Know That You’re Unsinkable, Even When It Feels Like You’re Drowning

By

It’s hard. I get it.

You’re probably reading this because you’re at a loss with what to do or because you’re dealing with something you feel like no one will ever understand. You’ve gone over the solutions, and you’ve tried all there is to try but to no avail.

I know it’s difficult when you’re faced with a situation that seems like it’s not going to get better. I know, I know, believe me, I do. Whether you’re struggling with academics, work, friends, or with your relationship with your significant other (or lack thereof), I hope you know that you’re not alone. Let me remind you, that there are thousands of people who are also struggling, and who are trying to fight the good fight.

But let me also remind you that it’s going to be okay. It might not be okay tomorrow, or the day after, or maybe even the week after but it will be; sometimes, you just have to wait it out. I know that it’s disheartening to keep going when you’ve been stuck in the same situation for what feels like thousands of years, but you have to know that most of the time (not even sometimes), the only way out is through. It’s rough and I’m not going to pretend that I know what you’re going through, because we most likely have very different problems from each other (whether I’m talking to my future self or addressing another person); but know that I know you have the strength to see this through until the end.

“I know that it’s disheartening to keep going when you’ve been stuck in the same situation for what feels like thousands of years, but you have to know that most of the time (not even sometimes), the only way out is through.”

You could concoct several different scenarios in which you get exactly what you want, but we both know that those things rarely ever happen. And sometimes, when you know that the best-case scenario or even, at least, the okay-case scenario won’t ever happen, you feel like nothing good will ever come. You think that nothing can surprise you, and you feel like life is playing a game of hide-and-seek with your luck.

You’re going to put yourself in a foul mood. You’re going to put yourself in that state of mind where you say that nothing can harm you because you’re going to make yourself cold as a rock. You’re going to do all those things and more, because you want to protect yourself from another horrendous event that you’re sure to happen.

To that, I tell you, stop. Stop making your life miserable as it already is. Stop making your situation worse for you. I’m not telling you to change your perspective about it, because I think that’s the worst advice you can give someone, when the situation is so obviously difficult. I’m telling you to sit still, give yourself some time, think of a solution, and should whatever it is that you’re going through is out of your hands, then let it be.

Learn to give yourself some credit for everything that you’ve so far accomplished, whether it’s just getting out of bad, running that small errand for a friend, attending a class or eating lunch when you feel like you want to throw up.

Pat yourself on the back for having the strength to do the little things, because eventually you’ll find the strength to do the big things. Maybe one day you find yourself lying down on your bed, finished with all the insurmountable work that you thought you couldn’t do. Maybe you’ll find yourself having lunch again with that friend of yours you thought you couldn’t patch things up with. Maybe you and your significant other will be okay again, or maybe you’ll find someone new—one definitely better than the previous.

You are, by far, a very beautiful person, especially when I know that you’re reading this because you want to help yourself. That’s always the first step to getting better—helping yourself because you know that you deserve to be somewhere better.

Remember: You are unsinkable.

And though I took a quote from the Titanic, which definitely sank, both you and I know that it’s still one of the most famous ship liners to ever set sail. It was big and beautiful, and its elegance was admired for years and years; and though it’s demise was tragic, it’s still a so-called “failure” that many are proud of.

So be proud of your sinking ships, of your big and beautiful scars, of all the tragic demise you’ve been through, because people will admire you for it; and one day, you’ll be proud to call it your own.

I know it.

Just keep going.