Wow. It has been an insane semester, hasn't it? From stressing over classes, work, relationships, and even the election. There has been a lot that has happened within the last three months.

The semester is almost over (yikes, that's quite scary to think about), and the new year is fast approaching. Have you thought about what all this year has brought to you, or taken away from you? I know I sure have. Even though I shouldn't I constantly dwell on the past, thinking it'll help me appreciate the "now".

Which, often times it does. But sometimes it doesn't. Much like the last few days...

The last article I wrote was about the passing of my 10-year-old cousin. And if you want to know more about that, feel free to go and read it. However, it's something that still stings to this day, and I know that is understandable. My pain is warranted and it's normal to worry about other people that I love.

But, is that biblical? No. It's not. God tells me in Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God".

Now, I know that anxiousness is something that I struggle with, especially lately. But, I know that God is in power and control of every SINGLE thing in my life, and every single person. After all, he loves everybody in my life more than I do. He's able to love Ella physically right now, and I'm extremely jealous of that.

Today, I was sitting in class struggling to breathe, because I'm getting sick. But, is that truly why I'm struggling to breathe? No, it's because of everything going on in my life.

Last night, I came to the realization of everything that is going on in my life at the current moment. The stress of my classes and my job. The stress of finding people to come to camp with me next summer, and getting anxious about going back (in a good way). The loss of my cousin, missing my friends and my sister in California.

Everything.

Writing has always been a way that I was able to overcome my fears, and anxieties. However, lately I haven't been able to. I've struggled with writing for classes, and writing for The Odyssey.

But, today that changed. I broke out of my "writers slump" by doing one simple thing.

I took five minutes.

Five minutes to sit there and just breathe. Five minutes to stop looking at my phone or thinking about school/work. Five minutes to talk to God and focus on breathing.

In these five minutes, I was able to relax, to let my mind focus on the good, and to realize just how much I truly missed writing. To forget the election and focus on God and myself.

I needed these five minutes more than I ever could have realized. Whereas last week it took me 3 hours to write one page of an essay, today it took me 15 minutes to write this article.

I never realized how important it is to breathe. As an introvert, having alone time brings me energy. But, as a person with anxiety, who gets far too overwhelmed with life/stress, I never realized how important it was for me to breathe.

So take five minutes out of your day today, to just relax and breathe. Take in the nature around you, or the room around you; and block out the people and the negativity. Spend time talking to God while you do this. Trust me, there's no better help than God himself.