My Highest Strength

Hello everybody. I hope the new semester is treating you well. It's keeping me super busy! Anyways, one of my classes is Lifestyle Enhancement, and I had to write a paper about my highest strength. I went to Facebook wondering what that strength for me could possibly be. Thanks to those of you who responded. Reading what you had to say made me smile a whole lot. I wrote the paper today (and almost doubled what the word count was supposed to be at but oh well) and want to share it with you all. If you've read my posts before, you already know the story, but I want to share it anyways. Here it is:


The Aftermath of Depression: My Highest Strength

At first, I had no idea what my highest strength could possibly be so I asked my friends. Most of the responses I got said I am really thoughtful. While I appreciate that my friends see how much I care, the response that really hit me is my positive attitude. I love life and try to be positive about every situation, but I have not always been like this.

A week into my freshman year of high school, I went from a happy young girl excited about starting high school to a quiet, sad young girl who wanted nothing but to lay in bed and sleep all day. People thought I was just having problems adjusting. Finally, in October, when the problem still hadn’t gone away, my parents took me to a doctor. He diagnosed me with clinical depression. I began taking medication and started feeling like my old self again. As a sophomore, I stopped taking them and did fine until last year.

In November 2010, I was a freshman at Southeast. A bad breakup started a long line of bad luck. I started skipping classes and sleeping more. I barely left my room and spent a lot of time alone. In March, I moved home and commuted an hour each way to SEMO three days a week. I got to the point of wanting to drop out of school (which was strange for me because I had always been a top student). I stuck it out until the end of the semester but still wasn’t feeling any better. I knew the depression was back, but this time, it was affecting every aspect of my life instead of just my mood.

I went to the doctor in June and answered a never-ending list of questions (some of which had nothing to do with my problem at all). After an hour of what I thought was ridiculous questioning, she told me my depression was back (to which I thought “well duh”) and prescribed me the same medication was on before. Soon enough, I was back to me. That six months between the onset and treatment of my depression taught me a lesson. I know what it’s like to feel like you can’t get any lower. I know the feeling of wanting to give up. I also know what it’s like to overcome that, to rise up and be on top of the world.

That’s where I am right now. I’m a full time student without having any debt to worry about. I have a guaranteed job that I enjoy. I have the best family and friends I could possibly ask for, and I have this fantastic feeling of accomplishment knowing that I overcame the impossible.
I’ve learned to appreciate my life because I know how fortunate I am to be living it. When my friends start complaining about something, I am always willing to listen and sympathize, but I also make sure to remind them their situation will not last forever and that it could be much worse. I smile 90% of the time, hug people whenever I get the chance, and tell people I love them way too much. Since I adopted my positive policy, my life has gotten infinitely better, and I encourage everybody to try it.