I spent a lot of my time in college trying to convince the people around me that I didn't care…. About anything.

For the most part, it worked. I convinced the people around me that I didn't care about what other people thought of me, that I didn't care if the guy texted me back, that I didn't care if I did poorly on a test.

I tried to make everyone believe that I was sarcastic all of the time and that I didn't let anything get to me because it was easier to keep people out. In all honesty, I am one of the most emotional people you will ever meet. I worry. I get anxious. I care if someone doesn't like me. I care if a guy thinks I'm not good enough for him. I care if I do poorly in class. And if I'm being honest now, I probably care too much. But that's okay.

If you are out there and you feel like you can't be yourself because you care about everything and everyone way too much, I want you to know that hiding who you really are doesn't make it any easier. Pretending to be something you're not can have the potential to only make things worse because you're internalizing everything, and one day, it might become too much to handle.

You should never feel the need to hide your true self. The fact that you care about everyone else's well-being over your own shows a lot about who you are as a person, and let me tell you, this world needs more people like you.

I know why you do it, though.

You pretend you don't care so no one asks you if you're okay. You'd rather be the one helping someone else than receiving help for yourself. You want to believe that you are strong enough to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. You want to help your best friend who was just cheated on. You want to be able to be the person your friends come to when they've had a bad day. You want to be the rock for your sister to lean on when your parents are fighting. You have convinced yourself that you need to be the one everyone can depend on when their lives get too hard.

But what about when your life gets hard? Now that you've portrayed yourself as careless, who do you run to when your world comes crashing down and everything becomes too much to handle? No one knows that you've been struggling because you've pushed them all away.

Let me tell you a secret, and believe me, it took me a while to figure out as well; you are not responsible for every single persons' happiness. You are allowed to take time to yourself, and you are allowed to not be okay. No one is going to judge you for needing a little assistance, and it's okay to ask for help. I'm proud of every single one of you for realizing that this person is you; it's up to you to decide where you go from here.

One of the only ways you're going to be successful in seeking help is if you realize that it is actually a problem and then make an educated and conscious decision to change. I know life seems easier when no one else knows that you're upset, but it is so relieving to have someone to talk to.

I know it's scary to let others see you when you're at your lowest of lows, but your friends are there to help you up when you fall. So anyone out there who thinks your only option is to use sarcasm as a defense so no one knows you're struggling, I think it is important for you to know that it's okay to let your guard down. You can drop the mask and the sarcastic defense, and we'll get through this mess we call life together; it'll be a whole lot easier that way.