How many of you have had something awful happen to you, but struggled to find a reason why? I know it can be hard to swallow, but everything (even negative experiences) happen for a reason. I even find it confusing at times, but I have a personal example that I have been experiencing since grade school.
A question I get a lot is, “Do you play basketball?” My mother played basketball at South Florida for two years. She then transferred to Bradley University, a private university in Illinois. My Dad played basketball his sophomore, junior, and senior year of college at Bradley. My dad is 6’2", and my mom is around 6’3", so I was bound to be tall. Considering both of my parents played college basketball, they figured that I would be an exceptional basketball player. All of their friends played basketball, some even professionally. Their children are my friends, so all of my family friends were tall as well. My friends all turned out to be amazing at basketball. Me, not so much. I once rebounded and shot a basketball four times and missed every time. I've shot the basketball in the wrong hoop too many times to count.
They were obviously a little disappointed that I wasn’t going to be a basketball star. They figured maybe it was just basketball that I wasn’t very good at, so they had me try about every sport out there. I tried tennis, soccer, ice skating, gymnastics, golf, track and field, karate, swimming, cheer, dance (ballet, tap, and jazz) and even horseback riding. All of which I either sucked at, or ended up quitting. However, I found that I enjoyed playing volleyball, and it was something I was actually good at! My parents got to watch me play volleyball for about 8 years, but eventually my passion burned out for that as well.
I know my parents wanted me to find happiness doing the same things as they did, but they eventually realized I would have to find happiness somewhere else. So did I. Now I find happiness by hanging out with friends, going to the gym, listening to music, practicing yoga, traveling, writing for the Odyssey, and practicing my guitar. I’ve found more happiness doing these things than I ever did while participating in organized sports. It was hard to cope with not being good at basketball, but now I am happier than ever. I was bad at basketball for a reason.
This was a pretty lighthearted example of struggle, but there are times when more serious things happen that are hard to understand. Terrible things happen in the world every day. It always seems that the biggest atrocities are out of our control. If you focus on these things, it is very easy to become upset. But you should find solace in the fact that everything happens for a reason, and everything will turn out okay.
