Anonymous

Photography by Brendan Stephens

If you're reading this, know that it's never too late to try.

When I was in high school, the summer of 10th grade, a lot had changed for me. I developed horrible anxiety. I have a lot of ideas as to where it stemmed from, the main one being an extreme toxic relationship that I was in. It was so bad that I would get anxiety for weeks on end, to the point where my heart rate was constantly up. As a result, I developed a heart murmur and wheezing issues. 4 years later, I’m still trying to figure out the best way to get rid of this disorder that I’ve developed. 

It was like it was growing into something that was blocking me from the possibilities of happiness and fun in the world. I felt like all I deserved was to sit at home and struggle to take deep breaths. After COVID, last year was the first year I truly went back out (for freshman year of college) and had real interactions with new people. I remember after talking to my high school friend group I was almost in tears and my hands were shaking uncontrollably. I ended up going home a little bit after that conversation and it was difficult to really put in the effort to make new friends moving forward.

Finally, last summer, I pushed myself and moved outside of my comfort zone. I applied for an adventure park job. At this job, you climb trees in a harness going up to almost 80 feet! You have to work well with your coworkers and you have to be able to talk to guests, make them feel comfortable, and just in general talk to them and have positive interactions. This was really pushing it because I am both scared of heights and human interactions. I had landed the job and after my first 3 shadow shifts I could see myself getting more comfortable by the day. I was climbing all the way up to the double black courses in a month! I was friends with every single employee, and I loved talking to the guests because a lot of the time they're scared, and I know exactly how it feels.

After 4 years of anxiety I found a way to get through a lot of it, and that’s just the beginning. Put yourself out there, and really try to become that person you want to be. It won't hurt if you just go for it.

Anonymous, Virginia Commonwealth University

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