The most surprising thing I learned during the podcast episode was that just a tip of a pencil of fentanyl can affect your brain and breathing badly and you can die from this drug.
One thing you could do every day to keep your brain healthy is exercising, or take a walk to boost your energy and positivity.
I learned that you can help a friend who struggles with depression, stress, or substance abuse by not getting mad at them, staying calm, and by understanding their situation. Do not leave them alone. Instead, help them and stay by their side.
Youths can help the community be STRONGER by speaking up, joining an organization that helps build up the community, being kind, and building each other up. Youths can help the community be healthier by staying healthy, exercising and saying no to drugs.
If I could give my brain a superpower, my superpower would be to read others’ feelings, so if they are stressed out, I would help them stay calm, and if they are depressed, I would cheer them up.
The podcast taught me not to judge people who use drugs because you don’t know the reason why they use them.
If I could create a poster or a video about the brain, I would show pictures of a healthy brain and brain affected by drugs. I will include pictures of the different drugs, especially the deadliest drug, fentanyl, and will teach them about the damage it causes to the brain.
A healthy habit I would like to try after the podcast is exercising even when I am not playing sports, and keep eating healthy food.
My question to the experts is, “ What if there was a cure to drug addiction?”
Candy Cortes, a 12-year-old seventh grader, is a youth journalist at the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation’s Youth Community Journalism Institute.
