Looking back on my life from adolescence to my current stage of adulthood, one memory that sticks out is my sensitivity or ability to feel emotions. My emotions have gone from extremely high, to extremely low in a short period of time.
Many of my friends and family members can quickly detect that I am a sensitive individual. I know both of my parents struggled with being sensitive, so I definitely understand where it came from.
Some people see being sensitive as a bad thing. I see it as feeling very strongly about emotions, both bad and good. I tend to feel like the world is against me when something goes wrong, and when all is right in the world, I am practically jumping for joy. There really is no middle ground for my emotions.
In a way, I see my sensitivity as both a good thing and a bad thing. It is both a blessing and a curse. Every emotion that I feel, I learn a valuable lesson; It's okay to celebrate the joys in life, but don't let the negative aspects of life get you down.
On one hand, I think it's okay to experience great joy for things that make me happy. There is nothing wrong with being overjoyed when fall finally hits, and I can start drinking pumpkin spice coffee. It's the little things like that that bring me joy. Just thinking about it right now makes me extremely happy and excited for fall.
On the other hand, my overly sensitive behavior can be annoying, both for me, and for others. When I text a friend and they don't answer, there is no reason to jump to the conclusion that they're mad at me and don't want to speak to me, but sometimes I believe that is the only logical explanation. I have to remind myself frequently that the world isn't out to get me, and that my friend is probably just busy.
Being a sensitive person has taught me many things about myself. Again, these things are both good and not so good. For example, being overly sensitive has made me a very observant person. I am observant of my surroundings and environment, and I can pick up on others' feelings as well. Because I feel so many emotions, I understand that other people probably feel a lot of emotions as well, and I am very respectful and understanding of that.
As long as I remind myself that the world isn't out to get me, and my friends don't hate me just because they didn't respond to my text message, I see no problem with feeling emotions deeply.
The bottom line is, it's okay to be sensitive to certain things. Being overcome with joy is a good thing, because after all, the world isn't always filled with rainbows and butterflies; we have to find joy in the simple and happy things that life has to offer.
So, when the fall comes around, I will openly welcome my extreme joy for pumpkin spice lattes and cool weather. However, next time I text a friend and they don't answer, I won't be so quick to jump to the conclusion that they are mad at me. Being sensitive is not always easy, but it's surely a process that I am learning to deal with on a daily basis.
