Happy Anniversary to our Loving Louisiana Blog!

This month we are three years old. We are so excited that we have shared amazing stories, highlighted our initiatives and businesses around our state, and given respect to those whom have served our country. Giving positive and encouraging recognition to Louisianans for their work in our communities and state has been such a joy. I have received many encouraging emails, messages from friends, and even emails of criticism and dismay. I am appreciative of them all.

My hope…is that this blog will continue to be a place to read about the importance of the arts in our schools and the need to be aware and learn the preventive measures of human sex trafficking in our state. I hope the blog will be a place to believe and understand the value of investing in our Louisiana Foster children, our children.

My hope… is that you will continue to learn about our Louisiana businesses here in our state and frequent those businesses when possible.

My hope… it that you will continue to read about our outstanding educators, military, and people making our communities even better by what they give back.

My hope… is that you will continue to discover new recipes by our amazing Louisiana chefs and pass those along to your families.

Lastly, my hope… is that you and I can continue “Loving Louisiana” by cherishing our people and encouraging each other on this journey together. You can count on me and my team to continue advocating for our children and highlighting others who are doing the same.

On a different note, I have been troubled by several tragedies that have recently occurred with some young college students. Tears come to my eyes as I type this out. It has been a tough time for all and especially young people. Since I have a college freshman, these situations hit close to home.

I read in the news about college students that had way too much to drink, and one ended up in a coma. I immediately dropped to my knees and prayed for God to help these students and their families. Why, because that is what we do, we pray for one another. Why, because as a mother, my heart aches for this family and their child. The next report I read was about a young girl that had committed suicide that same evening. I began to pray for the family and the tragedy that had just happened in their life. I received pictures of these two people—young, beautiful, and a full life ahead. I also received a message that same week that my sorority sister, who lives in another state, had lost her son to an accidental overdose. He was a wonderful young man that made a decision that cost him his life. These events were all in one week.  Now this week there has been another suicide at LSU. My heart has been so heavy for these families and these parents. I continue to pray for them all. I understand that the young man in a coma is now awake. I pray one day that he will use this crisis to help others.

This past weekend I forced myself to watch the funeral of my sorority sister’s son that was online. I have to be honest; I started and stopped it three times because I began to cry. As I watched and listened, I was looking for answers to “why”? Why are we losing our young people? We raise them in good families, love them when they are little ones, attend every activity, and cover them with all they need and want. WHY does this happen? I don’t have the answers, but I do know that we have to share, learn, and engage more about the effects of behavioral health.

Behavioral health is the study of the emotions, behaviors, and biology relating to a person’s mental well-being, ability to function in everyday life, and their concept of self. It encompasses mental health and addictive health issues. These are not always the cause, but they need to be understood and talked about out loud with the people we love. We are not perfect as parents, and I do not believe there is a perfect answer to why any of these crises I mentioned occurred.