Zoya’s Journey: Create Awareness and Provide Support and Understanding
My name is Phebe and I’m on the Oregon Kid Governor Cabinet. My platform is endangered animals. I’ve decided to focus on the endangered rusty patched bumble bee. My three-point plan is to first, encourage teachers to take their students on more nature walks to connect with all the wildlife around us. Second, form a “save the bees, save our food sources” committee in a school environment. Third, organize a fundraiser and donate the money raised to the OREGON BEE PROJECT.
So far, I have completed all three steps. In March, I designed a poster explaining my three-point plan and encouraging nature hikes. My friends helped me post these flyers around my school. In June, 2024 I developed a fundraiser for grades 3 – 5 at my school. I gave each class a jar and told to try to donate as much money as they can in a week. I talked to them about my goals and showed a video explaining the fund raiser. There would only be one winning class. The prize was to go on a hike with me and have cake! I was totally surprised by the results. We ended up raising a total of $755.00! My fifth-grade class was the winning class, we raised $264.00! We had a great time eating a beehive-shaped cake and walking on a trail in the forest learning about the plants.
I was so happy to send in a check to the OREGON BEE PROJECT. The money will go to research to help save the Bees.
If you’d like to help support my cause, please donate to the Oregon Bee Project.
On May 18 an event called NAMIWalks took place (Nami stands for National Alliance for Mental Health). Nami’s mission is to provide advocacy, education, support and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives. NAMIWALKS as the name suggests was a walk organized to create more awareness about mental health. The organizers were kind enough to invite me, and of course I went.
We left home at around 10:30, and arrived at the event by 11:00. The event took place in Peninsula Park and the turnout was great. We went to the T-Shirt booth to check-in with one of the volunteers and there we met Cheryl Meyers, the deputy secretary of state! She introduced me to the organizers of the event and to some other elected officials who had shown up. As usual, she put me at ease right away and made sure I did not feel out of place. Then together, we went to explore the many stalls.
The stalls were set up in a horseshoe shape around the park, and a stage was in the center of it. A yoga lesson was taking place on the stage and quite a few people were participating. We started at the left of the horseshoe and worked our way to the right. Every booth had some activity to do or some information to share regarding mental health. There was one stall where you could take a basil plant, pot it in your own pot, decorate the pot and then take it home.
Another stall that I stopped by was run by a mental health organization and they were handing out cards and envelopes with motivational words on them, like you matter and you belong .There was also a face painting stall, a balloon animal stall, a fortune telling stall, and various other stalls from mental health organizations. At around 11:45 some people came to the event with therapy animals! There was a llama, a pony, and a lot of baby goats. The people set up a pen around the goats. They let people in a few at a time and let them pet the goats. The goats were so adorable, and I almost dragged my mom to come with me. When we finally entered the pen, a baby goat with a bandana around its neck came and sat down in my lap. I learnt the hard way that the goats really liked chewing on hair and clothes, and quite a few times I had to tug away my hair from their mouths! Maybe they thought my hair was hay and tried to eat it. 
I visited the pony next. I loved the cute ponies and also had fun feeding them lettuce and carrots. I also clicked a few pictures with them. Much too soon they had to leave. Being with the baby goats brought me a sense of calm and made me happy, so I guess therapy animals do help your mental health. (Now if only my mom would agree to get me a dog)
We checked out some more booths, and before long, the speeches started.
At around 12:45, the NAMI leaders and the special guests gave their speeches, and spoke about what the walk was all about. Soon after, They called me on the stage and introduced me and my platform. They asked me to cut the ribbon to start the race. For a moment I didn’t register what they had said, but when I came to my senses I almost screamed YES!! I was so excited, happy and important. Being a ribbon cutter is a huge honor and I felt super proud that they had asked me to be one.
I stood by the ribbon and was waiting as the crowd was counting down from 10. The second they reached one I cut the ribbon and it fell down with a satisfying snip. I stood off to one side as people walked onto the trail. I had strangers walk up to me and congratulate me and give me a high five. It felt good to be recognized by people I didn’t know.
Going to NamiWalks was a really great experience. I was happy that so many people had come to celebrate the importance of mental wellbeing. Inaugurating the walk was something I will never forget and I am happy I got the opportunity to attend!
