Life craps on everybody, but if you choose to stop digging yourself out, you'll be in deep sh**.

Okay, but on a serious note. When unfortunate situations in your life happen, you can choose to do one of two things: feel sorry for yourself and watch your life slowly slip out of your grip or use it as an excuse to get up and fight back even harder.

Did I choose to do the latter, why? Because I knew that I wanted my life to stay in my control and make my time here significant.

I lost my mom on June 7th, 2013, the absolute worst day of my life. At the same time my dad's business he worked 20 years for went bankrupt because someone he trusted tried to get ahead the illegal way, unbeknownst to my dad. Not to mention my dog of 8 years, died the same week as my mom. It's safe to say that I have had my share of crappy life situations. It just so happens they pretty much all decided to pop up in the same couple of months of each other. I wish I was making this stuff up, but trust me.

I didn't know what I was going to do. I was confused, heartbroken, scared and a bunch of other feelings that are honestly just unexplainable. I felt lost and that I could not live without my mom, who was my best friend. I wanted to give up on myself and my life, but this would mean that I'd be giving up on her too, which was probably the worst of the three. I wanted my mother there for my high school graduation, my wedding and the birth of her grandchildren. For awhile, I let those lost memories take over me, they were all I thought about.

With good people surrounding me, I slowly got back up to my feet, sometimes I still don't know how I got through it, but I did. I chose to tackle the mess day by day. I could not change what the next week would bring, or even the next day. The only thing I worried about was today and the now because that is the only thing that we can ever control. I never believed in the saying "it gets better with time" because how could losing my mom at 17 years old ever get "better"? I didn't see that as a possibility. Now that I am looking back at me from 2 years ago, I finally have faith in that saying, because I've experienced it myself. I realized that I needed to take it day by day and that every time I rested my head on the pillow at night I would get a whole new twenty-four hours of healing, growth and acceptance when I woke up. When I started to focus on the here and now instead of what my future would be like with the absence of my mom, I gained a new perspective on her death, I found somehow, the positivity in it (sounds crazy, I know).

I learned that it was and is okay to feel scared, worried or upset and that you have to let yourself feel those emotions occasionally. But never let those feelings control you because trust me they are powerful little things. Your life should only be controlled by you, your happiness, your special memories and your ambitions.

I felt like I was in a dark hole, which I knew was only natural, but I didn't let it control my life. If I did then I would not be the person I am, I would be stuck believing that I could not make it without my mom by my side, but I did. I'm here, I made it. I am proud of the "scars" I have on my heart because those kind of situations are like the ingredients that made me who I am. Embrace your scars. Embrace the fact that you are strong and that you are still able to wake up every morning with twenty-fours to believe in yourself.There is a reason why they call life a roller coaster because being at the "down" only means you are approaching the "up". Always know good is always around the corner if you truly believe that. Find the light in our life, things and people that make you genuinely happy and surround yourself with that every single day. Tackle things one at a time, even if it's minute by minute. If you are currently living in a tough situation, know that I too was once there and am telling you that I made it, and so can you. It is not easy, I can tell you that, but it's possible. Breathe. Think of all the power you possess that helps you to control your life; your happiness, your love for others, their love for you, or simply being you. Stop telling yourself that "life sucks" and will always "suck" because this means your life is not in your control anymore. It's being controlled by your negative thoughts. This will only prevent good things from coming your way.

Tough situations don't last, tough people do.

You got this!