming off as arrogant while having a not-so-popular opinion will not bode well for you.

For those who have the majority opinion, listen to others. You may find that someone with a different opinion might say something you agree with. Now, of course, that won’t automatically change your stance drastically, but there could be a point that you may find true, and it could change your perspective of that side of the issue. Those who are open-minded are the best kinds of people because they allow the unpopular opinions to be heard.

These opinions, which a lot of times are not expressed, need to be heard. No matter if they’re about how a sports team’s future should play out or how great a song is, they are a vital part of society. Take a listen to them sometime; they may surprise you.

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By Brandon Simberg

Sports

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ATHLETES

By Maggie Burnetti .

Photos By Matt Smith .

Layout By Kevin Loumeau .

Skeleton Ilustration Courtesy of anatomybody101.com .

Any athlete spends hundreds of hours over their lifetime practicing and, in turn, straining their body. No matter the countless hours put into their sport, everyone is susceptible to injury. Injuries often allow athletes to put their athletic career in a broader perspective and become motivated to perform even better in their return. Highlighted in this article are a few athletes who are currently, or have recently recovered from, their injuries, and all the rehabilitation that comes with.

Audrey Paglia Back to the track

Since her sophomore year, senior Audrey Paglia has been running with severe stomach pain with no exact explanation as to why, until this year.

Paglia explained that even though she went to many specialists, they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. Eventually, the doctors thought Paglia had an exploding cyst, a pocket of fluid, in her stomach that ruptured every time she ran.

“I ran with it for a good year and my times were getting slower and it was really affecting my races,” Paglia stated, adding that she was often in pain while running.

Looking ahead towards her pursuit of cross country and track at Lake Forest College in the fall, her doctors decided to perform exploratory surgery this winter. They cleaned and removed the cyst they had found in her stomach. In the time immediately following her surgery, Paglia was unable to practice and prepare for the upcoming track season, required to recover and rest.

“I’ve really noticed I have so much more time on my hands, which is kind of a negative thing because track always allowed me to time manage.

Although I’ve been going to the practices and watching, it’s just not the same as running. I use running as a stress reliever,” Paglia said.

More recently, she’s been able to practice, running a few miles a day. Paglia hopes to return to her final season of track at Libertyville after spring break.

Sports

Claire Neuberger Full-out Recovery

Junior Claire Neuberger’s fracture of her tibial plateau during the gymnastics season also carried onto her spring sport, track.

The fracture occurred during the conference meet for LHS Varsity Gymnastics on Jan. 28. While Neuberger was doing her floor routine, she landed with her left leg straight, bending it backward and fracturing her tibial plateau, as well as spraining her ACL, MCL, PCL and the collateral ligament of her knee in the process.

She expressed that even though the injury was severe already, it could’ve had an even worse outcome: “My doctor and physical therapist were both saying that I just got extremely lucky; I could’ve just completely blown out my knee really easily.”

The doctors Neuberger went to see after the injury at Illinois Bone and Joint Institute explained that she didn’t need surgery after the MRI and X-rays because the injury would heal as long as she did physical therapy and continued using crutches to walk.

Her physical therapy recovery started within the same week of her injury and is still going on. The doctors originally thought that Neuberger would only miss the indoor season of track, until she developed blood clots in her calf from the fracture and was hospitalized.

Neuberger hopes to return “around [April]. Even if I’m not pole vaulting, I hope I’ll be able to do some running or at least do something so that I can at least still be on the team,” she said.

Despite her injury, Neuberger is more excited to come back rather than feeling nervous.

Depending on the time she returns, Neuberger hopes to possibly qualify for state this year: “When I ended my season last year, I did not go to state even though I got state-qualifying height earlier in the season, I just didn’t get it at sectionals, so it’d be nice to go this year, but I don’t know if I’ll get back in time.”

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RECOVERING

Brian McAuliffe Future for the field

A torn labrum in his shoulder prevented senior Brian McAuliffe from competing multiple times during his final season of football at LHS. His injury began during the game against Waukegan on Sep. 16.

“I intercepted the pass and I was running with the ball. The defender grabbed my arm and pulled it back, and I felt my shoulder pop,” McAuliffe, a defensive back described.

After visiting the doctor, he was cleared to play with a brace and started to do physical therapy to strengthen his shoulder. After the second instance of injury, McAuliffe received an MRI from which the doctors decided to hold off on the surgery of reattaching the torn labrum in his shoulder until the end of the football season.

The pain increased with every re-injury and McAuliffe would experience non-stop pain: “Every time it would happen, it wouldn’t stop. The pain wouldn’t stop, it would keep on hurting throughout the week and it was hard to sleep.” The surgery occurred the week following the end of LHS’s football season, in late October. The doctors went into his shoulder arthroscopically, in a minimally invasive procedure, and placed 10 metal anchors to successfully reattach the labrum.

Collectively, McAuliffe will have a total of six months of recovery with physical therapy.

This spring, McAuliffe is playing lacrosse. He still has to restrain from participating in the sport for at least another month.

While looking forward to the upcoming season, McAuliffe also explained his apprehensions: “Some things I’ll have to avoid doing like leading with my shoulder or like reaching out at people so [my shoulder] could potentially get pushed back. I’ll just have to be a lot more aware of what I’m doing with my left arm than before the surgery.”

Francesca Losh Rebuilding a Knee

During a JV basketball game at Zion-Benton, sophomore Francesca Losh went up for a layup as she was receiving a pass from one of her teammates. Her body twisted into an awkward position and her foot cocked forward when she landed, causing her knee to give in.

“It was painful when it happened, but after 30 seconds, it felt and looked normal. I walked off the court and went back in a couple minutes later. When I went back in, my knee buckled and I knew something else was wrong, but it never occurred to me that I tore my ACL,” stated Losh, during an email interview.

Losh was not the only one who thought the injury was not severe. Both trainers, from Zion-Benton and Libertyville, thought she had simply pulled her hamstring. A few days later, she was not feeling any better so she went to the doctor, and he diagnosed her with a torn ACL. “After I was diagnosed, I started physical therapy right away. I did three weeks of physical therapy until surgery and… I have it twice a week from now until the end of June. The total recovery period is about six months depending on the person, but it is a gradual process that will help me get back to doing sports,” Losh stated.

On top of the ACL tear, Losh also tore her meniscus, which set her healing process back even further. She will not be able to walk for about 10 weeks and she will not be able to run until four months after surgery.

“I have had some great people support me. Some of my friends have also torn their ACLs and have given me great advice on how to cope with the situation,” Losh said. “They have answered the questions I have had and also have frequently checked up on me to see how I am doing. They have taught me to be grateful for the little things that you are able to do because they know how hard this process is on your body.”

Payton Schwieger Sliced from the ice

To sophomore Payton Schweiger, injury is not foreign, especially in his knees. While playing hockey earlier this year, Schweiger fractured his kneecap. Because of this fracture, Schweiger had to attend physical therapy for six weeks, twice a week.

During his first game back, he dislocated his patella, most commonly known as the kneecap.

“Because [of] the previous injury, I didn’t have enough strength in my other leg,” Schweiger said, which is why he dislocated his patella so soon after the fracture. After the dislocation, he didn’t have to do any physical therapy, which made his recovery period not as extensive. This spring, Schweiger will play lacrosse.

Although he is able to play full-time, Schweiger does have some concerns: “When I play lacrosse, sometimes when I land hard [and] it still hurts or if I get hit by a stick or something, I still feel pain.”

Despite this, Schweiger hopes to be “just as good as [he] was before.”

Sports

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Drops of Ink