So far, in my 5 months of being kid governor, I have been to many events and have given many interviews and speeches. But, being the keynote speaker at the Oregon Youth Summit is definitely an experience that I will never forget. The main focus of the summit was youth mental wellness. The Oregon youth summit is an event that brings together teenage leaders and they all discuss a topic. Their goals are for kids to learn about the government, engage with government officials, and talk about challenges that Oregon’s youth face today.
The event started at 8:30 AM. I had left my house that morning eagerly anticipating the event. I was feeling a lot of emotions that day. I was mostly excited but I was equally nervous. It was the first time I had been asked to give a 10 minute long speech and I was worried that I would fumble or mess up. Being a keynote speaker felt like a big responsibility. When we arrived, I was a little bit surprised that the Summit was taking place at the Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. As we entered the campus, I saw students strolling in and out of the gorgeous brick buildings. The campus even had a little stream with colorful koi fish swimming around. When we went inside the room where the summit was taking place, I could feel the butterflies dancing in my stomach. The room was packed with high schoolers. We were greeted by various adults who told us to sit at a table near the front of the room. Being the only 11yr old in a room packed full of high schoolers, I felt a little out of place. I could feel curious stares prickling on my back as I took my seat. As I gazed at the podium, a new fear arose in my throat. The podium was towering above me. I didn’t know how I was supposed to be seen over it. When I voiced my concern to my mom, she immediately told the person in charge. We spent the next 5 minutes hunting for something that was the right size for me to stand on. We tried chairs, stools, boxes and pretty much everything else you can possibly imagine for me to step on so the audience can see me above the podium. It was a little bit awkward going to and fro from the podium. I started to get a lot of curious stares, for I kept going on and off the podium. Finally, we decided on a chair (it was a little bit too tall). Soon after, the summit started. Some people introduced the summit and what it’s about. The next thing I knew, they were introducing me.
I walked up to the podium and began my speech. I spoke about my experiences and my platform, and about why it is so important to have good mental health. Then, before I knew it I had finished my 10 minute long speech. I walked down from the podium, I realized that it wasn’t as hard as I’d thought it would be. Once I got into the flow of speaking, the words came out naturally. I barely noticed that there were people in the room.
Soon after, we took a group picture. I had many people come and talk to me, and even though I was the smallest person in the room nobody treated me that way. I had to leave before the summit was over because I had to get to school. Before I left, I was presented with a challenge coin by Steve Campbell, Director of community services and public safety for the city of happy valley. A challenge coin is a coin that is presented to someone who has done a service to the community. I was so proud to receive the challenge coin. My challenge coin was given to me by the city of Happy Valley. Alas, I now had to get to school. As I got into the car, I thought about how fortunate I had been to get to be one of the keynote speakers at the summit and how great of an opportunity it had been. It was so amazing to see so many people who believed in my cause and who believed that we could make a change.
When I finally got to school, I couldn’t stop thinking about the youth summit and what an amazing experience it was. I had so much fun being there and speaking about my cause.
Did you know today is world yoga day? I’ve heard from lots of people that yoga can be a great cure for mental health, so I thought, let’s try it out! Now, imagine my excitement when I was introduced to Akshata Shah, a psychologist and a certified Yoga instructor. I did an online interview with her and posted it right here on my blog. Even though it was my first time interviewing someone, she was very kind and put me at ease. I myself tried doing the breathwork that she showed in the video and they worked really well. I noticed a general change in my overall mood and I fell asleep a lot easier. Watch the video below:
Did you know that kids mental health awareness week is celebrated every year in May? This year it is happening May 5th through 11th. So, I decided to share some interesting mental health trivia with you all.
- Did you know that 1 out of five kids have some form of mental health disorder? That means that 166,000,000 (166 million) kids have a mental health disorder. That’s almost 23 in each school!
- Nearly 21.8% of children ages 3 to 17 may be suffering from a diagnosable mental health disorder,* and 50 percent of them begin before age 14.
- Gratitude journaling is the most recommended way for kids to feel better. It helps you feel joy at the little things in life. Gratitude journaling is when you write down 3 things that you are grateful for that day. According to the University of Berkeley, Gratitude journaling makes you feel a lot happier.*
- Being creative also helps your mental health. Studies show that creating art can be an amazing stress reliever. Creativity also encourages out of the box thinking that stimulates both sides of the brain. Art also provides a way to let out your feelings without having to talk about it.
- Sleep is super important for mental well being. When you are sleeping your body is in the process of rest and relaxation. A good night’s sleep can mean better physical and mental performance the next day. Did you know that Albert Einstein got at least 10 hours of sleep every day? He claimed that it kept his mental alertness and productivity up.
