Sometimes it feels like the world is out to get you. Trust me, I know. It’s like when you get in a fender-bender, wake up with a dead battery two days in a row and wake up with a flat tire all within seven days. Not like I’m speaking from experience or anything (but I am, actually). It makes you wonder if the whole universe has decided you have a big bulls-eye right on your forehead, and everything negative is pointed directly at you like Kim Jong Un’s super successful missile strikes. Too soon? No? Okay.

Seriously though. It’s frustrating. Such a concentrated amount of horribleness should just not exist. But the thing is, it does, and when you sit there crying about it, where does that get you?

The important thing to remind yourself is this: the world is really not out to get you. You’re going to survive, and though your car may not be stronger for it, you will be. Plus you get the pleasure of waking your brother to drive you to school, and everyone knows that’s really fun. Just kidding, though. It’s awful. Try not to do that.

And so, as the year is coming to a close, and there are piles of homework and grades to raise and you just seem like you’re drowning in everything you have to do, take a quick second to think about the fact that we are almost done with the year. You can stick it out for that long. Even if nothing goes right, like your 26 year old car malfunctioning more days than not, all that matters is how you handle it and how you can grow from the experiences you have under this stress. If you end up with voices in your head or turn up beating your head on a wall or something, you’re doing it wrong. Try again.