People tend to have strong opinions about what makes you normal or abnormal.

Some say things to make you think less of who you are. Earlier this year, I was at a really bad point in my life. A good majority of the time, I felt like nothing had a purpose. As sad as I was, a young man had told me, “Because you are sad all the time, you aren’t normal, and honestly it makes you a little weird.”

I was shocked that someone would make a statement like this to me. I was more taken aback that people can make you believe that just because you are depressed and feel really down for a long period of time, that makes you different than the person sitting next to you. It is almost like people nowadays are creating a set of rules you have to follow in order to be considered “normal.”

Let me be the first to inform you that it is okay not to be okay! Sometimes things become overwhelming. We are in college after all, and college is extremely stressful. You may also have one or two jobs on the side in order to pay for your rent, or you may have a kid at home waiting for you to walk through the door. We are all bound to have some sort of a breaking point in our lives.

Please don’t assume that the person in your class who smiles all the time and has all these positive thoughts and vibes must have always lived a good life with no problems whatsoever. Who knows? Maybe they really do have amazing lives, or maybe they have dark pasts but are trying to be as positive as possible because they are here in college making a life for themselves.

In the end, it is up to you to determine how you feel. At one point, I realized that even though I felt like nothing was working out and nothing was going good for me, I was still extremely blessed. I attend a four­year university. I have a family who has my back. I have a job that I love.

When I started to feel better again and smile more, I realized that It is okay not to be okay. What isn’t okay is for you to feel like you aren’t normal because you’re not okay. You are a strong, powerful person who can be great and successful.