- What's up y'all?

Bullies can't live without them, right?

Not everyone you meet will always be kind.

Some bullies you don't see coming.

Some bullies just wanna deter you from your path.

But remember, with the right support system, no bully can beat you.

And if you don't believe me, ask Avery and his big brother Terry Crews.

(upbeat music) (pencil scribbles) (paper rustles) (gentle saxophone music) (upbeat saxophone music) (upbeat saxophone music) - I'm just nervous so it's like.

- No, it is obvious, it is.

- I should be used to this.

- Let's start with your name please, sir.

- My name is Avery Dixon.

- [Interviewer] And what drew you to the saxophone specifically?

- I started listening to like saxophone music, so I could pick it out in a song.

It just kind of spoke to me like the versatility of it.

You can project the highs and lows and the raw emotion through an instrument and that's what really drew me in.

- There's so much emotion associated with music and there's a lot of links between music and mental health and how it can help as a coping mechanism.

Does music play a role in your mental health journey?

- It played a role long before I even realized it.

Because at the time I picked it up, I was getting bullied by teachers.

- Wow.

- I would basically just kind of sit and take it.

I didn't know why it was happening to me.

I was not the loudest person in the room or the person that was listened to a lot by teachers because they were the ones talking about me.

I began to feel like there was something wrong with me.

So I questioned myself and I'd be like, what did I do so wrong?

To kind of like deserve people I looked up to, teachers, talking about me.

It was not just like talking about me, like it was like my voice.

It was things I had no control over.

Music was the one space where you can literally blow that away.

(upbeat saxophone music) (upbeat saxophone music) (crowd cheering) The way I felt was sad, hurt, and I would play that through my horn.

(upbeat music) - I think every mentor should have patience, should have a desire for the student to want to improve, to get better.

Not just as a musician, but as a person.

(upbeat music) - One thing that I learned about you through a lot of my research is, you are always gonna look sharp always in a like a suit.

And a lot of people came to know you that way through America's Got Talent and you shared this story and you just mentioned how someone else's music impacted you and gave you hope for your journey.

So I wanted to know how did it feel having the ability to do that for others?

- It's a gift.

It was my goal to always be able to inspire someone and to help somebody through my performance.

And a lot of times what we do is more felt than it is even seen.

People that have been through terrible things, but they found strength in my story.

Like I had someone tell me, your voice sounds a lot like mine.

- Wow.

- All my life I thought I was the only person in the world that sounded like this.

I'm not the only one.

You want them to know that you see them.

I see you.

(crowd cheering) - There's no need to vote.

- Avery Dixon.

You've been bullied all your life, but you tell every bully, that you have a big brother named Terry Crews, and all those bullies are gonna have to watch you succeed, my friend!

(cymbal crashes) ♪ Those times in my life ♪ (crowd cheering) - [Interviewer] I wanna know what hope means to you.

- Hope means finding life after failure.

Hope is something that should be deep within us.

Kind of like how we can feel our hearts beat.

As long as you have a pulse, there's hope.

(upbeat saxophone music) - Yeah.

- That was so cool.

- [Avery] Not bad.

- Hey everyone, I'm Hope Givers reporter Sophia Arayden.

And today we're gonna be going around asking people about the trusted adults in their lives.

Let's go.

Hey Jay.

- Hello.

- Do you have a trusted adult in your life?

- Yeah, I'd definitely say so.

- What makes that adult a trusted adult?

- The fact that I'm able to go to her for literally anything.

I could talk to her about some like deepest, deepest, darkest secrets I possibly could have.

And she'd be there to listen.

- Do you have a trusted adult in your life?

- Yeah, probably my mama.

- And why do you think having a trusted adult is really important in high school?

- Just having somebody you can go to, like when you need 'em.

- Why do you think having a trusted adult is really important in high school?

- You go through a lot in high school, these sort of ages you do go through a lot of things.

I think it's always good to have that one person you can run to that you can trust.

- Everyone, especially high schoolers, just go through a lot and they need someone to look up to and someone to lean on when they need things.

- Hey Emily.

So do you have a trusted adult in your life?

- Yes, I do.

- And what makes that person a person you can trust?

- They help lead me in the right direction and teach me right from wrong.

- And why do you think having a trusted adult is so important in high school?

- Because we're going through so much and we're trying to figure out so much in our lives.

It's good to have somebody be an example for us.

- I totally agree.

Thank you so much.

(paper rustles) (gentle music) - Hey y'all.

I'm in the loft of my friend Ava, and she was telling me about her favorite self-care techniques.

Can you tell me about it too?

- Yes, okay so, I really enjoy meditating and then journaling.

- Nice.

