BY: Ambria Davis
To start off, I was not doing so well in school and I was doing everything possible to pass certain classes. As a result, this brought my mental health down. To combat that, I painted, took photographs, went to the gym, hung out with friends and had a job. No matter how many times I socialized; I was still lonely. I had a ton of support from my family and friends, but I had lost my encouragement. I was stuck in a depression like state which I began to realize was not helping my mental state. By the time finals rolled around, I was stressed. Usually when people get stressed, they eat a ton of sweets or food. That’s not my case, I pity shop for myself, which means that I shop when I’m stressed. This made me feel better on the inside.
I was talking to my mom and I was telling her how lonely I was. She told me not to buy anything stupid. Of course I said ok and I went to PetSmart to shop for my dog, at home. As I was looking around, I saw some neon tetras and said cool I always wanted some and I bought three of them along with a new tank and accessories. It was the best thing I ever bought. Three days later, all my neon tetras starved to death even though I put food in the tank. I went back to PetSmart and bought two goldfish named, Monroe and Rusty. I know they are terrible names but those were the first names that came to mind.
I watched them swim in their tank, so happy and free. I sat there and my loneliness slowly withered away. My stress slowly went away and I felt very content, which evidently made me focus. I stopped procrastination and somehow, I was able to retain information better. During finals I usually was unable to sleep, however watching them swim around in their habitat made me slowly fall asleep. Of course, when I came home, my parents were not upset by the fact I had fish. They were intrigued by their behavior and they were hysterical, especially when they are hungry. To grab your attention, they will slap the water with their tails and go frantically towards the side of the tank where their food is. In the end, obtaining a pair of fish saved me from depression and brought my grades up. I regained my confidence in my studies and finished that stressful semester strong. I wonder if I did not get them, would I be graduating this semester?
On this note, Monroe passed over the summer and I bought another goldfish named Sushi, very ironic.
