Article March 9, 2015 ISSUE

When I said no to scary thoughts …

Zachary, seventh grade, New York

One recent winter I had many half days of school because of snow in our area. I was very excited for the weekend, too, because I had finished all of my homework and was looking forward to expressing joy in all of my weekend activities.

On a break from playing in the snow, I began reading a fiction book. The book was not a good choice because it talked about disease and said things about the sun that made me afraid. I like to be outside and began to think, “Maybe I have the illness the one character’s friend has.” I kept on reading. Suddenly, I snapped “awake.” Why was I thinking these terrible thoughts?