Each year, Student Counseling Services at The University of Southern Mississippi highlights suicide prevention month and raises awareness through Soaring with Hope, an initiative rooted in the Japanese origami tradition that calls for folding 1,000 soaring symbols of hope to represent healing. Each folded symbol represents a life, and the origami pieces made by students are displayed. Directions on how to fold origami are placed on the Soaring for Hope table in the Thad Cochran Center throughout September.
Winnie Williams, a USM student, thinks that a lot of students have experienced suicide struggles and believes the paper origami cranes give confirmation that people care. For her, the presence of the cranes creates a sense of togetherness in the USM community.
“As someone that has struggled with depression and anxiety for years, seeing the visual representation makes you feel less alone and connected to other people,” she said. “It makes you realize how important it is to keep going and stay strong.”
During her commutes to class, she often passes through the Union, hoping to see the paper cranes, because she believes they are motivational for students and that seeing them are the perfect way to start the day. She expressed that everyone on campus deserves to live and has a purpose and says she participates in creating cranes, because it makes her feel like she is a part of something bigger than herself.
Even though creating paper cranes is a silent activity, Williams believes it prompts a conversation among students about Suicide Prevention Month.
“Because of these beautiful hand-made creations, thousands of students are encouraged to understand their life matters,” she added. “They are important, and they can conquer any obstacle put in their path.”
Theo Pierce, another USM student explained that seeing the paper cranes during Suicide Prevention Month also means a lot to him, especially because of his Asian heritage.
“Seeing this during suicide prevention month holds a lot of meaning to me,” he said. “Origami was a coping mechanism I used to get through troubling times.”
Pierce enjoys finishing the pieces other students started, in hopes of reaching the 1,000-paper crane goal. He noted that it’s interpreted in Japanese culture that if 1,000 paper cranes are folded, an individual’s single wish will come true.
Pierce stressed that origami takes patience, like the amount needed to deal with life’s daily challenges. He was not a perfect paper crane folder. But after having consistent patience and reading the directions provided at the Union, he found himself doing it. He’s seen people fail at the art but said everyone needs a little help before finding themselves creating gorgeous pieces.
“That’s kind of how it is with life,” Pierce added. “If you just crumble it up and throw it away, you’ll never see the beauty you can create.”