Recently, one of my friends told me a story of how someone she knew basically thought that graduating high school isn't a big deal because "everyone does it."

First of all: Nope!

She explained how the person said everyone graduates from high school and the only people who don't were just lazy.

Dear ignorant fool, I'm here to tell you that you're dead wrong. Not everyone is lucky enough to make it out of high school in one piece.

Not everyone is lucky enough to make it out of high school, period.

Did you ever think about the kids working the midnight shift to keep their families from being evicted?

How about the kids with undetected, undiagnosed learning disabilities that are labeled negatively by their teachers and peers?

Let's not forget the kids who have trouble concentrating in class because they're hungry, and the food offered in the cafeteria isn't exactly healthy, either.

There are kids who are raising their siblings as their own with no knowledge of how to raise a child.

There are kids raising their parents.

How about the kids with mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, or BPD that make it hard to get out of bed in the morning, let alone do 8 hours of school and then a mountain of homework?

Dear ignorant fool, I was that kid.

I have generalized anxiety disorder. It has gotten much more manageable now, but in high school, I felt like I was dying every time I walked in the building.

Even though I got decent grades, I was pushing myself past what I knew I could handle.

My stress levels were higher than they'd ever been before. Whenever I was around my friends, I was physically there, but I was psychologically absent nearly all the time because I was either anxious about one of my classes or I was burnt out of all my energy.

Teachers asked me if I would consider tutoring or summer school. Counselors asked me if I'd picked a college yet. Parents asked me if I'd done my homework. Friends asked me if I could help them with their assignments.

Nobody asked me if I was OK, and I was the furthest from it.

There were so many times where I wanted to drop out and run away. I couldn't take it anymore.

Dear ignorant fool, please don't think you know everything about everyone because you clearly don't.

People are fighting battles too large to fathom that you will never know about.

High school is not smooth sailing for everyone. Instead of tearing down people who barely got through, consider being a voice for them.

Sometimes all we need is to be heard.