In any good story, not everything works out perfectly. There is conflict, there is pain, there is love, there is happiness, there is confusion, and there is rzelief. This isn’t a coincidence; this is life. Our stories aren’t going to have a cohesive beginning, middle, and end. At times, we will feel as though we are not where we are meant to be, and that is okay.

We will take wrong turns. We will make the wrong decision. We will hang out with the wrong friends. We will fall for the wrong person. We will miss out on things. We will get hurt. We will fall apart a little at times.

However, these are the things that shape us into who we are. A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor. We are going to have to work really hard for what we want, and when we don’t get it, we will have to work harder. Happiness is not something that will ever be handed to us. Happiness is something we must create for ourselves. We must seek it and do whatever we have to in order to get it. Along the journey, we will be tested. We will be faced with things that make us question ourselves. We will be knocked down. We will get lost. However, we will also be found.

We will meet people along our journey and they will change our attitudes. They may change our lives or we may change theirs. But people will also continuously come and go, so let them.

Nothing is for certain and nothing lasts forever. Don’t take people for granted. Don’t give up on others until they give you a reason to. Trust with your whole heart and don’t live your life in fear of being hurt. Remember, being hurt will help you grow, so stand tall when life tries to knock you down.

If there ever comes a time when you feel so lost that you don’t know what to do, do the opposite of what you normally would. Change your perspective and take a chance. To get to where you want to be, you have to leave where you are. I know we have always been told that to find something we’ve lost, we must retrace our steps. However, that requires us moving backwards. Life is too short to live in the past. Find yourself in a different way. Discover new ways to discover yourself.

Getting lost is a good thing. It isn’t just the feeling that we are off track, but instead, it's what helps us realize what is truly important to us. Find something that makes you happy and get lost in that. Get lost in a book. Get lost in a new place. Get lost to remember that you can find yourself.