Self-Care and Consciousness

by Eddie Sonnie

After being recommended by many friends and even a few professors, I have decided it’s time for me to visit the Counseling Center. I was scared at first to take this huge step, but I have realized that getting help for myself doesn’t make me weak; the fact that I can go there and take that step only shows my strength. I couldn’t have gotten here if it wasn’t for the great friends and professors who assured me that this was the right thing to do.

Christopher Newport offers free counseling services to students, and with exceptions of serious situations, everything there will stay confidential. All of our counselors are well qualified and extremely understanding. When you first come to the center, you have the option to choose the kind of person you want to help you work through your troubles, and they will try to match you with the best person available to meet your needs.

My first experience was pretty great. The first meeting was just about getting to know each other and establishing the goal of counseling. I feel so grateful for my counselor. She was able to make me feel comfortable and created a space that enabled me to get a lot of things off my chest that I needed to talk about.

We have scheduled weekly meetings, and I know, even just from the first experience, that going to counseling is going to help me grow so much. When I walked out of the Freeman Center, I felt happy and proud of myself for taking this huge step to fix something that for a long time I was afraid to address. I don’t think I would have had the courage to go if it wasn’t for the amazing friends and professors I have met at Christopher Newport who have been so determined to help me.