Dear Self, Welcome Back

Every so often, life gets hard. Life gets really really hard. Whether we are fighting battles on our own or have an army of supporters behind us, making things better again is a journey. And sometimes, a very long one. Sometimes you don’t even realize how bad things are until you’re trying to fix them. This I have learned from personal experience.

The past year in my life was a rough one. I got lost in the busyness of everyday life. With school, extracurriculars, work, adjusting to the constantly changing college lifestyle, and about a hundred other things, my mental health was something I didn’t make time for. It was always go go go, never giving my body/mind/soul a moment to rest. The first few months of this I felt on fire, nothing could stop me. But, we all know that if you get too close to the fire, you’re bound to get burnt. And wow, did I get burnt.

Back when I was younger, I was medically diagnosed with both anxiety and depression disorders. These things affect me every day, but when I don’t make the time to continue growing in coping with them, I became engulfed by them. Staying in bed, missing classes, falling behind in just about everything. Sleepless nights became nightmarish days, and slowly I began pushing myself away from the things and people I most love without even recognizing it. I not only became lost in the world, I lost myself.

But here’s the good thing about life: the world keeps turning and every morning a new day comes. Whether it’s today, tomorrow, or the next day, you can wake and decide that things are going to be better. That you can and are going to make things better. We all have that power. Today I woke and said that very thing. I am going to be better, feel better, live better. Just by saying those words, I am starting to feel like myself again. I am not quite sure of all the steps it will take to fully live as my true self again but I am excited to share the journey with all of you. And finally, to myself I just wanna say, welcome back.