Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences, everyone.

On a deep level, I am awed and saddened at what Spaw, kendall, little hawk and truebrit have suffered.

On a more ordinary level, I want to know why the parents of the kids in the Dear Abby letter fail to wonder why their kids are wearing sweatshirts in August in the Midwest. HELLO!?
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I'm sorry I can't quote the statistics now, but I saw an article in the paper that showed an amazing number of students at Ivy League colleges are cutting. These kids can't all be suffering from serious mental illness or RAD. So I think there is something to the idea that they feel so pressured to excel that every minor failing leads to desperation.

All I can say is - be nice to a kid.