70. React to a crisis or critical moment in your life at which time thinking as usual was no longer possible. Such a situation may have occurred after the death of a loved one, a drastic move from one part of the country to another, or during a public catastrophe. Do not feel limited by these examples. Describe the event and tell us how it changed your thought process. (Ramapo College)
Towards the end of my sophomore year, one of my closest friends entered my room and fell on the floor crying hysterically. I was working on my English project deep in thought when I saw her collapse on the floor. I quickly rushed to the other end of my room and asked her what was wrong. For around 10 minutes she wouldn’t talk. I asked her multiple times what was wrong and she wouldn’t say anything. I hugged her and she buried her face deep in my hair and continued to cry. I asked her one last time and she answered, “I tried to kill myself.” I looked at her astonished and I asker her why and what reason she had to do that. She said nothing and continued to cry. I didn’t know what to do. I had never been in such a situation before and I was helpless. I saw my friend, a strong, bubbly happy-go-lucky girl crying on my floor after a suicide attempt. Even if I wanted to do something, I couldn’t, I didn’t know how to help her. I called my roommate and my other close friend and we tried to talk to her. She wouldn’t say anything. We asked her how she tried to kill herself, and she explained. I looked around at my other two friends and they looked as helpless as I was. We didn’t know what to do. We talked to her and she wouldn’t say anything. I was like talking to a wall. But I understood her pain. She was ashamed, and she was helpless, she didn’t know what to say and what do to. While my friend and I tried to talk to her, my roommate called one of the dorm parents on duty and explained everything to her. She was astonished as I was and we rushed her to the hospital. The dorm parent wouldn’t allow us to go, but we told her that we would be there for her.
When we reached back to dorms, many of the girls in our grade approached us and asked us what was wrong. Some just wanted to know the latest gossip, while others were deeply concerned. The three of us didn’t know what to say and what to do and we just waved it off as not a big deal and carried on our way back to discuss a few things. We felt it was inevitable that people would find out what the actual reason she went to the hospital was, but we knew that it was our duty to tell everyone that nothing was wrong. This is when we had to think differently than usual. We knew we couldn’t just tell everyone that nothing was wrong; people weren’t that gullible, they would soon catch on. Instead, we had to tell people another story. Everyone would ask, and everyone would wonder. It was our duty to protect her.
When we reached back to dorms, many of the girls in our grade approached us and asked us what was wrong. Some just wanted to know the latest gossip, while others were deeply concerned. The three of us didn’t know what to say and what to do and we just waved it off as not a big deal and carried on our way back to discuss a few things. We felt it was inevitable that people would find out what the actual reason she went to the hospital was, but we knew that it was our duty to tell everyone that nothing was wrong. This is when we had to think differently than usual. We knew we couldn’t just tell everyone that nothing was wrong; people weren’t that gullible, they would soon catch on. Instead, we had to tell people another story. Everyone would ask, and everyone would wonder. It was our duty to protect her.
The next day is school, the teachers had announced that something was wrong with our friend and she was taken to the hospital late last night. Though my friends and I felt that explaining our friend’s situation to our grade was not necessary, it was something that was already done. We had to face the storm now. We had to tell people when they asked what was wrong. But this story didn’t last for long, sooner or later people found out what had happened. She was back to school by then but was put into the Health Center. We had to talk to her now. We had to approach her differently, or so we thought. We thought we needed to be gentle and kind but we soon saw that she was our old friend again. She knew that what she had done was stupid and that she couldn’t take it back, but she was okay. She was strong again and she knew that people would talk. She knew that she had to face them some time.
This experience, but especially my friend, taught me that sometimes you need to change your thinking and the way you react to things to those that hold less meaning to you than those that you care about. But the ones that you love and care about and know well enough, you can be the same around them, no matter what the situation is. The phrase “thinking as usual” is put for those that you know inside out … and most people don’t change the usual because you don’t need to with those that love you.
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