At some point in your life, you have been faced with a decision or situation that evoked some form of strong emotion in you. Whether it was frustration and anger or sadness and confusion, you felt some type of way after the situation occurred. We often believe that the situations and events that we go through are completely and utterly stupid after they have happened and made the initial impact on us. We also tend to believe that the universe is working against us when something goes completely wrong and causes us to be thrown into a whirlwind of unknown emotions and thoughts, but in reality, it is the universe doing it with a purpose that we learn about later on. Sometimes long after the event itself.

This idea of the universe throwing you into a whirlwind of unknown emotions and thoughts is often referred to as the idea of "everything happening for a reason."

Every detail that happens in your life, whether it is a failed class, a breakup, or a fight with a close friend, happens with a purpose. These events happen to lead you to the next point of realization or growth in your life, and you often see them as stupid or something that ruined your whole day and mood and throws you into a funk for a few days. But one day, you put the pieces together and realize that what happened to you happened for a reason. It taught you a lesson of some form or even made you realize that you need to be in a better headspace mentally and take time to focus on yourself.

Growing through what you go through is what I like to call this period after you realize that everything happens for a reason, the good and the bad. When you grow through what you go through in life, you often become stronger in some way and learn a lesson.

For example, in February, I was in a good place mentally, physically, and just overall doing well. I was happy and in a strong relationship and on the road to swimming at college club nationals for the school... and then everything came to a halt. One day, out of the blue, my relationship ended with no explanation at all. It sent me mentally hurtling into a place that I hadn't been in awhile. I was angry and confused and upset; I didn't understand why it happened and started to believe that the universe was out to get me. I distracted myself by making myself constantly busy and focused on other things instead of processing my emotions.

I pushed everything to the side and continued to believe the universe was against me.

None of this was healthy for me, and it was going to make the spiral of my mental health worse than it already was. And then, things got even worse... due to COVID-19, classes went virtual, and I was sent home. Nationals were cancelled and my mental health took the biggest dip of a lifetime. It wasn't until halfway through quarantine that I truly started to process my emotions and everything that had happened. I started to process it all - the unhealthy coping that I had done by pretending that I was okay when I really wasn't, the emotions that I went through, and the fact that it all happened for a reason.

I processed that the universe put me through all that because it just wasn't meant to be, and I needed to understand myself and be happy about myself before I could be in a good place to process any challenges that could be thrown my way.

I came out the other side a stronger and better person because I grew through what the universe wanted me to go through. I learned how to process my emotions and finally, after 19 years on this planet, that everything I've been through happens for a reason. I grow through everything I go through to become a better person in the end.

No matter what you go through in your life, it all happens for a reason, so you can grow and become a better version of yourself.