“Grief is like the ocean; it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do for certain is learn to swim.”
~Vicki Harrison
Loss. It’s hard to explain. It’s hard to understand. When we were younger, loss seemed so incomprehensible. He died? Where did he go? Is he gone forever? Those are just a few questions I can remember asking my parents when I was young when a family member or loved one passed away. Now, as we get closer and closer to real adulthood, loss seems just as confusing.
For many of us, we haven’t been away from home for more than a few weeks or for some-a few days. Our homes and our families are our happy place, our sense of comfort. When tragedy struck, our families were there to shelter us from the pain and hold our hands when everything seemed to be falling apart.
Tragedy in college is different. Our moms and dads and siblings aren’t down the hall from us. The familiarity of our bedroom and the stuffed animal we’ve had since we were little isn’t there anymore and tragedy can seem unbearable. Tragedy can leave us college students feeling confused, lonely, and empty. You don’t want your roommate or the girl down the hall you’ve never met to see you cry. The struggle you feel when all you want to do is let out the pain and the confusion but you don’t know who to turn to.
Loss is difficult; in college it can seem excruciating. Tragedy has recently struck our Holy Cross community. For many of us, we are heartbroken. For many of us, we are confused, uncomfortable, and unsure of what to say. In the whirlwind of finals week and the stress of the year coming to a close, a sense of overwhelmed sadness has overcome many of us.
It is with a heavy heart that I say that I’m not sure how one deals with such a loss. No one can be 100% sure how to deal with something that you may never have experienced before. But I know without a question that at this moment, the Holy Cross community stands together in support of each other through this difficult time. This campus, this community, and the wonderful network of counselors and resources that it offers represent everything that Holy Cross stands for. Never be afraid to reach out. Never be afraid to let it out.
Loss is something that shouldn’t be handled alone. Holy Cross beats with one purple heart and a friend is always there for those who need one. We may not have our parents here or our friends from home that know every detail about us, but we do have each other. We do have our roommates, our hallmates, our RAs, our Orientation Leaders, our professors, our coaches…and so many others.
As a Holy Cross student, we are called to be men and women for others. Now, more than ever, it is time to prove that and be a friend to those who need you most.
“Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.”
~Meister Eckhart