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Category: Personal story

My Pride story

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

This is a personal story written for us by one of our young volunteers.

My name is Savannah. I am a Youth Advocate with Jigsaw Dublin City North.

Pride means that I am able to live my life with dignity, integrity, courage, joy, love and in community with others without fear of being ridiculed, shamed or discriminated against.

I feel so passionately about the importance of Pride, not only for myself, my fellow LGBTQIA+ community, but people all over Ireland.

Pride should be a celebrated and encouraged event nationwide and this is why I am so excited to be walking in Pride on the 25 June 2022 for the first time ever with Jigsaw.

My trans story

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

This is a personal story written for us by one of our young volunteers. 

One of the earliest memories I have is of an Irish dancing class in Junior Infants. I remember being bundled into the hall with all the girls and looking back at the boys left behind.

Gaming and my mental health – Mike’s story

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

Mike Edgar, 22, a Jigsaw volunteer gives his story on gaming: I’ve been playing video games, in some form or another, for as long as I can remember.

Some of my earliest memories include me begging my siblings for a turn playing Pokémon or getting a new PlayStation 2 for Christmas and then beating my entire family at Tekken (I’m still proud of that).

Personal story: Living with cancer

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

A young person who received a cancer diagnosis has developed a booklet to support teenagers who may be facing the same situation.

They were treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma when they were 15 years old which was a lonely and worrying time for them. Inspired by what they felt was a lack of educational materials available for young adults living with cancer, and they have created this resource drawing from their own experience.

Reflecting on 2020

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

While the new year is a time to look forward and plan ahead, December offers a chance to reflect on the year that’s gone.

Without a doubt, it’s been a tough and challenging year for many of us.

It’s completely understandable, we may focus on the toll the year has taken on our lives and plans. Missed opportunities due to social restrictions, unemployment and uncertainty about the future have led to challenging situations for young people. Some of the experiences we’ve heard about from young people this year are low mood, trouble sleeping and anxiety.

Starting college during a pandemic

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

Ross, 18, a Jigsaw volunteer from Offaly, talks about starting college this year.

Like any young person, or any person at all in Ireland in 2020, it’s safe to say life has been anything but normal since March. Going from “schools are closed for two weeks”, to finding out that the culmination of 12 years of schoolwork, the Leaving Cert, was now cancelled, was an emotional rollercoaster.

The relief from finally getting a concrete answer gave room to thinking more about college and my concerns about third-level education in the world’s current state.

 

Eva’s story: How Jigsaw services helped

Posted on by Eve Donnelly

Eva talks about what led her to contact Jigsaw and what the experience of getting one-on-one support from a Jigsaw Clinician was like for her.

Eva’s story

I was going through bit of a rough time. I was thinking that I was going to have to talk to someone about all of the things that were happening for me. So I googled Jigsaw and looked at the website and read the stories as well. I did wonder, is this really going to help me? Is this genuine? I just wasn’t sure what the service is about.

One day my rough times escalated … It was the month before my exams. I was in the library and I was so down that couldn’t focus at all. I was thinking, if this is going to continue, I will mess up my exams. I was constantly thinking about my worries and it wasn’t doing me any good. That’s why I decided to make a move and talk to someone.

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