Kathrine B.

Photographed by Luther Bells

If you’re reading this, you are not “too much”.

When I was a kid, teachers, parents, and friends told me I had “a lot” to deal with. I was the loudest, the wildest, the most social kid in the room. Beneath that social butterfly was deep anxiety and panic.

As a person with generalized anxiety disorder, my existence felt like a constant burden and overwhelming weight. I worried—and let’s be honest, still worry—about being too loud, too talkative, too weird, too much, too me. As if being me could ever be a negative.

In the past, I spent countless hours questioning my worth, wondering why I was made the way I am, and praying I wouldn’t wake up the next morning. I had days upon days that I felt like I couldn’t “fit in.” I acted confident in myself, but in the depths of my heart, I felt unlovable.

I told myself that because I’m so passionate and strong and crazy and bold that eventually everyone would get sick of me. I would become too much for them. In a world full of hurt, heartbreak, and hopelessness, I felt my presence only added to the pain.

But because my heart was in pain, my mind had reality twisted.

In truth, my very existence is a joy. Your existence is a joy.

So I get it. If you’re reading this and you have that feeling, as if the way you were made was somehow wrong, I beg of you to keep reading.

You were created beautifully.

You were created intentionally.

You were created just the right amount.

If the world makes you feel unlovable, show it love.

If your laugh is hushed, express unending joy.

If your passion is judged, be bold.

And if someone tells you that you are too much, you can tell them to go find less.

Because you are here for a reason, both on Earth and at Clemson. Take a deep breath and tell yourself that. You’re not a burden, you are a blessing.

And you are loved exactly the way you are.

Kathrine B., Clemson University

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