I've developed the habit of mentally listing things that make me optimistic about the future. I do it every day.

If you're feeling abandoned by the world, interact with anyone you can.

You get social pressure from your parents, who teach you to pay attention to certain things and not to others. You get it in school.

To care for someone can mean to adore them, feed them, tend their wounds. But care can also signify sorrow, as in "bowed down by cares." Or anxiety, as in "Careful!" Or investment in an outcome, as in "Who cares?" The word love has no such range of meaning: It's pure acceptance.

At times in my life, I have been utterly lonely. At other times, I've had disgusting infectious diseases. Try admitting these things in our culture.

Trust in your truth. It will be the best decision you ever make.

If you find yourself getting nervous stop and relax for three full breaths. Then take one small step, then another. That is how people get to the top of Everest.