There is a stigma around asking for help, and this stigma has infiltrated college environments everywhere. After all, college is the first time the vast majority of students are away from home for the first time. Students are no longer with the primary people they ask for help from — their parents. There is an expectation that they are finally at an age where they can do things for themselves; the things they do not already know how to do will be figured out on their own.

Sometimes, though, this is difficult. Sometimes the already busy lives of college students are further complicated by pausing everything to take an hour and figure a task out — a task that could take half the time if they just had assistance. The narrative that there must be complete independence once college-aged causes undue stress and difficulties and consumes valuable time that is not actually available.

The worst part is that it is not even a realistic expectation. Students go from being allowed — even encouraged — to ask for help in high school and while at home to being told that they should suddenly have everything ironed out alone. It is not fair to go from holding students’ hands to smacking them away, to have them using training wheels before sending them off on a bike without any transitional period.

One can argue that Berry is good about lowering this expectation. Most professors have a wide range of office hours and encourage their students to ask questions if they are confused. There are resources such as the Academic Success Center and the Writing Center. Academically speaking, Berry students are riding their bikes without training wheels but still have steadying hands behind them that prevent them from falling too hard.

Outside of academics, Berry students are still largely expected to not need any steadying hands, and this is a problem. Students are living alone for the first time, so they are bound to run into issues that are common but that they may not have dealt with previously. For example, they may have car troubles or technology issues that they are unsure how to resolve. Why should a stigma force them to feel like they have to struggle to figure out solutions on their own?

Besides practical problems, this stigma also perpetuates mental health issues. Students struggling with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues may feel, due to this stigma, that they cannot reach out for help to learn how to cope. Therefore they live in silent anguish that may last much longer than it would have if they had asked for help and started learning coping mechanisms as soon as they felt ready. 

Nobody is ever too old to receive help. No matter what the situation is — practical, academic, mental — it is perfectly okay to seek guidance and advice. It is okay to not know how to handle everything alone. It is okay to want another person there. Whether one is a child, a teenager, an adult or an older person, help will always be needed because one person cannot know everything. Do not be afraid to ask for assistance with any matter because of a stigma. Life will be much easier when there are others helping along the way.