Whenever life happens, which it does often, there seems to be a trend in those who rush to your aid and exactly how they employ their 'aid' in your time of need. What I mean by 'life happens' is when those extremely inconvenient situations arise, and you wind up stuck dead center with what sometimes feels like no feasible way out. For myself, life happened about two weeks ago Friday the 13th to be exact. Nothing like a bad omen from the get-go. Did I mention it was also a full moon, and Mercury was in retrograde? All that aside, my boyfriend, who coincidentally happened to be my best friend, broke it off. Our two year anniversary was May 2nd. My 23rd birthday was May 16th.

I felt like someone came along and pushed me into a never-ending whirlpool of emotions. You can assume that sadness was by far the top contender for overwhelming emotions I was experiencing, but there was so much more. Doubt, emptiness, worry, and severe anxiety are just a few more to boot. I was so embarrassed to have to tell my family why me, the birthday girl, was attending her own birthday dinner without the other half they had grown to know and love. He was a part of the family, and a part of me, that was now gone.

For the first few hours, and days, I was sad. There were no two ways about it. I played anything from Taylor Swift (on repeat) to Whitney Houston. Anything that would let me cry it out, and maybe belt it out, too. My friends and family called and texted me incessantly, just to check up on me, and to offer up that 'aid' I mentioned earlier. Their biggest go-to seemed to be so generic, "Don't be sad, honey, life goes on."

You reached out to me to tell me not to be sad? Why is it that whenever someone becomes visibly upset, our first instinct is to tell him or her to be the exact opposite of what they currently are? Why is sadness almost frowned upon? Realistically speaking, it is a natural and typically involuntary emotion. Last I checked people do not intentionally cast spells of sadness upon themselves. But I'm here today to tell the world that it is okay to be sad sometimes. If not for sadness, we would never have the capacity to appreciate happiness, or even be able to identify happiness.

So yes, will life go on? Absolutely. But in the meantime, will I take my time to heal on my own terms, even if it means screaming "If It Makes You Happy" by Sheryl Crow while sitting in the shower? You bet.

Now go be sad so you can thoroughly appreciate the next happy moment you have.