Stepping Back

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by one in our team of fantastic SOVA Ambassadors—these are young people who help create meaningful blog posts from adolescents’ perspectives. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

I wanted to talk about something that I recently realized other people with mental health issues also experienced. Personally, I know that I always sign up for way too many commitments and responsibilities that, realistically,  I can’t follow through on or complete to the best of my abilities due to a lack of time. Continue reading Stepping Back

A Welcome Change

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by one in our team of fantastic SOVA Ambassadors—these are young people who help create meaningful blog posts from adolescents’ perspectives. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

Over the last two semesters, I have had to sacrifice a lot of things due to COVID and it was really hard. I spent a lot of time feeling bitter and sorry for myself. I backslid into old habits of sleeping all day and staying up all night, of snapping at people when they spoke to me, and worst of all, not feeling much of anything. Continue reading A Welcome Change

Why Is Community Service an Important Part of Adult Life?

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by one in our team of fantastic SOVA Ambassadors—these are young people who help create meaningful blog posts from adolescents’ perspectives. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

There is always something each of us as individuals can do to help the world. By giving back to the community, we are helping in so many great ways, and we may not even realize that each of our little actions are so beneficial to others, especially as we grow to become mature adults. I have always loved and valued helping others, and it is my strongest held conviction that we should all give back a little to make the world a better and happier place. Continue reading Why Is Community Service an Important Part of Adult Life?

Black Girls Smile

Mental health and wellbeing are universally important, but African-American girls can face unique circumstances that result in increased vulnerability to certain mental health difficulties. With this in mind, Lauren Carson created a national non-profit organization in 2008 called Black Girls Smile to promote positive mental health and educational opportunities for these girls and those who care for them. Continue reading Black Girls Smile

Silencing Your Inner Critic – My Personal Experience

Hi there, I’m a college student in the Pittsburgh area. This is my first blog post, so I thought I’d share a little about myself and my recent progress in striving for my professional goals while still struggling with fragile mental health. Continue reading Silencing Your Inner Critic – My Personal Experience

Letters from a Friendship Breakup

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by one in our team of fantastic SOVA Ambassadors—these are young people who help create meaningful blog posts from adolescents’ perspectives. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

This is a letter I wrote while journaling my feelings about a friendship breakup:

Continue reading Letters from a Friendship Breakup

Mental Health Dictionaries

No matter where your child is in their mental health journey, you’ve probably had to look up a term because you’re not quite sure what it exactly means. Mental health is just that, health, so the official medical terms for mental illnesses, medications, diagnoses, and parts of the brain that affect your emotions and mood can get overwhelming. There are also different types of treatment you can seek out and different types of therapists which can make the whole thing very confusing. Continue reading Mental Health Dictionaries

How to Conquer The Annoying Dating Stigma Brought Up By Family

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by one in our team of fantastic SOVA Ambassadors—these are young people who help create meaningful blog posts from adolescents’ perspectives. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

Maybe this is just my family, but I come from a very traditional Italian/Greek household where my life is literally a spitting image of the family from My Big Fat Greek Wedding (no, seriously…). Despite my very young age, my different family members are CONSTANTLY asking me questions regarding my love life, and it is exhausting. Between my grandma asking me when I will meet a boy, to my mom asking if I have gone out on any dates yet, and even my sister asking why I don’t share information about my dating history and experiences! Continue reading How to Conquer The Annoying Dating Stigma Brought Up By Family