All throughout our lives, we are faced with tough situations that we have to navigate. We discover our true nature when we are forced to swim after being thrown in the deep end.

Despite being in my early twenties, I’ve already had several situations in my life that have forced me either to give up and give in, or push through and keep fighting. Looking back now, I realize that what I went through really wasn’t that bad, in the grand scheme of things that is. But it was really important I go through them. I needed to know that I could survive and work through anything.

Before I entered my freshmen year of high school, I went to a summer volleyball camp with my JV team. We went in July and usually, because we live in northern Michigan, it’s not that hot. Of course, the one time where I would be in a dorm room without air conditioning, it would be the hottest week in a long time. It was above 90 degrees every day, which doesn’t seem bad, but we’re talking about Michigan here.

This was also one of the first real times I was away from home for a prolonged period of time. I remember being optimistic about the camp and thinking I would have fun, which I did, but I was also a tad miserable. It was unbearably hot and because of this, I could hardly sleep. I remember calling my poor parents in the middle of the night an absolute wreck. I wanted to come home. I didn’t think I could make it until the end of the week.

But my parents didn’t let me.

They told me I could make it. That if I gave up now, I would give up again in the future. I needed to know that I could do it. My parents knew it, even if I didn’t at the time. They told me I needed to tough it out.

And I did.

I survived that week; even though I hardly slept, was exhausted the whole time, and the gyms were over 110 degrees. Because I survived it, I know when something else like it comes up; I can survive that too. I needed to go through that experience, otherwise I would have struggled in the future.

Recently, someone I know when through an experience like this and I found myself on the other side. I was the one telling them they could make it. That they could survive. They had to survive. That if they gave up, they would regret it for the rest of their lives. I found myself telling them everything my parents told me all those years ago. It was in that moment when I realized how important my experience was and how much those who I was helping needed to go through it.

I am proud to say that they survived, just as I did all those years ago. Now they know that they too can survive.

So before you roll over and give up, think about how tough you are. Think about how strong you are and push through. You won’t regret it.