I am the generic person who when asked “How are you?”, there is a 98% chance that I will say “I’m fine”. The exchange of pleasantries is almost always an empty social action that many of us complete. The thing is like most people, I’m not fine.

If I were to be honest when someone asked me how I am, they might get a seemingly unending, long-winded answer of all the anxiety, happiness, stress, loneliness, sadness, joy, and fears mixed in to one phrase. I could talk about all the emotions that I go through on a day to day basis, but in the end I have the voice in my head telling me that this person doesn’t actually care. They are fulfilling that social stigma that we are all to care about everyone.

We all feel the need to ask people how they are or how their day is going. In the end, if someone says something beyond two words we are taken aback, at least I know I am. We care, but at the same time it is difficult to take on someone else's thoughts and emotions when you struggle sorting out your own.

The world has a lot going on and while empathy is important it can also be a lot to take on. The emotions of others can naturally influence our own and that can go a million different ways. Emotions and thoughts are such complex things and that is coming from the psychology major who is supposed to understand that stuff. Sure I can tell you about the neurotransmitters and the hormones that effect that stuff, but in the end there is too much going on to even begin to understand

It is rare to find someone who is actually fine and content. Everyone has something going on. Actually if I dissect my common answer. I’m not fine. I’m in a good enough place that I am getting by and to keep going. I don’t have anything too detrimental or extremely exciting to report on to this simple bystander in my chaotic battle known as life. In the end, I never want to burden them with my small stressors and so what meaningless struggles.

This phase is never fully fitting as to what life is. Life is full of joy and strife. I personally have struggled with the negatives as of late, but that is okay. Human existence is never just fine.