Goldenheart, or Why My Anxiety is No Longer a Defect

I had a realization today: my anxiety is no longer a defect.

Sam Ripples
4 min readJul 6, 2019
Photo by Stokpic from Pexels

I had a realization today: my anxiety is no longer a defect.

I know I am an anxious individual, but I’ve come to appreciate that for what it really is: I want to give everyone in the world a small piece of my own happiness and I get upset when I can’t share it.

In 2012, one of my good friends and I went on a summer trip that would change the course of my life forever. Of the many beautiful moments of that trip — driving my very own car through the mountains of West Virginia and feeling my heart swell with grace, seeing Furthur at Legend Valley as a heart formed in the clouds of sunset sky, staying at a five-star hotel in Asheville days after camping in the humid Ohio heat at the aforementioned music festival — one still, and shall always stick out the most.

I’ve always had a thing about nicknames.

I like to give them and when I do, they generally stick. The power of a new name is almost magical — calling someone something that fits their small little niche in life always sends a tingle of good vibes down my spine.

I’ve never had many nicknames, other than my original: Sam. It’s short and sweet, just the way I like it, androgynous…

--

--