Throughout the pandemic, the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd shook American culture, bringing attention to the systemic issues prevailing in our nations. As a freshman in high school, I recall seeing Black Lives Matter protests on the news and knew of peers who attended these protests in support of the movement. I remember much of 2020 as politically charged with many Gen Zers promoting and developing their own opinion in political affairs.

With high school going remote for the rest of 2020, we returned back in the fall for hybrid learning. Everyone seemed to have gone through a growth support and be more aware of what was going on in the country and the world. Going to a Catholic school, the climate leaned more conservative, but the majority of us were respectful towards each other’s beliefs. However, one day the one-sided view of the student body shown through.

This one male student in my grade was in my cohort during hybrid learning and, near the end of the school year, he gained his driver’s license. As he was one of the first people in my grade to get his license, we wondered what type of car he would drive, filling most of us with excitement to see. Personally, never in my wildest dreams would I expect the car he would pull up the next day in. A blaring red Pontiac GTO with a Confederate flag printed on the top of it drove into the student parking lot.

I never would have expected to see this, especially given the previous current events. The rest of the student body was divided on with some believing it was arrogant given its historical baggage while others believing it was his freedom of speech and celebration of Southern heritage. This instance forced the school to addressed this uncomfortable situation, ultimately forcing the student to not drive that car into school anymore.

Grappling with the student’s actions, the school faced backlash regarding the decision to prohibit the car on school property. This situation represented a microcosm of the larger social tensions and issues at hand. While I am an advocate for representing one’s heritage, I think it is important to understand the implications of such symbols. The Confederate flag comes from a period where the nation was split and states seceding for the ownership of other persons. As much as seeing the red car was a last from the past, the symbolism paralleled with the injustice persevering present-day.

Despite the arguing sides of this situation, I think the context exacerbated the lacking need for the country to condemn the injustices of the past. We are taught that the teaching of history is to not have certain events be repeated for the betterment of society. Understanding our faults and coming to a conclusion for justice has the possibility for better outcomes. As future generations continue to shape their political opinions, it is important for previous generations to emphasize our history and help draw connections to the parallels between the present and past.

Growing up, PBS Kids was always a favorite channel of mine, airing programs like Clifford, Curious George, Arthur, etc. However, a particular favorite in the Martin house was Caillou. You know, the bald kid who everyone seems to have found to be an annoying brat in hindsight? Regardless of a judgment off character, Caillou represented more than just a kids television program for me and my brother growing up.

Alopecia, medically referred to as “alopecia areata,” is an autoimmune condition causing hair less in patches around the body. My oldest brother, Dan, was diagnosed with the condition at just 18 months old. While many people can mistake this for a form of cancer, the body’s immune system only affects the hair follicles, not causing any other direct harm to one’s health. The root cause of alopecia is indeterminate, yet many studies suspect environmental stressors to be related to alopecia’s onset.

While Caillou himself didn’t have alopecia or cancer, he set a good example for me from a young age about treating others that look different from oneself. I never really noticed my brother was “different” until other kids at school would mention it to me. Comments like “Does your brother have cancer?” or “Did he leave his wig at home” impacted my perception of how others viewed Dan. My brother never really took the comments to heart as he had learned to embrace his identity from a young age.

The Children’s Alopecia Project (CAP) is a program started by a father, whose daughter had alopecia, to bring other effected kids together. My family had joined the program as it sought to include all people affected by alopecia in order to provide support and strengthen confidence in one another. We had grown inseparable bonds with other families and the program was a true saving grace for my brother. CAP reinforced in me the need to treat others the way I would wanna be treated and celebrate our differences rather than neglect.

Besides children, alopecia also impacts people into old age in which learning to embrace a new aspect of one’s identity may be harder to do. Wigs are often a common solution to bring out the confidence in individuals as they age, bringing out their most authentic selves. But, wigs, and I mean good wigs, can be very expensive to afford. This past summer, Congressman James P. McGovern (MA-02), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reintroduced the Wigs as Durable Medical Equipment Act. As multiple private insurance plans cover wigs for undergoing treatments causing hair loss or affected by alopecia, this legislation would expand coverage under the Medicare program.

While not many children would be eligible under this bill, the legislation represents a big step in reinforcing confidence in individuals going through hair loss. Instilling confidence and courage is an essential human trait we all need to live our everyday life. The means to do so are various, but guaranteeing a path for self-assurance is a life-changing decision to government has the chance to make.

Middle school: what many to be the worst and most awkward years of their lives. Becoming of adolescent age, there are many changes that happen and are completely confusing. I personally didn’t have to experience the transition of attending a new school because I attended a Catholic k-8 school. However, I still noticed the subtle changes around me and the inevitable loss of innocence.

It was a March day in 7th grade, and grades 6 though 8 were called down for an assembly that consisted of a presentation. I remember having my parents sign off a form for me to attend, but I couldn’t remember what it was for. As we all shuffled in and squeezed to fit everyone, two men were standing in front of us all. To the sides of them were posters that had large images of nicotine, cigarettes, and Juul vapes. I obviously recognized the cigarette and nictoine images, but I really didn’t know what Juuls were and why they were telling us about this. I already knew drugs were bad and thought that would be common knowledge, so why were they presenting to children about it?

Unbeknownst to me, there was a huge Juul problem in my school with the middle schoolers. I obviously had been very naive to the whole situation, but everything began to click. I finally understood why teachers had tightened their policy on going to the bathroom. I finally understood why so many of the guys would go to the bathroom together. In retrospect, I was so out of the loop I wonder if I even went to school.

I began noticing some friends of mine had been involved and it really shocked me. I had been raised to not get involved in addicted substances and assumed that was a universal  truth. Of course, the vape situation got worse from that presentation forward, and that was the only formal instance the problem was brought up. No other formal education was provided, except discipline if you were caught with nicotine and doing it.

I don’t think my school was an isolated incident of the Juul epidemic and certainly not the first instance of drug use in school. Having lived through it, I really do think there is a nicotine issue sweeping across the younger generations. There is definitely an aesthetic or appeal to doing nicotine and fitting in with other peers. For example, downtown State College has numerous tobacco and vape shops catering towards college students and young people.

I know drug prevention programs, like D.A.R.E., had been implemented 40 years ago to combat this pressing issue for decades on end. But, for some reason, no significant progress has been made.  Personally, seeing my friends and peers subject their health to toxins has been disheartening, even with all the information out there combatting nicotine. I do feel like my school failed the majority of us in proper education as we didn’t implement programs like D.A.R.E. into our education. Enforcing better prevention strategies at a young age can lead to more promising outcomes for the well-being of adolescent health.