Clarity is in Doing

I had my clinic "midterm" last week, and came to a realization: after four years of studies, I no longer think my path is in speech therapy.

I've LOVED and thoroughly enjoyed everything I've learned in this major, and that's not hard to do. You can love learning, but there's only so much a textbook can do.

Experience is what really tells you the truth about yourself.

I think it's very important to live life. Explore options and get your hands dirty.

Look at what really drives you, and what you enjoy doing in your free time. See that keyword? Doing?

Actions speak louder than words, yeah?

Anyway, although exploring is a wonderful epiphany, I feel I may need a bit more guidance. A great push is this site I found a few years back called theunlost.com. It has hundreds, maybe thousands of articles written in such a casual way. They're filled with "ah-ha" moments, plenty of space to converse with the community, and one of my favorite ways to get my doses of their site in: email subscription.

I subscribed to their Mini-Kit emails a couple of years ago, but lost track and didn't really do much more than skim over each one. I now signed up under my new email address and find the helpful nuggets so refreshing.

There's no way you can lose. You can unsubscribe anytime you want, and each Mini-Kit they send comes around every few days so you're not bombarded with emails day-in and day-out.

Please give it a chance! A nice change from the dreaded emails you have to reply to on a daily basis might be nice.

 

(Trying) to Cope with Sadness

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Do you ever have happy days but in the back of your mind, you're consistently anxious?

You're not being negative... You just know you're going to have an emotional relapse. You always hope the worst is over, especially on the great and mellow days... But in the back of your mind you know the dark days will be back.

And very recently, my own emotional relapse hit. As soon as I left campus today I became almost intolerable of existing.

Just like that I'm sad and scared because I don't want to feel this way; I want it to end. I doubt I'd ever off myself... But living becomes such a pain, and it's very very hard to try and find something to cheer you up.

This isn't like heartbreak. It can't be completely distracted with the aid of friends or a hobby that completely engulfs you... This is a storm that can't be stopped.

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Here's how I try to cope to the best of my ability:

1. Sleep... It's one of the only surefire ways that I can be okay for a little while. Temporary escape.
2. Games... Play something minute like a flash game online or download one on your phone. They're made to be quick and fun, so to me? It won't become something to automatically depend on too heavily. Click here for one of my favorite sites for flash games. The third one on the top right with the jellyfish has my favorite calming track to just listen to).
3. Write... If you feel like you have no one, write how you feel somewhere. Keep a notebook for just these types of days. When you want to vent and share but feel there's no one there.
4. Collect quotes... Maybe writing doesn't work for you. Maybe writing actually frustrates you more because your mind is racing faster than your hand can keep up with writing. So look online for great, inspiring, quotes and just collect them. They may not even make you feel 50% better, but even a prick of light is better than nothing.
5. Breathe... Focus on your breathing. Take deep inhales through your nose, and exhale slowly through your mouth. Sit with some mellow music-- or any music that just makes you feel good most days-- and just breathe. If you're into yoga, you could do a bit of that and hold poses to let each moment sink in for you. But finding just enough space for breathing is easy. Meditate, pray, focus on the music... I feel that even if your mind wanders a little bit, you're not doing anything else that'll stress you out even more.

So how do you deal with moments (maybe even days, weeks, months...) like this?

Let me know; we'll share ways to stay strong through these trying times.

Improve a Day Within Seconds

This morning, I watched a video on TV of a tiny Asian woman who stood near the ledge of a building.

A large group of men leaned on the railing, which was a few feet away from the edge of the platform where the woman stood.

She must've said something that triggered the group, because hands grabbed at her, and pulled her back.

What saddened me was that despite her tiny physique, you could see her foot attempting to cling to the edge so she could finish the "job."

She was fighting to die.

I've seen videos and photos of people being saved from ending their lives, and the look on their face is usually one of exhaustion and tiredness. The almost collapse in an intangible pain.

But this woman tried even harder to fight for her abrupt end.

There are little things we can do to make a difference in someone's day. Not everyone can be helped as effectively as we hope, but why not give some of these 10 tips a try:

1. Smile at strangers.
2. Compliment someone.
3. Leave a sincere Facebook message to someone you haven't talked to in a couple of months
4. Let friends know you're always there for them if they need you (and try your best to follow through).
5. Be "that friend" no one else is willing to be, to someone who is "different" and seems a bit lonely.
6. Leave post-its up in public restrooms, on cars, and/or to your waiter or waitress with a silly pickup line or compliment.
7. Offer to help someone who looks like they need it, instead of looking away embarrassingly (even if they get mad that they were spotted, feel good that you were even willing to help out).
8. Treat workers respectfully, they're working hard to serve you in retail or at your table, or anywhere in-between, really. Cut them some slack and maybe even compliment their work ethic.
9. On that note, be a good worker. Don't sweat the small things, and don't take out a bad day you're having onto someone else.
10. Catch up with someone you haven't seen in a long time. Offer to meet them for coffee or lunch, and a walk if it's nice enough outside.