My Best Friends

 

 

 

 

So I've been thinking a lot about how I'm a senior in high school and how we are half way through the year and all the memories that I've had this year, and I just thought about all my amazing friends that I've made this year, and those that I've been best friends with since the very beginning. I'm really the luckiest girl in the world to have such amazing friends like mine in my life and I'm so happy about how blessed I have been. Best friends are those who you can do everything or nothing with and still have the best time together, whether it be a night on the town and going out, or a movie and popcorn on the couch, they are always there for you and make you the happiest person in the world. They are the ones who will randomly text you in the middle of the night to tell you how much they love you and how amazing you are as a friend; let me just tell you, every single one of those text messages I screenshot and save them to read when I'm having a bad day.

 

No matter how serious life gets, we all need those friends in our lives whom we can still be completely stupid with, my favorite parts being all the crazy, funny inside jokes best friends share that make you both laugh and no one knows what the hell is so funny. A friend is someone who can see the pain that you're in, even when you're fooling everyone else, and masking the pain. And sometimes, being with those best friends is all the therapy you need. When I'm having a bad day, I can always count on my friends to spontaneously call or text them to get out of the house, and they will respond without hesitation and come to my rescue.

It's scary to think that all my best friends I've accumulated in high school and I will be parting ways soon, as we embark on the journey towards our future when we graduate and move on to college. However, it's those best friends that you don't need to talk to everyday, you don't need to talk to for weeks, but when you do, it's as if you'd never stopped talking. I am fortunate to have made the most amazing friends that life can offer. They always tell my to stay strong and keep fighting because being happy is the most important thing in life. Every girl needs a best friend who can make her laugh when she doesn't think she will ever be able to smile again. All you need is one of those. Fortunately, I have been blessed by the grace of God with SOOO many amazing best friends. Close friends support you through thick and thin and give you a shoulder to cry on for emotional support. Friendship can have a major impact on your well-being, and help heighten your happiness, and sense of self-worth and confidence. They remind you that life is worth fighting for and re-direct you back on the road to happiness and recovery after a bad time.

Thank you to all of my amazing friends who have stood by me at my best moments and darkest moments. You truly all have a special place in my heart, and I will ALWAYS cherish and love you all to the fullest.

xoxo kaitlyn



THANK YOU!!!

I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming support and praise in the creation of my new blog. There's nothing I love more than when someone comes up to me and tells me that my blog has impacted them in some way or floods me with love and praise. Writing is something I have always loved doing, ever since I was younger, and it's a way I can openly and freely pour out my emotions. My goal is to make this blog as successful as it can be, and continue to spread love and positive energy. Stay tuned I will be posting something special dedicated to my amazing friends, and I've been working on this one for weeks now so it will be a good one, and worth the read!!

Comment down below what you want to see me write about, I have some ideas drafted out, but want to incorporate the ideas of others if there is something that you want to be spoken about, or any questions you have that should be answered!!

xoxo kaitlyn

The Story Behind The Blog

For my first "official" blog post (the other one didn't really count in my opinion) I decided it would be best to discuss the reason behind the blog. It's important that in order to be truthful and honest with my viewers, I create a post discussing the blogger herself.

This is my story. It all started back in the 1st grade. I had always had self confidence issues and lack of self respect, but it was in 1st grade, where I experienced my first dose of bullying.

I had suffered from a rare, but dangerous virus and infection (won't go into details, it's not relevant) that left me with scars on my face. People of that age were cruel, calling me a monster, and running away in terror and fear. It was this traumatic event that would eventually haunt and scare me as I got older.

Fast forward now to high school.I couldn’t wait to meet new friends, and start on a clean slate with a lot more freedom and independence than I had experienced in middle school. I was quickly hit with the reality of a much larger workload, and began to experience severe anxiety. It slowly progressed. I would isolate myself and avoid social events because I was too stressed out, or didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin to be exposed to a situation full of partying, alcohol, and peer pressure. My anxiety developed into extended periods of sadness: ones that didn’t just last for a few hours or a day, but for several days, sometimes weeks. I would wake up every day upset and end the day feeling the same. I struggled constantly to pick myself out of bed and function in school.

I was in so much pain, and I was tired of explaining my pain to my parents, and all I wanted was clarity. I needed some kind of answer to my constant thought that I was crazy. My mood was extremely erratic during my junior year, and both my friends and parents became concerned. It finally became too much. Reluctantly, I sought after psychological help, where I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression and anxiety, and as I continued therapy once a week, my therapist noticed similar signs and symptoms I was experiencing that are associated with bipolar depression.

Bipolar depression symptoms include periods of elevated mood or irritability. My mind is never at rest and is constantly racing, and often I experience high energy levels with reduced need for sleep. My erratic mood consists of emotions ranging from anger, anxiety, hopelessness, inability to feel pleasure, and elevated moods followed by sudden mood swings. I would make rash and impulsive decisions and partook in risky behaviors such as self-harm. In addition, I developed an eating disorder, starving myself and losing over 10 pounds my junior year. My life felt like it was spiraling out of control, that I was stuck in a never ending tornado unable to break free, and I just didn’t want to be here anymore and suffer.

But that’s when I decided to do something about it: I reached out for help and established this blog dedicated to providing optimism and peace of mind to those out there struggling with similar issues. Everyone endures hardships, and they may be disheartening, discouraging ordeals that often times we struggle to pick ourselves up when we fall down. I learned that in order to surmount my treacherous setbacks, I had to take that first step and ask for help.

Today I can tell you I am taking the right steps toward recovery. I have such amazing friends that are there every step of the way. I feel confident, excited, and most importantly: happy. Yes, happiness seems so simple, and you may wonder, why is this so important? Doesn't everyone experience happiness?

While that may seem like the truth, happiness to me has been the key towards the road to recovery. I am so happy and proud of everything I have accomplished, and to say I'm finally experiencing happiness, is more important than any trophy or material good in the world. So I encourage you all, if you or someone is struggling, reach out for support. Trust me, it makes all the world of differences.

                                                                 xoxo kaitlyn

New Platform, Same Goal!!!

Hey Guys!!

 

This very first post is to inform everyone about my change in platform for my "Finding Optimism" blog. I discovered that you can blog through your gmail account, and I decided it's worth a go! Weebly.com was nice for the beginning, but extremely difficult to manage and edit as well. This was, I constantly am accessing my gmail account while on the goal, making for easy blogging opportunities. I am going to blog every week on Fridays (that is my goal!!) since it will be easy after school and work and I am not stressed out with school work! I can't wait to embark on this exciting endeavor, and I hope you guys will take the journey with me, and send some requests for what to blog about!!

xoxo Kaitlyn