To raise awareness for Mental Health Week and the Tiger Counseling Center hosted several events on campus promoting mental health. On Oct. 6, they had an event for expressing gratitude: Gratitude Pumpkins. On Oct. 7, they had a succulent pot and paint event. On Oct. 8, they held an event making intention bracelets.
At the succulent event, Becca Yoblinski (’23), said that she loves plants and told me she is an environmental science major. Her pot was a grayscale gradient, which she did to match her pink one from a previous event that was similar. For Yoblinski, painting the pots was a good way to express and soothe herself.
On Thursday, I attended the bracelet making and met Dana Messer (’21). I had also seen her at the painting and pot event. She told me that the idea of mental health awareness is important. For her bracelet, she chose the word “Calm” as inspiration to stay calm during these trying times. She told me that she struggles with anxiety, and that it was important for her to remember that it will get better if she remains calm.
I also met Bri West (’24), who told me that she had realized how strong she was for coming to college, which is why she chose the word “Strong” for her bracelet. When I asked her why she came to the event, she simply said that it “sounded fun.” Hannah Marcin (’24) told me that she chose “Hugs” because “the world needs more hugs,” and that she came to the event to recognize the importance of mental health awareness.
In the same vein as Marcin, I chose the word “Love” for my bracelet because the world needs more love and less suffering and pain.
Parker Hayes (’24) said that she chose “Happy” to help her “remember to stay optimistic and happy even when things are hard,” which is an important message to recall in tough times like now. Rylee Armstrong (’24) chose “Earth” for her bracelet and told me that it was to help remind her to “stay grounded” and because she “loves Earth.”
Brooke Schmidt of the Tiger Counseling Center told me that they ran out of pumpkins on Tuesday within the first hour- the event was a hit. In all, the Mental Health Week events went as planned and helped students to express themselves and helped them to learn about Mental Health. Events like this are important, especially in trying times like now when we cannot have as many events as we normally would if this were a normal year. These events let students get to experience life on campus and learn about different services offered by the Counseling Center.
