In my first year, I had an emotional support animal. His name was Pani Huimang. He was a small gray cat with a white belly. He was sweet and playful. I worked in admissions my first year, I was paying for taking care of him all on my own. He was my child. My friends would come to kidnap him from my dorm to play with him. We went on walks together. He even went with me to some of the movie get togethers that we would have in ASB’s cinema room.

He tried to drink my paint water whenever I did art. We would walk to my friends’ rooms together to hang out and he would eat the plants in the common areas. Whenever he was out in the hallway, he greeted anyone he saw with purrs and begged for their attention. He was truly a sweetheart. He was there for me while I mourned the death of a loved one, struggled with relationship problems and fought with my family. He never asked me why I cried or made me explain my emotions, he just loved me and let me hold him, even when he didn’t feel like it. He was calm during fire alarms when I had to carry him to Weston Hall in the middle of the night. He slept through the night when we were in the hallway during a tornado and there were two dogs on the floor. He responded to Pani, Pants boi, Buttboi and so many other silly things I called him with the same cute little ringing sound.

When I lost Pani, I didn’t know what I’d do. I spent my whole first year at Antioch with the support of this little miracle and would have to start the next year without him. Even now, my friends and I joke fondly of his reactions to things and how he would play. He was truly a little angel in my life at Antioch and I’m so grateful to have had him.

If you feel like your depression, anxiety, or any other factor is stressing your ability to be at Antioch, consider talking to the Student Success Services Coordinator. You might need a little angel to help you through it all.