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An Open Letter to Inner Demons

Emily Gerber Student Contributor, Virginia Commonwealth University
Keziah Jackson Student Contributor, Virginia Commonwealth University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at VCU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Dear anxiety, depression, PTSD, guilt, stress, worry and all of the rest of you,

I just want you to know, right off the bat, that you will not get the best of me. You are determined, but so am I.

You have ruined countless should-have-been happy moments for me. You reared your ugly head at more parties, dates, family get-togethers, performances, meetings, interviews and casual hangouts than I would like to admit, and although I tried to forget about those incidents, I still haven’t forgiven you.

It’s difficult to deal with you. One moment, I’m the happy-go-lucky person that everyone expects me to be, but in the next moment, for whatever reason, my positive headspace fills with the most incredible amount of dark matter imaginable. Why do you do this to me? I’ll tell you one thing; I don’t deserve it. No one does.

Oh, and that’s another thing. Plaguing my life is certainly not appreciated, but when I see you affecting the lives of the people I care about, that’s when I despise you most of all. It is, however, an insanely happy moment when I see my family and friends start to conquer and ultimately vanquish you.

I will not beg you to leave, because I am above that. Instead, I will make a promise to you, inner demons; I will win this fight. I am stronger than the feelings you give me and, one day, I’m going to look back on my life as someone who is free of you, and I am going to be proud of everything that I have overcome.

Sincerely,

Stronger than I seem

 

Emily Gerber is a Creative Advertising and English double major at Virginia Commonwealth University. She likes to refer to herself as “Tom Hanks’ adopted daughter,” and is a self-proclaimed succulent mom who takes care of the numerous small cacti living on the windowsill in her apartment. Emily appreciates people who *attempt* to beat her at Disney trivia and wants to dedicate all of her articles to her dog, Daisy.
Keziah is a writer for Her Campus. She is majoring in Fashion Design with a minor in Fashion Merchandising.

HCXO!