Every day you hear someone saying "I'd rather die" or "wow that makes me want to kill myself." These phrases are thrown around so nonchalantly that it's becoming disturbing.

It's 2018, and jokes about wanting to die are not funny (nor were they EVER funny). Something about our generation finds the need to say these phrases and not take into account anyone else around them and how they might feel about what is being said.

Suicide and mental illness is a real thing, and people need to start taking it more seriously.

It's a topic that no one wants to talk about because no one knows how to talk about it. But in reality, we just need to talk. Talk about mental illness. Talk about life and how no matter who you are, there are ups and downs. Talk about how some people just need help and that we need to support them no matter what they are going through.

Everyone around you is affected by mental illness and potentially even knows someone who has tried to kill themselves or has committed suicide. All over campuses across the nation, people are suffering from their own battles, and everyone needs to respect those battles, great and small.

Suicide is the 10th overall cause of death in America and it is something that needs attention. Not just for this month, but the entire year.

38,000 people die because of suicide every year.

One single suicide affects 6 people directly.

It's okay to not be okay.

It's okay to need to talk to someone. Whether that's a friend, or a family member, or a professional.

It's okay to need help and to be vulnerable.

I've heard too many times of people wishing they could have been there for someone they lost due to suicide. Everyone around you is willing to help. Even if everyone around you is rushing through their everyday lives, I can almost guarantee that at least one person will stop, sit and listen to you talk.

Too many stories are shared too late. With recent events in pop culture, it is becoming clear that people need help and that sometimes they are too afraid to share. Because of this, family and friends of these victims are left wondering what they could have done, how they could have helped.

They sit and consistently play back conversations that they had with the people they loved, trying to see if they could have picked up on anything. Wishing that they could change everything.

So reach out.

Ask for help.

Talk to the people around you, who love and care about you no matter what you are going through.

Your life is so much more important than any other thing in your friends and families lives, and they will do anything to be there for you.

Know that your life matters and that your presence in other peoples' lives matters.

These people are here for you, and you are not alone.

If you do find that you need help or need someone to talk to here are some organizations that can help:

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
US National Suicide and Crisis Hotline: 1-800-784-2433