Week 6: Why I Chose to Research Grief
Amita B -
Hi everyone!
For this post, I wanted to take some time to share why I chose grief as the topic for my senior research project. I haven’t really talked about this part yet, but it’s the most personal and meaningful reason behind everything I’ve been doing.
A little over a year ago, I lost my dad—the biggest loss of my life so far. The impact it had on me was immeasurable. What really surprised me during that time was how differently my family and I responded to the same loss. That contrast made me curious. I started wondering why grief shows up in such different ways, especially when age, personality, or understanding comes into play. That’s what first sparked my interest in how children and adults process grief differently.
But that wasn’t actually my original research question.
At first, I wanted to study how culture shapes the grieving process because I felt like so much of how I grieved was influenced by my own cultural and religious background. I still explore that in my paper and plan to talk about it during my final presentation!
There are some major cultural differences in how people grieve. In many Eastern cultures, grief is more communal—something shared among family and community. In contrast, Western cultures often lean toward individualism, which can make grief a more isolated experience. That made me realize there are multiple “gaps” in grief: not just between children and adults but also between cultures, generations, and even within families.
That said, I don’t want to ignore the many ways grief connects us, either. There are so many shared emotions and experiences—like love, memory, and longing—that can bring people together, no matter their background or religion. It’s a reminder that grief isn’t just about difference—it’s also about unity.
Nonetheless, one of the biggest goals of my project is to help people understand that grief doesn’t fit into one box. I want to help normalize conversations around grief and break the idea that it’s something we should keep quiet. I hope that’s something you take away from my project!
Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one!
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