Jacqueline sought counseling support from Youth Crossroads as a sophomore at Morton East High School to deal with anxiety, depression and trauma. Two areas of particular focus were self-esteem and belief in her academic abilities. Jackie felt she was incapable of doing well in math and that affected her work in all of her classes. While she dreamed of writing and illustrating her own book she started conceptualizing in middle school, self-doubt plagued her motivation and desire. Jacqueline’s hard work addressing her negative beliefs about herself, and changing her mindset about school, helped her learn to advocate for herself and graduate on time. In senior year, Jackie received the Seal of Biliteracy. While Jacqueline has taken some college courses, she recently started her own business selling her incredible talent in anime style art on Etsy and starting an on-line course to learn Japanese. While some anxiety and depression still persist, she has been better able to manage these feelings and can actually state she is proud of how far she has come. Youth Crossroads is proud of you Jacqueline. Keep working and moving forward one step at a time. Your future is so bright.
Jaqueline Alvarez-Leanos
