By Sam Smith, Staff Writer
Silence and senior Lydia Surprenant generally aren’t terms people associate with each other. So when her podcast went dark for a while, the senior knew she had to come back in a big way.
“I wanted to do something that was like ‘BAM, I’m back!’, ” Surprenant said.
And what better way to make a comeback than with a topic both relevant and yet still considered controversial in some circles.
“I wanted to show people that (mental health disorders) are something a lot of people have suffered from and nothing to be ashamed of,” Surprenant said.
Rewinding back to 2018, Surprenant was only 15 years old and decided she wanted to make a podcast, instead of simply thinking about doing so.
“I’ve always wanted to start a podcast and I had no idea how, but then I found (the app) Anchor and made it,” Surprenant said. “People think they need this crazy equipment, but they can do it all from their phone.”
The first episode of Surprenant’s podcast, which she had named “Our Future, Our Voice” was posted to the platform Spotify on February 14, 2019, and discussed the ramifications of the Parkland school shooting, which took place a year prior.
Apart from discussing the infamous school shooting, “Our Future, Our Voice” was created to act as something similar to an audio forum where topics crucial to members of Generation Z were openly discussed. The podcast was Surprenant’s way of reaching out to the leaders of the future and putting her and others’ opinions and feelings forward.
“One day this world is going to be in the hands of all of us young people,” Surprenant’s description of the podcast reads. “We have feelings and thoughts about what’s going on in today’s society and I am here to bring them to you.”
Keeping aligned with the theme of Generation Z, Surprenant goes on to publish two more episodes discussing her first women’s march and her views on how society treats the passions of teenagers, both published in March and May of 2019.
After her first three episodes, Surprenant suddenly went on a year long hiatus from producing content for her podcast, wishing to instead focus on other aspects of her life at the time.
Turns out, Surprenant had a new episode in the works, and was planning on discussing a very relevant topic in today’s culture.
She decided to discuss the effects of mental health on teenagers, incorporating her interactions with mental health as a teenager, as well as a fellow senior’s story of dealing with mental illness.
The episode’s guest was Surprenant’s friend and peer,senior Samantha Leopardi, whom Surprenant had reached out to in order to provide the subject of mental health with the proper respect it deserved.
“A lot of people know my father committed suicide, and she probably knew that,” Leopardi said when asked how she ended up on the podcast. “She just texted me and I was there.”
Surprenant understood that mental health was a difficult, yet important, topic for many people, and had a hard time of her own in posting the discussion.
“It took me about a month to get the courage to post it, just because I hadn’t talked about my mental health struggles with anybody other than my mom and close friends,” Surprenant explained. “I wanted to post it to show that it’s OK.”
On August 24, 2020, the fourth episode of “Our Future, Our Voice” was posted under the title “Generation Z & Mental Health.” Timing in at 36 minutes, the episode was a combination of Surprenant and Leopardi’s personal stories as well as their view of how mental health affects the world as a whole.
According to Surprenant, the episode had over 150 viewers, including people she knew personally as well as effective strangers.
“People I hadn’t spoken to in a long time reached out to me,” Surprenant said. “And some people I don’t know really liked it.”
Despite the popularity of the podcast, the ensuing endeavors of “Our Future, Our Voice” seems to remain unknown, with the only signal of upcoming episodes being Surpenant’s wish to cover the year of 2020 as a whole.
Both Surprenant and Leopardi were quite proud of the results of the podcast, feeling their stories as well as the necessary information pertaining to mental health was properly conveyed.
Surprenant had her own final message and idea to be considered for the viewers of the podcast:
“I want people to understand that (mental health) is not something that will hold you back in life, you can push through it and overcome your mental health disorder,” Surprenant said. “Everybody struggles with it differently and you should always reach out if you need to.”
If you or a loved one are suffering from any sort of mental health emergency and need help, you can contact the 24/7 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) hotline at the number 1-800-662-4357.
To learn more about Mental Health and its effects on those suffering from its affiliated disorders, one can visit the SAMHSA website, https://www.samhsa.gov/
Finally, to listen to Lydia Surprenant’s podcast, access spotify through the link https://open.spotify.com/show/0aYgV14faf1H4FXAdSaXbz?si=RIi0li2ZR1atskYPeegK3w
Sophomore Samuel Smith can be reached at 23SMITHSA22@daretolearn.org.
