By Aya Riseman, TIWP Student

To feel deeply is a burden many hope to never have. 
Because you feel it ALL.
You feel the sorrow in a stranger’s phone call. 
Or the hurt in a friend’s cry.
Or the loneliness in giving up. 
I have cried for people I never knew, for stories that aren’t mine today but might be tomorrow.
I have felt the weight of the world on my shoulders, felt hopeless and alone.
So when people wonder how it’s possible to still find joy after knowing so much pain, I have a hard time knowing the answer.

But feeling deeply is also a gift. 
Because you feel it ALL. 
You feel the joy in your sister’s laugh.
And the rush of excitement in a new opportunity.
And the quiet hope of a “maybe” instead of a no.
So while I have felt unbearable sadness, I have also felt incredible joy and love and passion.

I still don’t know how it’s possible to find joy after knowing pain, but I do know that to feel with others is so much better than feeling alone.

Because even in the loneliest moments there is a connection greater than any pain you could ever feel. The connection of humanity, and how we all exist together throughout the worst and the best moments.

Maybe that’s the answer—joy and pain are not opposites, but echoes of each other. One does not erase the other; they exist together, creating a life that is rich and real.

So I will keep feeling it all. The heartbreak, the wonder, the grief, the love. Because to feel is to live. And to live, truly live, is worth it.