Hi.
People tell me all the time, "Emma, you're so strong as you go through this."
Sometimes I agree with them. Yes, life is hard. But maybe they shouldn't just tell me this. They should tell everyone. Everyone struggles with something, whether it is Tourette's or not. I recently had to stay strong and help a friend out. I cannot go into detail, but it was really hard. It's so hard to stay strong and help someone when they don't even want the help. Even so, you know you have to help them. If you do not, and they succeed with whatever horrific notion, then you will feel guilty. It's not all about you though. It's about the other person. You need to stay strong for THEM. Not for you. Not so that you don't feel guilty for not doing enough if the notion does in fact happen. You do it because you love the other person. You do it for THEM. Stay strong for THEM. Fight for THEM. It's not about you. Life is not all about you. Yes, you have struggles too, but when something horrible is happening to someone you love, you take action. Yes, you have your own troubles, but if you love them, you set your troubles aside for a while and help. You may think that your struggle is worse and you should work yours out before helping them, but who are you to judge whose problem is worse? Have you felt EXACTLY to the point what the other person has? Have you literally crept into their body and consumed their feelings? No. That's impossible, so you don't know how hard their struggle is. Yes, yours may be terrible, but you cannot compare and contrast two struggles.
Since I am a die-hard fan of the show Friends, which sadly ended after ten beautiful seasons, I currently watch Matthew Perry's new show, Go On. In Go On, Matthew plays Ryan King, a radio show host whose wife recently died. He at first reluctantly attends a support group for loss, but ends up enjoying it. In the first episode, he took over the class and made a huge competition about who had the most screwed up life. I didn't think this was fair, even though the people in the group seemed to enjoy it. If you tell someone, "I'm having a harder time than you," I will personally punch you in the face. You don't know all that they've been through, and even if you do, you still have not been in their shoes while they experienced it. So, watch your mouth. I know I say this a lot, but I really hate when people say, "You wouldn't understand." It makes me really mad. This may sound contradictory to my argument, but it is not. Even though the person may not understand EXACTLY what is going on with you, EVERYONE has a struggle. I promise you there is not a single perfect person currently on the face of this earth. I promise. You know that perfect, popular girl? Yeah, she's got something going on with her as well. By everyone, I mean EVERYONE. Don't undermine other human struggles. Maybe you have Diabetes and someone else has been having friend drama. So what? The other person is still going through a hard time. You know what they're going through. Not EXACTLY, but you know a struggle. Stay strong for your loved ones, because you never know when you may lose them. Never let your tight grasp on your relationship loosen, because you have to be strong. Fight for them. Fight with them.
Love,
Emma <3
