Last night I attended my school’s annual film festival. On this night, we (the audience) got to watch all of the short films from students in our district. There were about ten of them, ranging anywhere between 30 seconds and 30 minutes. The acting was awesome, the camera angles were creative and unique…but, all of the storylines ran the same depressing path. Maybe it was a fluke. But, what if it’s not? What if this is what teenagers are into right now?

Now, I’m always up for a good cry. I just read “If I Stay” by Gayle Forman and I loved it. I loved the relationships, the intensity of losing someone you love, and I loved that it made me cry. But last night was different.

Last night’s movies were all about suicide and feeling alone, about the pressures of being in high school, not having friends, and trying to figure out how you blend into the world you’re creating. I wonder if this is the future for storytelling.