Don't Downsize Depression

I am very close to a lot of different people who suffer from depression. It is hard to see loved ones struggle from an illness that they cannot control, especially when all that you want them to know is how much you love and care for them. We may not understand why they are hurting, but there is a good chance that they don't, either.

Just because you cannot see their pain does not mean that it does not exist. The wind cannot be seen, yet it still exists. Thoughts cannot be heard, but they remain nonetheless. Pain may not necessarily be seen, but it might feel like the stabbing of one million knives.

Do not diminish another person's anguish because you cannot see what they are going through. The mind can be a beautiful place, but it can also be torturous to many. You have no idea what another person is really thinking, so don't find it acceptable to demean them for what they have to say.

Do not ever call a victim of depression weak, because they are some of the strongest people to walk the planet. Every smile that they make is a moment in which they choose to let light into their lives. Every day that they wake up is another day that they choose to live.

Often times, internal struggles are far more difficult to cope with than external. Whether they are open with you about their pain or not, let the people that you care about know that you are always there for them. Assure them that they have a shoulder to cry on, even on their toughest days.

You do not get to tell anyone what they can and cannot feel. The only time in which you have the right to that is with yourself. Instead, you can offer guidance to those who feel lost. Offer release to them, talk with them, be with them. 

Sometimes, the only thing that we can do is listen. Besides simply lending a helping hand, reach out with your heart as well. Listen to what they have to say. Listen to why they feel the way they do. As much as you would like to do for them, hearing what they have to say is among the most important initial steps.

If you suffer from depression or someone close to you does, remember: "Tough days don't last–tough people do."

Stories from Thanksgivings Past

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Because the big day has finally arrived, I figured that I would write one more post in honor of the national holiday. I think that it is pretty universal that every family has at least one good story from Thanksgiving celebrations in the past. For my family, I do not even know where to begin.

Every Thanksgiving, I stay at my grandparents’ house in a small town in Pennsylvania. My aunts, uncles and cousins that I normally do not get to see come over on Wednesday and Thursday during the festive week. To say that we have some pretty memorable stories to tell from Thanksgivings in the past would be an understatement.

A while back, my grandpa needed to fix the hot water tank in the house so that Thanksgiving dinner could run smoothly. Not long after going down to the basement to fix what he needed to, a loud booming sound roared. Everyone heard it and was confused as to what had happened. When my grandfather had come back upstairs, it was hard to miss the singe marks that covered his green sweater. It was even more difficult to miss the fact that he no longer had any eyebrows. Ah, memories.

My grandma likes to make coleslaw as a part of our big Thanksgiving meal. A few years ago, my family was chowing down on what they had gathered on their plates during the feast, just talking and having a good time. After some of my family members had decided to dig into the coleslaw, they noticed something strange about it. It was not long before they noticed that someone had accidentally ground up some plastic spoons into the cabbage mixture. Everyone was okay, but I am still happy that I did not like coleslaw at the time.

One of my personal favorite stories happened just a few years ago. When your grandpa has five other siblings, the extended family can get pretty big. One of his sisters is married to someone who has a nephew in New York City (we will call him Freddie). Freddie has no relation to the Morral family, either. My grandma had apparently run into him at a wedding and said that he was welcome to come to their house any time, out of common courtesy. 

Thanksgiving morning rolled around, and word had started to spread among my grandparents’ house that Freddie was on his way from New York City to spend Thanksgiving with our family. Freddie had decided to bring cheesecakes and stayed until late that night. I think that everyone was just as confused as the next person as to why he was there in the first place. Needless to say, that was a weird Thanksgiving for everyone.

What are some of your best Thanksgiving stories?

Just A Few Things To Be Thankful For

I want to start off by saying that I am going to try and make this post the least amount of cliché that I possibly can. With Thanksgiving a measly three days away, I really want to highlight just a few things that I am thankful for in my crazy, beautiful life.

For starters, I am beyond blessed with my incredible family. I recently wrote a post for "The Odyssey" thanking my parents for everything that they have done for me, and I meant every word. I love my huge, wild family, and I would not want it any other way. Even though I might not get to see them as often as I might like to while I am at school, it just makes me cherish the time that I do get to spend with them a little bit more.

This brings me to the second thing that I am thankful for, my school. St. Bonaventure University is one of my favorite places in the world. It is not just a community here, it is a family. Exhilarating basketball games, buffalo chicken wraps from the RC and lifetime friendships are just a few things that I fall in love with every day while being here.

If not for my university, I would not have met some of the nicest people that I know. Great friends are hard to come by, but you guys have made it easy to find. I am also so lucky to have some amazing friends back home, including my very best friend. Overall, it is safe to say that I have a pretty swell support system.

I am thankful for the National Guard and my wonderful boyfriend who is training with them as we speak. Anyone who chooses to join something so honorable is extremely brave in my book. Thank you to every member in each branch of the military who have chosen to fight for and protect our country, keeping us all safe everyday. I am blessed to be an American.

Food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof to sleep under are the typical answers since childhood, but they never stop being true. There are so many people who do not have much of anything at all, and it breaks my heart everyday. I am fortunate to call myself privileged, especially given the impoverished circumstances of people around the world everyday.

This list could go on forever, but I want to end this one by saying that I am thankful for hope. Hope for brighter days, hope for a kinder world, hope for peace. If there is nothing that we can do about something, we can fight and hope for more.

What are you thankful for?