Annie (AKA Hey Terra!) has been around long enough to have experienced a lot of what Life can dish out. But, it hasn’t been so long that she's forgotten what it's like to be your age. Check out some of the thousands of email questions teens from around the world have sent to Terra. You may learn something useful from her answers:
Depression:
“My 13 year old daughter committed suicide.”
Hey Terra,
This is not a question... I just wanted to take a little of your time to thank you for having a great web site for adolescent girls. It is very, VERY important that their issues are addressed in a manner that they can relate to.Five and a half years ago I lost my 13 year old daughter to suicide. She was a beautiful, gifted young woman with everything to live for, except that was not how she saw herself. Young girls simply must have resources to go to when they feel they cannot talk to their parents. My daughter and I had always been close but even that was not enough to prevent her from taking that awful, unchangeable step. If I could stress any one thing to young people contemplating suicide it would be just that... IT IS UNCHANGEABLE!
Please keep up your work of giving young people a place to talk about their feelings. (And us older ones too!)
Jan
Dear Jan,
I am so very sorry for your loss. As a mother of two myself, my heart goes out to you.
We who care about teens know how essential it is to offer resources to young people. From its inception, The InSite was envisioned as a safe place for teens to chat with caring adults about issues of concern to them. In addition, our posted content covers a vast array of topics all designed to point teens in the direction of self-esteem and empowerment. For girls growing up in our culture, this is especially needed.
Thank you so much for your kind words of support. We know what we're doing counts, but it's always nice to hear it from people like you.
I wish you well.
In friendship,
Terra
Need some advice? Write to Terra.
She'll give you a straight answer you can trust without any lectures.