Words With Purpose

To my best friend and other half, You may only be a few hours from me, but there are days that distance feels more like a whole world away. But there are some things that I want you to know. First, don't ever think that I have forgotten you. In fact, I hope you know that's it's the exact opposite. I talk about you constantly. I talk to people that don't even know who you are, and I tell them stories like "This one time..." and "You won't believe it but..." You come up in almost every conversation I have, no matter who I'm talking to. I hope you do the same about me. I am always wondering if you tell the same crazy stories that I do about our friendships to other people while you're at school too. Do you tell them about that one time we went to that one party? Or that one time that we laughed about that one girl? Because I do. Please don't let your mind wander and assume that I've replaced you with new "college friends." ...

When most people think of the term  anxiety , they think of things like  panic attacks  and  depression . What they don't seem to think about is the affect it has on the relationships that those people have. Whether it be with friends, family or significant others, every relationship changes once anxiety comes into the picture. Many times, people slowly develop anxiety, but there are some times that it comes on more suddenly. People, as well as their relationships, become different when someone suffers from anxiety. Whether it is true or not, most people believe that their friends, family and partners treat them slightly differently once it is out in the open that they suffer from anxiety. While some do (usually in an attempt to be sympathetic), many do not. Most people try to make those who are open and honest about their anxiety feel comfortable by treating them no different than anyone else. However, those who experience anxiety, temporary or permanent, tend to ov...

To my first professor, As an incoming freshman just a couple of years ago, I was afraid to open a new chapter in my life. I was not ready to open up to new people, especially professors. Everything I had ever heard about college professors was daunting. I imagined them to be harsh, cruel, and nowhere close to understanding. I was also informed that college professors were never ones to make time for their students, help them when they were falling behind, or be someone to come to with problems. I was in no way prepared to meet my first college professors. However, upon my arrival to campus, I was faced with a challenge: meeting you, my first professor, outside of class. To me, this was inconvenient and uncomfortable. It put me in a sticky situation. What if I didn't like you? What if you were rude or condescending? What if you weren't understanding about my high level of anxiety? I was wrong on every level. I met you before college even started. You met with a large group of st...

  College was never something that I questioned. I would go and I would succeed. But once I got there I had one question. How? How could I leave everything I had known my whole life for something completely different? At this point, I had already had anxiety for a multitude of years and I had learned different ways of handling it. But the idea of going to college had me baffled. How could I with my anxiety? I did it. And I can't lie, it was hard. There were times, more than one, that I thought that I couldn't handle what was given to me. I cried, and I cried a lot. I broke down into the smallest of pieces. But I did it. The key to anxiety, for me, was not different medications. It was friends and family. They were there each and every time that I needed them. At first, classes were the worst of it. Freshmen year I never thought I would make it to the end of one semester, let alone two. First I got lost, then I got nervous because I didn't know my professors, then I got unco...

  It's quite common to have that one friend that is constantly dragging you out when all you want is to stay in. Unless you are that friend, in which case you would be the extrovert in the relationship. But something that not many people realize is that having an extrovert for a best friend is much better than you might think. On those Fridays when you just want to stay in and Netflix and Chill with a bottle of wine, but your BFF drags you out anyways, you should be thankful. Instead of getting irritated that you have to leave your couch and trade your comfy PJ pants for skin-tight jeans, thank her for getting you off your ass and out into public. You might be semi-unhappy about the situation at first, but we both know that by the time the night is over, you'll be having the time of your life. So, instead of wasting your time huffing and puffing about squeezing yourself into that new crop top, relax and trust that your extrovert of a best friend has a good night in store for yo...