By Emily Chance
I’m nearing the very last days of high school and I have realized that I have absolutely no filter. If someone is rude to me, I will specifically mention to them how I feel about their thoughts. I have been so done with everything since the end of the last semester and I have been trying so hard to get everything finished. Between work, an internship, and graduation, I have been relatively stressed out and have fallen into a slight depression.
I have noticed that everything I try to get done ends up falling apart because I have to shift my focus to another project, another story, another task. It usually results in me running around in a circle and forgetting most of the things I need to do and the rest of it being half finished. I am finally almost done and caught up with everything in my life, but I need to start college, which will also make my life hectic.
Throughout the stress in my life, I have had little to no downtime. I have had almost no time to myself and my schedules always conflict with my friends’ so it is very hard to hang out with them and catch up. I eventually had the nagging thought in my head that nobody really wanted to talk to me or even really liked me that much. Just the other day I wanted to sit down and have a conversation with someone, anyone, really. I called eight people. One person’s phone died, one person who picked up was busy, and the other one was rude. The other five people didn’t answer their phones and never texted me to see if I was okay.
I’ve been struggling with whether people actually cared about me and once a thought enters my mind, it doesn’t like to leave. It takes hold of that spot in my brain and it doesn’t let go until someone says or does something to fix that.
When all these negative thoughts were going through my head, a freshman I had just begun talking to walked up to me and said, “You know how I’m in the same summer program that you are?” I nodded my head in response and she said, “Every time I mention you, they automatically mention how much they love you and think you’re funny and cool. I didn’t know that many people liked you and you were that popular.”
Me, the smooth person I am, just said, “What? They do? I am?”
“Yeah, didn’t you know that?”
“No… Not really.”
“Well, they do,” she said and walked away.
I had no idea people noticed me, let alone liked me there. The point I’m trying to get across is that if you like someone, let them know you like them, as family, friends, or more. Otherwise, they might not have any idea. They could miss out on opportunities they never would have had, friendships that might never have formed. Tell someone you love them today, because I personally know that it sucks not knowing.
Edited by Laurel Copes