Tuesday, October 10th is World Mental Health Day. Thrive is a program on campus that strives for outreach for mental health and wellness initiatives. Peer educators held an event on the 3rd floor of the Nicolson Center called Let Your Mental Health Bloom Potting Succulents. When you first walked up to the table, you were greeted with different options of potters to put your new plant in as well as a plethora of succulent varieties to pick from.

Running the table were two members of Thrive, Charley Tyrrell and Andrew Margerum. When asked why they decided to pick potting succulents, Charley answered, “Because there are a lot of mental health sayings that involve letting your mental health bloom and grow back like a plant … and like a succulent when a leaf breaks off you can plant it again and something beautiful can grow from it. You can go through something that you think can break you but you can take it and grow a new version of yourself.”

“You have to grow through what you go through,” Andrew added.

When asked what World Mental Health Day meant to them, Charley responded, “World Mental Health Day is a great way to do outreach and really show how important it is. The fact that there is a national day for it really brings attention to why people on campus need to pay attention.”

“World Mental Health Day is super important to me because mental health is a part of everyone’s lives … it’s so important to destigmatize mental health and how to embrace your authentic self,” Andrew answered, who was asked the same question.

As well as succulents, they offered different mental health awareness stickers and Mental Health Awareness ribbons.