Like most middle schoolers, Kaylah Beltran is comfortable on the soccer field. On any given afternoon following class, Kaylah will be with practicing with her teammates. But Kaylah is also comfortable addressing something that many of her peers (and even adults) aren’t: mental health.

As a young child, Kaylah was anxious. Her parents saw it, but it wasn’t something that she immediately identified. It wasn’t until she was a little older, during the COVID-19 pandemic, that Kaylah’s anxiety worsened. She suffered a panic attack while taking a test. Therapy helped her identify what negatively impacted her mental health and gave her simple tools to address it.

Inspired by her journey, Kaylah wrote a book titled “My Anxiety Journey.”