Occasionally my teaching at the community college leads to having a student or two come talk to me about their personal lives. I teach a course on death and dying, Kubler Ross's five stages of grief. So sometimes it has to do with a student and some loss they've lived through.

At times like that the experience of our talking here really helps me talk to them. Over this Christmas break, 2 students have contacted me and we've met to have serious talks. Mostly, for me to listen.

One was about his mom, who is dying from a painful rare disease. it kind of scared me how much this student found hope in talking to me, because I didn't have any answers and there is no cure for his mom. But I realized it's just the power of what we share here, our support for each other.

Today another one came and we had a serious talk, too, about the same thing in his life and some big challenges for him. I'm really drained and tired from it. Some of it triggered me, and I had to take a rest later and pull myself together. But I just got an email from him and he says in our conversation he found some support.

I'm just their teacher, not their therapist, and I make that clear. But I do feel it's an extension of the peer support of DS PTSD, and I wanted to be thankful.