During Christmas break of my freshman year I was diagnosed with a really bad case of mono. I was so sick, my doctors would not let me go back to school for the spring semester, and I was stuck living at home for four months. At the time, I could not have been more upset. I was forced to miss sorority rush, and my first spring semester as a college student.

January to June were quite possibly the longest months of my life. I was miserably sick, stuck back at home living with my parents, and bored out of my mind. Looking on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook was torture. It was like watching a play by play of everything I was missing. The only thing keeping me sane was my new puppy and my one friend who was also home.

Although I was bored and had no life, I think being stuck at home really made an impact on my life. I was able to really appreciate college and realize how much going back meant to me. As a freshman I was constantly confused and discouraged about what I wanted my major to be and what I wanted to do with my life. However, during this break I was able to really think about what was important to me and what I wanted my future to look like.

During my semester off, it seemed if everything had gone from bad to worse. While I was sick I had gotten the extreme of every symptom, and nothing was going my way. Then, as I was on the mend, I found out that I had a heart problem which could only be solved with surgery. Discouraged and annoyed, I had decided I was cursed and that nothing would ever go my way.

However, what I hadn’t known was that my semester off was a blessing in disguise. It I hadn’t been forced to take a break from school I would have never known I had a heart issue, and my life would be much different. It was a time when I was able to realize what I really wanted to do and make priorities. It took time, but I appreciated how lucky I was and changed my outlook on a lot of things.

Moral of the story is that life happens. Things don’t always go how you plan or think they will, and that’s OK. Everyone has their ups and downs and you can’t compare your life to anyone else’s. Sometimes even the worst things are a blessing in disguise.