Two percent of wisdom teeth removal patients develop a serious dry socket. When I had mine removed, I developed four.

Everyone assumes you can only get mono once (the name is mono, after all). By the time I reached ninth grade, I had had it seven times.

I'm very tall, so I tried playing basketball when I was younger. I joined the team three times. I broke my wrist all three seasons.

Senior year of high school, I was told I had the highest GPA in our senior class but couldn't be the valedictorian.

I have made an 89 three different semesters at Georgia Tech. None of the professors would round up.

I have weird things happen to me a lot. I could tell more stories, but most of them really aren't fit for the internet. Don't get me wrong, my life is great. I am very happy, but I am what some might call "unlucky." My mom calls me a freak of nature. (Thanks, Mom!) This article is not an outlet for me to complain. Instead, I want to encourage you. Bad things happen to me, as they do everyone. I used to spend a lot of time being bitter. I threw myself a lot of pity parties. But then I gradually came to realize that life isn't fair and it doesn't need to be. That's kind of the beauty of it all.

Life is one big mess, and I may have a lot of bad things happen, but there is so much good in this mess we call life as well. I don't know what you're dealing with. No one ever fully knows what other people are going through. No matter how dark life may seem today, this week, or even this year, remember the good. Count your blessings and have hope that while right now may be a deep valley, mountain peaks are ahead.

I've learned to say, "oh well" to a lot of things. Sometimes it's easy. When I burn my tongue really badly for the fifth time in one week, it's not that big of a deal to get over it. Sometimes accepting whatever comes my way is harder. When my dad was diagnosed with stage four cancer (twice), I couldn't simply say "oh well." At the same time, it's all out of my control. I've learned to accept life for what it is. There's no point stewing on things out of your control. By giving in to negative thoughts, you allow the situation to take control of your life. For every bad thing that happens, remind yourself of at least five good ones. Get in the habit of constantly reminding yourself of the good in your life and anticipate the amazing things to come. Never forget that anything can happen and usually does. Dark times today may turn into sunshine tomorrow.

"You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give." -Eleanor Roosevelt