How Starting Your Journey Is Half Of The Battle

How Starting Your Journey Is Half Of The Battle

"You can start your journey any day at anytime."

Sarah Maria Sena Soares
Sarah Maria Sena Soares Sep 10, 2018
1900
views

Not that long ago, I wrote an article about a little phrase I heard on my friend's snapchat story. It got a tone of views and a lot of great feedback. And just in time for the beginning of the new school semester, he said something else that just kind of stuck with me.

He said that you can start your journey any day, at any time.

Okay so we've all heard this before but have any of us actually taken the time to put that saying into action? Well, quite recently I have. I used to be the type of person who waited until last minute to do everything, whether it was homework, a workout plan or whatever I wanted to accomplish. I used to be the type of person who said that at whatever time I'll start my homework and if it was a minute past that time I would have to wait to the start of the new hour....yes like the meme.

But now, ever since I heard that quote, it's been replaying in my head on a loop. Which is why I now just do things at the moment they're thought of and not a certain time. I decided that this is the semester, I don't wait until the last minute to do all of my work, and so far it's going well. I decided that this is the perfect time to get in shape, and not wait until the New Year, because I'm the skinniest most out of shape person that I know. I decided that instead of waiting until the new year to eat healthier that I'm going to do it now.

For a while I have wanted to get back into dance. I kept saying that I'll sign up for classes again when I finish school. But instead I decided to do it now, registered for a ballet class at school and signed up for ballroom dance, and it hands down has been one of the best decisions I have made.

Honestly it's been weird not having a set start date and time for certain things, but why would I put off doing something that I want to do? What I will say though, is that not procrastinating on homework has made these first couple of weeks of the semester fly by and seem like a breeze.

Just by letting go of the idea that every thing needs to have a set start date and time and a set date and time to end has made the pressure of things go away. By just starting my journey for whatever I'm doing right now, has increased my happiness and my overall productivity of what I'm doing.

So a little word of advice just go for and just do whatever you want to do right now.

Sarah Maria Sena Soares
Sarah Maria Sena Soares Sep 10, 2018
At Rhode Island College

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To The Person Who Feels Suicidal But Doesn't Want To Die

Suicidal thoughts are not black and white.
Mia McLaughlin
Mia McLaughlin Nov 12, 2017
1542247
views

Everyone assumes that if you have suicidal thoughts that means you want to die.

Suicidal thoughts are thought of in such black and white terms. Either you have suicidal thoughts and you want to die, or you don't have suicidal thoughts and you want to live. What most people don't understand is there are some stuck in the gray area of those two statements, I for one am one of them.

I've had suicidal thoughts since I was a kid.

My first recollection of it was when I came home after school one day and got in trouble; and while I was just sitting in the dining room I kept thinking, “I wonder what it would be like to take a knife from the kitchen and just shove it into my stomach." I didn't want to die, or even hurt myself for that matter. But those thoughts haven't stopped since.

I've thought about going into the bathroom and taking every single pill I could find and just drifting to sleep and never waking back up, I've thought about hurting myself to take the pain away, just a few days ago on my way to work I thought about driving my car straight into a tree. But I didn't. Why? Because even though that urge was so strong, I didn't want to die. I still don't, I don't want my life to end.

I don't think I've ever told anyone about these feelings. I don't want others to worry because the first thing anyone thinks when you tell them you have thoughts about hurting or killing yourself is that you're absolutely going to do it and they begin to panic. Yes, I have suicidal thoughts, but I don't want to die.

It's a confusing feeling, it's a scary feeling.

When the depression takes over you feel like you aren't in control. It's like you're drowning.

Every bad memory, every single thing that hurt you, every bad thing you've ever done comes back and grabs you by the ankle and drags you back under the water just as you're about the reach the surface. It's suffocating and not being able to do anything about it.

The hardest part is you never know when these thoughts are going to come. Some days you're just so happy and can't believe how good your life is, and the very next day you could be alone in a dark room unable to see because of the tears welling up in your eyes and thinking you'd be better off dead. You feel alone, you feel like a burden to everyone around you, you feel like the world would be better off without you. I wish it was something I could just turn off but I can't, no matter how hard I try.

