Anxiety sucks. You never know when you'll feel it but, when you do, you TRULY feel it. You may not know this, but just because it's bad at one point and some people have extreme cases, it doesn't have to be the same for everyone. Anxiety is a disorder that effects different people in different ways, and does not define who they are. Here's what my daily routine looks like in a nutshell.

I wake up, eat, go to class, do homework...just average stuff. Every day goes on as normal, or as normal as it gets. What you don't see is that I'm constantly questioning myself and overthinking the simplest of actions.

Oftentimes, I struggle to hold a conversation with someone I'm not very familiar with because I'm scared I'll say the wrong thing that'll come back and bite me in the ass, or that the other person is not genuine and that they're gonna go behind my back and say nasty things about me.

Now I know that other people's behavior doesn't have any control over how I live my life, but I'm not going to deny that it hurts me emotionally. In fact, I use that emotional pain as motivation to go out and do my best. The best revenge in life is success. If someone else feels intimidated by how well I'm doing, then I know I'm doing something right.

But to make difficult situations slightly more bearable, I surround myself with close friends and others that I trust will have my best interest in the event something goes awry. Generally though, everything works itself out without calling for desperate measures.

Contrary to popular belief, living with anxiety doesn't mean that a person is constantly living through a panic time. A few times I may experience panic attacks, but they're usually mild and go away in time. My anxiety doesn't interrupt my daily life and doesn't keep me from doing the things I love.

Whenever it starts to, I always remind myself that everything happens for a reason and just because I don't feel well in one moment, doesn't mean that I'm always going to feel that way. It usually subsides rather quickly.

I am not defined by my anxiety, and in fact having anxiety helps me be more aware of my surroundings and to be more considerate of others. Whenever someone else has an issue, I will listen to them and help them calm down. My experience allows me to be more empathetic towards people and to be of assistance to them in ways others cannot. Anxiety attacks are really uncomfortable, but they don't go on endlessly. Like Axl Rose sings, "Nothing lasts forever in the cold November rain".