Review: Autobiography inspires readers to beat obstacles

This semester was one of the hardest for me in nearly every way. After a last-minute decision to transfer back to Utah State, a decision that changed the course of everything within two weeks, I found an apartment, a job and registered for classes. I sat in my room the first night thinking, “Yeah. This will be fine. This will be great.”

Now, as classes come to a close, I can look back and say — in no uncertain terms — this semester just sucked. I got dumped and switched medications, leading to a terrible month of pains and new side effects including, a raging depression and insomnia, realized just how intensely bad I am at being an adult and the week before Thanksgiving lost two family members within 12 hours of each other.

I was a hermitic mess. Until I got inspired.

“Hyperbole and a Half” is a book of pictures and stories that both humorously and intimately describe Allie Brosh’s life and, more specifically, her depression and anxiety. I came across her blog a couple years back, and was happy to see she wrote a book in 2013.

Soon, I was laughing about how her dogs act when they move across the country; I was nodding with her descriptions of feeling a disconnect with her world as depression sets in; I nearly had actual emotions in the chapter about why she can’t be an adult. It felt like a friend explaining how she got through the same things I got through. I couldn’t put it down. And, thanks to all the pictures, I finished it in about 24 hours.

Life isn’t fair; that’s the one certainty I’ve found. No one gets out of it without pain and anger and sadness. What seems interesting is that, while everyone is guaranteed to have hard times, enjoying life seems to be a decision — to an extent. Illness, death and heartache all found me in one semester. I gave in and got sad for a while, accepting my fate, sitting in the dark, rewatching the same sad documentaries and drinking a lot of Diet Coke.

But once that was all over, I decided to be an adult. I decided to clean my room. I decided to keep my plants alive. I decided to listen to old voicemails that never made it past my vigorous anti-social screening process. I decided to try to budget so I could stop living on $16 in my checking account. I chose the absolute wrong week to do it, but I did it.

I am an adult and I do things. At least, I’m trying. That’s the first step. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, like you don’t have a chance to pass your classes, like you’ll never get the job you want, just take one step toward that goal, and you’re on your way.

The important thing to remember is that everyone has “stuff,” and the best part about “Hyperbole and a Half” is that Brosh lets us in to her “stuff.” She shows us the parts that we may not like to see in her, the parts she may not want to see in herself. There’s a huge strength in being aware of your shortcomings and failures. Learning to handle those parts and change them — that makes you an adult.

Oh, and even if you had the most picture-perfect semester, enjoy finals week, and then take a weekend to read and enjoy a good laugh.

— Kasey Van Dyke is a five-year sophomore who can’t make up her mind about a major. Currently she is studying physics; that may change next week. She enjoys Diet Coke and South Park. Contact her at kaseyvandyke2@gmail.com.