Care

 

I think about being at RIC for my undergrad and being in the spring of my junior year when my dad passed. My teachers knew (I had to send them each emails about it) because I needed to miss a week of class. Lucky it was only a week since the day he passed was the first day of spring break so I had plenty of time, one of them said to me. Little did they know I was supposed to leave that next day to visit a friend studying abroad in Ireland and to celebrate that I was about to turn 21. 

I don't remember who told me about the counseling services available at RIC free to students, it definitely wasn't that professor. But I was so thankful to be able to have that resource. To me, that was the care I needed in that moment. I needed a safe, un-bias space to talk about what I was feeling and experiencing. From the woman at the main desk, who after I graduated continued to offer me resources for support, to the woman I opened up to on a weekly basis, I felt cared for. 

I was so appreciative that this was something RIC offered. It was tough when I graduated I was nervous about going somewhere else to get support and I didn't try another therapist until this summer. I had to go through my own insurance, which was expensive even with it (my work insurance is garbage) and then it took forever for me to get an available appointment. When I was finally able to speak with someone and express what I was feeling and going through they chalked it up to me "working a full-time and part time job and starting a Masters program" and "just being tired". Needless to say I never went back to them again. So when I finally started this program the counseling center was one of the first places I reached out to. I think this is because of the positive experience I had with them in undergrad and the care I was given.