I quit.

Dear Problem,

We’ve spent 18 long years together and we’ve been through a lot. There has been laughter, there have been tears, and there have been doubts. Unfortunately, through all this time, you’ve been nothing but a thorn in my side. You have dragged me down to the deepest depths of loneliness. You have imposed upon me a weight so heavy that I have felt isolated and excluded all my life. Without you, I would have met so many more people and established so many more meaningful connections yet your constant presence makes the whole process seem like a herculean task. Of all the people you could’ve afflicted, I still wonder why you chose me. For god’s sake, life is hard enough without possessing an inherent flaw that severely limits an individual in so many ways. Even I believe that a life half lived is not worth living at all, yet I am guilty of such a thing on account of your strangling grasp. To top it all off, you have inspired fear and terror where absolutely none should exist. Relatively simple things have become Sisyphean trials since you have clouded my mind and made me uncertain and cynical. As a result, I have been prevented from doing so many things that I would probably enjoy: things that would enrich my existence as a human being and as an individual. Quite frankly, my life would be astronomically better had you never reared your ugly head. So now, I will do my very best to cast you aside for your presence will do nothing but hamper my college experience. Given time, I shall overcome your suffocating pervasiveness and find a way to actually enjoy my time at Santa Clara University without your constant nagging in the forefront of my mind. Our time on this planet is too short to suffer the limitations of something so absolutely futile and I will not allow you to hinder me any longer. In sum, fuck you and goodbye.

Sincerely,

Alex E. Golkar