I want y'all to look at past me. Green hair and all. What do you see? Do you see a sixteen-year-old girl whose hair matches her shirt? Do you see her eyes and the mole/freckle (I'm still not sure) right in between? Do you see her big nose or thin lips because she had yet to learn not to curl her lips inward? Do you just see a girl because trying to find some hidden meaning behind a simple picture is something for liberal arts and English majors? I bet out of all the things you saw, you missed one crucial part: pain. Pain because she was showing signs of depression, but she didn't know because she never learned about it. Pain because her dad came back after three (and some change) years in Hawai'i (and only seeing him about every three months for like a week) and she didn't know how to handle her emotions and the psychological trauma was still relatively fresh. I still struggle to be happy, but I have friends and family to help support me.

So, what does this have to do with you?

Well, there are some of you (myself included) out there who struggle to find joy in life. Joy, by definition, means "a feeling of great pleasure and happiness." When was the last time some of you felt truly happy about life? You had a positive outlook, big dreams, and an "I can do anything" attitude. It might have been yesterday, last week, or years ago. Some of you gave up on those dreams when life decided to hit you like a train. You lost that positive outlook and wondered if life was even worth living anymore.

I'm here to tell you that you're not alone. There are many people who struggle with this. It's hard to have a positive outlook on life when the world is as it is now. People are meaner, the planet is dying at an accelerated rate, and we're losing more and more people to domestic terrorism. It's hard to look at the way things are and be positive. It doesn't have to just be general, either. You might have failed a class and have to retake it, putting your graduation plans on hold. A loved one might have gotten very sick or died. You seem to be losing friends by the dozens and feel alone. Whatever it is, you struggle to find joy.

I'm not here to tell you it'll get better. That would be very naive of me and insensitive. Instead, I'm here to tell you your feelings are valid. It's okay to feel this way. Life is hard, and you seem to be putting in twice as much effort to get half back in return. So you may be asking "well, what can I do?"

There are many options to dealing with this. Volunteering with the community or with an organization on campus is one way. Sometimes the best way to helo ourselves is to help others. Find a support group or people who know what you're going through. Talking to people who either have been or are there can help make a tremendous difference. Unleash your creativity. Writing, drawing, designing, or whatever else when you don't want to interact with people but want to get your feelings out is a great way to manage your feelings without bottling them up. Read a book, manga, fanfiction, or other options. Getting lost in a world not our own will help, however short. Adopt (don't shop) a pet. Pets are a HUGE responsibility and I don't advise you get one just to get one, but only if you feel like you can take care of it. If you don't feel like you could give a dog enough attention or don't want to deal with a cat, maybe start small with a gerbil or bird. There are many more options, but these are just a few.

I'm not saying you have to completely ignore your problems, but sometimes you don't have the mental energy to deal with it right now, and that's okay. Life is hard.

Remember, you're not alone and you matter. Please take care of yourself. You got this.