Angelina Vargas
January 22, 2026
Grief Awareness Week
To me, grief means mourning the loss of anything. Contrary to the belief that grief only
involves the death of someone, it does not have to be a physical entity. I am grieving the
experience I could have had. I took a chance on myself and an opportunity I thought would be
life-changing. I left home, my family, my friends, and everything that felt safe to me. My
routines, my culture, and lifestyles feel like they have faded into the past, almost like they never
existed. I moved to a new country for the first time, had to assimilate into the culture and people,
and find who I am without everything that I have grown accustomed to. It is hard to move
forward when you are carrying the weight of what could have been. This is especially difficult
when you do not know what the right path was. I know that taking a leap of faith and starting a
life in a new country for the benefit of my career and long-term goals is the best thing I have ever
done for myself, yet I still feel a sense of guilt. Guilt that I made the wrong choice and that I
should have stuck to what I know. The feeling that my friends are working hard in school and
sports, while I am experiencing life completely differently, can be daunting. It is difficult to let
go of the future I could have had, but it is important to focus on the path I have already chosen.
We as humans have to make various choices each day. Which one was right? Which one was
wrong? We only know the answer to these questions through experience. We make mistakes, but
mistakes are how we grow. How boring would life be without any mistakes? Think of the
number of choices you thought you would regret but have led to beautiful outcomes or taught
you valuable life lessons. You can mourn the loss of a past and future while accepting that your
choice has been made. Embracing the present and what you can accomplish with the choices you
have made until now will break barriers and help you flourish in life.
We have frequently been taught that feelings happen to us rather than that we cause our
feelings. When we are grieving and are feeling down, it is almost automatic for us to think that
there is an outside factor that is causing us to feel this way. For example, I could say that moving
to another country is causing me to grieve. A book by Dr. Wayne Dyer called Your Erroneous
Zones opened my eyes to a different way of thinking. Rather than putting the blame on an action
I cannot fix, I should switch my way of thinking to be, why am I causing myself to feel this?
Why am I making myself feel bad about my decision to explore a new life? This greatly helped
me look within myself and reframe my feelings. Instead of thinking, this was the wrong decision,
I can change my thinking to, this was a brave decision, and I may be adjusting, but that does not
mean it was the wrong decision. This does not mean you should resort to harsh self-judgment
because of how you are feeling. You can give yourself grace while at the same time exploring the
January 22, 2026
Grief Awareness Week
To me, grief means mourning the loss of anything. Contrary to the belief that grief only
involves the death of someone, it does not have to be a physical entity. I am grieving the
experience I could have had. I took a chance on myself and an opportunity I thought would be
life-changing. I left home, my family, my friends, and everything that felt safe to me. My
routines, my culture, and lifestyles feel like they have faded into the past, almost like they never
existed. I moved to a new country for the first time, had to assimilate into the culture and people,
and find who I am without everything that I have grown accustomed to. It is hard to move
forward when you are carrying the weight of what could have been. This is especially difficult
when you do not know what the right path was. I know that taking a leap of faith and starting a
life in a new country for the benefit of my career and long-term goals is the best thing I have ever
done for myself, yet I still feel a sense of guilt. Guilt that I made the wrong choice and that I
should have stuck to what I know. The feeling that my friends are working hard in school and
sports, while I am experiencing life completely differently, can be daunting. It is difficult to let
go of the future I could have had, but it is important to focus on the path I have already chosen.
We as humans have to make various choices each day. Which one was right? Which one was
wrong? We only know the answer to these questions through experience. We make mistakes, but
mistakes are how we grow. How boring would life be without any mistakes? Think of the
number of choices you thought you would regret but have led to beautiful outcomes or taught
you valuable life lessons. You can mourn the loss of a past and future while accepting that your
choice has been made. Embracing the present and what you can accomplish with the choices you
have made until now will break barriers and help you flourish in life.
We have frequently been taught that feelings happen to us rather than that we cause our
feelings. When we are grieving and are feeling down, it is almost automatic for us to think that
there is an outside factor that is causing us to feel this way. For example, I could say that moving
to another country is causing me to grieve. A book by Dr. Wayne Dyer called Your Erroneous
Zones opened my eyes to a different way of thinking. Rather than putting the blame on an action
I cannot fix, I should switch my way of thinking to be, why am I causing myself to feel this?
Why am I making myself feel bad about my decision to explore a new life? This greatly helped
me look within myself and reframe my feelings. Instead of thinking, this was the wrong decision,
I can change my thinking to, this was a brave decision, and I may be adjusting, but that does not
mean it was the wrong decision. This does not mean you should resort to harsh self-judgment
because of how you are feeling. You can give yourself grace while at the same time exploring the
root of your feelings. Of course, this is easier said than done, and it takes practice to adjust the
way of thinking that we have spent our whole lives creating.
Grief is a complicated feeling, and there are many different steps to grieving. Everyone
goes through them differently, and you should not compare your journey to others. You may
want to talk to those close to you about your feelings, or you may be more silent about your
feelings. You may cry, or you may seem stoic. There is no right answer or correct way to grieve,
but what is important is that you are not suffering in silence. Some feelings you might be
experiencing while grieving could be shock, anger, guilt, sadness, denial, and isolation. Grief can
affect your physical well-being as well, and affect your eating, sleeping, and thoughts. It is
important to be aware of these feelings when grieving, so you are aware of how you are
processing. Grief awareness week gives us a space to talk about how we are grieving and help
feel supported by our community. Processing grief is a journey, but you do not have to handle it
alone. Our team at Marino Counseling is here to support you
way of thinking that we have spent our whole lives creating.
Grief is a complicated feeling, and there are many different steps to grieving. Everyone
goes through them differently, and you should not compare your journey to others. You may
want to talk to those close to you about your feelings, or you may be more silent about your
feelings. You may cry, or you may seem stoic. There is no right answer or correct way to grieve,
but what is important is that you are not suffering in silence. Some feelings you might be
experiencing while grieving could be shock, anger, guilt, sadness, denial, and isolation. Grief can
affect your physical well-being as well, and affect your eating, sleeping, and thoughts. It is
important to be aware of these feelings when grieving, so you are aware of how you are
processing. Grief awareness week gives us a space to talk about how we are grieving and help
feel supported by our community. Processing grief is a journey, but you do not have to handle it
alone. Our team at Marino Counseling is here to support you
