We got this.
I first came up with the idea that I was going to write letters to my college people; to the ones who taught me lessons I didn't want, to the ones who deserve the world, and to the ones who were there and who made being bored and used to doing nothing okay.
I feel guilty. That is an emotion I feel far too much, but this isn't the guilt you get when you're looking for someone to blame. This is the one where you know that the only person at fault is you.
I had problems during my first semester at college. But, so doesn't everybody? And guess what I did. I still decided to let them inhibit me at times; hinder me. I didn't let my mind be a crutch to the problems. I didn't let myself continue to walk and move on. I took the boot off this metaphorical broken foot known as my problems. I tried to move the toes by myself, and when that didn't work, I stomped on my foot. I took the good foot- the benefits I received while being in college- and I covered my broken foot. Then, I walked on the foot. I started to run on it. I didn't let the foot heal, I didn't let the foot get any help, I didn't allow the foot to make its presence known. I disregarded the foot, and man do I wish I did not do that.
I wish I used the crutch, the boot, the education I needed to allow my problems to become less debilitating. I wish I gave myself the power to solve my problems. I wish I made them known. I wish I granted myself the ability to heal the foot. To run on a foot that would hurt every so often, but I wouldn't smash it into the ground, I wouldn't ignore the fact that I needed help, I would let myself have a crutch! These problems are so easy to label, but forget the part where you have to put content behind the words. You have to allow yourself to work hard, even if it doesn't feel good. The awards feel good in the end.
Here's the note to myself that you can take too.
Run with that foot. Let it humble you, and not break you. Let the roads you take with your two feet, the problems and the bliss, be educational. Give something to your family that they can be proud of you for.
Congrats. You've made it with the feet given to you so far. Don't stop, keep going.
[I just recently took this picture; I wrote the quote down from memory. I remembered this quote off a card I got from a table at an event my college was hosting for Halloween. The card was broadcasting the importance of mental health and the services provided locally. I am incredibly proud of this generation when it comes to advocating for mental health, and talking about things that aren't easy to talk about. This is what I encompass and I want to do something about it. I want to work my hardest at this, and I need to listen to comforting words and come to terms that hard work is exactly that. Hard. This quote helps. I hope you like the quote too.]