Dear Judge,

We encourage you to seek personal support if you become troubled by the content of this category. If you experience an emotional crisis, please call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (available 24/7) or the California Warm Line at (833) 845-7415

The entries you are judging are submissions in the Hope and Justice category. Entries in this category deal with a variety of topics including mental health, suicide prevention, social justice and other complex topics that need to be addressed with compassion and knowledge.

For this category we asked youth to communicate about what they are feeling, increase knowledge about an issue or take a stand against injustice, or share their perspective in a way that gives others a glimpse into their lives. While some youth submit entries share ideas for solutions to the issues of concern, others used this as an opportunity to process their feelings in a therapeutic way.

We welcome all types of submissions. In our submission criteria, we remind youth that whatever message they choose, their submissions need to be thoughtful and respectful. We asked youth to be honest about their feelings, but to be sure their entries convey that they are coming from a place of cultural humility and has the intent to further understanding and constructive dialogue about social justice and change. So, as a judge please score each of these entries based on how well they conveyed their messages and followed these guidelines.

At any point if you are experiencing technical difficulties with the website, or have questions regarding the category, please email shanti@DirectingChange.org or call (619) 786-5622.

In advance, we appreciate your time.

Title

Underneath The Mask

Grade

11

A note from the youth artist about their submission

The song talks about how a person may seem like they are doing well based on their outside appearance, however, what they are feeling, what they are going through isn't the same as your assumption. The first half of the song has a peaceful sound but lyrics talking about how someone feels, representing someone seeming as though they are in a tranquil state, what goes on in their mind is a different experience. The sobbing sound towards the transition represents someone trying to hold in their emotions. The transition between the first half and the second half is a loud wind sound, like a storm is coming. The second half has a louder, slightly messy sound, which reveals what the person is actually going through. The ending of the song takes us back to a somewhat peaceful state. This happening right after the scream shows a person putting their "mask" back on to go back into hiding their emotions. The lyrics talk about how a person is doing ,mentally, and why they hide what they're feeling. There are several reasons as to why someone would hide their sadness, it could be the prejudice against depression, it could be because they feel as though no one else feels what they are feeling, it could be due to embarrassment, or it could be because of something else. No matter the reason, not everyone who looks happy, is happy.