“Even when the dark comes crashing through, when you need someone to carry you, when you’re broken on the ground: you will be found.”

​​-“You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen

In the past few weeks, many were blessed with the opportunity to witness the heart-wrenching beauty of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s musical Dear Evan Hansen.

Immeasurable amounts of people left Dear Evan Hansen with a different perspective and appreciation for life because of the show’s vulnerability. Dear Evan Hansen is not afraid to discuss real, everyday struggles —especially for high school students— like social anxiety and depression.

One of the most influential themes of the musical is how we can all feel lost in the crowd, but that everyone still deserves to be seen and remembered. Every audience member of DEH walked out with puffy eyes and runny noses, knowing that this message that was shared with them in the theatre needs to be declared to everyone.

Dear Evan Hansen has personally opened my eyes to the lack of universal support throughout the community of high school students. In a time where we are all struggling to manage homework, friends and extracurriculars, we also need to find ourselves, which is difficult when one feels swallowed by the ocean-sized waves of life.

Mental health, including difficulties like stress, anxiety and depression, have become some of the largest epidemics in high school students, yet they are invisible obstacles. DEH brings these problems to light and shows the true, hidden pain caused by these hardships. Mental health can cause people to feel invisible in a time where they need to be seen the most.

“Even if you’ve always been that barely-in-the-background kind of guy, you still matter… If you never get around to doing some remarkable things, that doesn’t mean that you’re not worth remembering… No one deserves to be forgotten… No one deserves to disappear.”

​​​​​​-“Disappear” from Dear Evan Hansen

DEH emphasizes the fact that everyone deserves to always be heard, no matter who they are. I think this belief needs to be shared by all in each high school. Why can’t St. Dominic be the first? Life, especially as a high school student, can be stressful, so why don’t we help each other get through it instead of doing it alone? I wholeheartedly believe that we can banish the stereotype of high school being consumed by gossip and drama.

Imagine if high school students began showing love and support to each other. That doesn’t mean everyone has to be best friends, but it does mean that we should recognize the difficulties that everyone struggles with and be empathetic to others. I believe that we have the ability to change the social norm and show everyone that they are seen and heard.

You are not alone. You are heard. You are enough. You are loved. You will be found.