I was a small middle schooler going through a terrible thing: The Big Parent Divorce. A divorce is never fun, and it's hard on every kid who goes through it. Obviously upset, little thirteen-year-old me made the mistake of telling one of my friends about it. I told her about all of the screaming, arguing, what living in two houses was like, and then come her words like a slap in the face; “Quit complaining. At least you have parents who love you and put a roof over your head. Other kids would kill for what you have.”

Ouch. Not a lot hurts more than you pouring your heart out to someone and for them and for them to tell you that you're wrong. Because of her, I ended up keeping it all inside and fighting it alone. Other people had worse lives than me. I thought had no right to be sad. But I did, of course I did.

If someone is sad about something, even if it seems little, they are sad about it. Period. They should be allowed to express their emotions. They should be allowed to cry. Cry because it hurts.

Yes, of course you may be more privileged than someone else but that doesn't mean you should be cut off from your emotions just because someone else has been through more. Feelings are valid, and we should not be guilty for feeling them.

If somebody is hurting, PLEASE for the love of god don't say that others or yourself have it worse. They reached out to you for a reason. If you say that their problems aren't worth it/aren't a big deal, then you're making them ashamed of their own feelings. A lot of people who are depressed won't reach out because of this. Support them, don't bring them down.

There is an alarming percent increase of people in this generation who are depressed. Part of what can cause depression is a tendency to keep those feelings inside and an incapability of being able to talk about them. In this state, there are questions that might plague your mind such as: Will anyone listen to you? Will they give you a hug and provide encouraging words or tell you to get over it? How do you put your problems into words without making them sound silly or not worth it?

Whenever anyone tells me to be grateful when I'm sad, I feel worse off than I did before I talked to them. I don't want to put on a smiley face and wave my problems away. It doesn't work like that. I am sure everyone else is the same.

I am here for anyone to talk to, no matter how small their problems may seem. Their crush not texting them back? I will listen. Tough day at work or school? Vent about it to me. Do you feel sad for no reason at all? Reach out to me, I will try to make you feel better because it hurts. And even though we're in different situations, we all feel the same emotions.

Instead of trashing others about their feelings and encouraging them to keep them inside, stop and listen. Have empathy and compassion. This world is already cruel enough, why make it worse by smashing someone's feelings?

So, before you start that “starving children” lecture or the “my situation is worse” lecture, stop yourself. Will comparing conflicts truly help them feel better? Does it satisfy them that "other people's lives suck too"? Problems aren't a competition. Problems are obstacles that everyone must deal with in their lives to the point of exhaustion.

So be there for others, reach out and don't make anybody else feel bad for reaching out. If humans had more empathy and compassion for all sorts of people in any tough situation they may be in, then the world would truly be a better place.