- So normally I'll sit down on my bed, or on the floor, whatever feels comfortable, and I'll just sit down, stay calm, and breathe in and breathe out.

And breathe in.

And breathe out.

And I'll just do that as many times as I need to calm myself down before I make an irrational decision.

And then I'll grab my journal and I'll open it up and write about whatever's going on.

And I like to grab a pen that matches the color of my emotions.

- Wait, how do you do that?

- So if I'm mad, maybe I'll pick a color like red or pink.

- Oh.

- So if you were happy, what color would you pick?

I'd probably pick yellow 'cause it's my favorite.

- Oh that's a cool color.

- And it's bright and sunny.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- So I wrote something down here.

You wanna show them?

- Yeah, let's show 'em.

- Yeah.

(paper rustles) - [Interviewer] Stay cool Hope Givers.

(upbeat music) (paper rustles) For our Youth Across America film this week, we have Eric Stackland with their animated film, Hope In Music, let's press play.

(upbeat music) - [Eric] In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, it's safe to say that we were all at least somewhat lost.

It was a time of confusion and monotony.

For many students at the time, online learning was the method of schooling, and everyone felt the isolation, myself included.

It was easy to get lost in my own thoughts as I sat in my room day after day.

The repetition of every week gave me a little to look forward to.

At one point, well into the school year though, an online friend introduced me to this free digital music software.

I didn't have any experience in making music, but I was willing to try it if it meant having something to do.

A few days after watching some tutorials, I opened it up during class and decided to try my hand at making a full song.

Not even two hours later, I found myself listening back to my very first piece and I was surprised.

Excited, I showed it to my family and was met with great support.

The next day, this support carried me to make more songs and improve my skills.

I used to dream of a career in creating video games and while that interest still remains, from this dark time of online school and face masks came something to surpass that.

Steadily improving, I still continue to make music today.

It's given me something that I can be proud of making and truly put my heart into.

In fact, the music playing right now was created just for this.

While it may not be making music, everyone can find a hobby they enjoy.

May it come to you at a good or bad time, having a hobby to focus on or use as an escape is something everyone should look into.

It helped me out of a dark time and it may just do the same for you.

(paper rustles) (upbeat music) - What really struck me by Avery's story is how he overcame such incredible adversity.

When he was talking about being bullied, I assumed it was peer to peer.

And then when he shared that he was being bullied by teachers, it was shocking.

Then he used his music, he used his saxophone, as a vehicle to heal and to overcome such incredible adversity and to feel unbroken and to feel whole.

What I love about the segment in which we interview a variety of teens around the topic of trusted adults, having someone in their lives who they can go to, who will always be there no matter what, to listen.

And listening, I feel is the most important aspect of being a trusted adult.

Not talking, not giving advice.

Even though we may know better or we think we know better, it's so important for teenagers to not feel judged, to feel heard and listened to, and seen and respected, and let them ask those questions, instead of just injecting our advice when we think we know better.

They will ask us, as long as we offer that non-judgmental, safe, and loving presence.

- Do you know someone we should highlight?

Send us your suggestions and keep holding on.

(upbeat music) (paper rustles) - Selena Gomez said, if you're broken, you do not have to stay broken.

Just remember to believe in yourself and with the right support system, no darkness can dim your light.

In the loft today performing his new hit single, Bone, this is Mon Rovia.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ If it takes time, ♪ ♪ I've tried to open up my own life ♪ ♪ To your skies, ♪ ♪ Leads me on a search for ♪ some love that I had once, ♪ ♪ but I lost touch ♪ ♪ Cause I'm always on my own ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ I'm lonely to the bone ♪ (upbeat music) (Mon Rovia vocalizing) ♪ And I wonder if I took flight ♪ ♪ If I tried maybe I ♪ would land on your side?

♪ ♪ And be fine ♪ ♪ But I'm always on my own life ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Yes, I'm always on my own life ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ It is heartbreak?

♪ ♪ Maybe innocence, or naivety ♪ ♪ Or not everything's about me?

♪ ♪ Noticing from the ♪ outskirts like a ghost town ♪ ♪ Feels like you're losing ♪ on your home ground ♪ ♪ Could somebody love me ♪ through August eyes?

♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Cause I'm always on my own ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ I'm lonely to the bone ♪ (upbeat music) (Mon Rovia vocalizing) ♪ And I wonder if I took flight ♪ ♪ If I tried, maybe I ♪ would land on your side?

♪ ♪ And be fine ♪ ♪ But I'm always on my own life ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Yes, I'm always on my own life ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Will I ever get out of it?

♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Will I ever get out of it?

♪ (Mon Rovia vocalizing) (upbeat music)