Rarely Said
Rarely Said is a podcast for teenage girls who feel deeply and think deeply.
Hosted by 16-year-old Harper Stephens, this show is a space to talk about the things everyone feels but not everyone says out loud. From red flags and breakups to friendships, boundaries, and growing up in real time, Rarely Said is about emotional clarity — not perfection.
There are no experts here. No perfect advice. Just honest conversations about high school relationships, self-worth, and learning how to choose yourself without losing your heart.
If you’ve ever overthought a text, stayed longer than you should have, or wondered if what you’re feeling is normal — you’re not alone.
Sometimes just noticing is enough.
Rarely Said
EP 16: I Had a 1.5 GPA Because I Was Too Scared to Ask for Help | Learning to Speak Up in High School
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Freshman year, Harper had a 1.5 GPA. Not because she wasn't smart. Because she was too scared to ask for help.
In this episode of Rarely Said, Harper gets honest about what it actually feels like to be drowning and too proud — or too afraid — to tell anyone. She talks about the moment things started to shift, what finally made her reach out, and how everything changed when she stopped trying to figure it all out alone.
This one is for anyone who's been sitting in the back of the classroom pretending they understand when they absolutely do not.
We talk about:
- What Harper's freshman year actually looked like behind the scenes
- Why asking for help can feel scarier than just struggling silently
- The moment she realized something had to change
- How opening up to teachers, counselors, and family made a real difference
- Breaking the stigma around needing support in high school
Asking for help isn't weakness. It's just the thing nobody tells you to do.
If you've ever felt too overwhelmed to even know where to start — or too embarrassed to admit you're struggling — this episode is going to feel like someone finally said it. Drop a comment if you needed to hear this today. 👇
Welcome to Rarly Said, the podcast where we talk about what everyone feels but not everyone says. I'm your host, Harper, and I'm so excited you're here. Today I'm gonna be talking about when to ask for help. I feel like personally I've struggled with this, especially like in school or when there's drama or just something going on where you feel like you have to tell a parent or go talk to your school or your teacher. And I've definitely had some situations where I feel like talking to friends and them telling me a lot of personal stuff felt really heavy, and I felt like I needed to talk to someone about it. Obviously, I always just go to my mom. I think people struggle to ask for help because maybe you're shy. My freshman year, I had a 1.5 GPA. I was terrified of my teachers and I would never ask for help. And I was struggling. I didn't really know how to work my iPad at school, which I probably should have gone to someone and asked how do I turn in my work because that was like a terrible start to my school year. I think I also was trying to like do everything social and have like a really fun social life too, which is obviously great, but very distracting. And I wouldn't study for my tests. Obviously, when I had missing assignments or when I was absent from school, I wouldn't really talk to my teachers and be like, oh, like, can I make this up? I literally just wouldn't do it. In my junior years, definitely when I was like, okay, like I need to lock in. I want to graduate high school, like immediately. So I started talking to my teachers, going to my counselor, asking for help. If I had a question in class, raise your hand or go up to your teacher and ask privately. Email your teachers. I always am emailing my teachers to like if I have a missing assignment, hey guy missed this assignment, I finished it. Is there any way you could put it in the grade book? Just like communication and asking for help. And also pro tip: if you talk to your teachers, they're gonna like you, like the teachers like when you talk to them and ask them questions and engage in their class. So that's kind of how I got my GPA up from a 1.5. Now it's like a 3.0, which isn't great, but it's better than a 1.5. I think some signs that you're carrying stuff on your own is just like it's too much for you to handle, and you feel like you need to talk to someone if you feel like that. I would definitely recommend talking to your mom or therapist. I tell my therapist like everything too, and my mom. Your teachers, your counselors, like they're all people there to talk to you and to help you through things. So I think when you actually use them and take what they're offering. If you use all of your resources, then you'll be able to communicate your feelings, and it'll be a lot easier when you're struggling to ask for help when you have adults and people that you know you can trust in your corner. If you're listening and you already feel seen, then this podcast is doing its job. You don't have to have your life figured out to be here. Just noticing is enough. Thank you. Talk to you again soon.