They say everything happens for a reason, they say it gets better, and they say some have it worse, but let’s be real, who wants to hear that when they’re going through a tough time?
Not many people can think clearly when things aren’t looking up and although back then you didn’t see it, but 10 years ago we were not as wise as you are now, and that goes for any age whether you’re 20 today or you’re even 45 today.
I feel like my first two years of high school were part of a different life. When I think back, I can’t even believe that person was me. There were countless days I didn’t think I was even going to survive and here I am today, better than I ever was and continuing to better myself.
It’s so easy to give up on yourself when you feel like things are crumbling down around you and to make matters worse, sometimes you don’t even have control of the situations.
Ever heard the say “when it rains, it pours”? Well 4 years ago, I would’ve thought you were crazy if you told me that saying was going to become so relevant in my life. The saying depicts the idea that when something in your life is going wrong, it suddenly seems like a series of unfortunate events slowly creeps in right after and it ends puts you in a funk where you just believe everything in your life is wrong.
During the time that I desperately needed answers for why things were the way they were, I came up with idea that this saying that “when it rains, it pours” had a hidden lesson behind it that could maybe help me out. For anyone skeptic about an existence beyond our nature that controls what goes on in the world, try to hear me out.
In order to help me cope, over the past few years I’ve gradually become accustomed to the idea that anything that’s going on is just testing me to see how I’ll react to it, how I handle myself, and how I come up from it.
You see, we all have a tendency of thinking we’re invincible, but the fact is that everyone has emotions and it’s impossible for one not to bend after being hurt a few times.
I always liked to think of myself as a strong individual but I really wasn’t. Sure, maybe on the outside I was good at masking my feelings but I came to the understanding that brushing it all under the rug wasn’t making me any stronger. I needed to be honest with myself and actually let myself feel what I was feeling for the sake of growing from any pain and learning from any disappointments.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our own thoughts and especially caught up in the way people may view us if we actually open up, but it is so necessary to do so. You become so much more aware of who you are when you not only try to work through the situation you’re dealing with, but also trust that things are going to get better in time.
No matter what, it is important to know that ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING IS PROGRESS, continue to allow yourself to grow, you’re going to make mistakes, you’re going to lose friends, have your heart broken, make stupid decisions that you will wish you hadn’t, but
You WILL get through it all I swear and I may only be 19, but I’ve already experienced a lot and the person I was four years ago would have never agreed with the person I am today and what I stand for.
You have to allow yourself to learn from any uncomfortable or misfortunate events that happen in your life and trust that it does not end here. There are so many opportunities in this world to start over and so much beauty to see and become, the going may get so tough, but you are tougher, and so much tougher than you think.
Trust the process and know that life is full of plenty ups and downs but fortunately, our flaws and our setbacks do not define us, they only create us.
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” -Maya Angelou