On the way home from Tahoe

I get an anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. Usually it's because I'm leaving the excitement and enjoyment of dance parties, skiing, and enjoying nature and friends behind. But this time it was different. I was in control of how I was feeling. I was feeling anxious because of a midterm I had to take, a job I have to find, a meeting later with someone one-on-one that felt like it was holding expectations.

I could let myself feel sorry for myself: that I had to come home and take a test, make sure that my dog was taken care of, and then somehow muster up the energy to be fun and social at the end of the day, even though all I wanted to be was watching a TV show with some of my good friends on their couch. But I didn't. I came home, I faced my fears, and finally the pervasive anxiety is diminishing. I don't know how to let it leave every time, but this time I figured it out.