Carl J. Bromley

January 7, 2015

                One of the biggest things that has helped me with my own personal struggle actually comes from a story of something “bad” happening to me. I had been in a pretty unpleasant state and one of my professors and mentors from college was texting me about my current situation. One of the worst mistakes you can make while depressed is isolating yourself and doing nothing. My professor told me to get up out of bed and go for a walk. It was raining. I trusted his advice and went for a walk in the rain. At first, it didn’t seem to help at all, but rather I was pretty upset about being wet and cold. Eventually, I actually started to cheer up. People were giving me weird looks, but I didn’t care. It was fun to kind of go against the grain. This is something you can’t be scared to do. People are going to look at you funny all the time when you’re trying to battle against depression and trust me, it is a battle.

                Pretty much as soon as I was back to normal, coming out of being upset, a car sped by me and a wave of mud, leaves, and water splashed over the entire right side of my body. I was pretty pissed mostly because I thought they did it on purpose. I walked right over to my professor’s office and walked through the door with an exclamatory look on my face. I remember him looking up at my upset face and just saying dumbfounded “What?” I explained to him what happened all while pointing out the entire right side of my body still wet and muddy and he just laughed at me. It was funny. I, looking like an idiot already, walking in the rain in shorts and flip flops, got a mud bath. I told him it was all his fault, telling me to walk through the rain like that. Thankfully, I didn’t get sick from this experience, but I felt like I was going to die of pneumonia.

                A lot of the time when struggling with depression, it can easily be accepted that things can’t be changed and sometimes they simply can’t. I couldn’t change the weather. That, however, is not the point. I could change something in this situation and that was my outlook. No, I couldn’t stop the rain, but I could walk in it with a smile anyways. No, I couldn’t change the fact I got splashed with ice cold water, but I could laugh at it. It’s a common misconception that if it’s raining you have to stay inside; that if things are bad you have to sulk in sorrow. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand crippling situations and I am in no way trying to belittle someone’s struggle, but what I am trying to convey is that everyone should try to get up and fight through the pain. Don’t let the rain ruin your walk.