These feelings come in waves.

It feels like you're swimming and the sun is shining and you're having a great time, until a wave comes and sucks you under into the darkness of the water. No matter how hard you try to reach the surface again a new wave comes and hits you back under again, and again, and again.

And then it just stops.

But you never know when the next wave is going to come. You never know when you're going to be sucked back under.

I always wondered if I was the only one like this.

It didn't make any sense to me, how did I think about suicide so often but not want to die? But I was thinking about it in black and white, I thought I wasn't allowed to have those feelings since I wasn't going to act on them. But then I read articles much like this one and I realized I'm not the only one. Suicidal thoughts aren't black and white, and my feelings are valid.

To everyone who feels this way, you aren't alone.

I thought I was for the longest time, I thought I was the only one who felt this way and I didn't understand how I could feel this way. But please, I implore you to talk to someone, anyone, about the way you're feeling; whether it be a family member, significant other, a friend, a therapist.

My biggest mistake all these years was never telling anyone how I feel in fear that they would either brush me off because “who could be suicidal but not want to die," or panic and try to commit me to a hospital or something. Writing this article has been the greatest feeling of relief I've felt in a long time, talking about it helps. I know it's scary to tell people how you're feeling, but you're not alone and you don't have to go through this alone.

Suicidal thoughts aren't black and white, your feelings are valid, and there are people here for you, you are not alone.

If you're thinking about hurting yourself please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit suicidepreventionhotline.org to live chat with someone. Help it out there and you are not alone.


Cover Image Credit: BengaliClicker
Mia McLaughlin
Mia McLaughlin Nov 12, 2017
At Michigan State University

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It's 2019, And I Still Use A Weekly Planner

There is something about physically writing things down for that makes it easier to remember dates and deadlines.

Doug Baran
Doug Baran Jan 17, 2019
234
views

Even with all the technology that is available to us nowadays, I still use an old-fashioned planner. I keep it in my backpack and you will see me pull it out if I need to add events for that week. Usually I will review the syllabus for my classes at the start of each semester and put down the important test dates or dates for other assignments. By doing this, I get a visual outline of what each will look like and what weeks will be extra heavy with school and other clubs that I am involved in on campus. Even though having this is a nice tool to help plan ahead and budget my time, it is by no means a failsafe. Sometimes I get this feeling that I forgot to do something that day but can't think of what it is. When this happens, I can refer back to my planner and look to see if I missed anything. The key point is to not forget to write things down, otherwise, all will be lost.

With today's technology, iPhones can do pretty much anything, I am aware that there is google calendar which can be synced up with a MacBook as well. This doesn't work for me because it takes too long to enter the events in my phone and I have not grown used to it. Another point is that I don't have a MacBook so it would only be accessible from my phone. I have found that it is just quicker to jot an event down by hand in my planner. For some people this might seem like a hassle having to pull out their planner when wanting to write down something they need to accomplish for that day. Since people spend a lot of time being on their laptops or phones it would be more convenient for them, being that they know how to work the app.

Either way, keeping a daily schedule or planner has many benefits. As mentioned before, it can help reduce the possibility of forgetting important due dates for exams or projects and other deadlines. Writing things down can also help reduce stress. There are times where there is too much on our plate to handle at once, we might have the feeling that everything needs to get done, which can be overwhelming. When I put things down on paper, it doesn't seem as bad and I can take care of what needs to be done at the moment and then work from there. I feel great after checking off a couple things from my to-do list because I can see that progress is being made.

Another use is to build in some time to relax or just time for yourself into your daily or weekly schedule, this can prevent the feeling of being burned out. Building in free time should have limits, especially for people who may spend too much time watching Netflix or Television. I would know because there are times where it can feel like hours go by and I haven't accomplished anything productive.

I highly recommend anyone who is in college to keep a planner, otherwise the stress can be too much to handle.

Doug Baran
Doug Baran Jan 17, 2019
At University of Delaware

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