Five More Things I Did in College

College was one of the best things that could have happened to me. Here are some more things I did when I was away:

6) I only started playing volleyball in college. At first I was like a disaster with boobs. But with the help of a great captain (my best friend Brandon), who was a born leader, and Emily (my other best friend) plus Tyler (also known as telephone pole because he was so tall and lanky) we put together a team that took us all the way to finals. I even learned how to set (though I am a little short for spiking). Not to mention I had a secret weapon: my serve. Who says artsy kids can’t dominate sports?

7) Our campus did a lot for us. One of my happiest college days was Springfest. There were bouncy mazes, a mechanical bull (which threw me off in seconds) and a big concert with glowsticks lighting up the student center. I got free snow cones and cotton candy like I was some kid at the county fair. I danced until my boobs practically bounced out of my shirt. I had a new boyfriend, I had the best friends, and I was at the best school in the world. What could go wrong?

8) Most of you know the story of how I got sober. I was hospitalized with internal bleeding, yada, yada, yada. I was given the all clear to drink sometime later but that point I was put on psychiatric meds that made me sick when I mixed them with alcohol. I chose my health over irresponsible fun. My sobriety date is July 4th (easy to remember) 2016. This year will be eight years since I drank alcohol (except the time the bartender accidentally served me the wrong drink but that’s another story). At this point it would be a shame to throw that all away. At this point I live for each day (“one day at a time”) but anticipate being sober the rest of my life.

9) Got a correct diagnosis. For years I was shunted from diagnosis to diagnosis. Some were correct but one was always missing. Until I turned 21 and was hospitalized for the third time. Then my attending doctor was finally able to spot the missing diagnosis: bipolar one with psychotic tendencies. This meant I had bipolar traits (the mania and the depression) and if the mania got bad enough I would suffer from delusions and hallucinations which is what lead to me trying to take my own life. The enemy you know is certainly better than the enemy you don’t. I’m not cured (I’ve been in the hospital several more times) but we (my team of doctors and therapists) definitely have enough information to help me most of the time.

10) Made lifelong friends. I wouldn’t have survived my time in college if it wasn’t for some of my friends and even some of my friend’s family. It was through these people that I learned what unconditional friendship was. And that prepared me for the rest of my life.