Emma’s story

Sunday, 19 July 2020

When I was in Junior Cert, I felt a bit stressed, but so did everyone else. It wasn’t too bad, but I was looking forward to doing transition year for a bit of a break.

When I started in TY, things began to go downhill. My best friend had gone straight into fifth year and started hanging around with a new group. We weren’t spending as much time with each other and I didn’t feel like going out as much. You’re supposed to really enjoy TY, but I found it hard to get motivated.

It felt like there was no point in going in to school most days. I started having arguments with my mum about homework and getting up in the morning. Everything just felt boring and pointless.

It all came to a head when we were at my Nan’s 80th birthday. All my family were there and usually I’d really enjoy family parties, but I just didn’t feel like I wanted to be there. My aunt came up to me and started asking about school. You can tell when someone is just asking to be polite, but she was genuinely interested.

It didn’t change things straight away, but it helped me to realise how stuck I actually was.

Feeling lonely

It all came tumbling out about how lonely I was feeling and how bad things were going. My aunt just listened and understood. It felt like getting a weight off my chest just saying things out loud. After I told her all about it, she gave me a hug and let me know that I could give her a call any time I wanted to talk about things.

It didn’t change things straight away, but it helped me to realise how stuck I actually was. It gave me hope to know that there was someone there to talk to, who understood me and my situation. I don’t know what I’d have done if my aunt hadn’t noticed how quiet I’d become and started chatting to me.

I’d say to any adult out there, if you’re with a young person, just let them know that you’re there for them and you’ll listen to what’s going on, it’s such a relief to know that.