hi. i’m here now after three months of what seems like some of the most up-and-down anxiety-inducing-yet-ultimately-satisfactory period of my life so far. i took a break to kind of face that time on my own - i don’t think i would’ve had the courage or even mental capacity to write publicly about the cacophony that was this past semester (my third of eight in college).

the past couple of entries here have been downcast. i can’t not admit that my state of mind over the summer and for the few months leading up to now has been a dark blue. i saw reflections in my attitude and feelings of self-worth and -value that mimicked how i perceived myself in middle school - just hopeless and sick (note: i’ve never fully opened up about that time; this post i wrote in 9th grade gives the smallest glimpse of it). thinking back on those early years of teenagedom has only made me realize how much i needed to be stronger now.

i’m 20. i started writing here when i felt alone seven years ago.

can you believe that? how could i let myself fall back into the traps of my mind from when i was 13? why couldn’t i resist? what was wrong with feeling alone again?

just like the last few years of teenage-now-adultdom have ebbed and flowed in an effort to find myself, so too have the past few months. releasing myself from the firm grasp of summer depressions, learning to rely on my friends who i didn’t initially believe could help (and really truly do), focusing on what i love (because art is what matters) and not on what i don’t, calling my parents, calling abby (my best friend from home), appreciating the mornings listening to npr by myself, cooking for myself again — i had to learn to do these things before i could get out of where i was. this hole that i kept digging myself into every time i told myself i couldn’t get out.

i’m above that hole now. i’ve been able to enjoy small things again (e.g. something like a midnight drive on a tuesday) because i’ve disentangled myself from the dark blue that used to tower over me.

i’m home in new york as i write this. only now can i sit down and really think about the ebbs and flows of june and july and august and september and october and november. it’s over now (or it feels like it). i’m just sailing.

i’ll update more frequently here now. i promise.

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things haven’t been going my way lately.

it seems as though my health (not even my chronic stuff anymore) is constantly faltering. the physical pain weighs stress on my body and on my mind week after week. i’ve already been trying to take care of my staggering mental health in every way i can. it seems like i don’t have enough time to figure everything out. i feel like i’m spreading myself thin to fix myself.

i didn’t foresee the extreme pitfall that is living alone with all of these things (bad physical/mental health) going on. if i’m away from my home-for-one, every problem i may worry about feels minimal and temporary. only when i come home to empty spaces and rooms and atmospheres do i feel the flood of everything bad rushing into my thoughts.

i feel alone.

i have to generate my own happiness instead of relying on those directly around me to share their joy with me. there aren’t many directly around me. i didn’t realize how hard that would be. it is so much easier for me to think about all the things in my life that i am struggling to fix when i am alone. i keep falling into pits of self-doubt and anxiety.

i have my space to breathe. but my space is dangerous. right now, it’s a little suffocating. at night, i’m locked inside with my head and my introspection and self-scrutiny. i’m fighting with myself constantly. i wish i were stronger.

lately, i have been relying on my friends more. being emotional a bit more. going to bed a little bit earlier after my friends leave so i can’t give myself the chance to be seized into my thoughts. it’s do-able for now but i’m trying to find ways to make it more sustainable.

i’ve been trying to more frequently and genuinely acknowledge all the good things i do have and that can make me happy. my progress has been small, but it has been getting better. i must count my blessings to get out of this rut.

i’ll get through this.

love, izzy

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and i'll be singing
halle-halle-halle-halle-halle-hallelujah
halle-hallelujah
whether you like it or not

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i’m building this playlist as i’m writing and thinking and generally reflecting on the past 24 days since i’ve written last. listen to it if you want while you read.

i told my therapist today that even though i’ve been going through a lot of (sh*t) stuff, i’ve become more self-aware. i’m more cognizant of what i need and how i need to make myself feel better. i’m in new york city for 10 more days before i go ‘home’, and then i start school and hopefully everything’s back to normal again.

i explained to someone the other day why i’ve been anxious– from moving to LA, living by myself, doing things by myself for myself, having a full time job… he said, “isn’t that everything you wanted?”. and yes, it was everything i wanted and still want. it took me a second to figure out why things weren’t as great as i had expected them to be.

i was excited for change. big change. and yeah, i created the biggest change i could possibly contrive for myself. every single facet of life changed once i moved. for one, where i was; more importantly, who i was with (and who i wasn’t), what i spent most of my day doing, the expanded control i had over the minute choices in my day, new earthquakes, new injuries, new health concerns. problems.

the change was explosive. gut-wrenching. and, in a lot of ways, problematic. i assumed i was ready for these adjustments, seeing as they were, in fact, “everything i wanted”. but, the fact that i eventually begged for an escape back to new york proves that i wasn’t as prepared as i had originally thought myself to be.

i was not ok. now i’m ok. i have breathing room. i keep using that word in conversations. ‘breathe’. i can breathe. i’m turning 20 next month and 6 weeks ago moving out to la i thought i was 19 going on 27.

yeah, i feel back to being 19.

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“i don’t wanna go home

shall we drive from zone to zone?

i wouldn’t do this on my own”

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i know a lot of you check in on here often to see what i’m sharing even though i’m pretty infrequent with posts. if you want to be updated of when i do write on here, you can sign up for a newsletter from me so you don’t have to be disappointed when you drop by and nothing’s changed.

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