With this assignment, I  decided to talk to people about mental health. I asked 5 different individuals on campus the question, “ How do you think mental health affects College Students?”. 

I interviewed people on my floor and to my surprise, I had received very similar answers. The first girl I interviewed said, “ I think college can help mental health or hurt people. It all depends on the type of person you are and college can either allow you to open up or make you shut down.” She then began to touch on her friends personal experience and how being away from home did not allow her to be who she wanted to be and her mental health was severely affected.

The next girl I interviewed said, “ College can bring a lot of anxiety and stress onto people, but being in new environments with a diverse group of people can allow you to grow and deal with different issues you had in your past in many different ways.” She had a positive outlook on mental health and talked about how supportive her friend group was at college compared to at home.

I interviewed a man next. He said “ Mental Health is very important with college students and if physical health is taken care of then mental health will be too.” He seemed to think working out was a major part of feeling more positive.

The next person I interviewed said, “Mental Health can be affected by the different people you meet at college and the type of people they are will affect you.” She said how if you surround yourself with the right people it will work out. 

The last person said, “ The stress of college is something that can hurt you in the end. The work piles up and thoughts in your head jumble up.” He related mental health more to school work. 

This is a subject I have taken very seriously the past 2 years of my life. My senior year in high school, one of my best friends was a grade older than me and he unfortunately took his life while in college down in Florida. Nobody had expected this and had not seen any signs. So many people you see could be going through something and you could have no idea. People handle stress in school very differently, but it is very important to know that there is another way out and people will love you and support you.