Ms. Forshay

School Counselor • Career Development Facilitator • Nationally Certified Counselor • Former SS Teacher • Two-time @uofsc Graduate • she/her

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

PLEASE stop calling me a guidance counselor. I’m begging you!

[ASCA @ASCAtweets]

What is the school counselor role in K-12 schools? Glad you asked! School counselors support academic success, social/emotional development and college and career readiness for all students. Here’s what that means: https://t.co/ya7XxDDJOQ

[Clara-Sophia Daly @clarasophiadaly]

BREAKING:

Middle school science teacher in Miami-Dade detained by ICE.

The Miami-Dade teachers union confirmed today that the teacher attended his immigration hearing and was detained.

He had been in the US since his youth and had DACA. He will likely be deported.

[NationalPTA @NationalPTA]

#sp Active shooter drills aren’t enough to keep our children safe from gun violence in their schools. We need stronger gun laws and proactive school safety policies that will prevent school shootings in the first place.
Learn more from @everytown:
https://t.co/nywf9YwJYH

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

I am always shocked at the number of educators who fully worship Dr. Seuss. Theodore Geisel was an absolutely awful human being, from his racism to his infidelity. 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼

[Sesame Street @sesamestreet]

Fill in the blank. Dear teachers, ________.
#WorldTeachersDay

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

@Jarrett_Lerner Work in Progress is perfection. I cannot put it down. Can’t wait to add this to my office library.

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

May we never have to be Jennifer, but may we be strong like her if and when our time comes.

I am so tired of these stories. So tired of gun rights being more important than our kids’ right to a safe learning environment, the right to just LIVE.

[Laura Burkhardt @LauraAnnSTL]

From Jennifer Carter, a teacher at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.

What the hell are we doing?

[Sesame Street @sesamestreet]

Happy #PrideMonth from Sesame Street! Today and every day, we celebrate and uplift the LGBTQIA+ members of our community. Together, let’s build a world where every person and family feels loved and welcomed for who they are. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💗🤎🖤

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

@NicholasFerroni @teachersalary More school counselors and mental health staff! We are *drowning*!

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

There’s nothing like asking a 2nd grader what kind of music he’d like to listen to while y’all work together, and he says, “Can we listen to ‘Yeah!’” by Usher??” That’s quality parenting right there!

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

Administrators have created environments of violence and fear by bringing police to their campuses. This is unacceptable. Students deserve the right to protest peacefully without threat of arrest or abuse.

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

@emilymayerSC I have a Masters+30 and will never make that amount in education. I earn well below that. I live in the CHS area. Rent is obscene.

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

I am currently grieving the loss of my best friend. Please, someone tell me how I support my students while this is going on? I am incapable of even getting the mail. Everything is so hard.

[Kim @KimComstock5]

This is actually a great suggestion.

[Joe Biden @JoeBiden]

On Transgender Day of Visibility, we celebrate the joy, strength, and absolute courage of some of the bravest people I know.

Today, we show millions of transgender and nonbinary Americans that we see them, they belong, and they should be treated with dignity and respect.

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

It’s a systemic problem everywhere. It’s no wonder we’re leaving in droves.

[chris evans @notcapnamerica]

What are parents even doing?

[Elmo @elmo]

Ramadan Mubarak, everybody! Elmo loves you! ❤️

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

Remember: You don’t have to understand it. You just have to respect it.

[Ms. Forshay @MsFCounsels]

Such a courageous thing to do, Braden. Our youth will benefit from this so greatly. Sending you all the love and healing you need!

[Braden Appelhans @AppelhansBraden]

Those of you who follow New Mexico basketball may have noticed I haven’t been playing or anyone who knows me may have noticed I have been so distant from everyone and there is a good reason for that. 

I have struggled with depression off and on since high school. I was diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety in 4th grade. I was put on medication to help with school and only took it during school (summers and weekends off) I was told my medication had a slight antidepressant in it. Since my depression wasn’t constant and would come and go my parents just helped me through it, thinking my medication would help.

Last spring, after taking a medical redshirt, trying to recover from surgery, and learning how to balance school with a tough travel schedule my depression showed up in a big, bad, scary way!  I went home after school got out, got into my doctor, and started on an antidepressant.  

I returned to UNM for summer and fall and killed it in practice.  Was earning playing time and showing signs of having a great season.  However, in late September I started spiraling into a dark place again. My coaches noticed a dramatic change.  I would call me several times a day to my mom in just a complete meltdown. I couldn’t make it through a practice without breaking down in tears.  I couldn’t function, stopped doing homework, lost interest in basketball, and was going down a dark path to the point where I was questioning if I should even be here.  My coaches called my mom and said she needed to come and be with me.  She was on a plane the next day and spent 4 days in Albuquerque.  I went to see the team doctor and learned my ADHD medication and depression medication were canceling each other out.  For about 6 months I wasn’t getting any medication.  I got on a new medication that worked with my ADHD meds and got in with the sports therapist.  Slowly but surely I started to feel like myself again.  Then the start of the semester came and anxiety attacks kicked in. They would hit me out of the blue.  They were almost crippling and exhausting.  So back to the doctor I went and decided it was time to stop the ADHD meds - too much stimulation.  Now I am about 2 months ADHD meds free.  Grades are still good and I feel like myself again. I still take an antidepressant every day but I am in such a better place!

Through all of this, I missed practices and games.  My coaches, teammates and everyone involved in Lobo basketball put me in a protective cocoon and took great care of me and I couldn’t be more thankful for them. My coaches decided to limit me to make sure I was mentally healthy.  I've handled it the best way possible and I understand their decision because I know what a dark scary place I was in.

You change from here.

I am so grateful that I reached out for help. I knew I could call my parents, coaches, and teammates at any time.  Most people (young kids and young adults especially) don’t have that. Most don’t dare to reach out and ask for help. I hope someone reading this will see that it can happen to anyone, even kids who are living out their dreams.  Everyone needs help at some point. 

So there it is. That is the big story and mystery as to why I haven’t been on the floor and why I have been so distant from everyone. I have accepted that I have an invisible injury that I am fixing and is well on the mend!   I will be back in a Lobo jersey next year! 

-BA1