There are moments in your life when you feel that the world is unapologetically crushing into the ground. When you are wide awake at night only to feel overwhelming anxiety that makes you think you're not doing enough to better your future. That instance when all you can do is cry because there is no better option to turn to. I understand that no one ever wants to experience these kind of things, but in one shape or another, reality has sucker punched you into seeing the hard truth.

I get wanting to do things on your own, to push through the worst of it so someone else doesn't take the brunt of the blow. I get not asking for help so you don't seem incompetent. I get not sharing your feelings with friends because you don't want to burden them with your sadness. I get that putting on a front is your only way of coping when things get tough. But I want you to understand that even though this is all OK, you truly don't have to go through it alone.

As one who rarely wants to cry (ever) or ask for help, I can understand the need to appear strong in front of friends or family. They see you as an anchor, the one to rely on or the one to turn to when things go south. Yet when your world seems to be ending, who can you turn to? The answer is simple, anyone.

There is a reason they're your friend, and it's not just to get food. Your friends are gonna stand by you just like you stood by them. They're gonna understand how you feel when you lose a relative. They get how hard you studied for that test, but in the end still didn't get the grade you wanted. They knew that boy (or girl) was gonna break your heart but will never say I told you so. They'll listen to you rant about how your parents are being jerks (because we all think that at one point). And they're the ones that will pick you up off the floor at 3 a.m. when you're sobbing about god knows what only to have your favorite snack with them as well.

There is one thing I wanna bring up as well. Yes, your friends will be beside you, but know that some come and go. That's inevitable, and it's hard seeing someone that brought you so much happiness drop you like it's nothing. Here I want to bring up the people that will never ever leave you, and those are your parents. Yeah you'll scream at each other, yeah you'll say you hate them and yeah you'll rant to your friends on how they won't let you go to that concert. But who has literally fed, clothed and bathed you since day one? Who was the one who patched up your knee when you fell off your bike? Or said it wasn't your fault when you accidentally hit a wiffle ball through your own house window? They're the ones who will drive three hours to get you at 2 a.m. when you're too incapable to call a cab. They're the ones who will sit you down and tell you were wrong when honestly that's the last thing you want to hear. They're the ones willing to go to the moon and back to make you happy. Just know that when you feel like giving up that one person out there will always, always have your back.