7The famed original voice actor of Charlie Brown, Peter Robbins, committed suicide recently. On January 18, 2022, he took his life, which his family announced a week later on the 25th.

Robbins had long been struggling with substance abuse and addiction. He was in and out of prison for various reasons, and the well-known man whose voice coined “Good Grief!” ended with a life of just grief.

The news of the death of such a famed person as Robbins urges reflection on life and, more importantly, the causes leafing to the end of it. Though everyone thinks of Robbins as the kid in a yellow shirt whom they know so well, they did not know about the unfortunate circumstance that was his suicide; after all, how could they?

Mental health is such an important factor that plays into people’s everyday lives. Illness is covered by a smile, or in Robbins’s case, a Great Pumpkin. “Out of sight, out of mind” is a common phrase that people claim to avoid, but in reality, if it is truly out of sight, they aim to keep it out of mind.

Illnesses such as depression and addiction are the ones regarded as stigmatized and shameful. People like Robbins are silenced; he was considered to have fallen off the wagon than fallen in need of help that will never be provided.

It is so important to look after those that are struggling. To ask a simple, “How are you today?” and do so out of care for the answer rather than societal obligation can have so many positive effects.

Hearing about the disastrous event such as having a childhood hero take their own life implores for thoughts about mental health. They are thoughts that should be considered for weeks and months following the event, not just ones to be reconsidered when another childhood hero passes.