Opinion: USC Aiken counseling center changed my life
If you’re anything like me, you hate talking about your feelings. For a long time, it was easier to avoid my problems than think about them at all. Thankfully, I have come to realize that avoiding my problems is a terrible way to deal with them. The counseling center has given me lots of tools and resources on how to cope with what has happened in my life.
Initially, I started going to counseling with the intention to “get fixed.” I was hurt, traumatized and I just wanted someone to make it go away. I wanted to feel myself again.
When my counselor and I started getting into what my problems were, I got scared. I stopped going. I had never looked what my issues were in the face, and they scared me. She offered me solution after solution, and I was so comfortable in my own ways that I did not want to change.
In my abnormal psychology class, my professor had us do an exercise one night. He came around with a cup of ice and poured some into my hand and said “squeeze it for as long as I say.” It starts to burn after a while. Most of my peers let the ice go after a couple of minutes. About 30 minutes into our lecture, he tells us to keep holding on, so I squeezed tighter. An hour in, my ice melted.
He told us that is what therapy is. It's hard and painful for most people, and when things get hard, we quit. But if we hang on, keep trying, your ice will eventually melt. We can’t change what happened to us, but we can change how that affects the rest of our lives.
That night I sent an email to my counselor wanting to meet again. I have been in the program for months.
It’s easy to want change. It’s hard to follow through with it. The counseling center is more than happy to help any student (free of charge) with any issue (family issue, sexual assault/rape, drugs/alcohol, academics, etc). Whatever you need, please know there is a group of folks on campus that have your best interest at heart.
To schedule an appointment with a counselor, call the Counseling Center at (803) 641-3609 or stop by Room 126 in the Business and Education Building during office hours.
