Dear Hareesh,

I think things can seem harder when you’re young, as you are at 21, though you may not feel like you’re very young (I didn’t at your age). Young people are experiencing a lot of things for the first time, and those things seem more intense, and more difficult if they’re unpleasant, because of the novelty.

But as you grow older and learn more about the world and yourself, it does get easier to handle the difficult times. You learn what you need and you learn how to give it to yourself.

No one can cope with hard times for you. But that also means no one can take that ability away from you. When I was in my early 20s, I struggled much more with depression and anxiety than I do now. I felt worthless, too. Sometimes I had to take it on faith that there were better days in my future. If I could tell my younger self something, it would be the same thing I will tell you: Trust that it will be better. Trust that you deserve happiness, because you do.

-Tabby