For the past school year, I have been struggling with the one thing everyone comes to deal with at some point in their life: feeling alone.

Even though I have amazing parents who support me, friends who are there for me, and professors who look out for me, I still felt out of place.

As an average student studying pre-med material alongside prestigious acquaintances is a constant struggle. Maintaining a certain image to fit in the norm is a constant struggle. As a new Christian, the obligation of centering God in every choice I make is a constant struggle. Therefore, I theorize academic competition, the pressure of meeting societal standards, and my battle with faith as the top reasons I’ve been feeling alone.

Although this feeling has steered me in the wrong direction at times, I developed three ways to help me cope along the way.

The first one stood out to me the most and it came from my pastor’s sermon from last September. He mentioned how in Samuel 22, David had escaped to a cave and how caves disorient us with loss and drive us to be alone. When you are by yourself in a cave, you should be honest with God about your hurt, turn to God for help, and anticipate God to answer in His love. Caves allow us to sympathize, connect, and then invite others to a new life just like what Jesus did for us.

The second way is to keep a positive mindset. When you are in a low state, the worst thing to do is to discourage yourself even more by telling yourself “you can’t do it.” I believe everyone has potential to accomplish amazing things and just by believing “you can do it” is already one step closer to your goal.

The third way is to remind yourself that you are not the only person struggling. Every person has their high points, low points, and own problems to deal with. God works through people in all sorts of ways to better our lives even when He puts us through trials that we don’t necessarily enjoy or see the significance of. In my case, He decided to reach out to me and put me through this trial so I could reach out to Him (by praying and reading His word) to grow closer to Him and to transform me into a better version of myself.

What I have extracted from this on-going struggle is patience, self-reliance, hard work, appreciation, and independence. I believe that these are significant traits that define a strong person. I am not claiming that I have mastered utilizing these traits, but I believe I have grown stronger as a person by developing these traits.