"Happiness [Really] Can Be Found, Even in the Darkest of Times, if One Only Remembers to Turn On the Light."

Ever get up in the morning and immediately wish you could skip the day and go right back to sleep? Yeah, me neither...

Do you ever feel like you can relate to the stars when they fall?

You may recognize this feeling as the desire to listen to Nickelback and look up at the moon or hide under the covers, in the dark, and watch your favorite movie on repeat.

Life is hard. And at least for me, sometimes just waking up and putting my shoes on and facing the world is truly exhausting. I think every person can relate to this feeling in some way. Everyone has experienced times when they felt lonely and alone, or realized they had no interest in things they once loved, or even just felt sad for no reason at all. In some ways, that's just what it means to be alive. Living can be painful sometimes. There will always be tough times that knock you down or make you cry.

Some form of depression affects most people at some point in their life. While I'm not suffering from clinical depression, as some folks unfortunately are, I do, from time to time, feel similar symptoms. As I get older, those times aren't lessening or increasing, but rather, changing. I still find myself feeling forlorn and lost like I have since I was a little girl, but just in different ways. To me, this feeling is nothing more, or less, than forgetting how to be happy; forgetting how to smile; forgetting how to see the light and the end of the tunnel.

Many have seen me in this state at some point in my life and those who know me well know that the best thing for me is a hug and a coffee and maybe a little reminder of what I’m doing it all for. Once in a while, I think we all need to be reminded of why we pull ourselves up when we’re down; why we go to work when we feel like we don’t even see the point anymore; why we make an effort to get close to people when there’s a big chance they might hurt you down the road.

What I'm beginning to see, after nearly 25 long years of asking why and what-if, is that asking doesn't do anyone any good. I spend so much time being afraid of what could go wrong, that I often miss out on what could go right. I have struggled with this internal battle for years – a battle which I have, for a long time, seemed to be losing.

I’m lucky enough to have a loving support system to watch out for me and force me to do what’s best for myself – even if that means forcing myself out of my own shell from time to time. But if it weren’t for them, I probably would have spent the last five years of my life in the dark – I’m truly grateful for those who always have, and will always help me see the light.

At the end of the day, sadness and loneliness are two of my oldest friends - two friends I wouldn’t ever want to introduce to anyone else. But it’s because of my real friends that I can get up every day and find reasons to smile. This is just a little nod to those of you out there who have been by my side for the long haul and a friendly reminder to everyone else that occasionally feels like a lone star in the night’s sky: you aren’t alone, and it really does get better. 25 years of darkness has taught me that Dumbledore was right… “happiness [really] can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."