Jan 16, 2016 3 min read

From time to time, everyone feels despair. But, no matter how bad it gets, here are nine reasons everything is going to be OK.

• Your favorite food is just waiting to be consumed and television is ready to be watched. Who says you have to get out of bed today? Your life is all about you, so take care of yourself and make YOU happy.

• It’s in the past, and time will continue to go on and what has happened will continue to get further away. You will meet new people and those who matter will journey into the future with you. Yes, the future holds tears and anger, but it also holds joy, adventures and the next best day of your life.

• You change. What you like, who you like, your opinion and surroundings all change, too. Change is very scary, but can be extremely exciting. The more you embrace the changes to come, the easier they will come to you.

• It is a new year, which is even better than the “It’s a new day” saying, because it is a whole new year! The best part is, however many years you’ve been alive, you’ve made it this far and now you have just made it over another hump. Good for you.

• If things truly become unbearable, try distracting yourself. Read a book and absorb the feelings of another person, even if it is just a story. Play an instrument, paint or clean. Even word searches or sudoku puzzles – anything semi-productive will work. Once you’ve accomplished something on your own, you’ll start to automatically feel better about yourself.

• Take some alone time. Let yourself be completely authentic by being alone. Let everything calm down before you try to interact with others. Pull yourself together by going on Tumblr, exercising, or even crying. Get out all of your built-up emotions – get ugly! You can’t heal until you’ve cleaned the wound. This step is very important to your mental health.

• Now that you have gotten all of your emotions out, you might as well acquire some new, positive ones. Enjoy some company, and no, not with your pet. Go out with friends or family and talk to them about their lives. Meet new people. Take a trip – even just to the mall to chat with the cashier. You are a happy, strong person, even if you don’t always believe you are.

• Get rid of the negatives in your life. Cut it all out. Stop saying ‘I can’t.’ You can. I want you to delete contacts with whom you are in a toxic relationship. I want you to put everything that makes you sad in a box. Do not throw it away immediately. Just put it out of sight. “Out of sight, out of mind.” Now that everything sad is gone, you have even more room to add great memories.

• Once you feel better, take time to remember the bad. Know that there will be another bad period of time in the future. Know that there will also be another good period of time. Take hold of the good feelings and remind yourself of them when things get rough. Let yourself know, after all, everything is going to be OK.

By Lydia Grant

Freshman, Canon-McMillan