In the last few weeks, no lesson has been made more apparent in my life, or become more relevant to me personally, than the importance of having a strong support system.  

Through three uniquely different events I’ve encountered recently, it has dawned on me just how vital it is to be able to have people behind you and to know that you are not alone in whatever struggle life is currently throwing at you.

Two weekends ago, what started as a much-needed break at home from the daily student grind turned into an unexpected turn of events. Much to our dismay, my parents and I found ourselves surrounded by small, yappy dogs and the smell of pee and hand sanitizer as we stood in the lobby of the veterinary clinic for several hours.

Our old, greying golden retriever, Louie, who has been part of our family for over a decade, laid defeated on the floor next to us after a sudden onslaught of sickness. He was equally as unamused as we were by the Chihuahua named Dolce resting in a little hand bag and the limping Shih Tzu that was peeing on the rug — this clearly wasn’t Louie’s idea of a Saturday morning, either.

In the days that followed, I found myself emotionally and mentally uninvested from my life in Champaign in a deep way that I kept mostly private. Five days later, I received the devastating and unwelcoming phone call that Louie had passed away. Several friends expressed condolences and memories they shared with our family dog, and another related specifically as she went through the same challenge on the same exact day.

Suddenly, I didn’t feel so alone in my grief.

Fast forward a few days and I found myself on the UIUC Reddit page reading a long post by a student expressing that he was feeling overwhelmed, inadequate and alone in his ventures through his education at the University as he discussed worries over his GPA, lack of internship experience and other academic concerns.

His struggles were real, raw and relatable, and some of the Reddit community made him aware that his experiences and mentality were not unshared, while others extended help by offering him a list of a number of campus resources that might be of use to him.

Then, a day later, on Tuesday evening, I had the opportunity to listen to actor RJ Mitte during his lecture at the Illini Union. He discussed his trials and tribulations as a person with a mild form of cerebral palsy and emphasized how having such immense support from the people in his life has allowed him to push beyond feelings of self-doubt and be able to accomplish all that he has in his career.

During the Q&A session that took place afterward, several students shared personal stories of their encounters and experiences with disabilities, while other students reached out to personally thank Mitte for advocating for such an underrepresented group.

What I am ultimately getting at with the case of my dog, the Reddit student and the RJ Mitte lecture is that while these were immensely different experiences that affected everyone involved in different ways, we each received copious amounts of support from peers and strangers, and discovered we were not alone in our struggles.

I then got to thinking about how many thousands of other students, and people in general, go through their own traumatic experiences and face their own daily challenges. Because of this, it is so vital to be able to have helpful resources and outreach in order to face a variety of situations, whether those resources come from tight-knit, built-in support systems of family and friends, or outside social networks and group sessions.

I find this concept of support so important because many times I don’t think students — again, or people in general — realize how many others go through some of the same challenges they do, which may often lead to inaccurate feelings of loneliness or isolation. So even just knowing that there are groups and resources available to compensate for those feelings is deeply and utterly helpful.

It can take a lot of courage to be vocal about personal challenges, especially when we might feel like we are alone in our experiences, but doing so can also open doors to much-needed support.

Essentially what it comes down to is that no matter what events and challenges we may go through, sometimes it’s just enough to know that we are not alone.

Nicki is a junior in Media. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @NickiHalenza.