Your feelings are valid.

As the wise Jessie J. once said, it’s okay not to be okay. Your feelings are real and they are valid. We all have our battles, and the battle you are fighting is as real to you as the battle I am fighting is as real to me is as real as the battle any other person is fighting is as real to them.

There’s always someone who has it worse. For every person but one, there’s someone who has it worse. I’m not pointing this out to make you count your lucky stars. I’m pointing this out to make you realize how unreasonable it is to feel like you don’t “deserve” to feel overwhelmed or sad or anything other than happy, to feel like your feelings are anything but valid, just because someone somewhere has it worse.

Sometimes allowing yourself to unapologetically feel is exactly the catharsis you need. Talk if you want to talk. Explode if you need to explode. That’d be a whole lot better than imploding, imho. Don’t let it fester inside you. Surround yourself with people you love and people who love you. You don’t need to always be strong. You can lean on people. You’re not alone in this.

Want to learn more and/or spread awareness of self-care around campus? Join us for the Self-Care Student Group information meeting on November 3 at 5:30PM in Campus Center 200!