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5. First World Problems Are Still Problems

Maybe the title is a little misleading. No, not being able to send group snapchats was not exactly the "first world problem" I had in mind. By "first world problems", I literally mean problems faced by regular humans living in the first world.
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I wish we could compare our pains, but we really can't. Ever.

I'll be honest. I've been down in the dumps, but haven't we all? I often downplay whatever I'm dealing with because I know there are bigger problems people face in the world.

With this mentality, I've lived in a shallow pit of self-loathing, calling myself petty and ungrateful (which I still cannot deny).

But why I am in this pit in the first place?
Because I could have ended up in a place much worse. And that's why I downplay everything I've ever faced. I felt as if it didn't matter because things are much worse for a large percentage of the world. With that in the back of my head, my mind jeers at every challenge I take on.

I grew frustrated easily at "small" things- the amount of commitments I've made, the high expectations of my extracurricular, and college entrance exams/admissions. What hurt me more is that I felt selfishly angry about all the stress I had in my life. Something was telling me that it was so shallow and petty to complain about all these things when in fact I could have been born into a life void of education in the first place.

This sounds a whole lot like the "eat all your food because kids in Africa..." kind of statement, but bring it a little closer to home. Think about your best friend, your mom, dad, brother, cousin, mentor, whoever you admire. Whenever I get upset about the stress in my life, I think about the tremendous stress in their lives. I can't really walk in their shoes, but I always assume they are somehow more busy and burdened than myself. I'm probably right, but I have no way of knowing for sure.

But this is where my slip-up happens. I feel weak and childish for complaining about things that don’t even add up to the troubles of the person next to me. But who cares? If you don’t pay attention to your own problems, no one will. If the problems you have in life are depressing you or making you swim in negativity, they matter. Sure, it may not be the same type of tension the President feels, but it’s making your life difficult. And you should be important to yourself.

I don’t remember when I stopped making myself important, but it’s led to a long phase of negativity in my life. We are all on our individual journeys, and as much as charity is valued, it’s okay to selfishly attend to our own problems. Regardless of how privileged you are, how smart, or how strong you are, don't let others shape your idea of what it means to be challenged or stressed.

Just because you don't suffer the issues of the person next to you doesn't mean your life is easy. People can't always see that; people only see the physical commitments we make, not the emotional toll our life experiences have left us with. It's hard to evaluate ourselves in this regard, but never forget that your problems are important, too. Their size doesn't matter, but their effect on your well-being does.

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