- Most kids feel better when playing. While playing, kids get an opportunity to express feelings that they can’t quite put a word to. Play encourages creativity through games. Play also can keep physical fitness up which is really important for a whole lot of reasons.
- A lot of influential artists had a mental health disorder. Did you know that Vincent van Gogh suffered from severe depression? His way of escaping all of that was art. Most of his art was inspired by his depression. Number 2 is Michelangelo. This artist is most famous for his work on the ceiling at the Sistine Chapel. He often locked himself in his home for days at a time, sometimes forgetting to feed himself. This was due to his anxiety and depression. His attention to detail has led to many speculations that he also had obsessive compulsive disorder.
- May is mental health awareness month. Mental health May started almost a century ago in 1949. Mental Health Month first started off as Mental health week that was started by Clifford W. Beers. However he had been starting a movement for this issue since early 1908.
Mental health is really important for your general well being. It is a really important issue, and the more we know about it the more we can do to have a healthy mind. I hope that you have learned something new today, and will use it to educate or help others! And as I always say, a happy mind equals a happy life!
*How Gratitude Changes Your and Your Brain
*Study Reveals Fourfold Range in Rates of Mental Health Problems Among U.S. Children Based on Relational and Social Risks
My goal as part of the 2024 Oregon Kid Governor’s Cabinet is to reduce Oregon’s plastic waste and use it to make items that people use every day. Then we can also start replacing single use plastic items with alternatives that are better for the environment. My plan to do that is to work with an organization called Terra-Cycle to make all of the schools in Oregon a public pickup zone for plastic waste. With Terra-Cycle, I can create fundraisers for schools by collecting plastic waste that a Terra-Cycle worker will come pick up! With your plastic, your school can earn an average of $420 that it can use for better school supplies! While we have the fundraisers, I would also like to hold an event for parents and 5th graders to teach younger kids about plastic pollution and why we need to stop it.
Next, I will talk to a group of Oregon’s legislators who are trying to do the same thing that I am trying to do with plastic, and they can help me with my next several goals! First, I would like them to help me set up a meeting with some of Oregon’s recycling companies and other plastic reducing companies such as Terra-Cycle, so I can talk to them about my campaign! Then, I would like them to help me create an after school group to go around their towns to pick up plastic! I would also like to talk to them about maybe passing two different laws in Oregon. The first law would be to have these plastic fundraisers every year within schools, so new generations of kids and parents can teach and learn about plastic pollution! The next law would be to ban single use plastic items that are bad for the environment. Then we can start using either metal items that are reusable or single use natural items that are better for the environment.
As part of 2024s Oregon Kid Governors Cabinet, these are the goals that I hope to achieve during my one year term!
As all of you know my platform is about creating mental health awareness in kids. However, what most of you don’t know is my reason behind choosing this platform. This issue has a special place in my heart because I can relate to the people who suffer from a mental health problem.
It all started about 2 days after my 8th birthday. We were going somewhere and some conversation (I don’t remember what now) had triggered my anxiety. That night I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned but my worries kept me awake. Finally at about 11 pm I walked downstairs and told my mom about what was happening. She asked me what was happening but I couldn’t explain it to her. I told her that I felt like there was a “lump” in my throat. She came upstairs and put me to bed. For the first 2 days this happened, my parents thought that I was making it up. They told me to be strong, and to shake it off. These were people who wanted to help me, but they just did not realize that anxiety could happen to a kid. This lump was making it hard to eat or drink. Now, there was not an actual lump in my throat, it just felt like it. When my parents noticed that I wasn’t eating they called my pediatrician, who gave referrals to a therapist, who had a month-long waitlist. We tried so many things to make me feel better, from massages to math, but nothing worked, not even reading (my favorite thing to do). To me, it felt like this was NEVER going to go away. It felt so hopeless that I taped a piece of paper that said “shut up mind right now.”. Eventually, we tried a guided meditation on YouTube. At first guided meditation was really hard. I wanted a solution immediately, but meditation doesn’t work like that. It required patience, which I didn’t have at the time. I started to develop patience, and then meditation was super helpful. The result wasn’t instantaneous but it worked. Slowly but surely I started to feel better. Soon instead of my anxiety happening every day, it happened only once or twice a week. Soon, it was a rare occurrence. However it still has not completely gone away, and it probably never will. The best I can do is have efficient strategies to deal with it. Even though guided meditation helped me it may not be the best strategy for you. Try doing something that you like to help you feel better.
