I was recently talking about all of this with my good friend Francis who I introduced you all to in my last post, Get Inspired (which I am so ridiculously proud of, it's insane!). She and I are that on-another-level kind of close so she knows an awful lot about me, and I've told her that many a times if I'm feeling frustrated, upset, or any emotion of that variety, I just write down what's going on. Like I said, it forces me to address my issues. I've never been one to broadcast what's going on in my life to the entire world. I tend to bottle things up until the point of explosion, which I'm aware isn't healthy at all. When I realized this, I started writing exactly what was going on in my head down in front of me, and that came with countless "ugh-" and "why me-" type ramblings. As I mentioned, I tell Francis pretty much everything, even though I would consider myself a fairly private person. And she does the same with me. In fact it's uncanny how similar we are--be it just as people or with life experiences or anything really. Because she's a lot like me, I thought maybe she could benefit from just writing down her thoughts like I do. I asked her if she would like to be a part of my "Things My Friends Are Doing" series, knowing full well that her piece would turn out to be something like one of my journal pages, and hoping that it would be the same kind of catharsis for her as it is for me. She doesn't know it, but that was my plan all along! Surprise Francis!
And as luck would have it, it did help her--or so I think! I'm going to share with you a bit of what she wrote. I won't share it all, because they are her private thoughts, but I think she'll be okay with me sharing some.
It’s 8:23 a.m. on this Thursday May 23, 2013. I’m sitting on my dining room table, wearing an oversized T-shirt and pajama shorts, sipping coffee with hazelnut creamer, eating a banana and watching the sunlight seep through the window shades. I have music playing in the back. Not that the genre playing has anything to do with my mood, but more so because music in general makes me feel better. Writing isn’t my typical release method. I dance. But because it’s now 8: 28 a.m. and I don’t have keys to a dance studio, it is highly unlikely I’ll be able to go dance my heart out. So I have to find another way to release this frustration. This is helping, or at least I think it is. Writing I mean.
Morgan writes. I owe
her a lot really. She’ll never admit it but she is such a beautiful person,
inside and out. She is probably the reason I’m writing right now. She says it’s
“what she’s good at”, and believe me when I say she’s not lying.
The sun is shining brightly through the windows now.
Beautiful reminder. I’m involved in my church’s youth group. Helps remind me of
God, and where I am as a young Catholic in this stage of my life. So many
blessings.
Thank you. I don’t know necessarily know who I’m thanking.
I’m just thankful. Even though I’m a mere 17 year-old girl, I think I’m a bit
mature for my age. It is now 9:12 a.m. and
in the past 49 minutes that I’ve been sitting at my dining room table, eating a
banana, sipping hazelnut coffee, writing, listening to music and watching the
sun, I’ve come to the conclusion that every time an insignificant topic, anything insignificant, tries to bother me all I have to do is
count my blessings. And getting in the dancing mood helps too.
Count your blessings. That’s a good motto to live by. I
think laughing helps too. And dancing, but that’s my biased opinion. Friedrich Nietzsche
once said, “We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at
least once”. (One of my personal
favorites is the moment where no one is watching and you can be as funky as you
want, like those special times in your room. You know what I’m talking about!).
It’s now 9: 26 a.m. and as I bring this little “release
session” to a conclusion, I leave you with my honest testimony. I feel much better.
Today is a new day. Something I can control. I can make it into whatever I want
it to be. I want to smile today. I want to make someone else smile today. I
want to be happy. And who’s going to stop me?
See what I mean? I truly believe that words have a unique power of expression that few other things do. Writing is therapeutic. And no one ever said you had to be good at it! Next time you're feeling down, frustrated, or whatever it may be, write it down. Francis and I have tried it, and let us tell you, it works!
