Alief Elsik High School - Ramblings Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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help her talk about the incest. All I would do is say yes or no, she says. Beth felt the three years of sexual abuse were her fault. Her stepfather had denied everything. Her mother accused her of lying. My mother be- lieved him over me. And I felt betrayed. I couldn't ever put into words how Suicide is the third leading cause of death among our nation's youth. much that hurt my feelings. So she expressed herself in other ways. On different occasions she drank fingernail polish remover. She slashed her wrists, and once she broke pencil lead into the wound. I couldn't say how hurt I treated at the Belle Park Hospital for personal as well as drug Photo by R. Law felt so (the suicide at- tempts) were my way to show it. Once Beth and a friend ( I don't know why I call her a friend ) ate glass together. At the time I thought I would be better off dead. Beth was shifted from child welfare facilities to hospitals and psychiatric units back to child welfare. When she was twelve, almost thirteen, she began experimenting with drugs. She started dating, and she engaged in sexual re- lationships, just to get back at Mom. She injected fingernail polish into her veins, in addition to drink- ing the stuff. That, finally, was the act that landed her in West Oaks twenty months ago. It took me a long time to open up once I got here, Beth says. But eventually I did. For the first time in my life I expressed anger. Beth hasn't forgotten her past, and occasionally she still has problems coping. But now, I can talk about it. I used to feel alone and not cared about, but there are people now to listen. Therapy has helped me tremendously. Tears well up in Beth's eyes, then she laughsself-consciously. It makes me sad to think how I used to be. When asked, Beth offers some advise to parents with troubled kids. Listen to them instead of yelling at them; try to find out what the problem is. Show them you care. If all else fails, get psychiatric help. Any advice to depressed teens? Open up, and share your feelings with others. Talk - somebody else will understand. You know, I used to pretend I was too big to cry, now I cry all the time. Now when I'm upset, everybody knows it. Stress, family problems, and insecure feelings about oneself have always been related to suicide. Several Elsik students have been treated; many for attempted suicide. The recently built Belle Park Hospital has had positive results as a housing and theraputic center. Senior stress has also been a major issue. One senior related her feelings; The thing is, as quickly as it comes across my mind, (suicide), I realize it is really a stupid thing - it's like a cop out. I know that my problems I'm dealing with, whether they arise from school or home, may not seem bad to others, but for me they are traumatic. This has probably been my highest pressure year. It's the year you want to make your mark on the school, so people will remember you. But sometimes suicide looks like the only way out: away from the nagging parents, teachers, and the whole world in general. As bad as things seem now, if this is the worst my life ever gets. I'll be a lucky person. If lean kick my way through this, I can do anything. By Misty Bogle, Editor-in-Chief Rambler 155

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 The suicide rate among teenage Americans has tripled in the last twenty years. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among our nations's youth. The five to ten thousand teenage deaths annually signal a problem of epi- demic proportions. These were just a few of the terrifying statements printed by the papers. The Houston Post published true-life accounts of sui- cidal teens throughout the year. This story was one of the more powerful ones. Beth (not her real name) looks like a modern day Cinderella, with long blond hair, expressive eyes, and a slim 14 year old figure. But today, she sounds like a very old woman. Beth is a resident of West Oaks Hospital. She takes a seat in the hospital's conference room and tells her story in hopes that somebody somewhere might learn something about teenage suicide. She begins timidly. When she was little, she says, her father used to drink, and beat up her mother. It always went on, before I was even born. Along with Beth and her parents lived her mother's six brothers and sisters. My mom wasn't really available for me. I felt forgotten about. When Beth was six, her parents separated, and she and her mother wound up in a shelter for battered women. About a month after the split, her mother moved in with a new boyfriend. I liked him, Beth says, but I resented him for taking my dad's place. Within the year, Beth's mom was married and pregnant. She used to call me her best friend, Beth re- members. My mom was a weak person. I took the attitude that I had to be strong. Beth pauses to think. That's probably when my problems started. I was acting so Photo by S. Lacl strong when things we really bothering me. When Beth was eigi her stepfather assault her sexually. That was t beginning of an incestuo relationship that lasted 1 three miserable yea Beth's straight A grac became a thing of the pa I had a lot of anger - a i of stuff I was feeling bu wasn't saying. One day Beth took electric knife from t kitchen and cut herself - the leg. I couldn't s verbally how hurt I fell thought maybe a physh hurt would be better th an emotional one. Anc remember thinking tha wanted to be taken care o Nobody seemed to noti the child's bleeding leg The next day Beth curs at her teacher, who sent b to the principal. Tha when Beth broke do and told the schc administrator about b problems at home. T principal called the chi welfare authorities, a: her life with her moth stepfather and stepbrotb came to an end. For me than a year, Beth lived in assortment of institutioi staffed by a variety therapists who tried 154 Rambler

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Freshmen Earn Money For Prom The Hard Way . . . Sophomore Dawn Lyngass tells everyone her bid at the Freshman Sale. She eventually bought Freshmen Cinda Shine and Jenny Barnett for $22. Freshmen Brandon Sandefur, Bob Rathgeber and David Johnson look to see who has made the latest bid on them. The group sold for $26. During Sale Day, one of the 'tasks' many slaves performed was pushing their partner in a trashcan around the cafeteria. Freshmen Dan Billman and Joel Hanksalong with David Bower joined together to be sold. The group was bought by Juniors Ron Chrisastomo and Tommy Richardson. All Photos by S. Lackey 156 Ramblcr Frcshman Sale