not to offend anyone but at this age we should be more scared of being unskilled than single. partners come and go skills, career and self-worth are what keep you stable when life gets real.
@angbagel i would choose to read a barely readable fanfic written personally by a passionate high school student who was just learning english THAN READ A GENERATED AI FIC. THAT'S JUST STUPID
i keep a document on my phone called "things that felt like the end of the world but weren't."
every time i'm spiraling i add to it. then i read the old ones.
"didn't get into first choice college" (met my best friend at second choice).
"thought i'd never get over them" (can barely remember their face now.
it's becoming proof that i can survive everything.
even this.
I say this to my kids all the time. Do it for the plot. Do it for the story. Tell yourself if it all goes wrong it will just be a funny story. Ironically job interviews, dates, and public speaking go better anyway if you're just happy to be there and not overthinking it!!
FUNMAXXING
You never learned how to live. Nothing is serious. Talk to people. You can do anything. Tomorrow doesn’t exist. Don’t overthink. Just do it. Create things because why not. Seek novelty. Pursue eternal joy. Play for fun. Give yourself more credit. Be an example of what life can look like.
If you understood the absurdity of everything, your worries would fade, and you would come closer to achieving peace.
Balance is key.
You must learn how to make progress while still making time for fun.
sorry to break it to you but you literally have to face your fears and slaughter them. otherwise you will live a small life that you do not want. you literally have to view your biggest fears and attack them head on. you have to fall into the abyss to find your way out. the easy path does not exist. there is no get out of jail free card. you have to allow yourself to die a spiritual death over and over again in order to reinvent yourself into the person you are actually supposed to be. and you have to be painfully honest with yourself and the people around you. it’s horrible but it’s truly the only way.
Major cheat code for life: Master the art of the fresh start. From a bad morning. From a bad interaction. From a missed workout. From a poor decision. The goal isn't to avoid the fall. It's to shorten the time between the fall and the reset. Fast recovery compounds.
This is free advice from an expensive psychologist. If you’re an anxious person, do everything for fun. Go to a job interview for fun. Submit documents for fun. Start a blog for fun. Anxiety feeds on importance. Don’t make everything a matter of life and death.