All things end

Being a college student, I have found myself in a place in which college students find themselves all the time. I have found myself in the position of having to take and study for the semester's finals. This is extremely stressful, especially since I've had a class that was very difficult for me and actually damaged my entire self-perception. I'm really only good at academics - well, that and writing - and if I'm not doing well in a class, I feel like I'm not good at my purpose, which is admittedly true. It's also incredibly stressful and occasionally debilitating.

I am also in the position of having to say goodbye to my classes, which is also a bit difficult. I have problems with leaving and losing things, and this has so far been the hardest college semester to end, for a variety of complex emotional reasons. I'm going to miss my classes, which were insightful and interesting. I'm going to miss the class environments, which were wonderful and welcoming and genuinely pleasant. I'm going to miss my acquaintances, who I grew attached to despite not really forming strong emotional bonds with them (that's difficult for me to do, and there was barely any time to do so). I'm going to miss my teachers, who all taught so well.

There's a phrase I've been using for a very long time, and it's helped me cope with reality very well. The phrase is "all things end". It helps me with good things and bad things. It's been increasingly relevant here.

All things end; anything good is going to leave, and I may as well enjoy it while it's here while knowing it won't last forever so I don't have to deal with the pain of growing too attached to it. Thinking something will last forever is a great way to appreciate it while it's here and never recover from losing it when it finally has to go. If you know it's going to end, you can enjoy it while still being informed as to the reality of its impermanence.

All things end; anything bad has got to end sometime, even if it ends when your life does. If you know that something bad will end, it somehow makes it more bearable. You might not know when it ends, but every moment you spend is a moment closer to its end. Sometimes, knowing that it will end makes it bearable.

All things end; neutral things will end just like good things and bad things end. Learn what you can learn from them while they're here. Then move on to the next thing that comes into your life and learn what you can learn from it. Once it's gone, something else will come into your life, and you must learn from it, too. Repeat.

All things end; this is how I'm getting through losing the people and things I've grown attached to, the stress I have to push through, and the miscellany surrounding.