This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Marist chapter.
During my third week of my freshman year I got a call we all dread getting. My mom told me that my dog had died… a dog I had loved and cherished for thirteen years.
I was and still am over 400 miles away from my family, so I couldn’t be there for my mother who was going through all of this on her own and she could not be here for me either. It broke my heart knowing we couldn’t cry together and talk about Frankie, my dog, face to face. I had to rely on my college family (whom I had only known for three weeks) to get me through this heartbreaking time in my life.
I am still trying to get through this time and I thought that writing down some tips for you on how to deal with any family crisis will help both me and you.
- Cry. Whenever, wherever and in front of whoever. I know you might not want to cry in front of people especially if you are a new freshman with no close friends but trust me, people do not care. They only want to help. Five minutes after I got the news I had to go meet my friends for breakfast and the second I saw them I broke down crying. They hugged me and supported me in every way they could. Your friends want to help you and they do not care if you cry in front of them. Honestly, it will probably make you all closer for it.
- Post about it. Some may disagree with this but for me it really helped. I posted about my dog’s death on social media a few hours after I got the call and the response I got on the post was overwhelming. Many people that I haven’t talked to in a long time or even those I don’t know personally reached out to me and either shared a similar experience or told me they were thinking of me and my family. Knowing that I am not alone in this and that people care and support me really helped me during the first few days
- Don’t try to ignore it. If you lost someone, look at their picture often. Think of them often. If you are religious, pray to them or for them often. Cry often. Call your family often. Talk about it often. But don’t let it consume you.
- Don’t let it consume your life. Go to class. Have fun. Laugh. And don’t think that you are an awful person for having fun with your friends after it happens.