Zach Likes to Yap

      Hey all, recently I was diagnosed with GERD (known as Gastroesophageal reflux disease). This isn't something that is debilitating often, but it really flares up when I eat too much food, eating spicy, fatty, oily, or sugary foods, smoking, drinking alcohol, caffeine, or lying down too soon after eating. Some of the symptoms I experience is my food coming back up through my esophagus, with the stomach acid creating a burning sensation and nausea whenever it happens. Along with this indigestion and heartburn are major things I experience which severely impact the quality of my life.      Over the last two weeks, I have truly been struggling to accept this diagnosis and coming to terms with having to change my habits and my diet. I knew I was going to experience this at some point in my life due to my dad having something wrong with his Lower Esophageal Sphincter, which is genetic unfortunately. There are medications that help this but mainly it is to do...

     Hey all, not going to be a super long blog today because I'm still recovering from an infection I was diagnosed with earlier this week. This just goes to show how important managing your stress is along with your workload, because I definitely had some mental symptoms manifest physically. I've been super nauseous the last few days, but I'm beginning to feel better with the medications they've given me. Although the medications make me nauseous, I feel much better than I did earlier this week, and I feel good enough to do some of my assignments to not have to worry about asking for extensions and what not.      I hope everyone is managing their stress well this midterm week, and just know that everything will be okay in time. Just have to get through the hardships and come out the other side a better version of yourself. Thanks everyone for the well wishes, I really appreciate it. I hope to see you all next week if my recovery journey goes smoothly.

       Fall break just ended and everyone is upset about it. Coming back to class after having some time to breathe would have been awesome if I could breathe underwater. I personally did not have a break to say the least, my break was spent on my laptop for over 8 hours a day working on assignments and get this, it was all for one class...     Over the course of the 4 days we had for fall break, I worked on reading a 400 page book, with a coinciding 10 page paper, an 8 page paper with 8 sources, a 5 page paper with a 30 minute presentation coinciding, a 3 page paper, and I still have yet to do really anything for any of my other classes. The funny thing is I didn't even get any of the papers done that I needed to finish because I simply did not have enough time to do it. Although most of these assignments are still a week or so out, the idea of all of them being due at the same time is really what's digging at my core. I know I am perfectly capab...

     (Pictured: Me when I get sick lol)      As the title suggests, everyone is sick right now. First it was the cold going around campus, then it turned into the flu, now it is in my own home. My girlfriend, Lily, is not feeling the best and I spent the last weekend taking care of her while she recovers. I know this is going to get me sick which I am not the most excited about, but the fact I'll probably end up getting sick during the most busy part of the semester gives me some comfort. If I am going to get sick, I'm already planning in my head the things I can get done school-wise, during the days I will not go to class due to being sick. This may seem counterintuitive but honestly, work and class are the only things holding me back from getting all my assignments this semester done. Having a few days where I'm bedridden will force me to occupy my time to distract me from feeling like dogwater.     I still have over 200 pages to read for my mul...

          Have you ever compared yourself to someone who was going through something that seemed way easier to deal with than what you have going on at the moment? Me too, and this feeling is often something I struggle with when it comes to accepting the position I am in. I compare often to other's situations because I find that it helps me to realize that maybe they don't have it as easy as I think they do, which in turn makes the things on my plate seem smaller. Although this is the goal I always have when comparing myself to others, I typically will end upset due to them having more than I do, or me not realizing I have just as much as they do. The idea I'm hinting at here is the ability for one to realize that each individual is living their own life, and their life is as vivid and complex as your own.     This realization is called to sonder. This is something that I have learned about at a young age and have taken with me through my entire l...