You know that feeling when your heart is both so full and aching at the same time? Same. This is an experience that I frequent, and there is no particular time nor place that this happens. It can be brought on by any baby ever or simply a personal story that someone tells me.

I used to think that it was a flaw of mine to feel things so strongly; that I always felt alone in this type of journey. I would get mad at myself for always taking so long to process something. When I encounter a tough situation, I feel as though it is the toughest situation that I have ever faced. But on the contrary, if I am experiencing a joyous moment I feel like my heart is pouring out more warmth than it ever has before. I have come to the realization that there will be dark moments, but there will also be even brighter moments that follow. And sometimes these dim and bursting moments happen simultaneously causing me to feel a sense of euphoria and mania at the same time. On any given day, you could find my mind racing trying to grasp some sort of tangible thought, but eventually coming up with just a feeling deep down that truly describes what is going on.

I used to think it was wrong that I was the only one who truly understood what my heartfelt; that it was wrong of me to not know how to describe what I am feeling. I truly believe that my heart has the ability to cry and bleed with those around me. I am starting to become proud of the fact that my heart is so sensitive and open to these experiences. I am learning to lean into discomfort and difficult moments. I have become to think of this as more of a special skill rather than a defect that I have developed. So, no I am not a ‘cry baby’ or any less of a person just because my heart aches listening to someone describe a difficult situation in their life. I will now take pride in my ability to feel emotions so strongly.