I was once the queen of overreacting and panicking over stressful and seemingly detrimental situations. I have turned so many insignificant blips in my life into lengthy, problematic situations that followed me for an extended period of time. If I have learned anything from my past panic attacks and dramatic moments, it's that it goes on, and the bad things aren't permanent.

I know as well as anyone that certain situations can make your skin crawl and result in sweat prickling over clammy skin as a wave of excruciating nausea washes over you. I know that the situations you're facing can feel like the end of all things, while other people wave them off and tell you to relax. If you're in a moment of anxiety, panic, or worry, it's virtually impossible to pull yourself out of that feeling in that exact moment. Thinking rationally or abstractly is not an option, and it isn't even a possibility. People will tell you to relax, stay calm, and take a deep breath, but if you're in the middle of what you perceive to be a crisis, that is honestly the last thing you want to hear.

As you get older, more and more stressful situations seem to present themselves: relationships, jobs, family, college... and the list goes on. A failing grade on an assignment in a class feels like the end of the world, like everything you worked for was for nothing. You feel like a failure, like a disappointment to yourself, your professors, and your parents. That failing grade isn't the end of you. Mistakes and failures are meant to built you up and make you stronger. They are meant to be learned from so that you can improve, not to keep you down and ruin you.

Every mistake and failure in your life is an opportunity to learn and better yourself and your situations. You don't fail until you let your failures define you. Not a single person has lived a successful life without making mistakes and being disheartened. Household names like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg all got to be successful by making mistakes and learning from them. If they let themselves be destroyed by their mistakes and hardships, they would have ultimately failed. So will you if you let problems control and rule your life. Learn from them. Grow. Perservere. You will come out on top.