symbols and love lost

Hindi words of the week:

Pyaar (py-ah-rr) – love

Dost (tho-st) – friend

Hello everyone, hope these drastic weather changes aren’t getting to you. A lot of my friends have recently gotten sick or just felt down and depressed because of the weather. The few random spots of real spring have been utterly amazing, no? Just the other day when it was nice outside, I was wearing shorts and hanging out with my nephew.

I happen to have a tattoo on my leg and he asked me why it was unfinished and what it represented. I told him the same thing I will share with you all right now. It means many things. It represents my commitment to becoming a better version of myself, and when I feel that I have no room for self-improvement, I’ll fill it in. I will always have room for self-improvement. It represents my commitment to helping the people I love, and I will always have to help them. This is not a reason that I shall fill in the empty spaces of the tattoo on my leg. It also represents the love of a friend lost.

I had a friend in middle school – a very close friend. We were part of a group of five, and we hung out together. We spent our lunch breaks and whatever classes we had together in each others’ company. That friend, due to a multitude of reasons, committed suicide. His parents let us each have a picture from his sketchbook and the remaining four of us each have a tattoo of one of his drawings or a part of one. Thus, the unfinished tattoo on my leg represents a lot of things, each one very important and each very personal.

I take mental health very seriously and so should you. Don’t ignore your own health in order to look out for someone else either. If you can’t help yourself, you can’t really help someone else. Whenever you see an MC Safe Zone sign like the one below, know that there is someone in that area who is available to help you. Each area marked with the Safe Zone sign is intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations. If you feel stressed out or know someone else does, keep an eye out for these signs. Don’t forget that Montgomery College has counselors you can call and talk to. Find more information about how to reach them here.