I have been thinking about the person who last week sent me the random text message that looked like a real cry for help. “That’s it. Im done. Next time you see me i-ll be dead. The bridge isnt far so don’t even try to convince me not to jump. Goodbye.”

When I found out that it was a 12-year-old girl texting between classes, I wrote it off as a “hoax” and just put it aside as a juvenile prank. But now I am not so sure. While she was not in a position to carry out her threat at that moment, young people at school, often the subject of bullying or harassment or ridicule, do think about life, its meaning … or lack of meaning, and sometimes come to the conclusion that it is really unbearable to go on. Or perhaps it is the beginning of a pattern of mental illness that is showing up.

 Either way, it is possible that the message that I got was a real cry for help and I really hope that her parents, teachers and classmates take the time to think about the scourges of despair and mental illness in every community.

And I hope that you think about this as well. I know I will.