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This Teen Activist Wants to See Schools in Every State Offer Mental Health Days | Teen Vogue

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Toward the end of her junior year at Sherwood High School in Sherwood, Oregon, Hailey Hardcastle, 18, was dealing with more stress than usual. College application deadlines were fast approaching, and she was dealing with stressors at home too.

One day, while sitting in class, she started having a panic attack.

"As someone who's worked with mental health...I was able to identify that I was having a panic attack and I knew somewhat what to do," Hailey shared with Teen Vogue. "I knew that I needed to go home and remove myself from the situation at school that was making me panic."

So Hailey called her mom, who called her out of school "for a cold or a doctor's appointment, or something like that," she recalled.

She was able to take some time for herself, sleep, and return to school the next day feeling restored and ready to learn.

"I felt so much better, and I was more productive," she said. "Just having that day...it's not like I went off and I did something fun."

One year later, due in large part to Hailey's efforts, students across Oregon won't have to lie about why they're asking for an excused absence. Local NBC affiliate KGW reported that in June, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law a bill passed by the state legislature mandating excused mental health days for students - a law which Hailey herself helped write and champion through the legislative process. It will go into effect for the upcoming school year, according to NPR.

Reflecting on that scary day last spring, Hailey said she was lucky that her mother was willing to call her out of school after her panic attack.

"I had a parent who understood mental illness, and she was willing to support me and give me the time I needed, but I've seen some of my very close friends have a similar situation and they had to stay at school, and there were days when they really shouldn't have been there," she said. "They should have had time to work through what they were going through."

The summer following her junior year, Hailey attended the Oregon Association of Student Councils (OACS) summer camp, where she participated in a series of workshops regarding student life and mental illness. It was during these workshops the topic of excused mental health days was first broached by Hailey and her fellow student council leaders - a topic well worth considering in a state with one of the worst chronic absenteeism rates in the country, as well as a suicide rate 33% higher than the national average, according to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).

Along with fellow students Sam Adamson, Lori Riddle, and Derek Evans, Hardcastle worked with two pro bono lobbyists to draft language for the mental health days bill, as KGW reported.

According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, prior to the passage of the mental health days bill, students in Oregon were allowed five excused absences in a three-month period, but for situations limited to illness, a family member's illness, medical appointments, and emergencies.

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This Teen Activist Is Leading the Fight for Mental Health Days in Schools

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Toward the end of her junior year at Sherwood High School in Sherwood, Oregon, Hailey Hardcastle, 18, was dealing with more stress than usual. College application deadlines were fast approaching, and she was dealing with stressors at home too. One day, while sitting in class, she started having a panic attack.

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Why realistic fiction is our favorite genre￼

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Why realistic fiction is our favorite genre￼

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Realistic fiction is my favorite genre because the things that happen in the story can happen in real life.
-Austin

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One of Austin‘s favorite realistic fiction books￼￼￼

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One of Austin‘s favorite realistic fiction books￼￼￼

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This book is about when Greg Heffley goes to middle school and tries to be cool and be popular but his brother Rodrick keeps threatening to tell everyone something embarrassing about him. This is a good book if you like funny books.

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What are the Austin‘s favorite realistic fiction books￼￼

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What are the Austin‘s favorite realistic fiction books￼￼

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The book is about how a boy with a facial deformity who has had 27 operations.  He goes to school for the first time in fifth grade and gets bullied for being different.  This is a sad book, but teaches not to make fun of other people because they look different.

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Why This is One of My Favorite Realistic Fiction Books

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One of Liam’s Favorite Realistic Fiction  Books 

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One of Liam’s Favorite Realistic Fiction  Books 

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I think this is a good book because it is a book based in a small town like Milton but the main character is a gay senior who wants to be a drag queen but gets made fun of for being the way he is. This would be a good book especially for people who want to learn about this subject or to learn about a new point of view.-Liam K.

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One of Austin‘s favorite realistic fiction books￼

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One of Austin‘s favorite realistic fiction books￼

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This is a good book because it tells the story about Jordan banks when he goes to private school.

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Why This is One of My Favorite Realistic Fiction Books

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One of Liam’s Favorite Realistic Fiction Books 

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One of Liam’s Favorite Realistic Fiction Books 

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This is a good book because you can learn about this girl thatb lives in Chicago, Illinois with her mom and her dad who are poor  while she is in high school and wants to go to college. This book is cool because you can learn about struggles of a family that immigrated from Mexico.-Liam K.

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One of Austin’s favorite realistic fiction books

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One of Austin’s favorite realistic fiction books

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This book is a good book because it is tells the story about Raina’s sixth grade year and how she breaks her two front teeth.

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Why This is One of My Favorite Realistic Fiction Books

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One of Liam’s Favorite Realistic Fiction Books

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One of Liam’s Favorite Realistic Fiction Books

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This book is a good book because it is a short fun read but also you can learn about 9/11 and how people felt during it.-Liam K.

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Why This is One of My Favorite Realistic Fiction Books

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One of Liam’s Favorite Realistic Fiction Books 

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One of Liam’s Favorite Realistic Fiction Books 

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This book is about a boy who steals some shoes and doesnt want to go to jail so he goes to a camp in the desert and have to dig holes for people who are looking for a buried chest and if they find it they get out of the camp. I think this would be a good book and it can teach you lots of lessons too!-Liam K.

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Why Realistic Fiction is Our Favorite Genre

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Why Realistic Fiction is Our Favorite Genre

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Realistic fiction is my favorite genre because I can relate to the characters and events in the book. Also learn lots of life lessons from these books because they are modeled after real life.

-Liam K.

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-Is relatable
-Could happen
-Characters live in places that could be or are real
-The characters humans with real issues solved in a realistic way

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A book with imaginary characters and situations that are similar to our word and society.