It was kind of a surreal experience when I first found out that she was going to be with us. I kept thinking “woah, like, that Carol Todd?”. Regardless, I appreciated the opportunity to listen and talk with her quite a bit. I think she’s able to provide good insights on the situation that, otherwise, might not have been brought to light.
I believe that, as long as you’re not forcing your opinion unto someone else, then it’s okay to have that opinion. This extends wide in what it can mean, from talking about sexuality, religion, or the more unfortunately poignant topic, suicide. So I asked Carol: “Some people are of the opinion that suicide is a selfish act. What is your take on that, and furthermore, those who believe that?”. Paraphrased for the sake of cleanliness.
Carol did not seem opposed to that line of thinking; rather, she more or less responded with an opinion that somewhat echoes my own. Opinion is just that: opinion. So long as it’s kept to yourself, it doesn’t do anybody harm. And furthermore, the opinion that suicide is a selfish act is not a particularly unbelievable one. Life gets better 99% of the time, and that 1% is reserved for situations such as terminal illness. However, my writing is only reflective of what I have experienced in life so far. Being that I’m only 18, I’m sorely lacking for experience, and I appreciate argument or other opinions, as a matter of fact I rather like argument. Just so long as it’s done in a respectful fashion.
An interesting question was posed to me by our professor straight after – Katia Hildebrandt asked me “What if somebody is considering suicide because of a mental illness?”. My gut response was “oh that’s a hell of a question”. Once I took a bit of time to think it through, however, I find my general opinion to be as such:
Yes, mental illness is as serious as physical illness. I think of this as fact, rather then opinion. The two topics should be treated with equal care and seriousness. However, there remains one key point: mental illness is generally not terminal. When I say this, I refer to depression, social anxiety, or other illnesses that cause an individual to… have difficulty getting out of bed in the morning, so to speak. While they are serious indeed, they are not terminal illnesses, and I believe that to be the key point.
Now, I have no idea how I’d behave if I discovered I had a mental illness such as… schizophrenia, for example. Bi-polar disorder. These are illnesses that I don’t know how I’d react to having them, because as far as I know, they are not illnesses that simply get better. Now, while you could define that as terminal, Wikipedia would say otherwise, saying that while yes, part of a terminal illness is that it cannot be cured, the other key part is that it is “reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time”.
Regardless of how I’d behave having an illness like that, all I know is what I am. That’s all any of us know. And in knowing who we are, we can treat others with due respect. That, is my opinion.
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