Last week, during my fourth week of college, we lost a member of our Wolfpack family to suicide. Of course, the first thought that came to my mind was how sad it is that someone so young felt the need to end his own life. My next question was, naturally, why? I did not know him, but I had this itching desire to understand his thoughts leading up to his death so that I could empathize with him. It was at this point that I realized that I have absolutely no understanding of why anyone would feel so depressed and alone that they feel like they have no other option. I will be the first to admit that I do not understand suicide.

Suicide has become an unfortunate, tragic epidemic across college campuses with more than 1,000 on-campus incidents a year nationwide. It is the third leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 24. This being said, suicide has hit close to the hearts of many people my age, including myself. I have known many people who have battled depression, and others who have both successfully and unsuccessfully attempted suicide. But even now, I can't comprehend the thoughts that drive people to take their own lives. I don't understand suicide, but I don't think that I have to.

I have come to realize that we don't have to understand someone's suicide to mourn their loss. Our society does not need to so much understand suicidal thoughts as we need to work to prevent them from turning into actions. We need to recognize them and seek out those people needing support. We don't always have to empathize. Sympathy and support can make all the difference. We do not have to be likeminded to help those in crisis.