Demons

Everyone has an opinion on how to face their demons. Some think it's better to face them head on as they come, slaying them like dragons in a King Arthur tale. Others avoid their demons, preferring to not think about them in hopes that they will fade from consciousness. I prefer to face my demons when I need to, to help people that feel the same way. It is the human condition to sometimes feel alone in our struggles, as if no one else feels and experiences the exact same things as us. That is never true, however. Kurt Vonnegut said it best, "Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people don't care about them. You are not alone.' "

In such an academic, affluent school such as mine, it can be easy that people are affected by the hardest of issues. Here, there are people who have struggle with eating disorders, financial hardships, disease, death, and violence. I have struggled with violence on more than one occasion in my life, and it is one of my ghosts, haunting me in my quiet moments. I fill up my days with small joys so I don't have to reflect on the hard pieces of my life, but I am also realistic about facing what I have been dealt.

And I want to use that. It is important to me that I act to my best ability, so that I am doing the best I can to spare others from the things I have seen, the things I've experienced. I felt like Superchild in high school, I did it all, and in college, doing that is less than easy. I guess I just got tired of watching the goals and passions of others being realized while I hung out and was...jealous. I'm now working with our Women's Center on campus to fight back. My demons are not something I'm willing to allow to steer my life. Domestic violence is my issue, and fire is in my heart.

Finally, I truly hope, I will be making a difference.