Anxiety is by far one of the most common problems dealt with day to day by millions of people in varying degrees. Some people simply look at their anxiety as a temporary stress, while others are crippled by it daily. Some stay up all night feeling anxious, others find it only when they have a relative issue here and there. Either way, at some point, most of us will experience it at some age, some time in our lives- how we deal with it is the true difference.

Like many people my age, I had struggled with anxiety throughout my teens and early twenties. In my three years of college, I had experienced heartbreaking infidelity in my relationship, sexual assault, a close family member with cancer, and most recently, a serious car accident. It seemed that every year I had achieved something amazing during my college career, something dark soon followed. Like my older sister tells me, I have gone through things in the past three years that many people don’t experience in a lifetime.

Needless to say those struggles did make my somewhat present anxiety into a real issue at times; but through all of that, I started to learn that life is about experiences: the good, the bad, the ugly and the just plain cruel and unfair. Even though anxiety will inevitably come with those experiences, it can teach you a lot more about yourself and about the value of the good days.

It is my anxiety that taught me to truly appreciate the friends I have, who are placed in our lives for all the good times and the bad, and in the end it doesn’t even matter what kind of relationship you have with them or how deep your connection with them is, they should all be valued in their own way.

It was my anxiety that taught me how to love a lot deeper. I give this up to tough life experiences too, because those that can see you break down, that can feel true emotion with you, are people who deserve your whole heart.

It was my anxiety that taught me to get out of bed every morning to avoid feeling even worse, and it was my anxiety that showed me how far down I could go into dark places and why I never want to go back there again.

It may sound ironic, but it was my anxiety that showed me how to be truly happy. It was the worst life experiences that eventually led me to my greatest memories. Through experiencing the worst moments of anxiety I have learned that it's something in my life that I don’t need anymore, and that I make the decision about having in my life to ruin my days and cause me more stress. That there will always be darker moments to come, and that is why life’s happiness must never be something taken for granted. I’ve learned so much through what I have experienced, but the most important thing is to always enjoy the good things while they last, and not waste my days by filling them with my anxiety ever again.