Learning to ask for help can be more beneficial than hurtful

October 30, 2019

Asking for help has always been hard for me. It felt like weakness. But, help wouldn’t be there if you should not ask for it.
Now, it’s my job to make sure people can reach out for help.
I have no room to hesitate about getting help when I need it — even if my primary example here is from the Writing and Research Center.
Now, if I don’t support people getting help, then I’m not supporting my place of my employment.
But, asking for help extends so far beyond that.
Of course, this is college, and academics are important, but asking for help isn’t confined there.
Asking for help applies everywhere.
Whether it’s help on a simple math problem or needing help from someone when your arms are full and you can’t quite get the door, it’s there.
It’s needed and it’s OK. Somewhere along the way, a weird, difficult mentality gets formed. It doesn’t need to be that way.
I admit, asking for help from strangers can be a little difficult. There’s also asking for help from friends, which can be both easier and harder.
Sometimes you need to ask friends for help. Hopefully, this isn’t something scary on a regular basis.
I wouldn’t think they’re your real friend then, or at least a close friend. But, sometimes, it can be hard.
Whether it’s overly personal or you think you’re going to bother them, ask for help.
If you need help, it’s important to ask, especially if it’s from your friends.
Odds are, they will be happy to help, whether it’s something serious or something a little less serious.
Sometimes, all you need is support. I bet it’s there from your friends without you even having to ask.
There are times, though, when you’ll need a little more.
It never hurts to have a friend at your side. That shoulder to lean on or cry on, or both. We all need that at least once in a while.
There’s a reason we have friends though. This is why. It’s important to know you’re not alone.
It took me too long to learn this, and I’m still learning it. It doesn’t ever stop being hard to ask for help, and it is still a struggle to ask almost every time.
But sometimes, it isn’t quite as hard. Maybe one day it’ll come a little more natural to me.
I wish it didn’t take me so long to figure this out. But, that’s how it goes sometimes.
Maybe it’s because I’m stubborn, but it’s not a sign of defeat. I don’t know where I was taught that.
I don’t think I’m the only person who was taught to think that way.
I don’t think it was taught, necessarily, but that mentality is there. Even if I wish it wasn’t there.
It takes steps, but it’s not bad, weak or shameful to ask for help.
It’s the opposite really.
It’s growth.
And that’s what we should all be working toward.