Getting Through and Learning Lessons

There are just days in your life when you feel completely overwhelmed by things you didn't even realize were weighing on your conscience. Sometimes they're a few really big things, or a ton of small things - sometimes it's a combination - but all it takes is one tiny trigger to set you off, something that you may even be completely over even as you get upset by it, and all the walls you didn't know you'd built come crashing down.

Today was one such day.

This may be sharing too much information, or it may only worry whoever reads this (if anyone does), but let me assure you now that I am totally fine. Sometimes you just need to let off a little (or a lot of) steam and let the whole thing blow over. I have done just that, but for about two hours today, I was a mess. And through these two hours, I learned a couple important things about life.

1. It's always important to know who you trust. In my time of need, I was able to turn to people that I knew would only be able to help me, to talk things through and to point out things about myself and my life that I hadn't even noticed. It is so easy to take for granted the people that really care about you, to just forget that they're there and that you could learn something from them. Don't let yourself do that. Embrace what they do for you. And thank them profusely.

2. Never, ever stop taking care of yourself. Being in college or having a full time job is not an excuse to not eat relatively well or to sleep enough. Everyone lets things like that fall by the wayside when things get extremely busy, myself included, it's too hard not to sometimes. But there comes a time when a giant warning sign pops up telling you that you're pushing yourself too hard, and days like today are that big slap in the face you need to wake you up.

3. Have a mental escape. Whatever it is that's eating you up inside, whatever worry or care you have that something won't turn out right or what have you, let it all go. Set aside a time for you to do something mindless or distracting. I'm lucky that I have rehearsal to go to every night, where I'm able to be someone else entirely for about 3-4 hours, but not everyone has that. Build these things into your schedule if you have to. Even if you feel like you don't have the time to spare, do it anyway. Just don't sacrifice sleep for it, okay?

I dearly love all the people in my life, and I dearly love my life. I just have to remind myself occasionally that things aren't always as bad as they seem, and that I will, in the end, turn out all right.

Don't you forget that, too.