We live in a world that strives for perfection. Perfect people with perfect looks and perfect grades and a perfect life. Everything has to be perfect. I am not just talking about someone who is a perfectionist. I am talking about the pressures put on everyone by society that in order to be successful you need to have everything together in your entire life. We are constantly put under pressure to always "get our lives together" and while we should have our lives together somewhat, we do not necessarily have to have everything together at all times.

In addition to always needing our lives to be perfect, we are supposed to always FEEL perfect. You are supposed to shove down feelings if you do not know how to deal with them. You aren't supposed to talk about how you are feeling because it might make others uncomfortable or you don't know what you are talking about. You are probably overreacting. You aren't really depressed, you are just having a bad day. You don't really have anxiety, you just do not know how to deal when you get overwhelmed. We are humans. We are normal people who are not perfect and never will be perfect. Perfection is a status that can never really be achieved. I am here to tell you that things happen. And it is okay to NOT be okay.

It is okay to not be positive all the time. It is okay to just sit in your room and cry. It is okay that you get so overwhelmed with school, work, and life in general that you just take a nap and rest. It is okay to talk about your problems and it is okay to ask for help. Ask a friend, or a trusted adult, or even professional help. We put a social stigma on getting professional help to where it makes us feel weak or powerless to say that we are not okay and that we need help. However, we need to break that judgement down. Those who admit they know they need help are MORE powerful and are STRONG. It is okay to talk about what you are feeling. You may feel vulnerable in the moment, but in the end you will end up a stronger version of yourself.

We need to remember that we are all humans. We are allowed to have bad days, sometimes even bad weeks. We also need to remember that we do not have bad lives. In the moment it may seem like the worst things that can happen are happening to you, but you have to remember that eventually that will end. I understand you cannot always fight what you are feeling. I am not telling you to be so strong that you never let yourself just sit and cry. I am saying that you should know that after you have that cry, you can pick yourself back up. It may take a while and a couple of tries, but you can do it.

You are stronger than you may think you are. You should have friends surrounding you that know you might have bad days, but know how to pick you up during those bad days and know how to make you feel important and show you that you matter. Your family is always there to support you, remember they are only a phone call away. Let someone know if you aren't feeling like yourself and know that it is okay to not be okay.