It's a Wednesday, right in the middle of the week. You're running late to your 8 a.m. CHM 141 lecture because you could not seem to pull yourself out of bed in time to do the bare minimum to get out the door. The last thing you want to do is listen to an hour-long speech on molecules, elements, compounds, whatever topic the professor is even on, because who really knows at this point?
It's that gross point in the semester where everything seems to be piling up and the result from the equation is one hefty thing: stress. One day may feel as if it's three days long, and those days where everything and anything seems to feel off last for a whole week. You feel it in your entire body, every minute of the day. Some days, it gets so bad you can't even fall asleep or stay asleep. You feel as if you're a part of a one person army, and you're going to war with life itself. Beyond just the school stress, you may have some stuff going on at home, or maybe with some extended family or even friends.
For your "friends" who turn out to not be real friends, yeah, they are definitely going to add some stress as well. Life just doesn't seem to be going that wonderful. That smile you had in August and September is fading, and at night you may find yourself crying into your fuzzy pillow, trying to think of someone, anyone to call who may understand.
You feel diminished. Empty. You feel like there is no one on your side, in your corner.
That is where you're wrong. No matter how alone you may be feeling or how stressful things may seem, just know that your support system is real and thriving. We've all been there: trapped in a whirlwind of loneliness, trying to fight our way out. Kicking and screaming at what seems to be thousands of pages of homework, the exams, family issues and friend drama that seems to be stacking up as high as Mt. Everest. You have to stay positive. As corny as that sounds, it is the key to a happy and healthy mind, body and soul. As Winston Churchill once said, "I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else." Why argue with that? If anything, it seems to be quite exhausting to be a pessimist.
Optimism, by dictionary definition, is the hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.
You are not alone. Say it with me now. You are NOT alone! Times are tough, yes. We all fight our own battles on a day to day basis. I don't mean to sound like a Disney character, but just know that through all of this, there is someone there for you. They may not express it on a daily basis, and your "person" may not even be in the same part of the world as you (for example, Meredith and Christina from "Grey's Anatomy").
Plus, no matter what path you are taking with your life, whether it be college, vocational school or the military, even a GED, know in the end it will be worth it.
You will get that degree.
You will get that diploma.
You will get that license.
You will be successful.
Everything will work its way out in the end, and when you look back on the long, winding, tortuous journey that was your path to success, a smile will consume your face and it will be worth it.