Everybody goes through rough times every once in a while but getting support from others is really important. I like to imagine it like you are carrying a huge load of bricks. You’ve tried for a while and you still cannot move it. Eventually, you call someone to help you, and together you can share the burden, instead of one person carrying the whole thing .There are still some people out there who believe that kids having a mental health disorder is ridiculous. That’s why it is important to share our stories to let people know that this is a real issue.
P.S. I still do a lot of guided meditation. Sometimes when I have one of my anxiety attacks, my parents will play a meditation video on their phone at night when I go to bed. They are so relaxing that sometimes I am asleep before it even ends! Personally, I feel like guided meditation rids my mind of all my worries, and calms me down a whole lot. I generally do the sleep ones, but there are some for a lot of other things. This is the one I like the best. You can find a lot more on YouTube and see which one works best for you. Click play below to do the meditation:
Have you ever felt like you were going to explode with excitement? Well that was how I felt on Jan 25. This was “The Day!” The day I had been waiting for since November 27. This was the day that my aunt and uncle had come all the way from Seattle for. This was the day my friends had missed school for. This was the day I had missed school for. This was it. This was my Inauguration day.
The moment I woke up, I was busy. My to-do list for that morning had been: wake up, eat breakfast, take a shower, wait for everyone else to take a shower, change into my inauguration outfit (which was very special since my grandma sent it all the way from India), and LEAVE. The night before, it had been made very clear that no lollygagging was to be done and that we must be out of the door by 11:OO because we were going all the way to Salem. WE did make it out on time. When we first caught sight of the capitol building, I was in awe of the gorgeous place. Just thinking that so many important people had been inaugurated here and that my inauguration was here too, sent shivers down my spine.
When we entered the building, the first thing we saw was a metal detector. But as we got closer to the Senate Chamber Things felt fancier and lavish. When we got to the senate Chamber itself, I took a sharp breath. A fancy podium was at the head of the room and the seats in front were cushioned and they swiveled. The Chambers’ high ceilings were floor to ceiling polished wood. As others filed in, I could see how this place looked while meetings were in session. I could almost imagine an important person giving a speech, with a crowd hanging onto their every word. When everyone arrived, the Deputy Secretary of State Cheryl Myers gave a speech. She spoke about what the Oregon Kid Governor program was about and how I was elected. In a few minutes she was introducing Lea Andrus (The 2023 kid governor) who gave a speech about what she did in her term and what her platform is. And then before I knew it, it was my turn to give a speech. Before I gave my speech I was sworn in by retired Oregon Supreme court Justice Paul De Muniz. As he delivered the oath of office, I put my left hand over my heart and held out my right hand, and I felt so happy and proud.
I had come with the expectation that I would be nervous. But once I got two paragraphs into the speech I realized that it was not that bad. The words flowed off my tongue naturally and I felt confident in what I was saying. My speech felt like it lasted 5 seconds but in reality it was three minutes. After my speech I spoke with Senate President Rob Wagner who was very nice and funny. Then I had a conversation with State Treasurer Tobias Read who had previously sent me a letter congratulating me on my election as Kid Governor.
So many elected officials were shaking my hand that day. So many people were congratulating me. So many camera crews were waiting to take my interview. So much happened that day. When I walked out of the door that day, I felt so excited. This was the day that it all became real.
Hi, my name is Phebe and I was a final candidate in the 2024 Oregon’s Kid Governor Election. I’m now a member of the Kid Governor’s Cabinet working with 2024 Kid Governor Zoya!
I ran on a platform of saving our endangered species, such as the rusty patched bumblebee. I chose this issue because I already knew how bees that nest underground were endangered, and bees are vital to our food supply. I want to keep our ecosystems healthy, so this is why I ran for Kid governor. My three-point platform is:
- To inform teachers and children on the nature around us and encourage schools to take students on more nature hikes.
- To create a save the bees, save our food sources committee.
- Successfully run a fundraiser and donate the money raised to the Oregon Bee Project.
Since the Statewide Election, I have made a flier for my first point and have taught my classmates about my experience at the inauguration. I will continue to work on my platform by running a penny drive at my school, Pacific Ridge Elementary.
If you would like to support my platform, you can share my flier and donate to my future fundraiser. Download flyer