If you’re reading this as a parent, welcome. If you’re reading this as a student, feel free to send it to your concerned adult of choice. 

Actually, scratch that – stick around. This one’s for both of you! 

Fall term is beginning to pick up steam following the conclusion of icebreakers and everything else related to back-to-school anxiousness. On one hand, this can be seen as a great thing: no more lifting heavy boxes during move-in day or nervous academic anticipation waiting for classes. 

However, the departure from a near-utopian welcome week creates space for more looming issues: loneliness, financial stress and academic struggles. For students, this may be the moment you realize that things will, in fact, get a little real. Adults, this may only scare you that much more. 

Regardless of this, you, or your child, will be OK. 

If you told freshman-year me that I’d be a senior writing a piece vouching for the existence of a better tomorrow, I’m not sure I’d believe you. More than most, I understand that when you’re in the middle of hard times, being told it’ll all be OK can feel frustrating, even dismissive. Daydreaming about a hypothetical happy ending doesn’t always help. Sometimes, it makes things worse. 

So I won’t talk about the happy ending yet (even though, ironically, it will come). Instead, let me tell you about my own freshman-year nightmare: sitting in the dining hall one fall day, whispering into the phone to my mom as I cried quietly in the corner. I had done everything right. I put myself out there, I joined every club and I made the softball team — and yet I had never felt so lonely. 

And it wasn’t like what you often see in the movies. No future bridesmaid magically sat down next to me, and I didn’t stumble into my community overnight. For a long time, nothing changed. But I kept going. 

I fell into a lot of college holes, as so many students do, but I discovered there was always a way out. That’s the beauty of a small school like Chatham — you can’t slip through the cracks, no matter how much you feel like you might. Even the deepest, loneliest holes eventually led me back up. And now, as a senior, I can look back and see that I’d been standing above them for a while before I had even realized. 

I didn’t think I’d ever be OK. But I am. I’m an RA, a club leader, a Chatham University ambassador and a community member. But most importantly, I’m happy. 

So to the parents/guardians: I hope hearing from a student who’s struggled brings you a little peace. I wish I could go back and comfort the version of my mom whose heart was breaking as she listened to me deal with things she couldn’t fix. I can’t, but I can talk to you. 

The beauty of learning and growing, especially in college, often lies in duality. Eventually, your child will be OK. But also, they won’t be OK sometimes. They will be lonely, and they will make lifelong connections. They will feel Jada Jenkins ‘26, third from left, enjoys frozen yogurt with Chatham friends. Provided by Jada Jenkins/Communiqué lost, and they will guide others into community. 

And to the students: Hey! Sorry for pulling your parents aside like that. But don’t worry, we talked about all good things. You’ve heard it a million times at orientation, in your first syllabus reviews and on every Chatham University Instagram story, but it’s worth repeating: the resources here are real. Counseling, Office of Academic & Accessibility Resources, Health Services, Student Affairs, clubs — and yes, even YikYak. There is no hole at Chatham deep enough to not be pulled out of.